This one broke Friday and is a blockbuster. The audio tapes of the Governor bullying Santa Fe police dispatchers over complaints made about the noise coming from Martinez's late night/early morning holiday staff party at the posh El Dorado Hotel. The tapes and more are here and here.

It reveals the dark side of her personality that has been mostly concealed from the public but experienced by so many in the political community. There will be much more on this in the coming days. More in-depth coverage here.

Santa Fe police were dispatched to Gov. Susana Martinez’s hotel room at the Eldorado Hotel & Spa about 1:30 a.m. Sunday after a caller complained of loud noises emanating from the room and someone throwing bottles off the balcony.
Santa Fe County dispatchers on Friday released recordings of Martinez talking to dispatchers after the complaint was made. She insisted on knowing who made the complaint and telling dispatchers that police officers were not needed.
The governor said she and her disabled sister were in the room, along with six other people eating pizza. She said they were not making noise. If there was a disturbance in the room, she tells the dispatcher, it would have happened about six hours earlier, but does not provide further explanation in the recording.

Martinez's response here.

CLINTON TO NM

The presidential campaign will come to New Mexico next month in the form of former President Bill Clinton. Ex-ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez confirmed the January 9th high dollar fund-raising appearance in a note to fellow Clintonistas:

We'll have President Clinton in Albuquerque on January 9th (noonish).  I hope you can join us.  Tickets are $1,000 and $2,700.00 and we'll have our location shortly. 

Hillary Clinton made a fundraising appearance here earlier in the year at the home of former Ambassador Ed Romero The state's Dem prez primary here is not until June by which time the nomination is expected to have been settled. But the fund-raising will most certainly go on.

Bill Clinton was and remains a popular president here. He won it twice and he had close ties to legendary Dem Guv Bruce King as well as former Mayor Chavez. He recently made the peace with former NM Gov. Richardson who served in the Clinton cabinet but had a falling out when Hillary was running for president in 2008.

UNM'S BIG PICTURE

One of the big stories of 2016 and beyond will be the University of New Mexico undergoing wrenching, transformative change that won't end until the size of the venerable institution matches the state's no growth future. For evidence, look no further than the chaos and trepidation set off by a predicted revenue shortfall of only $3.5 million. It's utter confusion:

Provost Chaouki Abdallah. . .  told regents that the school’s job advertising software overstates what positions are actually open. They also said that for many positions that are open the duties are being handled by other staff. . . Abdallah said he has tried to split the open position duties among staff, then share the salary accordingly, but that doesn’t always happen. And, he said, sometimes, if a position is open and unfilled because of unqualified or unavailable candidates, the money set aside for that post is sometimes used for other expenses. 

You get dizzy just reading that wad of dysfunction. And what happens when the shortfall hits $10 million and more and enrollment keeps dropping? The years ahead for UNM will be the most challenging ever. . .

It was past due for longtime UNM Regent Jamie Koch to retire as he announced he will this week, but we suspect others to follow him to the exits as running UNM becomes more exasperating and divisive as the money fades away.

That new reality is already overwhelming the UNM Athletic Department which is dumbfounded as it watches attendance for Lobo basketball at the fabled UNM Pit crash to the floor. The director wonders aloud if it's due to the forlorn economy. How could that not be part of the reason? And a drop in enrollment and tuition increases don't help pack students into the Pit, either.

But it is bigger than that. Lobo basketball at its zenith was a mania that rode the state's secular growth wave of the last century.  It's just not that exciting anymore. The new reality is no growth and a new generation that has untold cheap entertainment options via technology.

And then there is the Pit itself, ridiculously renamed WisePies arena and looking like a senior citizen in need of dentures. The decision to remodel and not completely rebuild it with all the bells and whistles for the new century told today's 19 year olds all they needed to know.

And as UNM now faces more cutthroat competition for students, even the most ardent fans have given up on the dream of the Lobos being a consistent player in the NCAA tournament. Funny, that dream was pretty much unrealistic throughout the Lobo basketball boom, but that's when New Mexico was surfing on that mighty wave. That's when many things seemed improbable but unlike today not impossible.

