Koch reappointment a faith shaker.

Anyone who thought the process for approving UNM Regents is above board, has reason to suspect that their faith is unjustified.

James Henry "Jamie" Koch is not the only person qualified to sit on the UNM Board of Regents; he is certainly not the best. But he is Governor Richardson's favorite, and apparently that ends the discussion.

Never mind the fact that in a vote of no confidence by UNM Faculty, he fell by a margin of 70 to 1 (482-7). Never mind that the citizens who showed up to speak against his confirmation out numbered supporters 8 to 1. Never mind that nearly every legislator who spoke on the issue, prefaced their remarks with the belief that the leadership of UNM has failed taxpayers in very significant ways; in particular, bloated administration.

Before the hearing, I ran into a former legislative leader. He assured me that the confirmation was a done deal; no amount of protest was going to change anything. Another person who spoke up at the hearing, indicated that she had heard the same thing.

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez stated, on the record, (if there actually were an accessible record, Senate committee meetings are still not recorded for the benefit of citizens), that he intended to vote in favor of the coronation, even before hearing the testimony of those who had come to the hearing to testify.

The good ol' boys are clearly still running the government, they still regard the government as their personal plum tree, and they are still feeding plums to their cronies, even in plain sight.




photos Mark Bralley