Legal Complaint Names Elections Director-Turned-Whistleblower AJ Salazar (Updated)

By Corey on March 11th, 2010

Herrera

The dirt is piling on.

Yesterday, the Rio Grande Sun published the much-sought-after resignation letter of former New Mexico Elections Bureau Director AJ Salazar, who had accused his boss, Secretary of State Mary Herrera, of running a “crooked organization.” (Herrera’s office had refused to release the letter despite it being a public record.)

This afternoon, SFR received an anonymous letter accusing Salazar of stealing from an elderly client, along with a copy of a complaint the client filed against Salazar with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of New Mexico, which investigates complaints against attorneys.

Updated March 12: “I’ve never stolen anything from anybody,” Salazar tells SFR.

The letter and complaint are posted after the jump.

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Free Tinfoil Hat With Every Subscription: The New Mex Fails Its Readers And Enables Con Artists

By Corey on March 10th, 2010

Over at the Santa Fe Review, science writer George Johnson has no kind words for the Santa Fe New Mexican’s continued (mis)handling of a story that’s gotten national attention: That is, the claims of this city’s vocal and surprisingly influential anti-wi-fi lobby.

In two stories today, Tom Sharpe, in his usual style, digs up some good detail. For instance, that wi-fi foe Bill Bruno—last seen ranting and waving a copy of GQ at a City Council meeting—”sometimes wears a silver-coating nylon veil to protect his brain from wireless signals.”

But, as Johnson writes, Sharpe and his editors have completely ignored their responsibility to the truth.

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Los Alamos National Bank Restates Earnings; Profits Drop $1.7M

By Corey on March 9th, 2010

The parent company of Los Alamos National Bank, Trinity Capital Corp., just put out a press release restating its fourth-quarter and annual 2009 earnings. The upshot for shareholders is that the bank’s net income declined by $1.7 million to approximately $3.2 million, comparing its previously stated financials to the amended ones.

Last month, SFR interviewed LANB Chairman and CEO Bill Enloe about the bank’s health and its dealings with regulators.

In-Depth Look At Voter Turnout Suggests More At Work Than Apathy In Santa Fe Elections

By Corey on March 9th, 2010

On March 10, the Santa Fe City Council will adopt the official results of last week’s municipal elections. We’ve pasted those results below the jump for all the local political junkies to pore over, and the new issue of SFR that hits the streets this week day will contain a mini-analysis of voter turnout—which was piss-poor as expected.

Actually, turnout was slightly worse than expected—which perhaps should be no surprise, considering the leading daily’s Eeyore treatment of the race.

The consequence of such low participation figures is easy to understand: People don’t feel invested in their government.

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Tea Party On With Former Gov. Gary Johnson: ‘People Are Genuinely Outraged’

By Corey on March 8th, 2010

For this week’s cover story on the local Tea Party movement, SFR interviewed former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who seems to be running for President, although he says it’s “not part of my horizon.”

Read the full interview after the jump.

(And in case you missed them, check out related interviews with New Mexico Militia leader Bob Wright and Congressional candidate Adam Kokesh.)

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