Land Office Chief Legal Counsel Robert Stranahan (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)

Because Land Commissioner Pat Lyons is granted  ”complete control over the care, control, and disposition of state trust lands,” the Supreme Court should reject Attorney General Gary King’s premise that four controversial land swaps at Whites Peak were predetermined “shams,” attorneys representing the State Land Office say.

A month ago, the Supreme Court granted an emergency petition filed by King that effectively halted those swaps. Now justices will have to decide if Lyons’ proposals violate any laws or if they may continue as planned.

Land Office Chief Legal Counsel Robert Stranahan, who directed a team of contract attorneys and filed the Land Office’s response with the court last week, told NMPolitics.net that the “SLO is not a public auction house,” and that “the AG is “100 percent wrong on the law.”

“The Attorney General’s Office already has an opinion that says we can do land exchanges,” Stranahan said, referring to an opinion issued by former Attorney General Tom Udall.

“The commissioner is the one that decides what’s in the best interest of the trust – he has a fiduciary duty to the trust, and that’s what he’s exercising,” Stranahan said.

Stranahan said the commissioner’s authority is laid out in the state’s constitution, and “to suggest that we would need somehow to seek some other kind of guidance on how to exercise that authority is just improper.”

The Land Office has proposed trading about 11,000 acres of trust land around Whites Peak for about 9,600 acres of private land in an effort to consolidate the checkerboard area north of Ocate. The office says it is trying to clearly define state and private holdings and help eliminate problems with trespassing and littering on private lands.

Stranahan rejects the AG’s assertion that the bids were steered to predetermined parties.

“To suggest that we had negotiations with private parties is absolutely true. You bet we did. It’s completely within the province of the commissioner to do that,” Stranahan said. “If we are trying to fix this issue we need to go with the people who would potentially be bidders, but that doesn’t preclude someone else from bidding.”

He claims the SLO doesn’t even need to conduct a public auction if the end result of an exchange increases the value of the land.

‘The bidding process needs to start over’

Former game commissioner Oscar Simpson, who now works as a campaign coordinator for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, disagrees.

He told NMPolitics.net at a game commission meeting in Santa Fe last week “the bidding process needs to start over.” Simpson is upset because, he said, he doesn’t believe the SLO’s bid process was transparent or fair.

“It was a flawed process,” Simpson said. “The attorney general quite plainly asked the court to intervene because of the process in which the State Land Office proceeded.”

Families in the area,  hunters and sportsmen groups have protested the deals. They claim Lyons is giving away pristine wilderness area that has been hunted by generations of New Mexico families, and they fear the land will be closed off to them and the public by the private ranchers.

“Every aspect of what they did to inform the public and the game commission was devious,” Simpson said. “The attorney general looked at all the records and said it wasn’t a public process – that it was an inside deal. By the time anyone else found out it was too late.”

He told NMPolitics.net he thinks Lyons is “trying to get these land swaps pushed through” because it’s his final year in the land office.

“This is his last-ditch effort to appease his friends and political contributors,” Simpson said. “He’s certainly giving private ranchers a primo deal as far as big game parks, ranches and their land.”

Antiquated laws

Simpson said he thinks state laws that regulate land exchanges are antiquated, and the “process of public auctions has basically been prostituted.”

“In the past, we’ve lost about four or five million acres of state land. A lot of this has been under the cover, and the public hasn’t really benefited – especially all the trustees and beneficiaries.”

Hunting guide Albert Goake agrees.

“This land swap has nothing to do with boundaries, vandalism or poaching. It’s all about the money,” Goake told NMPolitics.net. “Those ranchers are going to make millions of dollars selling trespasser fees for the elk permits.”

Simpson claims big land owners are coming in from out of state and buying up ranches because of the value of wildlife, “especially where you have a lot of big game and bull elk.”

“The big game hunts, that run anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000, are worth a lot of money, and are worth a helluva of a lot more than cattle grazing, and this basically augments the value of the ranch, because you can get so many elk tags, and the resale value is tremendous,” Simpson said.

Cultural and historical value

On the same day that the SLO attorneys filed their response with the court, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) filed a brief in support of the Attorney General’s efforts. LULAC wants the justices to consider historic land grants given to Spanish settlers in the Whites Peak area.

In its brief, LULAC said, “The Whites Peak land and other land at issue here is highly likely to have originally been land held within community land grants.”

