Attorney General Gary King (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

Attorney General Gary King has returned part of a $15,000 campaign contribution some said violated the state’s cap on the size of political donations.

From the Albuquerque Journal:

“State Attorney General Gary King says he has returned $5,000 of a $15,000 campaign contribution from a New York City law firm, bringing King in clear compliance with new limits on the size of political donations.

“… While waiting for a committee hearing to begin Wednesday at the Legislature, King told me he returned $5,000 to the law firm just before the end of the year.

“He said he made the move after a discussion with Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, who sponsored the law that imposes the donation limits.

“The Democratic AG said Feldman told him it was her intent that the law apply to all campaign contributions after the general election in 2010, including donations of money to be used to pay off debt incurred before the election.”

Last year, King accepted the donation in spite of caps of $5,000 per election – once each per primary and general – because he was applying the donation to retiring debt from his 2010 campaign. He argued that that meant the law, which took effect upon completion of the 2010 election cycle, didn’t apply.

Secretary of State Dianna Duran was investigating the legality of the donation but has not announced any conclusion.

I was among those who criticized King for pushing the limits of the contribution-limit law:

“New Mexico was supposed to be done with an era in which voters had to consider whether large contributions were affecting the decisions of their elected officials. King’s office even stated, in the fiscal impact report for the bill that eventually became the new contribution limit law, that ‘placing limits on political contributions is the most effective vehicle for addressing the current ‘pay to play’ scandals.’

“Legalities aside, of all the statewide elected officials to not think about the appearance this donation would create, our top crime fighter, the man charged with rooting out corruption, the official who should be the most conscientious about leading by example on ethical issues, is doing the opposite.”

Later, in response to an inquiry from Duran’s office about the donation, King accused me of colluding with Republicans to deflect criticism away from the governor and onto him. As I wrote in another commentary, I took that as an attempt to damage my credibility and intimidate me into silence, and I stated that his red-herring allegation would not silence me.

Heath Haussamen

We needed Secretary of State Dianna Duran to lead a transparent probe of the voter rolls that included county clerks from both parties so we could know there was evidence to back up the conclusions and that partisanship wasn’t an issue. We didn’t need a snarky report we can’t trust.

There should be no doubt that electoral fraud can and does happen, at least occasionally, in New Mexico.

Two of the most recent examples come from Doña Ana County, where a former Sunland Park judge was sentenced to 18 months on probation in 2009 for fraudulently voting and registering as a candidate for judge, and where someone involved in the county GOP allegedly altered seven voter registration forms to change new voters’ party affiliation from “declined to state” to Republican.

There should also be no doubt that there are problems with New Mexico’s voter rolls. Secretary of State Dianna Duran knows it. County clerks from both parties know it.

There should be a bipartisan way to address these issues. Voters essentially charged Duran with leading such an effort when they elected her last year, making her the first Republican secretary of state in eight decades. Duran had the support of many Democrats, including some county clerks.

In electing Duran, voters sent a strong message that they’re tired of shenanigans in the Secretary of State’s Office and want integrity in their elections.

But instead of leading a bipartisan effort to address problems with the voter file, Duran has created division with a months-long investigation that lacked transparency and integrity. As a result, the likelihood of county clerks and legislators from both parties coming together to address issues with the voter rolls is lessened.

Withholding records

I’ve spent months chronicling the mess, so I’ll sum it up here only briefly. Duran appeared at a hearing on voter ID legislation in March claiming that her office had matched 117 voter registrations to people in the MVD foreign national database using names and dates of birth. She claimed to have evidence of 37 foreign nationals illegally voting in elections and said she still had thousands of registrations to check against Social Security records.

It was a bold claim that, if true, would reveal a serious problem with New Mexico’s voter rolls. I and others requested documents to back up the claim. My intent was to review the evidence so I could tell the public whether Duran was right.

But Duran and her office refused to release the records and, in doing so, violated the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act more than once.

The Taxation and Revenue Department, which includes MVD, also initially violated the public records act in its dealings with me, but later corrected the violation by releasing some records.

Duran in part blamed Attorney General Gary King for her secrecy, telling me his office advised her to withhold records and that, though she wanted to be “as transparent and open as we can… with certain advice from our attorney, we’re limited.”

Which is, of course, crap. Duran is an independent elected official who can do what she thinks is right regardless of King’s advice.

Duran’s office later confused her stance on the AG’s advice. As I wrote earlier this month, in a recent letter to the AG, Duran wrote that she’s been requesting guidance from his office since March on whether she can release records and has “still not received clear guidance as to such disclosure or non-disclosure.”

Did she blame King months ago to try to deflect criticism? What’s true? It’s impossible to tell.

More like a commentary than an investigative report

Earlier this month, Duran finally released her report detailing the results of the months-long investigation. It found that 19 N.M. voters might be foreign nationals. That’s in addition to the two who voluntarily reported their status as illegally registered voters earlier this year.

The document read more like a commentary than an investigative report. It tossed out a bunch of impressive numbers that may very well be accurate – 105 registered voters may not be U.S. citizens; 19 of them have voted in N.M. elections; 2,608 voting records use a Social Security number that’s assigned to two individuals; six use a Social Security number that’s assigned to three people; there are 641 dead people still on the voter rolls.

But the report included no supporting documentation. No evidence to back up its claims. Instead, the document took shots at Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver for not doing enough to address problems, even though the Democratic clerk forwarded 1,300 voter registration forms to law enforcement in 2008 because she suspected fraud or other problems with them.

The document also contained snarky language about anyone who might challenge it. Here’s an example:

“In this interim report… we have identified thousands of discrepancies, or potential opportunities for voting irregularity and fraud. We are confident that some will say that ‘it’s only a few thousand’, or that they will vigorously disparage the findings, and assert their strong ‘belief’ that the findings are unimportant. Again, we have no issue with those kinds of talking points, assertions, or attitudes. We expect them from political and partisan interests. We are simply not in that game. Our duty is to the people of New Mexico, their Constitution and their laws; not to parties, candidates, lobbies, special interest groups or political action committees.”

A wasted opportunity

The report makes a valid point: Some Democrats have said there’s not been one voter fraud conviction in the state’s history. Sen. Cisco McSorley is among those who have made such erroneous claims.

