It was Oct. 14, 2011, and Keith Gardner was tired.
As Gov. Susana Martinez’ chief of staff, Gardner is arguably the second most powerful person in state government.

In the rolling foothills of central New Mexico’s Chupadera Mountains, groundwater seeps through volcanic gravel, forming a shallow spring stream where a tiny snail makes its home. The Chupadera springsnail’s conical, translucent shell is no bigger than a poppy seed; the animal scrapes algae and microscopic organisms off rocks with a toothlike structure at the end of its snout. Twenty-seven years after it was originally designated a candidate for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, the snail officially became protected on Aug. 12.

A few weeks ago, Sonia Montoya, 26, landed a job interview at Garcia Nissan Santa Fe, off St. Michael’s Drive. A single mother of an active eight-year-old boy, Montoya had made it to the interview phase for an administrative assistant position at the car dealership. Her résumé boasts three similar positions, she says, and Montoya felt qualified for the work.

Here’s how New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act works: Anyone can ask to inspect a public record. If it exists—and it’s not impossible to unearth—the public agency holding the record must make it available for inspection.

Corruption filled the headlines recently when the New Mexico Finance Authority came under scrutiny for allegedly faking its 2011 audit by failing to report $40 million in losses.

Almost since her appointment, Public Education Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera—an administrator who played a key role in Florida’s education reform initiatives—has faced opposition from New Mexico Democrats.

The Department of Health recently dismissed all five of its Medical Cannabis Program temporary workers—positions that, last fall, Health Secretary Catherine Torres promised to make permanent.

Even if 1996 had never occurred, James would be an extraordinary man. A Navy veteran, he wed the love of his life and enjoyed 18 years of marital bliss before she died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. He fathered a boy born with physical disabilities and extreme autism, and cared for him for almost two decades before being forced to place him in the violent ward of a psychiatric hospital.

On Dec. 15, 2011, Pat Rogers, the prominent Modrall Sperling lawyer and lobbyist, sent an email to the private account of Gov. Susana Martinez’ chief of staff, Keith Gardner, thanking Gardner for agreeing to set up a meeting with Martinez on behalf of one of his firm’s clients.

Last week, Gov. Susana Martinez scored points with transparency advocates when her office, after being told by a district judge to remove public employee names and salaries from the state’s Sunshine Portal, posted them on a different web page. It’s an example of her follow-through on a key campaign promise: to make state government open and accessible to the public.