Judy Pratt
I hadn't seen Judy Pratt in years. I still haven't seen the former ABQ SE Heights State Rep and 1984 Democratic US Senate candidate in person in quite a while, but this recent photo of her popped up in my email box and I thought it would be of interest to long time watchers of La Politica. Judy looks liks she's doing well. She's in full character, too, protesting the Iraq war.

Judy was the surprise winner of the 1984 Dem nomination over party powerhouse Nick Franklin who ran a poor campaign, allowing the more liberal Judy to have the honor (or the dubious distinction) of becoming the Dems sacrificial lamb for the then hyper-popular Pete Domenici.

Republican Pete was so far ahead in the polls that he turned down every plea for him to debate, except one. To put the debate issue to rest, he finally agreed to an appearance with Pratt on the low-rated PBS station for half an hour on a Friday night. He went on to win the election with 71.9% of the vote. Pratt left the Legislature and would remain the only female candidate of a major party to win the US senate nomination until Gloria Tristani came along in 2002 and suffered the same fate that Judy did when she faced Pete.

THE PASSING PARADE

There were two major journalistic passings this week--the planned closure or sale of the ABQ Tribune and the death of longtime open government advocate Bob Johnson. He headed the Foundation for Open Government which I joined several years ago at the urging of Susan Walton, a honcho at Sandia Pep School and a FOG activist who I worked with in the old days at the UNM Daily Lobo. The New Mexican came with this tribute for the 84 year old retired AP newsman. Well done, Bob.

A FISH STORY

Big Bill must have summoned all his disciplinary powers to keep a straight face Thursday when he was probed on whether big campaign contributions are influencing the construction of two
transportation department projects which have brushed up against the federal investigation of the construction of the Bernalillo County Metro Courthouse. Read all about it here. Has the Guv given any thought to rebidding these deals? He may want to because this thing is starting to smell like three day old fish.

LATE FRIDAY--SANTA FE -- Governor Bill Richardson today ordered the Department of Transportation to cancel the Request for Proposals for its headquarters redevelopment project and to take steps to re-bid the project following two investigations the Governor ordered.

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

The New Mexican's Steve Terrell sent along this photo from the office of Floyd Trujillo, a Santa Fe "ward heeler type" who worked for the late Dem US Senator Dennis Chavez. It gave us a good laugh. Chavez wrote."A politician that is poor is a poor politician."

Chavez, who died in '62, would not be surprised today about the influence of big money in campaigns but he must be rolling in his grave over the news involving Idaho Senator Larry Craig and his restroom fling. Back in the day, there was a thing called shame. It seems to have been replaced by notoriety or celebrity....And so it goes on this Labor Day weekend in the Summer of '07.

This is the home of New Mexico politics--www.joemonahan.com

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Rep. Foley
Will Dan Foley beat the rap? That question is now being raised in Roswell where the State House Minority Leader was arrested on June 24 for screaming profanities while rushing on to a basketball court in what he said was a defense of his son. He is charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing a Roswell police officer. One cop charges Foley spit on him. The sensational charges have turned into a political hot potato in Chaves county, and as the Roswell Record reports, the case appears stalled as it bounces from court to court.

Nearly a month since being dismissed from Roswell Municipal Court, the Dan Foley case is currently under review by the Chaves County District Attorney's office - with the possibility existing that it may never be re-opened.

Forwarded to the district attorney's office by the Roswell Police Department, the case remains in limbo, officially deemed an "investigatory file."

How justice is handled in this high-profile case is being watched statewide, and while the district attorney for Chavez county, Tery Haake, has not yet surfaced, it is he and the Roswell police leadership who will take the heat or the praise for the final outcome. Haake is up for re-election in 2008.

If the case is not refiled, Foley would dodge a bullet in the form of a possible guilty verdict. Whether he dodges a Republican primary opponent next year is an open question. Meantime, insiders report the Roswell Record, under public attack from Foley, is more determined than ever to report each twist and turn in the case in the SE NM city. Stay tuned.

THE PETERS PRINCIPLE
Peters (The New Mexican)
Hold your horses. That was the word Wednesday as Big Bill, feeling the heat, put on hold state negotiations with his old friend and Santa Fe developer Jerry Peters on that now controversial Santa Fe commuter rail hub and transportation department headquarters

The AP's Barry Massey comes with the details on that and with another piece on the Big Bill campaign contributions from Peters and others who are looking to do biz with Transportation. The critics are trying to make it out to be "pay to play" from the Guv. Peters, looking at it sunny side up, says the reviews of the deals the Guv is ordering "should serve as a good housekeeping seal of ethical conduct" for those who eventually secure the bids.

The federal investigation into the construction of the Bernalillo County Metro Courthouse is brushing up against these Santa Fe deals so Jerry and company better hope that there are no seals to be broken on indictments, never mind good housekeeping seals.

(Full disclosure: I do PR work for Sunland Park Racetrack which opposes an off-reservation casino being proposed by Gerald Peters.)

THE CALENDER RULES

September 24th is going to be a pivotal date in the recall effort against ABQ GOP City Councilor Don Harris. The city ethics board said Wednesday it will decide then whether Harris will face fines, a reprimand or both on complaints filed against him by a citizens group seeking his ouster. Voters will decide Harris's fate just a few days later, on October 2nd at the regular city election. How the ethics board goes could heavily influence that vote.

"I think he has made some serious mistakes," said Jim Lowe of the citizens group that gathered the petition signatures to force the recall He argues that the freshman councilor may have used campaign donations for personal expenditures. Harris said he has made mistakes, but his "heart is pure." An audit of the councilor's campaign account will be conducted by the city and reviewed at the meeting on the 24th.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Caroline Buerkle, who served as campaign manger for Dem Attorney General Patricia Madrid in the '06 campaign against ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson, has signed up as a part-time "political adviser" to Dem US Senate candidate Don Wiviott. Buerkle is a New Mexico State University product who also worked for Madrid at the AG's office which is now occupied by Democrat Gary King...

That's it for today. Drop me a line with your latest political news.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

After absorbing the emotional shock, insiders moved Tuesday to assess what it will mean to New Mexico politics and media when the 85 year old voice of the Albuquerque Tribune is stilled, as it will be unless the very unlikely occurs and a buyer steps forward. The Tribune long ago ceased to be a mass media vehicle--its circulation now flirts with the anemic 10,000 level--but its role in watch dogging the state's largest media outlet--the ABQ Journal--has of late been its raison d' être, at least in the political community.

"The Journal has always looked over its shoulder to see what the Tribune is doing. Its kept them on their toes. Without that, I think you would see a softening and a complacency in the Journal news room," said a veteran New Mexican journalist familiar with the operations of the two outlets.

But it's not as if the Journal doesn't have its own problems. Insiders say the newsroom has come under the financial gun, and its staffing levels have shrunk considerably from their peak. Still, the operation remains profitable and the target of buyout offers.

Perhaps the most ardent suitor of Journal publisher Tom Lang has been the Trib's owner--media giant E.W. Scripps--which formed a joint operating agreement with the Journal in the Great Depression of the 30's to keep both papers solvent.

Under that agreement Scripps gets a healthy 40% of the JOA profits the company generates, but editorial operations remain separate. The agreement was set to continue until 2022, but Scripps says if someone steps forward to buy the paper, the JOA, which makes possible the survival of the smaller Tribune, will not be transferable. If the Trib is not sold, it shuts down. Scripps and Lang say they intend to terminate the JOA. That probably ends Scripps's hopes of taking over the Journal.

INSIDE THE DEAL

It appears profits from the JOA were rapidly diminishing, forcing a closure. Legal insiders tell us that the paper is likely being put up for public sale to satisfy Justice Department anti-trust rules, rather than a very serious effort at finding a buyer.

"The JOA is a federal government deal. By putting the paper up for sale, rather than shutting it down right away, the Journal shows a good-faith effort at keeping competition alive--that it is not trying to corner the market. The sale sign is being put out to expedite Justice Department approval for terminating the JOA." Explained one legal beagle.

Insiders expect the Tribune's final edition to come as soon as the end of October. Severance packages will be made available to the 45 editorial employees. Longtime staffers will, we assume, have pension protection through Scripps.

"The Journal could get a short-term bottom line boost from ending the JOA, but they are still facing long-term issues that all newspapers are facing--declining circulation and advertising and new media competition." Said another of our insiders.

Business Alligators say that the Sunday Journal with a circulation of 145,000 (down from the 160,000's) is now generating up to 40% of Journal profits. Weekday circulation is now at 106,000, in decline, but not as rapidly as the Tribune's. The JOA reportedly states that the Tribune cannot put out a Sunday edition. With the dissolving of that agreement, the Sunday territory would apparently reopen, but unless you have a daily to go with your Sunday edition, you don't have much.

THE POLITICS OF THE PAPERS

When the Tribune had more muscle, the politicians would play the two papers against each other, giving exclusives to one or the other to favor or punish. In recent years, liberals and Democrats, often shut out from winning an editorial endorsement from the more conservative Journal, have been able to counter with TV ads and direct mail touting their Trib backing.

The Tribune has always been known in ABQ as the "Valley paper," read avidly by the downtown establishment and in the older ethnically mixed neighborhoods. Its coverage of city politics has been exhaustive and will be a major casualty of the forthcoming shuttering. The sports pages have also been a favorite, giving the paper a blue collar edge, contrasting well with the more buttoned up Journal.

The end of the Tribune means no daily competition on the political beat, and that will make politicians more dependent on the Journal. But it could also further strengthen the hand of the Internet as campaigns and candidates seek more sources to get their message out.

Two different takes of the same events is the biggest blessing of a two newspaper town, especially in the state's only major media market. To those enmeshed in New Mexican public affairs, like many of you reading this, that loss will be enormous.

A JOURNAL SALE, TOO?

With the end of the Tribune, the rumor mill will focus on whether the Journal will be next on the auction block. There is split opinion, with the consensus of our insiders being that Lang is not prone to give up what remains a powerful family and state institution. His success at diversifying into real estate has also made holding a declining asset like the Journal less painful.

"He still enjoys it. It may not always look that way from the outside, but we feel it here," one Journal insider told me Tuesday. Lang took over as publisher in the early 70's when his father passed away.

Whoever owns any New Mexico media is in for a wild ride in the years ahead as a new media century takes hold. The ABQ Tribune will leave an excellent legacy of feisty journalism, colorful writing and a devotion to improving New Mexico that spanned the generations. But it was of its time and now time has run out. What's next? Stay tuned.

THE SCRIPPS COINCIDENCE

How's this for coincidence? On the day Scripps announces the Trib is up for sale, it is also announced that a longtime former editor of the paper, Tim Gallagher, is leaving his publishing position at a Scripps California paper. Tim, 51, is the brother of Mike Gallagher, longtime investigative reporter for the ABQ Journal.

THE BOTTOM LINES
Heather
We posed the question on Tuesday's blog, half-seriously, asking what ABQ GOP Rep. Heather Wilson was doing in Asia while President Bush's ABQ visit on behalf of GOP US Senator Pete Domenici was running into all kinds of PR problems. Well, NM GOP Chairman Allen Weh must have thought we were implying that Heather was on a needless junket. We weren't. We were just curious.

According to Weh, Heather "is in Asia with several members of the House Intelligence Committee on a fact finding trip...They’ve been to places that your local travel agent wouldn’t normally send someone for a good time!...Unlike a lot of members of Congress who seem to view trips as travel opportunities, she is very selective and all business when she does go on one." Weh e-mailed.

Your intrepid blog, spanning the globe on your behalf, followed up and found Heather in the Philippines. And wouldn't you know it, we also found this editorial in a major Philippine news outlet critical of Heather and her four fellow congressional travelers. Sorry, Heather. But it seems wherever you go, La Politica follows...

Yesterday I misspelled "dispiriting," and in quoting Senator Domenici on the resignation of Attorney General Gonzales I mistakenly said he was speaking of former NM US Attorney David Iglesias. I assure you I have been appropriately punished...

Have news, comments? Send them via the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Domenici
Maybe Pete Domenici should have consulted an astrologer before booking President Bush for his Monday Los Ranchos fundraiser because a flood of bad news began breaking for New Mexico's Republican US Senator as soon as dawn broke over the Sandias. By the time the manic Monday was over a motorcycle cop had been killed while escorting the Bush motorcade, US Attorney General Gonzales had resigned, pushing Domenici nemesis and former NM US Attorney David Iglesias back into the headlines and protesters managed to grab more than their fair share of the media spotlight as they camped out at the $1000 a pop event at the home of Los Ranchos Mayor Larry Abraham.

