New Mexico Mercury

Remembering Pat Baca – and Albuquerque Past

They prayed for adequate support for education.  They prayed for the  immigrants and strangers among us.  They prayed for the quality of life in our community and for strong families.

And they prayed for Pat J. Baca who died a few weeks ago, one of the area’s true public servants.

As if there was no alternative, Pat dove into public service—as a teacher, a principal, a councilor, candidate and commissioner.  His acts touched thousands who walk our trails in the Elena Gallegos, who look at exhibits in the Albuquerque Museum, who cross the river at Montano and Paseo del Norte, or who still have their first book, given to them by their teacher or principal, Pat Baca...

Playing the “Ground Game” in the North Valley

Tomas Serna was something of a regular.  The 89-year old North-Valley resident called candidates, elected officials, ward heelers, volunteers who happened to come to his door whenever he had a thought—a thought about his benefits, his transportation problem, his health, his expired driver’s license or his daughter who was “no damn good.” He still believed politicians were there to help.  As a result, his telephone number was on every call list, and his doorbell regularly rung by campaign volunteers.  Now, in 2013, he was on the list of seniors who needed a ride to the polls to vote early in the local election.  The low turnout elections could teeter on two or three votes so Tomas was in high demand when a perky field worker knocked on his door...

“The Bully Pulpit” Holds Lessons for Our Time

I couldn’t put it down even though it was a heavy lift. For the past month I have been lugging around the 900-page Bully Pulpit by one of my heroes, Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Her account of Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism (the book’s subtitle) makes a great counterpart to today’s gilded age—and that’s why I read it.   One hundred years later—are there any lessons we can learn?

First, the amazing similarities—the near total control of giant corporations, the unchecked trend toward mergers and consolidation, a gap between the rich and the poor...

Political Science to the Rescue: A Scholar’s Look at the Status of Healthcare Reform

Next week is the deadline to sign up for health insurance under the nation’s new health care law and, once again, the rhetoric is heating up, both pro and con. Last week, Larry Jacobs, professor and chairman of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, entered these troubled waters here in New Mexico, bringing a fresh, analytical look at the implementation of the Affordable Care Act not just here, but throughout the country.

Jacobs spoke in Albuquerque, his presentation sponsored by UNM’s Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy and the Scholars Strategy Network...

Fiddling and Fighting While Rome Burns

The state's most vulnerable citizens bear the brunt of the latest behavioral health dustup; one of many in a troubled saga.

Heather Wilson: Caught in the revolving door

It’s been about a month since the news broke that federal inspectors had sanctioned Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs for their no-bid, no-deliverables contracts with former Congresswoman Heather Wilson. The Santa Fe Reporter has done an admirable job reporting on the story even providing a link to the Department of Energy’s Inspector General’s Report.  USA Today, the Washington Post and the independent watchdog group, POGO (Project on Government Oversight) have run national stories. But aside from one front page Albuquerque Journal story on June 12, we have not seen much from the local media here in her former congressional district. There’s been no follow up, no commentary or investigation of a scandal that raises questions about the ethics of former representatives (yes, even those considered saints)  profiting from their prior public service...

Lobbyists and their employers spent $488,296 to entertain, influence legislators in 2013

Here's some information I collected from the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office for NM Common Cause.  It's a small piece of the work I'm doing, along with interns Jarrett Hines-Kay and Jonas Armstrong, for a forthcoming Common Cause report on lobbyists.

New Mexico lobbyists and their employers spent $488,296.74 to influence, entertain and feed New Mexico legislators, according to reports filed since January with the Secretary of State’s Office.   The amount does not include campaign contributions, which are banned during the session.

The largest spenders among the lobbyists were...

Don’t Forget! Conservancy District Election this Tuesday June 4

It would be easy to give up on the Conservancy District (MRGCD)—the little known government agency that controls ditches and water policy in the Valley, but which has been tightly controlled by an inside group of good old boys for decades. Voting is restricted to property owners, and until recently, the Board has tried to defend its agricultural stakeholders at all costs, scheduling its elections when voter turnout will be low, restricting absentee ballot access, and empowering a small empire ruled by one highly paid engineer. In spite of the fact that North Valley residents who do not use ditch water to irrigate their fields pay the bulk of the assessments each year these powers-that-be have succeeded in defending the status quo...