OPINION: Complaint against lawmaker shouldn't have been dismissed

It is most unfortunate that the harassment complaint against Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, was dismissed by the legislative ethics subcommittee. Michelle Jaschke, the complainant, is one of the most trusted, most professional, most compassionate and one of the hardest working employees of our Legislative Council Services department.

The LCS is our year-round service department comprised of lawyers and non-lawyers that help legislators by drafting legislation, coordinating our capital outlay projects, research topics of interest, staff our interim and year-round committees, process our per diem and travel vouchers, coordinate redistricting proposals and many other services. The LCS keeps the Legislature fine-tuned and highly polished.

Jaschke oversees the most complicated and contentious of all services — the capital outlay process. I have a vested interest in seeing a vibrant capital outlay office and process considering that the three-term Democrat incumbent that I defeated was barred by the House leadership from receiving capital outlay funds the last four years of his six-year term for voting against a Democrat-led educational initiative. What is hurtful about this action is that House District 14 is one of the neediest districts in the state.

Jaschke has streamlined the capital outlay process into a fine-tuned operation with checks and balances along the way. The first to do so in my 29 years as a House member. She is the ultimate professional and my experience with her office attests to the fact that she treats all 112 legislators as equals. Favoritism is not her forte. Labels like Republican or Democrat don’t matter. Titles like Senate president pro-tem and speaker of the House don’t matter. Status, like that of a first-year rookie or a 30-year veteran, doesn’t matter.

Honesty is the best policy. Jaschke’s vast knowledge of the statutory limits of capital outlay is very rewarding to legislators in keeping us from introducing capital outlay requests that go counter to the law. Jaschke is the first to tell you that your request is unlawful because it violates the anti-donation clause of our Constitution. She is the first to tell you that your request to a local government to build a facility on a property is illegal because they have no title to the property, even though the title company processing the sale transfer will not be able to consummate the deal until after the legislative session.

Jaschke is a godsend to the Legislature. I refer to her as the “Queen of Capital Outlay.” She is always working with struggling local governments like acequias, land grants, tribes and rural communities in assisting them in completing their capital outlay requests in a timely manner. She works hand in glove with all local governments in applying standard boilerplate language to not leave any stone unturned with the request. While in session, and in preparation for the final capital outlay bill, it is common to see her working 14-hour days.

Stewart’s blasphemous attack on one of our guardian angels is shameful and unbecoming of a leader of the Legislature. The legislative ethics subcommittee on July 30 recommended that Jaschke’s harassment complaint against Stewart be dismissed. A reprimand was in order as a course of action for Stewart’s harassing actions, but unfortunately the subcommittee had no backbone to do the right thing.

It is incumbent upon individual legislators to encourage our legislative staff to speak out and file complaints against our colleagues who engage in harassing or unethical violations. Our hard-working staff is a testament to our success as legislators. We will not abandon them.