New Mexico FBIHOP

New Blog

2007-02-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

Folks, New Mexico FBIHOP is moving. For nearly one full year, my brother and I have been blogging from here about New Mexico issues (the first post, on February 21, 2006, was about eminent domain, in case you were wondering). The blog has grown by leaps and bounds, and we felt it was time to take the next step.

So, starting today, this blog will merely be an archive for the content we have already written. The new blog will be at NMFBIHOP.com. Why the move? Well, go and read the welcome post on the new blog for the details.

Thank you for reading this blog, and making this upgrade possible. I hope you will continue to read the blog; and as you will see, you can not only read, but participate in the blogging itself.

-LP

Richardson Meet Up Day a Mixed Bag

2007-02-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the grassroots organized Bill Richardson Meet-up Day. Richardson supporters -- Ken Camp and Emmett O'Connell of America for Richardson -- organized "meet-ups" around the nation to, well, organize. To help the excitement of a Richardson campaign grow and create a sense of community.

The Albuquerque Journal mentioned the meet-up.

O'Connell helped establish Tuesday as a Richardson "meet-up day" for the computer-centered groups to host small community meetings promoting Richardson's bid.

O'Connell and fellow blogger Ken Camp will have their meet-up at Mud Bay Coffee in Olympia, Wash. O'Connell said he expected that two dozen or so other Richardson meet-ups will be taking place in other states, and he's hoping they'll become a monthly happening.

"We're stereotyped as people in pajamas who sit around and blog endlessly about politics," Camp said. But, he added, "The goal is to spur people into action to support a particular candidate or cause. It will be face-to-face, and we've encouraged our friends to reach out to their local Democratic parties."

No comment on whether I blog in my pajamas or not.

A major organizing tool for the day was Zanby.com, where people from around the nation have been making Colorado for Bill Richardson and New York for Bill Richardson groups since as early as June of 2006. There are currently 61 such groups at the site.

Heath Haussamen wrote of the different responses around the nation to the Meet-Up day.

In Boston, more than 100 people turned out at an event organized by Jeff Gulko, a former Richardson staffer in the U.S. Department of Energy. In Minneapolis, Minn., a group also had high turnout.

But in Olympia Washington, despite an article in the local newspaper promoting the event, only four people showed, said organizer Ken Camp.

Over at America for Richardson, you can read about the success of the Minnesota Meet Up.

Haussamen also wrote about a conference call that Richardson gave to supporters, which I also listened in on. He started with a brief speech, talking about why he should be President, and what his supporters could do to help.

The major themes on the conference call were that he is experienced, but an underdog who would be using a positive, grass-roots campaign. He also spent time discussing global warming, and, of course, his experience. "A lot of candidates talk about doing it," Richardson said, "we've actually done it." He also came out strongly against the war in Iraq, with little wiggle room.

The Q&A session was marred by one ranting questioner, who was yelling into the phone. I couldn't understand much of what he said, but Heath Haussamen has a little better hearing (or a better phone connection) than me:

And, just as I was able to get my hands on the phone number and code to listen in on the conference call, so was a man from Nevada who doesn't want Richardson to be elected president.

The man didn't identify himself by name, but claimed he was a military veteran and said Richardson "stole my dog tags."

I have no idea what that was about. I thought he said something about cockfighting, but if he is from Nevada, I'm guessing that's not true.

So the first Bill Richardson Meet-Up day has come and passed. The next is scheduled for March 6, go to America for Richardson for more details, or for New Mexicans, Liberal Truth Sayer has created the New Mexico for Richardson blog.

Roundhouse Recap, Feb 7

2007-02-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

The legislature just keeps chugging along, and we're nearing that lovely midway point on Valentine's Day. How many of the bills that Governor Bill Richardson asked to be passed by the mid-point will be passed? Two word: not many.

But let's look back at yesterday and what DID happen.

Ethics packages are in the news, and the quote that is being repeated around the state is John Grubesic (D-Santa Fe) saying that making the Legislature talk about ethics reform is akin to "asking us to design our own noose before we stick our heads into it."

House Bill 818 has cleared the House Voters and Elections Committee. This bill "would extend a voluntary public campaign funding system to all statewide offices," and the voting was yet another party-line vote.

The same committee is scheduled Thursday to consider legislation that would establish expense accounts for legislators amounting to about $16,000 a year (HB 820) and a bill to limit campaign contributions (HB 821).

The ethics package also includes bills to create a state Ethics Commission with subpoena power; limit gifts to public officials; and set more restrictions on state officials and their family members doing contract work for the state. Identical bills have been introduced in the Senate.

Ethics packages are finally making their way through the Roundhouse, and it is long overdue. Let's just hope these ethics bills actually have teeth and stop the unethical behavior that has been a seemingly large part of our politics lately.

The state GOP is attempting to control what they call uncontrolled spending.

State spending should be reined in, with increases pegged only to population growth and inflation, Republicans in the Legislature said Tuesday.
[...]
Under the GOP proposal, if the state took in more money than the expenditure limit, 60 percent of the excess would be put into the severance tax permanent fund and 40 percent would be returned to taxpayers.

Democrats in the Roundhouse are against this, so it has little chance for success. It would cut into new programs, and stop any progress towards making New Mexico a top-state; one reason New Mexico is near the bottom in many rankings is because our government doesn't have the money to put towards education and health care. While spending should be controlled, this is probably not the best way to do it.

Two very popular bills -- if expensive -- are now working their way through the Legislature. These are bills proposing to cut taxes on retired military personnel. House Bill 368 would cut taxes on retired military personnel who are still working; about 13,000 out of the 22,000 in the state. A competing measure in the Senate (Bill 43), would exempt all military retiree pay from income taxes. It could be challenged in the courts, however.

House Bill 207 would exempt all active duty military personnel from their income taxes completely. This would help bring military here -- and would show them how much we appreciate their sacrifices.

The GOP has a new Director of Communications. Kate Nash says Charlotte Balcomb Lane, a former Albuquerque Journal reporter is joining the New Mexico GOP. Our little version of Tony Snow to the White House? Political Director Chris Atencio commented on Lane in a press release

"Lane brings a lot of journalistic experience and credibility to the position," Atencio said in announcing the position. "She is a New Mexico native with a background in Republican politics and a nose for news."

Stuff from the Santa Fe New Mexican's Legislative Roundup:

A statewide ban on talking on the cell phone while driving was bumped for the second time. House Bill 241 is looking less and less like it will become law. Sure there are 37 days left for the bill, but it does not show much enthusiasm for the bill in the House Transportation and Public Works Committee. It would not even allow hands-free devices, unlike the Santa Fe bill and the Albuquerque bill that is headed to Mayor Martin Chavez' desk.

The Senate Public Affairs Committee unanimously supported Senate Bill 397, a bill which would require children under 18 to wear helmets while riding bikes, skateboarding, etc. It would carry a fine of $10 for the parents. I have a feeling that $10 fine would work its way back to the children from the parents, so this would probably be effective. And helmets are important -- ask anyone who has had a serious crash on a bicycle.

Richardson Interviewed by the Tribune

2007-02-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Kate Nash and Kate Nelson (the Kates!) of the Albuquerque Tribune recently interviewed New Mexico governor and Democratic Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson. For those of you behind-the-times internet users with dial-up (I'm one of you), they have a full transcript at the link above.

For those of you with high speed, here is the video.

They broached many subjects, from the Wen Ho Lee case to the role of his wife, Barbara. This is a good interview, and Richardson showed again that he is very good in the media.

Roundhouse Recap, February 5

2007-02-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

While all of New Mexico mourned Brian Urlacher and the Chicago Bears' loss to the Indianapolis Colts (on Brian Urlacher Day, no less), the State Legislature somehow found it within themselves to move on and get back to the people's work.

Over in the House, House Bill 15 passed in the full chamber by a 41-25 vote. The bill requires insurers to offer health coverage for domestic partners if requested by the parties involved.

But not all is good for health coverage for same-sex couples. Three lesbian couples has sued the state for health coverage. The state currently pays for health coverage for same-sex couples, but not once the worker retires. Meanwhile, for married couples, the health coverage for the spouse continues on after retirement or death.

And back to the crazy case of cockfighting. Steve Terrell writes in the Santa Fe New Mexican of another hurdle being leapt by the proposed ban. KUNM said in their news updates last night that supporters of cockfighting are growing increasingly resigned to the fact that cockfighting will not be legal in New Mexico after this year's session.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the ban on to the full house by a 7-3 margin. They did, however, amend the bill.

Before voting on the bill, the committee added an amendment making a first offense a misdemeanor for those who "cause, sponsor, arrange, hold, or participate" in a cockfight "for monetary gain or entertainment."

Second and subsequent offenses would be considered fourth-degree felonies. Under state law, misdemeanors carry a maximum jail sentence of 364 days. Those convicted of a fourth-degree felony, the least-severe felony category, can serve as much as 18 months in prison.

