Morning Word: FBI Targets Martinez Administration

Federal Investigations

It was a busy weekend for the state’s top political reporters. On Friday night, news broke that Jay McCleskey, Gov. Susana Martinez’ political adviser, is

by the feds. Saturday, Joey Peters confirmed a former Economic Development Department

. Then, on Sunday, Justin Horwath and Steve Terrell reported several former administration employees say they've been

or leaving the governor’s administration.

State Integrity Score: D-

All that news preceded the release of a state integrity investigation and ethics scorecard released from the Center for Public Integrity this morning. New Mexico gets a D- and finds itself

. Gwyneth Doland did the work and determined that while there are strong ethics laws on the books, not many of them are rigorously enforced. Common Cause New Mexico says it’s time for lawmakers to create an independent ethics commission.

Follow the Money

While the FBI investigates McCleskey, New Mexico in Depth’s Sandra Fish has a look at McCleskey's media company

.

'Dirty Politics'

A string of reports about the ongoing federal investigations overshadowed SFR’s interview on Friday with Jason Loera, a former political operative, who says high-profile attorney Sam Bregman is

. In fact, Loera says Bregman knowingly included one of the emails in a client’s wrongful termination lawsuit. That case was withdrawn shortly after Loera’s home was raided by federal agents in 2012.

Official Liability

The state’s appellate court has ruled that public

but it might not be the final word. A whistleblower lawsuit filed by two of former Secretary of State Mary Herrera’s employees is heading to the New Mexico Supreme Court. This afternoon at 1:30 pm, the high court justices will hear arguments about why four of the PRC’s commissioners should be

from voting on PNM’s power replacement plan.

Taos Gets Pot Farm

Andrew Oxford, a reporter at the Taos News , reports

is one of the 12 new nonprofits New Mexico Secretary of Health Retta Ward selected to grow medical cannabis. Meanwhile, Mountain Medical Group, who also wanted to set up an organic grow in Taos, says it’s still trying to figure out why their license application was not approved.

Airport Traffic Continues to Drop

It may be indicative of the state’s sluggish economy, but passenger traffic at the Albuquerque Sunport is down again this year and

Padilla Considers Run

After developing an investment strategy that cost Bernalillo County taxpayers more than $17 million, Patrick Padilla tells journalist Dan McKay

and he’s thinking about running for county treasurer again. The Albuquerque Journal also reports an Oppenheimer & Co. broker who contributed to the county’s cash crisis has agreed to

.

New Mexico Film

Santa Fe resident and filmmaker Jocelyn Jansons is one step closer to getting her film Wolf made. Jansons was just named winner of the 2015

and will get $5,000.

The Department of Defense advertising program with NFL team owners has folks scrutinizing the military’s marketing strategy. Those big

over the past three years. Speaking of the NFL, both the

and

 lost this weekend.

But the UNM Lobos topped Utah State by one point in a must-win game. Now the team needs one more win to be

. They head to Boise State this week.

Santa Fe Reporter