But Duran had the opportunity, coming off her impressive and bipartisan election, to unite elections officials from both parties behind a compromise to improve election integrity and make it difficult for the naysayers in the Legislature to win the day.

Instead, Duran has hidden evidence from county clerks and the public, attempted to deflect criticism onto the Democratic AG, taken shots at a Democratic county clerk, and, in her report, taken a tone that seems to be more about winning an argument than finding solutions.

That’s the most unfortunate part. Though technology has helped clerks and the secretary of state make dramatic improvements to New Mexico’s voter rolls in the last 10-15 years, it’s clear there are still problems with the system. We need solutions.

We needed Duran to lead a transparent investigation that included the county clerks – from both parties – throughout the entire process, so we could know there was evidence to back up the conclusions and that partisanship wasn’t an issue. We needed Duran to unite our state’s elections officials behind solutions so lawmakers would be pressured into acting.

We didn’t need a snarky report we can’t trust.

What a wasted opportunity.

Haussamen bio │ Commentary page │ Feed

Heath Haussamen

Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Hall says the media’s coverage of the scandal surrounding Jerome Block Jr. has been inappropriate. Contrary to what Hall thinks, the PRC needs more public scrutiny, not less – and the lack of examination of Hall’s background during last year’s election proves it.

Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Hall recently blasted the media for its coverage of the scandal surrounding one of his colleagues, Jerome Block Jr.

Hall criticized the media for not covering “good news” about the PRC and said Block “has not been charged with one thing at this point.”

“Now, there’s a lot of allegations. In this country you’re supposed to be presumed innocent until you’re proven guilty, but the press wants to prove you’re guilty first, and you’ve got to prove yourself innocent, and I don’t appreciate that,” Hall said, according to the Santa Fe Reporter.

It’s not really surprising that Hall, who’s had his own problems in the past and managed to dodge scrutiny during last year’s campaign, would apparently think the media shouldn’t report on potential abuses of taxpayer money and other issues at the scandal-plagued PRC. But it’s still disappointing.

Let me remind Hall of my 2009 column illustrating the reality that the PRC is a microcosm of New Mexico’s corrupt political system (read it here). More recently, the Albuquerque Journal put it this way on Tuesday in an editorial:

“Block is innocent until proven guilty, sure enough. Unfortunately, he’s just the latest in a long list of commissioners whose behavior has ranged from merely dubious to astonishingly criminal. One commissioner hired a convicted embezzler as his executive assistant. Another stuck taxpayers with an $840,000 settlement in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Still another got caught at a local airport carrying marijuana. And yet another bashed her husband’s alleged mistress over the head with a rock.

“Hall would do well to remember that many of these commissioners apparently saw nothing wrong with their behavior. The one with the embezzler on staff defended his hiring choice. The one carrying pot refused to resign. Even the one convicted of aggravated assault didn’t see any reason why she should step down from a job that pays $90,000 a year plus free gas and a car. It took the Supreme Court to toss her off the commission.”

Hall’s past problems

One could argue that Hall might need to be added to the list of commissioners who have engaged in problematic behavior. A news release from his Democratic opponent in last year’s election, Bill McCamley (which was posted by someone else in a comment on this site), highlighted those issues:

“• From 1983-1998 there were 14 tax liens placed on Mr. Hall and his construction company totaling $356,233.89.

“• 10 of these liens were for failure to pay Federal taxes, and 4 liens were for failure to pay State taxes.

“… • From 1983-1998, there were 7 liens placed on Mr. Hall by individuals, subcontractors, and the Ruidoso State Bank totaling $112,681.59 for failure to pay for completed contracted services.

“• Mr. Hall was sued multiple times from 1987-2009, including once for ‘Unpaid Labor,’ twice for ‘Breech of Contract’ and three times for ‘Debt and Money Due.’”

As McCamley pointed out, judgments came down against Hall in at least two cases, and he had to pay money to plaintiffs.

McCamley also made an interesting conflict-of-interest claim: Hall, a former legislator, voted in 1989 against a bill that implemented “misdemeanor and felony charges for contractors who accepted payment for construction and failed to pay owed money to suppliers.” Charges that might have applied to Hall’s own actions if the bill had become law?

I intended to ask Hall about those issues when I profiled his candidacy during the election, but he did not respond to my requests for an interview. Maybe I should have pushed the issue further, but I backed away from covering this race as aggressively as I do others because of a personal conflict: McCamley is my friend.

As a result, I didn’t scrutinize Hall’s past as much as I probably should have. And Hall’s past got almost no attention from any other media outlet.

Hall was essentially elected without public scrutiny. While two other candidates publicly attacked each other in the GOP primary, he cruised under the radar to victory. Then, in the general election, Hall refused to debate McCamley and refused to show up for a joint appearance at an editorial board meeting with the Las Cruces Sun-News.

A step up?

My point is that, contrary to what Hall appears to claim, the PRC needs even more public scrutiny, not less, and the lack of examination of Hall’s background during last year’s election proves it. The PRC has been and remains a cesspool. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any good elected officials and employees at the PRC (there are), but it means the agency has a culture of corruption. That may have once been acceptable in New Mexico, but it is no longer.

The Journal ended Tuesday’s editorial with this:

“If Commissioner Hall isn’t happy with the news, maybe he should take a careful look at what’s going on around him and get out in front of a campaign to clean up his shop.”

That’s probably not going to happen. Here’s what Hall told The New Mexico Independent last year about reforming the PRC:

“But Hall, a retired Ruidoso general contractor and former Republican state legislator, expressed skepticism that structural changes or training could correct a commissioner’s ethical lapses.

“Instead, commissioners must lead by example, he said.”

Oh yeah, there’s a great record of that on the PRC. Hall himself is off to a pretty awful start with his dodging of public debate and scrutiny during the election and his criticism of the media for doing its job now. In fact, he’s building a record of opposing transparency and accountability rather than welcoming it.

That, coupled with Hall’s past issues with taxes and lawsuits, should concern voters.

Some will say Hall is a step up from PRC members like Block, Carol Sloan and David King. Maybe that in and of itself illustrates how bad things are at the PRC.

Haussamen bio │ Commentary page │ Feed

Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

What I have learned in these months after the election is that my lifelong love affair with New Mexico, her people, her needs, and her politics won’t end. I promised to stick around and fight for our families and I intend to do so.

