The dark side of Governor Martinez’s legacy
Societal cuts impact our economic health
The July 8 op-ed by Matt Geisel, N.M. Secretary of Economic Development, touted economic gains under Gov. Susana Martinez. I would like to suggest that this is only one side of our economic/societal coin that will be her legacy.
The other side of this coin and her legacy will contain at least some of the following:
■ In her first week in office, the governor cut all funding for the NM Commission on the Status of Women, saying other agencies of the state could/ would handle the work previously handled by this commission. I would suggest this attitude and action are connected to the fact NM children continue to live in a state very close to the most atrisk youth in the nation.
■ In her first term, the governor endorsed the efforts of the secretary of state to launch an extensive investigation into voter fraud. Some years later, after an expense of some $600,000, Diane Duran ended the investigation without publishing a single case of voter fraud. A huge waste of governmental time, energy and treasure. Duran later left office and pleaded guilty to her own economic fraud.
■ The Department of Health Services, with the governor’s active support, did an immediate defunding of 15 counseling agencies across the state due to fraud alleged by an out-of-state corporation’s audit. Two-plus years later, the state Attorney General’s Office declared there was no fraud by any of the 15 agencies. That out-of-state corporation had its own creditability and accuracy of findings challenged in some serious ways. The Arizona corporations which were hired to take over the counseling needs of our state began walking away from their contracts in a couple of years. The governor knowingly wrecked a support system for those in most need of counseling help.
■ Yes, New Mexico felt the economic impact of the 2008 Wall Street led financial collapse. However, two terms of no new taxes has meant substantial underfunding of our judicial systems, district attorneys, public defenders, public safety and education systems. Our governor, a former DA, could have understood the connections between underfunding these areas and the increases in crime, but didn’t. Getting corporations to move here, with the crime stats of our state and city, has been a huge challenge.
The underfunding hasn’t helped with the 4,000-plus untested rape kits in the state. “The number of untested rape kits per capita in New Mexico far surpasses any other state in the nation, according to a special audit by the Office of the State Auditor.” (Dec. 6, 2016 Journal). As a woman and a former prosecutor, the governor should understand that these untested rape kits essentially said to all females in this state that what happened to them didn’t really matter to our government, serial rapists weren’t a serious problem and this crime didn’t really need our attention. The new funding found recently really can’t and won’t cure the neglect of multiple years of budget cuts.
■ Cuts in funding happened — 20 percent in the past decade — for all of the agencies providing services for vulnerable, at-risk and elderly populations. Forty-plus agencies providing these services have closed their doors during Gov. Martinez’s two terms due to lack of state funding.
■ Judge Sarah Singleton just ruled that New Mexico has not met its constitutionally mandated responsibility to adequately fund the education of our state’s children.
This societal side of the coin has a serious impact on the economic side of the coin. The health of our overall society is the bedrock foundation for any sustainable economic success. Ignoring the undersides of poverty, drug use, crime and low educational achievement is to chase a vapid dream. Matt Geisel should be aware of both sides of the coin.
Any governor or state legislators who can’t find the will or dollars to adequately fund the needs of their people while also granting tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy don’t deserve ongoing support or votes.