Max Coll was one of the most influential Democrats in the New Mexico legislature for more than three decades. (He actually started as a Republican but switched parties in the 1970s.)

Now retired and living in Santa Fe, I was curious to get his thoughts on the governor’s race. According to an Albuquerque Journal  poll released Aug. 29, Republican Susana Martinez has a 6-point lead on Democrat Diane Denish. A Rasmussen poll released two days earlier has Martinez up by five points.

Coll — who is pulling for Denish — says the Lt. Governor should have tried to separate herself from current Gov. Bill Richardson in a more pronounced way earlier in the campaign:

Coll also says that Richardson’s precipitous drop in the polls (the Journal survey showed just one-third of New Mexicans approve of the job Richardson is doing) is due in large part to Richardson’s presidential ambitions. Coll also says Richardson has kept a low profile in the past year to avoid troubling questions about his administration. Here’s the entire Coll interview, in which the former legislator also talks about negative campaigning and the outlook for Democrats in November:

I plan on talking to a retired Republican legislator on the November elections and will post that interview soon.

In the Friday (Sept. 3) editions of the Albuquerque Journal and the Santa Fe New Mexican, both newspapers picked up on the story Capitol Report New Mexico broke on the US Department of Labor estimating that New Mexico ran up $97.8 million in unemployment overpayments in 2009 – the third-highest rate in the nation and sixth-highest in fraud.

Here’s the New Mexican article and here is what the Journal wrote. 

On Tuesday night, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque ran its version as the lead story on its 10 pm newscast.

The story has also been picked up on a national level in Virginia and we’ve been told that a public policy reseach institute in Louisiana is preparing a story. 

The poor folks in Louisiana finished worst in the rates of overpayments, fraud and what is called “Operational Rate” — which reflects the number of appeals, fraud, determinations and changes.

New Mexico finished third, sixth and tenth, respectively, in those three categories.

Bruce Malott, former ERB chairman

Bruce Malott – the man who resigned his chairmanship of the state’s teacher pension — said in a phone interview Thursday that “I have no embarrassment of how our fund performed in relation to our peers. It’s been phenomenal.”

Malott stepped down Wednesday (Sept. 1) after the Albuquerque Journal revealed that Malott received a $350,000 personal loan from Anthony Correra, a close associate of Gov. Bill Richardson and an investor who lost his license from the securities industry because of allegations of insider trading.

Correra loaned Malott $350,000 when Malott — who is a principal at an Albuquerque accounting firm — racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes after the IRS determined that a tax shelter that Malott and others participated in had no legitimate business purpose.

The Journal reports that Malott’s $2.500 monthly payment went into the account of a woman who had a son out of wedlock with Correra and their son.

You can read the entire Journal article here.

During Thursday afternoon’s phone interview with Capitol Report New Mexico, Malott staunchly defended his tenure at the Educational Retirement Board (ERB), saying in 2009 and 2010 that “overall ERB, is in the top 2 percent of all funds in the United States,” referring to pension plans that total more than $1 billion.

However, the ERB and the State Investment Council (SIC) invested in Vanderbilt funds, which led to a $50 million loss for the SIC and a $40 million loss for ERB. Malott admitted that the Vanderbilt deal was a “bad investment” but said that relative to other pension funds, the ERB withstood the calamaties that befell other funds, saying that the ERB performance “in the last five years has ranked in the top 18 percent.”

“I’ll say this on the record,” Malott said, “I’ll miss my time at the ERB very much. It’s an outstanding board.”

People close to Malott insist that he was not pressured to resign by Gov. Richardson and that Malott stepped down because he didn’t want to become a distraction for the ERB.

At the state Capitol building, lawamkers were shaking their heads after reading the details of Malott’s resignation in the wake of the Correrra loan. “It’s appalling,” Rep. Keith Gardner (R-Chaves, Eddy, Lea, Roosevelt) said as he entered the chambers of the Health Care Reform Working Group. “Just when you think things can’t get any lower …”

Malott has had to defend himself in a lawsuit brought by former ERB investment officer Frank Foy. Malott has strongly denied any charges of corruption but he has run up at least $300,000 in legal fees.

Back in June, members of the Legislative Finance Committee were surprised to learn that under current statute, members of the ERB can be indemnified of legal costs as well as fees of “any other nature” when mounting a defense in a lawsuit. Committee members were angered to learn that the stipulation “of any other nature” could mean that the state (taxpayers) could be on the hook not just for Malott’s legal team but for a public relations firm he has hired. Here are the details from that June meeting.

Here’s what Rep. Larry Larrañaga (R-Bernalillo) said at the time:

The Journal story mentioned that Malott was accompanied by four attorneys and a publicist at Wednesday’s two-hour interview.

