Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Election

A lot of folks don't remember, but I was once manager of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, for a whole 12 months. I went into the job hoping to modernize and bring efficiency to this agency that I always knew would be important to New Mexico's water future. I held that job in 1988-89. About the only thing we accomplished was adopting the logo you see here and originating the motto "Keeping the Valley Green." I was fired, along with the District's full time attorney, for attempting to bring disciplinary action against the District Engineer for unethical behavior.

Here we are 20 years later and things haven't changed. The district is still mired in questionable ethics and inefficiency. But, we can take a stride towards changing that by voting out all of the incumbents on the Board. I am talking about Hector Gonzales, Augusta Meyers, and Jose Otero. With the exception of Hector Gonzales, they are all tools of the the District Engineer Shubas Shah and his attorney Chuck Dumars. You will remember Shah as the guy who retired for 90 days after taking close to $200,000 in leave pay, and then came back and was given a salary of 150,000 to start all over again. This was made possible by his control over the Board for favors granted. Not long after that Agusta Meyers, an employee of the District was elevated to a board position when a vacancy occurred. I actually like Augusta a lot but she has been unable to show much independence. Strangely, Augusta now holds the at large seat but was convinced to run against Hector Gonzales who holds the Bernalillo County Seat. Hector has been opposing Shah recently and this is his pay back from Shah and Dumars.

I would suggest votes be given to Isleta Pueblo resident Eugene Abeita for the at large position, farmer Jannet Jarrett in Valencia County, and Adrian Ogelsby for Bernalillo County. They are the best hope for bringing common sense to the management of this crucial water agency.

This is a stealth election that disenfranchises the property owners in the District by holding the election in an off year with little publicity. The Board convinced the legislature a few years ago to remove their election day from General election day in November. Voter participation plummeted to 3%, guaranteeing low turnout. That's why the same old people keep their seats.