The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

GOP hints that votes against tougher penalties for public corruption will be used against Democrats in November

A weekend vote on a bill that would toughen penalties for public corruption could have political consequences for those who opposed the legislation, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting.

From the newspaper:

“The House on Saturday voted 41-26 to pass House Bill 111, which would increase criminal penalties when a crime is committed by a public official. It also would mean that officials convicted of crimes – such as embezzlement, bribery and making false vouchers – could lose part of their state pensions and would not be allowed to become lobbyists.

“Not long after the two-hour debate on the bill, the state Republican Party emailed a news release with an all-capital-letters subject line that shouted: ‘TWENTY-SIX DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST ANTI-CORRUPTION BILL.’

“GOP Executive Director Bryan Watkins said in the release, ‘It appears some Democrats will run for re-election on the platform of giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and taxpayer-funded pensions to corrupt public officials. Republicans look forward to that debate.’

“The no votes included most of the Santa Fe area’s House delegation: House Speaker Ben Luján of Nambé, Rep. Luciano ‘Lucky’ Varela and Rep. Jim Trujillo.”

What’s the issue? From the newspaper:

“Both Varela and Trujillo said they were concerned that the bill would mean low-level state employees could be prosecuted. It could happen to any clerk who issued a check because he was ordered to by a corrupt boss, Varela said. ‘There’s nothing to protect him.’”

But the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, said this:

“‘If a janitor is ripping off $1,000 worth of supplies a month, why shouldn’t he be held to the same standards as a principal (engaged in similar crime)?’”

Read the full article here. You can also check out the legislation here and see how each member voted here.

Public Regulation Commissioner Doug Howe

Public Regulation Commissioner Doug Howe, whose appointment by Gov. Susana Martinez has been at the center of recent controversy because he’s gay, says it’s unfortunate that some are promoting “an agenda of intolerance and bigotry.”

However, Howe says, he won’t be distracted from doing his job.

Howe’s statement comes in response to an NMPolitics.net article about Martinez, a Republican, appointing him to office and the ensuing controversy. The article sparked anger among some social conservatives including Legacy Church’s Pastor Steve Smothermon, who told NMPolitics.net Martinez had broken a pledge to not “espouse the homosexual agenda.” In response, gay-rights activists held a protest in front of Smothermon’s church on Sunday.

Here’s Howe’s full statement:

“The media has run a number of stories recently concerning statements made by Rev. Steve Smothermon about Gov. Susana Martinez’s appointment of me to the interim position of commissioner for the 3rd District of the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). I am issuing this statement today as my first and last comments on Mr. Smothermon’s statements and the controversy that has enveloped them.

“Gov. Martinez has made it repeatedly clear that she chose the candidate for PRC on no other basis than ability to get the job done. I believe she correctly determined that given the condition that the PRC was in, it was important to fill the position as quickly as possible with a candidate who was highly qualified, experienced in regulation and could hit the ground running. I believe that the governor is to be commended for having put the interest of New Mexico ahead of political expediency.

“It is unfortunate that a small minority is using the governor’s PRC appointment process to promote an agenda of intolerance and bigotry. But I have no control over the actions of others and I will not be distracted by them. Job #1 for me is to focus on the important and complex issues in front of the PRC and, in the remainder of the year that I will serve on the commission, to put all of my efforts into leaving it a better institution with a brighter future than past.”

Howe has announced that he won’t seek re-election so he can instead focus on the job. He will leave office at the end of the year.

Support for Howe

Many in the public arena are expressing support for Howe and Martinez. State Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, last week thanked Martinez for “sticking to her guns,” the Albuquerque Journal reported. Egolf praised her for “resisting the small-minded comments of a hateful person.”

Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said it’s time to put matters such as Howe’s sexual orientation aside.

“Let the man do his business,” Democracy for New Mexico quoted Jennings as saying. “He is very qualified. … What matters is what is best for the State of New Mexico.”

