The Republican Party in New Mexico frequently uses the term "crony capitalism" in connection with the Richardson-Denish administration.
       Loosely defined, it is using the levers of government power to benefit your friends and supporters. Certainly the description in regard to Richardson is accurate on a breathtaking scale that covers the gamut from lucrative contracts for financial instruments to state investments.
       But Republicans should be a bit red faced now that it appears their candidate for governor has been caught with her hand in the cronyism cookie jar.
       Susana Martinez, the district attorney in Las Cruces, bought at least $60,000 in office supplies and equipment on a no-bid arrangement with a company owned by one of her top deputies who is also a key political ally.
       Martinez says the deal was disclosed to the secretary of state and in audits and that it saved the taxpayers money. She says this was a good deal and that she would do the same thing as governor if it were done transparently and saved money.
       Richardson, likewise, claims deals done by his administration have been good for the state, and Denish hasn't exactly been a vocal critic of what's gone on for the last eight years.
       What Martinez misses is the point.
       It isn't whether the deal from 2003 to 2005 with a company owned by one of her then-top deputies, Janetta B. Hicks, was good for the taxpayers and legal. (Note: Ethics reforms enacted in 2007 now prohibit such dealings between a government agency and an employee.)
       The point is that it flunks the smell test.
       Private businesses can wheel and deal as they see fit. It's their money. That's not true of government officials, whether they are district attorneys or the governor.
       And while $60,000 worth of copy paper and Sharpies is peanuts compared to what has gone on in Santa Fe, it smacks of the kind of insider dealing voters are sick of and that the crime-fighting Martinez vows to clean up.
       The fact she still sees nothing wrong with the office supply arrangement, or how it looks, begs the question of whether she's up to the task of turning around New Mexico's culture of corruption.
      

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