Domenici was always more pragmatic than enthusiastic about the Bush visit, making sure it was nearly a non-public event and aimed squarely at raising hundreds of thousands of cash for his re-election campaign, not his profile as a pal of the poorly polling Prez. That game plan was adhered to Monday, as there were no pictures of Bush and Domenici posing together and no media interviews. It was as if the President was visiting the invisible man, not the longest-ever serving US Senator in state history.

The understated tone was in evidence when Air Force One touched down at about 11:30 a.m. Bernalillo County GOP Sheriff Darren White, chairman of Bush's Bernalillo county '04 campaign, was the only other public figure, besides Domenici, greeting the President.

Late Monday, Domenici's campaign said the event raised $434,000 for the senator and the NM GOP. That compares with $375,000 ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson said she raised from Bush's visit here in June of '06. (Washington Post analysis on the Prez's ABQ stop is here.) But in light of the death of an officer protecting the fund-raiser attending President, talk of cold cash seemed, well, unseemly.

THE WHEELS COME OFF

As we indicated, the Bush visit was already uncomfortable with Pete holding it early in the season to avoid offending Dems and independents he needs for his '08 re-elect, but then the wheels came off. At the crack of dawn, news flashed across the Net that Attorney General Gonzales, under intense pressure from congressional Democrats, had thrown in the towel. That unleashed Iglesias, fired by the Gonzales Justice Department and who has accused Domenici and ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson of engineering his demise.

While Pete and the Prez were downing petite empanadas, Iglesias was devouring microphones placed before him by the major NM media. He sounded downright ominous in one news piece in which he speculated on whether there was a paper trail that could tie Pete and Heather directly to his firing which earlier this year set off a political firestorm. So on his big day with the President Domenici had to scramble to put out a statement as the media machine demanded feeding.

"His (Gonzales's) situation was a distraction to the Department of Justice and its attempt to carry out its important duties. I look forward to reviewing the president’s nominee for attorney general carefully and objectively.” Domenici said in a written statement.

Meanwhile, Heather Wilson had to feel fine about being away in southeast Asia. (Will someone tell us what she is doing there?) In her usual curt style when addressing inflammatory matters, her office offered a terse "no comment" on the Gonzales resignation which looms large over what promises for her to be another epic re-election struggle.

There wasn't an overwhelming number of protesters at the Bush-Pete bash, but the AP pegged the number at 100 and the media, conscious of Bush's low approval numbers--just 32% approve in the latest NM poll--lapped up the sideshow, serving up more visual pain on a day that must have made even Democratic PR men cringe in empathy, if not sympathy, for the Domenici camp.

INSIDE THE BUBBLE

Inside the presidential bubble set up on the lawn of the Abraham home, our insider on the scene reports a lengthy line formed for those Five Grand a pop Kodak moments with W. Turnout for the event was about 200. The President told the financial heavy hitters of his confidence that the Iraq war will work out and said of the Gonzales resignation that he had "lost a good friend today." The President urged the re-election of Pete, and whether she wanted it or not, he also urged the re-election of Heather.

Pete, now 75 and seeking a seventh term, told the stock option crowd that he considered the Texan President "a good friend and a good neighbor." He did not mention the Iraq war or the political albatross it has become by helping to sink his recent approval rating to 52% in Survey USA.

It was at the conclusion of the event that Domenici's day turned truly tragic, as a Rio Rancho police officer was accidentally killed while serving as one of the motorcycle escorts for the presidential motorcade making its way back to the airport for a 2 p.m. departure. (White House statement here.) It cast a further pall over Domenici's day, not dissimilar to the one that has enveloped the Bush administration as the Summer of '07 makes its last hurrah.

MEDIA NOTES

The President's party was not heavy with national media, but there was a CNN pool camera, national magazine writers and assorted others along for the sojourn, informs KKOB-AM radio's Peter St. Cyr. He joined the news hounds in downing a fine Mexican lunch washed down with margaritas at the home of a doctor who lives next to Mayor Abraham and who opened his doors to the media mob. We hope they cleaned up after themselves.

READERS WRITE THE BOTTOM LINES

Our Monday blog profile of the new executive director of the NM GOP, Adam Feldman, had the temperatures rising among a number of readers. Let's go to the e-mail bag.

Commenting on Feldman's contention that infighting among the Dems for the nomination to take on Rep. GOP Wilson, an emailer writes, "I don’t think so. Rather, how about ‘sandwiching’ Heather and working in tandem to get rid of her. That’s what I hear."

A GOP reader had some comments about GOP Chairman Weh's role in the '06 election that we referenced in the Feldman piece.

Chairman Weh had his focus on three races last election cycle, Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce and Vicky Pera’s secretary of state campaign. He did not consider any other races as important. The only reason that he considered the secretary of state race important was because of the 2008 Presidential election. He publicly stated such a belief, thus he earned criticism for his focus on national politics at the expense of local politics. To say that he was only focused on Heather Wilson’s race is unfair to Heather.

A NM Dem says after learning about Feldman, he is happy he is here.

It seems as though Mr. Adam Feldman is running away from his failing Kentucky Republican party then coming enthusiastically to New Mexico (another near failing party I might add). As a Democrat in New Mexico, I welcome him and hope he does here what he did so well in Kentucky---help Democrats win.

And the ED's comparison of Senator Pete Domenici to the late Senator Strom Thurmond brought this stiff rejoinder from a self-described "progressive voice" in Santa Fe.

So, the new GOP ED thinks Sen. Domenici has the "stature" of Strom Thurmond does he?...To compare Domenici to a lasting icon of racism and segregation whose main claim to fame seems to have been marrying a much younger woman and simply surviving gives us some insight into the political values of the new ED and perhaps a glimpse of campaign strategy for ‘08 ?

Feldman was alluding to Thurmond's ability to win elections, not necessarily his political views, but the Thurmond name can still rub nerves raw.

Keep the politics coming. Send your news and comments from the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Adam Feldman
The new executive director of the NM Republican Party is a transplanted Kentuckian with a predictable passion for horse racing born in the state of the famous Derby. The question is can Adam Feldman help the R's get some political horse races going in 2008.

The 32 year old who took on his new gig in May told me over a heavily caffeinated session at Starbucks that he believes about 15 legislative seats will be in play next year when all 112 members of the House and Senate face voters. He was not ready to make any predictions, but did promise state R's that the party is busily recruiting candidates in each of the targeted districts.

The Democrats hold sway in the House with a margin of 42 to 28. In the Senate it's 24-18. No one expects a major shift in those numbers next year, but Feldman says those counting on a big Democrat year should heed history.

"These races are very local and the national mood will not play a major role." He declared.

A complaint against GOP Chairman Allen Weh from foes who campaigned against his recent re-election was that he paid too much attention to ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson and not enough to rural politics.

Perhaps that criticism has seeped through as Feldman, hired by Weh, said his focus for the '08 cycle will be the Legislature. "We will support and aide Heather, but the federal campaigns have resources of their own and they operate somewhat independently."

As for the Dem candidates that have surfaced to fight for the nomination to take on Heather, Feldman quipped: "None of them have us quaking in our boots." And he was gleeful over the prospect of an expensive intra-party Dem fight. "They will be spending a lot of money for that nomination that could have spent against her."

MORE FELDMAN FILES

Feldman brushed aside speculation that NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici, the state's longest ever serving senator could be vulnerable to an '08 re-election challenge. Besides the lack of high profile Dem opponents, the new ED likened Domenici to Strom Thurmond, the longest-ever serving US Senator. "He has that kind of stature," Feldman declared.

Feldman cut his teeth on direct mail politics, working in his native Blue Grass state for GOP Governor Ernie Fletcher. He left him to work on the campaign of former Congresswoman Anne Northrup who this year unsuccessfully challenged Fletcher for the GOP Guv nomination. Feldman also toiled for a time for Senator Jim Bunning. In '04 he headed to West Virginia to work for President Bush who won the Democratic state. His wife is also a political junkie, having served as a speechwriter for Fletcher.

Those calling on Weh for a more moderate Republicanism as a means of challenging Democratic hegemony will be watching Feldman carefully. For now, they might run into him on his occasional sojourns to the racetrack where he savors the running skills of prized thoroughbreds and quarter horses. Next year, it will be higher stakes races in his sights.

BUSH'S NUMBERS

Two sets of numbers will be of interest following President Bush's Los Ranchos visit fund-raising today on behalf of Senator Domenici--how much did the Senator raise for his seventh re-election campaign and how many protesters showed up to see him collect the cash?

Rep. Wilson says she raised about $375,000 form a June '06 Bush ABQ visit. As for the protesters, one group involved headlines its news release: "Scores of Albuquerque Veterans, Military Families, Domenici Constituents to Greet President Bush With Sea of “Support the Troops, End the War” Signs." We'll see.

Iraq is at least as unpopular as Vietnam was, but back then there was a draft, giving incentive to young men and women to take to the streets. This time around, as comedian Bill Maher wisecracks, standing in line to get an I-Phone has been more popular than protesting the war.

BUILD IT AND THE CROOKS COME?

Weekend developments in the probe of state transportation department construction deals can be found here with a Big Bill contributor surfacing in connection to one project. Everyone is now watching and wondering whether there will be even more federal indictments in the Bernalillo County Metro Courthouse construction scandal.

THE MONDAY BOTTOM LINES

It turns out there has been an investigation of Tommy Rodella going on for some time, but news of the probe of the Rio Arriba magistrate and husband of Dem State Rep. Debbie Rodella just broke. Tommy says it's a Big Bill vendetta--that the husband of Guv campaign operative, Amanda Cooper, is out to get him. The Rodella's are never boring...

We're at two candidates now in the Dem race for Bernalillo County Clerk next year. Agnes Maldonado, executive director of the NM Coalition Against Domestic Violence and sister to Dem ABQ State Senator Bernadette Sanchez, tells us she will not make a run for the office. She was considered as a possible appointee to replace Mary Herrera last year, but the Bernalillo County Commission chose Maggie Toulouse Oliver who will now seek the Dem nomination as will assistant city clerk Kelly Fulgenzi...

Was that Public Regulation Commissioner Jason Marks we had running for the ABQ Wilson congressional seat, if only for a couple of hours last week and startling at least several emailers? It was and we were obviously straying. We had written a story about Democrat Jason Call running for the seat and said another candidate was Jason Marks, instead of saying Jon Adams. Lots of "J's there to mess us up as the caffeine wore off. Marks, an attorney, is seeking re-election to his ABQ PRC seat next year...

Meanwhile, another PRC commissioner, Sandy Jones from southern NM, is taking some serious hits over his comments about an electric rate increase in Las Cruces. Maybe he's now wondering whether he should have run for a congressional seat...

Help keep us posted. Send your news and comments from the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Faught & Guv
Political insiders are saying pressure may mount on NM Secretary of Transportation Rhonda Faught in light of a plot to defraud the agency that was revealed late Thursday. The feds announced the indictment of businessman Michael Murphy in connection with the ongoing investigation of the construction of the Bernalillo County Metro Courthouse and also news of the fraud plot. Faught came with immediate damage control just hours after word spread:

“I was recently made aware of allegations that Toby Martinez and Raul Parra may have been plotting to defraud taxpayers by manipulating a planned Department of Transportation District 5 relocation project in Santa Fe. That District 5 redevelopment project never moved forward, and I am confident that Martinez and Parra were not able to carry out the alleged scheme," Faught said in her news release.

“I was interviewed...and provided all information requested by the FBI. I had no knowledge of Parra’s alleged role with the developer, or the alleged conspiracy with Martinez related to the District 5 project. In fact, I approved the cancellation of the District 5 project earlier this year because we could not reach an agreement with the developer that was in the best interest of taxpayers.”

Before this, Faught was already under fire for this:

"Two men the state Transportation Department said weren't involved with its headquarters redevelopment project in Santa Fe flew with DOT officials on state aircraft to project meetings in Texas. Engineer Raul Parra and architect Roger Basarich flew with Toby Martinez, the project manager, and Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught to Dallas on Jan. 20, 2005, according to aircraft-use records."

