If the incestuous property sale that garnered now-former Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, a cool $50,000 shows nothing else, it’s that an independent evaluation in these deals should be mandatory.

Such a reform would have highlighted the lack of a competitive bidding process that resulted in a pal of Griego’s getting a building in a historic district near the Capitol and Griego getting a five-figure check. And it would not have relied on information coming directly, and indirectly, from those who stood to gain.

Instead of depending on a senator-turned-real estate broker and his business partners and colleagues for solid information, the Senate Rules Committee would have received independent documentation on the value of the property, the length and fiscal ramifications of its current lease, and the fact that the lessee and not the public was on the hook for maintenance and repairs.

Read more here: http://www.abqjournal.com/573661/opinion/state-property-sales-need-independent-evaluation.html