Rigo Chavez is hiding the truth, at the behest of the leadership of the APS

An independent investigation was done of the public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS (police dept).

According to the Journal link,

"They (the leadership of the APS) have ordered police employees not to talk and say they (the leadership of the APS) don't know whether any aspect of the investigation results will ever be made public."

In an effort to make all aspects of the investigation, public;

I have sent yet another letter to APS Custodian of Public Records Custodian, Rigo Chavez;

Mr. Chavez,

I insist that you stop playing games and identify the private investigation firm that investigated the APS Police Department in late 2006 and or early 2007.

Additionally, I would like to know how many pages there are in their report.

macq

Rigo Chavez likely will not respond honestly as it is the intention of the leadership of the APS that;

no "aspect of the investigation results will ever be made public."

We wouldn't want any of APS' good ol' boys to be actually held accountable, even for FELONY CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT.

If the APS had any intention at all to comply with IPRA/FOIA requests

they could learn a lot from Community Unit School District 300 in Carpentersville, IL. and their online and honest process. link

cc Superintendent(at)aps.edu

Whoa

According to the Journal, link sub req, Kari Brandenburg
has invested $70,000 of her own money in a campaign
to win a job that pays only $109, 000 per year.

Also in the Journal this morning, its endorsement of her
opponent, Lisa Torraco. link

Brandenburg will defend her record as DA
on the Jim Villanucci show at 3pm today.

School board to "encourage" truth telling.

The APS BOE Policy and Instruction Committee
is meeting as I write.

They will discuss and then take action on a resolution that
would address the issue of hidden contributors for election
campaigns of those running for a seat on the board. link

They apparently are not willing to actually require full
disclosure, deciding instead to

"... encourage candidates for the office of school board
member to disclose the names and addresses of all
campaign contributors ..."

Just like Häagen-Dazs encourages us
to split a pint of their ice cream, four ways.

... like that is ever going to happen.

Winston Brook, big spender?

A Wichita blogger filed a records request for credit card receipts
from Winston Brooks tenure as Superintendent of the
Wichita Public Schools.

The records that were finally surrendered were "... nowhere
near complete ..." Apparently the blogger was denied an
opportunity to inspect and or copy the actual receipts.

Never the less, it looks like Winston Brooks was living high
on the hog; and it looks like we need to keep an eye on his
spending of our dime as well.

The real problem; the impossibility of getting public servants
to surrender public records of their public service,

as required by law.

Voice for Liberty in Wichita. link

Jon Barela lacks the character and the courage

to talk about either character or courage.

How does a man like this get a seat on a school board?

How can he except himself from accountability as a role model of the student standard of conduct?

... a standard of conduct which demands both character
and courage.


And how can Winston Brooks?

Or anyone else in the leadership of the entire APS?


The entire leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools
lacks the character and the courage,

to even talk about character and courage.

They can not talk about character or courage, ergo
they can not be role models of either character or courage.


They are a bunch of people who went looking for
standards to be role models of,

and stopped looking when they got to

Role Models of Hypocrisy.

Silence gives consent.

Qui tacet consentire vidétur

An illustrative example of a legitimate question.

Darren White

What is the ethically redacted truth about the felony criminal misuse of your NCIC criminal data base, by the leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools?

Congressional candidate White will now illustrate
not telling the truth.

(no comment)

Congressional candidate Martin Heinrich will now
illustrate what it looks like when a democrat is
not telling the truth.

(no comment)

One of the two of them is a few months away from
getting their hands on trillions of dollars;

too few rules, too little accountability, badly kept records,
and not one of them willing to be accountable for the truth.


How could it possibly go wrong?

NMRP enters fourth week of "due process"

Jon Barela broke NMRP party rules two months ago
when he ran for public office against other republicans
without first vacating his office in the NMRP.

A complaint was filed with the NMRP Rules Committee.

We are now entering week four of what, if there were justice,
should have been an up or down vote by the rules committee
on a clear violation of the rules.

The good ol' boys that run the NMRP have decided that the rules committee will not meet until they say so, and they won't say so. They won't allow the rules committee to do what it is supposed to do.

The good ol' boys are dragging their heels.

Because for as long as they don't actually loose, they win.