Cabinet secretaries have been shown the door for less. Faught's tenure is now fraught with danger.

FIXIN' A HOLE

That $1,000 a head ABQ Country Club dinner being sponsored by attorneys Turner and Margaret Branch and politico Ed Romero for Attorney General Gary King has a shot a wiping out most of Democrat King's campaign debt. The ABQ Journal, following up on our report, says King has $180,000 left on his original $330,000 debt.

FROM THE GUT

The recall effort against ABQ City Councilor Don Harris certainly has emotional fervor behind it, but my gut is starting to tell me that this is far from a done deal. I have no polling to back up my position, but no councilor has ever been recalled, and voters in his far NE Heights district may not be anxious to pull the trigger since they can always extract their revenge at the next election.

Also, expect Harris to come with the argument that if he is kicked off the council, it will mean Mayor Chavez gets to appoint a replacement, shifting the balance of power back toward the 11th floor as that would likely mean just five votes against the mayor instead of the current veto proof six. Stay tuned for further developments...

PETE AT 52%

No bounce for Pete. He remains mired in the low 50's in his latest approval rating from Survey USA, getting a 52% rating in August. His lowest in recent polling has been 51% and his highest 55%. Domenici's weakness started with the US Attorney scandal and has continued through his "switch" on the Iraq war. The drumbeat for Big Bill to get in this one if his Prez campaign fizzles will only grow louder if these numbers are not turned around. This could be the biggest and, so far, most under covered developing political story in a generation. But not here. Don't say we didn't tell you.

Breaking the big political stories and having fun doing it, we're the home of New Mexico politics. Send your news, comments and political gossip from the email link at the top of the page.

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Sen. Domenici
Ten years ago they wouldn't have bothered, but sensing opportunity, foes of GOP US Senator Pete Domenici are unloading their summer guns on the state's senior senator, hoping to keep his poll numbers low and his underbelly soft as the '08 election draws inexorably closer.

NM TV screens will be speckled with ads hammering Domenici for his support of the "endless war" in Iraq. They come from the Democratic friendly group "Americans United for Change." Pete said last month he does not believe the surge of troops into Iraq is the solution, but he is not supporting a timetable for withdrawal.

The ads will air on the major network affiliates in the ABQ market, but the group would not tell us how much they have budgeted.

You may also see these ads from a pro-war group with Republican ties which is launching a $15 million ad campaign to influence Congress as it prepares to consider the future course of the war. Senator Pete is being pulled by both sides on the no-end-in-sight conflict, illustrating just what an albatross it has become for the R's.

And the Sierra Club says it has bought another week of ABQ/Santa Fe radio time to pound Domenici over his position on renewable energy. They've also thrown up some billboards in the metro area to persuade Domenici, the ranking member on Senate Energy, to back legislation requiring utilities to generate more of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar. Pete has argued the renewable standard would mean more expensive electricity.

Once again, Pete's camp can count their lucky stars that no high-profile opponent has been fielded by the Democrats and that the third party attacks are not directly benefitting a challenger. He continues to make the rounds, stopping in Cruces Wednesday.

DAVID'S DEAL

The man causing many of Domenici's headaches hopes the story of how he did it puts some money in his pocket. Former US attorney David Iglesias has inked a book deal. Iglesias's critics have hammered him for being a publicity hound, and questioned his credibility in the US attorney scandal that has caused the R's so much heartburn. Writing a book doesn't address that PR problem, does it?

HERE IN RIVER CITY

ABQ election season is starting to hit its stride with city council candidates well aware that the first batch of absentee ballots will be sent out August 28. (You can request one at 768-3030) and the press coverage is starting to pick up.

The ABQ Trib has temporarily shifted former city hall reporter Erik Siemers to the election beat, over from the biz desk. We talked with him about the race in the North Valley featuring incumbent Debbie O'Malley, challenger Katherine Martinez and Mayor Marty's endorsement of Katherine. Meanwhile, over at the ABQ Journal, veteran Dan McKay is covering his first city election as the paper's new city hall reporter. We'll keep you posted on the key pieces.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Several emailers wondered why we gave the NM Congressional delegation all the credit for saving Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis and not some to Governor Big Bill. Well, it is a federal issue, but the Guv did do some lifting so let's spread the luv around...MSNBC had an interesting scroll at the bottom of its screen Wednesday afternoon. They noted that "former NM Governor Bill Richardson" was speaking at a Reno, Nevada labor convention. Former Governor? Did I hear Diane Denish's heart skip a beat?...

Keep us posted on the latest news. Our email link is at the top of the page.

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The Democratic race to take on ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson seems to be getting as crowded as Elephant Butte on Labor Day weekend. How serious all these guys are and how long they will stay around is anyone's guess, but the latest entrant, 36 year old Highland High School math teacher Jason Call, says there's room for a "Dennis Kucinich Democrat" in the field and he fits the bill.

"I am not a politician's politcian. I have been involved in activism and am extremely disappointed with party line Democrats," Call told me Tuesday night from his ABQ NE Heights home.

Does that include the pet of the progressives, Martin Heinrich, who is a leading contender to win the June '08 Dem nomination? "I know he has solid environmental positions, but I don't see anyone in the race who represents my views," said Call of the ABQ city councilor.

Like Dem prez candidate Kucinich, he is critical of the Democratic Congress for continuing to fund the Iraq war. He also favors a national health plan that takes private insurance companies out of the equation.

Call, who said he lived in ABQ for three years in the late 90's, only moved back to the city in February. His wife Carmen is an elementary school teacher and they have two young children. Call said his father worked in ABQ for 13 years as a contractor for Kirtland Air Force Base.

Call is aware that he must win 20% of the delegate vote at the Dem pre-primary convention next March in order to be placed on the June ballot, a challenge that also faces the other second tier congressional hopeful, attorney Jon Adams. Call says he thinks there will be enough delegates who share his views to give him a shot. Former Big Bill aide Bryon Paez is also seeking the Dem nod.

Call hasn't raised any money yet. He plans an official announcement in mid-October, if current plans hold. And why not? Like the crowd at the Butte would say, "Come on in, the water is fine."

WILSON'S WANDERINGS

Meantime, on the Heather front, my Alligators had told us she was up in Farmington recently, her latest stop outside of her congressional district as she appears to be prepping for a US Senate run in the event Senator Domenici is sidelined. Now we've received confirmation of the visit in the form of an editorial from the Farmington Daily Times which acted like Heather's unusual side trip was all in a day's work. Wilson has also recently been to Clovis, Las Cruces and Los Alamos. If she's not testing the waters for the Senate, the NM Tourism Department ought to hire her.

I LUV CLOVIS, YOU LUV CLOVIS

Clovis is here to stay. The eastern NM city, threatened with extinction when the Pentagon moved to close Cannon Air Force Base, has been officially rescued. It's new military mission is expected to eventually have about 5,000 active duty personnel. That ought to prevent a Clovis real estate crash. The state's congressional delegation, led by Senator Domenici, did a good job on this one. Now can they get it together on the future of Los Alamos?

PAPER PLEASE

It will be one of his more lasting legislative achievements, so Big Bill Tuesday was touting an independent report that says the switch to an all-paper ballot voting system has been a success.
Eight out of ten NM voters told the university researcher/pollsters that their paper ballot voting experience was good. The paper ballots also leave a paper trail of who you voted for, quieting some of the more disquieting conspiracy theories that were fashionable before the paper switch.

SPIRO'S WORLD

No, I haven't forgotten about Spiro Vassilopoulos. He's the energy investor who told us last month he was toying with the near sacrilegious idea of running against Saint Pete for the 2008 GOP US Senate nomination, sending a jolt through the Republican cathedral. Spiro says he still hasn't made up his mind, but has sent a letter to members of the GOP State Central Committee asking them to meet him for coffee to discuss the possibility. I wonder if he will provide disguises to those who meet him in public?

THE BOTTOM LINES

The Sheriff who would be lieutenant governor. That's Santa Fe's Greg Solano who got free pre-announcement notices in the press and blogs, and he gets another round after going official Tuesday. He may want to do one announcement every year between now and 2010 so he's not forgotten...

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AG King
New Mexico Attorney General Gary King appears poised to make a major dent in a $330,000 debt left over from his 2006 campaign, as politico and former US ambassador to Spain Ed Romero has joined forces with well-known trial lawyers Turner and Margaret Moses Branch to throw a $1000 a person dinner for King at the Albuquerque Country Club on September 11th. (Invitation here.)

The cash meter spun crazily on the AG's race last year as Republican Jim Bibb pumped in money from out-of-state interests. King ended up spending $611,000 on the contest, including $130,00o in personal loans.

King's predecessor, Patricia Madrid, took heat for taking major contributions from lawyers who later were awarded contracts for legal work. King's campaign reports, like previous candidates for the AG's office, are heavy with lawyer contributions. That attorneys are sponsoring the AG's debt retirement dinner is also not unusual, but because King has been front and center in espousing tougher ethics laws, the R's are giving it extra scrutiny. King, who recently told us he will not make a 2010 Guv run, can be expected to tread carefully.

2010 OR BUST

The politicos just can't seem to restrain themselves. First, Diane Denish becomes the earliest ever official candidate for Governor by announcing her 2010 bid for the Dem Guv nomination in January, a full three and half years before the primary election. Now, Santa Fe Sheriff Greg Solano is today expected to become the first official candidate for the '10 Dem nomination for lieutenant governor. Apparently the numbing amounts of money needed to run for office is a major driver of the early announcements, but that doesn't mean it isn't way too early.

It's particularly trick for the popular Solano who is sheriff of a county whose major city, Santa Fe, is in the midst of a crime wave. Even though he is not directly responsible for the city crime beat, his early start could raise questions on how committed he is to his job versus raising money for his candidacy.

Expect the 2010 race for light guv to get very crowded since it, like the Governor's job, will not feature an incumbent. 2006 Democratic attorney general candidate Geno Zamora tells me he is considering the race, as is former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. The Alligators also are circulating the name of Brian Colón, chairman of the NM Dem party, as a possible contender. And there are many more. But please, can't we first deal with 2008?

THE COUNCIL CAMPAIGN
Garduño
The endorsement of Rey Garduño by outgoing councilor and Dem congressional candidate Martin Heinrich isn't so much about how many votes it may deliver to the retired University of New Mexico employee, but what it says about the state of the campaign in the liberal SE Heights district. Heinrich wants those liberals for next year's June primary and can ill afford to be backing losers, so the assumption is that Garduño is on his way to consolidating the large liberal vote in the district which includes the university area.

If that is the case, the question will be whether Garduño can reach the 40% mark on October 2nd and avoid a run-off election with one of his three rivals, ad agency owner Joanie Griffin, toy store owner Kevin Wilson and CNM board member Blair Kaufman. Wilson is the lone R in the contest.

PRESS BASHING

Already facing charges for picking a fight with Roswell cops at his son's basketball game, combative GOP State Representative and House Minority Leader Dan Foley is picking another one with the Roswell Daily Record. Foley has shut out his hometown newspaper, refusing comment to them because he and his supporters believe the paper is biased. But the Record, established in 1891, has seen and heard it all before and reacted mildly in an editorial published last month.

The Foley press bashing may help him rally his base supporters, but the ink-stained wretches have lots of time and barrels of ink on their side. That's something prospective GOP opponents of Foley may be pondering as they weigh possible '08 primary challenges. Stay tuned.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Have you seen "Obama Girl?" She's the latest Web sensation and you'll see why.

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He was slipping from being a long shot to a no shot, but NM Governor Bill Richardson regained his footing in the Democratic presidential contest in a big way Sunday, turning in his best televised debate performance of the year. Gone was the verbosity, the verbal gaffes and the tiresome references to his accomplishments as Governor. Instead, a new Richardson emerged on ABC's "This Week," one who adroitly handled the issues pitched his way and even threatened a home run. It happened when he took over the debate by defending his call for an immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq and demanded to know what his rivals meant by keeping "residual troops" in the war-torn nation.

The pundits were quick to tally the points on Richardson's scorecard, the WaPo's blogger among them.

