Gordon Eden to Head DPS

Gov. -elect Susana Martinez has nominated a former U.S. Marshal and director of the state Motor Vehicles Division to be her Public Safety secretary.

Gordon Eden, Jr. served as U.S. marshal in New Mexico from 2002 until earlier this year.

Previously he was chief of the MVD during former Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration .

He's the second cabinet secretary named by Martinez, the first being Rick May, who she chose to run the Department of Finance & Administration.

All cabinet secretaries have to be ratified by the state Senate.

Balderas to Launch Audit SF County Sheriff's Dept.

State Auditor Hector Balderas announced this morning that he'll oversee a special audit of the Santa Fe County’s Sheriff’s Department and the county’s internal financial control process.

Balderas in a news release said the country had contacted him to ask for assistance following last week's resignation of  Sheriff Greg Solano. Solano admitted to selling county property -- bullet-proof vests and other items discarded by his department -- due to his personal financial problems.

“The alleged activity publicly disclosed by former Sheriff Solano is very troubling,” Balderas said. “My top priority is to assess the total loss of taxpayer dollars and prevent any further losses.”

Balderas said he's currently working with county officials to hire an independent audit firm, approved by the State Auditor, to conduct "special procedures related to the Sheriff’s Department and the County’s overall internal control structure"

Keller Calls For More Investment Reforms

State Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, who was one of the sponsors of bills to reform the troubled State Investment Council early this year, says the Legislature needs to "finish the job."

Thus he's proposing a new package of investment reforms, which is scheduled to be considered Wednesday by the Legislative Investment Oversight Committee.

Keller's top suggestion is removing the governor completely from the SIC. Last year Keller backed legislation that reduced the governor's influence on the board. But now that there's going to be a Republican governor I wonder how many GOP lawmakers will jump on this bandwagon.

Here's all of Keller's proposals from his news release this morning:

• Remove Governor from the SIC: The number one recommendation made by the Ennis Knupp research, which was completed in 2010, was to remove the Governor as chair of the SIC. SB 18 in 2010 attempted this but was amended at late stages in the legislative process to keep the Governor on the board. This bill would remove that seat entirely, yet would acknowledge and ratify the executive branch responsibility via several executive appointed seats and representation from the Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration. As previously mentioned, New Mexico is currently the only state in the country with a Governor personally residing on the state's investment fund board and directly responsible for investment decisions.

• Investment Fraud Accountability: Appealing provisions that give the Attorney General investigative authority for securities fraud. Currently the authority rests within the executive branch (inside the licensing and regulations department) creating a structural conflict of interest. This bill also broadens the threshold for prosecution of fraud (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law Art. 23-A (McKinney)), thus enabling the recovery of a percentage of the estimated $1.3 billion currently under litigation throughout the nation.

• Educational Retirement Board (ERB) and Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) Governance Reform: Enabling the implementation of several necessary governance and best practice changes from the 2009 Ennis Knupp study including: open meetings act, fiduciary duty, transparency and accountability measures. The bill would also address concerns regarding financial expertise by creating a new seat which would require the elected board member to posses a minimum of ten years of professional investing experience.

• Economic Targeted Investment Oversight: Proposing the establishment of a formal structure and performance metrics for all the Economic Targeted Investments (ETI) (NM private equity, film fund, etc) to be managed separately by the SIC. Utilizing the current statutory Private Investment Advisory committee (PIAC) structure, the newly established board (SIC PIAC) would be specifically responsible for effective oversight regarding ETI funding as well as any merit based recommendations presented to the SIC. In addition, the bill would separate performance tracking in order to prevent the co-mingling of ETIs with “endowment” funding.

• SBIC Governance Reform: The small business investment council (SBIC) is a subsidiary of the SIC that invests an estimated $45 million in New Mexico small businesses. This program has been successful in creating jobs and providing financing to small businesses around the state. However, there is a need to depoliticize the appointment of the SBIC board to ensure that investment principles are prioritized before politics. By incorporating appointees from the legislature the bill would diffuse any one person's potential influence over investment choices and would ensure altruistic decision making.