It’s not been a particular stellar period of my life. In a span of just eight months I lost both an election for governor of New Mexico and my prized bicycle.

Replacing the bike was easy. The new one is better, faster, and features an improved lock to foil the thieves who stole the first one. And when I pedal hard I can sometimes forget the need to decide what to do with the next four or more of my life when I had expected to be governing New Mexico.

Susana Martinez has a huge challenge on her hands. It is a time of soaring costs, declining revenue, stifling unemployment. Add impending redistricting and its opportunistic politics to the mixture and you have enough to spoil a girl’s day.

Do I think I could have done a better job handling these challenges? Of course I do. That’s why I ran for governor. It’s a moot point, however. Susana won the race, and it behooves me and every New Mexican to hope she does well.

The job of the lieutenant governor

It is stating the obvious to say I disagree sharply with most of the governor’s positions. More recently, I had to chuckle when I saw her narrow definition of the lieutenant governor’s job. She imposed strict limitations on Lt. Gov. John Sanchez in her apparent peeve over his announcing candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat in opposition to Heather Wilson, the Martinez favorite.

After eight years of sitting in the lieutenant governor chair, I can attest to the fact there is a lot more to the job than chairing the Senate and casting tie-breaking votes. If one cares to use the prestige and power of the position to make a difference in the lives of New Mexicans, the field is wide open – and you don’t need anyone’s permission to do it.

At least that’s how I saw it. I didn’t need or ask permission to focus on issues I deemed crucial to New Mexico, collaborating with advocates and legislators, building bipartisan support and getting things done. It was about getting into communities and listening – not talking – to find out what is important to New Mexicans.

That’s how we were able to pass and implement voluntary pre-K for 4-year-old children, get capital to thousands of small businesses, pass the Home Loan Protection Act, and pass the Sunshine Portal law to increase transparency.

Issues that need our attention

Early into her term, Governor Martinez has continued her tough talk and law enforcement focus and released a variety of executive orders to grab power as governors are prone to do. And we can all rest easy now that we have the notary publics under a watchful eye, dogs on restaurant patios legally, and a lieutenant governor with no responsibility.

But let’s face it: The issues that will make it possible for New Mexico and her families to succeed desperately need our attention. Among them:

• New jobs for New Mexicans. Incentivize and reward job creation and use our existing assets and strengths (technology, arts, culture, film, Labs, and human capitol to name a few) to target job creation. Support rural, location-neutral employment efforts and micro-lending for entrepreneurs.
• Workforce training to make our workers more competitive today and tomorrow. Focus on a three-pronged cooperative education strategy to produce a strong qualified workforce for the future and to advance and retrain the current workforce.
• Thoughtful education improvement that works for everyone, especially students. Find proven experts (not political consultants), and recommend investments that work. Stop finger-pointing and name-calling, which only delays the real work.
• Shoring up our fiscal health by looking for solutions including smarter tax policy, government reorganization, proposals that protect and revise retirement funds, reigning in health care costs, and emphasizing the need for fiscal expertise in government sector.
• Dealing with our environmental challenges for air, land and water. The most glaring example: water protection and supply for now and into the future.

Sure, there are more, but I’m willing to wager almost everything falls in one of those categories. How to do it? For starters, move away from the “us-vs.-them” approach that pervades our politics. Find long-term solutions, not just regulatory changes to be set aside by the next administration.

What I’ve learned

What I have learned in these months after the election is that my lifelong love affair with New Mexico, her people, her needs, and her politics won’t end. I promised to stick around and fight for our families and I intend to do so. Just how that will play out, perhaps in seeking another office or just participating in the public debate, is to be determined.

Maybe it will become clear during my next bike ride. Many miles to go, much to accomplish.

Diane D. Denish was lieutenant governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2010.

Jon Barela

Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2010, is thinking about running again next year.

The Mountain View Telegraph has the scoop:

“Even though Jon Barela was at the first meeting of the newly formed Sandia Tea Party as the secretary-designate of the state’s Economic Development Department, he sure sounded like a candidate.

“… After his speech, Barela demurred when asked if he was considering another run for Congress. Barela was defeated by Rep. Martin Heinrich in 2010 for the right to represent New Mexico’s First Congressional District.

“‘We’re looking at it,’ was all Barela would say about another run.”

On the Republican side in the race to replace Heinrich in the House, Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis is running, and former gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque has formed an exploratory committee.

On the Democratic side, State Sen. Eric Griego is running, and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez is considering entering the race. So is Terry Brunner, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s former state director who now heads USDA Rural Development in New Mexico.

Sources say former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who had been considering the race, isn’t going to run.

Heinrich is giving up the seat to run for U.S. Senate.

Heath Haussamen

Sometimes you try to do the right thing and still end up making mistakes.

It’s called being human. And Gov. Susana Martinez’s staffers recently admitted making a very human mistake.

They let a Hollywood production crew use the state aircraft to scout locations for a TV show in violation of regulations.

“No, it was not an appropriate use of state aircraft,” Ed Burckle, secretary of the General Services Department, was quoted by KRQE-TV’s Larry Barker as saying. “We allowed unauthorized passengers to fly in that airplane.”

“(In) hindsight, had we known everything at the time, that request would have been denied by the governor’s office,” Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner was quoted as saying. “These are the kinds of things that keep people like me up at night.”

It’s great to hear that Gardner is concerned about complying with state regulations. The problem for Martinez, however, is that she was quite unforgiving when her opponent in last year’s gubernatorial race, then-Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, was found to have used state aircraft in violation of regulations more than three dozen times.

“Diane Denish, rules for us are below her,” said the narrator of one Martinez TV ad. “Denish told schools to cut energy use 10 percent, but used the state’s luxury jet as an air taxi for her family and friends, wasting $367,000 in tax money, and breaking state regulations 39 times.”

Maybe Martinez, and all of us, should learn from this

In politics, the norm is, unfortunately, to try to convince the public to believe the worst about your opponent. As a former prosecutor, Martinez does this well.

However, we don’t have any proof that Denish’s violations were anything more than what Martinez’s apparently was – a mistake. And in both cases, it appears that the violations weren’t identified – and the behavior corrected – until the media came calling.

