WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR
OUR
PLATFORM
Protecting our people. Building our future.
New Mexico will still be facing very serious and difficult challenges in 2022. The Office of the State Auditor (OSA), will be responsible not just for reviewing how federal dollars are spent statewide and locally, but also how our seniors, adults with disabilities, and veterans are protected from the lasting financial effects of COVID-19. That is why I am running. Families and leaders across New Mexico support me because I have the trusted leadership, experience, and vision to get the job done and put the needs of our people first.
My platform is focused on protecting our people and building our future. Download the full plan below or check out the summary below. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to us directly at zqfornm@gmail.com
Detect. Protect. Empower.
OUR PLATFORM
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Modernize the way we detect fraud and track our public spending by creating a centralized tracking system for federal and state dollars coming into New Mexico. This system would flag federal and state money and provide a real time look at when/where funds are disbursed. This option creates more transparency to the public and allows us to better monitor our taxpayer money to stop fraud or abuse before it happens. This is very important for infrastructure, school districts, healthcare, and different capital outlay projects.
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Update and upgrade our investigation services to include cyber audits, this will help local, county, and state services safeguard our private data, healthcare information, and guard against ransomware attacks.
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Establish an annual equity audit that helps prevent state dollars from being used for hate or discrimination. This equity audit would be set up to identify and stop taxpayer money from going to businesses that engage in discrimination, hate, or pay inequality. We protect our workers and stand by our values of stopping hate in all forms.
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Expand our detection programs to include rolling audits for sole source contracts. Dedicating rolling audits for sole source spending on county, local, and school board contracts, will help root out pay to play and backroom dealing.
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Protect our seniors, adults with disabilities, and veterans from predatory conservatorships and guardianships. We do this by establishing a dedicated fraud unit within the OSA that provides support for individuals or families experiencing predatory practices. This office will be staffed in partnership with a special prosecutor from the state to ensure dignity and access to justice.
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Protect our workers and state money from fraud by investigating public contracts that result in wage theft or predatory negotiations with workers, this includes protecting prevailing wage, the right to organize, and ensuring our frontline and essential workers have safety and dignity.
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Protect our climate and natural resources of water, air, and land by establishing an annual climate accountability audit. This audit would detail the policies, programs, and progress made by our government in fighting climate change. This also includes calculating the taxpayer cost of environment violations or fines made to companies leasing state lands (unplugged wells, water damage, pollution).
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Protect our children by fully supporting HJR1 and if passed safeguarding and monitoring the funds to keep them free from abuse or neglect by having a designated investment monitor/liaison to help track funding and ensure our public money goes where promised.
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Empower the services and partnerships of the OSA with Native Communities. This includes formal consultation, support, and partnership with our Pueblos, Nations, and Tribes. The support can include investigation services, tracking federal money designated for tribal use, or having a dedicated audit reviewing the total public resources (money, staff, data collection) being used by law enforcement for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, hate crimes, and discrimination taking place with public funds towards our Native communities.
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Empower our economy by keeping our state funds here, we can do this by reviewing the total dollars spent out of state and then partnering with state and county partners to identify local vendors faster in order to keep funds inside New Mexico.
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Empower and protect our acequias, land grant, and rural communities by establishing a rural resource officer program. This program will be comprised of local and county partnerships with CPA's and universities to offer cost-neutral services for compliance, grant funding, and identifying best reporting practices so our rural communities are supported, not penalized.