They claim land involved in the proposed exchange “is worth far more than the Land Commissioner asserts when its cultural and historic value is adequately taken into consideration.”

Attorney General spokesman Phil Sisneros told NMPolitics.net that the attorney general’s office is still reviewing the response filed with the Supreme Court by the SLO.

Peter St. Cyr is a contributor to this website and a freelance reporter in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He may be reached via email at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.

Albuquerque Tea Party forum

Four of five Republican gubernatorial candidates discussed a host of issues, including illegal immigration, on Saturday during an Albuquerque Tea Party forum in the Duke City.

While Janice Arnold-Jones, Doug Turner, Pete Domenici Jr. and Allen Weh essentially agreed that the border has to be secured as soon as possible, they disagreed on how to do it during the forum, which was attended by some 400 people.

The fifth candidate, Susana Martinez, did not participate because she was in El Paso with her father, who was admitted to the hospital late last week after having been diagnosed with cancer.

Weh and Domenici said they would put an end to New Mexico’s so-called sanctuary policies. They also said the want the federal government and the state’s congressional delegation to refocus on the “crisis” and finish a fence along the border.

Domenici went even further, saying he would use state police to deliver illegal immigrants to the border and to the federal immigration agencies.

But Turner, who said the challenge with immigration is “huge,” said he doesn’t want New Mexico to turn into a “police state.”

“I agree that we have to enforce existing laws, but I worry… that we’ll become a police state, which is certainly not something that we want to be,” Turner said. “If people are breaking laws, and they’re here illegally, then we need to enforce the laws, and get them back where they ought to be. But, I think… the last thing you want to see is police roving around the neighborhood knocking on doors and hauling people out of their homes.”

Domenici predicted that whatever action the next governor takes “won’t be pleasant.”

“We’ll end up back where we were with the federalist ideas, where states are going to do immigration,” Domenici said.

Weh agreed, and said, “I think as a border state the governor of New Mexico has an obligation to influence federal immigration policies.”

Domenici said he doesn’t believe Congress will focus on the issue “when states have sanctuary policies.” He said the longer governors allow the status quo, the longer Washington “won’t take action.”

“We cannot allow that to continue,” Domenici said. “Then the problems become worse, and it’s harder to fix.”

Weh told the crowd that if he’s elected, he will reverse the state’s sanctuary policy within 24 hours of being sworn in. He said he would support a guest worker program once the border is secure.

“We need a border so tight you know when an ant crosses it,” Weh said. “I realize that 90 percent of the people sneaking across the border are here to just to do harmless things, but it’s the other percentage that concerns me.”

Arnold-Jones reminded the crowd about the flow of drugs from Mexico into the state, but shocked many when she said, “We’ve had nuclear weapons from our nation go the other way.”

After the forum, she quickly clarified her comments with NMPolitics.net and said that she was referring to a 2007 GAO Report that revealed government inspectors had smuggled simulated nuclear weapons — dirty bombs — across the border in duffel bags, at three points, including one in New Mexico.

“The fact that… we have not secured our borders is wrong, it’s dangerous, and as governor it will stop,” Arnold-Jones said. “I don’t care what the rest of the nation is going to do. At this point, we have to secure our own borders. ”

Amnesty and guest-worker programs also a hot topic

All of the candidates at the forum said they oppose granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants already in the country illegally – except Arnold-Jones, who said she’s considering but hasn’t decided whether to propose an idea some would consider amnesty.

Arnold-Jones said she recognizes that “our nation was built on immigrants, but to suspend the rules for one and make a special rule for another… it’s not right.” But she said she’s considering an idea that would allow workers to stay and seek citizenship after one year, if they and their employers pay double tax.

Turner said he believes in the power of immigrants and supports a guest-worker program in the state.

“We need a national policy, and we need to work with our members of Congress to come up with a policy that works and that it’s humane,” Turner said.

Weh said he the laws cannot be “ignored” but said “there’s going go have to be a resolution and some compassion for some of the people, but that’s a federal issue and we’ll have our voice heard.”

Domenici admitted that, without amnesty, there will be “many hardship cases.”

“There will be many heartbreaking cases, but unless we do that, when people are here and deported, even though they have families, even though they have ties, when they are deported by our state police, when the sanctuary policy is gone, then that’s when the issue will start receiving more attention,” he said.

What sets each apart?

Following the forum, NMPolitics.net talked to each candidate about what they might have learned by listening to their opponents and what separates them from the field.

