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THE NEW MEXICAN Thursday, January 23, 2014
LOCAL NEWS Ethics board fines council candidate Panel finds Maestas failed to report all expenditures
tures. The board imposed a $500 fine for each violation, which Maestas will have to pay out of his own pocket. Maestas, a former mayor of Española, said there was no willBy Daniel J. Chacón ful intent to circumvent the rules. The New Mexican “I believed all along that we met the spirit of the law, if not the The city’s Ethics and Campaign letter of the law,” he said. “HowReview Board on Wednesday ever, I accept fully the decision fined Santa Fe City Council Disof the ethics board. I take full trict 2 candidate Joseph Maestas responsibility as the candidate, $1,000 for a violation of the public and I’m anxious to get back on campaign finance code. the campaign trail, talking about The board found that Maestas, the issues of concerns to the votwho qualified for public camers of District 2.” paign funds, had failed to report Council candidates were all expenditures and exceeded allowed to collect — and spend the $1,500 limit on such expendi- — up to $1,500 in so-called seed
money contributions needed to qualify for $15,000 in public campaign funds. In his campaign filings with the City Clerk’s Office, Maestas Joseph reported spendMaestas ing the entire $1,500. But he didn’t report more than $600 in campaign expenses, including a large banner that he had installed in the bed of his pickup, which caught the attention of another District 2 candidate, Jeff Green. Green filed a complaint with
the ethics board, which heard the complaint Wednesday. “I’m pleased that they found violations,” Green said after the hearing. “I’m also pleased that there is a penalty. However, I think it should’ve been a stiffer penalty to effectively deter current and future candidates from engaging in further violations of the law. In the large scheme of things, $1,000 isn’t very much when you consider that the candidate is receiving $15,000 in public financing for a position that pays $30,000.” Contact Daniel J. Chacón at 986-3089 or dchacon@ sfnewmexican.com.
In March, hourly pay will jump to $10.66, the third-highest in the nation
City raises minimum wage
Shelbie Loomis, 21, serves frozen yogurt to Santa Fe teens Alex Catanach and Kayla Romero on Wednesday at Yoberry Frozen Yogurt, 3466 Zafarano Drive. The city of Santa Fe’s minimum wage is set to rise to $10.66 per hour from $10.51 on March 1, meaning that many workers like Loomis will get a raise. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN
By Daniel J. Chacón
The New Mexican
By the numBerS
inimum-wage workers in Santa Fe are getting a raise. The minimum wage will increase 15 cents to $10.66 an hour starting March 1. The city’s Living Wage Ordinance was adopted in 2003 to establish minimum hourly rates. It was amended by the City Council in 2007 to tie the minimum wage to annual increases in the Consumer Price Index for the Western region, which the city said Wednesday has gone up 1.4 percent. Santa Fe’s minimum wage is the third-highest in the nation, after SeaTac, Wash., which is $15 an hour, and San Francisco, which is $10.74 an hour. News of Santa Fe’s wage increase generated mixed opinions. Mayor David Coss, who co-sponsored the ordinance as a city councilor, said in a statement that he continues to be proud that Santa Fe passed the ordinance in 2003. “This modest increase will help our workers continue to take care of their families and not fall further behind in the modern economy,” he said. But Simon Brackley, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, said
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In brief
Information sought in shooting of dog
Santa Fe County Animal Control officers are seeking information about a dog that was found shot Wednesday in La Cienega. The 18-month-old female Queensland heeler is being treated at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society after she was picked up near La Luna Road on Wednesday afternoon. Animal control officers said they rescued the dog after a someone spotted it near their property.
Minimum wage in SeaTac, Wash., the highest in the nation.
$10.74
Minimum wage in San Francisco, the second-highest in the nation.
$10.66
Minimum wage in Santa Fe starting March 1, the third-highest in the nation.
“We think it’s very unlikely for one of the candidates to take the lead on this issue at this time,” he said. “However, some councilors have expressed interest in a conversation about capping it.” Sam Bregman, chairman of the state Democratic Party, said there’s a nationwide discussion about increasing the minimum wage. In New Mexico, he said, Democrats are pushing for a constitutional amendment in November asking voters to increase the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour. “It is a fundamental core value with the Democratic Party that we increase the minimum wage for working people here in New Mexico. Nobody should work a 40-hour week and be substantially below the poverty line,” he said. Bregman said an increase would be good for the state’s economy because it would put more money in people’s pockets to spend. “The city of Albuquerque and the city of Santa Fe both have higher minimum wages than statewide, and no one can point to me one business that went out of business because of the increase in the minimum wage in either one of those two cities,” he said. “It simply is a false argument with no data to back it up.”
local businesses pass the salary increases on to their customers. “It will make Santa Fe even less competitive than other neighboring communities,” he said. “Santa Feans are going to be more likely to go and shop elsewhere.” The chamber has advocated a cap on the minimum wage. But Brackley said the effort is Contact Daniel J. Chacón at 986-3089 or on hold during election season. dchacon@sfnewmexican.com.
