State Senator John Arthur Smith says he's “embarrassed” to be a public official in such a scandal-plagued state.

according to Heath Haussamen link

“As an elected official here,
I am embarrassed to serve in New Mexico,” he said.

He should be.

He, and the others, were entrusted with control over our power
and resources and they screwed the pooch. wikilink

"The LFC vice chairman, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming,
said he thought it was time Gov. Richardson "cleaned house."

Smith said he was getting tired of the continual scandals
that have rocked state government."

He, and the others, sat around and did nothing while; link

• "... state investment officials ... hadn't paid close enough attention or were misled. "
• "a single individual helped so many investment firms get money ... " and "... who shared in more than $15 million in something akin to finder's fees ..."
• "... state investment officials ... hadn't paid close enough attention or were misled about the role of third-party placement agents. "
• the amounts that were paid in "placement fees" may have been "understated".

"We're not a law enforcement agency,"
Smith said.


"We can only raise red flags."













I expect more.

It is hard to imagine being part of everything that goes on
in Santa Fe, and not knowing that this crap was/is going on.
Nowhere, have I read that anyone is "surprised" by any of
these "revelations".

It is not called a culture of corruption, for no reason.

I expect them to aggressively protect the public interests.
I expect them to step up to stop the ongoing screwing that
we get from our government.


Flag waving falls far short of what the public deserves from
these folks.




photo Mark Bralley