In 33 of the 48 states where cockfighting is illegal (only New Mexico and Louisiana still allow the practice), it is a felony for the first offense. I just cannot wait until the House votes on this, and the governor signs it into law. Not only because of the cruelty towards animals, but also so we won't have to read about it daily.

The Senate Reliable Eyewitness Identification Act narrowly passed the Senate Monday, 22-20. The Act would change laws for identifying accused criminals in a police lineup. Again, the New Mexican:

Under the bill, an eyewitness would be required to provide a description of a suspect before viewing a lineup, and there would have to be at least six people in a live lineup and at least 10 photos in a photographic one.

Senators on Monday approved eight amendments to the bill, including one allowing verbal as well as written descriptions of suspects before viewing a lineup. The Senate also lengthened the amount of time eyewitnesses could view a suspect outside of a lineup from one hour to three hours after the eyewitness saw the suspect.

Attorney General Gary King came out against the law initially, but said he will look at it again. Other attorneys are against the law as well.

Lemuel Martinez, district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, which includes Cibola, Sandoval and Valencia counties, said it's easier for witnesses to identify suspects under a simultaneous lineup, and he blasted the bill after the vote.

"It means more criminals will go free, and more people will be falsely identified," Martinez said.

Proponents of the bill argue that it will help guard against false accusations.

One state Senator is leadign the charge against red light cameras. Republican State Senator William Payne called the cameras "a guise for making money for the city of Albuquerque". Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez disputes the notion -- a popular one among the citizens of Albuquerque.

All proceeds from the cameras, which automatically generate citations for speeding and running red lights, go to support the maintenance and expansion of the program, Chavez said.

The only exception, he said, was a $250,000 outlay last year to support prosecution of methamphetamine production and distribution.

"These cameras are not a cash cow for the city," Chavez said. "I've tried everything to cut down on speeding and red-light violations, and this program is the first thing that has worked."

Payne wants yellow flashing lights on the cameras to warn drivers of a red light camera in operation at that intersection. Chavez says these are distracting. Personally, I don't have a problem with the red light cameras. The way the fines are given is troubling, but it is a tool for stopping people breaking the law -- a potentially dangerous law. Of course, I've never been caught by one of the cameras.

Medical marijuana took another step towards becoming a reality in New Mexico, passing the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 7-3 margin. The Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act would allow marijuana for the treatment of certain conditions, like AIDS and cancer. It will go in front of the full Senate, where it has passed in the past. Former Governor Gary Johnson should be happy about this one.

The funeral protest ban passed the House Judiciary Committee, and will now go in front of the full House.

What did I miss?

If It's So Cold, Is There Global Warming?

2007-02-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is one argument that global warming skeptics like to throw about whenever it is colder than normal outside. How can it be cold if there is global warming going on outside as Al Gore and the scientists claim? Do they ever step outside to see the weather?

John Fleck at an ABQJournal blog had this response:

Scientists working on this question say one of the important things to understand is the distinction between weather and climate. Weather fluctuates widely over days, months, and even years. Climate is the long term average. In the short run, we will always have unusually cold spells and unusually warm spells. Climate change involves the long term patterns. Here in New Mexico, we've had substantially more unusually warm spells over the last decade than unusually cold spells. We've also had substantially more unusually dry spells than unusually wet spells. It's the sum total of all of those that make up the climate, not any one brief period.

So just as it would be wrong to say that the winter of 2005-2006 was proof of global warming because of how warm it was in North America (it was bitter cold that winter in Europe), it would be wrong to point to our recent cold spell and say it's proof that global warming is not happening. What the scientists do is study the long term averages, which provide the evidence to support their assertions about global climate change.

In other words, just because it is cold today or this month in Albuquerque does not mean global warming does not exist.

Richardson At the DNC Winter Meeting

2007-02-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

Bill Richardson was at the DNC Winter Meeting. He didn't get to speak on the same day as the top-tier candidates (though Chris Dodd did), but spoke with Joe Biden and Tom Vilsack this morning. Note: video of all the speeches is available at the Democrats.org website. Expect the Richardson video to be up later today.

Bu, apparently, Richardson was well-received. From the Hotline's stats, Richardson received the most standing ovations of any candidate over the two days of speeches. Granted, he also did speak for 18 minutes, going a little bit over the seven minute time limit. But it's all right, Dodd did (sorry, can't resist the word play) Richardson two better, by speaking for 20 minutes.

Here's the Hotline blog's take on Richardson's speech:

Standing Ovations: 7

Introduced by: DNC Finance Chair Phil Murphy

Subtle Theme: Be positive and my resume rocks.

Overt Theme: I’m “calling on all other candidates to agree to run only positive campaigns.” I “call on the Democratic National Committee to pass a resolution” calling for clean campaigns. We need a president who “brokered international agreements … served as a governor, balanced budgets … turned an economy around.” And I went to Darfur.

Bragging: In New Mexico, we’ve created jobs, many in the high tech industry and we “didn’t abandon union families along the way.” “One of the first things I did as governor was re-instate collective bargaining for employees.” “Rather than using tax cuts to reward the wealthy, I used them to put people to work.” “The first thing we did was give teachers a raise and we did it every four years.” “Expanded health insurance -- we insure every child under the age of five.” “My state has become the clean energy state.” “We need someone who can win in every region in the country.” “As someone who’s served in Congress 14 years …”

Playing to the Crowd: Intro written by the wife of journalist Paul Salopek, the reporter Richardson rescued from the Sudan. Richardson, referring to the time limits on the speeches - “I don’t need seven minutes – I can do it in four words – elect a Democratic President.” Giving the nod to the other ‘08ers: we’re “better off with any of them serving in the White House – as my vice president.”

Cliches: “Don’t tear each other down,” “We believe in offering them a hand and help them up.” “I’m tired of hearing the Democrats don’t stand for anything – we do.”

Discordant Note: Played to the crowd so much he had to shout over applause.

Howard Dean Suck Up: “I just told Gov. Dean I’m almost finished and he said ‘Yeah right.’” “By the way Howard Dean was right about rebuilding our party in 50 states.”

Self-deprecation: “I know that rap on governors – that we don’t know anything about foreign policy. Maybe you can say that about certain governors from Texas but not this governor.”

Blooper: Speech time limit was seven minutes (as Howard Dean pointed out at the beginning of the morning). Richardson spoke about 18 minutes.

Maybe playing to the crowd too much isn't that bad a gaffe, since I have heard a criticism of Richardson is his lack of charisma while giving speeches. That many of those criticizing Richardson then admit to not having heard Richardson give many speeches (if any) is beyond the point -- the thought is that Richardson gives boring speeches, so it becomes conventional wisdom (the Wikiality effect, if you will).

Since newspaper accounts of Richardson's speech seem to be, well, nonexistent at this point, I went to the blogs.

I'll start out at the top of the heap, so to speak. From MyDD.

Bill Richardson: "Stay lose, we gotta year to go", says Richardson regarding his stand in the polls. Richardson's intro is "lean on me" by Bill Withers [the hip hop remix], and closes with some cha-cha music. He looks great-- Richardson might be getting tips from Huckabee. He is one of two that I believe can break out of the second tier. Richardson has a big opening in Nevada, if he is able to mobilize Latino voters to show up. If he does, in a week when it's the only contest and there's not a competing Republican contest for media attention, he's gonna pop onto the radar in a very big way. Then, maybe Florida? Don't count out union support for Richardson either, as he's got a record in New Mexico that's very union-friendly. Teachers too, Richardson came with NM at 47th in pay and is now in the 20's-- AFT. NM's enacted equality legislation, enacted the Kyoto standards, it's impressive. I really like Governor's as Presidential candidates, they have accomplishments they can point to, and Richardson has foreign experience as well. He was very well recieved by this audience, with multiple standing ovations, and Richardson probably moved up a few nothes in their views. Richardson believes in a "reconciliation" effort in Iraq, and calls for a deadline by the end of this year for the US to be out of Iraq.

Here's the take of Adam Lang, from the College Democrats at the University of Wisconsin Madison:

I think, and the consensus in the room I'm sitting in agrees, that Richardson did the best job of putting out a solid plan for America with details where details were due while at the same time conveying a feel good message.
[...]
Full disclaimer: I took home a Bill Richardson rally sign and put a Bill Richardson bumper sticker on my laptop. I was sold on him today.

From a Burnt Orange Report diarist.

Remember how Bill Clinton did better in NH than expected and the other candidates did worse than expected; propelling him forward. Richardson is poised to do the same. He sure as hell did it this weekend.

I had medium expectations of him and he blew me away. He was funny and smart and at-ease. And Presidential. He gave the best speech of the weekend when handicapping for the audience and purpose of the speech.

That diarist says he believes Richardson will either be a spoiler to a candidate (ala Clark was to Edwards in '04) or the dark horse candidate. Richardson is looking to get more editorials calling him the dark horse than just an also-ran, spoiler candidate.

DemNotes (written by Colorado State Party First Vice Chair Dan Slater) speaks about the acceptance of those at the event.