Dr. Jennifer Steketee, the shelter’s medical director, said it’s likely the animal was shot twice. One bullet remains lodged in the dog’s shoulder. The dog is being treated and will likely need surgery on a fractured leg once she has been stabilized. The bullet wounds appear to be recent, Steketee said. Those with information about the dog or the shooting are asked to call the Santa Fe County Animal Control Office at 992-1626 or Animal Control Dispatch at 428-3720.
Report of threat shuts down Española school New Mexico State Police investigated a possible threat that shut down an Española public charter school Wednesday.
Spokesman Sgt. Damyan Brown said state police received “second- and third-hand reports” at 7 a.m. Wednesday of a potential threat at the McCurdy Charter School. Brown said a student reported receiving a text warning the student not to go to school because something would happen. School was canceled Wednesday, but an employee at the school confirmed classes would be held Thursday. Brown said investigators found the 15-yearold boy who allegedly made the threat. The teen’s parents allowed officers to search the home and question the boy at the Española state police station. Brown said investigators didn’t find any evidence to substantiate the threat.
Section editor: Howard Houghton, 986-3015, hhoughton@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Stephanie Proffer, sproffer@sfnewmexican.com
Ex-prosecutor under Martinez makes AG bid Riedel appointed to state Public Defender Commission last year By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
Susan Riedel, who worked under Gov. Susana Martinez when she was the district attorney in Las Cruces, announced Wednesday that she’s seeking the Republican nomination for attorney general. “New Mexico deserves a strong prosecutor as attorney general,” Riedel said in a news release. “I will stand up and fight against those who would prey on the weak and try to take advantage of the public. I will enforce the laws of New Mexico to ensure that dangerous criminals are put behind bars.” Much of the time Riedel worked in Martinez’s office, she was chief deputy district attorney. After Martinez Susan Riedel became governor, she appointed Riedel to a vacant judge’s post in Doña Ana County. Riedel’s news release said she “retired” from the bench in 2012. Actually, Riedel was defeated in the general election that year when she ran for the judgeship. Riedel worked on some high-profile cases, including the “Baby Brianna” child-abuse/murder case and the conviction of Jesse Avalos for the murder of New Mexico State University freshman Carly Martinez. Last year, the governor appointed Riedel to the state Public Defender Commission, a fact that Riedel doesn’t include in the biography that accompanied her announcement. The state Criminal Defense Lawyers Association called Riedel’s appointment to the commission a “slap in the face” to defendants who can’t afford private lawyers, as well as to people who voted for an independent public defender’s office. Her appointment also was opposed by some Democratic lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Gail Chasey and House Majority Whip Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, both of Albuquerque. Riedel briefly was chairwoman of the Doña Ana County Republican Party last year, after the previous chairman, David Clements, resigned. Riedel faces political newcomer Jim Baiamonte, an Albuquerque Republican, in the GOP primary. State Auditor Hector Balderas is the only Democrat who has announced for the job. Many thought Clovis District Attorney Matt Chandler, who was the GOP nominee for attorney general in 2010, would run again. However, this week Chandler announced he would resign from his job March 1 to go into private practice.
PNM presents plan for closing coal-power units By Staci Matlock The New Mexican
Regulators agreed Wednesday to consider a request by the state’s largest electric utility to abandon half its coal-fired units at the San Juan Generating Station in northwestern New Mexico. Public Service Company of New Mexico has applied to retire two of the station’s four coal-fired units in order reduce haze in the region, as required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. PNM wants to replace power from the units with a combination of nuclear, solar and more coal-generated power from one San Juan unit. The company also is seeking the commission’s approval to recoup from customers the costs of replacing the coal-fired power. The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission appointed a hearing examiner, and people have 14 days to comment on the company’s 702-page application. New Mexico Industrial Energy Consumers, which represents companies such as Intel and Honeywell and The University of New Mexico, filed a motion Tuesday to intervene in the case, saying PNM’s plans for the San Juan Generating Station could affect the utility rates of the organization’s members. In other action, the five elected regulators gave people until Feb. 4 to file responses to several motions made to rehear yet again a still controversial renewable energy rule. The rule, which regulators revamped last fall, partially determines how much solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy is added by the state’s investor-owned utility companies like PNM. New Mexico Independent Power Producers, the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, Western Resource Advocates and the Coalition for Clean, Affordable Energy have all filed motions asking the commission to rehear its final order on the renewable energy rule approved last November. Lightning Dock Geothermal supports rehearing the rule but opposes amendments by the Independent Power Producers and the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce that changed the renewable energy certificate value for each megawatt of electricity generated from non-solar, non-wind sources.
Summary of planS u Buy 78 more megawatts of coal-fired power from San Juan Generating Station Unit 4. u Add 134 megawatt capacity from Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Phoenix. u Build 177 megawatts from a natural gas plant in Farmington. u Add 40 megawatts of solar power.
The New Mexican
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