And the Albuquerque Journal, on its editorial page, wrote that Martinez was “100 percent correct to place the value of a PRC commissioner on his or her qualifications.” The Journal highlighted Howe’s qualifications before making this point:

“And unlike two recent ex-commissioners, both of whom were in heterosexual marriages, he doesn’t have a felony record.”

Heather Wilson, left, and Greg Sowards

Heather Wilson has a half million dollars more than Greg Sowards and widespread support, but John Sanchez’s departure from the Republican U.S. Senate primary creates a narrow window of opportunity for Sowards.

The anti-Heather Wilson wing of the Republican Party cost her the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2008.

Wilson knows it, and she’s worked hard this time around to build support she didn’t have in 2008. That started the day she entered the 2012 race and announced the endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Bill Redmond, a leader among the state’s social conservatives.

Wilson has worked hard to win endorsements from across the GOP spectrum, with astonishing success. In January, N.M. House Minority Leader Tom Taylor of Farmington became the 20th state representative out of 33 Republicans to endorse Wilson.

More importantly, on Friday, State Sen. Bill Sharer of Farmington joined the rest of his caucus in endorsing her.

“Congresswoman Heather Wilson is the obvious choice for U.S. Senate,” Sharer said. “She has the experience and will be a solid voice for the people of New Mexico. I am happy to offer my endorsement. Heather has the knowledge of the issues, statesmanship and the right positions on critical issues facing our nation.”

The endorsement from one of the most socially conservative members of the Legislature is especially significant because it came 14 hours after NMPolitics.net broke the news that Lt. Gov. John Sanchez plans to end his Senate campaign.

Some of the last holdouts – those hoping for a credible option other than Wilson – appear ready to join the likely winner’s camp.

Sanchez’s departure creates an opening

There was an opportunity early on for a candidate to consolidate anti-Wilson support, but while Sanchez and Greg Sowards battled for that position, Wilson solidified and grew her base.

She’s been the obvious frontrunner all along and only grown stronger as time has passed, which is one of the reasons Sanchez’s campaign never gained traction.

But a two-person race between Wilson and Sowards could be interesting.

I’ve watched Sowards, a Las Cruces businessman and inventor, since 2008, when he ran, unsuccessfully, for the 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House.

I’ve always thought Sowards is an intriguing candidate with potential. He’s genuine, he’s quirky, he has unique ideas, and he’s a true believer. As the TEA Party has risen, Sowards has emerged with it as a homegrown candidate.

But Sowards has never been able to turn that potential into success. He received the support of only 1 percent of delegates at the preprimary convention in 2008. He went on to win 17 percent of the primary vote but lost the five-way race. He later lost a county commission race.

Now he’s the only anti-Wilson candidate in the Senate race. He has more than $600,000 to spend, if he chooses. And, in the last poll of the race, 39 percent of those surveyed said they were undecided or pledged support for a candidate who is no longer in the race.

In other words, Sanchez’s departure from the race creates an opening for Sowards. But the window is narrow. Sowards has to strike now.

Because Wilson is moving quickly. Sharer’s endorsement shows that.

Sowards gets aggressive

I don’t know whether Sowards can become a serious challenger to Wilson. He has almost entirely self-financed his campaign, so he hasn’t demonstrated that he has a base of support.

But he’s trying. Sowards has become much more aggressive in recent weeks, portraying himself as a conservative outsider and Wilson as a Washington insider with a not-so-conservative record. He appears to realize the urgency of the situation.

“Heather was unelectable in 2008. Nothing has changed on that score. She is a flawed candidate. Her vote for the TARP bailout has doomed her chances for victory in November,” Sowards said last week in a news release. “Voters in the primary are starting to realize that and want a candidate without the baggage Wilson has.”

He also attacked Wilson at a recent GOP event in San Miguel County. Check out this video, provided by the Democratic Party of New Mexico:

Wilson is in an enviable position

I’m no fan of negative campaigning, but candidates sometimes use it because they believe it’s the only path to victory. The last poll had Wilson above 50 percent. Sowards won’t win without pulling support away from her.

