HELP WANTED: ANYBODY WITH INTEGRITY

In case there were any self-conscious Democrats out there getting hot under the collar at our statement earlier last week that one can't be a good Democrat in New Mexico without being critical of other Democrats, take a breath- relax--Santa Fe Municipal Court Judge Fran Gallegos isn't a Democrat, she's a Green (Did you hear that? It's the collective sigh of relief coming from Democrats and Republicans everywhere- this judge isn't theirs) .

It turns out Green Party members are just as desperate for Greens with Integrity as Democrats are for Democrats with Integrity. Fear not those left of center, you are not alone. There are plenty of Republicans yearning for Integrity from Republicans-especially on the national level, where the GOP seems to be dancing a political limbo of "how low can you go?"

Anyway, Jason Auslander of The Santa Fe New Mexican, knocked it out of the park Sunday with one of the best investigative articles of 2005, exposing Santa Fe Municipal Court Judge Fran Gallegos' practice of "systematically altering DWI cases, often inflating jail sentences and the amount of time defendants spent behind bars."

Not surprisingly, On Friday, the New Mexican's Tom Sharpe had the scoop that Gallegos' mayoral aspirations had ended.

Auslander's primary source on the article was Jeremy Hanika, a former administrative assistant to Municipal Court Administrator Mary Anne Caldwell. Interestingly, Auslander didn't mention that Mary Anne Caldwell had been at the heart of an earlier disciplinary action against Judge Gallegos, who according to a February 28th article by Auslander

ordered defendants to attend the course for which Municipal Court administrator Mary Ann Caldwell was a paid instructor. She allowed Caldwell to use Municipal Court facilities and property for the for-profit class, called Alive at 25. Gallegos let Caldwell teach the class while she was employed by the Municipal Court. And finally, Gallegos assigned defendants to Caldwell's class before and during the time she was negotiating another disciplinary matter with the commission.

AAAARRHHH! Maybe we should seriously consider outsourcing New Mexico's Judiciary. Maybe not India, but Indiana, or if we want to try and stay closer to New Mexico we can go with Judges in Colorado or Arizona. Video Teleconferencing would allow us to enter a plea and receive a sentence from the nearest Kinko's. Seriously, maybe we should start drafting something for the next legislative session.