Weh:

Arnold-Jones:

Turner:

Domenici:

NMPolitics.net also recorded audio of the entire forum. To here it, click here or click the play button in this bar:

Update, 5:15 p.m.

Martinez Campaign Manager Adam Deguire said this about her beliefs about immigration:

“Susana Martinez believes that securing our borders starts with ending policies that encourage illegal immigration. That’s why Martinez opposes giving driver’s licenses and free college tuition scholarships to illegal immigrants. As a member of law enforcement, Martinez does not believe in sanctuary policies that prevent police officers from asking the immigration status of suspects in their custody during the course of a criminal investigation.

“In addition, Martinez has real experience dealing with immigration and border security issues. Her office prosecutes hundreds of cases related to border security every year and works with various law enforcement agencies to secure convictions against members of Mexico’s violent drug cartels.

“Martinez believes we are a nation of immigrants and supports legal immigration, but opposes amnesty.”

Steve Pearce (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

Former Republican Congressman Steve Pearce is touting a poll he commissioned that shows him with a slight lead over incumbent Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., in this year’s 2nd Congressional District race.

The poll has Pearce up by 4 percentage points – 48-44 percent. When considering only those surveyed who knew of both candidates, the lead widened to nine points – 51 percent to 42 percent.

The poll was conducted by the Tarrance Group, a Republican polling and research firm. It surveyed 401 likely voters between February 16-18, and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent, so Pearce’s lead is within the margin of error.

“These results prove what I have been hearing from New Mexicans as I travel the 2nd Congressional District,” Pearce said in a prepared statement. “New Mexicans believe the Teague- and the Pelosi-led Congress are on the wrong track, and their big government spending is a problem, not the solution.”

Harry Teague

Despite trailing Pearce, there is still good news for Teague in the poll.  According to National Journal’s Hotline On Call blog, Teauge continued to outperform the Democrat generic ballot, meaning that some voters who are turned off by the Democrat brand still feel some connection to the Southern New Mexico incumbent. The generic ballot has the Republican ahead 47 percent to 37 percent.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Executive Director Scott Forrester told NMPolitics.net Tuesday night that he is not surprised that voters recognize Pearce’s name.

“What is surprising is that Steve Pearce’s own poll says he has less support today than he had in the past four elections,”  Forrester said.  ”He’s barely at 48 percent today, but Congressman Pearce got nearly 60 percent of the vote in his three campaigns for the House, and even though he lost his Senate race by 22.7  percent, he won CD2 with 52 percent of the vote.”

Doug Turner

A week after Pete Domenici Jr. admitted to “recreational” marijuana and cocaine use decades ago, two more Republican gubernatorial candidates, Doug Turner and Janice Arnold-Jones, say they also tried marijuana years ago.

“I tried marijuana between high school and college,” Turner said in an e-mail sent via his campaign spokesman, Stephen Dinkel. Turner said he has never used any other illegal drug.

Arnold-Jones, who is on a fundraising trip in New Jersey, told NMPolitics.net today that she tried a marijuana cigarette once, with her boyfriend, in 1972 while she was attending UNM, but said she “didn’t like it.” She also said she bought a pack of cigarettes 30 years ago, but after smoking just nine, decided she didn’t like them either.

Janice Arnold-Jones

Republicans Allen Weh and Susana Martinez told NMPolitics.net, through their spokespeople, that they have never smoked marijuana or used any other illegal drug.

Diane Denish, the Democratic candidate for governor, was traveling and did not respond to a question about whether she’s ever tried illegal drugs in time for this posting.

Update, Feb. 24, 7:45 p.m.

NMPolitics.net checked with the Denish campaign again today. Communications Director Chris Cervini told us that the lieutenant governor has never smoke marijuana or used any other illegal drug.

Hector Balderas

State Auditor Hector Balderas announced today that the 2009 Albuquerque Public Schools financial audit contained 378 findings, the vast majority of which indicate “poor financial management and failure to adhere to internal controls in many of the district’s charter schools.”

“The recent audits of the Jemez Mountain and Mora School Districts have highlighted that sound fiscal management of public school funds must be a priority,” Balderas said in the release. “It’s critical that the state’s largest school district correct these troubling trends in order to prevent fraud and the inappropriate use of public funds.”