PREGAME ACTION

Just a bit more than a month before the 2016 session of the NM Legislature convenes so we're starting to get some announcements. Here's one of interest:

ABQ Dem State Senator Mimi Stewart pre-filed a bill to extend the residential, commercial, and agricultural tax credit for solar installations. The ten percent tax credit for a solar installation is set to expire at the end of 2016. This bill extends the tax credit through 2024. “This is a jobs bill. There are more than 90 solar businesses in New Mexico employing thousands of people across the state. These jobs are homegrown and cannot be outsourced,” said Sen. Mimi Stewart. From 2012 to 2014, the number of jobs in the solar industry in New Mexico grew 45 percent, employing 1,600 people by the end of last year.

The tax credit extension is being sponsored in the State House by GOP Rep. Sarah Maestas Barnes.

LOOK AT THAT


The sunsets in New Mexico have been nothing short of spectacular in recent days. Former ABQ Journal reporter John Robertson, who lives in Placitas, posted this stunner on his twitter feed.

In trying to describe the impact of this latest breathtaking offering from Mother Nature, he deadpanned: "I give up."

And that's one reason why they call it "The Land of Enchantment."

That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.

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Sec. of State Winter

Wasn't it just in August that the NM Supreme Court upheld the city of ABQ's right to prohibit its employees from serving in elected positions? Sure was. Well, maybe the Supremes need to be asked about newly appointed GOP Secretary of State Brad Winter who is going to continue to serve as an ABQ city councilor even as he takes on the full-time $85,000 a year SOS post. One of our Legal Beagles sends us this from the ABQ City Charter:

Effective January 1, 1993, employees of the city are prohibited from holding an elective office of the State of New Mexico or any of its political subdivisions, except employees of the city on October 3, 1989, who on that date hold elective office of the State of New Mexico or any of its political subdivisions may thereafter hold and be elected to the same elective office while serving as a city employee.

Maybe they can argue that as an appointee to fill the Secretary of State vacancy left by the resignation of Dianna Duran, Winter does not hold "elective office?" Can they argue he isn't a city employee when he gets a $30,000 annual city paycheck for his council service?

So far we are getting blanket statements in the media that the attorneys say there is no problem with Winter holding the two elective positions, but reader Carmie Toulouse sends this except form the Constitution that raises questions:

Joe, I would guess that Winter has not read the Constitution of the State of New Mexico thoroughly. Article V, section 1 defines the Executive Branch of State Government as "governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general and commissioner of public lands" and then states, "The officers of the executive department, except the lieutenant governor, shall during their terms of office, reside and keep the public records, books, papers and seals of the office at the seat of government."

It seems to me, while this section is ignored by some, it would behoove Winter to not publicly flout it so blatantly. His job should be to restore integrity to his new office rather than violate a condition of the State Constitution, especially to increase his income.

The Santa Fe residency requirement has been loosely interpreted over the years.

And then there are the Alligators, always looking for the humorous in any situation. One of them comes with this rib tickler:

I assume at this point that Brad Winter is the leading candidate to replace Jamie Koch on the UNM Board of Regents, right? I mean, why not? He's already a triple-dipper, (SOS salary, ABQ City Council Salary and a big education retirement pension). Why not just make it an even four and get the quadruple-dip going?

Aah, the quadruple dip. If Brad could do that it would be a bigger feat than that pole vaulting record he set back in the day when he attended ABQ's Highland High. . .

A BLUE CHRISTMAS

Meanwhile, the debate was hot on social media Wednesday as ex-SOS Duran threw in the towel and agreed not to challenge her plea bargain deal with the attorney general, meaning she will report to jail Friday to begin her 30 day sentence for campaign finance corruption convictions. Here's Michael Olivas, a law professor at the University of Houston:

“With the same resolve with which Ms. Duran swiftly accepted responsibility, she will accept the sentence of the court,” said her attorney??? The only thing swift here was her downfall after her perfidy became clearer, and the resolve by Judge Ellington in punishing her for her transgressions, lies, and crimes. Oh yes, and she was always swift about her restricting voting rights during her pathetic term as S of S. Even as she whined and cried her way through the hearings, she refused to acknowledge her felonious behavior and crimes. 

Tim Sienicki came with the rebuttal:

The general public is saying, "how can I steal hundreds of thousands and get away with 30 days in jail..." I fail to see how this is a lesson for other corrupt politicians in this state, of whom we suspect many. I'm sure as a law prof you will have a good reason, but the proof is that the general public does real prison time if they are not connected to the governor and other politicos.