And he has to do it now. If he doesn’t display an impressive level of support at next month’s preprimary convention, the race will be over.

Sowards isn’t likely to succeed. Wilson has half a million dollars more than Sowards, she has demonstrated widespread support by raising all of her cash from outside sources, and she has a long, long, long list of endorsements.

But Sanchez’s departure from the race creates an opening for Sowards. If he wants to seriously pursue his long-shot chance of beating Wilson, he has to start spending that $600,000 now. He has to win over preprimary delegates. He has to build a base of support and convince primary voters that he can be a credible general-election candidate.

Wilson remains in an enviable position. But it’s not quite time to call the race.

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District Judge Mike Murphy

Third Judicial District Judge Mike Murphy’s bribery trial had been scheduled for early February, but a judge has put the case on hold while the Court of Appeals considers whether to reinstate a misdemeanor charge.

In September, Judge Leslie Smith dropped the misdemeanor charge of violating the Governmental Conduct Act. The act states that it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $1,000. But Smith ruled that the portion under which Murphy is charged is not a criminal statute because it is too vague to make clear what conduct it prohibits.

Special prosecutor Matt Chandler has appealed, arguing that the Legislature intended that the statute, which requires that a public officer “conduct himself in a manner that justifies the confidence placed in him by the people, at all times maintaining the integrity and discharging ethically the high responsibilities of public service,” be punishable with prison time and a fine.

The Court of Appeals is currently considering the issue. In November, Smith put the trial on hold pending the appellate court’s decision.

Murphy currently faces felony charges stemming from two cases. His May indictment on four felony charges is based on allegations that he solicited a bribe from potential judicial applicant Beverly Singleman, told Judge Lisa Schultz to tell Singleman she needed to pay the bribe, and threatened to destroy Singleman’s reputation for telling others that he solicited a bribe from her.

Separate from that indictment, Murphy faces another felony charge for allegedly offering “several promises” to Schultz in December 2010 if she would agree to be the tie-breaking vote to make Douglas R. Driggers the chief district judge in Las Cruces.

Murphy has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

How quickly the Court of Appeals will act isn’t clear, but a note in Murphy’s District Court file states that attorneys are “advised to continue preparation for trial since the court anticipates setting a ‘compressed’ deadline and trial schedule upon receiving the ruling from the Court of Appeals.”

Last week, Jim Collie, a retired Presbyterian pastor who lives in Albuquerque, donated $750 to NMPolitics.net.

“You’ve done your homework, or better said, for me, most importantly, you seem to almost always ask the next question – you don’t accept at face value an explanation or answer that has little merit, or obscures more than it clarifies,” Collie said in explaining why he supports NMPolitics.net with his money.

Collie recalls local media in West Texas during his childhood developing local stories that put the news in context. That doesn’t happen as often today.

“With localized reporting and stories of merit lost to the national homogenizers, what you are doing is so on target and so tasty as to be of great value,” he said. “Would you be insulted if I compared what you do with news to what organic gardening means to vegetable growers – the taste and value well worth the extra trouble? In other words, for this New Mexican: You pass the taste/value test.”

Not offended at all. I love the comparison.

Jim and the others who donated last week gave a combined $1,880, or just over 10 percent of the $18,000 I’m trying to raise by April 30 so I can hire a reporter. I want to publicly thank them for helping NMPolitics.net expand.

But your donations don’t just help the site grow – they keep it going.

Heath Haussamen

NMPolitics.net is supported in part by advertising and syndication of content, but donations are essential to its survival. And while I’m highlighting today the large donation Collie made, any amount helps – even $10. Make a donation by clicking here.

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A screen shot of KOAT-TV’s coverage of Sunday’s protest.

Dozens protested outside Albuquerque’s Legacy Church on Sunday while, inside, Pastor Steve Smothermon defended comments he made to NMPolitics.net about the governor appointing a gay man to office.

A few dozen people protested in front of Legacy Church in Albuquerque on Sunday in response to comments Pastor Steve Smothermon recently made to NMPolitics.net about the governor appointing a gay man to office.