Roundhouse Roundup: The Political Book Bargain Bin

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
November 25, 2010

With Black Friday just one day away, now's the perfect time to be thinking about good deals on gifts for New Mexico political junkies.

One such item would be books by and about the outgoing governor. Here, there are bargains to be had.

Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life by Bill Richardson (with ghost writer Michael Rub) is the biography the governor published in 2005. The hardcover edition is selling on Amazon.com for $20.76, discounted 20 percent from the original price.

However, Amazon lists new copies of the book from other sellers for as low as 99 cents and used copies for as low as a penny.

Paperback copies of Between Worlds are also cheap. If you buy directly from Amazon, you'll be charged $4.40. But other sellers listed there are charging as little as $2 for a new copy and $1.75 for a used one.

Richardson's other book, Leading by Example, How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution, is selling in a hardcover version on Amazon for $4.96, down from the original price of $25.95. But you can find new and used copies from other sellers listed by Amazon for as little as one cent.

To be fair, the shelf life of books from unsuccessful presidential candidates is notoriously short.

You can get hardcover copies of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2004 book Living History, John McCain's Why Courage Matters (also 2004) or paperbacks of Howard Dean's 2003 Winning Back America for a penny on Amazon as well.

But commanding a higher price than either of Richardson's books at Amazon.com is a curious 2006 tome called Frozen Lightning: Bill Richardson's Strike on the Political Landscape of New Mexico by Santa Fe author Bill Althouse (and a thousand and one other New Mexicans, the cover says).

It's a hatchet job that would put Lizzie Borden to shame, calling the governor, among other things, a "tool for fascism" and "a politician driven to evil by his presidential aspirations." Altman blasts the governor in this book nearly as intensely as Richardson puffs himself up in his autobiography.

I wrote about Frozen Lightning in this column when it was first published.  (Click HERE, scroll down.)

Originally priced at $12.95, the paperback is available from sellers on Amazon for as low as $7.38 for a new copy and $6.78 for a used one.

Kumbaya: You probably couldn't find two political groups in New Mexico much further apart than the right-wing think-tank the Rio Grande Foundation and the left-wing activist group We Are New Mexico.

Last week I wrote about both groups offering solutions to the state's dire budget crisis. There wasn't much from one side that the other side could embrace. But on Wednesday, We Are New Mexico's Bruce Wetherbee, acting in the spirit of Thanksgiving, he said, contacted Rio Grande director Paul Gessing saying there might be at least one instance of common ground.

"We want to acknowledge and support the recent suggestion by you and the Rio Grande Foundation that '$19.5 million could be saved by diverting most non-violent offenders out of prisons and diverting from prison probationers and parolees who are revoked for technical violations of their supervisors,' " he wrote.

Wetherbee's letter said, "We hope people can utilize the holiday spirit to solve our problems by reasonable debate and negotiation instead of political posturing that has generally focused on the extremes and fostering distrust. We would welcome an opportunity to exchange ideas and see what we agree on, with the goal of presenting the new governor a package of 'stipulated' items or ideas that help solve our budget dilemma."

We'll see how far this goes.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Gentle Giant Tapped for Susana's Chief of Staff

Gov. Elect Susana Martinez has named House Republican Whip Keith Gardner, affectionately known by his colleagues as "The Gentle Giant,"  as her chief of staff.

Former Rep. Brian Moore of Clayton, who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor this year will be a deputy chief of staff as will Martinez's campaign manager Ryan Cangiolosi.

Here's the news release:


KEITH GARDNER, CHIEF OF STAFF

Keith Gardner serves in leadership in the New Mexico Legislature as minority whip in the House of Representatives, in addition to representing District 66 and the people of Chaves, Eddy, Lea and Roosevelt Counties.  Gardner is the managing partner of Sprint Sports Rehabilitation Clinic in Roswell where he has resided for the last 17 years.

RYAN CANGIOLOSI, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OVERSEEING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, CONSTITUENT SERVICES AND CABINET

Ryan Cangiolosi most recently served as director of personnel for the Governor-Elect Martinez Transition Committee.  Cangiolosi also served as campaign manager for Susana Martinez for Governor.  He has extensive business experience and is an officer in the United States Naval Reserve.  Cangiolosi has a BA and an MBA from the University of New Mexico.