Too bad for anyone who believes in rules,
and the need for their uniform enforcement.

Too bad for anyone who isn't a good ol' boy.


Jon Barela, APS Board of Education member, is a senior role model for 89,000 of this community's sons and daughters.

And we wonder where they get their contempt and disregard for rules.

Darren White admits to lying

The Journal reports this morning on the first congressional
district race between Darren White and Martin Heinrich.
link sub req

Darren White is directly quoted;

".. if you want to see a bunch of lies,
just allow politicians to talk about themselves."

rather matter of factly;
no embarrassment, no remorse, no regret.


No matter who your candidate is,
if they have run a deliberately deceptive political advertisement,
then they have lied. A half truth is a whole lie. ancient proverb


How can you hand them trillions of dollars, all of your power, and no real accountability (they don't even have to tell the truth)

and not expect to be stolen blind?



Is there any standard of conduct at all for those with whom we entrust control over all of our power and all of our resources?

Is there even one standard to which we can hold them accountable?


And if there is that one,
mustn't that standard be;

1. they have to tell us the truth
2. ...
3. ...
4. ...
5. ...
   

You can't get any closer to the bottom line than;

Will they answer legitimate questions, candidly, forthrightly, honestly, and rather immediately?


Any answer except yes
means no.

Stonewalling
means no.


No means;

No, I will not tell you the truth.
I will not tell you what I am doing with your power,
your trust, and your treasure.

End the madness.

Beth Everitt and Brad Winter promised the truth.

I spent an hour on the Jim Villanucci show one day, telling voters that if the leadership of the APS would not submit to an honest audit, then, the then current mill levy and bond issues should be voted down.

Beth Everitt and Brad Winter showed up on the Villanucci show the very next day. They promised to tell the truth. They promised transparency.

Everitt was voted off the island, so;

now it is just Brad Winter who is responsible for the failure to meet their commitment to tell the truth. The leadership of the APS cannot point to meaningful transparency. They cannot even point to a user friendly website.

How's this for transparency? Ask Brad Winter for a candid, forthright and honest accounting of all the spending at 6400 Uptown Blvd.

Then you will see what standards, accountability and transparency amount to in the leadership of the APS.


... were there any reasonable doubt remaining.

I think, we have been lied to.

In January of 2007, it was revealed that there had been a public corruption scandal in the leadership of the APS Police Department. There is considerable evidence to suggest a criminal conspiracy woven into the corruption.

I have been in search of the truth about the use of public power and resources in the commission of felony criminal misconduct.

Former APS Police Chief Gil Lovato said,

If the truth ever gets out, there won't be a single
APS senior administrator left standing.

You can believe him on this one.

Gil Lovato, I think, must have a body map that is
the mother of all body maps. link

They have already pushed Beth Everitt, Tom Savage, and Gil Lovato off the train, and now they are closing ranks; they are getting ready to make their final stand.

One for all and, all for one.


On one side, I standing demanding that they tell us the truth.

On the other, they sit staring into their laptops pretending not to hear that they are being asked to set the time, and the day, and the place, where they will admit that they have chopped down the cherry tree. And then sold the wood. At a loss. And kept no records accurate and complete enough to send anyone to prison.

I demand that they finally, simply, tell the truth.

They stonewall.

I demand that they explain and defend their exception to honest accountability to any meaningful standard of conduct at all.

They stonewall.

Stonewalling is the only defense of their otherwise indefensible position.

The bottom line; they refuse to tell the truth.
They refuse to set a time, a day, and a place,
where they will stop stonewalling and start answering legitimate
questions; candidly, forthrightly and honestly.

The truth tellers at APS won't.



So anyway;

I think, we have been lied to.

I asked for the truth. This is part of my email to Rigo Chavez;

"... This constitutes a request for public records surrounding the investigations of the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department in and around January 2007. It includes a request for all public records of any investigations or audits that were made necessary in following through on a complete investigation of APS institutionally and individually..."

Did I, or did I not, ask for the truth about all investigations?

