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opinion guest_columns
Friday, August 15, 2008
Lawsuit Would Muzzle Citizen Watchdog Groups
By Eli Il Yong Lee
Executive Director, Center for Civic Policy
The people of New Mexico deserve to know how elected officials approach issues, how they vote on important matters and from whom they receive financial contributions. If the elected officials who represent us are truly serving the public interest, there should be no argument about sharing this information with all New Mexicans.
With today's convening of a special legislative session, tens of millions of public dollars at stake and a crumbling health care system, the need to hold elected officials accountable has never been greater.
Now is not the time to shy away from informing the public about the votes of their elected leaders. Constituents have a right to know about the decisions being made on their behalf — and contributions that may have an influence on those decisions.
Yet, recent complaints against our organization and a frivolous lawsuit seek to muzzle nonprofit organizations.
The nonprofit sector has long played a critical role in increasing the accountability of elected officials through publicizing information about their votes. This “watchdog” function has served our democracy well.
Accountability work has uncovered information of unquestioned value to the general public, such as the role of sprawl developers in financing Albuquerque and Las Cruces elected officials. New Mexico's watchdog nonprofits have educated the public about their elected leaders' votes on issues like the minimum wage, predatory lending practices, animal welfare, water quality, public schools and worker safety.
This year, the Center for Civic Policy and its allies continued this decades-old watchdog function by launching the nonpartisan Legislative Accountability Project. Educational mailers were sent to constituents detailing the campaign contributions and voting records of seven legislators: Sens. Shannon Robinson, James Taylor, Bernadette Sanchez, Lidio Rainaldi and David Ulibarri, and Reps. Debbie Rodella and Dan Silva.
To foster an accountability dialogue, the mailers provided a phone number where people could contact their senators and representatives. We encouraged constituents to call and discuss these important issues with their lawmakers.
Coming on the heels of the 2008 regular legislative session and with a special session right around the corner, we believed it essential to let citizens know that their legislators were receiving substantial sums in contributions from industries that have a financial interest in legislative outcomes, such as health insurance and oil and gas companies. Our research shows the votes that legislators cast to benefit these industries.
Without this public education effort, would New Mexicans have otherwise known that nearly 70 percent of the more than $90,000 Senator Robinson received in contributions came from health care, pharmaceutical, insurance, oil and similar special interests? And, would New Mexicans have known he then voted against a bill that proposed greater transparency from insurance companies?
Rather than defend their contributions and votes to their constituents, three lawmakers, Robinson, Taylor and Silva tried to change the channel by attacking the messenger. They have filed a lawsuit in which the remedy they seek — to overturn the overwhelming verdict of primary election voters who turned them out — is without legal precedent.
Their baseless lawsuit makes a mockery of our political system. Moreover, it would have a chilling effect on the legitimate and lawful activities of nonprofits across the state that also try to educate the public about how their elected officials vote on key policy proposals. We will work hard to defeat any attempt to undermine the public's ability to learn more about their elected officials and their voting records.
If legislators feel uncomfortable being held accountable for what they do, they have a much simpler and cheaper solution than stalking-horse lawsuits or trying to overturn election results they don't like: They can change their behavior.
Start voting in the public's interest, and not for special interests. We don't need more policies that help health insurance companies, while hurting New Mexico's families.
The nonprofit sector works to meet this challenge by becoming ever more effective in our long-standing role as citizen watchdogs. This is our mission and our solemn responsibility. We do not shrink from it, or from any attempt to muzzle our important work.
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