Pete Squared

The Albuquerque Journal and other media outlets have done a fairly good job of covering the corruption and conflicts of interest in the State Treasurer's Office scandal. This mess certainly should get everyone thinking about ethics and conflicts of interest in government. Just today I read about bribery scandals in Iraq on procuring reconstruction projects. It probably really is time for all levels of government to open an Office of Ethics within their bureaucracies.

So, it is with some wonder that I find the usually industrious Albuquerque Journal never having mentioned possible conflicts of interest between their much revered Senator Pete Domenici and his son's(Pete Jr.) contracts to represent the Department of Energy on cases in New Mexico. I have heard many grumblings that this is an awkward arrangement for DOE and the State of New Mexico who are often in conflict. If DOE is unhappy with Pete Jr.'s performance(and I am not suggesting they are) can they give him walking papers without worrying about Pete Sr.'s retaliation as Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the Senate? If the State of New Mexico's Environment Department feels that they will offend the senior senator by going hard against Pete Jr. will it cause problems for the Governor's requests of the federal government.

I can not imagine what the media would be writing about this arrangement if any one other than "St. Pete" were involved. At the very least the story should be given some ink so everyone in and out of government knows about this less than desirable situation.

This kind of situation is especially difficult in a small state like ours. Politicians are like everyone else and they are eager to help their children be successful. There is nothing wrong with that and Pete is like the rest of us in that regard, but the stakes are high between DOE and the State of New Mexico on issues like WIPP and the state should feel free to protect its interests agressively with no fear of retaliation.