I think the best example of the power of Richardson’s speech can best be seen by what we saw in the "meet and greet" rooms after the session this morning. Each candidate has a small conference room where DNC Members can come and meet the candidate personally and ask questions. Governor Richardson was the only candidate besides Hillary Clinton to need an "overflow room" for DNC Members to wait because of the crowd in the main conference room assigned to him. (In fairness, Senator Obama was unable to attend his "meet and greet," instead holding an event the night before that was heavily attended, and Senator Edwards was not in his room for his meet and greet, sending Elizabeth Edwards instead.)

From what you can see here, the response to Richardson was overwhelmingly positive. I don't think I saw anything negative about Richardson's DNC speech. Perhaps it will help with Richardson's fundraising (which will be his major problem in his Presidential run).

Whatever happens, it looks like Richardson wowed the crowd and gained some converts in DC.

Roundhouse Recap, Feb 2

2007-02-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

It was Groundhog Day yesterday. Bill Murray was on Letterman a night early (celebrating Letterman's 25th anniversary on late night TV). But instead of watching Groundhog Day all day on TBS, the legislatures were actually getting some work done.

Friday was American-Indian Day at the Roundhouse. And some laws affecting the Navajo Nation were the big movers and shakers of the day. One was the issue of tax breaks for the controversial power plant. It was tabled earlier this week, but the Navajo Nation elite wants it back on the table.

"We need that thing," Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly told legislators. "We need to un-table that."

Health care was also a big issue for Native Americans on Friday.

Jemez Pueblo Gov. Raymond Gachupin, chairman of the Ten Southern Pueblos Council, asked lawmakers to back legislation that would provide $10 million to shore up health-care services and develop plans for improved delivery of health care to Indians.

Sponsored by House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, the measure also would establish a Native American Health Council and create a deputy secretary of Native American health in the state Health Department.

New Mexico is a unique state, with many different ethnic groups, including a sizable American Indian bloc. We have to remember not to let them fall by the wayside.

It looks like those ethics bills that were promised are finally starting to drop. They should be working their way through committee soon. Some are basic, such as House Bill 820, which "would prohibit legislators from using campaign funds for purposes other than campaigning." Seems like something that should have already been done.

The Senate Minimum Wage bill overwhelmingly passed Friday. The bill would push the minimum wage in the state to $7.50 by 2009. There is a similar bill in the House, pushed by Speaker Lujan. The House proposal would up the minimum wage to $7.50 by 2008. It's unclear which will win approval, though by the Senate vote, it looks like a good bet that one or the other will become law.

The Senate bill would not allow local governments to raise the minimum wage further until 2013. It would also exempt agricultural activities. Republicans criticized the move as purely political, saying Richardson just wanted to beat the federal government to the punch.

And the battle between oil companies and private property owners is heating up. House Bill 827 was introduced by Andy Nuñez from Hatch, NM.

Oil and gas companies would have to notify surface owners at least 30 days before they begin drilling. If the landowner and the company could not reach an agreement for drilling, companies would have to obtain a blanket $25,000 surety bond or a $10,000 bond for each well drilled.

Landowners would be compensated for any damage done by the oil or gas company.

Bob Gallagher, President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association called the New Mexico Oil & Gas Accountability Project, supporters of Nuñez's bill, "wide-eyed obstructionists."

The ignition-interlock tampering bill is now headed to the House floor. House Bill 125 would would say that tampering with an ignition interlock system "may subject the applicant to penalties for driving with a revoked license".

Anything I missed? Anything I got wrong? And look, a whole post without mentioning cockfighting!

Insight New Mexico Tomorrow at 3:00!

2007-02-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to listen to the best damn local radio show tomorrow at 3:00 on 1350 AM. It's Eric Griego on Insight New Mexico.

Here is the guest list:

Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino. He has gained a lot of attention for co-sponsoring the Impeachment bill this year, but he has also introduced some other great legislation. Included are the Working Family Tax Credit and the Cost of Living Adjustment for Medicaid. It should be interesting to hear the Senator from Albuquerque talk about this year's session.

Also on the show is Eric Mack, who I will admit that I know nothing about. So I'll just quote from the Insight NM site.

Eric Mack is the head producer for the New Mexico News Connection, a radio news service heard throughout the state. His broadcast work has also been heard on many public radio programs worldwide including All Things Considered, Living on Earth, BBC's The World, Justice Talking, National Native News and the Voice of America. As a print reporter, his work has appeared in the National Catholic Reporter, High Country News, the Albuquerque Journal, Business 2.0, Sierra, Alternet and other publications. He lives in Taos with his wife and dog and avoids any restaurant that serves a burger with potato chips instead of fries.

In the Notes from the Blogosphere section, Democracy For New Mexico will be discussing local issues. This is one of the local blogs that I read daily. And if you are reading this post right now, you probably already read it as well. Or if you don't, you should.

And Griego will be talking with some APS and CNM board candidates. So tune in, and listen to progressive local talk radio. It's the only time you'll get the chance until next week.

Roundhouse Recap, Feb 1

2007-02-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

The first day of February meant some big-name and controversial bills made news in the New Mexico legislative session. One of those bills is the cockfighting ban. Sorry if it seems like Groundhog Day.

Cockfighting survived what KOAT's Matt Grubs called this a "killing ground" for the ban. The Senate Conservation Committee passed the bill on a 5-3 vote. Kate Nash adds some perspective:

The move is significant because the committee in the past has always rejected the move.

Mary Jane Garcia, the Senate Majority Whip and the bill's sponsor, says she has the votes in the Senate. It looks like this is the year the bloodsport dies in New Mexico.

Gay marriage has been a divisive "wedge issue" in the US over the past couple of years. New Mexico is no different, from when the Sandoval County Clerk Victoria Dunlap gained national attention for giving out marriage certificates to same-sex couples, to this year's proposed gay marriage bans.

The two Republican-proposed bills died in the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, on party-line 4-3 votes. From the Santa Fe New Mexican:

House Joint Resolution 2, sponsored by Rep. Gloria Vaughn, R-Alamogordo, would have let state voters decide whether to amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

House Bill 395, sponsored by Rep. Nora Espinoza, R-Roswell, would have put that definition of marriage in state statute.

The committee voted to table the bills, effectively killing them.

On the other side of gay issues, comes House Bill 15, which is headed to the House floor for a vote. Again, the New Mexican:

Under the bill, insurance companies would be required to provide coverage to domestic partners of employees who work or are expected to work an average of at least 20 hours a week over a six-month period if an employer requests such coverage. The bill defines domestic partners as unmarried people who are older than 18, who have lived together for at least a year, are jointly responsible for each other's "common welfare," share financial obligations and are in a "mutually exclusive, committed relationship."

I hope this bill passes, it is something that will end one small part of discrimination in the state.

A piece of DWI legislation pushed by the family of Arissa Garcia also died.

Senate Bill 191, introduced by Sen. Joseph Carraro, R-Albuquerque, would prevent gas stations from obtaining liquor licenses and require stations that hold licenses to give them up. Several hundred gas stations in New Mexico have liquor licenses, according to a lobbyist for Giant Industries.

I didn't think this would have much of a chance because of the outcry from gas stations that have liquor licenses. For many gas station operators, selling alcohol is a huge profit-maker, much more than gasoline itself.

Gerald Collins, Garcia's great-uncle, said they "received absolutely no support" on the bill.

Medical marijuana is once again on the docket. A bill sponsored by Jerry Ortiz y Pino, a busy man, passed the Senate Public Affairs committee, and is now headed to the Senate floor. Last year, a similar bill passed the Senate, but ran into trouble on the House floor. Ortiz y Pino thinks this is the year that the controversial bill will pass.

A parental notification bill was tabled in the House today. House Bill 239 would have required doctors to tell parents of teenage girls looking for abortions about their daughter's decision. It was another 4-3 party line vote in another hot-button issue. Senate bill 442 is still alive, however.

The Dee Johnson Clean Air Act, House Bill 238, which would effectively end smoking indoor in public areas unanimously passed the House Health and Government Affairs Committee. It is now in the House Business and Industry Committee. The bill would end smoking in restaurants, bars, and all workplaces, and has inspired some lively debate over at Duke City Fix. Personally, I do not see how inhaling smoke of any kind can be anything but bad for my health.

There was oh so-much going on, so for all the things I missed, read the Santa Fe New Mexican Legislative Roundup and the Albuquerque Tribune's Per Diem. And yell at me in the comments for anything you think I should have included.

Imus Insults Richardson

2007-02-01T21:18:00.000-07:00

Don Imus is not a fan of Bill Richardson. In fact, he's the exact opposite, going by his tirade this morning on his radio show. I first saw it on KOAT, and the remarks were pretty crazy.

Media Matters also reported on it.

On the February 1 edition of MSNBC's Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus offered a message to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM): "Besa mi culo," which loosely translates as "kiss my ass" in Spanish. Imus was talking about his frustration with officials in New Mexico, and particularly in the governor's office, over a project that he described as "renovating a school in ... Ribera, New Mexico, to provide a community center for a devastated part of New Mexico." After calling Richardson "that fat governor," Imus said, "How 'bout if I whip your fat ass, Bill?" before an unidentified voice said "Besa mi culo," which Imus echoed. Later in the program, Imus referred to Richardson as "Gordo," which is Spanish for "fat one."