LOBBYING HEADACHE

Viki Harrison

They complain of how they have to tighten their belts in this new austere era but the public sector always seeems to have plenaty of cash on hand for our friends in the lobbying corp:

New Mexico cities, counties, colleges and other public entities spent nearly $7.2 million in 2014 and 2015 to lobby the state and federal government. Two-thirds, or more than $4.8 million, went toward lobbying officials here in New Mexico compared to $2.35 million spent to lobby in Washington. . . 

That “makes my head hurt,” Viki Harrison, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, said when told the amount. “We’re paying for this with taxpayer money? If this was private money people were using, that would be one thing. But this is my taxes."

Sorry to hear about your head hurting, Viki. The only advice we have for a cure is to do what most New Mexicans do when it comes to Santa Fe--bury your head in the sand.

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(Moore, Journal)

The greed is good crowd can pop the New Year's champagne corks early. Freshly sworn in Republican Secretary of State Brad Winter shows how it's done. 

He says he will not only collect $85,000 a year for being SOS but apparently will be a part-time one.

He is refusing to give up his ABQ city council seat which pays him $30,000 a year. In addition, Winter, who had a career in public education, draws a hefty state pension that must be well into six figures, based in part on his salary as interim APS superintendent before he retired. Of course, the higher SOS salary will add to another  pension he will eventually get from his years in the PERA plan as an ABQ city councilor. Nice work, if you can get it. . .

When is enough, enough? When did becoming Secretary of State in a presidential election year--any year for that matter--and following one of the office's worst scandals in state history become a part-time "do-it-when-I-damn-well-feel-like-it" job? Didn't Dianna Duran do something similar as she fed her gambling addiction? Well, this looks like a greed addiction, while the Governor says Winter was supposedly brought on to restore stability and "integrity" to the office.

If the double-dealing is legal, what about it being ethical?

And Democratic City Councilor Ken Sanchez defending Winter keeping two jobs says one thing: You will never be Mayor of this city, Ken. Winter needs to resign his council seat and devote himself full-time to defending and advancing the voting rights of the people of this state. Meanwhile, what about the rights of Winter's constituents in his city council district. They are getting shortchanged.

You'll recall Winter also kept his council seat when he was named interim APS superintendent but that was not an elected, statewide office nor did he have to drive 60 miles to Santa Fe to do his job. Still, he shouldn't have been serving two masters then and most certainly should not now--not when public confidence in the SOS is at perhaps its lowest ebb ever.

The Governor's political machine is under the gun as the FBI investigates Martinez political adviser Jay McCleskey. While it is rightly called a machine, the fact is the circle is very tight. Maybe attorney Amy Bailey, a former ABQ city clerk now working at the SOS office and who insiders had pegged as a leading replacement for Duran, just wasn't showing enough fealty to McCleskey and company--the main qualification for any major state government job in New Mexico.

Whatever the case, it is sad to see the Secretary of State office's diminished and  treated like a job on the graveyard shift at Denny's, but then that's par for the course for this gang.

BLASTING BRAD

The state Dem Party took the Winter appointment as an opportunity to get off this blast:

Public documents clearly show that Winter – whom Martinez is tapping to oversee elections and government ethics in New Mexico – paid more than $13,000 to Martinez political consultant Jay McCleskey, who is currently under federal investigation for campaign fundraising irregularities and is known to have set up shell companies to effectively launder money to his business. “We are deeply concerned that Gov. Martinez has appointed to be our state's elections watchdog a man who has clear and direct ties to scandal-ridden political consultant Jay McCleskey,” said Debra Haaland, Democratic Chairwoman. “How can Brad Winter possibly hope to clean up the Martinez Administration’s mess when he’s directly connected to the players in the scandals?”

BernCo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver will soon be off and running for the Dem nomination for Secretary of State. No other Dem candidates have yet surfaced. We'll also watch for R names as Winter has said he won't seek election to the post in 2016.

FROM FACEBOOK

I assume the logic is that since city council don't actually DO anything, keeping that job cannot possibly interfere with the OTHER job.....Pretty unassailable, actually.

AN ISIS LICENSE?

