AG's Role in Paseo/I25 Election Question

Much has been said, and sometimes misreported, about the role the Attorney General’s Office has played in Albuquerque’s election ballot question regarding the proposed Paseo del Norte/I25 interchange construction project.

First, let’s re-establish the facts.  On August 16, 2012, the Office issued a legal Opinion that concluded the following:  According to the New Mexico Election Code, a municipality can not propose a question on a the statewide election ballot.  Included in that conclusion was the statement that, “Nevertheless, a municipality may submit a question to voters of the municipality on a municipal election held on the same day as a general election.”

Then on August 27, 2012, the AGO further advised the Secretary of State that the applicable state statute, while allowing a concurrent city-state election, also requires that:  “...although a municipal election may be held concurrently with a general election, the two elections must remain separate and any incompatible provisions, such as voter identification must be independently dealt with...The municipality (City of Albuquerque) is responsible for determining that the concurrent election and any combined actions comply with the requirements of the ordinance or law that governs the municipality’s elections.”

Attorney General King says that it is important for the public to know we are not the kind of lawyers who just say "You can't do that" and leave it.  We have been working cooperatively with the Secretary of State, County Clerk and City Clerk and their legal counsel to find the appropriate and defensible way to hold a concurrent election on this issue in November.

Now, here’s the misreporting from an Albuquerque TV station:  “The attorney general now says a question to approve money for the Paseo del Norte-Interstate 25 interchange can appear on the November ballot as long as the city follows state election rules...At first the AG's office said the city issue wasn't allowed on a general election ballot, which is limited to county and state issues.”  No...the AG has always advised (see above) that a concurrent election is allowed.

But on Wednesday Attorney General Gary King announced it would be OK to add the city question to the ballot as long as the Albuquerque City Council waives the voter ID requirement.  No, the AG did not announce anything...the Secretary of State released an attorney-client memo...where we simply reiterated our earlier advice.

The August 16th Opinion and the August 27th memo are posted on the AGo website at: https://sites.google.com/a/nmag.gov/test-nmag/News-Releases.   







   

AG: NM Water Floating Away

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.  ~Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Attorney General King staffers this week briefed New Mexico lawmakers on the importance of his lawsuit against the federal government over the illegal transport of Rio Grande water to Texas.

Assistant Attorney General and director of AG King's Water, Environment, & Utilities Division Steve Farris told a group of NM legislators that the water currently flowing south in the Lower Rio Grande is being stolen from our state. The theft affects lawmakers' districts from Las Cruces to Chama.

An account of the legislative hearing, held Monday in T or C, was reported by the Las Cruces Sun News. Click on the link below for the story.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_21410745/lawmakers-wade-into-water-battle?IADID=Search-www.lcsun-news.com-www.lcsun-news.com

Paseo & Voter Cards...AGO Involvement

Two big issues involving the Attorney General’s Office have a lot of people talking.  It is important to clarify what the facts are in both issues.

First, the Paseo del Norte/I-25 interchange rebuild project in Albuquerque.  I took a call from an upset person today who accused the Attorney General of trying to take away the right of Albuquerque residents to vote on whether they want to approve or shoot down a bond issue that would provide funding for the project.  Whoa Nellie!  The AG has no such power nor did the office’s advice specifically address this project at all.

Secretary of State Duran asked our office to examine whether it is legal to put a municipal question on a general election ballot.  Our attorney was not even informed that the ballot question referred to the Paseo del Norte matter. Our office determined that New Mexico law limits the general election ballot to questions that are “either statewide or countywide in application”...period. Clearly, the AG had no grand designs on subverting the process for funding the Paseo del Norte/I25 Interchange improvement project.  AG King has been stuck in that drivetime traffic nightmare himself quite a number of times...why would he want to throw a monkey wrench into something that could help countless Albuquerque area commuters?

Secondly, the issue of the Secretary of State’s postcards to NM voters in danger of losing their place on state voter rolls. Once again, we were asked for legal advice about language contained on the postcards in terms of whether it complied with state and federal voting law requirements.  It was our determination that the language would likely pass muster with the U. S. Department of Justice, which is in charge of such things.  Keep in mind, NM must be in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, which is understandably of tantamount importance to AG King.  Just as important to the AG is ensuring that there is never any sort of voter suppression at the polls in New Mexico.  We believe the Secretary of State shares our goal and duty to help ensure fair elections in our state by making sure nobody cheats.

And that...is the rest of the AGO story.

AG Supports Second Amendment Ruling

Attorney General King joined the AGs of several other states in supporting an amicus brief filed to uphold a decision by a Maryland federal judge invalidating a Maryland state law which severely restricted the ability of a law abiding citizen to obtain a concealed carry permit for a handgun.  In the decision Woolard v. Sheridan, a Maryland statute requiring residents to have a 'good and substantial reason' for obtaining a concealed carry permit was struck down after the judge found that it violates the Second Amendment.