To which Rigo Chavez responded;

"... With regard to your question about the use of a private investigator in the inquiry into the actions of former APS Police Chief Gil Lovato, you had asked who was in charge of the investigations. While a private investigator may have been used, the private investigator was not in charge of the investigation ..." (emphasis added)

And still, not one bit of truth about the investigation is surrendered to stakeholders,
as is supposedly guaranteed by law; the NMIPRA.

I think this is weaselry.

I think Rigo Chavez deliberately obstructed my effort to learn the truth about the ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS;

in violation of the law.


I think, we have been lied to.


endnote;

This is what Jon Barela needed to become part of so badly, that the school board disenfranchised an entire electorate (link) in order to appoint him to the board. This is what Jon Barela needed to become part of so badly that he betrayed the trust of the Republican Party of New Mexico, by excepting himself from accountability to its rules about the conditions of the appointment.

OMG! What weaselry! !!

I have been trying for some time to find and expose the truth about the public corruption and criminal conspiracy in the leadership of the APS (police department), which came to light in late 2006/early 2007.

I asked Rigo Chavez, APS Director of Communications, and Custodian of Public Records, for information on the various investigations into aspects of the scandal. In particular I am after the results of a private investigation, since it is the only investigation that was not conducted by the people who were being investigated.

Part of my request of the Custodian of Public Records read;

This constitutes a request for public records surrounding the investigations of the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department in and around January 2007. It includes a request for all public records of any investigations or audits that were made necessary in following through on a complete investigation of APS institutionally and individually.

With Gil Lovato's notice that he is dropping his suit against the APS, it should no longer be necessary for the APS to keep that report secret from public knowledge.

In particular, I am requesting the opportunity inspect the report from the private investigator of the scandal.

In particular, I am requesting any public records of public records that were surrendered to Bernalillo District Attorney Kari Brandenburg, or any other agency of law enforcement as a result of the investigations.

Rigo Chavez still will not reveal the identity of the private investigation firm that was hired, and paid with public funds, to investigate the activities of public servants within their public service.

His latest response to my request for the investigator's identity reads;

With regard to your question about the use of a private investigator in the inquiry into the actions of former APS Police Chief Gil Lovato, you had asked who was in charge of the investigations. While a private investigator may have been used, the private investigator was not in charge of the investigation. (emphasis added)

Still he will not reveal the identity of the private investigation firm hired to investigate the scandal, because I cannot find the exact words that he cannot weasel out of.

APS Superintendent Beth Everitt promised stakeholders that the results of this particular investigation and others, would be surrendered to the District Attorney for possible criminal prosecutions. Chavez admits that to date, almost two years later, and just weeks from the expiration of statutes of limitations for criminal misconduct, APS has not sent to the DA's Office, any of the results of any of the investigations into the scandal.

What crap, what unvarnished, unmitigated crap.

The leadership of the APS is apparently prepared to go to any length to hide the truth about the corruption and criminal misconduct in its leadership. The are prepared to hide the investigators, and they are prepared to hide the results of their investigations.

You have no (defensible) right to know the truth about your interests in the public schools.

The public servants who run the APS refuse to tell you the truth about the corruption and about what they did to the corrupt.

There is only one reason to hide the truth.

The stature of the leadership of the APS will be reduced.
They are prepared to be dishonest with stakeholders in order to escape the consequences of stakeholders knowing the truth.

There is no where in the entire APS where a complaint can be filed over this outrageous conduct.

There is only one place to file a complaint, and that is to follow APS Modrall into the briar patch of a court system where their use of loopholes, technicalities, and legal weaselry will enable them to hide the truth from stakeholders forever.

If Chavez and the good ol' boys can keep this secret for just a few more months, statutes of limitation will expire, and APS good ol' boys will escape the consequences of criminal misconduct.

You, the taxpayer, are paying Rigo Chavez almost $100K a year, he cc's his responses to Winston Brooks, APS Superintendent, whom you pay over $250K a year, and to Brad Winter, APS' Chief Operating Officer, whom you pay over $100K a year, and to Andrea Trybus, APS' Director of Human Resources, whom you pay around $100K a year, and to Bill Reed, the Director of APS' Police Dept, (salary unknown to me), and to Art Melendrez, Modrall lawyer, who along with the Modrall law firm, earns God knows what for their participation in the concerted effort to hide the truth from stakeholders.