Malott said Thursday, “I have not received one cent” from the state as any reimbursement has not formally applied for compensation. When asked if he will charge the state for the costs incurred by his attorney and publicist at Wednesday’s Journal interview, Malott said, ”No.”

 Reached at his home in Deming, John Arthur Smith (D-Deming), the Vice Chair of the Legislative Finance Committee did not dispute the figures Malott cited but said, “I think Bruce’s credibility is questioned when he does business with someone (Anthony Correra) whose reputation in the state is up for debate … Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

Update: Here’s more from Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican:

Denish to Donate Malott Money to Charity — But Not $$ From Malott’s Company

He may not say it outright, but former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is sure acting like he wants to take a shot at running for President in 2012.

Johnson may be a longshot because of his low name-recognition across the country, but with the economy spinning its wheels, Congressional approval ratings for both parties in the dumper and a feeling by some that a libertarian mood might be on the rise, Johnson might just make a few waves.

He’s spent a lot of time in Iowa (home of the presidential caucus), New Hampshire (home of the famous presidential primary) and South Carolina (home of another early primary) this summer. And yesterday, a newspaper in the Quad-Cities of Iowa ran this profile on him.

The key paragraphs:

In an interview with the Quad-City Times editorial board, he suggested the current crop of Republicans considering presidential bids wouldn’t be as determined about cutting spending.

“I think they would all talk about lowering taxes and reducing spending. But when it comes to specifics, ‘Gee, no, not when it comes to Medicare. No, not when it comes to Social Security. No, not Medicaid. No, not defense, certainly,’” he said. “That doesn’t get it.”

Johnson said those areas are where government needs to look, and he noted he liberally used the veto pen as New Mexico’s governor (750 times) allowing him to hold spending down and prevent tax increases.

From the Washington Post:

Federal domestic spending increased a record 16 percent to $3.2 trillion in 2009, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, largely because of a boost in aid to the unemployed and the huge economic stimulus package enacted to rescue the sinking economy.

The rise in spending was the largest since the Census Bureau began compiling the data in 1983. The Washington region was among the biggest beneficiaries of the government’s spending.

With congressional elections looming this fall, the spike in federal spending has emerged as one of the nation’s most contentious political issues.

You can read it (and weep) here.

The story Capitol Report New Mexico broke on Monday (Aug. 30) about the state racking up an estimated $97.8 million in unemployment overpayments is garnering some attention.

On Tuesday night, KRQE-TV, Channel 13 in Albuquerque ran it as the lead story at 10 p.m.

As mentioned in our post, the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) stresses that the US Department of Labor cautions making apples-to-apples comparisons between states in regards to unemployment figures. DWS officials want to stress that the $97.8 million figure (ranking New Mexico third in the country in overpayments) is an estimate.

Furthermore, Carrie Moritomo of DWS told Channel 13 that the really important number is $22.5 million figure that makes up what’s called the “operational rate.” Moritomo told KRQE-TV, ““Those would be true people who had determinations, appeals, changes or committed fraud.”

Okay, even if you look past New Mexico’s No. 3 national ranking in estimated overpayments and the state’s No. 6 ranking in fraud, let’s take a closer look at at that $22.5 million operational rate that DWS wants to emphasize.

Here’s how New Mexico ranks on a state-by-state basis on the operational rate, as compiled by the US Department of Labor:

The state comes in 10th.

Here’s the list of the 10 states with the highest operational rates in 2009:

1. Lousiana 14.66%

2. Oregon 9.91%

3. Arizona 9.23%

4. Arkansas 9.11%

5. Mississippi 8.68%

6. Illinois 7.73%

7. Kansas 7.34%

8. Nevada 7.30%

9. Delaware 6.73%

10. New Mexico 6.61%

So, whether one looks at any of the three categories for unemployment figures, New Mexico is in the bottom 10 in all three. You can view the raw data from the US Department of Labor here.

I point this out not to hammer the people at DWS or to advocate for a policy position (I don’t know enough about unemployment administration to even form an opinion) but to merely follow up on a national story (AP’s story that came out last month reporting that US states overpaid an estimated $7.1 billion in unemployment benefits in 2009), investigate how New Mexico fared in relation to other states and let the facts dictate the results.

Throughout the summer, Capitol Report New Mexico has taken a look at what we call “Monuments to Me,” in which sitting politicians get various buildings, health clinics, ballparks, performing arts centers, courthouses and hospital wings named after them.

Sandoval County Administration Building

Now it’s happened again — this time in Sandoval County. County taxpayers just funded a beautiful, state-of-the-art government center off Route 528 called the La Plazuela de Sandoval. It’s home to a district court, a sheriff’s office, an administration building that provides office space for county offices as well as a number of health facilities.

