Guess which ones wants taxpayer-funded full-time bodyguards and which one carries a .45? New Mexico Watchdog’s latest look at the candidates for Governor.
Denish’s Own Ad Makes Her A Witness in Major Criminal Case
It’s never a good idea to politicize a pending criminal case just to score points in an election campaign. There are consequences. NM Watchdog reports.
Diane Denish Used State Planes 143 Times, Charged Taxpayers $208,000 Plus
The Lt. Governor has no real power. She sits on boards, presides over the Senate, votes in cases of a tie, etc. But she has a small staff, and no executive powers to direct any part of state government. Yet, she flew around the state for brief meetings, photo ops and parades. Sometimes her only passenger in a jet with two pilots (costing us over $1,200 per hour) was her husband. What’s interesting is the comparison between our Lt. Gov. and the Governor of the entire state of Texas. That state has five times the land mass of New Mexico, a lot more people and a whole lot more photo opps awaiting. But Perry uses state aircraft “sparingly” according to a report by Texas Watchdog. In the period of time they examined, he used state jets only five times, not including eight trips to responed to the Hurricane Ike crisis. Denish, by comparison, used state planes 26 times, and her use spiked before elections. We hash it out over at New Mexico Watchdog.
Denish Advisers: Cut State Payroll to Grow Economy
The Rio Grande Foundation has been telling the political class for years that a disproportionately large public sector was stifling our economy. Turns our the Lt. Governor’s–and the Governor’s–own advisers have been saying the same thing. New report from New Mexico Watchdog.
Denish Records: False Vouchers and Irregularities in Political Worker Payments
Jim Scarantino’s latest report on how Lt. Governor Diane Denish spent stimulus funds is now available at New Mexico Watchdog.
Jim Scarantino on Denish and the Broken Windows Theory
The little stuff matters. Details count. NYPD proved it with their application of the Broken Windows Theory. I think that approach applies equally to how we hold government and politicians accountable. Combing through records showing how the Lt. Governor spent $225,000 is a good case study in application of this theory.
I expect to have one more report in this series. I will then provide a compilation of all the links for the convenience of anyone else who cares how Diane Denish chose to exercise complete discretion to spend tax dollars meant for economic stimulus.
Did Denish Use Fed Stimulus $$ for Work on Kerry Campaign?
A Denish worker paid with public funds was paid for what appears to be the Kerry train rally and visit to Albuquerque. There are questions about the invoices themselves, too. They appear to have been approved before the work was done. Read my latest report at New Mexico Watchdog.