You are paying salaries and fees totaling almost $750K a year, to be deceived.
You are paying these people almost $750K a year to cover each others' asses.


If any of this were above the board, Winston Brooks, or some one, would sit in front of stakeholders and respond to legitimate questions about the scandal; candidly, forthrightly, and honestly.

The truth is that he won't even sit with stakeholders to lie to them.

Winston Brooks will not answer any questions at all.

None of them will.

And they are weeks away from escaping forever, the legitimate consequences of their conduct in the public corruption and criminal conspiracy scandal in the leadership of the APS (police department).

cc. superintendent (at) aps.edu

A half truth is a whole lie

If you believe that old proverb; then negative political ads,
which are half truths at best,
are lies.

No matter who your candidate is, if they are telling half truths, they are lying.

Why are we electing to positions of trust and power,
people who are manifest liars?


These folks are supposed to hold themselves accountable to a higher standard of conduct.


There is no legitimate higher standard of conduct
which does not at a minimum, require truth telling.

Not only is truth not-telling accepted, it is encouraged.
We elect them to public office if they do it well.


If there is ever to be a higher standard of conduct for government and public service, it will not come at the insistence of the good ol' boys. It will not be done with even their cooperation.

It will have to be jammed down their throats.


It is going to take more than just a few of us to do it.



Are you tired of being lied to?

Are your tired of being lied to, that you are ready to fight
to establish accountability to standards of conduct
that at their very least, requires them to tell the truth.

Are you ready to fight to establish standards of conduct
that require them to answer our legitimate questions;
candidly, forthrightly and honestly?

The battle over Character Counts!

Background;

The phrase "Character Counts!" can mean a number of things. First source; the national headquarters for the Character Counts! movement. link

My perspective;

If your interest is to address the most of problems that face educators everyday, and in a proactive way, Character Counts! is far and away the best plan that I have ever seen.

I am a Character Counts! trainer. I was among the first group of teachers who were trained to be trainers of school staffs all over the district. I did dozens of well received trainings in schools and in the community.

I was trained personally, by the founder of the Character Counts! movement; Michael Josephson.

United States Senator Pete Domenici is a founding father too.


I will never forget a moment during the three day training. Micheal Josephson had just stated that Character Counts! would emerge as a grass roots movement.

Students would inspire their teachers to embrace character.
Teachers would inspire their principals,
principals would inspire superintendents, and
superintendents would inspire the members of the board
hold themselves accountable to a higher standard of conduct.

Apples, were to going to fall up.



Every generation expects the next generation,
to be the first generation to hold itself honestly accountable
to meaningful standards of conduct.

Succeeding generations almost always fall short of the expectation.

They almost never fall short of the example that is set for them.

No one will hold themselves accountable to a higher standard of conduct than their boss, or teacher, or parent. Moral authority is earned by setting a personal example. There is no equivalent gesture.

If the members of the board of education do not model honest accountability to meaningful standards of conduct and competence, they forfeit the moral authority to demand that the superintendent meet those standards, who forfeits moral authority over principals, who forfeit moral authority over teachers, who forfeit moral authority over students.

We have forfeited moral authority over students.
We cannot demand that they hold themselves accountable
to a higher standard of conduct than their role models.

When the leadership of the Albuquerque Public Schools struck;

In no case shall the standard of conduct for an adult
be lower than the standard of conduct for students.

from the standards for their own conduct,

they forfeited their authority to demand that students hold themselves accountable to any standard of conduct at all.

The leadership of the APS refuses to role model the most fundamental higher standard of conduct of them all;

Telling the truth.

Sometime, someday, somewhere, they must sit and answer legitimate questions; candidly, forthrightly, and honestly.

Sometime, someday, somewhere, they must simply tell the truth.

Sometime, someday, somewhere, the good ol' boys will have to defend their self-exception to the rules. Their defense will be rejected, and the reign of the good ol' boys will end once and for all.


We are not going to inspire the good ol' boys into holding themselves honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence.

We will have to drag them to it, kicking and screaming.



