New Mexicans have had enough
Susana Martinez
One of the main reasons I have decided to seek New Mexico’s governorship is because I, along with so many of you, am sick and tired of reading about scandal after scandal and instance after instance of corruption. As someone charged with not just upholding the law — but also enforcing it — I feel like the bad actors in state government have left a stain on our great state and completely lost sight of their responsibilities.
I was deeply troubled by the celebratory response the lieutenant governor issued when it became public that the Department of Justice would not prosecute the governor or his staff.
Diane Denish released a statement saying, “Assuming news reports are accurate this is good news for the people of New Mexico.”
Good news for the people of New Mexico or good news for Denish? The fact that there is a distinction between those two questions tells us how far state government has fallen.
Those currently in power in state government have made a huge mess. They have broken the law. They have abused the public trust. They have stolen, misused and abused taxpayer dollars and public funds. Overall, they have done a terrible job and, as a result, corruption runs rampant in Santa Fe and the people of New Mexico have lost faith in elected government.
Our state needs someone new to come in and fix what is so clearly broken. At every level in state government, whether it’s “leaders” in the Roundhouse being convicted of crimes, state officials being indicted for defrauding taxpayers or members of New Mexico’s executive branch being investigated for pay-to-play schemes, the corruption has overtaken the system, and the only option is change.
I will come to the governor’s office with a new agenda and perspective. I am the only candidate seeking the state’s highest elected office who has the experience of bringing corrupt politicians to justice. As district attorney in Doña Ana County, I authorized the prosecution of corrupt politicians, including a judge who was held to account for his actions.
The message that was sent was simple and straightforward: You break the law and you are held responsible. No politician is above the law or exempt from rules that govern the rest of the population. In fact, our elected officials should be held to a higher standard.
More open and transparent government
We serve as examples for our youth, and if we cannot conduct ourselves with dignity and truthfulness, how can we ask our youngsters to do so? As governor, I will re-establish a level of trust and respect for state government by finding the corruption and rooting it out.
I will make government more open and transparent and report to the people on a routine basis concerning the progress that is being achieved. My view on open government stands in contrast to that of Diane Denish. For example, Denish opposed opening legislative conference committees to the public, arguing in a 2001 editorial that, “…some aspects of politics, like sausage, are best made unseen if we’re to stomach the contents.”
I disagree with Denish, and share the belief of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who wrote, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
Now that she is running for governor, Denish is singing a different tune and claiming to be a champion of ethics reform. The public will have to weigh her self-serving campaign rhetoric against the overwhelming evidence of unethical behavior of the Richardson/Denish administration and determine whether her newfound positions are borne out of political convenience or true conviction. I look forward to having that debate.
I do believe good news is coming to New Mexico — and it will be in the form of executive leadership that has a proven history of taking on corruption and delivering a strong dose of justice to those who take advantage of our state’s citizens.
Martinez is a Republican candidate for governor.
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Thinker has it right. The woman with a legal degree and prosecutorial experience thinks that all problems are legal ones or can be treated best as if they were.
I wonder where she has been while The Bridge in Las Cruces operates like a clandestine oligarchy, making decisions for government bodies to implement and fund without public notice or citizen participation. The governor led a celebration here celebrating an early college high school which has never been discussed on its merits in any pubic forum; the LC School Board passed a motion after cursory discussion authorizing the Superintendent to enter into negotiations on this school, and he has since announced that construction will begin in the not distant future. No public notice, no documentation of the plusses, minuses, or costs; no analysis of purposes, plans, and prospects of success. Nothing. The sun may shine in New Mexico, but not on officials. Martinez accepts this form of private governance as something other than corruption of a democratic political system.
Susanna’s problem is that she lacks breadth of experience and exposure to ideas. She sees every issue through the lens of a District Attorney–as having a law enforcement or judicial solution.
For example, her recent column on “Education Reform” was focused on prosecuting kids and parents for truancy, with no mention of any thoughtful or substantive qualitative changes we need to make to improve our schools. (What’s the point of forcing kids to sit in classes when the test scores of those who DO attend are at the 39 percentile anyway? And how about the new report that says our teachers colleges are not training their students well enough?) Ethics reform? Insult the other side, and champion the misuse of the law to “Indict, Prosecute and Purge” people you have decided are guilty until they can prove themselves innocent. Not a graceful way to get people to warm up to “Sunshine”.
Our next Governor needs to have big vision, solid principles and ethics, and the ability to bring folks together to get things done–which requires having stepped outside of Dona Ana County once or twice in the past few years. To be honest, we’re not seeing ANYONE running who has proven that they have those qualities, but there is still time. It’s just not Susanna’s.
As sincere and hardworking a person as Susanna is, she either needs to start lower on the totem pole and gain some bigger experience, or stick with her day job–which, arguably, she does very well..
Well, she has a site for bad checks. So I guess that is her priority. It just seems she will be making corruption a major part of her platform but I guess it is just opportunism. Issue of the day.
Why would you need a special place to report corruption and wrong doing? Do we need a special place to report murderers? or how about shop lifters? or stalkers? You make no sense jbaca16. So is she supposed to do the AG’s and the state auditor job too??
P.S. I looked at her DA website and there isn’t even a place to report corruption and government wrong doing.
I wonder where Martinez was when the State Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and Dona Ana County developers were making sweetheart deals. Did she look the other way?
Go get ‘em Susana! You have my vote!