Imus is, of course, a blowhard that is aired locally on 610 The Sports Animal in Albuquerque and surrounding areas. Why he is on the sports channel instead of getting a full compliment of Mike and Mike in the Morning is beyond me. But I digress.

Imus runs Imus Ranch in Ribera, NM.

Its sole purpose is to provide the experience of the great American cowboy to children suffering from cancer or serious blood disorders, and children who've lost brothers and sisters to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

A very laudable cause. But the whole problem comes from that small community in Northern New Mexico.

Imus is apparently mad at Richardson because of a proposed community center in Ribera, headed by Gloria Garcia. Garcia wrote Imus asking for money for the center. Imus gave some money, and suggested she ask Governor Richardson for money. She did so, and Richardson was initially receptive. But, remember, this is all according to Imus, Richardson is now just "jerking Gloria's chain." Richardson says the expense needs to be approved by the Legislature.

Imus just went on insulting Richardson, and his Presidential campaign. "If he wants to run for President, he has to get his act together," Imus said, "And stop being a fat baby about all this." He insulted Richardson's staffers as well. "He doesn't have a ready for prime time staff. I mean, Bill Richardson has no more business running for President with this staff than [co-host] Syd does." He even went after Richardson's wife.

Maybe Imus has a point. But when he hides his point with insults, calling him a "fat sissy", it loses some of its effectiveness. It's reasons like this that I don't take people like Imus seriously.

Then again, he got me to write a whole blog post about it, so I guess he at least has my attention.

Roundhouse Recap, Jan 31

2007-02-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, January has come and gone, and, as of yet, lawmakers have yet to pass any of the governor's key agenda. It is still early, but I'm not sure how many of Richardson's ideas will be passed in the first 30 days; remember, Richardson asked the legislature to pass significant pieces of legislation in the first 30 days.

"We'll be able to maybe get to two of them," said Rep. Henry "Kiki" Saavedra, an Albuquerque Democrat. "Due to hearings and everything, it's not that easy to get bills passed."

So we're aiming for two! That's two more than zero, for those of you non-math majors out there.

So what happened yesterday up in Santa Fe (or down in Santa Fe depending on your location)?

Lydia Lovejoy was appointed to the Senate by Bill Richardson. And not all liberals are happy. Joe Monahan:

Lovejoy is not getting any love, however, from liberals who resent her comments on abortion and homosexuality during her recent presidential run and which were circulated against her on the Net. Here's how the New Times of Phoenix wrote her up:"I''m anti-abortion on an individual basis," she stammered, with more umms and ahhs than The Bird has room to reproduce. "But I know families whose children have gone through abortion . . . but personally I would not tolerate it except when a person doesn't have a choice."

Safe enough answer, despite the Navajo pol's near incoherence. But her remarks on homosexual rights made her sound like some 19th-century eugenicist.

"I feel the same way about that as I feel about abortion," spat Lovejoy. "I know we are all . . . some of our children are born with physical impairments and it's not the baby's fault. That person is special. I feel the same way about sexual orientation."

Ugh. Are you serious, Lovejoy?

Questa Senator Carlos Cisneros (D) introduced a bill called the "Health Security Act." KUNM called the bill a possible first step in the direction of universal health care in New Mexico. The bill is different than the plan outlined by Richardson in the State of the State address. But is it necessary?

Never mind that the state already shelled out $310,782 for Mathematica to study three options for expanding health care coverage in New Mexico. Even though the report is due in June, proponents of the Health Security Act — one of the three plans — want lawmakers to appropriate $500,000 for yet another cost analysis on just their model. After Sen. Cisneros introduced SB 720 and SB 721, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, in a hallway interview, said, "It seems like a duplicate of expense for what we've already done."

The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary and Finance committees.

A bill that is gaining attention is one that would ban smoking in restaurants statewide. The Dee Johnson Clean Indoor Act passed the House Health and Government Affairs Committee, and will now go to the House Business & Industry Committee. Albuquerque and Santa Fe have similar laws in effect, but this one would affect bars as well.

Arissa Garcia and her family spoke yesterday in favor of DWI legislation. The bill they were speaking in favor of would stiffen penalties for tampering with ignition interlock systems. Garcia was the sole survivor of a car crash caused by a drunk driver who was served drinks on Frontier even though Frontier does not have a liquor license, as is required by New Mexico law.

Are you going through withdrawals from the lack of news about the cockfighting ban in New Mexico? Well, I'm here to help you out. The Albuquerque Tribune takes a look at the history of the efforts to ban cockfighting. Meanwhile, House Minority leader wants to give (don't laugh) fighting cocks a suitable retirement. Read it -- then you can laugh.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the appropriate state agencies be requested to design and implement a retirement program befitting the majesty of the fighting cocks that includes twice-weekly visits from the very best cage-free hens the state has to offer, one high-definition television for every six cocks and a subscription to ESPN, animal planet and CMT pure country, but not to the food network or FOX news.

Maybe Taylor missed his true calling, and should become a comedy writer.

Oh, and competing minimum wage bills were introduced yesterday.

Although Lujan is a close ally of Gov. Bill Richardson, the governor is backing a competing bill sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, that would bump the current state minimum wage of $5.15 to $6.50 on Jan. 1 and to $7.50 in 2009.
It passed the Senate Corporations and Transportation Committee 5-4 Wednesday on a party-line vote.
"When the governor sent this down to me, he said this is the version of the bill that I like," Altamirano said. "We almost have a guaranteed signature on this bill."
But the governor's nod didn't stop Lujan from introducing his own bill Wednesday. It calls for the state's minimum wage to go to $6.50 in July and to $7.50 in January 2008.

We'll have to see how this plays out -- and hope the competing measures don't cause legislators to kill the competing one off.

Roundhouse Recap, January 30

2007-01-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

So what happened in the Roundhouse yesterday? Joe Monahan says this year's legislature is a bust so far. He also exposed Steve Terrell's whoopie cushion plot. Yeah, I know you're curious.

The death-penalty repeal bill has passed its 'first hurdle'. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee passed the bill on a 4-3 party line vote. But as with everything in this year's session, Bill Richardson's Presidential run is complicating this.

Two years ago, when asked about how a bill to abolish capital punishment would affect a Richardson presidential campaign, Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told a reporter, "That bill is deadly to his campaign if he becomes a candidate for president. It's a no-win proposition for him. He needs to make certain that bill never makes it to his desk."

However, Sabato now says he doesn’t think signing a death-penalty bill necessarily would sink Richardson's presidential dreams. In fact, he said, it could help during next year’s primary season.

"Opposing the death penalty is certainly not a plus in the general election, and a Republican nominee would be sure to use it against Richardson," Sabato said in an e-mail in response to a reporter's question Tuesday.

"But Richardson's big problem is getting nominated, and opposition to the death penalty would help, especially in Iowa, where anti-death penalty fervor is substantial among the voters who participate in the early caucuses," Sabato said.

The bill now moves on to the House Judiciary Committee. It was in the Senate Judiciary Committee where it died by a one-vote margin last year.

The bill banning protests at funerals cleared its first hurdle. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee also passed this one, but on a 3-2 vote. It will also go to the House Judiciary Committee. There is, however, opposition to the bill.

Diane Wood of the American Civil Liberties Union testified against the bill, saying the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, even that which is "cruel, distasteful and upsetting."

The Rev. Holly Beaumont of Santa Fe said she was sympathetic to the veterans, but she opposes the bill. Beaumont is the coordinator for Standing Together, a project of the New Mexico Conference of Churches that deals with hate groups. "If you pass this bill, Fred Phelps will celebrate," she said. "He'll be happy he was able to compromise freedom of speech." Beaumont said the best way to deal with Phelps' group — which she described as a "family cult" — is to ignore it.

The bill is pretty much directly against Rev. Fred Phelps and his church that protests military funerals because they believe the military deaths are God's punishment for tolerating homosexuality. Just as Jesus would have done, right?

A gaming compact with 11 tribes that would increase state revenues and extend the compact to 2045 will be explored by a joint committee. The House has named its eight members (Reps. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque; Nick Salazar, D-Ohkay Owingeh; Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe; James Roger Madalena, D-Jemez Pueblo; Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque; Tom Taylor, R-Farmington; W.C. "Dub" Williams, R-Glencoe; and Eric Youngberg, R-Albuquerque). The Senate has yet to do so.

The compact may not pass, but it may reach the floor. From the Albuquerque Tribune:

Legislators might not approve proposed new compacts between the state and its gambling tribes, but they'll get a chance to vote this session, said House Speaker Ben Lujan.

"I think it's doable to get to the floor," said Lujan, a Namb‚ Democrat. "Now what that vote turns out to be is hard to say."