...Richardson...was able to put himself at the center of the discussion of Iraq thanks to his plan to withdraw all American troops by the end of the year. Richardson came in for some subtle (and not so subtle) criticism for that plan from the other candidates but was able to make clear to viewers that he differs from his rivals on the most pressing issue of the race...Richardson seems to recognize that his best chance to move into the top tier is through distinguishing himself from his rivals on Iraq, and he did that successfully today.

The influential Des Moines Register also gave the Guv a rare pat on the back.

TV and Richardson have not been on good terms. He was nearly humiliated on "Meet the Press," and committed his well-publicized gay gaffe just this month. Critics howled that he was winging it and doomed to decline if he didn't start keeping his eye on on the ball. Sunday a rested and less anxious Richardson finally rose to the occasion and to the presidential level, providing a new mantra for his loyalists: "More of the same, Bill."

OUR PETE BEAT

If the Guv can repeat his Sunday debate performance and continue his climb in the Iowa polls, it might quiet the speculation that he could come back to NM and seek the senate seat held by GOP Senator Pete Domenici. But that talk was not yet quieted when Pete was feted at a Saturday reception by state legislators representing Bernalillo county. Alligators on scene heard such talk among a circle or two of the some 100 politicos munching finger food and sipping Chardonnay pool side at the verdant North Valley home of GOP State Senator John Ryan. But most of us are more immediately concerned with the bearing of the 75 year old Senator and the stump speech he is developing as he begins a campaign for an unprecedented seventh term.

"He spoke for about 20 minutes. He appeared relatively vigorous, sometimes leaning on a chair for support. He said he is running again because "the people" have asked him to. He predicted that 2008 will be a rough year for Republican incumbents because of the unpopularity of the Iraq war, and he also said the race won't be cheap," informed one of our Gators enjoying his time at pool side.

One Senator not joining in the Domenici doings was Joe Carraro, who some party goers speculated was still sore at the state GOP leadership for tilting his race for the GOP US Senate nomination last year toward Allen McCulloch. Joe didn't respond to an inquiry.

The man McCulloch was trounced by, Democratic Senator Jeff Bingaman, is making an early appearance in campaign '08--by Senator Pete. Touring the south and east during the August recess, Domenici contends that he uses a bipartisan approach and that his relationship with Bingaman proves the point.

"The first time we worked together and finally got it done at 3 a.m., we shook hands and said, we didn't know each other before, but now we do," Domenici commented.

Jeff will be the last to dispute this contention, as he used his relationship with Domenici to appeal to conservative GOP voters in his successful re-election. But other Dems argue that Domenic has actually grown more partisan during the Bush years, citing his role in the US attorney scandal and support of the Iraq war.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We've told you to expect a three way race for the Dem nomination for Bernalillo County clerk next June, and now we expect the incumbent clerk to run using three names. A fundraising appeal for Dem clerk Maggie Toulouse sports her new moniker, "Maggie Toulouse Oliver." Toulouse's new name reflects her marriage to Big Bill press flack Allen Oliver...KOB-TV picked up on our report that Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez is nixing the notion of a special legislation session to deal with ethics reform as the Guv's Ethics Task Force is pushing. ABQ Senator Cravens is one R lawmaker who isn't upset with Sanchez viewpoint...

Among those making the Domenici event at Senator Ryan's home Saturday was Los Ranchos Mayor Larry Abraham, a registered independent, who will host USA President Bush at his home for an August 27th Pete fundraiser. Maybe the Mayor is practicing how to be a Republican in time for the Prez's appearance...

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Big Bill grabbed our attention this week when he called on New Mexicans to conduct an "invasion" of Nevada. We're used to invasions around here--the Spanish conquered the Indians, the Mexicans took over from the Spanish; the Americans invaded the Mexicans and even those coarse Texans invaded these parts. Fortunately, they didn't get very far. If they had, today our señoritas would be sporting beehive hair-dos and looking for bargains at the discount bins of Neiman Marcus.

So when the Guv called for invading Nevada with a caravan of New Mexicans the weekend of September 14th, we swept aside the inconvenient fact that he was asking for a political invasion of the Silver State to drum up support for that state's January caucuses. After all, for over four hundred years New Mexicans have been on the receiving end of invasions; wouldn't it be nice for us to do some invading of our own?

Maybe Governor Bill would permit the caravan a side trip to Texas where we could do some payback invading before heading up to Nevada. It might be not of much help to his Prez campaign, but it would do a whole lot for our self-esteem.

BROTHELS & BAD CHECKS

The legal brothels of Nevada will, we assume, be strictly off limits to the New Mexicans joining the Big Bill caravan. But they weren't for one of the Guv's aides who worked at one doing bookkeeping. The freshly hired aide also has a record of writing some bad checks. That caused much embarrassment to the campaign, with the AP reporting: "An aide in Nevada to Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson resigned Thursday after the campaign learned he had worked for a brothel and was wanted on a felony arrest warrant in California."

The now ex-Richardson aide toiled for a time at Mona's Ranch which may have the blue noses all in a titter, but his real offense was shorting the hookers on their pay. They promptly complained to Elko, Nevada police, but no charges were filed. We're glad to report he did not write his bad checks to the working girls. They were the result of "business transactions gone bad."

Too bad for this fella, but it's best he's gone. He's not meant for D.C. Everyone there knows the #1 rule of etiquette is to never short your hooker.

EYEBALLING ETHICS

Some Republican reaction to our Wednesday blog in which Senate Majority Leader Sanchez iced the notion of having a special legislative session to deal with ethics reform. ABQ Senator Joe Carraro took the opportunity to remind everyone that he has given an award to the Legislature for its handling of ethics measures. The third 'Hoodwink Award' goes to the New Mexico Legislature for its attempt at fooling the public into thinking that they actually are trying to reform their own ethical conduct and standards." Stings the Senator. We assume that applies to the Republican as well as Dem members, Joe.

But another R, former ABQ State Rep. Rory Ogle, says he agrees with Dem leader Sanchez that an independent ethics commission to oversee legislative behavior is not needed.

"I am not in favor of a separate commission that can be used as a political weapon. The Legislature has an ethics committee where any citizen can bring an ethics allegation against a member..Having served on that committee, I can say they take their work very seriously and have the ability to punish one of their members. Punishment can range from a public reprimand to impeachment," contends Ogle.

Maybe all the lawmakers are on their best behavior because we don't hear very much from that committee...

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Sen. Sanchez
Chances of having a special session of the NM Legislature as requested by the Governor's Ethics Task Force went from slim to nearly none Wednesday as Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez told me: "We've gone that route. I truly believe we can get it done in the regular 30 day session."

Sanchez's first public statement on the matter is tantamount to a death knell for a special as it reflects the sentiment of many legislators, not to mention pragmatic political observers who, like Sanchez, point to the chaos of the special session earlier this year at which ethics reform, among other things, bit the dust. Also, Governor Richardson is unlikely to again force lawmakers into a special session against their will.

Sanchez, speaking to me from his Belen law offices as the thermometer flirted with the century mark, did indicate agreement with a proposal from task force chair and ex-Governor Carruthers that if a special were needed it should be held immediately upon the conclusion of the regular 30 day 2008 session. But the Senator is determined to have no special and to finish all business in the allotted month.

While ethics advocates will be disappointed to hear of Sanchez's nixing of a special, they may be heartened to hear what seems to be a new flexibility on the issue of limiting campaign contributions in NM, just one of a handful of states that fails to do so.

"I suspect I can go along with a limit. I am not sure what it should be. We need to look around at what other states are doing and also look at the federal limits."

That appears to be new territory for the leader who was on vacation last week when the ethics panel proposed the special session and its latest round of proposed reforms.

PUSHING FOR A LIMIT

The feds cap individual donations at $2300 per candidate per election, and that's what the ethics eagles are pushing for here. Sanchez did not sound put off by that figure. Is this the prelude to landmark legislation on campaign money? If proponents play it right, perhaps so.

As for that proposal for an independent Ethics Commission which failed in the special this year and is back again from the Guv's task force, you can pretty much call that dead on arrival. Sanchez feels the present ethics committee structure is adequate. Separation of powers looms large on this. The Legislature (particularly the Senate) is not about to give up authority on ethics or anythign else to an outside force, especially since not a few Senators believe they have already ceded too much ground to the current governor.

The most significant pending reform is limiting those campaign contributions. Right now the sky is the limit. With Sanchez appearing agreeable to some kind of deal (the House is already on board), now is the time to strike, but if the Governor and his task force insist on what they call comprehensive reform and a special session to get it, we risk continuing the standstill.

A piecemeal approach in which firepower and public opinion is concentrated on one or two major reforms in each of the next several sessions looks like a path to success in light of the majority leader's remarks. If that route had been followed the past three sessions, we might already have some reforms in place. The bottom line? Better to have a bite out of the apple than no apple at all.

A RARE TV MOMENT

The late NM U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez made a rare NM TV appearance as a result of our report this week on a burglary at the home of one of his relatives in the ABQ NE Heights. KOB-TV's Stuart Dyson interviewed Chavez's grandson about the silver trays and other political items of Chavez that were stolen. The station ran some cool decades-old video of Chavez who served 27 years in the Senate and died in '62.. There was even a sound bite of the Demcoratic legend.

Dyson's tenure as a New Mexico news reporter dates back 33 years. Only anchor legend Dick Knipfing has been at it longer.

POT PROGRAM PAINS

Will Democratic liberals following every tick of Camapaign '08 sieze on the latest news about New Mexicos's medical majrijauna program to put the heat on Big Bill? That question arose Wednesday when the state health secretary. Dr. Alfredo Vigil, announed NM will not grow medical marijuana for seriously ill patients for fear that the feds could prosecute state workers. But couldn't the Governor make a statement to Democratic primary voters by ordering the pot program, approved by the 2007 Legislature, to move forward anyway? He could. Come on Doc Vigil, you would probably look good in those prison stripes. At the least, expect some lawsuts to be filed over this one.

A ROMERO IS NOT A GONZALES

ABQ City Council President Debbie O'Malley is not a Gonzales, although we're sure she has nothing against them. She is a Romero, however. And she informed us accordingly after we erred Wednesday in blogging her heritage. "My Mom, Lydia Romero is from Veguita. Her dad, Juan Nemecio Romero, was a member of the NM Legislature. My dad, a self-described “coyote," is a member of the longtime Montoya and Werner families from the ABQ Sawmill/Old Town area. "

That's explained so well that even a gringo from Pennsylvania can understand it.

Breaking the big political stories and having fun doing it, this is the home of New Mexico politics--www.joemonahan.com. Send your email via the link at the top of the page.

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Chavez Vs. O'Malley
They didn't even get to the appetizers. Barely a week after proposing a series of peace lunches with the ABQ city council, Mayor Marty Chavez has openly declared his support for the October 2nd election opponent of City Council President Debbie O'Malley. Chavez is sponsoring a $50 per person August 22nd Corrales reception for Katherine Martinez who seeks to unseat the first term liberal councilor who has become the public face of opposition to Chavez in his third term at the helm of the state's largest city.

O'Malley won election four years ago with 45% of the vote in a four way field. She is favored to win again, although the Mayor's camp is spinning hard that she is vulnerable. The district is much of ABQ's North Valley, populated by liberal Dems like O'Malley. Also, there is an ethnic factor in the heavily Hispanic district. O'Malley's mother is a Romero and as we wrote in May: "Martinez (Katherine Carroll), a Democrat like O'Malley, was born in North Carolina and moved to New Mexico with her native New Mexican husband. She says she has lived in the district only two and a half years, but "it doesn't take long to get to know people."

There has been more of a check on Chavez's power since O'Malley became council president with six of the nine councilors coming together to override a couple of vetoes. But Chavez has a history of intervening in the council races--if not as openly as in the O'Malley case--with little success.

Whether Martinez, government affairs director for the Home Builders Association of Central NM, can pull a major upset remains questionable, but win or lose, Chavez is sending a message to O'Malley by backing her foe, and that message is not peace. This is nothing new for Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque who have seen this many times before and actually seem to enjoy having the council and mayor at loggerheads as it keeps them both in line. As for those mayoral peace lunches, don't look for Debbie and Marty to be chewing together on the calamari at Yanni's anytime soon.

THE BIG BILL BEAT

From the beginning, the national pundits have pegged Big Bill as a possible Veep candidate, downplaying his chances at capturing the Dem Prez nod. The Guv has done his best to shake that perception, but he left the door open to the possibility this week when he interviewed with the New York Daily News.

