Category Archives: Governance

Listen to the outsider

New Mexicans have been singing the refrain “What’s wrong with New Mexico?” for so long we should make it the official state ballad. Or maybe we could try listening to keen observers who are not stuck in old ways of … Continue reading

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If we pay legislators, what will they do differently?

On a recent episode of the PBS TV show “New Mexico in Focus,” a panelist used the phrase “full time” in talking about a salaried legislature. This was the latest confirmation that when New Mexicans talk about a salaried legislature, … Continue reading

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Reinventing the state school board

Something we New Mexicans are not good at: electing officials for certain powerful statewide commissions. Our track record is abysmal. We have elected people who have disappointed us over and over. So it’s curious that legislators tried to reinvent the … Continue reading

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Legislative salary in other Western states

Legislative salary in other Western states This is not a published column but is based on the column I wrote in March 2023 about legislative salaries. I found a list of the contact information for legislative staff in all the … Continue reading

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We don’t do initiatives

In New Mexico we do not have “initiatives” on the statewide ballot. Thank Heaven. By “initiatives” I mean the ability to make laws by popular vote, initiated by petitions from voters. New Mexico does not have such a provision in … Continue reading

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Saving workers’ comp

Unlike most articles on this web site, “Saving workers’ comp” was written in 2021 specifically as a memorandum for the New Mexico legislature. Readers are invited to copy and share it. by Merilee Dannemann, for the New Mexico legislature New … Continue reading

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Move the presidential primary before 2024

Even though everything before the coronavirus now seems like a distant memory, it wasn’t long ago that half of the nation’s partisan voters were still tussling over who their presidential nominee would be. New Mexico was poised to play its … Continue reading

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Virus teaches us about crisis management

I can already see what the arguments will be after the coronavirus crisis is over. If New Mexico escapes a major outbreak and many deaths, due largely to the governor’s sweeping precautionary measures, some people will say the state overreacted. … Continue reading

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Taxes have to come from somewhere.

Let’s be realistic. Taxes have to come from somewhere. Many New Mexicans are uncomfortable that the state depends heavily on revenue from the oil and gas industry. If we want to be less dependent on oil and gas but still … Continue reading

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Bail bonds guidelines need more work

When New Mexico passed the bail bond amendment in 2016, I thought it was simple. The language, which amended the state constitution, seemed so straightforward. “Bail may be denied pending trial if, after a hearing, the court finds … that … Continue reading

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