Illegal is Still Illegal

There is no doubt that Mayté García sounds like an impressive young woman, and it is not her fault that she was brought into the the country illegally at the age of six. However, this still isn't right:

The first person to question Democratic candidates at the Heartland Presidential Forum on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa, is scheduled to be a 22-year-old undocumented [read:illegal] immigrant from Santa Fe.

Mayté García, a volunteer and board member of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, an immigrants-rights organization, said she will ask the candidates what they plan to do about immigration reform in their first hundred days in office. She said she has a speech prepared but hasn't decided how to word the question.

"I want (the candidates) to know there is a broken immigration system for families such as mine," García said.

Ms. García's problem is simple. Her mother broke the law and entered the country illegally. Lax enforcement of the law allowed her family to stay and grow roots, and now she says our immigration system is broken.

What's broken is a system that allowed Ms. García to stay in the country for 16 years illegally. What's worse is that they are going to put her on a national stage in an attempt to manipulate the conversation. Just because she is a good person, does not mean that the laws of the land should be discarded because they are inconvenient for an individual. If we were to do this in every case, anarchy would ensue.

Ms. García has had a unique opportunity. She has taken full advantage of the opportunity. If she really wants to make a difference, her efforts should be focused on solving the problem at its source in Mexico. Take what she has learned back to Mexico and become an activist there to improve living conditions, so that people don't have to leave their homes in order to get a chance at a better life.

Ask the big political donors on both sides of the aisle who support amnesty to focus their financial resources in the countries that are bleeding people in search of a better life in the U.S. It is ridiculous to think that people can only live good fulfilling lives if they are lived in the U.S.

Beware Regulation Gone Wild

Uh oh, they're at it again. Governor Richardson's appointees are doing his bidding and ignoring the fact that in New Mexico it is the legislature, not appointed regulatory bodies serving at the pleasure of the Governor, that are supposed to create laws:

New Mexico became the first Intermountain state to implement the Clean Car program today after the Environmental Improvement Board voted late last night to approve the regulations that address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

The program, which will become effective Jan. 1, 2008, requires car manufacturers to sell and lease vehicles that meet the standards beginning with model year 2011. The program only applies to new vehicles and will not affect new or used cars sold before that model year.

“The Clean Cars Program is a key part of our state’s effort to reduce global warming emissions to the levels necessary to avoid the worst effects of a warming planet,” said Governor Richardson. “Today’s decision by the Environmental Improvement Board means New Mexico can implement the cleanest standards for vehicle emissions in the country. New Mexico is again taking action, when Washington won’t.”

And there you have it, the Governor's reason for brushing aside the lawmaking process is so that he can have that all important sound bite for his doomed presidential campaign: "New Mexico is again taking action, when Washington won't."

Maybe that has something to do with the fact that the rest of the country is still run like a Democracy?

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of emission standards, you should be troubled by a regulatory body acting in a way that completely eliminates the legislative process. This is a very dangerous slope. The people on this body are not accountable to anyone in New Mexico other than the Governor - and he hasn't spent any significant time in New Mexico in months.

There is no deliberation involved here. There is simply one man dictating the law of the land, and single-handedly changing that law at the witching hour with little to no public input. This is just wrong. You have a Democratic Governor with a Democratic controlled legislature. If this is what is in the best interest of New Mexico, then he should put it on the Legislative agenda for the session and get it passed legally.

Before the environmentalists among you leave comments that support the Governor's mandate over the constitutional process we still have for making laws. Let me put this in another context for you. Let's take an issue like abortion that pretty evenly divides the population. Should a pro-life Governor be able to appoint a regulatory body to regulate abortion?

How supportive would those who are pro-choice react if this body some evening at midnight decided to ban abortion throughout the state? Would you be okay with the pro-life Governor's edict that:

“The Ban Abortions Program is a key part of our state’s effort to reduce the murder of the unborn to avoid the worst effects of a misguided planet,” said Governor Conservative. “Today’s decision by the Life Improvement Board means New Mexico can implement the most stringent standards for protecting the sanctity of life in the country. New Mexico is again taking action, when Washington won’t.”

Like I said, it's a slippery slope.