There’s one important difference: Martinez was much quicker to admit her mistake than Denish. Martinez gets points for that. But the fact still remains that she let a Hollywood crew fly around Northern New Mexico in a state-owned plane.

So what are we to think now, based on Martinez’s own logic? That rules for us are “below her?”

Martinez looks hypocritical. Maybe she should learn from this experience.

Perhaps all of us who spend time around the cesspool that is politics should learn from this situation. Maybe the gotcha games should be toned down. Maybe politics doesn’t have to be such a cesspool.

This article has been updated for clarity.

Haussamen bio │ Commentary page │ Feed

McCleskey with Gov. Susana Martinez on election night last year. (Photo by Enrique Knell)

Some love him, others loathe him, but there’s no doubt that political operative Jay McCleskey has a record that’s impressive

Some would call Jay McCleskey brilliant – the Karl Rove of New Mexico, perhaps – while others would say he is notorious and lucky. Whatever the case, he’s currently the most successful political operative in New Mexico, and hugely influential.

He was the mastermind behind the election of Gov. Susana Martinez, the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor of any state in the nation. She describes him as her “top adviser.”

In 2009, he also helped Richard Berry become the first GOP mayor of Albuquerque in more than two decades.

McCleskey is loved by some, loathed by others. But he works behind the scenes, so the average New Mexican has probably never heard of him. McCleskey deserves scrutiny because of his influence within the GOP and beyond. That influence starts at the top, with the governor.

“I could not have won this election without Jay being my political consultant,” Martinez said. “I knew what I wanted to do as governor, but I didn’t know how to get that message out statewide. He did.”

That’s what McCleskey does. He’s a political strategist who gets a candidate’s message out to voters. His firm does things like produce television ads and mailers. He also works with Martinez on a regular basis to help her shape messages and deliver them publicly.

(Disclosure: McCleskey and his wife, Nicole Fink McCleskey, donated money to NMPolitics.net last year.)

A successful career

McCleskey got his start in politics while a student at New Mexico State University. In 1996, he took a government class with professor Jose Z. Garcia (now Martinez’s higher education secretary) and was tasked with doing voter targeting for a legislative campaign.

He worked for Republican Bill Payne, who was running in a three-way primary for an open Senate seat. Payne, who is now the Senate minority whip, won by a coin toss after a tie vote.

Early in his career, McCleskey worked for the state GOP and as a legislative and Department of Finance analyst.

In 2000, he managed the campaign of John Sanchez, who was elected to the House by beating 30-year incumbent Raymond Sanchez, the longest-serving speaker in state history. John Sanchez is now lieutenant governor.

McCleskey managed Sanchez’s unsuccessful run for governor in 2002, then ran the Republican National Committee’s New Mexico victory campaign in 2004. That year, New Mexico was one of two states to flip from blue to red in the presidential race.

For several years McCleskey was the RNC’s regional political director. He was responsible for a number of states including New Mexico through elections in 2006 and 2008 – a year that was a disaster for Republicans. Then he joined Lincoln Strategy Group and worked on Berry’s campaign.

Berry said McCleskey is good at what he does because he doesn’t try to tell candidates who they should be – he takes who they are and sells it to voters.

“Jay took what I wanted to put out there and made it a very genuine message that really came from me, not something that was crafted, not sugar-coated,” Berry said. “I think he was really important to the campaign.”

In addition to working for Martinez in 2010, McCleskey did media for Dianna Duran, the first Republican elected to be secretary of state in decades, and several legislative candidates.

Last month, McCleskey left Lincoln Strategy to start his own firm.

‘I’ve always enjoyed arguing and debating’

McCleskey said he’s always had an interest in public policy and campaigns.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed arguing and debating, and that’s essentially what a campaign is,” he said.

He loves pouring over data and studying how messaging moves numbers.

Jay McCleskey (Photo by Enrique Knell)

“Jay is tenacious, he is decisive, and most importantly he’s incredibly smart,” said Justine Fox-Young, a former state lawmaker McCleskey helped elect in 2004. At 24, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the state Legislature.

She described McCleskey as fiercely loyal, and said that, combined with his smarts, makes him formidable.

“He can anticipate the moves people are going to make, and it makes some people very uncomfortable,” Fox-Young said. “Jay is unflappable. There is nothing he can’t work his way out of.”

Critics view his competitive nature a different way.

“He has a history of not knowing when to say when. … Some of the negative attacks in the campaigns were unnecessary,” said one Republican who is active in the party and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “There has to be a line drawn somewhere.”

The source mentioned Sanchez’s assault on Walter Bradley in the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary – an attack that still leaves a bitter taste in some Republicans’ mouths.

Another Republican, who used to work with McCleskey and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said McCleskey has been a “very divisive” force within the Republican Party.

“He will do anything to win, no matter what it takes,” the source said. “He will destroy you as an opponent.”

McCleskey doesn’t apologize for negative attacks.

“My job is to help a candidate make their case to the voters, not to be loved by our opponents, and I don’t believe in ever running the campaign equivalent of a ‘prevent defense,’” he said. “Leads can evaporate very quickly in modern campaigns; just ask Congresswoman Madrid or Governor Denish.”

Fox-Young said McCleskey is “incredibly warm and incredibly loyal. And yeah, he can be as cutthroat as anybody. … But he never breaks a promise and he’ll never let you down.”

No lobbying or government relations work

Political operatives are often controversial. In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer has been under scrutiny because of work done by her political advisers. One is a lobbyist for the largest private prison company in the nation. Two others were hired by the payday loan industry to push for legislation that might end up in front of the governor.

Other operatives, such as Rove, work to avoid such potential conflicts. In his book Courage and Consequence, Rove wrote about his relationship with George W. Bush when Bush was Texas governor:

“Texas law requires a governor’s political activity to be run through a private committee and Bush asked me about heading up his. … Bush’s offer came with limitations. I couldn’t cash in, he told me… no lobbying or associating with a lobbying firm.”

McCleskey said he left Lincoln Strategy after Martinez was elected because the firm lobbies. But critics still see a potential conflict of interest. The anonymous Republican who has worked with McCleskey noted that he not only has access to the governor, but also to many of her staffers because they used to work for him.