House Minority Whip Dan Foley doesn't think that it will make it to the floor, however. "He gave us a 30-day agenda and we haven't got much of that done," he said. "You would think that with that ambitious of an agenda, his bills will be flowing out of committee.

The compact would give the state greater control over the casinos, and would edge out competition from racetrack slot machines. The racetracks that currently have slot machines would be allowed to keep them, but could not add any or expand hours.

A surprising thing that I found out recently is that oil companies do not have to pay property owners for any damage done while drilling the oil.

Rep. Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch, introduced a bill Tuesday that would require oil and gas companies to notify private property owners before entering their land to drill. Under the bill, companies would also have to compensate property owners for any damage from drilling. A similar bill passed the House last year, but was not heard in the Senate.

Around the West, private property owners often don't own the mineral rights on their land. Currently, under state and federal law, private property owners receive no compensation or notification from oil and gas companies.

This should be a no-brainer to pass. That said, it will probably be heavily debated and opposed by those in the pocket of the oil companies.

Meanwhile, in ethics news, some lawmakers want the US Attorneys office and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King to take a look at the Housing Authorities.

The letter was signed by 12 of the state's 112 lawmakers.

"We know each of you are aware of the serious allegations of possible wrongdoing, including potential criminal wrongdoing, at the regional housing authorities in the state. We urge you to investigate these allegations fully," the letter says.
[...]
This will be a big deal. Eyes are on the authorities in part because of a report that a high-paid aide to House Speaker Ben Lujan was getting free housing from an authority.

I'll just echo Nash; this will be a back deal.

Finally, a bill asking for an automatic recount in close statewide or federal elections was introduced yesterday.

Any race for statewide office, such as governor, or for the U.S. House or Senate decided by one-half of 1 percent of votes cast would automatically trigger the recount.

The proposal also calls for the recounts to be paid for out of a new $500,000 state fund if the Legislature passes the bill and Gov. Bill Richardson signs it.

Other states have similar legislation. Currently, a candidate can ask for a recount, but they must pay for it themselves. If the results are overturned, then they get the money back.

Anything that I missed? Add them in the comments.

DC Lawmakers Threaten to Close Down LANL

2007-01-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

From the Associated Press:

Fed-up lawmakers on a House oversight committee said Tuesday they want to strip a federal nuclear agency of its security responsibilities and threatened to shut down Los Alamos National Laboratory to correct a decade of security lapses there.

Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., said he has sat through nearly a decade of hearings in which the Energy Department and the northern New Mexico nuclear weapons lab have promised to fix security problems.

"I've been hearing these promises for a long time, and they've become somewhat tedious," he said.

Los Alamos has had a history of bad security and mismanagement. I'm sure the Bomb Town Observer will have more coverage on this.

Roundhouse Recap Jan 29

2007-01-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

Some measures died a quiet death in committees Tuesday. Other more
controversial measures went out kicking and screaming. I'll start with
an annual measure that never seems to go anywhere and was a victim of a
party-line vote: a measure to open
up committee meetings.

Republican lawmaker's alternative approach to prying open legislative conference committees was shot down Monday by a House panel.

Majority Democrats killed GOP Whip Dan Foley's measure on a party-line, 11-7 vote in the Rules and Order of Business Committee.

House Majority leader Ben Lujan said he is not completely opposed to it -- only in one occasion.

Lujan said he supports opening conference committees except on the budget bill. He said public scrutiny of those discussions would be too tough on the conferees and would lengthen the negotiations.

There are more similar bills in the works, though it is unlikely that any will pass. The Democrats don't seem open to the idea, and since they have a healthy majority, it probably won't pass. I think that transparent government is a great idea.

A bill saying that teachers would have "the right and freedom to objectively inform students of any scientific information that is relevant to both strengths and weaknesses" of the evolutionary theory was tabled by the House Judiciary committee. The bill earned the nickname the 'Creationism' measure.

But several scientists, teachers and others testifying against the measure said the resolution would embarrass the state and would redefine the very work of science.

On this Saturday's Insight New Mexico, Suzanne Prescott said something similar about the bill being an embarrassment, saying we would be compared to Kansas. Kansas became the butt of many jokes when the state school board passed an "Intelligent Design" bill. Of course, the Kansas decision did spawn the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so it can't be all bad.

From the comments: Dave Thomas (must... stop... self... from... obvious... joke...) tells us about a discussion of the creationism bill (or rather, bills) at the Panda's Thumb.

A bill that would give tax breaks to build a coal power plant on the Navajo Nation was tabled Monday. The bill would give Houston-based Sithe Global Power $85 million to build the coal power plant.

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a 7-6 vote decided to table the measure. The plant would effectively destroy any chance of meeting Governor Bill Richardson's alternative energy goals. While the plant would create many jobs, it would also have a huge negative effect on the environment.

The plant can still be built, but it will not have any of the tax incentives the company would have hoped for.

One measure that did pass the House Judiciary Committee was "legislation asking Congress to repeal a federal law that established tougher driver's license requirements." The so-called "Real ID Act" is an unfunded 2005 federal proposal that would cost New Mexico tens of millions of dollars. It also has significant privacy concerns; in other words, fiscal conservatives and the ACLU both can find support for the bill asking the federal government to repeal the act.

The committee voted unanimously for a "do-pass" recommendation.

Richardson Campaigns in Nevada

2007-01-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

Governor Bill Richardson has started his campaign for President. I know, he already announced, but now he has begun to campaign, and has started in the state of Nevada. But not in Las Vegas, or even Reno. In Minden, NV. Richardson looks to be courting rural Nevada. A heavily Republican rural Nevada.

"Most importantly, I'm here to emphasize the importance of rural economies, of the rural way of life. I'm a Westerner who supports the Second Amendment. I am a westerner who supports the rugged individualism of the West," Richardson told a crowd of local and Las Vegas reporters he spoke to for 11 minutes before speaking to an audience of 250 for almost an hour.

"Only 15 percent of America lives in rural areas, and as a candidate, I'm going to pay attention to rural areas. I know this is Republican territory, but in a primary, I'm going to campaign everywhere."

But there is still plenty of time for Richardson to go to the big cities and Democratic strongholds.

After all, according to the Reno-Gazette Journal account of his visit, Richardson intends to visit each of Nevada's 17 counties. He is going for the door-to-door, grassroots, common man campaign. I've heard that Richardson has a big supporter in Senate Majority leader Harry Reid; but I haven't found any evidence, if anyone has any evidence confirming or disproving this, e-mail me.

Heath Haussamen has a response to Richardson's visit from Vicki Bates, a Democrat from Douglas County.

People here aren't necessarily ready to jump on the bandwagon yet - it's early and we have a lot of other candidates to hear from - but he was perhaps moved to the top of the list of contenders for many. The words I heard most often from those I talked to were "impressive" and "practical," and no one expressed any reservations about him.

Former General Wesley Clark spoke first and gave a rousing speech that was sort of like a pep rally. At first, it almost sounded like he was endorsing Gov. Richardson, but as the speech went on, he sounded more like a candidate himself, though he's still undeclared. He, too, was well-received.

Gov. Richardson's style was more pleasant and conversational, though he got charged up a few times too. He not only brought up issues and concerns that need to be addressed in this country, but used practical examples of how he's addressed such concerns in the state of New Mexico and during his diplomatic career.

Read the entire response by Bates here.

But Joe Monahan points out something that will hurt Richardson; with more states pushing their primaries up, it will be harder for the lower-tiered candidates to compete. It will be harder to get momentum from an early victory or strong-showing.

Over at MyDD, Chris Bowers gets more in depth, talking about Nevada specifically.

With no real time for the media to develop a narrative around the Nevada caucuses, I have a difficult time seeing how they will have a major impact on the media narrative, and thus the nomination process. Because they take place on a Saturday, only three days before the New Hampshire primary, at best they will be the focus of news of one weekend. Due to the lack of media attention, and due to the proximity to to the New Hampshire primary, many candidates, especially top tier candidates, might choose to ignore the Nevada caucuses.
[...]
It might be smart for second tier candidates to target a "better than expected" finish in Iowa coupled with a win in Nevada (this might especially be effective for Vilsack and Richardson).

If the big names (Hillary, Obama) choose to ignore Nevada, even a victory by Richardson will be seen as an empty victory. A loss to Edwards would be devastating for Richardson.

And New Hampshire, three days later, will be a tough state for Richardson. The locals are not happy with Nevada jumping in front of New Hampshire in the primaries. And Richardson was a huge proponent of a Western state getting that second-slot.

So that leaves Iowa and South Carolina before Super Tuesday. Iowa looks to be an uphill battle for Richardson. Vilsack is the home-twon guy, Edwards is polling very well, and Obama is from the Midwest. And I didn't even mention Hillary.

In South Carolina, the latest news on Richardson is his stance on the Confederate flag.