Rapidly Moving in the Wrong Direction

A couple of weeks ago I read an article in the New Mexico Business Weekly about the funding challenges faced by the art scene. In particuliar this really resonated with me [emphasis added]:

Chief among the challenges is funding.

This is due, in part, to the metro area's lack of a large corporate base and a small philanthropic community. But BBER also lays some blame on the "excessive focus" of the public sector on the area's largest institutions, such as the Albuquerque BioPark. The BioPark and the science museums get the largest individual slice of city expenditures for culture entities (about $11.3 million in 2004).

When I was in the not for profit sector, I was painfully aware of the lack of a large corporate base, and its no different running a service based business. We just don't have enough corporations headquartered in New Mexico. Sure, we're doing a good job of attracting startups, but what we really need are a few blue chip companies to move into the state.

This is going to be especially true after the 2008 election cycle. Let's face it, in the House and the Senate seniority is king, and we're about to have an 80% freshman delegation. Ouch! My prediction is that we are going to start bleeding federal dollars to the tune of $1 billion dollars.

Does this mean that all is lost? No. However, it does mean that we need to get serious about attracting big business to New Mexico. The problem is that according to a recent study by the New Mexico Tax Research Institute (Hat tip: Capital Report) it looks like our tax policy is evolving in such a way to repel rather than attract big business to New Mexico:

The New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department just released its gross receipts tax (“GRT”) rate tables applicable for the six months beginning January 1, 2008. For the first time in history, New Mexico has not just one, but five jurisdictions that will see rates in excess of 8%.

Taos Ski Valley leads the pack at 8.4375%, with Red River, Logan, San Jon, and Tucumcari also coming in at 8% or higher. Nineteen other locations will have rates between 7.5 and 8.0%, including Taos, Santa Fe, Espanola, Ruidoso, Raton, Portales, Las Vegas, Bloomfield and Aztec. While rates have historically been higher in tourist destinations, the higher rates seem to be more contagious to other locales lately. Albuquerque rates remain unchanged at seemingly modest 6.875%, however that’s still 18% higher than in 2003 when purchasers in the state’s largest city enjoyed rates below 6%. The new rate schedules are posted on the Taxation and Revenue Department’s website’s homepage.

I've said before that in the last few years the Governor has been playing a shell game with our tax system. Governor Richardson loves to portray himself as the tax cutting Governor, but the reality is that under his guidance taxes in the state have been increasing at an alarming rate, and due to the policy in place, we could see municipal taxes in excess of 10%!

This trend needs to be reversed, and it needs to be reversed quickly. High taxes combined with a loss of hundreds of millions in federal dollars is the perfect recipe for an economic disaster in New Mexico.

One simple solution. Get rid of corporate income tax in New Mexico. We could become one of only four states in the nation to have this key competitive advantage. The cost for getting rid of corporate income tax is only about $300 million in revenue. Considering what Governor Richardson has spent chasing trains, spacecrafts and movies, that's nothing. Right now the other states that have no corporate income tax are South Dakota, Nevada and Wyoming. Now compare our quality of place to those other three, and it becomes obvious that we would jump to the head of the line.

We need to stop playing with special incentives for one industry or another, and instead have a tax policy that induces all large successful businesses to call New Mexico home.

Endorsement is Ridiculously Early

The last thing I want to do is pick on firefighters. I have the utmost respect for all of the men and women who put their life on the line to help and protect others.

But, I just don't understand how the New Mexico Professional Firefighters can possibly pick a candidate to endorse before they even know who is in the race:

Almost three years from before the general election, gubernatorial candidate and Lt. GovernorDiane Denish received the endorsement of the New Mexico Professional Fire Fighters Association. The association has 1,200 members across the state, including Hobbs, Carlsbad, Las Cruces, Artesia, Deming, Silver City, Gallup, Farmington, Raton, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Espanola, Las Vegas, Santa Fe County, Sandoval County, Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Socorro and Los Lunas.

In voting for the endorsement last weekend, the firefighters cited Denish's efforts to improve their working conditions and addressing their health and safety issues through the years. Denish was instrumental in helping to pass a line-of-duty death benefit and a Fire Fighters Day of Remembrance to be held each Sept. 11.