Meanwhile, Smothermon told his congregation inside the church that he would not apologize, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

And the situation sparked a lot of discussion online about the controversial issue.

NMPolitics.net was the first to report last month that Doug Howe, who Gov. Susana Martinez appointed to the Public Regulation Commission, is gay. Martinez’s spokesman said Howe was the most-qualified applicant for the vacancy created last year when Jerome Block Jr. pleaded guilty to felonies and resigned.

Smothermon told NMPolitics.net last month that Martinez “looked me in the eye personally and said she’s socially conservative… she wouldn’t espouse the homosexual agenda.” He said Howe’s appointment “goes against that.”

“These aren’t the people we voted for you to appoint. We voted for you to appoint people who think like we do,” he said, adding that he is “not against the human being, but the lifestyle and the political power that the homosexual agenda has today, as a lobbying agenda, that’s what I begin to come against.”

On Sunday, several dozen people, including Jesse Lopez of Get Equal New Mexico, stood outside the church holding signs, KOAT-TV in Albuquerque reported.

“For so many years we have sat back and we have done nothing. And today… we are taking all of that hate that that man has put out, and we are gonna send as much love as God calls us to, to send back on him,” Lopez was quoted by KOAT as saying.

One Legacy Church member, Michael Angel Gutierrez, told the protesters he had been gay for 25 years, but “because of the truth that God has revealed to me, I’m no longer a homosexual man.” KOAT reported that he and the protesters agreed to disagree.

Smothermon defends ‘right to hold a biblical worldview’

Steve Smothermon

On Sunday, Smothermon, speaking to his 20,000-member congregation, drew applause for saying he wouldn’t apologize for insisting on “our right to hold a biblical world view,” the newspaper reported.

“Just like the mayor, if you campaign as a conservative, and you say you will govern as a conservative, I have an expectation when you say to me that you will do what you said, and hire and appoint people that are conservatives,” the Journal quoted Smothermon as saying.

“I’m just a pastor of a church in this state that believes that people ought to keep their word,” he said.

The sermon Smothermon gave Sunday isn’t yet online but will be posted at this link. I don’t know whether his comments about the situation will be included.

Smothermon has long been involved in politics. The Albuquerque Journal profiled him in December and highlighted his fights with several politicians, including battles with Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry over the signing of a proclamation supporting an annual gay-pride parade and someone Berry hired to work in his office.

Online debate ensues

Smothermon’s comments about Howe’s appointment and the ensuing protest sparked an online debate. Darren White, Albuquerque’s former public safety director and someone Smothermon has criticized in the past, tweeted that the pastor’s views are “repugnant.” He also tweeted that Get Equal New Mexico’s Lopez “is right about Smothermon. We are ALL God’s children. There is no compassion when you preach conversion.”

On Legacy Church’s Facebook page, parishioners and others expressed their support for Smothermon.

“Taking the bible literally seems like such a bad idea to people who refuse to do it. We all love you and appreciate you,” Rainny Fernandez wrote. “Legacy Church saves lives, but they never mention that do they? You know God is keeping score of all of your good work, and that’s all that matters in the end.”

“Protestors this morning outside of church baffled me. ‘God is Love’ The last year and a half Ive been goin to Legacy has been the best time of my life,” Justine Marie Otero wrote. “The love I have been shown at Legacy through the Word of God and his people has changed my life and saved me!!”

Karen Ruth wrote that “Satan is using these protesters” and “has convinced them that what they are doing is good.”

“You have taught us the Bible.. Not part, not some… BUT ALL…,” Ruth wrote. “We cannot choose what part to accept and what parts to just trash and decide God must have made a mistake…These people and groups are in fear… Satan is in fear because you are reaching the people…”

Meanwhile, on Lopez’s Facebook page, Brandon Aragon expressed support for the protest.

“I’m damn proud of what you all did,” he wrote. “Politics and churches just don’t mix…. and now I realize how sad it is that people would rather judge than accept that fact that a certain candidate is ‘qualified’ for their job!”