Of the 378 findings in the audit, which was performed by Moss Adams, more than 120 were identified in previous years but had not been corrected. Balderas called upon the governing bodies of APS and those charter schools identified by the audit to reduce risks to public school funds and work together to address the findings.

“In these difficult economic times, it’s imperative that school districts manage funds responsibly, and I will continue to highlight areas of concern,” Balderas said. “My office will continue to partner with APS and the district’s charter schools to strengthen their fiscal accountability.”

The charter schools named as having significant findings were Christine Duncan, The Learning Community, Academia de Lengua y Cultura, La Academia de Esperanza, La Resolana Leadership Academy, Corrales International and Albuquerque Talent Development. The findings included non-approved journal entries and overall issues relating to cash controls.

More specifically, for certain schools the findings cited included no receipts completed for cash received; no evidence of payroll registers having authorization or review sign offs; invoices not being approved before they were paid; cell phones that were paid for contractors without monitoring personal use; not following proper procurement procedures for competitive bidding on contracts; and no segregation of duties when preparing and depositing money.

The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Peter St. Cyr)

While lawmakers continue to debate how to reform the State Investment Council, the group’s board has announced it will distribute $720 million to public schools and other permanent fund beneficiaries in fiscal year 2011 — an $8 million increase over the current year.

After the 2008 market collapse and credit crisis, the state Land Grant Permanent Fund investment grew 21.2 percent in 2009 — outperforming its policy index by 4.5 percent.  That return ranked in the top third amoung its peers.

Investment returns were also in double digits for the Severance Tax Permanent Fund last year. It grew 19.8 percent — outperforming its benchmark by 4.4 percent. It ranked in the 43rd percentile among its peers in the same time period.

“These distributions show the overall vitality of the Permanent Funds, which continue to experience long-tterm growth, despite the economic downturn,” interim State Investment Officer Bob Jackson said in a news release. “This is the ultimate purpose of these trust dollars — to produce steady earnings that benefit New Mexico residents today, as well as future generations.”

Annual distributions are based on a 5-year rolling average of the state’s permanent endowment and are established by the state’s contitution.

Perfomance data and individual SIC manager performance for 2009 can be reviewed online.

Neri Holguin

A day after New Mexico senators rejected Neri Holguin’s nomination to the state Environmental Improvement Board, she says she’s “surprised and disappointed” by the 17 to 25 vote — especially since she’s been sitting on the board since last July.

And, at least three senators say the vote appears to be in some part political payback for Holguin’s campaign work in 2008.

She successfully managed victories for Eric Griego and Tim Keller, who defeated then-Sens. Shannon Robinson and James Taylor in hotly contested Democratic primary races.

The New Mexico Independent reports that during the Senate debate on her confirmation, Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, scolded his colleagues for objecting to Holguin’s appointment.

“Suddenly to develop scruples is disingenuous and incredibly hypocritical,” he said about concerns over possible conflicts of interest.

Griego also used the confirmation vote to express his support for webcasting, saying,  ”people need to know what happens up here. I’m learning a lot more about this body the more time I spend here.”

From left, Jeff Steinborn, Ray Powell, Nate Cote and Steve Fischmann

State Land Commissioner candidate Ray Powell picked up endorsements from three Doña Ana County lawmakers today.

Sen. Steve Fischmann and Reps. Jeff Steinborn and Nate Cote, all Democrats, said they will back Powell in the Democratic primary “because of his commitment to reforming the State Land Office and reestablishing an open and transparent administration.”

All three lawmakers proposed legislation to reform the State Land Office after a controversial land exchange on Las Cruces’ East Mesa.

“Ray Powell is the reform candidate,” Fischmann said. “He’s who I trust. It’s no question that we need him back at the Land Office.”

“The stakes are high. With Ray, he’ll bring much needed stability back to the land office,” Steinborn said. “He’s ethical, principled and knows how to work with communities to maximize the dollars returned to the land office and ultimately our schools.”

“When Ray Powell served as land commissioner, he was recognized for running one of the best land management agencies in the country,” Cote said. “Right now, the land office is in crisis, and we are desperately in need of leadership we can trust.”

Powell, a veterinarian who served as land commissioner from 1993-2002, is currently employed as a regional director for the Jane Goodall Institute for Wildlife Research Education and Conservation. He said the lawmakers who endorsed him “have been instrumental in exposing the behind-the-scene deals happening at the Land Office.”

“I’m eager to clean the place up. I look forward to working with these outstanding leaders to ensure real reform is enacted to protect our public lands and the significant revenues they generate for our public schools, universities and hospitals.”