That Republican asked, what happens if a corporation calls McCleskey and asks for help or wants a message passed on to the governor?

“My business does not lobby or do government relations,” McCleskey said. “People contact us all the time looking for government relations help, and we don’t do that. We decline.”

Martinez: ‘I’m not a figurehead’

The Republican who worked with McCleskey described him as controlling, and said McCleskey disciples working in the administration might be influenced by him. Several Republicans contacted for this article said they fear that McCleskey, not Martinez, is calling the shots in state government – though none would speak for the record.

McCleskey and Martinez both said that isn’t true.

Susana Martinez

“When I make a decision, it’s because I’m informed,” Martinez said. “I try to get both sides of the issues. I don’t surround myself with ‘yes’ people. I’m very independent. I’m not a figurehead.”

“He’s never, ever, told me what to believe in,” Martinez said. “He understands where I stand on the issues. That’s why he is a top adviser for me, and that’s why I trust him.”

McCleskey and Martinez got to know each other in 2001 when he was the state party’s executive director. On the agenda for one meeting was the election of a chairman, and McCleskey’s boss at the time, John Dendahl, was under fire from some for supporting then-Gov. Gary Johnson’s controversial stance on decriminalizing drugs.

McCleskey asked Martinez, then Doña Ana County’s district attorney, to give a speech about attracting Hispanic voters. She told the group that the way to do that was to focus on issues – and took a pointed shot by saying changing drug laws would alienate Hispanics.

“She did it in a way that got a standing ovation and almost got me fired for inviting her to attack my boss,” McCleskey recalled. “…She was just very dynamic. It was just very clear that she had the ability to connect with people.”

After that, McCleskey talked with Martinez about running for higher office “every time there was an election.” She rejected requests to consider running for other offices, including attorney general and Congress.

When it came time to enter the governor’s race in July 2009, Martinez brought McCleskey on board first.

“We’d known each other for about 10 years, and he knew where I stood on the issues,” she said. “He didn’t try to take me down a path that wasn’t me or try to get me to accept any policies that I wouldn’t be able to fight for and stand for.”

“That was real important to me. I didn’t want someone who would try to change who I was,” she said.

McCleskey: Martinez can be ‘a transformational leader’

Asked to describe his day-to-day interaction with the governor, McCleskey pointed out that he runs her political committee. He said he also advises her on political and other issues, including messaging.

Some in the party say McCleskey and his wife Nicole, a national GOP pollster, are all about money, and that he uses his influence with clients like Martinez to get more work.

McCleskey said such an assertion is laughable, pointing out that he chose to work for Martinez in last-year’s primary instead of Allen Weh.

“If I was driven by trying to make money, I would not have chosen to work for Susana Martinez, who at the time she got in the race had never raised money, had no personal money, and was looking at a five-way primary that included a self-funding businessman from Albuquerque who was going to spend over $1 million of his own money,” he said.

He added that he donated some of his services to Martinez. Finance reports include in-kind contributions from Lincoln Strategy to the campaign.

McCleskey said he chose to work for Martinez not only because he believed she could win, but also because “I truly believe that she can be a transformational leader for the state.” He said her intelligence, sincerity and courage make Martinez “exceptionally persuasive with both the public at large, as well as in one-on-one meetings.”

That, McCleskey said, gives Martinez “the ability to drive a positive agenda and not just be a ‘no’ governor.”

“In doing campaigns all over the country, I’ve found that it’s extremely rare to find all of those qualities in a public official, and that’s why it was well worth taking the risk in doing what many saw as a long-shot campaign,” he said.

‘If you don’t have enemies, then you’re no good at the job’

Is McCleskey really as good as some think he is? One of the two GOP sources – the active Republican – said there’s another way to look at things.

“Anyone who is in his field will have wins and losses, and sometimes having a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt either,” the Republican said. “I think the Albuquerque mayoral race had more to do with how great a candidate Mayor Richard Berry was than it did anyone doing his campaign literature. Having two Democrats in the race didn’t hurt either.”

Still, the Republican said, “That was a big win for McCleskey, either real or perceived. I think the same thing can be said for the 2010 gubernatorial race. Was it the growth of candidate, the campaign management of Ryan Cangiolosi, McCleskey’s mail and commercials, or the horrible race Diane Denish ran? I guess that depends on who you ask.”
Steve Kush, who ran Janice Arnold-Jones’ unsuccessful primary for governor last year, said he’s never met McCleskey, but the fact that McCleskey has enemies in the GOP proves that he’s good at what he does.

“Having done this for as many years as I have, I know for a fact that if you don’t have enemies, then you’re no good at the job,” Kush said.

He said Martinez’s victory is huge for McCleskey.

“Having worked for (N.J.) Governor (Chris) Christie, I do know how hard it is to win in what is perceived to be a blue state,” Kush said. “He did, and he certainly deserves kudos for that. It was a hard-fought win.”

Errol Chavez

Errol Chavez, last year’s Republican state auditor candidate who was diagnosed with brain cancer weeks before the election, has died.

Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle asked his colleagues for a moment of silence today after announcing that Chavez died last night with family at his side.

From a Senate GOP news release:

“During his thirty-one-year tenure at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Chavez conducted money laundering investigations; directed the administration’s policy implementation in Europe, Latin America and the United States; and supervised several hundred agents in various assignments.

“After retiring from DEA, Chavez became the executive director of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), a federal drug-prohibition enforcement program. In this position, Chavez was responsible for administering and auditing $11 million of federal funds directed to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in New Mexico.

“Chavez served as president of both the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association and the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association, an international law enforcement organization with 12,000 members.”

Jim Spiri with Gov. Susana Martinez (Courtesy photo)

It was New Year’s day/night. My wife and I found out rather abruptly that we had been invited to the inaugural ball for the new governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez. The event would be held at the Santa Fe Convention Center. Dress would be formal. There would be no charge for us to attend.

I had a tuxedo in the closet that I had picked up years ago for next to nothing, and my wife had wisely shopped at the local Goodwill thrift store and picked up a matching dress for $12. We decided we would attend this historical event. After all, it is almost never that we dress up and go to such things. It’s a new year. We decided to go.