On Aug. 19, the Sandoval County Commission voted to name several sections of La Plazuela after six members of county government who were working for the county during the planning and construction of the facilities — one of whom is still a current member of the board.

Two county commissioners (Glenn Walters and Darryl Madalena) dissented, saying that there should have been at least some more discussion about the issue but were voted down, 3-2.

So now La Plazuela is home to:

The David Bency Community Room

The Daymon Ely Transit Center

The Jack Thomas Health Commons

The William Sapien Veterans’ Outpatient Clinic

The Elizabeth Johnson Commission Chambers

The Debbie Hayes Atrium

Bency is still a member of the Sandoval County Commission.

The move prompted the local paper, the Rio Rancho Observer, to publish an editorial criticizing the move since the vote “did not involve a scintilla of public input.”

I interviewed the Observer’s managing editor, Tommy Trujillo, who wrote the editorial. Trujillo said his newspaper normally doesn’t wade into such issues — “our interest is not to stir up the community,” he said — but felt that the commission’s actions needed to be addressed because “as our editorial said, it breeds further mistrust of government leaders.” You can read the editorial here.

“Surely there were people more worthy of this honor,” Trujillo said, “such as veterans for their service to their country or others for their service to the community.”

By the way, this is not the first time local officials named a public facility after a public servant.

V. Sue Cleveland High School, Rio Rancho, NM

Dr. V. Sue Cleveland, Superintendent of Rio Rancho Public Schools

The newly constructed Cleveland High School is named after Dr. V. Sue Cleveland, the superintendent of Rio Rancho Public Schools. Here is the Rio Rancho Observer story about how the naming came about.

The biggest issue facing state lawmakers is the New Mexico budget deficit.

It colors every discussion at the Roundhouse and since states must balance their budgets each year (unlike the federal government, which can print more money or push budget-balancing to another year), it means there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth in Santa Fe when the next legislative starts.

But New Mexico is not alone as nearly every state in the US is facing budget crises of varying degrees of severity. Sure, the economy is struggling but why is nearly every single state in a financial hole?

While everybody understands the importance of money, getting a clear understanding on why and how a complex financial system performs — or fails to perform — can be frustrating. That’s why a recent paper by Matthew Mitchell of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia gives us some moments of economic clarity.

Mitchell — who happened to grow up in Albuquerque — just completed “State Spending Restraint: An Analysis of the Path Not Taken,” a look at 14 states and their recent budget histories. The first part of Mitchell’s paper is of particular interest for those trying to get a grasp of how the numbers begin to grow and grow, snowballing so that they almost inexorably send states into the red.

First, Mitchell points out how much state and local government spending has expanded at a much higher rate than the private sector:

Mitchell writes that:

Because state and local governments depend on the private sector for their tax revenue, this path is not sustainable; state and local government spending cannot continually outpace the wealth-creating sector of the economy. Second, note that the gap between state and local spending growth and private sector growth has widened in the last decade. From 1950 to 2009, real state and local spending grew at an average annual growth rate of 4 percent, compared with 3 percent in the private sector (a 33 percent difference). But from 2000 to 2009, state and local spending grew at an average annual growth rate of 2.6 percent, compared with 1.4 percent in the private sector (a nearly 90 percent difference).

On top of that, Mitchell breaks down exactly what states are spending their budget dollars on. It’s telling there is little aggregate difference between 1987 and 2009 except for one thing — Medicaid spending, which has more than doubled:

Medicaid spending is one factor that all the states struggling with budget deficits have in common. Why? Because of the way the system is structured. Since its inception in 1965, Medicaid has been a joint program between the states and the federal government. The Medicaid bill is split between the feds and the states but the federal government ends up picking up more than 50 percent of the tab (and in smaller states, the feds pick up an even greater percentage). Under the Medicaid system, states receive one dollar from the feds for every dollar they spend. It’s open-ended, with no limit and if states add additional programs (such as a prescription drug benefit) the federal government must match the amount states spend on that new program dollar-for-dollar.

The result is states have a fiscal incentive (or at least no disincentive) to expand coverage and options.

Those are the cold, hard financial numbers — it’s up to lawmakers and voters to determine whether these costs should be curbed, slowed or even expanded. But Mitchell’s paper gives you — regardless of political leaning — some perspective on why states find themselves in a financial bind.

You can read the entire paper, plus Mitchell’s analysis of 14 different states and his suggestions for how they could have reduced their fiscal burdens, here. And here’s a critique of the Medicaid system from the City Journal, a magazine published by the Manhattan Institute, a right-of-center think tank in New York City.