The Guv should probably be relieved that the media is still asking him about becoming Veep in the wake of the controversy that shrouded his campaign in the aftermath of his gay gaffe. The Washington Post's political blogger says it's another case of Bill showing a lack of "message discipline."

The gay blogs were up in arms that the Guv did not flatly declare at the gay Prez forum that being gay is a matter of biology, not choice. Bill trotted out openly gay Congressman Barney Frank to do some damage control in hopes of putting the incident behind him.

Richardson also came with two new TV spots Tuesday in Iowa. Perhaps that will divert attention away from the gay flub. He will be sharing tube time there with Hillary Clinton who unveiled her first TV commercials there this week.

SHE'S EVERYWHERE
Heather Wilson
She's recently been in Clovis, Los Alamos and Las Cruces. Now one of the Alligators has an unconfirmed report that ABQ GOP Rep. Heather Wilson has had an appearance slated for Farmington. You know the score, but it bears repeating. Wilson is positioning herself for the US senate seat held by Senator Domenici--just in case. Domenici is indeed running for a seventh term in '08, but frail health is the opponent that could keep him out of the race. He is 75.

Some Democrats complain that Wilson is in denial after having only won her '06 reelect by less than 900 votes and that appearing around the state is a sign of arrogance. But with the Dems set to start a heated primary to see who will win the right to challenge her in '08, Wilson is largely out of their line of fire, giving her the opportunity to roam freely. A US senate opening in NM is a once in a generation event, if that. If Wilson has any ambition for the seat, she must stay positioned, regardless of the current political odds. Ditto for GOP US Rep. Steve Pearce who is doing the same, but further below the radar than the determined congresswoman.

MY BOTTOM LINES

Down south they are starting to line up for the Dona Ana county commission seat being given up by Bill McCamley who is seeking the Dem nomination to take on GOP US Rep. Steve Pearce next year. The first candidate to announce is Dem Vince Romero, a retired Justice department employee...Dem congressional contender Jon Adams is boasting of getting contributions from Republicans. He checks in with the news that he has raised $10,000 for his campaign for the Dem nod to take on Heather Wilson in '08 and that this "shows broad support from independent-minded Democrats and Republicans." Now, if he could only get those R's to switch parties so they could actually vote for him in the primary...

Fans of Heather can catch her act this Saturday at her "Coffee Club" meeting at the ABQ Sheraton Uptown. The price is $30 per person. But 9 a.m. on a Saturday? Heck, at that time, the Democrats are just getting in from the night before...See our revised bottom lines from yesterday (scroll down) for the latest on the ABQ city clerk position. The Mayor has named an "interim" clerk who will preside over the Oct. 2nd city election after which a permanent clerk will be named...

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randy autioBush & Rove
Bush brain Karl Rove, who announced his resignation Monday, made his mark on New Mexico politics, leaving a decidedly mixed legacy here. He developed a crafty plan for Bush in 2004, spiking turnout in conservative rural New Mexico with strategically placed presidential visits and voter targeting. Bush won the state by about 6,000 votes, after losing it by less than a thousand in 2000. On the other hand, Rove was knee-deep in the US attorney scandal that has engulfed and weakened GOP Senator Pete Domenici and ABQ GOP US Rep. Heather Wilson, leaving New Mexico Republicans in an uncertain position for 2008 and beyond.

The White House political operation in NM blew up when fired NM US Attorney David Iglesias charged that he was being pressured to prosecute voter fraud cases that were not worthy of prosecution. He also said he was pressured by Domenici and Wilson to bring indictments in the Metro court construction scandal before the '06 election. GOP political operatives and lawyers Mickey Barnett and Pat Rogers were Rove's allies on the ground, but never did produce convincing evidence of voter fraud, leading the Dems to charge, with some credibility, that the accusations were a scheme to suppress voter turnout among minorities.

If Rove and company were indeed trying to suppress minority voting here, as the evidence indicates, it was a contradiction. Here's what Rove said Monday when speaking of the "Latino" vote and that failed immigration bill the White House pushed and that so enraged conservative R's. "You cannot ignore the aspirations of the fastest-growing minority in America." And Rove said he believed the GOP was still on track to build a lasting majority. Not in New Mexico, Karl.

Domenici has suffered the most from the US attorney scandal, seeing his approval ratings plunging below 60% for the first time in memory and his legacy irrevocably tarnished. There was a big political pay off to be had if it could be proved that widespread voter fraud was being employed by Democrats to alter election outcomes. But even in the absence of any such proof, the plot to oust Iglesias continued, making the participants look like abusers of power, not the election protectors they held themselves out to be.

A PERMANENT PATH TO POWER

There is a path to more Republican power in New Mexico, but it isn't the quick fix that Rove and company thought they had and which led to the epic scandal. The path is finding and recruiting candidates and funding them. It means defrocking self-dealing lobbyists and consultants who have used the state GOP as their personal playground, discouraging participation and needlessly dividing the small party. And it means long hard work at the grassroots level.

Karl Rove's creative '04 NM Bush strategy will long be remembered and studied, but his pursuit of a quick fix of political power here by using the machinery of the federal government will cast a long shadow. In the end, his political epitaph could be these words from a mournful songwriter: "He said he wanted Heaven, but praying was too slow."

HERE SHE COMES

Will Hillary's Iowa TV debut today will it mean less oxygen for Big Bill who has been toying with the 10% polling level in that early caucus state? A new ARG poll released Monday had Bill at 7% nationally among "likely" Dem voters, his highest ever and up from 3% in the previous ARG survey. Maybe all that attention over the gay gaffe actually boosted his name ID and even had some conservative Dems happy that he was confused over whether homosexuality is a choice or rooted in biology. The poll was taken August 9 thru 12, while Bill's gay statements were making national headlines. ( He clarified that he believes being gay is matter of biology.)

The Guv was averaging 3.6% in the national polls before the ARG survey was factored in. He has been up on Iowa TV for weeks, so it will be interesting to see if he can increase his numbers there as the big name candidates hit the small screen.

SEN. CHAVEZ HEIRLOOMS STOLEN

In the strange coincidence department, shortly after we blogged last week about Senator Dennis Chavez, we learned of a July 19th burglary of the the ABQ home of his daughter, Gloria Tristani. Valuable silver utensils (some pictured here) that had been given to the senator, who died in 1962, were among the items stolen.

One especially prized possession now missing is a sterling silver picture frame containing a signed photo of President Truman. Also, silver trays and other items given to Chavez by the people of Clovis, NM for his role in reopening the Air Force base there in the late 1940's were taken in the robbery. Tristani has two other out-of-state homes. Her daughter, also named Gloria Tristani, ran against Senator Domenici in 2002.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We had a post up for a time Monday saying ABQ Deputy City Clerk Kelli Fulgenzi (Baca) was likely to be named city clerk by Mayor Chavez to replace Millie Santillanes who died over the weekend, but conflicting reports came in and we took it down. Chavez on Tuesday named assistant city attorney Randy Autio as the "Interim Chief Clerk." He will serve through the October 2nd city election after which a permanent clerk will be named. Fulgenzi stays on as deputy clerk and is still hoping to be named city clerk. The city clerk is charged with administering city elections. Got all that?

Fulgenzi confirms our report that she is going to seek the 2008 Dem nomination for Bernalillo County Clerk, setting up a face-off with current clerk Maggie Toulouse. Agnes Maldonado, sister of ABQ Dem State Senator Bernadette Sanchez, is also expected to make the run...

Meantime, funeral arrangements for Santillanes have been announced, with a rosary set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Albuquerque Old Town's historic San Felipe de Neri church. A funeral mass will be conducted there Thursday at 10 a.m.

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The rickety rickshaw known as the Big Bill presidential campaign needs to park itself for a few days and take a long hard look at the road ahead. So say the top political analysts consulted in the wake of the latest gaffe (at least for a liberal Dem primary audience) committed by the New Mexico governor at a national forum. Richardson, they say, is clearly overtired, overworked and under prepared. Thus far, the memorable events of his presidential effort are his poor performances on Meet the Press, most of the various debates and now last week's presidential forum on gay issues where he fell on his sword.

Despite these ignominious bookends to his seven month old long shot bid for the presidency, the Governor's persistence and ability to raise money for early TV has kept him near double digits in polling in the key early state of Iowa where the stakes are growing higher by the day. But with only five months before the Iowa voting, the Alligators say Richardson needs to retool if he is going to upgrade his candidacy from coach to first-class.

"He has worked himself into position as a solid second tier candidate. Now he needs to look at what it takes to become first-tier candidate. That means stopping and looking at what is happening. This is a marathon, not a sprint," analyzed one of our insiders who has worked with the Governor.

But sprinting is Big Bill's favored mode, and it is catching up with him.

INSIDER ANALYSIS

"He is working 15 hours a day or more. He needs to take a day off. He seems to be running on adrenaline, and he hit the wall at the (gay presidential) forum. He has been this way since he ran for Congress, but this is a bigger ballpark and he needs to adjust. Fifteen hour days don't allow you time to prepare for events but preparation is imperative. Right now he is where he is supposed to be, solidly in the second tier, but if he is going to make the leap up, he has to retool, " offered an insider with long experience.

Bill's gaffe may cost him money from the gay community, but in itself is not going to torpedo his candidacy. He has a demonstrated record on gay and civil rights, but the cumulative impact of his errors is hurting his presidential campaign and perhaps extracting a toll on his vice-presidential ambitions as well as hopes of becoming secretary of state in n a Democratic administration.

Richardson has gone further than many expected--his extraordinary one-on-one political skills general affability, and decision to air early media--has served him well. But the great irony of this campaign has been Big Bill looking for the top-tier candidates to make mistakes so he can break through. Unfortunately for him, it is he who is making the most noticeable mistakes.

PULLED BACK IN
Laura Sanchez
Laura Sanchez said she meant it when she called us July 29th to tell us she was removing her name from the list of finalists for executive director of the NM Democratic Party. We dutifully blogged the development and began focusing on Art Terrazas, Jr. who had emerged as a front-runner to replace outgoing ED Matt Farrauto. But Sanchez and Dem Party Chairman Brian Colón checked in Friday with the news that there had been a change of heart and that Sanchez, 32, would take the job.

"He made me an offer I couldn't refuse," joked Sanchez.

The emergence of Terrazas may have actually helped Sanchez win the job as some insiders began putting heat on the chairman to go with someone more to their liking. Whether responsible or not, they were pleased that Colón returned to Sanchez who served as treasurer for his campaign for party chair.

Also aiding Sanchez, who earned a law degree from UCLA, is not being overtly aligned with any faction of the party. Terrazas set off alarms among liberal Dems. Sanchez has not been deeply involved in NM politics. She did serve a stint as a staffer for the state Senate Judiciary Committee. She leaves the Natural Resources Defense Council to take the party post.

While Terrazas of Dona Ana county did not end up as ED, southern NM Democrats did get representation at state headquarters. Sanchez is a native of Deming.

THEY CALLED HER "LA JEFA"

Millie Santillanes was not a woman to be taken lightly. She would probably chuckle if she were to read that line, knowing that it not only notes her large physical presence, but also her status as a longtime and fierce force in ABQ politics. It helped earn her the nickname of "La Jefa." The voice of Santillanes, heard prominently in the city political dialogue over the past 25 years, was stilled Saturday as she was summoned by death while being prepared for gall bladder surgery at a local hospital. She was 74.

At the time death called, Santillanes was city clerk. Earlier, she was a businesswoman who owned retail shops and who served a term as president of the ABQ Hispanic chamber of Commerce. She most captured the public imagination in the late 90's during a raucous debate over a sculpture depicting the founding of the city. The controversy brought to the fore the ancient wrongs committed during the early settlement of New Mexico and Albuquerque, Some said Millie pushed the envelope in her advocacy of Hispanic culture during the debate, but she saw a world where cultures of all sorts were being plowed under by a wave of Golden Arches and she fought back.

Santillanes was a rarity in La Politica--a Hispanic female Republican. In the early 80's, she joined with populist businesswoman Elizabeth Cook of "Concerned Citizens" to hold city officials feet to the fire and successfully oppose several tax increases. In 1985, the mother of eight tried a direct takeover of city hall, launching a campaign for mayor. She lost, but later accepted a position with winner Ken Schultz and again later as city clerk under Mayor Chavez.