So, give the Lt. Governor an award. Declare her Woman of the Year. Make her an honorary Fire Chief. I'm all for recognizing her contributions to supporting firefighters, but endorsing her three years early before there are any other candidates in the race is just absurd. Frankly, I think it takes away from the endorsement.

State's Misguided Tourism Advertising

I've taken shots at New Mexico's latest advertising efforts to promote the state tourism recently, and now it looks like I'm not alone. Some of the largest convention and visitor bureau folks are also unhappy with the approach we've taken:

"New Mexico has a lot to offer — we don't need to bring our standards down," said Ken Mompellier, head of the convention and visitors bureau in Las Cruces, the state's fast-growing, second-largest city, which has refused to use the alien ads to bolster its own local tourism pitches, as it normally would.

"My first question would be: What does this campaign show of the things that we are known for?" Mompellier asked. "I look at this campaign and I don't see the fit. And the things I'm hearing from people, some of it is very negative."

Dale Lockett, president of the state's largest convention and visitors bureau in Albuquerque, addressed the issue at a statewide conference last month.

At a keynote luncheon, Lockett told the creators of the ads, Santa Monica, Calif.-based M&C Saatchi, that their handiwork, while innovative, appeals to the wrong audience. Why, Lockett wondered, was the state targeting its centerpiece ad campaign to a younger crowd at the precise moment when the bulk of baby boomers nationwide are reaching the age when they have time and money to travel?

I couldn't agree more with these two guys. Moreover, aside from the problems with the creative, the even bigger problem seems to me to be the media planning strategy.

Defending the oddity of the campaign, McCall noted that New Mexico has unique challenges in competing in the hyper-competitive tourism market. New Mexico's main rivals — Arizona, in addition to Utah and Colorado — all have their own charms and significantly more funding from their state legislatures; the ad budgets of each of those states ranks in the top 10 nationally while New Mexico's budget ($2.9 million this fiscal year) lingers in the lower third.

Well, if your budget lingers in the lower third, then you better plan on spending those dollars in places where you are going to get more bang for your buck. Places where the competition, in this case other states, are not dominating. Places like pay per click and online content match advertising.

Go ahead and Google "Southwest Vacation" or "Mountain Vacation." You would think that a sponsored ad touting the state would show up, wouldn't you? Well, it doesn't, and that's just ridiculous. Especially, when you consider that the state's whole TV campaign is trying to drive people to visit the tourism department's website.

Now, I know a thing or two about what I'm talking about (it has to do with how I actually spend my days). In fact, I'd be willing to bet that if the state gave me only 10% of their current tourism budget, I could drive 10 times the amount of traffic to their website that the current campaign is bringing. I'd even be willing to offer a 100% moneyback guarantee if I was not able to deliver.

Ask M&C Saatchi if they're willing to offer a moneyback guarantee on their campaign.

A Glimpse into Udall's Priorities

Yesterday the Journal reported on significant layoffs at Los Alamos that are going to have significant economic repercussions for Northern New Mexico (subscription):

The lab already has cut hundreds of jobs from its subcontractor work force. Monday's meeting signals the start of cuts within the lab's core scientific work force.

"It directly impacts people's lives, not only those of our employees, but also their families, and the northern New Mexico community. People are the soul of any institution," Anastasio said in a memo to employees. "You have my personal commitment to make this process as fair as possible."

Charles Mansfield, president of the Laboratory Retiree Group Inc., said the layoffs could have an impact throughout northern New Mexico.

"It's not just Los Alamos," said Mansfield, who worked at the lab for 17 years before retiring in 1993. "I think it will hit the whole Española Valley, everywhere from Española up through Taos and El Rito. The lab is a major economic engine for northern New Mexico."

Los Alamos is in the Congressman Tom Udall's district. Although the Congressman was not quoted in yesterday's article, Udall is featured in an article today (subscription):

Gov. Bill Richardson to his key New Mexico backers: Support anyone you want for the 2008 U.S. Senate race, because I'm not getting in.

That was Richardson's message during a face-to-face meeting with those supporters earlier this month, according to Rep. Tom Udall, a fellow Democrat who next week will announce his U.S. Senate bid.