Reader Steve Crespin writes writes:

Duran

The sentencing of former Secretary of State Dianna Duran should remind our often insulated political community just how much anger  the public harbors toward politicians.

Duran's 30 day jail sentence for campaign finance corruption stemming from her gambling addiction was widely derided and denounced on social media. A typical comment went like this:

"So, they slapped her wrist, but not hard enough to make it jiggle."

Anger has been escalating in the past decade as the economy changes, political campaigns grow more vicious and as social media provides an immediate platform to vent rage. Ironically, the hostility--if not hatred--toward the political class has led not to an explosion in voting but an abandonment of political participation. Voting dives as rage rises. . .

SOS MANPOWER

And an out-of-the-blue choice is Gov. Martinez's pick to become the new Secretary of State to replace the disgraced Duran. KOB-TV confirmed that she will name ABQ Republican City Councilor Brad Winter to fill the post. He would be the first man in the modern era to serve in the position.

His appointment means a vacancy on the ABQ city council that will be filled by Mayor Berry and confirms speculation heard here during the October city council election that Winter--if re-elected--might not serve out his full four year term. (We're assuming Winter will leave the council. No official word on that yet.)

Winter will not seek election to the SOS post in '16,  the Governor's office said Tuesday morning.

For sure Winter will keep Martinez's political machine in good standing as he presides over the SOS office in the '16 election year. That's what we see as the main point of this appointment, not necessarily what happens after that. Winter and his attorney wife Nann Winter are members in good standing of the Machine. (Also, Winter's PERA retirement check will benefit from a year long stint at the $85,000 level as SOS. He already is retired with a state ERB pension from his years at APS).

Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver is expected to soon announce that she is a Dem candidate. Her party--with the exception of Republican Duran--has held the post since the 1930's.

THE AG AND DURAN

Attorney General Hector Balderas won some initial praise for bringing the Duran case forward, but he was caught behind the curve (and the public mood) with his soft prosecution.

Balderas

He said he was unable to stop Duran from getting her government pension despite her admission of guilt because the law was unclear (although that is disputed).  And his plea deal with Duran asked the judge not to give her jail time. Again, that was way behind the public's way of thinking. Duran ended up getting 30 days and still retains the right to drop the plea and take the case to trial to try to avoid time in the pokey.

Balderas says his office saved "tremendous taxpayers resources" because his actions avoided impeachment proceedings against Duran in the Legislature. But after years of the Governor and her political machine accusing Democrats of being drenched in corruption, foregoing impeachment proceedings against Republican Duran is looking like a costly political mistake. It made it much easier for Gov. Martinez to separate herself from the embarrassment of Duran, not to mention that impeachment and more punishment is what an outraged public wanted but that the AG either did not pick up on or ignored.

Here's reader John with a sample of some of the kind of email we received:

Hector says on TV news that Dianna was convicted and will serve jail time, but he forgot to say his office did not ask for the jail time. If not for the judge she would be planning a vacation to "spend time with family/" The judge didn't give enough time in my opinion but at least it was more than the state asked for. Hector's career has gone as far as its gonna go. (Former AG)Gary King would have done a better job even at his slow pace. 

Now the chess game continues with Balderas. He still has on his desk two hot potatoes placed there by State Auditor Tim Keller--the shady deal cut with the Taser corporation by former APD Chief Ray Schulz and the investigation of the taxation and revenue secretary for alleged favoritism. What will he do with those?

And then there's the potentially explosive corruption probe by a federal grand jury of the Governor's chief political adviser Jay McCleskey. If that erupts, will Balderas simply watch from the bleacher seats?

The Guv's machine has pretty much marched through this state, leaving much carnage in its wake. Second terms have a way of sorting out what legal and ethical barriers were breached in that kind of rampage. The stinky stuff is already surfacing. After watching the Duran case play out the question is whether Attorney General Balderas will continue to hold his nose to stifle the stench or put his gloves on and take out the garbage.

OPERATION LILLY

Reader Joe Barlela writes of Gov. Martinez's program to combat road rage, known as "Operation Lilly":

Joe, What Gov. Martinez should be doing for all the citizens is moving heaven and earth to get an adequate amount of police officers on the street to stop the rampant crime and road rage in Albuquerque. Clearly, Mayor Berry cannot seem to fix the problem.

