Albuquerque Journal Blasts AG Balderas After Report Uncovers Bloomberg-Paid Eco-Lawyers In His Office

July 19, 2019

ICYMI: Albuquerque Journal Blasts AG Balderas After Report Uncovers Bloomberg-Paid Eco-Lawyers In His Office

Following a report detailing how New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas’ office is allowing Michael Bloomberg-paid eco-lawyers to operate from a position of authority, the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board is blasting the arrangement for raising “the concern that these attorneys have an agenda that puts something other than N.M. taxpayers first.” They conclude that the arrangement is not “above reproach.”

Read the Editorial Board’s piece here:

…Does his office serve the taxpayers of New Mexico? Or a special interest group out of New York?

According to a Journal article published Monday, the AG’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division has two outside attorneys employed through the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law – an entity established two years ago with a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

At first blush that might seem OK; after all, isn’t everyone in favor of energy and the environment? But a second look should raise the concern that these attorneys have an agenda that puts something other than N.M. taxpayers first.

Remember, this is the same former New York Mayor Bloomberg who poured $1.13 million into a failed effort to impose a sin tax on sugary beverages sold in Santa Fe and $400,000 into New Mexico Democrats’ campaigns with the (successful) goal of a universal background check on firearm purchases.

So there’s little question that Bloomberg money often drives an agenda – agree with that agenda or not. Larry Behrens, spokesman of right-leaning Power the Future, brought the Bloomberg deal to light, and his group also has an agenda. So imagine if instead, two attorneys from a Koch Brothers pro-fossil fuels group were in the Consumer and Environmental Protection Division. How would that play?

…The top prosecutorial office in the state needs to be above reproach, and Balderas has to recognize this arrangement is not. While it added two attorneys to his staff, it did so at the expense of his office’s independence and impartiality – even if it’s in appearance only. It’s essential Balderas takes a step back and remembers who elected him and whom he works for.