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.
Secretary of State Mary Herrera
Five influential New Mexico newspapers have all endorsed Democratic State Auditor Hector Balderas, Treasurer James B. Lewis, and land commissioner candidate Ray Powell in next Tuesday’s elections.
The Albuquerque Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican, Taos News, Las Cruces Sun-News and Espanola-based Rio Grande SUN all agreed the three Democrats were the better candidates in their respective races.
But in a sharp rebuke of Democratic Secretary of State Mary Herrera (whose office will announce next Tuesday’s election results) four of the five papers also backed former Otero County clerk and state Sen. Diana Duran, Herrera’s Republican challenger.
Herrera’s office has been beset by allegations of mismanagement and controversial firings in recent months.
The Rio Grande SUN’s endorsements for governor and secretary of state will appear in Thursday’s paper, editor Lou Mattei said Wednesday morning. The Sun, which recently broke several stories about allegations of mismanagement and corruption in Herrera’s office, will likely endorse Duran as well.
Endorsements for governor were evenly split between the four other papers, with the Taos News and New Mexican backing Democrat Diane Denish and the Albuquerque Journal and Las Cruces Sun-News endorsing Republican Susana Martinez.
Only the Santa Fe New Mexican and Taos News endorsed Gary King‘s reelection as N.M.’s attorney general.
“(King) isn’t willing to say a culture of corruption has developed here even as he investigates millions in missing voter education funds,” the Journal endorsement states. “Let’s face it: Pay-to-play has become a way of doing business, and New Mexico simply can not move forward with those blinders.”
Overall, the Albuquerque Journal — the state’s largest newspaper — appears out of step with the state’s other newspapers, with only 36 percent of its endorsements going to Democratic candidates, compared to an average 75 percent for the other four papers reviewed.
The Santa Fe New Mexican generally favored Democrats and the Albuquerque Journal favored Republicans — but the two papers reversed roles when it came to endorsements for Public Regulation Commission (PRC) District 4. The Journal endorsed Democrat and Gov. Bill Richardson-appointed Commissioner Theresa Becenti-Aguilar, while the New Mexican backed Gary Montoya, her Tea Party-affiliated Republican challenger.
The New Mexican dismissed Becenti-Aguilar as a “political appointee” and noted Montoya’s recent endorsement by the Northern Navajo Agency Council.
“Montoya brings a vast blue-collar experience in the very industries regulated by the PRC,” the New Mexican’s endorsement states.
The Journal, in contrast, urged voters to “keep (Becenti-Aguilar’s) commitment to honest, integrity and ethics” on the Commission.
Becenti-Aguilar has emphasized a commitment to consumer protection, even at a recent PNM-sponsored shareholders’ meeting. At the same meeting, Montoya questioned PRC regulation of the state’s energy monopolies and insurance companies as “micromanaging.”
PRC district 5 Democratic candidate Bill McCamley was endorsed by the Journal and Las Cruces Sun-News. Republican Patrick Lyons won the Journal’s endorsement for his PRC district 2 race against Stephanie DuBois.
The Las Cruces Sun-News inadvertently left DuBois’s name out of its voter guide, Editor Jim Lawitz confirmed Tuesday.
Balderas received one of the year’s most enthusiastic endorsements from the Rio Grande SUN.
“We have an almost $3.4 million theft in the Jemez Mountains School District,” editor R. Braiden Trapp’s endorsement of Balderas notes. “The city of Española has such poor or nonexistent financial record-keeping, auditors can’t form an official opinion and the city is behind in audits. Had Balderas not stepped in a year ago, we wouldn’t have an inkling of the financial condition of the city. Balderas has made huge strides in clamping down on schools, cities and counties performing their audits on time. It’s a gargantuan task.”
Opposition to proposed constitutional amendments
All five newspapers opposed proposed constitutional amendment 2, which would relax term limits on elected county officials, extending the current two four-year term limit to three terms, and proposed constitutional amendment 5, which would allow state lawmakers to be appointed to civil office.
Currently, legislators may not resign to seek appointment to civil office to prevent undue influence over the legislator by the appointing official, according to a Legislative Council Service’s analysis.
“That prohibition was put in place to prevent public corruption,” notes the Sun-News editorial urging voters to reject the amendment. “We are simply amazed that lawmakers would suggest voters should no longer have concerns in that regard.”
All five papers supported proposed constitutional amendment 1, which would establish college scholarships for N.M. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
The Rio Rancho Observer, Socorro-based El Defensor-Chiefton and several other newspapers across the state do not endorse candidates.
