I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The state’s long-awaited new Campaign Finance Information System is now up and running, so candidates will be required to submit electronic campaign finance disclosures as required by the Campaign Reporting Act, Secretary of State Mary Herrera pledged Monday morning.
“In the past, because of inefficiencies (with the database), I have been extremely generous with waivers,” Herrera said. “Now, a hardship will truly have to be a hardship.”
Herrera has already turned down numerous candidates’ requests for waivers, she said.
The newly integrated database allows online searches of campaign contribution disclosures and lobbyist information, replacing an older set of cumbersome and incomplete databases that fell victim to computer crashes last summer.
Herrera’s office had temporarily dedicated eight servers to accommodate an anticipated flood of approximately 100 candidates’ last-minute filings late afternoon Monday, just ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline for submission of the 2010 election season’s first campaign finance reports.
But at 4:07 p.m., spokesman James Flores sent out a media advisory saying candidates would be given an extension beyond 5 p.m. today.
“The agency will be working prolonged hours today and this evening is an effort to respond to all requests from candidates for assistance,” Flores said.
After today, a second server will provide backup in case the primary server crashes, IT Director Venkatesh Dhagumudi told The Independent.
“It will back up every four hours,” Dhagumudi said.
Herrera’s staff will spend the next week or so completing the task of entering past years’ reports into the new database, officials said.
New Mexico paid $176,500 for the system — a fraction of what other states have paid, Herrera said. Upgrading Colorado’s campaign finance reporting system cost nearly $1 million, for example, she said.
That was possible because the source code for the program was shared—without charge—by Washington State, Herrera said.
Albuquerque-based RealTimeSites will operate the system for one year, while Secretary of State’s office staff are trained to take over operation and maintenance of the system, State Elections Director Don Francisco Trujillo said.
“The original system was hard coded and any change, including changing the date from 2006 to 2008 on a form, cost upwards of $30,000,” Herrera said. “It was a very expensive way of doing business.”
The new system still requires unspecified upgrades, Herrera said, but her office must wait to approach the Legislature to fund those projects next fiscal year.
Asked by reporters whether Herrera had received complaints from candidates about her rejection of numerous waiver requests, she smiled and said that candidates have been invited to sit down with her staff to enter their data and learn how to use the system.
“We’ve been getting calls all last week and all weekend,” she said. “Our first call (Monday) morning was at 3:15 a.m.”