BRIAN MOORE, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF AND LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR OVERSEEING POLICY AND CABINET

Brian Moore most recently served as director of policy planning for the Governor-Elect Martinez Transition Committee.  Moore is a business owner from Clayton and was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010.  He was a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2000-2008 serving on numerous committees including legislative finance and was a strong advocate for New Mexico’s rural communities.

JESSICA HERNANDEZ, GENERAL COUNSEL

Jessica Hernandez is a director in the litigation department in the Albuquerque office of Rodey, Dickason, Sloan Akin, & Robb, PA.  Hernandez specializes in cases involving product, premises and general liability matters.  She has served as a law clerk for the Honorable James O. Browning, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico and received recognition as the youngest member of the New Mexico State Bar in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

MATTHEW STACKPOLE, ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL

Matthew Stackpole most recently served as director of support and coordination for the Governor-Elect Martinez Transition Committee.  Stackpole served as deputy director of campaign operations for Susana Martinez for Governor.  Previously, he assisted Richard J. Berry’s campaign for Albuquerque mayor, as well as field operations for the Republican Party of New Mexico.  Stackpole graduated from the University of New Mexico Law School in May 2010. 

SCOTT DARNELL, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Scott Darnell, a Farmington native, served as the communications director for the Republican Party of New Mexico and worked as a weekly commentator on the KNME-TV political discussion program, “New Mexico in Focus.”  Darnell is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and received a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.  He is currently completing his work as a teaching fellow in the Department of Government at Harvard University.

MATT KENNICOTT, DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PLANNING

Matt Kennicott most recently served as director of legislative and constituent affairs for the Governor-Elect Martinez Transition Committee.  Kennicott was previously director of campaign operations for Susana Martinez for Governor.  He has served as the chief of staff for the House Republican Caucus in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

As The City Burns

And I thought STATE government was weird ... Here's some anonymous commentary about some recent city politics stories.

The video below is a (supposed) interview of City Councilor Matt Ortiz and my New Mexican colleague Tom Sharpe. I have to admire the uncanny resemblance to Sharpe and the precise recreation of his phony British accent. (Before I get in trouble here, I'm KIDDING!)

If you like this, there's more on YouTube

NM 3rd Party Marketer Pleads Guilty in NY Case.

A former Democratic Party consultant turned "third party marketer" for investments pled guilty today to fraud in New York.

From The New York Times.

"I intentionally engaged in fraud, deception (and) concealment," Henry "Hank" Morris said, his voice low but steady as he admitted being at the fulcrum of the pay-to-play scheme at the $125 billion retirement pool, one of the world's largest government pension funds.


Morris acknowledged using his ties to former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi to get millions of dollars in payouts for himself, to channel money to cronies and to solicit campaign contributions for Hevesi from firms seeking state business.

But neither The Times nor the New York Daily News, at least in initial stories on the plea, mentioned Morris' dealings in New Mexico, where a company he was afiliated with was paid 150,000 in third-party marketing fees secure a $20 million investment in a fund from our State Investment Council.

Morris has not been charged with any wrongdoing for his dealings with New Mexico.

Last year Saul Meyer, co-founder of Dallas-based Aldus Equity Partners, pled guilty in the New York pay-to-play scandal. Aldus was contracted as the adviser to the New Mexico SIC and this state's Educational Retirement Board.

In his plea statement to a New York court, Meyer said he recommended investments in New Mexico because of political pressures, saying, "contrary to my fiduciary duty, I ensured that Aldus recommended certain proposed investments that were pushed on me by politically connected individuals in New Mexico. I did this knowing that these politically connected individuals or their associates stood to benefit financially or politically from the investments and that the investments were not necessarily in the best economic interest of New Mexico."

Shortly after that statement, SIC director Gary Bland retired.

Speaker Lujan Hangs In ... At Least For Now

A version of this will be published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
November 21, 2010

A majority of state House Democrats voted Saturday to reject a challenge from a Las Cruces lawmaker and keep House Speaker Ben Lujan of Nambe in what’s been called the most powerful position in the state Legislature. But the battle might not be over.

