Tuesday, March 07, 2023Time for Another Edition Of The Always Popular Reader Vox Populi; They Write Of A Salaried Legislature, Lawmaker Pensions And Reforming CYFD, Also: Child Advocate Plan On The Move These lines in the Monday blog about the plan to have legislators draw salaries for the first time drew special attention from a lawmaker at the Roundhouse: And now the reaction of the lawmaker who stayed anonymous:
You've accepted the inaccurate narrative that the Legislature is made up of lawyers, business owners and professionals.
That doesn't describe the 27 members of the Senate Democratic Majority at all. Business owners are Senators Cervantes, Munoz and probably Padilla, though that's unclear. Lawyers who actually practice are Cervantes, Wirth, Ivey-Soto, Duhigg and Maestas. Sen. Baca is the only Republican practicing. Most Dem Senators are actually coming from the "unknown" categories. We really don't know how they earn a living, or know if their income comes indirectly from government jobs, grants, or as government retirees.
The Legislature has seen an exodus of the business class, which explains the legislation getting passed and the inability to create a positive business reputation for the state to diversify. There are actually quite a few senators whose income is rather mysterious, despite the financial disclosure forms they fill out. That there has been a turn to the left since the departures in 2021 of such Senate Dem conservative icons as John Arthur Smith and Mary Kay Papen is not in dispute. PENSION GRIPE
How nice that the same legislators who slashed PERA cost of living raises for regular retirees, turned around and gave themselves an unfunded pension raise! The small amount of money they contribute to PERA each year does not cover their pensions, so where does it come from? The same legislators appropriate money in the budget to cover their own pensions. What a scam. During this same ten year time period the legislature screamed that the PERA fund was not solvent and they put PERA retirees in their crosshairs, cutting their cost of living adjustments to almost nothing. At the same time their health insurance is going up astronomically.
I personally would like to see a full-time legislature, and their pension program completely revamped so that they have to deal with the same budget tightening that tens of thousands of regular PERA retirees have to deal with. The idea of having a full-time, paid legislature surfaced in a serious fashion this session but it has not made much progress as the March 18 adjournment nears. CYFD (CONT. COVERAGE) Before we get to more Vox Populi, this news. That proposal to establish a child advocate office to provide more and better accountability for CYFD won unanimous approval from the House Appropriations Committee Monday: “Whenever a child is harmed, we must take immediate steps to understand what went wrong so that we can prevent future tragedies,” said lead sponsor Rep. Jaramillo. “House Bill 11 builds on the success of similar initiatives in other states, while addressing the unique needs of New Mexico, to bring greater accountability to CYFD and better protect our children.” The House bill now goes to the House floor where approval is expected. Also Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved that chamber's version of the child advocate measure--SB 373. Passage through both chambers is looking promising but an MLG veto threat hangs over the hope. Now back to the must-read Vox Populi. . . CHANDLER AND CYFD
He also filed a successful defamation suit against Martinez political adviser Jay McCleskey for using that investigation in a political campaign against him, and that brings us to this email from Clint Chandler, brother of Scott, concerning our continuing CYFD coverage: Joe, I read with interest your mention of the many bills to reform the CYFD. Given the existence of those bills and related, broader, issues, the timing seems apt to mention my brother Scott has a lawsuit, which, if successful, would substantially pull back the veil at CYFD. This is presumably the last of Scott's lawsuits that, as you know, included complaints against the State of New Mexico and, separately, against Jay McCleskey. Scott possesses documents that memorialize depositions and other records obtained in discovery during the series of lawsuits. Scott could have used these items in court proceedings, if they were ruled admissible, but otherwise they were unavailable to the public. The CYFD has demanded the return of those items with the intention of destroying them. The case number is D-721-CV-2022-00001. The judge is Roscoe Woods. Since Scott is now a magistrate judge, he is unable to direct attention to this matter on his own. Given the legislative efforts to reform the CYFD, and the strong probability Scott's lawsuit will inform future reform discussions, I thought it desirable to submit this for your consideration to enter into the mix regarding the CYFD reporting and commentary. Thanks for that Clint and for giving marching orders to the Legal Beagles focused on CYFD reform to look at that case and report to reform minded legislators and advocates. A "STALE" PLAN  The headline, “Gov. orders shakeup at child agency,” really piqued my curiosity. “Yay!” I thought, “change is finally going to happen!” After reading the piece, I believe a more accurate headline would have read, “Gov. orders bureaucratic reshuffle at dysfunctional agency.” “Shakeup” implies massive change. Exciting. Bold. New. I got my hopes up. What came next, though, were just words on a page: the “office of innovation” within the Children, Youth and Families Department and a “new advisory council.” Say what? Oh, and also looking out of state for “experts” and rehiring people who have already worked there. Stale. . . It is quite obvious to the most casual of observers, but apparently not to those entrenched in bureaucratic “thinking”: There cannot be any meaningful oversight of CYFD, by CYFD. Are there excellent workers and staff at CYFD? Absolutely. Can the agency be trusted to hold itself accountable? Of course not. Among the most fundamental issues that plague our entire child welfare system is best described by a word the governor used to describe CYFD: dysfunctional. . . Constructing “new” and additional bureaucratic edifices would be an expensive distraction used to further bury the truth. . . Here’s an alternative idea: Let’s use the services of a professional interventionist to help us . .Our child welfare system is broken. . .The time to tinker around the edges has long passed. Massive change. . . is necessary. . .Our child welfare family can properly function to keep children safe only if we address our own issues first. Otherwise, the child welfare apparatus in New Mexico will simply continue to reflect and replicate the dysfunction and trauma it purports to address. And that, dear readers, is another edition of Vox Populi fresh from. . . The home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 |
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