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.
Democrat Diane Denish and Republican Susana Martinez disagree on many subjects. An independent ethics commission and whether New Mexico needs one is no exception.
Denish says a commission is overdue given the run of scandals that have sent several high-profile public officials to prison.
Martinez says an ethics commission would amount to nothing more than window dressing.
Their differing views were on display Sunday at the second gubernatorial debate at Congregation Albert in Albuquerque.
“On day one I’m going to appoint an independent ethics commission,” Denish told the crowd at the Albuquerque synagogue. “It’s shameful that the governor and the Legislature haven’t been able to get this done. This will be a commission with teeth. We need to get this done. The time for talk is past.”
Martinez swatted away the idea, telling the crowd that a commission is “merely politicians appointing other politicians to review the conduct of politicians.”
At the core of the two candidates’ disagreement is how well an independent ethics commission would function, if created.
More than 40 other states have ethics commissions—some more effective than others
For four years Gov. Bill Richardson and state lawmakers have wrestled over how to set up a state ethics commission, who would sit on it and who would appoint them. That an agreement has proved elusive is an understatement. The concept has proved deeply unpopular at the Capitol, and never even appeared as if it has a chance to pass.
“One thing we’ve found during this is that the devil is in the details,” said Steven Robert Allen, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause, a government watchdog group that has advocated for an ethics commission. “It’s definitely possible to set up an ethics commission that is not particularly effective. So Martinez has a point.”
But, Allen added, “a state ethics commission set up appropriately can be an effective tool to investigate claims against officials.”
Ethics commissions in other states such as Ohio and Connecticut have investigated and fined governors and other officials for ethical lapses, demonstrating that some panels have some bite and aren’t merely showpieces.
For a commission to have credibility in New Mexico, Allen said, it would have to be bi-partisan, meaning members from both political parties were appointed. It also would have to receive full funding and be empowered to issue subpoenas to conduct thorough investigations, he added.
Were New Mexico to create such a panel it would join 41 other states that already have some form of a commission, including many of its neighbors like Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Nevada, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Arizona, like New Mexico, does not have one.
Denish would use executive order to create commission; Martinez wants to use State Police
Denish’s campaign said Monday that her idea would be to create a non-partisan independent ethics commission by executive order on the first day she is governor.
“She would like for the governor, Legislature and the courts to have appointments to this commission,” Denish’s spokesman, Chris Cervini, said in an e-mail message to The Independent.
The commission would have subpoena power and be able to turn over findings from its investigations to the Attorney General for prosecution, Cervini said.
Martinez, on the other hand, would eschew any talk of a commission if she were elected governor. Instead she would establish a new division in the New Mexico State Police to help root out corruption “because we must treat it as a crime,” Martinez’s campaign manager Ryan Cangliosi said in an e-mail message to The Independent.
“It is a far too common occurrence these days to pick up a paper in the morning and read about another scandal, investigation and shady deal involving state government. We must put an end to the culture of corruption,” Cangliosi said in his e-mail.
Cangliosi didn’t answer whether Martinez would veto legislation creating an ethics commission if it made it to the governor’s desk.
2010 proposal could have punished whistleblowers; advocates ended up opposing it
Advocates for the state ethics commission in New Mexico started pushing for its creation in 2007 after former state treasurer Robert Vigil was convicted of attempted extortion. The push for a commission has only gotten louder as other public officials, including former state Senate President Manny Aragon, have gone to federal prison for corruption.
Despite the constant drumbeat of scandals, the concept has never gotten close to passing, thanks to a coalition of Democratic and Republican lawmakers who oppose the idea.
This year, advocates for a commission actively opposed the bill after lawmakers added language that would have punished a person who publicly spoke of their testimony before the commission more harshly than those who are found to have violated the public trust.
“When you have a complaint department you want to disconnect it from the people who are being complained about,” said Sen. Clint Harden, R-Clovis, explaining why he doesn’t like the commission idea. “I agree with Martinez, and I don’t think the fox should be guarding the henhouse.”
Harden said he’d be more open to discussing a concept not often mentioned at the Capitol — limiting how long legislative leaders can serve in their leadership positions.
“I’m not saying we should term limit the Speaker of the House or the president pro tem,” Harden said. “But those kind of issues should be on the table. I’m comfortable with the Senate leadership. But I just think it’s something we all should look at.
Using State Police would put all control under the Governor
Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, however, says New Mexico desperately needs an independent state ethics commission because of all the corruption that has given New Mexico a black eye. A commission would follow the best practices already set up in many other states.
Creating a new division within the State Police, as Martinez has proposed, would mean all decisions would come from the executive branch, McSorley said, making some skeptical of any prosecutions.
“She and the executive department want to control any investigations of ethical misdeeds,” McSorley said. “That’s basically what we’ve had with Bill Richardson. She is showing her contempt for best practices across the nation.”
