March 16, 2012
Skandera/Martinez Push to EliminateParental Rights
A heated political battle over third-grade retention
A heated political battle overparent
’
s rights ended when theclock struck noon on the lastday of the legislative sessionwith no education-reform billpassed to address reading
-tary schools.
Public Education Secretary- designate Hanna Skandera at hearing on an education bill
Governor Susana Martinezand her followers in the leg-islature failed to compromisewith reform-minded legislators,sticking steadfast to the beliefthat the state should have the
-ing held back. And so they gotnothing.
the governor
’
s bill as the ses-sion closed.
continued on page 8
New Mexico’s
Spy glass
A deeper look at what’s really behind the story…
Issue No.2 ›› A Free Publication Of
Independent Source PAC
‹‹ March 16, 2012
Susana Martinez Perfects Pay to Play
Contributions to Susana Martinez May Violate the Letter and Spirit of the Law
If it smells like pay to play andlooks like pay to play, it prob-ably is pay to play--and it
’
spossibly illegal.We are referring to endlesslycontroversial contributions
Martinez PED Vetoes:
A power-play to eliminatelegislative oversight
“We
’
ll put more reading coach-es in elementary schools,”said Gov. Susana Martinez inher State of the State address.What she did not say is that ifthere
’
s anything in the state
’
sbudget requiring readingcoaches in elementary schools,she was going to veto it.
continued on page 12
to Susana Martinez and herSusana PAC from Downs atAlbuquerque majority ownersWilliam Windham and JohnTurner.After receiving the money, Mar-tinez awarded them a 25-year,billion dollar-plus contract.New information shows thatthis deal not only stinks, butmight very well be illegal.
continued on page 5
Martinez veto message favors wealthy out-of-staters
What do you call a governor who purposely works against the people’swill to ensure foreign corporations pay less taxes in this state than local New Mexico businesses? “Oligarch”? “Sellout”?Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed a bill, supported state-wide, that would have lowered taxes while also closing a tax loophole for nation-wide “big-box” retailers. -
Page 9
.It wasn’t just mom and pop she burned. With a few strokes of her pen,Gov. Martinez took away badly needed funds from job training, drug treatment, adult literacy programs, senior care, HIV prevention, minority children, food banks and - in lockstep with GOP lawmakers nation-wide -women’s health. -
Page 10 .SPYGLASS INDEX ON PAGE 3
Rio Grande Foundation:skirting New Mexico law?
Is the conservative RioGrande Foundation acting asa front for an out of state for-
company in violation of NewMexico law?
cannot manage charter schoolsin our state. It
’
s pretty cut anddry,
“the governing body shall not contract with a for-
-
continued on page 11
New Mexico Spyglass - 1
New Mexico’s Spyglass… A deeper look at what’s really behind the story…
March 16, 2012
2 - New Mexico Spyglass
-ing from another source. Only silence.But that wasn
’
t punishment enough for Martinez. Williams Sta-pleton did not back down. She was and remains an outspokenopponent of Martinez
’
s third-grade retention bill that would haveadversely impacted New Mexico
’
s Black, Hispanic and NativeAmerican students.So Martinez enlisted Larry Barker and KRQE in a smear cam-paign against Williams Stapleton, steering him toward some of
Independent Source Pac exposed the falsehoods of Barker
’
sbogus attacks and those of the morally bankrupt RepublicansMartinez had Barker use to smear Williams Stapleton. Indepen-dent Source Pac sent a very loud and clear message to thosewilling to do Martinez
’
s dirty work. We showed their true charac-ter for New Mexicans to see. Far from being shining beacons oflight, they were revealed as hypocrites with no principles.This is but one example of Martinez
’
s vindictiveness. Martinezand her surrogates have also attacked a Supreme Court judge
who spoke out against her anti-working family agenda. And she
Martinez is not a leader for New Mexicans. She is vindictive and
Governor Susana Martinez has instituted a new way to governNew Mexico. Vindictiveness has replaced leadership as theprimary strategy for running state government.Let
’
s look at how the Governor
’
s vindictive governance affecteda vulnerable community.
punish the entire Black community to get back at one legisla-tor, Sheryl Williams Stapleton. Why? Simply because WilliamsStapleton, the highest ranking Black legislator in New Mexico,did the right thing and opposed Martinez
’
s agenda of enrich-ing out-of-state corporations using New Mexico
’
s scarce publiceducation dollars.As reported by Independent Source PAC in a series of articleson our website, Martinez gutted the entire funding for the AfricanAmerican Performing Arts Center just because Sheryl WilliamsStapleton stood up for New Mexico
’
s children. Martinez initiallyapproved the funding, but after Williams Stapleton opposed
in funding for the Center last year, and again this year.Martinez snuck her veto through without comment. She did notvoice support for the Center or it
’
s service to the Black commu-nity. She did not acknowledge the hardship to the Center her cutwould present. She did not tell Williams Stapleton, who was soinstrumental in getting the Center up and running that it carries
Spyglass Editorial
Susana Martinez Knows Only One Way: Her Way
A note from our editorial department
Readers of this publication should know that ISPAC at-
on the issues we cover. Disappointingly - though not surpris-ingly - the most powerful public employees in New Mexicohave ignored our requests for interviews, choosing to hiderather than debate their critics. Other publications have beenmuch more friendly to the Martinez administration, and so aregranted access.Larry Behrens, the spokesman for the Public Education De-partment, responded to an ISPAC report explicitly detailing
motivated policy adoption by saying “It
’
s unfortunate thatthis type of question comes up from someone known as BillRicharson
’
s private investigator.”This is a politically game-planned response that ignores
administration
’
s reforms are motivated by money and politics.Behrens
’
s answer is no answer at all.Last month we tried again. This is part of an email sent fromISPAC to Behrens:
Hi Larry,Can I schedule an interview with Hanna Skandera? I
’
d like to discuss her philosophy on education policy - what works and what doesn
’
t, grander- scale - and why she believes her initiatives are effective.…I
’
m not gonna stop asking or trying to get a deeper understanding of the people we report on. I take writing and reporting very seriously, and politics don
’
t interest me nearly so much as policy and what
’
s best for the kids in New Mexico.