"This was and still is a very divisive issue, and I don't claim to know all the different positions," Richardson said in a statement issued Thursday in response to a reporter's inquiry. "But if I had been in the legislature when the vote had been taken, I would have voted to remove the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds altogether."
[...]
The flag flew above South Carolina's capitol in Columbia between 1962 and 2000. The state legislature approved a compromise that moved the flag to a Confederate monument in front of the statehouse.

To me, it's a no-brainer to come out against the Confederate flag. I would have liked Richardson to have come out even more strongly against the flag flying anywhere near a government building in South Carolina. To me, it represents slavery and the rebels in a Civil War. Not something I would like flying anywhere near me.

No word on anything out of Iowa, yet.

Dendahl Leaves New Mexico

2007-01-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

The GOP gubernatorial candidate who was on the bad side of the most lopsided defeat in the history of New Mexico gubernatorial races is moving out of New Mexico. The controversial former GOP chairman is going to Denver to be closer to his family.

Dendahl used the article to air some Parthian Shots about Governor Bill Richardson and the New Mexico Democratic party.

He said Richardson "has expanded what I think is corrupt conduct in government in New Mexico and people of New Mexico have accepted it."

"To govern through intimidation and fear and retaliation is corrupt conduct. ... To me, corruption goes beyond breaking laws. It's a style. It's a moral idea. It's a personal style."

Because of this, Jim Baca called Dendahl a hypocrite.

Wasn't this guy the one who offered $100,000 to the Green Party to run candidates to hurt Democratic office seekers a few years back? If that is not blatant public corruption I don't know what is.

The Journal story does report on this, but only near the end of the story. It also claimed that Dendahl ruled the GOP with an iron fist.

Two Republican legislators claimed in 2002 that Dendahl worked against their re-elections because they opposed then-Gov. Gary Johnson's efforts to make some drug use legal.

This doesn't even go into the replacement of JR Damron in the 2006 Governor's race. The change was not all that successful; Dendahl couldn't raise cash, and blamed Richardson for intimidation. He might have blamed himself for making comments calling teachers socialists and other such gaffes.

Albuquerque Antiwar March

2007-01-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

In Washington, DC, there was a march with tens of thousands, perhaps 100,000 people protesting the Iraq war.

Here in Albuquerque, Democracy for New Mexico says 1,000 people marched protesting the war. In the post, Terry Riley reports on the event, and Tom Solomon has pictures.

What did we get done Saturday? We had about 1,000 people mobilized in Albuquerque to march from our three representatives' offices speaking out against the troop buildup AND against Bush. We all saw what was going on and the police saw what was going on. We did not affect many people's lives like we would if we shut down the Big I. What we did do though is we got coverage on ALL THREE Albuquerque network affiliates. We were interviewed and our signs appeared on TV screens all over Albuquerque. We got coverage in Sunday's paper as well. We collectively spoke out in support of SJR05, the resolution in the New Mexico Legislature to Impeach Bush and Cheney that is sponsored by Senators Gerald Ortiz y Pino and John Grubesic.

The Albuquerque Journal put the crowd in the "hundreds". The Trib asked Friday "Where have all the anti-war demonstrators gone?", just a day before the largest protests since the beginning of the Iraq War. The Joline Gutierrez column mostly lays blame to the UNM students who "have apparently not unhooked from their iPods long enough to read a newspaper or turn on NPR" to learn more about the war.

Overall, the protest was a success, both in Washington, DC and in Albuquerque. The opposition to the war is growing quickly. Fast enough and strong enough that perhaps Gutierrez will get her wish, and those iPod-listening college students may join the protests.

Insight New Mexico

2007-01-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder -- try to be around your radio today at 3:00, and tune your radio to 1350 AM. Why? Insight New Mexico, of course! The only local progressive talk radio show comes weekly on Saturdays at 3:00, and today should be another good episode.

Today's hour-long program will feature Democratic NM State Rep. Moe Maestas, Albuquerque Tribune columnist Gene Grant, NM conservative blogger Mario Burgos and a surprise guest. For more on the guests, check out the Insight New Mexico website.

So, on Saturday afternoons, there is no longer any college football to watch, so you might as well listen in to Insight New Mexico.

Martin Chavez to Join DNC

2007-01-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

Martin Chavez is going to be part of the Howard-Dean led Democratic National Committee. From the ABQJournal:

Mayor Martin Chávez has been appointed to the Democratic National Committee as an at-large member.

He was notified this week by DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Chávez, in Washington, D.C., for a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said the appointment came as a surprise.

But Chávez has increasingly taken on a higher profile nationally, especially on environmental and water-supply issues.

Chavez, according to a press release, joined Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and eight other mayors calling on the President to make cities a bigger part of domestic policy. There were mayors from Philadelphia, Boston, Indianapolis and other big cities.

But back to the DNC announcement.

Chávez said his DNC appointment will be good for Gov. Bill Richardson, because he supports Richardson's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

I'm not sure how much pull Chavez will have in the DNC, and not sure how much help he can give Richardson. But, it is still a loyal statement by the Albuquerque mayor.

Three Day Weekend! Part 2

2007-01-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

I think the entire New Mexico Legislature has become allergic to a five day work week. Steve Terrell, the journalist from the Santa Fe New Mexican, says while it is normal for the legislature to take the first Friday off, he can't remember the last time they took the first two Fridays off.

This will probably lead to some long days and nights near the end of the session, says Albuquerque Tribune writer Kate Nash. But as any college student will tell you, a three-day weekend now is better than an easy day later in the semester (or in this case, session). Until that 'mental health day' comes back to haunt you.

State Sen. Dede Feldman is using the time off well, and has updated her blog, with a post about the State of the State address.

He wants us to pass four things in the first thirty days:

1. A $7.50 an hour minimum wage

2. A Renewable Energy Transmission Authority to export solar, wind and other renewable energy. A requirement that utility companies produce 15% of their energy through renewable energy sources by 2015 and 25% by 2020 (Go Bill)

3. Grip II to finish the giant road building project he begun in his first term

4. $123 million in tax cuts, including a Working Families Tax Credit, an extension of the personal income tax credit, and an elimination of income tax for active duty members of the military

There is more, including her looks at healthcare in New Mexico, in that post, it is definitely a must-read. OK, not MUST-read, but you'll be better of for having read it.

Today's Albuquerque Journal has an article saying that the proposed funeral protest ban is getting some opposition.

A bill that would prevent protesters from demonstrating near soldiers' funerals would violate the First Amendment's protections of free speech, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

House Bill 186, introduced by Rep. Tom Swisstack, D-Rio Rancho, would make it illegal to demonstrate within 500 feet of a funeral site for an hour before and after a scheduled service.

Though not limited to military funerals, a catalyst for the bill was a raucous Sept. 21 demonstration by members of Westboro Baptist Church outside the funeral of Army Spec. Alexander Jordan in Rio Rancho. Jordan, 31, was killed Sept. 10 in Iraq.

This is a tricky issue. On one hand, protesting a funeral is just disgusting. Completely and utterly disgusting. On the other hand, this reminds me of the laughable "free speech zones" in use during the Republican National Convention in New York City, where protesters were only allowed to protest in designated areas.

In this case, I have to say that I'm with Rep. Swisstack. As long as the bill is clearly worded so that it only can be used for funerals, and that it should not be used as a basis for any other similar laws restricting protests. Of course, the courts might shoot this down, but I think it is worth the effort.

Meanwhile, a Payday Loans bill is going through the House, but it looks like it doesn't make either the Payday Loan industry or consumer advocates happy. ABQJournal:

Payday loan operators found many flaws with the new bill, but most notably they said the allowed fees for lenders would not cover the costs of providing loans.

"The fees are just too low for the operation of the industry," said Steve Solomon, an attorney with Fast Bucks.

Consumer advocates said the bill still allows for an interest rate as high as 89.9 percent on a loan.

Michael Hely, with the Senior Citizens' Law Office, urged committee members to approve a 36 percent interest rate cap— similar to legislation approved by Congress and scheduled to take effect in October.

The bill that would require the state to notify schools when a student has been accused of a violent crime is now being debated. This is another issue that I have feelings on both sides of. Obviously, if there is an accused rapist running around the school, the school would like to know. But there is the 'accused' part -- it may be a false accusation. A thorny issue, to be sure.

Meanwhile, Rep. Al Park introduced a $500 million education bill. The bill would spent $500 million of the $700 million surplus on education; while the sentiment is there, it probably won't pass. Spending nearly all of the surplus on one issue just will not be done.

OK, I think I am all caught up. Anything that I missed?

Bill Richardson = Batman?

2007-01-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show talked about Bill Richardson the other night, talking about all the people who have announced for President. You can watch the video below, where the Richardson part starts with just after 1:40 left.

EDIT: The previous video went down, so this is a YouTube video, not sure if the timing still links up.

Richardson To Concentrate on Nevada

2007-01-25T11:20:00.000-07:00

It looks like Governor Bill Richardson will be putting a lot of concentration into Nevada. The Reno-Gazette Journal is reporting Richardson "is the first candidate to announce hiring staff to organize his campaign in Nevada."

