My Page: Heath Haussamen

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Should Ben Lujan Remain Speaker of the N.M. House?

Does the value of property increase when a highway interchange is built near it? Of course it does. So the fact that the state Department of Transportation abruptly moved the site of a proposed interchange to four-tenths of a mile from land owned by House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Nambe, in 2007 should raise eyebrows. Of course, Lujan has been doing things for years that should raise the eyebrows of anyone who cares about honest and ethical government, so perhaps the revelations contained in Sunday’s Albuquerque Journal article about the DOT project shouldn’t come as a surprise.
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Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Ethics Reforms New Mexico Needs

Manny Aragon. Michael Montoya. Robert Vigil. Roberta Vigil. Eric Serna. Bill Richardson.

Those are the names of scandal-plagued public officials the Albuquerque Journal mentions in a weekend editorial in arguing that New Mexico’s “shoddy record is out of proportion with the state’s progress toward ethics reform.” [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Wall Street Journal Ignoring Facts In Its Attack On New Mexico AG

The Wall Street Journal went after New Mexico Attorney General Gary King this weekend for a third time in its ongoing “pay-to-sue” assault. Its new editorial reveals that the newspaper is not treating King fairly and is doing a disservice to its readers. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Please, Save Some Bullets For The Cops

Despite the fear mongering, further restrictions on firearms are not going to happen, at least not any time soon. When Obama’s attorney general mentioned bringing back the assault-weapons ban in February, 65 House Democrats signed a letter to the AG telling him they won’t support that idea. That means there are enough Democrats who oppose such a proposal to ensure its death. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Feds Should Scrutinize This Eyebrow-Raising Deal, Too

Use your public position to spend taxpayer money to benefit the family of a private contractor, get $50,000 of that taxpayer money back as a campaign contribution. Is that how a land deal went down between Gov. Bill Richardson and Santa Fe contractor Sonny Otero? The Richardson administration says it’s not, but there’s certainly an appearance of possible pay to play created by the deal, which is highlighted today by Albuquerque Journal reporter Thomas Cole. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Invest In Commuter Rail Only Where It Makes Sense

I’m a big fan of programs that reduce our dependence on foreign oil and our impact on the environment. I’ve become more impressed with the Rail Runner Express -- the commuter train that runs from Belen through Albuquerque to Santa Fe -- over time as significant numbers of people have continued to ride and expressed satisfaction with the system. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Dealing With Uncertain Times

Media frenzy is one reason it’s important for people to educate themselves. The Internet makes it easy to cut through the media filter to the truth, if you’re looking. But that’s not to say there’s no reason to be alarmed. The truth is that there’s a lot out there right now to be concerned about. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

‘Quality-of-Life’ Tax Increase Should Be Shot Down

Some city officials and others in Las Cruces are proposing raising the gross-receipts or property tax this year to help fund “quality-of-life” initiatives such as operation and maintenance of city ball fields, creation of new bike paths and the expansion of artistic and cultural programs.

Yes, really. Even though the nation is in its worst economic shape since the Great Depression. And even though the city had to cut its budget by 5 percent last year in response to the recession. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Building A New House Of Cards

In a stunningly foolish act, a nonprofit board that has authority over public companies’ accounting standards on Friday quietly got rid of a rule that requires banks to value their assets at what they’re currently worth. Instead, banks can now boost their books by valuing their assets at what they estimate they will be worth when the economy gets better. [more]

Political Commentary: Heath Haussamen

Richardson Should Sign Open-Meetings Bill

N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson has every reason in the world to sign a bill that would open conference committees and many other legislative meetings to the public, and no reason to veto it -- if the public’s interest is his motive.

If he has ulterior motives -- such as using a public-policy proposal he has endorsed for years as a bargaining chip with powerful lawmakers who would like to see it die -- that’s a different story. [more]

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Political Columnist

Heath Haussamen

Haussamen is an independent, online political journalist based in Las Cruces, N.M. His work can be found at haussamen.blogspot.com.

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