After a few phone calls I ended up making reservations at the Hilton on the plaza, at an extremely reduced rate because we were invited guests, and by 1 p.m. on Jan. 1 we were on our way to Santa Fe, a little over an hours’ drive north on interstate 25.

There had been snow in the area the past few days but this day the sky was clear and sunny, although very, very cold. The drive up was gorgeous and the snow on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains accented the landscape in such a magnificent fashion that it once again reminded me of why I have kept the Land of Enchantment as my home residence for the past five decades.

We checked into our room and by 3 p.m. we were strolling on the plaza in freezing cold temperatures enjoying the beauty that Santa Fe has to offer. After eating lunch at a Thai restaurant around the corner from the hotel, we walked back to our hotel, where we took in a few cups of hot apple cider that the Hilton was sharing with its guests in the lobby. We really were beginning to enjoy the late afternoon. Simple pleasures are always the best.

We headed up to our room on the third floor, kicked back a bit and then proceeded to get ready for the evenings’ event. I must admit that I took as long and hot a shower as I possibly could. It feels really good to use the hot water on full blast for as long as possible compared to taking five-minute, hot-water-conserving showers at home.

By 7:30 p.m., we were all dressed up in our fancy clothes and headed downstairs to catch the shuttle to the convention center. I did not want to drive at all in Santa Fe with snow and ice all over the place, not to mention the matter of holiday drunk drivers possibly out and about. My wife thought we might have been a bit on the early side, realizing that the event did not start until 8 p.m. However, much to our surprise, the shuttle bus was filled to capacity, and once we arrived at the convention center we noticed the place was absolutely packed with guests.

This would be one crowded event. We were for sure not too early; if anything, we were bordering on late. Surprise.

History in the making

I had met Susana Martinez back in the spring of 2010 on the suggestion of a mutual friend. Susana is from Las Cruces and come to find out her husband Chuck and I are exactly the same age and graduated the same year from opposite high schools down south. We knew many mutual acquaintances and had much in common dating back to our growing up years in the early 70s.

At the time I met Susana, many had given her a slim-to-none chance at winning the Republican primary that would be held later in June. I had an inclination, however, that this low-key yet tough district attorney from Las Cruces could just possibly light New Mexico up and win the governorship. I decided to lend her campaign my support and on many, many occasions prior to my departure to Afghanistan in late July, I had the pleasure being invited along to take some historical photographs of her campaign during particular filming of commercials for television advertisements.

During that time, which spanned a little less than half a year, I found Susana Martinez, and her husband Chuck and his son Carlo, to be a lot of fun to be around and quite amenable to a nobody such as myself. On primary night in Las Cruces I was invited into their private hotel room with several members of her immediate family as results came in and as she obtained the Republican nomination for governor, beating out the heavy favorite and former state Republican Chairman Allen Weh.

I knew at that moment history would be in the making. I was very honored to have been welcomed into this historical event.

As they say, the rest is history.

After my departure for Afghanistan in late July and my subsequent return just prior to the November election, I had pretty much stayed away from the campaign, although I kept informed as to how things were going. I knew she would win. I also knew that national attention would be focused on Susana Martinez and I suspected that the crowds around her would grow and those handling her would tighten the noose around her perimeter and shield her from as much as possible from that point forward.

The little girl from El Paso, who helped build her parents’ security business and then went on to rattling the cages in the district attorney’s office in Dona Ana County, would now become the nations’ first Latina governor. New Mexico had done it again. Camera right, the spotlight is on.

Realizing why people were at the event

Back to the ball. It was very crowded. I had not seen that many people crowded into one area since I had been at the border of Rabia, Iraq and Syria. Standing in line for a glass of wine or getting a plate in hopes of grabbing a few bites to eat was going to be a big challenge. I quickly ruled out alcohol and went for the food option instead.

It was a good decision. The food was pretty good and it satisfied our hunger. The next problem was finding a place to sit, which was just not going to happen. Therefore, an open spot out in the area entering the not-so-heated tent would become the next sought-after spot. We sat down next to a cowboy gentleman from Clayton named Mr. Hall who had brought two of his grandsons to the event. We all spoke a bit of how crowded the event was, but we were all enjoying the free chow. In conversation with Mr. Hall, I learned that his main concern was for the cattle industry in his part of the state. He was a very simple and respectful man who was educating the next generation of cattlemen from Clayton, that being his grandsons, on how things transpire in New Mexico.

And it was there that I realized why people actually came to this event. It was more than a victory celebration. It was beginning to look to me like a bit of a jockeying for position, like horses entering the gate prior to the All American Futurity race held every year in Ruidoso.

As the night began to wear on, I observed as much as I could and took in the sights for posterity. Candi and I spent most of our time in the outside tent where the country western music was playing. We danced a few dances (slow ones because we don’t know how to do the other ones), and spent a great deal of time just wandering around.

At one point we noticed a room where some familiar faces were seen to me. I watched people going out but I also observed people not being allowed in. I waited a while and then asked the security guard about the room just behind him. He informed me that in order to enter that room one needed a different-colored wristband. Mine and everyone else’s I saw was pink. However, in order to enter that room one needed a white wristband. I thanked the guard for his information and went back to wandering around the convention center.

I noticed, in that room, former Senator Pete Domenici, who I had forced seven years earlier to push a bill in Congress concerning my son, a Marine who had been neglected by Tri-Care health system. At that time, Senator Domenici and I appeared together in front of many TV cameras. But now, I did not have the correct colored wristband to be able to speak with him.

That was OK by me. I know how protocol works. I had handled the likes of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers in Iraq, Mr. Negroponte also in Iraq; General David Petreaus in Afghanistan; and hundreds and hundreds of killed-in-action soldiers’ coffins from the war, which always demanded the utmost respect while other workers were too busy sleeping. I figured if former Senator Domenici wanted to see me he would step out of his room and come say hello. I would not be offended.

Throughout the night I managed to bump into a few acquaintances: my city councilman, Mr. Dan Lewis, who I spoke with briefly; a few New Mexico state senators; some wealthy business leaders; and even former Congresswoman Heather Wilson. At one point I ran into an old schoolmate named Rocky Burke from Las Cruces. He was always a good boxer and has since continued in the arena. He most recently was the referee for one of Holly Holmes’ boxing matches held here in Albuquerque.