Lujan’s challenger, Rep. Joe Cervantes , though he lost on Saturday, has not rejected the idea of forming a coalition with House Republicans to win the speaker’s post when the Legislature convenes Jan. 18.

And some of his supporters from southern New Mexico indicated Saturday they might support such a coalition.

“The voters told us they wanted change,” Cervantes told reporters following the near-four-hour caucus meeting behind closed doors at the state Capitol.

One change brought by this month’s election is a loss of eight Democrats in the House. There will be 37 Democrats and 33 Republicans in the chamber when the new Legislature starts next year .

Cervantes, a lawyer by profession, declined to say directly whether he’d pursue a coalition. Saturday, he said was a day to congratulate Lujan for his victory. But asked if he had closed the door to trying to build a coalition with the House Republicans, Cervantes said, “You never close the door to anything.”

A House member since 2001, Cervantes declined to tell reporters how many of the Democrats had voted for him Saturday. Caucus votes traditionally are kept secret.

As Cervantes was making his way out of the building, Lujan called to him and asked him to “keep in touch.”
Lujan said he believes it’s important for Democrats to keep an experienced leader in the speaker’s chair because of the state’s budget crisis and revenue shortfalls.

A former iron worker, Lujan was first elected to the House in 1974. He has been speaker since 2001.
Lujan, who was Gov. Bill Richardson’s most important ally in the Legislature, noted there will be a new Republican governor when Susana Martinez takes office. He said a leadership battle would create unnecessary rancor and animosity that would detract from doing important legislative work.

Lujan downplayed any party disunity. “As far as I could see today we, like a family, expressed some concerns,” he said. “To me it seemed like a family getting together and ironing things out.”

But two of Cervantes’ supporters said after the vote that building a coalition with Republicans might be the best course.

Rep. Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces — who is Cervantes’ aunt — was clearly disappointed that the insurgency had failed Saturday. “As usual, the North and Albuquerque controls everything,” she told reporters.

Indeed some have seen the Cervantes challenge as a possible power shift from the northern part of the state to the south. Gov.-elect Martinez also is from Las Cruces. However, Cervantes told a reporter last week that such talk has been overblown.

Garcia said she’d encourage Cervantes to continue his challenge. She said Cervantes had worked with Martinez. “He knows she is a bold leader, but he can be very bold himself.” Garcia said.

Rep. Andy Nunez of Hatch, who nominated Cervantes Saturday, said he probably would support forming a coalition with Republicans for Cervantes to win the speakership.

Like Cervantes, Nunez said the voters indicated they wanted change. He said he didn’t want the state House to be like the U.S. House of Representatives, which kept Nancy Pelosi as their leader despite major Democratic losses in the elections.

But it’s not certain whether Republicans are eager to back a Democrat for speaker in a coalition. Earlier this week House GOP Whip Keith Gardner of Roswell said that Republican House members have not yet committed to backing anyone for speaker. “We want to see what the options are,” he said.

Nunez, who is chairman of the House Water & Natural Resources Committee. Asked if he thought he could lose that chairmanship by backing Cervantes, he said, “It depends on who wins in January.”

Lujan, however, later told reporters he wouldn’t seek retribution against those who supported Cervantes.
Four years ago, after Cervantes backed an unsuccessful challenge against Lujan by Majority Floor Leader Kenny Martinez of Grants, Lujan removed Cervantes as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

The speaker appoints committee members and influences the outcome of legislation by deciding which bills are referred to which committees and which bills get floor hearings.

Besides the Speaker’s position, House Democrats voted to keep Kenny Martinez as majority floor leader and Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque as majority whip. Patricia Lundstrom of Gallup was elected caucus chairwoman. She replaces John Heaton of Carlsbad, who was defeated in the general election.

Lujan Insurance Gets a Place at Susana's Table

In case you were worried that the Manuel Lujan Insurance Agency was not keeping proper representation with Gov.-elect Susana Martinez's transition, fear no more.

According to a news release today, several honchos at that company -- started by former Republican Congressman and U.S. Secretary of Interior Manuel Lujan -- have been named to the board, including Lujan's brother and former state Republican Chairman Ed Lujan, who is now on the Tourism & Cultural Affairs search committee.