According to polls conducted by the Albuquerque Journal, both Democratic incumbents lead their Republican challengers — but each race is close.In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Martin Heinrich leads Republican challenger John Barela 47-41. The poll was conducted between Aug. 23-27 and Journal pollster Brian Sanderoff said both candidates can take away something positive from the results.

For Heinrich, he knows he has the lead — something that Democrats need in this year of anti-incumbent sentiment. Heinrich also has a 45-41 lead among independent voters.

As for Barela, being within 6 percentage points is a pretty good spot to be in, considering that his name recognition does not compare to an incumbent’s. In addition, Barela received support from one-third of all Hispanics surveyed — a solid number for a Republican.

But keep this in mind: Heinrich has a big lead on Barela in money raised – $1.3 million to $537,000.

Here’s the Journal’s story on the 1st Congressional District poll.

In the 2nd Congressional District race, incumbent Democrat Harry Teague leads Republican Steve Pearce 45-42 — within the margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.

Teague has been considered one of the most vulnerable House Democrats in this fall’s election but according to the Journal poll, he’s holding on to 76 percent of his party’s voters and holds a 37-33 edge among independents.

Unlike Barela, Pearce has held his own with Teague in fundraising. In fact, in the most recent quarterly report released by the Federal Election Commission, Pearce outraised Teague by $14,000.

Here’s the complete Journal story on the 2nd Congressional District race.

Update: On Tuesday (Aug, 31) the Journal poll on the state attorney general’s race shows Democratic incumbent Gary King ahead of Republican Matt Chandler 48-33, with 19 percent undecided.

The crummy economy has sent a lot of New Mexicans to the unemployment office in the past year but after analyzing the numbers from the US Department of Labor, some state residents are getting more benefits than they should — a lot more.

Last month, the Labor Department released national figures estimating that the country overpaid by $7.1 billion in unemployment benefits for the calendar year 2009. That caused me to wonder how New Mexico fared in relation to other states. The Labor Department needed a couple weeks to complete its state-by-state breakdown and now the numbers have been released.

The results? New Mexico ranks third in the country in the percentage of unemployment overpayments, with some 28.68 percent ($97.8 million) of the total benefits sent to New Mexico unemployment recipients should not have been delivered. Only Louisiana and Indiana had a worse percentage.

And New Mexico sixth in the nation in the rate of fraud for unemployment payments, with $16.8 — or 4.93 percent — stripped from the state unemployment insurance fund in 2009.

Why are the numbers so bad?

Carrie Moritomo, the public information officer for the agency that handles state unemployment claims — the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) – says, “I would need to do further research but I would caution you by saying that this not a straight, apples to apples comparison. One state’s laws in this regard are not comparable to another … I don’t think this is a fair assessment. State laws are different across the board.”

And in fairness to the DWS, the Labor Department’s statistical chart states that “Readers are strongly cautioned that it may be misleading to compare cone state’s payment accuracy rates with another … No two states’ … are identical and differences in these conditions influence the potential for error.”

But at the same time, nearly $98 million in overpayments and nearly $17 million in fraud does not look good.

One of the primary reasons for fraud comes from people who keep accepting unemployment checks once they land a job. Many recipients think they can keep receiving benefits until they get their first paycheck at their new job.

Sorry, but the moment you start a new job, you become ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Charles Mather of DWS said, “Some people will even go 10-15 weeks (collecting unemployment as well as paychecks from a new job). Some of the excuses we get is that they feel they just have to catch up (on bills and such).”

So are some New Mexicans simply more dishonest than most Americans? Who knows, but Mather and Moritomo said that the tough economy may tempt some to cut corners. After all, Moritomo points out that in September of 2008, the state’s unemployment rate was at 4.0 percent. Last month, it more than doubled to 8.2 percent.

On top of that, the Labor Department numbers look even worse for New Mexico when you compare the 2008 statistics with 2009.

Take a look:

Total unemployment benefits paid out for New Mexico:

2008 $159,630,965           2009 $340,941,021

Estimated Overpaid:

2008 $29,621,122                2009 $97,788,755

Fraud Rate: 2008 4.03%                    2009 4.93%

Note that the total amount of benefits more than doubled, showing how much the weakening economy hurt people in the state.

But the total of overpayments more than tripled. Does that indicate that more New Mexicans were cheating the government? Not really because while the sheer number of dollars that were accounted by fraud jumped from $6.4 million to $16.8 million, the percentage of fraud increased from 4.03 percent to just 4.93 percent.

What gives? Does this indicate that DWS is overwhelmed by the sheer number of claims it is receiving? Is it making too many mistakes? Or does New Mexico compile its numbers more carefully than other states, thus leading to a higher rate of detection of overpayments? Moritomo and Mather said they aren’t sure.