Not only that, but

Richardson is set to make his first campaign swing through Northern Nevada on Saturday, one week after joining the burgeoning field of Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Hat tip to fellow New Mexico blogger/journalist Heath Haussamen. (Note: I mean he's a fellow blogger, not that I'm a journalist)

Richardson will be joined by potential rival, and Kossack favorite, Gen. Wesley Clark.

Richardson is scheduled to speak Saturday evening at the Douglas County Democrats' annual fundraising dinner in Minden.

He will be sharing the stage with a potential rival, retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who is considering a second run for president in 2008 but hasn't made an announcement.

So... Why Nevada?

According to the Albuquerque Tribune

It's an early primary state Richardson absolutely has to win.

He might not need to win the state; a strong showing coupled with a strong showing in Iowa could give him enough momentum to keep his campaign going.

Nevada is the second state in the quest to win the Democratic nomination. And will probably continue to be so, despite New Hampshire's "hissy fit". So it has become very important -- I don't have to tell you political savvy readers that momentum gained or lost at this early juncture can determine who becomes the Democrat nominee. Even though I guess I just did.

Also, Nevada is nearly 25 percent Hispanic according to the 2005 Census estimate. Hispanics are by far the second-largest group, besides "White persons not Hispanic." While Kos is quick to note that Hispanics are not the most reliable of voters (they don't go out to the polls as often as other groups), perhaps an Hispanic candidate will make them a little more enthused.

One thing that Richardson has in Nevada that others do not is that he is from the area. Hillary, Obama, Edwards, Vilsack, Dodd... none of these candidates are from the West like Richardson is. He will have the "one of us" card on his side. Expect to hear "I'm a Western governor..." a lot when Richardson is in Nevada.

Richardson will spend a lot of time and money in Nevada. It is the main make or break state for the longshot candidate.

NM Legislature Invited to See Rio Rancho Arena

2007-01-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rio Rancho mayor Keith Jackson wasn't in the Mayor's Office when much of the infrastructure for the new Rio Rancho downtown was put in place. But he is completely willing to continue the effort to build a downtown area out of scratch deep in the deserts of Rio Rancho. At the center of the new downtown (er, the Master-Planned City Centre/Downtown) is the Santa Ana Star Center, or as it is known to residents, the Rio Rancho arena.

To show off the crown jewel of Rio Rancho (sorry Wal Mart), Jackson has invited the entire New Mexico Legislature to take in a hockey game at the arena. Jackson is hoping hte new arena will impress the legislature into further funding for the Rio Rancho downtown area. Maybe a more subtle way to convince them is the epic traffic jams on the two-lane road to the arena.

The city is asking for roughly $40 million in legislative funding this year, $33 million more than it received last year.

The majority of the requested funding is for two projects— $20.5 million for a water system to serve the new City Centre and $13 million for the continued widening of Unser. Both projects would affect the Santa Ana Star Center and surrounding City Centre area.

Bad urban planning? Perhaps. Btu Unser Blvd clearly needs to be expanded to at least the new downtown -- and soon.

The new Rio Rancho City Hall will be done later this year. Lions Gate is building a $15 million studio just north of the City Centre. UNM and NMSU have over 400 acres where they plan to build a Rio Rancho campus. I'd imagine other businesses would love to build downtown. And these all bring traffic.

And while it may seem like it is in the middle of nowhere, people forget (or never knew) there are already houses out there in the desert. A mile away from the arena is a housing division; Northern Meadows (For exactly where it is, go to page 5 of the Master Plan -- caution, pdf file). Trust me -- Friday nights, when there is a Scorpions game, you do not want to be caught driving to Northern Meadows at 7:00.

Jackson is hoping the members of the Legislature see the new arena, read the City Centre/Downtown plans and are impressed enough to give the city $40 million. Or, if that fails, that they will take pity on Rio Rancho, and give the city the money. Either way, Rio Rancho's City Centre may depend on the money that is given -- or not given -- this eyar.

Roundhouse Roundup

2007-01-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that I didn't have a Roundhouse Recap last night; my internet went down. And it's kind of late now, I feel, so you'll have to satisfy yourself with Steve Terrell's weekly Roundhouse Roundup. It is on his Web Log, not to be confused with his Legislature Blog.

Wha!?

Well, from the Roundup, here is this interesting tidbit (first reported, just to confuse you, in his Legislature blog.

Comedian Jon Stewart on Tuesday night’s Daily Show had some fun with Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential announcement. The program showed rapid-fire clips of Richardson's interview with George Stephanopoulos in which our governor touts his attributes: “I’m a westerner” ... "I'm a governor" ... "I've cut taxes" ... "I've rescued hostages."

Cut to Stewart: "Oh my God! Bill Richardson is Batman!" Then the comic recites lyrics from the old Frank Sinatra song, "That's Life": "I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king."

Oh, you silly Daily Show. I'll try to find the clip on YouTube, since we all know it exists somewhere on that site.

Domenici's Health in Question?

2007-01-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

In recent years, rumors that Sen. Pete Domenici's health would force him to retire have been floating around.

After all, the Senator is 74 years old. And now, he is one of many older Senators reported to have gone to former Majority Leader Bill Frist "complaining about a host of illnesses and chronic maladies, most related to aging" according to The Politico.

Among them were Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who flew on Frist's jet for private consultation and treatment at the Frist Clinic in Nashville, according to Senate sources.

In fact, Domenici is further singled out from the pack later on in the article.

Domenici was one of those who leaned heavily on Frist for medical advice, insiders say.
[...]
He has undergone two surgeries for a nerve problem, has bursitis in his hips, and suffers from spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal cord that can be painful. He has hearing aids in both ears, forcing him to lean in very close to someone when having a conversation, and he moves slowly and deliberately when taking the floor for votes, stopping often to lean against a wall or desk for rest or to steady himself.

He can appear disheveled at times. Domenici wore a suit with a with large tear in the coat one day recently, and in early December, after being seen ambling through the halls of the Hart Senate Office Building in a pair of hunting pants that resembled pajamas, Domenici aides scrambled to quash a rumor that the lawmaker was not as mentally acute as he had been.

We all remember that incident when Domenici was caught walking around the halls of DC in, allegedly, pajamas. Domenici said they were hunting pants.

The story goes on to say the Republican party cannot afford for Domenici to step down; the seat would solidly be in play, and the Republicans will have enough trouble defending seats in 2008 as it is. There is much to lose for the Republicans if Domenici would choose to retire.

Team Domenici says "any buzz that Domenici's problems will force him to step down is nothing more than a Democratic plot to drive him from office." But this article raises even more questions about Domenici's health problems.

Albuquerque Journal Website Has New Look

2007-01-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

I clicked on the Albuquerque Journal website, and stopped. Looked... something looked different... tabs! I love tabs. I use Firefox for my web-browsing, and GAIM for my instant messaging. I'd recommend both for anyone, by the way.

The ABQJournal.com blog asks for your impressions and comments on the new look. The design is much better than the old version, which you can still use. In case you're still into that sort of thing.

It will take me a few days to figure out exactly what I like and dislike about the website. One thing I can say right now, however, is that the Journal's site is not as good as the Tribune's.

One reason is the ads. They seem like a distraction from the rest of the Journal website, though less so with this layout, while the ads are more incorporated into the Tribune layout. But it's good to see a step forward nevertheless.

Roundhouse Recap, January 23

2007-01-24T00:12:00.000-07:00

Today (or, by the time I finished typing this, yesterday) was Military and Veteran's Day in the Roundhouse. The legislators honored those who served and those who continue to serve our country's armed forces. Which brings to mind Richardson's call to abolish all income taxes for active-duty servicemen and women. KOAT-TV reported Richardson wants to expand this to all retired veterans as well.

The issue garnering the most attention continues to be cockfighting. The media in New Mexico seems to love the debate, perhaps because it inspires such fervor and passion on both sides. Today, the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishop weighed in on the side of those attempting to ban cockfighting. The ABQJournal In Session Blog (which is, at best, sporadically updated), tells us a fact that I think you may have heard before: New Mexico and Louisiana are the only two states yet to outlaw cockfighting.

On the other side, one supporter asked what practice would be banned next -- branding cattle (on, I believe, KOB-TV's noon broadcast)? But, of course, the comparison is pretty much completely illogical. One is a sport pitting two roosters to fight to the death, the other is branding a cow. Not very similar, in my opinion.

Gay issues also have started to gain some attention with two diametrically opposed bills. One is concerning benefits for same-sex couples. This asks whether companies should have to give same-sex couples the same benefits as married couples. I think this is just common sense - otherwise, it is an obvious attempt to discriminate against homosexual couples. The other issue is an attempt to write a same-sex marriage ban into the State Constitution. You may remember an effort to outlaw same-sex marriage failed last year. This would be tougher to repeal than that previous effort. It would be an attempt to write discrimination into the State Constitution. I don't think either bill will pass.

And Republican Steve Neville from Aztec is a busy man. KOAT TV mentioned a bill to make drug use a petty misdemeanor. Currently, it is illegal to possess drugs, but not illegal to actually use them. Neville says the money raised from the fines would be put towards drug rehabilitation. But it might be seen as an expansion of the war on drugs.

