Locally, it’s like the R&B song, “It’s The Same Old Song.”
Tomas Campos, indicted for perjury, has reportedly been hired on contract to work for County Manager Jeremy Maestas. The Sun has made an IMPRA request to confirm his hiring.
If so, thank you, County Commission Chairman Alex Naranjo, also under indictment for perjury, for allegedly lending a helping hand and a fistful of dollars to your buddy who may or may not have lied in concert with you in the grand jury investigation into the North Central Solid Waste Authority – which, hard to believe things could smell worse, has been and is a cesspool of stench.
Most likely you/we/they – the taxpayers – will be paying for legal fees for these two alleged liars. We will wait to see.
Start keeping track of these shenanigans, voters, and remember the next time you go to the polls.
There was at least one burst of light in the dimly lit world of Rio Arriba politics last week.
The Jemez Electrical Cooperative, in a secret vote last Sunday – “secret” probably to avoid political recrimination (good luck with that) – voted out Espanola Mayor John Ramon Vigil as secretary.
He was reported to have acted badly and when faced with criticism from the public during a recent meeting had what, when children do it, we call a “temper tantrum.”
A problem remains. John Ramon Vigil should resign from the board. His position presents a conflict of interest for the mayor. Jemez does business with the city. A person should not attempt to serve two masters, especially a public official.
Mayor Vigil has been adamant he will not leave the paid board position.
Our columnist and former Mayor Javier Sanchez this week points out that the business of city government is a mess, a joke. The state continues to question the city’s budget. The city manager and the city’s finance director remain on leave from their jobs but are being paid.
At city hall, meanwhile, there are whispers of “investigations.” Stop the rumors and give the public facts.
The city council is a rubber stamp for mismanagement, poor fiscal responsibility, and lack of accountability to the public.
We have no leaders or politicians with the backbone to stand up and actually fight city hall even though they are city hall.
Voters, pay attention. You are allowing our county and our city to be swept away down the Rio Grande.
Nationally, we have former President Donald Trump about to have his mug shot taken as he posts bond in Georgia for charges related to his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and tamper with democracy at the polls.
When Trump appears in court, Georgia officials will also record his height and weight. Finally, we’ll get some truth. We’ll find out if Trump is fat.
It has been reported he is obese. And if he is, can we call him a big, fat liar the next time he stretches the facts and blurs the truth?
Come on, let’s have a laugh.
And then there is Hunter Biden, the current president’s son. Hunter is no laughing matter. His plea deal over gun and tax problems fell apart and now he faces a more intense investigation. According to published reports, “the federal prosecutor investigating him now has expanded power and authority as a special counsel to file charges against him. And he has indicated he is willing to take the case to trial.”
It appears obvious that Hunter Biden exploited his father’s previous position as vice president, at the very least by name-dropping, for his financial enrichment.
President Biden, who often appears to be in a stumbling cloud mentally, does not look good under Hunter’s shadow and may, himself, have criminal liability.
Hunter could go to jail. Maybe Trump should as well, but being a former president has its long-lasting perks.
Hunter is President Joe Biden’s biggest nightmare. Trump is his own.
Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump should do the right thing and bow out so the country can have a presidential election not cluttered with the distraction of criminal trials and court proceedings.
There are better men and women out there who can run the greatest country on earth.
Who are they?
Where are they?
It will put you to sleep but if you want to read one of the best books ever written about American politics and politicians grab the late author and great reporter Richard Ben Cramer’s “What It Takes: The Way to the White House.” It is 1,047 pages long and covers those running in the 1988 presidential election. It took Cramer four years to write and is a tome. Many of those profiled are dead, but the book examines how and why folks run for president or even believe they should be. President Biden is prominent in the book and he outlasted Cramer and most of his opponents at the time.