One bit of good news: Mather points to a figure called the “Operational Rate,” which the Department of Labor cites as the amount of “what we can reasonably expect to recover,” Mather says. The operational rate for New Mexico is $22.5 million, which the state hopes to bring back to its coffers.

After going through the Department of Labor’s numbers, here’s a breakdown of 10 states (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) that had the best and worst rates of overpayments:

The 10 states with the worst percentage of overpayments:

1. Louisiana 41.55%

2. Indiana 33.26%

3. New Mexico 28.68%

4. Arizona 18.99%

5. South Carolina 17.59%

6. Colorado 16.73%

7. Washington 15.98%

8. Nebraska 15.12%

9. Virginia 14.59%

10. Mississippi 14.21%

And the 10 states with the lowest percentage of overpayments:

1. New Hampshire 2.52%

2. Kentucky 2.54%

3. Massachusetts 2.94%

4. Vermont 3.57%

5. Connecticut 3.81%

6. Georgia 4.01%

7. Oklahoma 4.28%

8. California 5.27%

9. Florida 5.37%

10. Hawaii 5.40%

As for rates of fraud, here at the 10 highest in percentage:

1. Arizona 5.96%

2. Arkansas 5.86%

3. Louisiana 5.71%

4. Puerto Rico 5.36%

5. Mississippi 5.15%

6. New Mexico 4.93%

7. Oregon 4.73%

8. DC 4.70%

9. Pennsylvania 4.68%

10. Nevada 4.16%

The 10 with the lowest rates of fraud are:

1. New Jersey 0.30%

2. Hawaii 0.36%

3. Iowa 0.42%

Vermont 0.42%

Florida 0.42%

6. Colorado 0.48%

7. Maine 0.59%

8. Georgia 0.61%

9. Minnesota 0.63%

10. Michigan 0.74%

If you’re a numbers nerd, you can see the raw state-by-state data here for 2008: http://www.ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/bam/2008/Integrity_Rates-CY_2008-all_states.xls

And here for 2009: http://www.unemploymentinsurance.doleta.gov/unemploy/bam/2009/bam-cy2009.pdf

Once you get the spreadsheet data on each link, look at the tabs on the bottom of the page and go to Integrity Rates Est $ and 95% CI to get the numbers you need.

*****

Update: The story Capitol Report New Mexico broke on Monday (Aug. 30) about the state racking up an estimated $97.8 million in unemployment overpayments is garnering some attention.

On Tuesday night, KRQE-TV, Channel 13 in Albuquerque ran it as the lead story at 10 p.m.

As mentioned in our post, the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) stresses that the US Department of Labor cautions making apples-to-apples comparisons between states in regards to unemployment figures. DWS officials want to stress that the $97.8 million figure (ranking New Mexico third in the country in overpayments) is an estimate.

Furthermore, Carrie Moritomo of DWS told Channel 13 that the really important number is $22.5 million figure that makes up what’s called the “operational rate.” Moritomo told KRQE-TV, ““Those would be true people who had determinations, appeals, changes or committed fraud.”

Okay, even if you look past New Mexico’s No. 3 national ranking in estimated overpayments and the state’s No. 6 ranking in fraud, let’s take a closer look at at that $22.5 million operational rate that DWS wants to emphasize.

Here’s how New Mexico ranks on a state-by-state basis on the operational rate, as compiled by the US Department of Labor:

The state comes in 10th.

Here’s the list of the 10 states with the highest operational rates in 2009:

1. Lousiana 14.66%

2. Oregon 9.91%

3. Arizona 9.23%

4. Arkansas 9.11%

5. Mississippi 8.68%

6. Illinois 7.73%

7. Kansas 7.34%

8. Nevada 7.30%

9. Delaware 6.73%

10. New Mexico 6.61%

So, whether one looks at any of the three categories for unemployment figures, New Mexico is in the bottom 10 in all three. You can view the raw data from the US Department of Labor here.

I point this out not to hammer the people at DWS or to advocate for a policy position (I don’t know enough about unemployment administration to even form an opinion) but to merely follow up on a national story (AP’s story that came out last month reporting that US states overpaid an estimated $7.1 billion in unemployment benefits in 2009), investigate how New Mexico fared in relation to other states and let the facts dictate the results.

On the heels of a Rasmussen poll showing Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez with a 5-point lead on Democratic candidate Diane Denish, the Albuquerque Journal released its own poll Sunday (Aug. 29) showing Martinez with a 6-point lead.

We tracked down Martinez in Santa Fe Saturday night and asked for her reaction:

We also tracked down Denish on Sunday afternoon to get her reaction as well. She was speaking to a group in Eldorado.

