Las Cruces – Susana Martinez, Republican gubernatorial candidate today issued the following statement in response to the upcoming emergency legislative session.
“Today, we are reminded of the sad realities concerning the mismanagement and malfeasance taking place in Santa Fe. The emergency session scheduled for later this month dealing with the enormous budget deficit confronting our state demonstrates the total lack of responsibility and common sense applied by those in the Roundhouse dealing with spending and taxpayer dollars. Secondly, reports state funds are ‘entangled in a kickback scheme’ is further proof that real, significant changes need to take place in New Mexico to identify those who have abused the public trust, bring them to justice and get our state back on track. Diane Denish has been at the helm of an administration that has left New Mexico in a weakened state and her candidacy represents what’s wrong with the way business has been done. As governor, I will focus on investing in programs that work while cutting those that don’t, and we will root out the waste, fraud, and abuse that are running rampant in Santa Fe.”
BACKGROUND:
“New Mexico state lawmakers have been summoned to the capitol for an emergency session Oct. 17 (a Saturday, no less) to deal with a budget deficit expected to top $500 million. So it was with great distress that they learned this week that a sizable chunk of the state’s endowment fund and teacher pension plan may have become entangled in a kickback scheme rather than invested for maximum return. The angst was bipartisan … The allegations — just five weeks after federal prosecutors dropped a long-running pay-to-play probe involving Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson – came in the form of a confession from Saul Meyer, a founding partner of Aldus Equity, a Dallas-based firm that advises public pension and investment funds on where to park their billions. Meyer has pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud in New York. In his plea statement, released this week by the New York attorney general, Meyer also said he violated his fiduciary duty during the five years he spent advising New Mexico officials how to invest hundreds of millions of dollars. Meyer said that ‘on numerous occasions,’ he urged investments that he knew would prove lucrative for ‘politically connected individuals’ in New Mexico – even though those investments ‘were not necessarily in the best economic interest of New Mexico,’ according to a statement by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.” (Stephanie Simon, “New Mexico Faces Double Trouble,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/8/09)
