2011 Dixon Award Recipients

Government —   Sander Rue. Rue is a state senator representing Albuquerque’s District 23, and he has taken on government transparency as his signature issue. The award selection committee was particularly impressed with Rue’s out-front leadership on the creation of the New Mexico Sunshine Portal, and on the overall cause of using technology to push transparency forward. His hard work has paved the way for several local governments to follow in the state’s footsteps. It is clear that open government is much more than a campaign pledge or buzzword for Rue – in addition to his persistence in seeing the Sunshine Portal project from legislation to launch and beyond, he has consistently defended the public’s right to know and its right to participate, even in the face of strong opposition.

Law —  Matthew R. Hoyt. Hoyt is an attorney with Peifer, Hanson & Mullins, P.A. in Albuquerque, and he has represented FOG, the Rio Grande SUN, Albuquerque Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican andAlbuquerque Tribune in recent public-records cases. The awards selection committee was particularly impressed with Hoyt’s commitment to the free-speech and popular-sovereignty principles underpinning the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). His 2011 arguments before the New Mexico Supreme Court in San Juan Agricultural Water Users Association v. KNME-TV were instrumental in convincing the Court that those principles mandate the broadest possible reading of individual IPRA provisions.

 EdEducation — Bryant Furlow and Scott Blackwell. Furlow and Blackwell lead a middle-school newspaper club at the Corrales International School, and they have taught their students how to submit public-records requests and use online public data for their stories. Next semester, they’ll be studying the Open Meetings Act and attending school board meetings. The selection committee was particularly impressed with the character and quality of their students’ journalism; these dedicated students are learning to exercise their First Amendment rights by asking important questions, requesting public documents and addressing school issues in a fair, open manner.