No such restriction exists in New Mexico law.  AG King believes the Second Amendment right of an honest person to bear arms should not be infringed unless there is a compelling reason for the state to take such action.

Federal Campaign Finance Reforms Blocked--New Mexico Efforts Continue

This week the U.S. Senate halted efforts to advance legislation that would require independent groups to disclose the names of contributors who give more than $10,000 to independent groups for use in political campaigns. The measure, known as the DISCLOSE Act, (“Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections”) was drafted in response to the 2010 Citizens United ruling, in which the U.S. Supreme Court said that corporate campaign donations are a form of free speech and cannot be limited by government.

In a letter to the Governor before the last Session of the Legislature, Attorney General King stated: “Many of us are concerned that under current U. S. Supreme Court interpretations, there may be many so-called independent groups, corporations, non profits or others that will seek to expend substantial sums of money to influence elections without making fair disclosure of the sources of their funds.  We do not believe that is in the public interest, and we firmly believe that requiring full and fair disclosure of the funding sources for all electioneering materials and expenditures is fully consistent with and authorized by the U. S. Supreme Court in the well known Citizens United decision, as well as other court precedent.”

AG King then proffered legislation that creates campaign disclosure requirements for third parties that campaign for or against political candidates in New Mexico. Unfortunately, the measure did not make it through the legislative process at that time. Not one to give up, the AG will try again in the next Session to enact a good, strong bipartisan supported law requiring disclosure of election campaign contribution funds.  Unfortunately, to the detriment of political funding transparency, what AG King predicted about the explosive growth of secret big-money electioneering has already come true in our state.

Journal Wrong...Again

In its continuing effort to discredit or otherwise misrepresent the work of the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, the Albuquerque Journal today editorialized that AG King should drop any investigation into the Governor's Office like a hot political potato.  Unfortunately, the paper either cites incorrect "facts" or simply employs its favorite smear-by-innuendo tactic to make its points.

Let's start at the bottom of the Journal's editorial and work our way up.

The paper states that, "King has a rash of unfinished cases around."  Of course, there is no mention of which cases, or more importantly, why they are still unresolved. I'll take a wild guess and say that one of those the Journal is referring to is the Region 3  Housing Authority case...first indicted in 2009.  Between the two separate cases there have been more than 20 Defense motions, including two motions to disqualify the AGO. Consequently, two appellate court decisions upheld the AG's right to prosecute the cases.  Those delays should rightly be attributed to the Defense...not the Attorney General.  In fact, we have been ready take the cases to trial since 2009. But somehow the Journal is determined to continue to say that these and other cases are 'languishing' because of something the AGO is or isn't doing.  Apparently the real reasons do not fit the script though.

Next up, the Journal's contention that AG King's
"conflict of interest" has led to major delays and "seriously jeopardized" the corruption case against Rebecca Vigil-Giron.  Nowhere does the Journal mention that the judge in this case expressly and unequivocally said in his official order that:

1. The Court finds no intentional wrongdoing on the part of the Office of Attorney General;
2. The Court finds that the prosecution was not motivated by vindictiveness or with a political purpose; 

In non-legalese...the judge could not find any real conflicts. But once again, the Journal refuses to rely on factual information, in this case, from the judge himself.

Now, to the meat of the Journal's visceral reaction to the Attorney General looking into possible wrongdoing in the Governor's Office. The paper once again trots out the conflict horse saying AG King, "can't see the conflict-of-interest forest for the political-advantage trees."  I am not sure if it was a mistake, but the editorial then states that it is indeed the Attorney General's job to, "represent the state and investigate allegations about public agencies and actions of public employees."  And in the same breath the editorial says if the AG does deign to investigate, he opens himself up to more criticism than usual (ostensibly from the Journal) for being politically motivated because of his political plans.

But saving the best for last, the Journal posits that AG King should finish investigating and prosecuting other cases and not bother the Governor, i.e.,"...leave any investigation of the incumbent's administration to others."  Seriously?  If memory serves, the Journal frothily advocated investigating former Governor Bill Richardson for any perceived infraction the paper could gin up.  But not this time, not by this Attorney General anyway.

AG Helping New Mexicans Avoid Foreclosure

Holding on to the American dream of homeownership has become a nightmare for many New Mexicans. AG King is trying to do something to alleviate the economic and personal stress that comes with facing the specter of foreclosure. It is called the Homeownership Preservation Program.

It’s not sexy or particularly newsworthy apparently, but the program certainly will positively affect the lives of a good many of our state’s homeowners who find themselves in the seemingly hopeless position of losing their homes.

The Attorney General’s Office issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) last week to solicit contractors capable of providing a number of remedial services recently funded by a legal settlement reached with top national banks for foreclosure abuses and fraudulent practices. The settlement allocated millions in potential homeowner relief; approximately 11 million dollars over the next three years will come directly to New Mexico for Attorney General King’s program.