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Republican state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque has set this year’s session of the Legislature on a blessedly public path by webcasting key legislative committee meetings live as she attends them.
She’s doing it, she says, because her constituents asked her to.
Unfortunately, Arnold-Jones’ effort to broadcast our elected officials as they make laws, cut deals and, um, sleep at the Roundhouse has been pegged as nothing short of civil disobedience by some New Mexico lawmakers.
In case you’re wondering, New Mexico is one of only five U.S. states that does not offer live legislative broadcasts on the Internet.
I caught up with (my new hero!) Arnold-Jones by phone last night after hours of trying to catch her. She was bursting with energy and excitement, even after a long day of fielding arrows from some of her colleagues.
She was particularly exhilarated, she said, at the public’s overwhelmingly positive response to her bold attempt to snatch the covers off the lawmaking process.
“ I was to my great delight today able to broadcast the capital outlay meeting. I know it’s not a lot of people’s favorite, but it’s a meeting that lets you really see what’s going in the state of New Mexico,” she said.
“An even bigger piece was broadcasting all of tax and revenue. During that webcast, the right thing happened, and it was kind of a hoot. (Constituents) were emailing me questions for me to ask! That has really been my experience, that when we open this up to people, they ask good questions, some of the things we haven’t thought of.”
Scrapping with legislators who oppose the cameras on principle or who thinks she flouted the rules to bring them in has NOT been fun, she told me.
“I didn’t think of it as a Republican or Democratic issue. There are a whole lot of Democrats who think it’s about time. There are a whole lot of Republicans who think so too. And there is a handful of leadership on both sides who don’t and it grieves me.”
The issue has frayed some crucial relationships, she said.
“I really adore the speaker (Ben Lujan), so the fact that he is angry with me makes me quite sad. He is very angry at me, and I just don’t like that,” she said. “And I feel bad for (state Rep.) Ed (Sandoval)…he’s been taken to task for saying certain things to me. The truth is we all have personal relationships here. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have to do the right thing – I do.”
I asked Arnold-Jones if she’s always been this passionate about transparency and holding legislators accountable.
The force of her answer made me feel like I was back in high school at some kind of surreal pro-government transparency prep rally.
“I have always lived my life this way, absolutely! This is the people’s government. I’ve always tried to make sure that the people are apprised of what’s going on,” she said. “That said, I never thought I would be called on to act in civil disobedience. Because that’s almost what this is. I don’t think I’ve broken any rules, but I’ve come pretty doggone close.”
Then she said something else you almost never hear a legislator say.
“The citizens are so smart – if you listen to them, they will tell you exactly what to fix. I get irritated when people say citizens don’t care and citizens don’t know. They do!”
She’s a very fit 57, but Arnold-Jones says she’s still getting used to the physical toll of being a one-woman CSPAN.
“I have to tell you that trying to focus on the legislative thing and running a webcam and being the cameraperson when I have no ability to pan the camera is tough. And schlepping the camera and all the gear? I’m getting faster and better at it.”
She’s had to learn on the fly.
“People do know I am attuned to technical things, but this was not part of my cadre of skills. Someone asked me yesterday if I know how to Twitter, and I said, “No, but I can learn!”
Arnold-Jones says she’ll be thrilled if a special subcommittee on webcasting decides to hand broadcasting responsibilities for the remaining session over to the Legislative Council Services, where she thinks it belongs.
But if they don’t, there is no question – she will keep doing it.
“I’m not going to stop doing this until it’s up. If I stop, then they can put it off for another three years.”
“Please!”