"He basically released them to do what they wanted to do in the Senate race," the 3rd Congressional District representative told the Journal on Tuesday.

WOW! Talk about a slap in the face to the people of the 3rd Congressional District. On the day that it is announced that hundreds of people are going to lose their jobs, and that the economy of surrounding communities might be devastated, Congressman Udall's only comment to his constituents is regarding a comment made Governor Richardson earlier this month about his U.S. Senate race intentions.

Talk about a guy out of touch with what's important to New Mexicans.

A Broken Legislative Process

Last week I received an email and a phone call from a reader wanting to discuss my post regarding the government's case in the Metropolitan Courthouse Scandal. Specifically, the reader was troubled by this:

Speaking of unnamed folks in the legislature:

During the 2003 legislative session, Defendant Aragon told a legislative staff member to redirect funds that had been allocated in 1999 to two other projects to the Metropolitan Courthouse for use as additional funding on that project. Defendant Aragon's statements, which caused the redirection of the funds, made additional funds accessible to the members of the conspiracy related to the building of the Metropolitan Courthouse.

Kind of makes you wonder who is this unnamed "legislative staff member" who aided and abetted in defrauding the taxpayers? The 2003 legislative session wasn't that long ago. Is this person still working in the legislature? Are they now assisting other politicians in making "additional funds accessible" for other building conspiracies?

Unfortunately, I was in Washington D.C. with my family last week, so I didn't get to return the phone call for a frank discussion until yesterday. During which time, the reader made a very good point that is worth repeating here. Namely, that "aided and abetted in defrauding taxpayers" may be an unfair way to portray the act of the legislative staff member.

The way this process was explained to me, a legislator (or his/her staff member) asks the legislative staff to draft a change for a reauthorization or insertion of capital outlay into the capital outlay bill. This is done, and it is then voted on by the Legislator. So, charging the legislative staff member with "aiding and abetting " would make as much sense as charging the typist who typed up the change or the courier who delivered the new bill.

So, this brings us back to who has responsibility? Well, the simple answer is that the legislators who voted to approve the 340 page bill and the Governor who signed the bill without questioning the misappropriation of funds share the responsibility.

A quick search of the 2003 Capital Outlay bill, H.B. 200 reveals that "Metropolitan" shows up six times within two pages on the 340 page document. First, money that had previously been appropriated to Indian Pueblo Cultural Center were appropriated to the Metropolitan Courthouse.

But, here is the really disturbing part:

Section 121. MOUNTAIN VIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL--CHANGE PURPOSE AND EXTEND EXPENDITURE PERIOD FOR THE METROPOLITAN COURTHOUSE IN BERNALILLO COUNTY.--The balance of proceeds from the sale of severance tax bonds appropriated to the state department of public education pursuant to Subsection T of Section 19 of Chapter 2 of Laws 1999 (1st S.S.) for educational technology at Mountain View elementary school in Albuquerque in Bernalillo county shall not be expended for the original purpose but is reauthorized and appropriated to the Bernalillo county metropolitan court for the purpose of furnishing and equipping the new metropolitan courthouse in Bernalillo county.

That's right, they took money for our kids to line their pockets. And, the kicker to all of this comes from this paragraph taken from Governor Bill Richardson's 2003 State of the State to kickoff the Legisaltive Session:

We cannot achieve our lofty economic and educational goals without first meeting our most basic needs. When I proposed my budget, I set out three basic goals: Better schools, better jobs and more money in the pockets of New Mexicans.

Well, I guess he succeeded in putting more money in the pockets of some New Mexicans.

It's What Isn't Stated

Take a look at the Albuquerque Journal today, and you're going to come across an article on the unemployability of students (subscription) that that states:

Seventeen percent of the Albuquerque Public Schools freshmen who took a test to measure workplace skills fell into the "unemployable" category in reading and math.

However, as alarming as that may be, it is really this statement that of the most concern:

WorkKeys, she said, helps give them an idea so they can plan accordingly.

Mary Ann Landry, the district's vocational education director, said APS scores rose slightly when some of the schools retested students as upperclassmen. However, the district did not provide complete data on those results.

