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.
Republican Party operatives from Texas have been training Albuquerque tea party activists as poll challengers for more than two weeks, GOP officials told The Independent Wednesday evening. The Democrats are training challengers of their own. But such “ballot security” efforts do more harm than good, a new study suggests, rarely catching fraudulent voting but frequently discouraging legitimate voters from casting ballots.
Out-of-state groups have conducted a shadow campaign in the 1st and 2nd Congressional District contests this year, dumping nearly $4 million to sway the outcome of the two races, records show. The tsunami of cash is part of a growing trend nationally in which outside groups swoop in to hot congressional race to run what are usually attack ads, pay for mass mailings or conduct surveys. And it has election and campaign finance reformers concerned.
The good government group Common Cause will honor University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna Atkeson with its Jack Taylor Award at the group’s annual luncheon Saturday, Oct. 16.
Atkeson earned the award for her “outstanding research expanding our…
The last opportunity for New Mexicans to register to vote is tomorrow, October 5. And beginning tomorrow, voters can go to their county clerk’s office, request an absentee ballot, and vote on the spot.
In anticipation of the next phase of…
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.
Democrat Diane Denish says she’ll appoint an independent ethics commission “on day one.” But Republican Susana Martinez says an ethics commission would amount to nothing more than window dressing.
Under the proposal creating a State Ethics Commission a person filing a complaint and then going public could face a $26,000 fine and a year in jail. A public official, on the other hand, found to have violated the public trust would face a censure or public reprimand. The House voted 49 to 15 to pass an ethics commission bill after a relatively short debate in which Democrats swatted away several amendments from Republicans to strengthen the bill.
A person filing an ethics complaint and then going public would face much harsher penalties than a public official found to have violated the public trust under a State Ethics Commission proposal the Senate Finance Committee passed Tuesday.
A bill that would have allowed people to register to vote at early voting sites and cast their ballot on the same day was left hanging late last night by a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary committee. It was…
Legislation that would allow a person to register to vote then immediately cast a ballot at early voting sites require that the registration info be entered into the state online voter database on the spot so that county clerks can verify the person isn’t registered and voting elsewhere in the same election.
House Bill 118, a measure that would prevent registered lobbyists, state contractors and agencies seeking subsidies from making contributions to state candidates, was tabled in committee Thursday, but supporters say it’s a temporary setback. The bill would also make nonprofits that…
On Wednesday, Jan. 27, The New Mexico Independent will host the second in a series of Legislature-related events at Rio Chama Steakhouse in Santa Fe. We’ll begin shortly after 6 p.m. with refreshments (the food is free, the booze…
While there are some kinks that still need to be worked out, advocates say, the mayor’s race showed the system does what it is intended to do–reduce the influence of special interest money on elections.
Tuesday marked the first time Albuquerque voters were required to show a photo ID at the polls, but despite fears, it did not appear to significantly impact voting.
Common Cause, a government watchdog group, is hosting a bipartisan panel of state legislators for a discussion of ethics reform this weekend. Panel members include state Sens. Sander Rue and Peter Wirth, and state Reps. Kathy McCoy and Eleanor Chavez.…
On Wednesday, Sept. 9 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could have a profound effect on campaign finance law, and today Common Cause, the government watchdog group, hosted a live Web chat on the subject.
Following the recent outrage expressed by some legislative leaders at the many scandals plaguing New Mexico, Common Cause is making a renewed push for ethics reform.
What’s the old line? Be careful what you ask for.
That thought must have crossed Gov. Bill Richardson‘s mind Thursday. His staff called a news conference at the Capitol to showcase the governor signing two ethics reform bills. One…
In an early morning letter, Common Cause New Mexico Executive Director Steve Allen lamented the fact that no ethics reform legislation was discussed “at all” in the state Senate Rules Committee Monday morning, and he speculated that it…
Former state lawmakers would need to wait a year after their terms end to return to the Roundhouse as a lobbyist under legislation that hurdled a Senate committee Friday. This week, the proposal will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Motion on a number of ethics reform proposals has finally begun in the Senate, and that has reform supporters saying there is reason for optimism despite the committee’s late start on the issue.