All that is necessary for evil to prevail in the world
is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

You pick a side when you don't pick a side. unk

NMRPRCC Lou Melvin offers response

Although Ms. Melvin still refuses me the common courtesy of responding directly to my legitimate requests for information regarding my complaint and the emerging ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the NMRP,

she is apparently prepared to allow the record to reflect that,
my complaint has been put on hold until the lawyers weigh in.


Allow me to predict the result;

Community resources of the Republican Party of New Mexico will be paid to lawyers to craft a "legal" excuse for ethical misconduct.

Legal loopholes, technicalities and weaselry will except one of the good ol' boys from honest accountability to the rules;

in diametric opposition to the interests of everyone in the NMRP, except the good ol' boys.

The good ol' boy system, in a nutshell.

If only Jon Barela had the character and courage

to provide candid, forthright, and honest answers to legitimate questions,

the current controversy would end.

Obviously the controversy must end with either his acquittal
or his indictment.

If candid, forthright and honest answers led to his acquittal,
character and courage would not play.
The responses would be offered out of self interest.

Clearly, Jon Barela's self interests are not served by
standing up and responding to legitimate questions;
candidly, forthrightly and honestly.


Doesn't that mean that the public interest
is not being served either?



We are at a point in this process, imho, where
Jon Barela not only has to be candid, forthright and honest,
but he now has to explain why he has refused to be candid,
forthright, and honest, heretofore.





end note; I use a specific phrase repeatedly;

candid, forthright, and honest,

because those are the words Jon Barela will use when he
explains to 89,000 of our son and daughters,
the standard he expects them to set as their own.
He will tell them that their character counts.
He will tell them that their character depends on their
willingness to hold themselves honestly accountable to
meaningful standards of conduct and competence.

Jon Barela's code of conduct as a school board member
does not include even the mention of accountability to
ethical standards of conduct.

The leadership of the APS deliberately denied whistle blower protection to students and employees who expose the ethical misconduct of administrators or board members.

The leadership of the APS has systematically removed the word ethical, from every standard to which they might be held accountable.

To avoid being held accountable as role models, and
to avoid being held accountable to a meaningful standards
of conduct and competence,

they changed the wording in their own code of conduct.

They removed the phrase and the expectation that;

In no case, shall the standard of conduct for an adult, be lower than the standard of conduct for students*.

*which, as of today, is still;

honest accountability to a nationally recognized, accepted, and respected code of ethical conduct.

"They are upset with the PR"

I bounced the issue of the disappearing complaint against
NMRPVC Jon Barela off a "political insider", who offered
that the complaint has been hidden by the leadership of the
Republican Party of New Mexico,

"Because they are upset with the PR."

I presume that they will continue to be upset with the PR
through the November election.

They could even remain upset with the PR through the
February election, when Jon Barela will run again for
his seat on the school board, but in a bonafide election process.

Will Jon Barela be

• cemented into his seat on the school board, and
  
• cemented into the chairmanship of the NMRP, and
• cemented into the fast track for political stardom in New Mexico before the upset over the PR is finally resolved?

Seems like, and could be; which begs at least one question;

Since when, are

• manipulating the system to one's own advantage, and
• denying due process to a legitimate complaint, and
• hiding the truth from stakeholders, and
• role modeling contempt for the rules and dishonesty

family values?

The answer of course is; ever since, and for as long as,
good ol' boys run the New Mexico Republican Party.

Even if Jon Barela had not broken the rules

Why would the Republican Party of New Mexico want
this kind of man* in their senior leadership?




* The kind of man who

• would allow himself to be appointed to a school board in order to help cover up a scandal; neither he nor any other member of the leadership of the APS is willing to be held honestly accountable as a role model for 89,000 of our sons and daughters, and
  
• would oppose any attempt to begin an impartial full scale forensic audit of the leadership of the APS; in the face of the Meyners Audit which revealed that likely millions of tax dollars have been lost or stolen by the good ol' boys in the leadership of the APS, and
  
• will not tell the truth. Neither he, nor anyone in the leadership of the APS will name a time, a day, and a place where they will sit and answer legitimate questions about the public interests in the public schools, candidly, forthrightly, honestly, and on the record.

Why would anyone want this kind of man to lead the family values party?


Is this some kind of joke?


photo by Mark Bralley

The play; good ol' boy arrogance

The player; poor John McCain's brother.

link