Powell faces Santa Fe County Commissioners Harry Montoya and Mike Anaya and PRC Commissioner Sandy Jones in the Democratic primary.

Four Republicans are also running for the office – oilman Spiro Vassilopoulos; Jim Jackson, who took a leave of absence from the land office to campaign for the post; cattle rancher Matt Rush; and GOP activist Bob Cornelius.

Peter St. Cyr is a contributing writer to this site, and Chief Political Reporter at 770KKOB AM. He may be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com

Martin Heinrich

‘By focusing on job creation… we can re-energize our economy,’ Heinrich says

While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proposed last week trimming jobs legislation from $85 billion to $15 billion over 10 years, U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich was home – in his 1st Congressional District — touring a low-income housing construction site that will create or retain 100 jobs for workers who have been collecting unemployment for months.

Heinrich’s visit to NewLife Homes, an affordable housing project that will produce 48 units for low-income individuals with mental and physical disabilities, highlighted how money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is being used in New Mexico. ARRA was signed one year ago this week — on Feb. 17, 2009.

Heinrich told NMPolitics.net that he supports a provision in the jobs bill that would offer tax credits to employers who hire workers who have been unemployed for at least 60 days. He said it could prompt businesses to move forward with hiring.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ndOUpk1dFI[/youtube]

Heinrich said the final jobs bill should focus on “the most important priorities – creating good-paying jobs, helping the middle class and making targeted, responsible investments in our future.”

“It must demand transparency and accountability to guarantee all taxpayer money is used properly,” Heinrich said. “By focusing on job creation, energy independent and middle-class tax relief, we can reenergize our economy and make it work for everyone.”

Swinging a hammer again

Now, with the help of ARRA funds, Julian Gomez, a 36-year veteran of the construction industry, is wearing his hard hat again. He was a victim of the current economic downturn when Gerald Martin Construction company was told the NewLife Homes project had been put on hold.

Now the general contractor is re-hiring, and Gomez told NMPolitics.net that he is ready to swing his hammer again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TaKCQTQ75o[/youtube]

Peter St. Cyr is a contributing writer for NMPolitics.net and a political reporter at 770KKOB.com. He may be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.

Photo by alphabunny_photos/flickr.com

There were no surprises at the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office Tuesday, the official filing day for candidates who want to appear on the June and November ballots.

Now Secretary of State Mary Herrera, who is seeking re-election to a second term herself, said she will direct her staff to certify each candidate’s petitions and prepare for possible challenges.

Herrera said she anticipates several petition challenges, especially for some signatures collected by Republican candidates who announced their decisions to run within the last two weeks.

Despite their late announcements, Matt Chandler (attorney general), Spiro G. Vassilopoulos (state land commissioner), state Sen. Dianna Duran (secretary of state) and Jim Schoonover (state treasurer) collected enough signatures to file their petitions on Tuesday.

NMPolitics.net caught up with the secretary of state in Albuquerque on Tuesday to talk about the filing process.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsyn1UITPE[/youtube]

As expected, Diane Denish was the only Democratic candidate to file signatures for her party’s nomination for governor.

Claiming organization strength, Denish filed 10,200 signatures, including signatures from every New Mexico county.

“I am extremely grateful for this strong level of grassroots support from every corner of New Mexico,” Denish said.

All five announced candidates for the GOP gubernatorial nomination met the 5 p.m. deadline.

You can find the full list of candidates who filed today by clicking here.

Democrat candidates had to submit 2,162 signatures, while Republicans had to collect a minimum of 1,060.

The candidates now have until March 13 to prepare for their parties pre-primary nominating conventions. To secure a spot on the ballot without having to collect additional signatures, they must garner at least 20 percent of their parties’ delegate votes.

NMPolitics.net also spoke to Herrera about concerns she has about funding for the election. She says she’s short $489,000 for the primary election and $794,000 for the general election. Herrera said if lawmakers don’t approve funding during the current legislative session she’ll be forced to ask for another Board of Finance loan, which is not guaranteed.  Herrera told NMPolitics.net she is still paying off a $800,000 loan from the 2008 election cycle.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM3pMCRbCqQ[/youtube]

Peter St. Cyr is a contributing writer for NMPolitics.Net and a political reporter for 770KKOB.com. He can be reached at peter.stcyr@gmail.com.