Whoa! After a couple of more years of an APS education, the scores only "rose slightly." That's not good. And, what's with not providing complete data. If we want to continue to successfully draw businesses to New Mexico, this is a situation that has to be dealt with immediately, and the school district needs to be more forthcoming with data results.

With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

Sometimes less is more, and in the case of Governor Bill Richardson, and less is definitely better. Steve Terrell points out that in the latest Democratic debate Governor Richardson finally got his fair share of the limelight.

Unfortunately, Steve points out that our dear Governor took the extra time and filled it with half-truths and outright inaccuracies. Here is a taste:

Answering a question about a hot button issue in Nevada — the unpopular Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility — Richardson said: "All my life, as secretary of energy, as a congressman, I oppose the site, for environmental reasons, water saturation."

However, an Associated Press story this week pointed out that Richardson as a congressman "voted in favor of the 1987 measure that designated Yucca Mountain as the sole dump site to be studied by the federal government." And during Richardson's tenure as secretary of the Energy Department in the 1990s, he approved a critical viability assessment, going on record saying, "Overall there is no reason to disqualify the site."

At the debate, Richardson said, "I would turn Yucca Mountain into a national laboratory. We have the greatest brains in our national lab scientists."

Great, first we have Congressman Tom Udall supporting budget cuts at Los Alamos labs that would result in massive layoffs and a New Mexico brain drain. And now, our own Governor Richardson wants to have the limited and dwindling national lab funds available to New Mexico diverted to creating a new national lab in Nevada.

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Find it Hard to Believe

Every once in awhile a government spokesman says something that just leaves you shaking your head. Ok, not every once in awhile, more like everyday. Take this for example:

Water Authority contractor TLC Plumbing was installing a pressure relief valve in the 1400 block of San Jose SE, when the contractors stopped work to wait for a work order for $50,000 needed to finish the project, Water Authority spokesman David Morris said.

The work order never came.

"Due to an oversight on the Water Authority's part, the work order was not issued in a timely manner," Morris said Tuesday.

Morris said the Water Authority was made aware of the hole, which had been sitting untouched for several weeks, by news reports Monday night.

I'd be willing to bet that the Water Authority received several calls about the gaping hole. I'm sure the contractor called the Water Authority several times to request the work order, so they could finish their work and collect their $50,000? I'm sure that the neighborhood called to complain.

Taking a Look at The Government's Case

On October 25, 2007, the federal government filed two document notifying their intent to introduce evidence in the Metropolitan Courthouse kickback scandal. If you take a look at the filing, what is most interesting is not who is named, but who is not named as a "co-conspirator."

For example, despite the fact that lobbyists are often portrayed and perceived as evil and corrupting influences in the "wholesome" legislative process, the filing tells a different tale:

During the time that Defendant Michael Murphy was a board member of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA), he asked a lobbyist to deliver funds to two influential politicians. Defendant Murphy told the lobbyist that his payment from AMAFCA would be increased to pay for the funds that were to go to these two politicians. The total amount of the funds that was to be paid to these two politicians was approximately $30,000.00. The lobbyist refused to agree to this requested arrangement.

Now, it is interesting that the honest lobbyist is not named. But, I guess it's not to difficult for someone to do a little digging and figure out when Michael Murphy was elected to the AMAFCA Board, and then hop over to the Secretary of State's website and discover who was registered as a lobbyist for AMAFCA at that time.

However, the big question here that is not quite as easily answered is who are the "two influential politicians" that were supposed to receive $30,000 from Michael Murphy? It would be safe to assume we are not talking about Manny Aragon, since he is already identified in the filing as a co-conspirator. Are these unnamed influential politicians still serving in the Legislature? Are they Democrats or Republicans? Can they still be bought for $30,000?

Speaking of unnamed folks in the legislature:

During the 2003 legislative session, Defendant Aragon told a legislative staff member to redirect funds that had been allocated in 1999 to two other projects to the Metropolitan Courthouse for use as additional funding on that project. Defendant Aragon's statements, which caused the redirection of the funds, made additional funds accessible to the members of the conspiracy related to the building of the Metropolitan Courthouse.