The fire is out now, but it will be remembered that the torch burned with ardor when it was in the hands of New Mexico's Millie Santillanes.

Send your news and comments from the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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It's certainly not news that legendary NM Senator Dennis Chavez has passed, but for political junkies like us coming across an actual edition of the newspaper carrying the breaking news of his November 1962 death is a rare find. The aged yellowed pic of the front page ABQ Journal posted here is from the desk of Rose Diaz, director of the University of New Mexico political archives. I dropped in there Thursday for a briefing on how we are sorting and saving for the scrutiny of future generations the papers of our most prominent past politicos and some present ones as well. When I saw that old newspaper and the headline, I just had to take a snap of it for you.

Rose sent me off with the thick PhD. dissertation she authored on Democrat Chavez who served nearly thirty years in the senate. I will scour it for political nuggets and sprinkle them around here in the weeks ahead.

ERROR OF MY WAYS

What is it about ABQ City Councilor Ken Sanchez that we keep calling him a CPA? We mistakenly did it for the second time in the past year on Wednesday's blog. Sanchez is an "enrolled agent" who practices before the IRS, but is not, repeat is not a CPA. City Councilor Don Harris, facing an October 2 recall election, told us he will use Sanchez to keep his campaign records straight. Sanchez, who is mulling over a run for Mayor in 2009, is a Democrat. Harris a Republican.

And State Senator John Ryan is a Republican, not a Democrat. Duh! We lumped him with Dem
Senator Dede Feldman in blogging Thursday on the Guv's ethics task force. These two are as philosophically apart as you can get, and we received a number of emails pointing out the error of our ways. One of them came from probably the most liberal member of the Senate, ABQ's Jerry Ortiz y Pino: "

"Joe, I missed the official announcement that Senator John Ryan has switched parties, but since you listed him as a Democrat in this morning’s blog, I suppose I have to accept it as fact. I’ve been subtly trying to influence that switch (we sit next to each other on the floor) but didn’t realize I was getting anywhere. Good news!"

Very funny, Jerry. We're glad we could provide you some jollies at our expense. As for Ryan, we are more than aware that he is a Republican, having had him as a guest analyst on our KANW-FM radio Election Night broadcasts. But if he wants to come on as a Democrat, he is welcome, as long as Ortiz y Pino assumes the Republican role. Now that would be a ratings grabber.

GUV NOT GAY OVER DEBATE

Big Bill, only now recovering from a controversy involving the gay community, stepped back in it Thursday night at the Dem debate on gay issues. From USA Today:

"New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, asked whether being gay is a choice or people are born that way, said it's a choice. After the forum, he reversed himself. "I do not believe sexual orientation or gender identity happens by choice," he said in a statement.

It's queer how the Guv is getting his signals mixed on gay rights issues. Among the Prez candidates, he has one of the most progressive records on such matters. But he is 59, not 29, and this is not an issue politicians of his generation are used to grappling with in public.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We also blogged Thursday about the ethics task force proposal requiring lobbyists to wear badges while working at the Roundhouse. We labeled it "silly." Some readers saw it differently, including Matt Brix of Common Cause.

"The Secretary of State's website already has a listing of all registered lobbyists and their respective clients. And, up until this year, the SOS printed laminated identification cards for lobbyists to carry with them during the session. All the ethics task force is saying is let's take the current system and bring it more into the open."

Maybe so, but we still find it silly and even a bit creepy that you would be required by the government to wear an identity badge in the capitol, even though Brix says some other states already require lobbyists to sport badges.

We welcome your news, comments and political musings. Send them from the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Chavez
With open hostility threatening to cast a pall over his fledgling campaign for governor as well as stopping city legislation in its tracks, ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez moved Wednesday to make the peace with an increasingly combative and restive city council. The Mayor has asked the nine councilors to meet with him-- three at a time--over a weekly lunch. Initial reaction from Council Prez Debbie O'Malley was subdued. The problem, she argued, is Chavez's predilection to want to run everything, not his openness.

But the Democratic Mayor, haunted by a losing 1998 bid for Guv against Republican Gary Johnson, does not want to see the dream slip away again. He faces a formidable opponent for the Dem nomination in Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish. And there could be more candidates to come. If his relationship with the council stays rocky, it will be argued that Chavez lacks the executive skills to lead the state, even as he criticizes Denish for her lack of executive experience.

My insiders say the animosity of several councilors toward Chavez has never been greater. "It is the way he has treated them behind the scenes, basically telling them 'my way or the highway.' It has enraged them, and there is major repair work to be done," said one source at city hall.

Chavez sympathizers argue the council critics, more liberal than those in the recent past, are frustrated by the poularity of the more conservative Chavez.

His Honor's not so quiet support of the October 2nd election foes of of Councilors O'Malley and Winter has added fuel to the fire. The flames jumped high at Monday's council meeting over a relatively innocuous piece of environmental legislation. That came on the heels of a rare override of a mayoral veto over jail funding that showed the council can, if pressed, muster the six votes to block what has been a powerful Mayor.

The public often sides with the executive in disputes with a legislative body because he is the known quantity, has the bully pulpit and commands media attention. While Chavez, 55, has been called every name in the book behind his back, his image with the public has been largely untainted. But that may be about to change, thus the mayor's new slogan, "let's do lunch."

A final thought. When he sits down for caviar and crackers with Republican Winter and green chile chicken enchiladas with Democrat O'Malley, will Chavez offer to lay low in their re-election bids? That might go farther than a fine luncheon in healing the open wounds in city government that have the red stuff trickling and the Alligators circling.

HARRIS WINS ONE
Don Harris
The best chance for Chavez to tip the council balance of power back in his favor is the recall election facing Republican Don Harris. Incumbents O'Malley and Winter look safe. (O'Malley safer as Winter won by just five points four years ago.)If voters toss Harris out, Chavez would get to name a replacement, but Councilor Harris received some good news Tuesday, perhaps giving his campaign to keep his far NE Heights seat a bit of a boost.

The city's ethics board on a 4 to 1 vote rejected having a hearing on one of the allegations leveled against Harris by the group seeking his recall. The board must still consider other charges filed against the freshman councilor.

Upset citizens collected enough petition signatures to force a recall of Harris, only the second in city history, and it will take place in District Nine along with the regular city election October 2nd. Another ethics allegation Harris faces is faulty campaign finance reporting. He said he has made "mistakes" but "it was noting intentional." He told me he has hired fellow councilor Ken Sanchez who has an accounting business to handle the funds for his recall campaign. "That should stop me from making the same mistake twice," chuckled the lawyer lawmaker. Whether voters will be pacified by such explanations remains to be seen.

ETHICS FORCE LAPSE?

Would a proposed $2300 limit on NM campaign contributions, modeled after federal limits, have any unintended consequences?

"Legislators get few campaign contributions in the $2300 range. If the limit is put there, it could push them to have donors give the maximum allowed. That would mean more big money in legislative races, not less, " reasoned on veteran analyst.

Interesting point. The big statewide races like Governor and Attorney General do attract many donations over $2300, and limits where there currently are none would have a tangible impact. But legislators hang more with the below the thousand dollar a pop crowd. Shouldn't the ethics panel deal with that discrepancy?

The task force is asking for a special session of the Legislature to consider a myriad of proposals, some of them downright silly, like having lobbyists wear name tags.

"Hi, My Name is Tim and I am Here to bribe you..."

SPECIAL ETHICS

If the Guv and Legislature agree to a special, how about having it immediately following the 30 day 2008 legislative session? That would save taxpayers boatload of money. The chairman of the task force, former Guv Carruthers, agrees. Besides, Big Bill is off campaigning for Prez and way too distracted to preside over a special session that could quickly get out of hand.

And as the mainstream media has tirelessly pointed out, the system for disclosing NM campaign contributions and expenditures over the Internet via the secretary of state's office remains in shambles. If they can't enforce current ethics rules, how are we going to enforce a fresh batch?

WALK THE WALK

The politicos talk a good game when it comes to ethics, but when we asked for just one of them to step forward last year and voluntarily limit the size of their campaign contributions, the answer was the "Sounds of Silence." Diane Denish and Marty Chavez are already on the way to raising millions for the 2010 Governor's race. Denish is a member of the ethics task force. Could she and Marty lead by example and set a limit--even a high one---on how much they will accept from one contributor? OK. You can stop laughing now.

Other elected officials on that ethics task force are Dem Sate Treasurer James Lewis, GOP State Senator Ryan and Dem Senator Feldman; Dem State Reps Kenny Martinez and Jeff Steinborn and R State Rep. Don Tripp.

Will any of them announce that they will voluntarily limit the size of contributions they will accept?

The politicos argue that if they did a limit and their opponents didn't, they would be at a disadvantage. Voters might ask whatever happened to putting your money where your mouth is?

MY BOTTOM LINES

As expected, Rio Rancho Deputy Mayor and City Councilor Mike Williams was chosen by the council Wednesday night to fill out a portion of the unexpired term of ex-Mayor Kevin Jackson who resigned in disgrace over ethical and legal violations over the use of his city credit card. Willams' term runs until March of 2008 when city voters will select a mayor to fill out the final two years of Jackson's term. Williams could run for election then. Insiders say if former Dem Mayor and State Rep. Swisstack enters the race, as he is indicating he will, Williams might not.

Breaking the big political stories and having fun doin' it--This is the home of New Mexico politics. Send your news scoops from the e-mail link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Rep. Swisstack
State Representative and former Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack appears to be ready for a return to city hall. The three term Democratic lawmaker told me Tuesday he is giving "very serious consideration" to running for mayor in Rio Rancho's March '08 election and will make a final decision "within a week."

Politics in New Mexico's fastest growing city has lately taken a turn toward the Byzantine. The ethically and legally challenged Kevin Jackson has resigned as mayor. Deputy Mayor Mike Williams, a city councilor, is expected to be named today by his fellow councilors to fill the portion of Jackson's term that runs until next March. There will be a regular March election for city council and to fill out the remaining two years of Jackson's term. That's where Swisstack comes in.

The New Jersey native, who has called Rio Rancho home since the mid-80's, said if he ran for mayor he would stay in the Legislature until the election. If he won, he would resign and the Democratic controlled Sandoval County Commission would name a replacement who would also presumably be the Dem's June'08 primary candidate. If Swisstack lost for mayor, he would keep his legislative seat and consider running for it again. His record makes a loss seem unlikely, if he pulls the political trigger.

THE SWISSTACK FACTOR

Swisstack's seat is important to note because it has been a lean Republican one with Swisstack winning it from an R in '02 by only seven votes. He expanded his margin of victory in his two elections since, but the R's would have renewed hope if the popular Democrat were to leave the Roundhouse for city hall. However, Rio Rancho would again have a Democratic mayor as it did from 1994 to 1998 when Swisstack served a term. He did not seek re-election.

Democrat Williams sought the mayor's job, but lost it to Jackson in '06. Observers say he could be expected to step aside if Swisstack were to make the run. Former GOP Rio Rancho Mayor Jim Owen is the other well-known name poised as a contender for the '08 battle and who also ran and lost against Jackson.

Swisstack, 59, the longtime director of the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, says he is nearing retirement and would be a full-time mayor. He says Rio Rancho, with a population of around 75,000, needs a leader who can restore confidence in local government and one who has "measurable goals" when it comes to flooding, education and growth. He also points to what he calls his well-respected term as mayor and a productive tenure as a legislator. City of Vision voters could again have the chance to take the measure of Swisstack as they look to put the troubled Jackson era behind them. Stay tuned.

BETTING ON BILL
Big Bill
We keep an eye around here on the "predictions market" at Intrade.com. It's where real money is wagered to set the odds of a particular candidate winning the '08 Presidential nomination. Big Bill has held steady the last three months, with traders recently pegging his chances of winning the Dem Prez prize next year at just 2.5%. By contrast, Hillary is given a 50.8% chance and Obama a 32.8% chance. If Richardson starts to make a move, those who bought contracts on him at current prices stand to trade them at a nice profit. If he goes down, the contract price falls. If you think the market is undervaluing or overvaluing your candidate, you can open an account and start trading. Even for non-traders, the site is worth keeping up with as some argue the large pool of players and real money at stake increases the predictive power.