It was a night of seeing some familiar and not-so-familiar faces. But mostly I watched a lot of folks carry on conversations about this or that.

At one point I was present as the new lieutenant governor, John Sanchez, was making the rounds and having photographs taken left and right. I had met John Sanchez at the state Republican convention in the spring here in Albuquerque. I remember asking him a particular question and I remember him pretty much blowing me off. I wondered if I asked him that question now what his answer would be.

Oh well, it was a night for celebration. At least, that is why I was there.

Some things in my mind that would not go away

Finally, at around 11 p.m., I was able to obtain a glass of wine for my wife and I and find a seat to sit down. The glass of wine was originally $7, but I asked the lady if there was a better deal than that. She told me there was a red wine for $5 a glass, and I said OK to that and ordered two glasses. I brought the two glasses of wine back to the seats my wife and I had secured and we sat there sipping slowly and thinking about where we were.

I could not help but think about all my Marine friends who at that very moment were en route back to the United States from Helmund Province, Afghanistan. Their tour of duty was over and they would be arriving stateside within the next 12-24 hours. I was wondering what they would think of the event I was present at. It caused me some serious reflection time as I finished up my glass of wine.

I kept thinking about one line the new governor had spoken at the ball to the guests. Among other things, she said, “New Mexico is open for business.” I kept thinking long and hard exactly what that meant as I tried to figure out mathematically just where my Marine friends were in the night sky on their way home. It had been a nice but long night. It was time to head back to the hotel.

As we got up to go and retrieve Candi’s coat, we noticed a gigantic line of people waiting for the same thing – their coats. We all had checked out winter coats at this particular place, which went rather smoothly upon entering the facility. However, a glitch had occurred and when it was time for each individual coat to be picked up, it was noticed that there was no system in place for retrieval of everyone’s coats. There were now nearly 1,000 coats that needed to be retrieved, and without the quick thinking of some staffers, there may have been a small riot on the horizon.

However, in short order, everyone managed to get their correct coats, albeit after a few extra minutes of waiting patiently. Somehow a nice lady found ours and we were on our way to catch the shuttle back to the hotel. We arrived back at our room just after midnight and talked a bit about our historical experience at the ball. We had had a good time, but there were some things in my mind that would not go away.

We slept well that night, although the heater in the room quit at about 4 a.m. The front desk managed to get it fixed promptly when we called it in at around 8 a.m. We were given a complimentary breakfast for two at the hotel for the inconvenience, which we greatly appreciated. We sat drinking coffee and talking about the previous nights’ event. We had not ever been to an inaugural ball ever before. It was fun and for sure a learning experience.

What exactly did I learn from this event?

I came away from this event realizing that I had met Susana Martinez almost a year previous at the suggestion of a mutual friend. At that time I knew right away this lady would be the next governor of New Mexico. Her timing was spot on. She ran a low-key campaign and kept it rather civil. She said little and promised to clean up a mess.

Throughout the ball, I kept realizing that I had been allowed into the small circle of believers at the time who thought Susana would win. When it was obvious that Susana Martinez would win, the circle of believers was enormous and I was on the outside looking in. But I was looking in with very good memories from before Nov. 2.

A lot of people say I’m not the brightest crayon in the box of colors, but once in a while I do figure things out. I know what an honor it was for my wife and I to have been invited to the inaugural ball, and we will forever remember a good time. I always enjoy dancing a slow dance with my lovely wife.

I am still thinking about that term, “open for business.” There is this question that looms in my head: “At what price?” That is always the question I have when I embark upon anything. The price to attend the ball was not so expensive. It was actually extremely reasonable.

Every day for the next four years, I and my wife will keep Governor Susana Martinez, and her husband Chuck and their son Carlo, in our prayers. They surely can use all the prayers available. She has a huge responsibility resting on her shoulders.

I believe she will do well. However, if those handling her tighten the noose a little too tightly around her perimeter, Governor Susan Martinez then risks losing the touch and insight of those constituents who are just wearing pink wrist bands, or no wrist bands at all.

Other than that, the night was a ball.

Spiri is a combat war photographer and writer. Find him online at jimspiri.com.

One thing that’s notable about NMPolitics.net’s top 10 stories of 2010 is that a number of them are policy related. Even in an election year, politicians in Santa Fe and Washington still found a way to get some things done.

Read on for NMPolitics.net’s rankings of the top 10 political and government stories of 2010.

Honorable mention: Cap and trade

Despite Democratic control of Congress, Washington failed to approve a cap-and-trade bill to reduce carbon emissions. His vote for the doomed legislation in 2009 may have helped ensure that U.S. Rep. Harry Teague’s time in Congress was short.

But New Mexico and the West moved forward with their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions in 2010.

The N.M. Environmental Improvement Board approved a state carbon pollution reduction program earlier this month. The unique state program was applauded by environmentalists, fought by the industries it affects, and criticized by many as something that should be done by Washington, not individual states that must compete for business with their neighbors.

Meanwhile, thanks to voters in California, the Western Climate Initiative, of which New Mexico is a part, stayed alive. The EIB’s vote earlier this month also approved New Mexico’s participation in the regional cap-and-trade system starting in 2012, but California’s participation was necessary if the initiative was to have an impact.

The initiative is on shaky ground. Though several governors joined the partnership, only California and New Mexico have enacted rules that actually allow them to participate. And incoming N.M. Gov. Susana Martinez wants to reverse the EIB’s vote. Whether she can do that is unclear.

10: The new Obama

Between Obama’s tax compromise with Republicans; the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; a new nuclear arms pact with Russia; and a bill to give health benefits to 9/11 responders, the lame duck session of Congress that just ended was arguably the most productive in decades.

Obama said after his party was shellacked in November that he was largely to blame for not delivering on his promise of bipartisan governance and cooperation. He made efforts to do things differently during the lame duck session. Many Democrats, including those from New Mexico, were upset with Obama’s tax compromise.

But some have argued that the compromise opened the door for the lame-duck approval of other legislation that had been sought by Democrats.

Time will tell if the new Obama can continue to be this productive.

9: Wilderness bill fails

The Organ Mountains (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

Many in the Las Cruces area have been pushing for years to have the Organ Mountains and other land in Doña Ana County designated as wilderness – the highest level of protection from the federal government.