Kind of makes you wonder who is this unnamed "legislative staff member" who aided and abetted in defrauding the taxpayers? The 2003 legislative session wasn't that long ago. Is this person still working in the legislature? Are they now assisting other politicians in making "additional funds accessible" for other building conspiracies?

I've got to run, but let me leave you with this thought...

The next time you read in the paper about "ethics reform efforts" being proposed by the Legislature, you might want to ponder if any of those serving on the ethics task force are actually the unnamed politicians from the conspiracy.

Tom Udall for U.S. Senate

I spent this weekend attending my son's soccer tournament in Bernalillo. We stayed at Tamaya, rather than trekking back and forth from the East Mountains. We rationalized the expense of staying at the resort as our way of reducing our carbon footprint. I even used one of those little electric carts to check out the culturally and ecologically sensitive areas around Twin Warriors.

Now, I hadn't brought my computer, so I missed the announcement over the weekend that Congressman Tom Udall was getting into the U.S. Senate race (subscription):

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall will seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Republican Sen. Pete Domenici in 2008, making him the third of New Mexico's three U.S. House members to seek the seat.

"He's definitely running," Udall's chief of staff Tom Nagle said Saturday.

However, learning of this news today explains the loud noise I heard coming from the direction of Albuquerque over the weekend. It was obviously the collective groan of Mayor Martin Chavez's campaign camp. Any chance they had of winning the Democratic nomination of the U.S. Senate seat vanished with Udall's announcement.

Udall's announcement is also a clear indication that Governor Richardson is serious about not getting into the Senate race. Udall's step-daughter, Amanda Cooper, is the deputy campaign manager of Richardson's presidential campaign.

This also mean that every Congressional seat except for one, Senator Jeff Bingaman's seat, is up for grabs. Combine that with the fact that every state legislative seat is up re-election, and we've got the makings of "all politics, all the time" in 2008.

Going from Bad to Worse

The State Tourism Department is really on a roll when it comes to figuring out how to best market New Mexico. First, they paid good money for this ad:



Then, they forked up some serious dough to enter this into the Rose Bowl Parade:


I can't wait to see what they come up with next. Of course, a quick glance at the Journal's online poll shows that I'm not alone in thinking this must be someone's idea of a bad joke:



Isn't it about time to send someone in a decision making position in the State Tourism Department into deep space (i.e. fire them!).

Republicans Have a Shot at Udall's Seat

Well, normally we wouldn't. Hey, I'm nothing if not pragmatic. The reality is that the numbers in that Northern Congressional seat make it just short of impossible.

However, Steve Terrell is painting a picture that should make more than a few northern elephants stand up and take notice:

House Bill 1156, which won unanimous approval of both legislative chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson, makes it tougher for candidates to get on the primary ballot.

Before the new law, candidates won a place on the ballot if they received at least 20 percent of the delegate votes at their party’s preprimary convention. Those who got less than that magic figure still could get on the ballot by submitting additional petitions with signatures of registered voters to the secretary of state.

The new law got rid of the petition option. Those who get less than 20 percent are out of luck.

Only trouble is, the large number of Democratic candidates in District 3 could increase the chances no candidate reaches the 20 percent mark at the preprimary convention. And, under the law that passed, there is no provision to get anyone on the ballot with less than 20 percent.

Here’s a little nightmare for Democrats: No candidate gets enough delegates to secure a place on the ballot. The GOP runs one candidate who automatically wins a Congressional seat in a heavily Democratic district.

Gotta love technicalities.

Guess I Won't Be Moving

Actually, we weren't planning on moving. But, it looks like those who moved in 2006 have gotten a nasty surprise (subscription):

[County Assessor Karen L.] Montoya said her office also has been hounded by people who bought homes in 2006— roughly 20,000 were sold— and were not aware that home sales take away the 3 percent cap.

She said people have been telling her they wouldn't have bought their homes if they had known what the property taxes were.

"Sometimes they're shocked," she said.

Those homes sold in 2006 are seeing, on average, a 50 percent increase in assessed value, Montoya said.

The result is that someone who has just bought a home might be paying hundreds or thousands more than a neighbor who has lived in the same home for years.