really consider my request.
A request was also sent to Scott Darnell, the governor
’
sspokesman:
Hi Mr. Darnell,I
’
m writing to request an interview with Gov. Susana Martinez. The group I write and report for - Independent Source PAC - has been critical of Gov.Martinez and her policies, but it
’
s very important to me that we make an attempt to engage the governor and debate decisions we
’
ve criticized.
and I
’
m not nearly so interested in politics as I am in policy and what
’
s best for the people of New Mexico.Thank you for the consideration.
All requests have been ignored. “Transparency” and “account-ability” are buzzwords with this administration, not principles.
New Mexico’s Spyglass… A deeper look at what’s really behind the story…
March 16, 2012
New Mexico Spyglass - 3
tween Buster and his daugh-ter-in-law, Andrea.Buster Goff,was originallyagainst the Down
’
s contractbefore he was in favor of it. Hechanged his mind after he wasgiven the unique opportunity toalter the contract, when othercommissioners were told theycould not.Goff
‘
s favorable vote wasthe tie-breaker that ensuredthe Downs was awarded thecontract. Did Laguna Develop-ment, the otherbidder, knowabout Andrea Goff?As a fundraiser, Andrea Goffwas most likely paid a percent-age of the money she raised.Based on payments madeto her by Susana PAC, her
the Goff family income.If Buster Goff had not voted infavor of the Down
’
s contract,might that have cost her thelucrative work with SusanaPAC? Republicans Tom Tinninand Charlotte Rode can attestthat Martinez does not hesitateto punish those who do not doher bidding.There are other questionablecontributions to Susana PACby the Downs at Albuquerquemajority owners William Wind-ham and John Turner.
continued on page 9
September.
5/5/11 $ 6,033.966/2/11 $ 7,002.477/7/11 $ 5,410.528/2/11 $ 7,304.509/6/11 $ 3,381.02
-est campaign disclosure law
in-law as a familial relationshipthat must be disclosed.There does not appear to beany formal public disclosure ofthe familial relationship be-has the odor of a slush fund,
-ted former Albuquerque MayorMarty Chavez, in violation ofthe City
’
s ethics code.Andrea Goff, Susana PAC
’
smain fundraiser, also happensto be the daughter-in-law andbusiness partner of State FairCommissioner, Kenneth “Bust-er” Goff.She raised tons of money forSusana PAC months beforeMartinez appointed BusterGoff to the State Fair Commis-sion.According to Susana PAC
’
sReport of Expenditures andContributions through Sep-
Susana PAC:
The“Pink Slime” in New Mexico Deal Making
Gov. Susana Martinez musthave been heartened to learnthis week that the U.S. Depart-ment of Agriculture is buyingseven million pounds of beefcontaining “pink slime,” toserve as meat in America
’
sschool lunches.Pink slime, banned in somecountries, is mostly connectivetissue but can be passed off asmeat. It
’
s an unlisted, but key,ingredient.Martinez
’
s political actioncommittee embraces a similarideal. Susana PAC is the mainingredient in some importantgovernmental deal making,even if we don
’
t know it.Martinez and her colleagueshave openly touted the Downsdeal as transparent and “be-yond reproach,” but New Mexi-cans who actually believe thatare eating pink slime.
Martinez
’
s political operation,in the Downs billion-dollar pluscontract award isn
’
t being tout-ed by the administration, but itcannot be denied. Susana PACis operated by Jay McCleskey,Martinez
’
s political adviser, and
Paid for by Independent Source PAC and notauthorized by any party, candidate or candi-date
’
s committee.To view investigative videos & any documentsreferred to in this publication, go to www.inde-pendentsourcepac.org.You can also download two extensive investiga-tive reports by ISPAC entitled
Hanna Skandera
, and
,
at the same site.
INDEX
FBI investigating Downs deal..................
Education reform, or fraud ....................page 7PED ignored minorities.......................page 8Charter school land grab ....................
Legislature coverage: Government Jobs........
Legislature coverage: D
’
s Versus R
’
s ..........
Legislature coverage: Abortion ...............
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New Mexico's Spyglass Issue 2
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