Other Lujan agency figures appointed today are Larry Lujan, president and chief executive officer of the company, ( Economic Development, Workforce Solutions & Transportation search committee), Stephen Byrd, co-owner of the company (Health, Human Services & Children Youth & Families search committee) and Joe Lujan, another co-owner, (General Services & Information Technology search committee).

Others appointed today are recent Republican Appeals Court candidate Ned Fuller (Economic Development, Workforce Solutions & Transportation search committee) and former PNM CEO Jerry Geist (General Services & Information Technology search committee).

Here's the complete news release:

Albuquerque – Gov.-elect Susana Martinez today announced additional members of agency review teams.  These individuals will join the already-established committees tasked with identifying potential cabinet secretaries and high-level officials to conduct reviews of each state department.  In addition to those previously named, these individuals will conduct a review of the cabinet departments prior to January 1, 2011 in order to find efficiencies and promote greater streamlining in state government.

The additional members of the agency review teams include:


TOURISM & CULTURAL AFFAIRS SEARCH COMMITTEE

Edward Lujan

Edward Lujan is the chairman of the board of Manuel Lujan Agencies, an insurance and consulting firm.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY & EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SEARCH COMMITTEE

Nathan Korn

Nathan Korn is a licensed attorney in New Mexico, New York and Connecticut, and is the owner of Kaufman’s West, a small business in Albuquerque. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION & HIGHER EDUCATION SEARCH COMMITTEE

Marjorie Shumaker

Marjorie Shumaker is a retired school teacher.

Dr. Ronald Shumaker

Dr. Ronald Shumaker is a retired professor emeritus of English.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS & TRANSPORTATION SEARCH COMMITTEE

Pat Broe

Pat Broe is the founder and chief executive officer of the Broe Group, a real estate asset management firm.

Ned Fuller

Ned Fuller is a lawyer who served as assistant director of the Worker’s Compensation Administration and administrative law judge.

Richard Luarkie

Richard Luarkie is the acting president of Laguna Construction Company, Inc.

Larry Lujan

Larry Lujan is the president and chief executive officer of Manuel Lujan Agencies, an insurance and consulting business.

Kevin Yearout

Kevin Yearout is the president and chief executive officer of Yearout Mechanical, Inc.  He has been in leadership and management roles in the construction industry for the last 20 years.

GENERAL SERVICES & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SEARCH COMMITTEE

Jerry Geist

Jerry Geist is a retired chief executive officer of PNM.  He currently is the chairman of Santa Fe Center Enterprises, an investment company.

Mark Jarmie

Mark Jarmie is an Albuquerque attorney in private practice.  He is a former federal and state prosecutor.

Joe Lujan

Joe Lujan is the co-owner of Manuel Lujan Agencies and vice president of sales.

Mike Turk

Mike Turk is the vice president of industry grassroots for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).

Robert Michael Unthank

Robert Michael Unthank retired in 1991 after 30 years in the construction industry, and served in both the King and Johnson Administrations.  He now serves as an independent management consultant.

HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES & CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES SEARCH COMMITTEE

Stephen Byrd

Stephen Byrd is co-owner of Manuel Lujan Agencies and vice president of the Employee Benefits Department.

Chris Collins

Chris Collins is an attorney at the Barnett Law Firm in Albuquerque.

Mary Merrell

Mary Merrell is the co-owner and clinical operations director of Ambercare Home Health, Ambercare Hospice and Ambercare Medical Supply Companies.

UPDATE: The spelling of Manuel Lujan's name has been corrected.

Will Bingaman Retire?

Well, Politico said he's seriously thinking about not seeking re-election in 2012.

Veteran Democrats such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico are weighing retirement. ...

You couldn't blame him for thinking about it. He's been in the Senate for nearly 30 now. I asked Bingaman's spokeswoman Jude McCartin whether her boss had been stocking up on fishing equipment lately. Here's what she said:

I’m not sure where they got the information (there’s no quote, like there was for Conrad). Sen. Bingaman doesn’t typically make a decision about whether he’ll run until late winter. But as I understand it, he did have a fund raising event a few weeks back and raised nearly $400,000.