While she was speaking, I was approached by James Hallinan, who identified himself as the Communications Director for the Democratic Party. I asked for a business card but Hallinan said he did not have one. He then informed me that Lt. Governor Denish was taking part in what he called a “field event” and would not take any media questions. Furthermore, Hallinan said a “field event” is closed to the media.

By the way, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) — whom I interviewed on camera less than two weeks ago — was scheduled to arrive at the same event in just a few minutes. I told Hallinan I would wait outside for Congressman Luján to arrive because I wanted to speak to him as well. Halinan then stepped inside with a Luján aide for less than a minute and then reappeared, saying that Rep. Luján was also not taking media questions.

****

As for Susana Martinez, in the brief time I had with her I also asked her about the state film commision, the Rail Runner and the claim from critics that Martinez lacks executive experience. Here’s the entire, unedited interview:

One of the most prominent Hispanic political figures in the US says the Republican Party has hurt itself in the Latino community by vociferously supporting the Arizona immigration bill.

Linda Chavez, who was the highest-ranking woman in the Reagan administration, says that while the GOP stands to make big gains in November and fields a number of strong Hispanic Republican candidates this fall (such as Susana Martinez in New Mexico and Marco Rubio in Florida), some Latinos may feel less inclined to identify with the GOP in the long run due to the Arizona issue:

Chavez’ stance on illegal immigration sounds very similar to that of Gary Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico. Here’s Johnson’s take.

Chavez was in Santa Fe Saturday night as the keynote speaker for the Santa Fe Federated Republican Women’s gala to celebrate the 90th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

She gave an enthusiastic endorsement for Martinez and her gubernatorial bid in front of the crowd of 228.

By the way, Chavez was born and raised in Albuquerque and her family traces its New Mexican history back 400 years. In fact, Chavez told the audience that one of her ancestors was Manuel Armijo, who as governor of New Mexico in 1845 surrendered the entire territory to the United States without firing a shot. Some suspected Armijo had been bribed.

Thus, Manuel Armijo became one of the first in a long line of New Mexican politicians sullied with at least a taint of corruption.

Mary Herrera news conference 8/26/10

In a story in the Saturday (Aug. 28) edition of the Albuquerque Journal, Attorney General Gary King’s office says it is looking into allegations of misconduct in the Secretary of State’s office.

The spokesman for the Attorney General, Phil Sisneros, says King’s office is investigating complaints by A.J. Salazar, former elections director for Secretary of State Mary Herrera. “It’s an open file,” Sisneros told the Journal.

Salazar’s attorney, Rudy Martin, has accused King’s office of sweeping the allegations under the rug. Sisneros responded by saying, “For him to say we are not doing anything is not only wrong, it’s irresponsible.”

Both Martin and Sisneros say that Salazar has been interviewed by the AG’s office.

Salazar resigned back in February, but not before writing a critical letter accusing Herrera of soliciting money from firms that contract with the Secretary of State’s office and ordering employees to obtain petition signatures for her re-election campaign.

Herrera is running for a second term this November against Republican Dianna Duran. Sisneros suggested to the Journal that Salazar’s complaint could be motivated by support for Duran. Salazar told the Journal that while he would not vote for Herrera, he does not work for the Duran campaign.

For those with access to the Journal website, here is the entire story.

The confirmation of a probe from the Attorney General’s office comes one day after a strange day at the Roundhouse in which Herrera appeared at a news conference, called the allegations “blatantly false,” and then left without taking questions. Later in the day, she expounded somewhat on those remarks to the Santa Fe New Mexican and to Capitol Report New Mexico. You can see video of Herrera’s remarks here.

Susana Martinez, Republican candidate for governor of NM

Republican Susana Martinez has a 48-43 lead on Democratic candidate Diane Denish in a Rasmussen poll — the first major poll of the New Mexico gubernatorial race. In addition, when the number of voters who are leaning one way or the other is factored, Martinez’ lead increases to 51-44.

Here is the complete breakdown of the poll that was released late Thursday afternoon.

The Rasmussen people also did some polling on general political topics that show that New Mexicans have about the same degree of pessimism about the economy as the nation in general but that likely voters in the state have a better opinion of President Obama’s health care plan than the typical national voter does.

On Aug. 26, 1920, women were finally granted the right to vote in the United States.

Today, events across the country commemorate this event and today in Santa Fe, a rally in front of the Roundhouse sponsored by the Santa Fe Federated Republican Women marked the occasion.

I spoke to Marilyn Adams and Kathy Becker, who are part of the Santa Fe Madhatters, who give historic walking tours around town and portray such figures as Susan B. Anthony, Victoria Woodhull and Eleanor Roosevelt. They recount how Tennessee became the final state to ratify women’s suffrage and how a state legislator there cast the deciding vote after recalling that someone had placed a note in his pocket that morning:

NM Secretary of State Mary Herrera news conference, Aug. 26

The situation at the Secretary of State’s office keeps getting bizarre.