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(Hanson, Journal)

Gov. Martinez is back in front of the public in a big way with initiatives on DWI and road rage and keeping far, far away from the jobs and economic issues that exposes her to political danger.

Coverage of her announcements, as usual, was uncritical so we pick up the spear to provide the counterpoints.

Martinez announced “Operation Lilly," a multi-agency effort to target aggressive drivers" and named after 4 year old Lilly Garcia who lost her life to a road rage incident this year on Interstate 40 in the city. A reader writes:

"Operation Lilly" is yet another emotive photo-op allowing our Governor to again dodge her day job and play the PR-hound prosecutor-in-chief, where moralizing is obviously more to her liking than facing up to the complicated issues she pretended to take on when she ran for Governor. It is long past time for her to step up to her real responsibilities and start getting her picture taken actually talking with and listening to economists, public finance experts, job creation experts, tax and rev experts, oil and gas experts, poverty experts, child welfare experts, education experts, bipartisan legislators, etc. about how to salvage and restore our state. That's what governors do. That's what voters trusted her to do. 

And former Dem ABQ Mayor Jim Baca adds:

Do the math. There are maybe 400 APD  officers (maybe) available for patrol over three shifts over seven days, minus sick leave and vacation time. This is what the current city administration has presented us with. That is only 19 officers available citywide on any shift, not accounting for any officers out on sick leave or vacation (sometimes there are more police on duty on weekends or evenings). It is time to get rid of some of the full-time horse teams, swat teams, gang teams, etc and put them in patrol cars. This really is nothing but Susana and the Mayor fiddling again.

In Martinez's defense, if she can increase state police patrols on the city's Wild West freeways that could restore some sanity to the driving habits there.

THE REAL DEAL

Of course, road rage is a sidebar issue as shown in our continuing real deal biz coverage.

Socorro is getting absolutely hammered by the ongoing recession/stagnation/depression in large swaths of rural New Mexico. The Smith's there is now closing and that comes on the heels of the loss of a major auto dealership.

If you are state House Speaker Don Tripp, who represents the area, are you looking for some major capital outlay for that area to stimulate the economy? You should, unless your Republican austerity puts you in a strait jacket. Same for State Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith, a conservative Democrat, whose Luna County is now on the list of USA counties with the worst unemployment pictures. Will Luna get some love from the powerful chairman in the next legislative session?

In his latest op-ed northern Dem State Sen. Pete Campos reports how state government job vacancies are taking their toll:

The Behavioral Health Institute at Las Vegas is the only state-owned and -operated psychiatric hospital in New Mexico. Employees care for more than 300 New Mexico residents with a variety of needs, including adult and adolescent psychiatric care; life-long term care; competency evaluations and treatment for patients who have allegedly committed a felony; and outpatient restorative services. However, position vacancy rates are at nearly 30%, leaving the facility severely understaffed, and turnover is high. To maintain the required staff levels, employees can be mandated to work up to four 16-hour shifts in a week. Many employees work 72 hours a week.

As we've often blogged, much of New Mexico's fiscal problems of late have been brought about by tax cutting fever that is now morphing with the crash in oil prices to stall state revenues. In Oklahoma, another oil dependent state, the fallout is even worse:

Even as Oklahoma's economy was roaring thanks to an oil boom, Sarah Dougherty watched in disbelief as the Tulsa elementary school her children attend expanded class sizes and eliminated teachers because costly tax cuts and incentives ate up much of the surplus revenue. Republican Gov. Mary Fallin and the GOP-led Legislature pushed through the latest cut, a quarter-point reduction in the top income tax rate, two years ago when $100-a-barrel crude buoyed the state's coffers. While the average tax filer will save only about $85 a year under the cut taking effect Jan. 1, it comes at a $147 million price tag to the state. State services — including education — are feeling the pinch.

"It's insanity land," Dougherty said. "It's demoralizing to live here and see that education is not a priority. These are our children and these are our neighbors. They need to make some changes.

For New Mexico, with gas prices at the pump crashing,  this would seem the right time for a small increase in gas taxes to finance needed transportation and road improvements. But getting that through the Republican-controlled House has as much chance as Chuck Franco becoming a vegetarian.

GETTING IN

Debbie Sariñana

The candidacy announcements are starting to pile up.
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2015