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Holding the governor accountable
Heath Haussamen
Take that, Bill Richardson! The Albuquerque Journal has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the governor to end his flagrant disregard of the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act and release information about the 59 exempt employees he claims were laid off in January.
In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, the Journal alleged that the governor’s office has willfully failed to produce records it possesses and forward the Journal’s request for information about the firings to other agencies that possess related records as required by law.
You can read the lawsuit here.
The response from the governor’s office? As reported in the Journal on Friday, Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the lawsuit “appears to be nothing more than a vendetta” against the governor.
Right. Because the Albuquerque Journal hates the governor so much that it is willing to spend its money to kick him on his way out the door.
The reality
The reality is this: The attorney general has already told the governor he found it “implausible” that his office has no records about the layoffs and “unlikely” that he doesn’t know what other agencies possess such records.
But that’s exactly what the governor’s office has claimed. When I and other journalists requested all records the governor’s office possessed related to the layoffs earlier this year, all we were given were e-mails from journalists requesting copies of the records.
Notably, after the AG told the governor’s office to comply with the law, the governor’s office forwarded the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government’s request for the records to various state agencies, and the sunshine group has slowly been compiling a list of employees who were laid off.
But the governor’s office has continued to flaunt the law by failing to forward the requests from me, the Journal and other news outlets, and to provide any documents it possesses to FOG or anyone else. The Journal’s lawsuit is an attempt to force the governor to comply with the law, not a vendetta.
Checks and balances thwarted
There’s a deeper issue here than simply knowing the names of those who were laid off, and it’s detailed in the Journal’s lawsuit:
“By means of these (Inspection of Public Records Act) violations, the (governor’s office) has successfully thwarted the Plaintiff’s efforts to verify the claimed job eliminations or the claimed taxpayer savings, and it has made it impossible to conduct timely reporting on the impact that the announced terminations will have on the operation of government and the ability of state agencies to provide governmental services. The IPRA violations have also thwarted media inquiries concerning (1) the potential that some of the 59 ‘terminated’ employees were in fact not terminated because they subsequently became employed at other agencies or in other positions and (2) whether or not the (governor’s office) may have engaged in the creation of unnecessary patronage jobs in the early years of its administration.”
Notably, many lawmakers expressed frustration earlier this year that they were charged with crafting a state budget without being allowed access to detailed information about the layoffs.
In keeping that information secret for months, the governor’s office successfully thwarted any attempts by the Legislature or media to be a check on its power.
Sending a message
The reason this is so important is highlighted by FOG’s executive director, Sarah Welsh, in a blog posting on the sunshine group’s Web site:
“Regular citizens often can’t get any response at all from state agencies, let alone timely access to records. So imagine the trickle-down effect if the state’s most powerful office, the Office of the Governor, is allowed to openly flout our freedom-of-information law. For six months and counting, the Governor’s Office has been doing exactly that. They’re sending a strong message to the people of New Mexico that our right to know is meaningless and empty. It may be on the lawbooks, but we’ll have to go to court to enforce it. It’s a good thing that the Journal is willing to go there for us.”
Agreed. A court needs to make the governor’s office pay to deter such behavior in the future.
Thanks to the Journal for standing up to the governor. I hope the court awards the Journal attorney fees and the maximum $100-a-day in damages (which adds up to quite a bit over the six months the governor’s office has been in violation of the law).
That would send a message that refusing to allow public scrutiny of the public’s business won’t be tolerated in New Mexico.
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To Fremont, ched macquigg;
If a lawsuit is filed against a member of the elected, awards are paid from taxpayer money, unless the court directs that the Governor as an individual is liable. which rarely happens.
gofdisks if you think Denish will do anything better, you are smoking something that affects you brain. Same old song different saw. She had a chance to end most if not all the corruption over the last eight years but only spoke up on when it was high media. Like Richardson, she plays to the media, not to our music.
This state under the Dems will be the same no matter what the candidates tell you. If you doubt this look at the shaped our County Commission and City Council is in. They are not only inept, but have their hand out and open behind them everywhere they go. If you want honest , responsible government with “Denish the menace” you are living in a dream world. If you are that naive, maybe I can sell you the beech front property in Arizona, with a beautiful view of the forest behind.
Bill Richardson is a world class hostage negotiator. He is a brilliant negotiator bringing alternative energy jobs, research and technologies to the state of NM via multi-national negotiations. We still need the guy to help NM compete economically internationally. NM, like the rest of the country, is going through hard times and we can’t afford to antagonize state assets, like Richardson.
We all hope that Denish will clean house and put our most competent and up to date personnel to work. Meanwhile, I for one, hope that Richardson will not forget NM. Those that seek to burn bridges are being short sighted.
It was the same with the sexual harassment suits against David King. The taxpayers paid for the settlements (three, I think). Can we pass a stronger law to hold elected officials personally responsible for their illegal activities? We do have some accountability–two past treasurers and a formerly powerful legislator in jail. But that is actually more taxpayer money spent for their room and board.
The 59 exempt employees are likely only a part of Richardson’s “job-handouts”. No doubt there are many more appointees that were moved into regular, classified positions that are protected under the rules of the State Personnel Board. Thus, Bill continues to retain his influence in state government even after he’s gone. Good luck with finding out who these appointees are!
Attorney General Gary King “told the Gov’s Office to comply with the law.” The Gov’s office failed to do so. Now, the Albuquerque Journal is suing the Gov’s Office?
Why isn’t Gary King filing the suit on behalf of New Mexicans? Now, the Albuquerque Journal is doing the AG’s job… just add them to the list of other agencies trying to get answers for our state.
Maybe AG Gary King is going to handle this like he is “handling” the healthcare issue. Sit on the sidelines and “save the state money” since other attorneys already filed the lawsuit.
Replace AG King and stop making other agencies, such as a newspaper, get answers for the people!
A court needs to make the governor’s office pay to deter such behavior in the future.
Unfortunately, while the “governors office” may pay a fine, the fine bultimately comes from taxpayers pockets not the Governor; he will pay no penalty at all, making deterrence wistful thinking.
Perhaps the Restructuring Task Force will revisit public records, open meetings and webcasting, and offer recommendations for meaningful changes that really will hold recalcitrant politicians and public servants individually accountable for their failure to tell the truth to the people about the spending of power and resources that belong fundamentally to them.
Who is responsible for paying the $100/day fine, if assessed … the Governor (personally), or the citizens of the state?