Today, New Mexico Secretary of State Mary Herrera called a news conference in which — reading from a prepared statement — she called the charges by members of her own staff of wrongdoing “blatantly false and ridiculous … thrown at the press like red meat in an election year.”

Herrera then left the podium without taking questions, prompting one reporter to ask Don Francisco Trujillo – the Deputy Secretary of State who stepped to the microphone — “So there are no questions at this press conference?”

But a couple hours later, Steve Terrell of the Santa Fe New Mexican and I caught up with Herrera in the rotunda of the Roundhouse and managed to get a few questions answered:

An attorney for two current employees of the Secretary of State alleges criminal activity in Herrera’s office. Lawyer Rudy Martin represents Manny Vildasol and James Flores who were recently put on administrative leave. Martin also represents former elections director A.J. Salazar, who left his job in March complaining about possible wrongdoings by Herrera.

On top of that, earlier this month Herrera filed a public information request for documents under the state Inspection of Public Record Act that looked at Sheryl Nichols, the chief deputy clerk of Los Alamos, who has made critical comments about Herrera in the media:

This is complicated so let’s give you a quick rundown:

• Earlier this month, KOB-TV in Albuquerque TV reported a charge that Herrera’s office computer was infected by a computer virus linked to pornographic websites
• Herrera makes a public records request targeting a number of Nichols’ e-mails
• Among the people on Nichols’ e-mail list is Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza (who considered running against Herrera in the Democractic primary), deputy clerk Denise Lamb and six of Herrera’s own staff members
• Among those six staff members is Manny Vildasol, who used a hidden video camera to tape computer personnel in Herrera’s office working on her laptop. Vildasol tells KOB-TV that Herrera is “covering up” anything deemed controversial in the Secretary of State’s Office
• Herrera blames Vildasol for being the first to bring a computer virus into her office’s system
• Vildasol and Flores are put on administrative leave
• Rudy Martin, a lawyer representing both Vildasol and Flores, said both men recently have talked to the FBI about what they see as wrongdoing in Herrera’s office. Martin said the real reason for putting the two on leave is retaliation for talking to the FBI. No comment from the FBI
• Attorney Martin also represents A.J. Salazar, who resigned from the SOS office in March, accusing Herrera of wrongdoing.
• On Thursday, Herrera announces that the state is investigating Vildasol and Flores. Herrera says she is not involved with the investigation

Got all that?

Sounds like a great place to work!

And reminds me of a great quote from baseball player Graig Nettles, talking about his time playing for the New York Yankees teams of 1977-78, surrounded by the likes of George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson:

“When I was a little boy, I wanted to be a baseball player and join the circus. With the Yankees I have accomplished both.”

Fat Joe, rapper and anti-violence advocate

This next story comes courtesy of blogger Doug Powers:

There’s going to be an anti-violence rally in New York City today (Aug. 25).

That’s good.

Among the people attending: Russell Simmons, former football star Michael Strahan and a number of rappers.

That’s okay.

Among the rappers is Fat Joe.

Fat Joe has a new mixtape out.

It’s entitled “I Want to Kill People, Vol. 1″

Really.

Think of Faith McKenna as a translator. Or a couples counselor. Or even as a referee.

The political consultant based in Santa Fe has advised political candidates from both the Republican and Democratic sides for more than 20 years. Earlier this year, she helped manage the campaign for Carl Trujillo, the first-time candidate from Nambé who shocked New Mexico political followers this past June by coming within 71 votes of knocking off one of the most powerful politicians in the state, Speaker of the House Ben Luján.

But McKenna is also drawing attention for her lectures. She has appeared recently before activists from both sides of the aisle, advising them on how to try to win over adversaries. Last week, she spoke to the Santa Fe Republican Party to give the GOP advice on how to communicate with liberals. And two nights ago, she addressed the Santa Fe Coffee Party,giving Democrats and progressives advice on how to effectively talk to conservatives.

Her advice can be blunt. She tells liberals to stop condescending and tells conservatives to stop being so rigid. But her most prominent message: while both sides share the same world, they each have their own worldview. And if you want to win people over (which is the whole idea behind politics), you have to stop preaching and start listening:

McKenna’s presentation runs for two hours and is based on a combination of practical political advice, sociology, anthropology, psychology, common sense and — surprise — good manners. I’m a skeptical reporter but I found her lecture incisive and persuasive. Check it out if you’re tough enough to have your assumptions challenged.

For more information, here’s Faith’s website.

The state budget crisis is like that old joke about the weather — everybody complains about it but nobody ever does anything about it.