Some of you are frustrated by the individual state polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. They are volatile, and often disagree with each other. One way of getting a handle on how Richardson or the other candidates are doing is to take a look at the average of all the current polls. That's what the political pros do by checking in at Real Clear Politics. There's a permanent link to the site at the top of this page.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Our Tuesday blog exclusive on Los Ranchos Mayor Abraham's hosting of President Bush for a Senator Domenici fund-raiser later this month was picked up by a bunch of media with the electronic ABQ Journal and KOB-TV leading the pack. We appreciate the credit when credit is due...Dem congressional contender Martin Heinrich will announce today he has the support of several prominent Dems in his primary battle with Bryon Paez. State Senator Pino and State Rep. Maestas are among those throwing their support to the ABQ city councilor who is seeking the right to take on GOP US Rep Heather Wilson...

For all you policy wonks, here's Big Bill's freshly unveiled universal health care plan...And here is even more policy wonk stuff featuring Senator Pete and Senator Jeff and their squabble over the future of nuclear power. I wouldn't advise reading them in one sitting, unless you have plenty of Starbucks on hand..

In case you were wondering, we are paying off our lunch prizes awarded in the recent blog contest. This week we pulled out our thin wallet to treat former Gallup Mayor Bob Rosebrough. We lived it up at Seasons across from ABQ's Old Town, but the New Mexico native and UNM Law School grad went easy on us. The tab came to $22.40. Who said Democrats can't be fiscally conservative?

We head to Santa Fe soon to award prize winner Santiago Sandoval his lunch. We may have to collect contributions to finance that one. Turns out that Santiago's dad is the clerk of the NM House of Representatives, Steve Arias, and he wants to join us. That's fine, Steve. But could you hit up Ben Lujan or Kenny Martinez for a sawbuck or two? We don't have a campaign treasury to tap.

Breaking the big political stories and having fun doin' it--This is the home of New Mexico politics. Send your news scoops from the e-mail link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Mayor Abraham
The village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, estimated (population 5,416) is abuzz with the news of an upcoming presidential visit. My insiders confirm that when President Bush appears at a high-dollar reception for the re-election bid of NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici August 27th he will do so at the home of Los Ranchos Mayor Larry Abraham.

"I am honored that the President will be coming and that I am able to help Pete," commented Abraham when reached late Monday, He deferred further comment to the White House. (The Domenici invite is here.)

An interesting twist is that Abraham is not a Republican. He is an independent who was elected mayor of the enclave, located in the heart of Bernalillo county's North Valley, in March of '04. He has announced he will seek a second term in '08. Abraham says he has no higher political ambitions other than winning re-election as mayor of the village which counts many self-described Democratic liberals among its residents.

Intentional or not, having an independent host a Domenici fund-raiser isn't a bad idea as it is independents and Democrats who have defected in droves from the senator's camp, sending his approval rating down to a historically low 51% before rebounding to 55% in the latest Survey USA poll. Some Republicans, however, may not be ecstatic that their host is not of the party of the elephant.

MORE INSIDER DETAILS

Abraham and his wife will host the President and Pete at the mayoral home located on an affluent stretch of Rio Grande Boulevard. Entry to the event is for the stock option crowd, with a price of $5,000 for one ticket that includes a photo with the Prez. For $1,000 you get a ticket, but no Kodak moment.

The White House has not said yet if Bush will have any other official or political events while in the ABQ area.

It is rare that the President goes to an individual New Mexican's home when here for political or official purposes so those attending the Domenici reception are going to share a more intimate atmosphere with the chief executive. That won't matter much to the anti-war protesters who these days follow the President everywhere. They are sure to be part of the bucolic North Valley scenery when a presidential motorcade makes its first ever stop in the little village of Los Ranchos.

A final thought. Having the President at a private home rather than a public site means tight media management. TV exposure can be kept to a minimum. And with Bush's unpopularity, Domenici wants to raise money, not his profile as a longtime friend of the Prez.

ANOTHER "PRESIDENTIAL" VISIT

It seems Los Ranchos is the area hot spot this summer. Not only will President Bush visit there later this month, but on Monday Hollywood delivered a fake President to the village as famed actor-director Kevin Costner was there for his new movie "Swing Vote." A scene featuring a presidential motorcade was filmed on Rio Grande. Actors Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper play presidential candidates. We presume their popularity ratings remain high.

THE NUMBER TWO'S VISIT

Meanwhile, USA Vice-President Dick Cheney made his Monday visit to the Duke City somewhat of a stealth one. He gave a morning speech at the ABQ Marriott to a Marine group and jetted out of town immediately after. Cheney urged the Marines to support of the no-end-in-sight Iraq war. In large measure it has been the war that has sent Cheney's approval rating plummeting to 28%, replacing Dan Quayle as the most unpopular vice-president in recent history.

It was an official visit so there was no politicking on the part of the Veep, although our Alligators report NM GOP chair Allen Weh was among those greeting Cheney at the airport, but did not attend his hotel speech.

RECALL SET

For only the second time since the modern form of government was adopted in '74, ABQ voters will be asked to vote in a recall election of a city councilor, and it will happen at the regular city election October 2nd.

There was no late night hanky-panky and the council voted shortly before 11 p.m. Monday to have the recall of District Nine Councilor Don Harris at the regular election, allaying concerns of fiscal conservatives that the council would move for an expensive special election.

Voters in the far NE Heights district will be given special paper ballots to decide whether Republican Harris should be recalled and the remainder of his term filled out by a mayoral appointee. The councilor has promised a vigorous fight to keep his seat in the face of a campaign that accuses him of ethical violations surrounding his campaign finance reporting.

SANTA FE: IT'S A CRIME

Santa Fe residents have more reason to be nervous about their city's leadership and its commitment to breaking the back of a crime wave that has seen an outbreak of all sorts crime and a downright epidemic in residential burglary. So why is Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Johnson still trying to spin downward the harm being caused?

Commenting on the dramatic spike in residential break-ins in one city neighborhood, Johnson told the New Mexican: "Percentages can be deceiving... Five hundred fifty percent sounds really bad, and it’s higher than we want, but it’s really not that significant. It went from four to 26.”

From four to 26 is "not that significant?" That raises the questionsof how much crime Chief Johnson and Mayor David Coss are willing to accommodate. Isn't their job to intimidate and drive out the criminal element, not coddle it?

Coss won credit for acknowledging the depth of the problem in his recent state of the city address, but unless there is a change in the head-in-the-sand attitude throughout Santa Fe's governmental hierarchy, our historic capital remains in peril of becoming not only a permanent high-rent district but a high-crime one, too. That's a bleak future for residents there and not a happy legacy for a mayor or a police chief.

A CLEAN-UP COUNCIL?

Some would argue that the Santa Fe city council is part of that somnambulant hierarchy. City elections are slated for March of next year. One incumbent has decided not to run, guaranteeing one new voice. Will there be others?

Fortunately, an in-depth look by the Sunday New York Times at Santa Fe and how it is changing did not include any mention of the current crime wave. But it did contain insights on how the City Different is shedding old ways as it begins another century as an international tourist destination.

We're the home of New Mexico politics. Send your news, comments and political gossip from the email link at the top of the page. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Boo birds heckled Bill Bill at that gathering of bloggers in Chicago over the weekend. His offense? The Guv told the hard-core liberals that he favors a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. The boo birds think that will constrain funding for their pet causes like education and health care.

Richardson may not have pleased the liberal Dems, but others say his support of a balanced budget appeals to independents who can vote in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries. A recent poll showed the Guv especially strong with Iowa's independents.

And in case you forgot, the NM Constitution requires our Guv and Legislature to balance the budget each year, so when you hear them bragging about how they've done it, take it with a grain of salt or a pinch of chile...

Hillary also had a boo bird chorus at the confab. You can read about that here.

BILL & BARBARA...AND RHONDA
Mr.& Mrs. Big Bill
He didn't mention any special plans, but the Guv did send out a news release Sunday taking note of his 35th wedding anniversary.

"Barbara and I have been together since we were teenagers. We have practically grown up together. Over the past 35 years Barbara has been my wife, best friend and my number one advisor. She has stood by my side through it all and on this special day I thank her for her love and devotion. Truly, there is no luckier man. Barbara, here's to another beautiful 35 years."

Spoken like a true romantic. Maybe Bill can pass it on to his state transportation secretary, Rhonda Faught. News was dropped on Sunday morning doorsteps that the secretary's ex-boyfriend, an architect, went along on an expensive state plane ride to Dallas for a planning session on building a new transportation department headquarters. He was said to be "tagging along" with an engineer who would soon be indicted in the Bernalillo county Metro Courthouse corruption scandal and who also apparently had no official reason to fly. It all sounded very fishy, and smelled the same.

Rhonda said she never gave any thought to how traveling with her ex on the state plane would be perceived. Hello? And she added this knee-slapper: "Faught said she didn't recall who invited" her former lover. Well, maybe she's not the jealous type and doesn't keep track of such things...

The planning of the DOT headquarters is stinking to high heaven, with the involvement of the same cast of characters who have been indicted in the Bernalillo county Metro Court construction scandal also apparently trying to suck off the Santa Fe teat.

The Guv says he will ask for a "process assessment" of the malodorous affair. The Legislature needs to get its oversight glasses out on this one and call in Secretary Faught for some Q and A. If they do, she would be well-advised not to bring her ex-boyfriend along.

WORKIN' FOR THE WEEKEND

Dem congressional contender and ABQ City Councilor Martin Heinrich informs that he will be returning part-time as the state's Natural Resources Trustee. He took a leave of absence to get his campaign off the ground. Big Bill named the previous trustee, Jim Baca, as Heinrich's fill-in. Heinrich says he is returning to his ABQ office half-time because "I'm not independently wealthy."

Federal rules allow Heinrich to pay himself out of campaign funds, but Heinrich has decided not to dip into the nearly $200,000 he has raised. The councilor is father to two young boys. His wife, Julie Hicks, works at the Middle Region Council of Governments and previously worked for Baca when he was ABQ mayor.

Heinrich is not endorsing anyone to succeed him in his ABQ SE Heights council district which he will leave December 1 to pursue the congressional seat. He says that Rey Garduno is impressing a lot of the progressives who helped put Heinrich into office in 2003. Garduno, a retired UNM employee, has been working it hard, but he ran into controversy when he used a university e-mail account for his campaign. He since has stopped using the account.

Heinrich also took note of the campaigns of Blair Kaufman and Joan Griffin, both of whom have the skills to breakup Garduno's early momentum. The Republican running in the race is Kevin Wilson.

Garduno supporters are noting that Griffin changed her voter registration from Republican to Democrat shortly before getting in the council race. Griffin supporters wonder if Garduno sent that word out on his UNM computer.

THE PERILS OF PAULETTE
de'Pascal
Speaking of computers and the October 2 city council election, Paulette de'Pascal says she has dropped plans to lease $3,000 worth of Apple computers she purchased for her campaign with funds from the new taxpayer financed campaign system.

The District Four candidate, running against incumbent Brad Winter, pledged to lease the computers after taking hits for buying expensive equipment that could later be converted to her personal use. The purchase was not prohibited under city campaign rules. She now reports, "My bankruptcy record means I can't be approved for a lease. I will continue using the computers for the campaign, but afterwards am considering donating them to a victims of domestic violence group or a community center."

de'Pascal also says she has requested Winter's phone records from his city council office as well as from his office at Albuquerque Public Schools. She is looking for evidence that Winter has used the phones for campaign purposes. But de'Pascal has more trouble of her own. She's been busted for misrepresenting how long she has lived in the district she seeks to represent on the nine number council.

In announcing her candidacy, she told us she lived there ten years, but it turns out the Tanoan neighborhood home she shared with her now ex- husband from 1999-2005 was not in Winter's council district She asserts the misstatement was not intentional. "I was surprised to learn the home was not in the district," she said. The council seat for District Four was on the ballot in the '99 and 2003 while de'Pascal resided at Tanoan. de'Pascal says she now lives in the district.

REPUBLICAN HERESY

And the NM GOP has a little consistency problem when it comes to the city council races. They rail against the new public financing system as well as de'Pascal's computer purchases, but Republican Kevin Wilson of District Six not only is having his campaign publicly financed, but has also bought a computer with the money. Why wasn't he criticized by the GOP? "It was probably an oversight," said a party spokesman. Yeah, you might call it that.