With the election of Teague, a Democrat, to represent the 2nd Congressional District in 2008, many believed the chances for passage of such legislation were greatly improved.

But Teague’s tenure is coming to an end without a wilderness bill passing. He never announced support for or opposition to the legislation, or said what he wanted such a bill to look like. Instead, he largely stayed away from the issue, except to say he supported conservation but shared opponents’ concerns about border security.

That meant a push by New Mexico’s U.S. senators wasn’t enough to get the bill passed. With Republican Steve Pearce, a critic of wilderness, replacing Teague in January, any efforts to protect the Organ Mountains and other land are probably going to look much different next year.

8: Health care reform

The controversial health-care reform bill pushed through by Washington Democrats colored the 2010 election. Republican candidates used it to campaign against big government. Many hailed it as long overdue and much needed. Some on the left were upset that it didn’t go further. Lawsuits followed (New Mexico hasn’t filed suit) and are pending.

The legislation illustrates the tension between the left and right in these polarized times. Look for more talk from the right about “Obamacare” as the 2012 election approaches.

7: Increased transparency

The webcam in the back of the Senate chamber. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)

New Mexico took a huge leap forward in government transparency in 2010 with the creation of the Sunshine Portal and increased legislative webcasting.

People now have easier access to financial information from state government than they ever have before. And New Mexico is one of the states at the forefront of utilizing the Internet to provide such access to information.

There are more steps to be taken. Audio and video webcasting should be expanded to all policymaking bodies in state government. Webcasting should be archived online. The sunshine portal should include real-time information, not just recent information. Actual documents should be scanned and put online.

But New Mexico took significant steps out of the darkness in 2010.

6: Las Cruces gains prominence

The state’s second-largest city gained prominence as a result of the 2010 election. Its longtime district attorney was elected governor, but there’s another significant player from Las Cruces who gained.

State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, has already been a prominent dealmaker in Santa Fe. He’s considering trying to form a bipartisan coalition to become speaker.

Regardless of whether he becomes speaker, Cervantes and a handful of other House Democrats from Southern New Mexico – who have already announced their support for a Cervantes coalition – have enough votes to control the House. They can go with their party on contentious issues, or they can work out deals with Republicans and push legislation through in a bipartisan manner.

Look for politicians from Las Cruces and Southern New Mexico to play a big role in Santa Fe in 2011.

Martin Heinrich

5: Heinrich survives; Teague loses

Considering the GOP wave that hit Washington in 2010, it’s simply impressive that freshman U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., survived in a contested district that, before him, had always been held by a Republican. He summed up his own re-election this way:

“Those of us who won did so by having the courage to stand by our legislative decisions – to run on, and not away from, our records.”

Heinrich is a favorite of progressives, but he’s also found a few areas of agreement with the right – most notably, work for the military and national labs. His re-election solidifies his position as one of the heavy hitters in New Mexico politics.

Teague, on the other hand, was a casualty of the GOP wave. I analyzed his tenure earlier this week. Democrats fought for decades to win this seat, and they weren’t able to keep it for a second term.

The state’s other congressman, Democrat Ben Ray Luján, had a more difficult time winning re-election than expected. Look for a bargain during the 2011 redistricting negotiations that shifts more Republican voters into the 2nd Congressional District that’s about to be represented by Pearce and more Democrats into the districts of Heinrich and Luján.

4: Republican gains in N.M.

2010 was historic for Republicans in New Mexico. Voters elected a Republican governor, the first Republican secretary of state in 80 years, and gave the GOP eight new seats in the state House.

Republican Dianna Duran is the first Republican secretary of state since E.A. Perrault served from 1929-1930. During Perrault’s tenure, 37 of 49 House members were Republicans – and you have to go back that far to find a time when Republicans had greater influence in the House than they will in January (33 Republicans to 37 Democrats).

The Senate is already controlled by a bipartisan coalition. The possibility of a bipartisan coalition in the House to make Cervantes speaker could give Republicans an even greater voice.

Republicans generally campaigned on a platform of less government regulation, lower taxes, and greater accountability and transparency. They’ll have a lot of influence over policy in Santa Fe come January and a chance to back up their words with action.

3: Economic woes continue

The struggling economy continued to be the issue at the forefront of voters’ minds in 2010, and it had a massive impact on the election. Voters decided to give Republicans a greater voice in government in Washington and Santa Fe largely because of economic issues including high unemployment and falling home values.

The state plugged a massive budget deficit in 2010 with spending cuts, tax increases and federal money. There’s another big deficit to deal with next year. How long will these troubles continue? Time will tell.

Bill Richardson

2: Richardson leaves office

Bill Richardson’s effect on New Mexico can’t be understated. With the spaceport and Rail Runner and other ideas, he convinced New Mexico to dream big. With his presidential run, he excited New Mexicans (his popularity reached 74 percent in May 2007). And with the pay to play scandals that came to define his administration, he deeply disappointed New Mexicans.

Richardson likes doing things big, and he came back to New Mexico to run for governor in 2002 as a big fish in a little pond. By the end, though, this little pond couldn’t wait to get rid of him. That’s a primary reason Lt. Gov. Diane Denish didn’t win the governor’s race.

Many will analyze Richardson’s tenure (I published my own analysis on Wednesday), but one thing is undeniable: Bill Richardson left his mark on New Mexico.

Susana Martinez

1: Martinez wins governor’s race

When an article published on this site in July 2009 labeled Susana Martinez as a “game changer” in the governor’s race, many laughed and dismissed it.

They were wrong to do so. Martinez is the first woman to be elected governor of New Mexico and the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor of any state in the country. She’s a Republican, so the historic nature of her victory has made her a national GOP star even before she’s taken office.

Of course, Martinez still has to answer some questions – like whether she can govern a state – before the national stardom is justified. But she does have an inspiring story as a Hispanic woman and district attorney who is making the leap to being talked about as a potential 2012 vice presidential candidate.

So far, her cabinet appointments have been impressive. Even many critics concede that she has generally selected qualified people.

That’s a good sign, because these are serious times that call for serious leadership. Martinez has a steep learning curve, so let’s hope she adjusts to her new job quickly. 2011 is going to be an interesting year…

Haussamen bio │ Commentary archives │ Feed