Opinion from NMPolitics.net:
We all agree that government job titles and salaries are public information. But there’s a discomfort with the names. House Majority Leader Ken Martinez said Saturday that it’s voyeurism to want to see names, and that it represents an attack on public employees.
So why are the names anybody’s business? Because of nepotism and cronyism. Government jobs, from the cabinet secretary on down to the janitor, should be going to the best people for the job—the best-qualified and the hardest-working. Yet we all know what really happens all too often. Jobs are doled out to friends and supporters. One way to combat that is through sunshine—making sure that the hiring process is transparent.
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is a member of NFOIC.–eds.