THE BOTTOM LINES

It's not every day that a staid utility stock like PNM plunges 16% in one day. But it happened Friday as NM's big monopoly utility came in with disappointing earnings, sending the stock to a nealy three year low. Over the decades the company has had a foot in both political parties. Here's some of its federal activity from the '06 cycle and here's a look at its state contributions.

We're New Mexico's non-partisan political blog--www.joemonahan.com. Send your news and comments via the email link at the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Few have more practice of doling out the pork than Santa Fe solons, where epic budget surpluses over the past five years have given them literally billions to appropriate. Next year there will be a little less pork to feast on, according to state estimates. Is it the beginning of the end of the pork party? Well, nothing lasts forever, not even oil and gas surpluses. Our political intuition says while a day of reckoning may not be coming, a day of belt tightening very well could be. If so, it could make the 2010 Governor's race a much different affair than either Dems Diane Denish and Marty Chavez are anticipating, and should give the R's a reason to start thinking ahead. Keep an eye on the punch bowl.

MICKEY AND PAT SHOW ALL

Oh, what a tangled web we weave..ABQ lawyers Pat Rogers and Mickey Barnett are back under the bright glare of the US Senate klieg lights. It's the US attorney scandal, of course. These two, particularly lobbyist Barnett, have positioned themselves as Republican king makers. Barnett primaried fellow Republicans in '04 to get legislators to his liking, but he retains ties to the Democratic Governor by serving as the personal attorney to his most favored lobbyist, Butch Maki. It drives a whole lot of Republicans crazy and causes unending intrigue within the state GOP. The extent of the Barnett-Rogers influence with the White House has heretofore been a guessing game, but these unelected officials have been outed by the light of day. And as Martha Stewart might say, "It's a good thing."

PETE'S LATEST POLLS

In the first poll since his well publicized "break" with the White House on the course of the Iraq war, NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici comes in with a 55% approval rating, up from 51% in the previous survey. The poll was conducted July 13 thru 15. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4.1%, so it looks for now as if Pete has found a bottom. One suspects he got a minor bounce from the change in his Iraq position. But anything below 60% approval is historically low for our state's longest ever serving US senator. Has the incessant drum beat of bad Pete news--the war, the US attorney scandal and the immigration bill--created a ceiling on his popularity? Or can he recapture the glory of yesteryear? The Alligators continue to watch the numbers closely as do supporters of Big Bill who see him as a possible late entrant in the '08 race if Domenici is unable to recover. Please, please, don't say we didn't tell you!

THEN THERE WERE THREE

Former NM Assistant Attorney General Jon Adams of ABQ filed federal papers Thursday making him the third candidate to officially seek the Dem nomination for the ABQ congressional seat held by Republican Heather Wilson, according to TV news. Dems were not jumping up and down over the Adams entry which he announced several weeks ago. They said his biggest obstacle will be getting known and then getting 20% of the vote at the Dem party pre-primary nominating convention next spring. Adams, 32, must make that mark to win a place on the ballot. The other contenders, Martin Heinrich and Bryon Paez, are seen as having the organizational ability to hit the needed 20% mark.

OK, NOW WHAT?

We agree with you, Big Bill, that you should have more than one name to choose from when filling a judge vacancy. But tell us what you can do about it.

Thanks for tuning in. Stop by again soon.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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D.C. Dems may be finding their mojo, and that is bad news for ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson. After months of speculation on what the D's would do in regard to Wilson's role in the US Attorney scandal, they scored a significant public relations coup this week as they summoned Wilson's arch-nemesis, former US Attorney David Iglesias, to the capital and before leading members of the House ethics committee for a closed door Q and A. The dog and pony show had the desired impact, prompting stories on the blogs and the papers and putting the ethics yoke tightly around Wilson's neck. Combined with the no end-insight Iraq war, it is the double play the Dems hope could finally take her out of the ball game.

Speculation has been intense on whether the Dems would have the guts to go after Wilson in the House ethics committee. This week's questioning of Iglesias is not the full monte, but it indicates the chances of a full-fledged ethics probe are better than many thought and that the Dems, if they go for it, will make sure it is close to the election for full political impact.

Wilson was left flailing as the press pack moved in. Her isolation was palpable as she argued the House questioning of Iglesias wasn't actually an "investigation." Call it what you like, but whatever it was it brought back in high-definition the dreaded headlines of earlier this year when the scandal first broke. And that's the point. It's the political impact, not the legal impact, that matters to the Dems. Whether it is an official investigation or not at this point is irrelevant,. The black and white headlines telegraphed the desired anti-Wilson message.

FROM ETHICS TO POLITICS

Wilson last year used the ethics of her opponent as a cornerstone of her campaign, but only managed a less than 900 vote win. The approval ratings of GOP Senator Pete Domenici, also involved in the US attorney scandal, have plunged to 51% in the Survey USA poll. If legend Pete is at 51, where is Heather? Not good.

ABQ Democrats need all the help they can get from their D.C. brethren. They have two announced opponents, Martin Heinrich and Bryon Paez, but neither is well-known or with a lengthy public service record. Wilson will need to be the issue, and the US attorney scandal will need to be advanced. That means a full and formal investigation. They are not there yet, but this week's Iglesias appearance gave Wilson and the R's a taste of what may be coming.

Wilson has never served with the Democrats in the majority. Her encounters with the ABQ variety of the species have not been impressive, as she has dispatched most of them with ease. But we're not in Albuquerque anymore. The House is now led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi who, like Wilson, has a steely resolve and determination. The difference is Madame Pelosi has the power. How much of it she will use to try to unseat her Republican rival is the question we all await an answer to.

NO REST YET

Maybe Rep. Wilson can find respite from the D.C. political heat during the August congressional recess, but she will have to wait a day. A national anti Iraq war group plans to protest outside of the congresswoman's ABQ North Valley home today. Welcome back, Heather.

LANL 101

It's been one of the biggest news years ever for Los Alamos Labs, and that prompted this in-depth piece from the Santa Fe Reporter. One of the more engaging questions posed in the piece came from Española Mayor Maestas who wonders why, with a $2 billion budget, LANL has not had more of an economic impact on the poor communities surrounding it.

THOSE PIG EARS

Also on the fed beat, what about those calls to do away with "earmarks?" Those are the pork projects inserted into legislation usually having nothing to do with the pork. A little state like ours benefits from the ability of super-seniority Senators like Domenici and Bingaman to use their influence to get those earmarks. Don't you think big states like California and Texas would scoop up even more of the pork if there were no earmarks? Keep that pan hot and the bacon frying, Pete and Jeff. Our still impoverished state needs all the kitchen skills you can muster.

DEATH CLAIMS LEADER ALARID

Michael Alarid loved his politics, and he didn't shy away from going for the gold. He ran for a seat in Congress in '72, for lieutenant governor in the 60's and ABQ mayor in '74. He didn't win any of them but he did win many, many elections to the New Mexico Senate. That's where he made his political home for nearly 30 years, where he wielded power as majority leader for several of them and where ultimately he carved out a lasting political legacy.

Word came to us Wednesday that Alarid had been claimed by death. He was 88. Mass is set for Aug. 7 at Immaculate Conception Church in downtown ABQ.

Democrat Alarid started his climb up the long ladder of La Politica in 1964 by winning a House seat. In '68 he joined the senate and didn't leave it until 1992, having risen to majority leader. That was the power rung from which he played the game with three New Mexican Governors--Bruce King, Toney Anaya and Garrey Carruthers.

Alarid may have been as well-known for "Mike's Food Store" in ABQ's Barelas neighborhood as he was for being a powerful politician. He and his now late wife Stella ran it from 1952 to 1985, meeting and greeting half the city.

His legislative record is highlighted by his role in establishing the community college, TV-I, since renamed CNM. He also played an important part in reforming the state's school funding formula. As a senate leader, Alarid is remembered as even-tempered and a friend of the little guy, too, who fought for public employees and their bargaining rights.

It was the 1974 mayor's race when Senator Alarid first caught the attention of a cub radio reporter for KUNM-FM covering his very first election. One day I noticed that the Albuquerque Journal had strongly endorsed Mike Alarid for mayor out of a field of over 30 candidates, many of them respected leaders of their time. I thought there must be something special about that guy. There was. And in the years ahead all of New Mexico would come to know it.

I'm Joe Monahan, reporting to you from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Send your news and comments via the mail link from the top of the page.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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Don Harris
The idea of having a special mail-in election for the recall of ABQ City Councilor Don Harris appears to have had a very short shelf life. City Council President Debbie O'Malley Tuesday checked in to tell us she would not be supporting a mail-in election and will vote next week to scheduled the Harris recall at the regular October 2nd city election. Insiders associated her with the the mail-in idea on Tuesday's blog, but she said she is not investigating such a plan and the October 2nd election will "provide the greatest opportunity" for the voters of Harris's far NE Heights council district to participate.

A mail in election would cost thousands in postage, and is opposed by the backers of the Harris recall. Jim Lowe, heading up New Mexicans for Democracy and spearheading the Harris recall over ethics charges, said he was pleased to hear of O'Malley's support for having the recall at the October 2nd election. O'Malley said she was speaking for herself and could not say if a majority of Councilors supported the October 2 date for the recall. The council is slated to consider the election date at their Monday meeting. But an Oct. 2 recall appears to be where we are headed.

MARTY RECALL DROPPED

A not too serious effort to recall ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez has been dropped. The fellow seeking the recall, S. Pike, was upset about the anti-smoking rules for public places that Mayor Chavez recently announced.

HEATHER AND DAVID

Heather has not hired a lawyer. That word from the office of the ABQ GOP Congresswoman in reaction to the news that flashed over the Internet late Monday that ousted US Attorney David Iglesias will testify in a closed door session before key members of the House ethics committee today. The questioning of Iglesias, who accuses Wilson and NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici of pressuring him to speed up indictments of Democrats in the Bernalillo county courthouse construction scandal, does not constitute a "formal" investigation of Wilson. That takes an official complaint from a House member.

Some think that Iglesias's testimony is for appearances sake; others think it is a prelude to a full committee investigation of Wilson's involvement. The certainty is that someone must step up and make an official complaint if the probe is going to go further. Who, if anyone, might that be? Stay tuned.

CHENEY'S TRIP

In breaking the news that Vice-President Cheney would be speaking before a Marine group in ABQ Monday, we wondered if he would be doing any other politicking, such as fundraising. The answer is he will not. Politicking or not, the former Wyoming congressman probably welcomes the chance to escape the stifling August heat of D.C. and head to his native West.

SHOWING THE MONEY

In cse you missed it, Dem US Senate candidate Don Wiviott has put his money where his mouth is. Federal records show the Santa Fe real estate developer, who is seeking the Democratic nomination in the June '08 primary for the right to take on Republican Senator Pete Domenici, has loaned himself $400,000 and deposited it in his election account. When we broke the news of his candidacy Wiviott pledged his own $400,000. Now that he has come up with it, it will be interesting to see if and when he starts spending it.

Wiviott is one of three Dem unknowns seeking the nod. He is by far the best financed. The records also show that Wiviott raised $7,000 in donations other than the personal loan.

BILL'S LATEST

Big Bill is spending some more of his campaign cash on Iowa TV. He released a new "clean energy" ad Tuesday that will air there. The Guv has hit 13% in the ARG Iowa poll, putting him in fourth place in the first Dem prez caucus state. Obama is at 15% in that poll.

BILL AND FOLEY

When you are running for something, you don't want to make anyone mad. Take a look at Big Bill's comments to the Roswell Daily Record on the arrest on disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges of his longtime GOP nemesis, Roswell State Representative and House minority whip Dan Foley: "My relationship with him has improved significantly. He deserves his due process," Richardson said.

Talk about a lay down. Do you suppose the Guv will roll over like that when Hillary comes calling on him to get out of the presidential race?

BARKING AT BARKER

Veteran KRQE-TV investigative reporter Larry Barker is making some news instead of reporting it. He's the subject of a lawsuit over a recent story he produced. A Santa Fe building contractor says his reputation was defamed last year when Barker aired a story called "The House from Hell.'' The station is standing by its story.

Send your news and comments via email from the link at the top of the page

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