Well, the state legislature has to do something about it because — unlike the federal government that can print more money and/or push the deficits off for another year — state governments actually have to balance their budgets to keep their fiscal heads above water.

Capitol Report New Mexico sent a letter to a dozen of the state’s most high-profile legislators, asking them for specific plans on how to either raise revenue or cut costs in face of the state’s deficit.

Three have responded. We’ve heard from Sen. John Arthur Smith (D-Deming) who suggested streamlining environmental rules to help the state’s copper industry, Rep. Keith Gardner (R-Chaves, Eddy, Lea, Roosevelt) who called for the elimination of redundant testing in public schools and today, we spoke to Sen. Tim Keller (D-Bernanlillo) who gets brownie points because he came up with not just one, but six specific ideas.

The proposal with the biggest bang for the buck comes from getting the state to switch from negotiated bids on state contracts to open, competitive bids. “Basically, now we negotiate a contract with our major health providers (Optimum, Molina, etc.) and because we don’t force firms to bid against each other we lose margin,” Keller wrote in an e-mail. “Estimates vary, but you could save something like 5-10 percent by going open bid. [S]ince our contracts are roughly $2.5 billion that means $250 million annually, [which] would double your savings figure in one move!”

Here’s Keller with more:

Here are Keller’s five other specific ideas:

1. Focus on real solutions instead of budgetary gimmicks — which has been done in the past to avoid tough decisions. This would include no short term plugs, non-reoccurring funding fixes (i.e., fancy financing, robbing funds, delaying maintenance, switching around completion dates to next fiscal year etc).

2. Make some government departments “profit centers” like most companies do. In concept, the governor requires departments to get a positive return on investment for budget dollars so they become “self funding.” For example the departments of tourism, economic development and cultural affairs should each bring in more money (in incremental tax dollars and fees) than they cost. This could also apply with licensing and regulations. Some government services are meant to cost money (health, education, etc.) but some are supposed to create jobs which should bring extra tax revenue so they pay for themselves. “This is a corporate idea that should have GOP cross-over appeal,” Keller says.

3. In terms of cutting fat in the area of state personnel, Keller sees the biggest abuse among non-exempt (or politically appointed) employees comes from “internal lobbyists” (legislative affairs people) and from the large number of public information officers (PIOs) in various divisions. “We don’t need 70-plus PIOs,” Keller says.

4. Reduce the state’s fleet of cars. “I think most state employees who have state cars would rather just have a per-diem reimbursement for their own vehicle,” Keller says, adding that by simply having employees drive their own cars it would save the state costs on maintenance and repair. Keller also suggests requiring that all state vehicles be hybrids, which could reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent.

5. Cut low outcome small programming funding. In English, this means targeting the estimated $500 million dollars in the state budget that goes to small programs that were approved back in the good old days when the state was flush with cash. Many of these programs are $75,000 per year contracts using only two or three people. Keller acknowledges that some of these programs are worth keeping, but many are “are not held accountable and no one but the administrating non-profit would notice if they disappeared.”

A leaner, more efficient state government. What a concept:

Or maybe the entire state could save up to 15 percent or more by switching to GEICO.

Rep. Harry Teague, (D) New Mexico

US Rep. Harry Teague (D-New Mexico) has had a rough year. 

He’s considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House.

He ran in 2008 as a champion of the little guy but six months ago, the companies he headed dropped health insurance for all 250 of its employees.  

He’s embroiled in a lawsuit that is demanding $2.7 million from his companies.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has listed Teague among 39 Democrats it has specifically targeted in an upcoming ad blitz to try to wrest control of the House.

And now it’s been estimated that he’s about $15 million in business. According to an article in Politico, a good deal of that lost business has come because Teague voted with Nancy Pelosi in favor of cap and trade legislation — something that does not go down well in Teague’s 2nd Congressional District where so many energy concerns hate cap and trade with the passion of a thousand red-hot suns:

Some local oil industry officials even targeted Teague’s company, which he’d built up from scratch into a multimillion-dollar business, marking him one of the richest members in Congress.

“Immediately, everybody quit using his businesses,” said Lance Wilbanks, the CEO of Wilbanks Trucking in Artesia, who said he thought it was “sleazy” that Teague’s company changed its name after the climate vote in attempt to hedge some of its losses.

Unfair or merely the cost of mixing business with politics? (See the growing boycott against Target for donating to a candidate in Minnesota who is against gay marriage.)

You can read the entire Politico story here.

BTW, in recent weeks, Politico has written a number of excellent stories about Teague’s race with Republic Steve Pearce — here, here and here.  Who knew that the Beltway cared about a little ole congressional race in southern New Mexico?