So, how are the people who have stayed in one place making out? Well, I just pulled out my Bernalillo County property tax bill from 2002 and compared it to my 2007 bill. Talk about sticker shock. I am paying 35% more in property tax than I was paying just five short years ago.

Hmm, I don't seem to be receiving 35% more in services, so exactly how does that work?

Remove Charter Schools Limits

Sorry, I've been pretty sporadic about posting lately. There is so much going on in the political arena with all of the open (and opening) seats for Congress, and yet, there really isn't anything happening. Names are still be floated. People are still trying to figure out what to do. And, the reality is that if folks don't make a decision soon, no one is going to care until after the holiday season.

So, instead of writing about politics I thought I'd throw my two cents in about this little charter school article (subscription) that appeared in the Journal on Sunday:

[New Mexico Coalition of Charter Schools Lisa] Grover wants to challenge the 1999 law limiting the number of charters to 75 start-ups in a five-year period. The state now has 65, averaging almost 10 a year since 2000.

"It's one of the most insidious caps," she said.

Also, charters are not allowed to expand beyond a maximum enrollment set at their initial application.

"If a school is proving itself," Grover said, "why should that school have to wait until renewal time to open up its classrooms to more kids?"

There are 3,500 students on waiting lists for these schools, she said, indicating "we need to grow."

If people want to send their kids to charter schools, they should be able to do so. The maximum enrollment cap is ridiculous and should be eliminated by the legislature.

Charter School Limits Should Be Removed

Sorry, I've been pretty sporadic about posting lately. There is so much going on in the political arena with all of the open (and opening) seats for Congress, and yet, there really isn't anything happening. Names are still be floated. People are still trying to figure out what to do. And, the reality is that if folks don't make a decision soon, no one is going to care until after the holiday season.

So, instead of writing about politics I thought I'd throw my two cents in about this little charter school article (subscription) that appeared in the Journal on Sunday:

[New Mexico Coalition of Charter Schools Lisa] Grover wants to challenge the 1999 law limiting the number of charters to 75 start-ups in a five-year period. The state now has 65, averaging almost 10 a year since 2000.

"It's one of the most insidious caps," she said.

Also, charters are not allowed to expand beyond a maximum enrollment set at their initial application.

"If a school is proving itself," Grover said, "why should that school have to wait until renewal time to open up its classrooms to more kids?"

There are 3,500 students on waiting lists for these schools, she said, indicating "we need to grow."

If people want to send their kids to charter schools, they should be able to do so. The maximum enrollment cap is ridiculous and should be eliminated by the legislature.

Richardson for U.S. Senate

I get the question everyday. "So, do you think Bill Richardson is going to run for the U.S. Senate seat."

My answer? "No, I just don't see it happening."

Of course, anything is possible, but it just wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. I can't be the only one struggling to see Governor Richardson in the Junior Senator role. Think about it, can you imagine Bill Richardson comfortably taking a backseat to Senator Bingaman in public forums? Me neither. Senator Bingaman has always played second fiddle to Senator Domenici, but Bingaman is not a flamboyant character like Richardson. Governor Richardson does not know how to wait patiently in the wings:

Richardson in Philly: I didn’t actually see this while viewing Tuesday’s televised debate from Philadelphia on MSNBC, but the Associated Press reported that after not being called on for the first 20 minutes of the debate “... Gov. Bill Richardson threw up his hands in protest that he hadn’t been called on either and exchanged a frustrated glance with (Dennis) Kucinich.”

If the Governor found his Philly experience frustrating, its not hard to picture how disheartening he is going to find his years as a freshman Senator. And, as a former member of Congress, he knows just how ignored and far from center stage he is going to be.

No, I just don't see Richardson signing up for that. I think he'll hold out for that Secretary of State appointment. Does that mean he'll be coming back to the Land of Enchantment in February? No, I think he'll quickly jump on the bandwagon of the leader, probably Hillary Clinton, and campaign all over the country for the Hispanic vote. Campaigning is something he does well.

Then, if he doesn't get a cabinet appointment, I think he'll take a job in the private sector as the CEO of a Fortune 250 company. After all, as was recently pointed out to me, that's one arena that remains unconquered.