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

Republican John Sanchez raised just over $100,000 for his U.S. Senate campaign in the fourth quarter of 2011. His campaign also repaid him $100,000 for a loan he had previously made.

The disclosure of the fundraising and loan repayment comes in Sanchez’s fourth-quarter finance report, which his campaign filed on Jan. 31 but hasn’t been disclosed publicly until now. Sanchez told NMPolitics.net on Thursday that he didn’t know how much he raised in the fourth quarter.

According to his finance report, Sanchez raised just under $102,000 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. He spent just over $141,000. And he repaid about half of a $200,500 loan that he made to his campaign shortly after he joined the race in May.

His campaign ended 2011 with just under $110,000 in the bank.

You can view the summary pages from Sanchez’s fourth-quarter finance report here. The full report isn’t yet available on the FEC’s website.

As NMPolitics.net reported on Thursday, Sanchez has decided to drop out of the race to replace the retiring Jeff Bingaman in the Senate. It’s a report the Sanchez campaign denies, but NMPolitics.net stands by its article. NMPolitics.net doesn’t know when Sanchez will announce his decision.

The campaign never really got off the ground. Even before NMPolitics.net’s report, many suspected that Sanchez’s campaign was coming to an end. There had been little activity on his campaign website, Facebook page or Twitter account during the last three months of 2011 and January, and he missed many GOP events the other candidates attended.

Heath Haussamen

I joined host Bob Clark on 770 KKOB-AM on Friday to talk about budget negotiations and other happenings at the Roundhouse.

You can listen to the interview here:

If the player doesn’t display, click here to download the audio file.

Steve Smothermon

A gay-rights organization plans to protest on Sunday in front of Legacy Church in Albuquerque in response to comments Pastor Steve Smothermon made recently to NMPolitics.net.

KOAT-TV in Albuquerque has the goods on the protest. Watch the station’s report by clicking here.

Smothermon was complaining to NMPolitics.net about Gov. Susana Martinez appointing a gay man to the Public Regulation Commission.

“With a governor who looked me in the eye personally and said she’s socially conservative, she believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, who said she wouldn’t espouse the homosexual agenda, I think this goes against that,” Smothermon told NMPolitics.net. “… These aren’t the people we voted for you to appoint. We voted for you to appoint people who think like we do.”

Read the full NMPolitics.net article here.

Bruce Malott

There’s a new bribery allegation related to the investment scandal that rocked the administration of former Gov. Bill Richardson.

The Albuquerque Journal has the story:

“A former high-paid state investment adviser, who has admitted directing deals to benefit political players, received a $10,000 cash bribe from Anthony Correra, according to court documents filed Thursday.

“Saul Meyer, founding partner of Aldus Equity Advisors of Dallas, discussed receiving an envelope from Correra in a 2006 telephone conversation with his then-partner Matthew O’Reilly.”

A transcript of that phone conversation was filed in court Thursday as part of former Educational Retirement Board Chairman Bruce Malott’s lawsuit against Meyer, Correra and his son, and others accusing them of corruption and racketeering.

Read the full Journal article here.

This is the latest revelation in a scandal that’s been ongoing for more than two years – one that law enforcement is investigating. An audio recording that recently came out in another civil case related to the investment scandal included this quote from Saul Meyer:

“To think that Anthony (Correra) and Marc (Correra) don’t have a stranglehold over this thing is crazy. Because the governor runs this sh*t and they run the governor.”

The Correras were well-connected. Anthony was a close friend of and adviser to Richardson. His son, Marc, shared in at least $22 million in so-called “finder’s fees” paid by companies that won state investment contracts.

As for Meyer, he pleaded guilty in 2009 to felonies in New York related to an investment scandal there. In doing so, Meyer admitted to recommending ‘investments that were pushed on him by politically-connected individuals in New Mexico’ while Aldus was the investment adviser to New Mexico’s State Investment Council and Educational Retirement Board.

Richardson, of course, is apparently under investigation by at least two federal grand juries. One is focused on the investment deals.