The bill that is receiving more attention is the following: A bill introduced by two San Juan County legislators in the opening days of the 2007 legislative session would require the state Children, Youth and Families Department to notify school officials when a potentially violent offender is roaming school hallways.

"There's not a day that goes by that we hear of some violent kid in school," said Sen. Steve Neville, who introduced the bill in the Senate Wednesday.Neville says he expects the ACLU to oppose the law. But to Neville's credit, it looks like the crimes are all significant ones; robbery is the least serious crime on the list, rape and murder the most significant.

And there was some bad news for the Rail Runner. The AP says a key federal grant is stalled in Washington.

State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught said she's concerned that a $75 million federal grant for the state's Rail Runner Express commuter train is stalled in Congress.

"Are we going to get it? I'm not optimistic about it," Faught told legislators Monday.

I'm not exactly sure where the bill is stalled, or which representative needs to get this going. I'm hoping that the five New Mexicans elected to office in Washington will work together to push this through; the Rail Runner is a key public transportation service.

Kate Nash and Gabriela C. Guzman both say the Real ID act is not popular in New Mexico. For more on what exactly Real ID is, check out my post from yesterday.

And, of course, impeachment. As always, KOAT:

Tuesday night, President George W. Bush gave his State of the Union Address, and although New Mexico may seem a world away from Washington, two state senators want to send a message to congress: They'd like the president to be impeached.

The proposal is a joint resolution, which officially expresses the will of the legislature but doesn't have the force of law, reported Action 7 News.

For the resolution to pass, it must pass three committees before seeing the Senate floor. Four previous states have looked at impeachment resolution; none have passed such a resolution.

So what did I miss?

Richardson Says He Won't Run as a Hispanic; Media Doesn't Care

2007-01-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about all the different looks at Richardson's Presidential chances, and they all agree on one thing: he's Hispanic.

Richardson told ABC's "This Week" that he is not running as a "Hispanic candidate." But the media, apparently, decided that he is the token Hispanic candidate. He should be glad; most of the media mentions of his candidacy seem to be along the lines of a woman, an African-American and a Hispanic running (Hillary, Obama, Richardson).

Wonkette highlighted the New York Post's headline announcing his candidacy: "NM Gov Throws Sombrero Into Ring".

His trip around the cable news outlets seemed to show that they too are enamored with his Hispanic heritage. Hotline has some of the 'interesting questions' that Richardson was given.

MSNBC's [Chris] Matthews: "Were you inspired that Jimmy Smits beat Alan Alda on 'West Wing'?"

Richardson: "Well, I watched that with interest and I liked the ending" (MSNBC, 1/22).

Richardson was also on "LKL":

Asked if being Hispanic is a plus: "Well, it's a plus, because there are a lot of states with a growing Hispanic population, not just in the Southwest but around the country. I think the American people are ready to elect either Hispanic or an African-American or a woman. But I suspect some will accuse me of being too soft on immigration or that I'm not strong enough with border security, which I am."

CNN's [Larry] King: "Say good night in Spanish."

Richardson: "Buenos noches" (CNN, 1/22).

Richardson, you can say you aren't running as a Hispanic candidate, but as an American all you want. But the media has already decided to latch onto your race. Good luck trying to change this -- but at least it will give you some free publicity!

Marty For Governor?

2007-01-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

There are already eight Presidential nominees announced on each side for the 2008 Presidential elections. The first primaries are about a year out. Not to be outdone, New Mexico now has two candidates ready to run for governor. In 2010.

Current Lt. Governor Diane Denish has, of course, said she will run. Now Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is exploring a gubernatorial run. He's filed the paperwork, as of Friday, and will begin getting ready for a run in 2010. Including raising money to keep up with Denish.

[N]ext week he's having a $2,000-a-pop "exploratory kickoff event."
[...]
He said he needed to take a formal step toward a run for governor and start raising money because Lt. Gov. Diane Denish already has.

Chavez says he may run for re-election of Albuquerque Mayor as well. But what it looks like he will not be doing is running for US Senator.

According to today's post in Joe Monahan's blog, he tells us that Sen. Pete Domenici, in a letter to "top NM Republicans" has said he will run again.

"I am indeed running for re-election in 2008!" He then states what is news to us: "Yes, the list is already growing of potential opponents strongly considering a run against me." Who might they be, Pete? We haven't heard of any.

If Domenici is going to run again, Chavez will not run. If he does not, Chavez may see the road to Washington easier than the road to Santa Fe.

What To Expect From Tomorrow...

2007-01-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

Steve Terrell gives us some idea of what to expect from tomorrow's day in the Roundhouse.

Among topics coming up Tuesday are the Ortiz y Pino-Grubesic impeachment resolution, "Real ID," and, you guessed it, cockfighting. Stay tuned.

For more on the impeachment resolution, I'll defer to Democracy For New Mexico and Terry Riley, who is more in touch with this sort of thing than I am.

There is a bill being presented in the legislature this Tuesday to bring impeachment proceedings against Bush and Cheney. According to the Constitution, if a state legislature passes a bill like this and it is presented to Congress, Congressman Udall has agreed to carry it (I believe), the Congress has to put aside all other matters and begin impeachment proceedings.

Tom Udall would automatically make himself a household name and an enemy of every Republican in the country with this resolution. Will it pass the Legislature to go to Washington? I don't know. But it sure will be interesting to watch.

Everyone knows what impeachment is, but what, you ask, is the Real ID thing? I had to search for this as well, and came across this in our good friends, the ABQJournal from September 16 of last year:

politically diverse panel urged state legislators Friday to take a simple but direct approach to the federal Real ID Act: Ignore it.

Members of the Legislature's Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee— after hearing testimony during which panel members derided the law as an unfunded federal mandate that creates a defacto national ID— said they were receptive to the idea.
[...]
The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005 as an anti-terrorism measure, sets federal standards for issuing drivers' licenses. It would effectively end New Mexico's practice of issuing drivers' licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Both the libertarian CATO Institute and the ACLU came out against the initiative; and they're not the only ones.

At its annual meeting in Taos last month, the New Mexico Municipal League passed a resolution calling for the repeal of the Real ID Act. The law has also been opposed by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Doesn't sound like there is much support for the Real ID Act inside of New Mexico, especially since it would cost the state millions; $13 million initially and $6 million in recurring annual costs.

And as for cockfighting...I don't think I really need to tell you all about that. This is an issue that comes up every year, and never seems to go away. Even if they do away with it this year, I still expect this to be a controversial and divisive issue.

So look forward to those and other issues tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow to recap it. And, of course, to give you the latest minutiae on Bill Richardson's run for President.

Richardson Round-Up

2007-01-22T14:47:00.000-07:00

The day after his announcement, it is All Richardson All The Time. So here's a quick Richardson Round-Up of all the news stories and such. Here is his official website.

First of all, the Albuquerque Tribune now has an entire section of their website dedicated to the Richardson campaign. In that section, there are stories saying locals support his run as do the lawmakers. Steve Pearce, Richardson's new buddy on the meth initiative (I almost said "meth buddy, but that would have been a bit awkward) and the most conservative of the Congressmen and women of New Mexico

believes Richardson will be "an able and formidable candidate," said Pearce spokesman David Host.

Tom Udall said not to worry about the poll numbers just yet -- echoing something from the carpetbagger report, via Live From Silver City.

Udall discounted Richardson's low standing in the latest Washington Post poll - 1 percent. He recalled that nobody knew Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton when then-New Mexico Gov. Bruce King brought him to New Mexico in 1988, four years before Clinton was elected President.

"I think these are very unpredictable and volatile decisions," Udall told The Tribune.

Kate Nash, who seems to be writing five stories a day, wrote about his first press conference as a Presidential candidate.

But the ABQJournal may have done them one better. They had a whopping nine pages worth of coverage of our governor. And it was pretty favorable coverage, especially for the Journal. He's officially in, he made his pitch, has high ambitions... Basically everything you can think.

The Santa Fe New Mexican also has lots of stories; they give us his resume (which seems a lot shorter when put in this format), and their Steve Terrell story, who seems to write as many stories as Kate Nash. Jeff Jones, you have to catch up!

Oh, and how could I forget this post from Washington Note blogger Steve Clemons?

I will frame this as a "question" for Bill Richardson.

Have you behaved inappropriately or not in public settings with female members of your government administration, jokingly or not? Have you gestured to female public servants and political appointees -- who work as colleagues with you -- and made lewd gestures, specifically pointing to them and then pointing at your crotch with a room full of media and other politicos there in the room?

I ask this not to demean or undermine Richardson.

The last part, "I ask this not to demean or undermine Richardson" is, of course, ludicrous. When your whole post is an attempt to undermine Richardson, this sentence doesn't neutralize the entire point of your post.

Nationally, CQ Politics has their Profile of Richardson. The LA Times, unsurprisingly, highlights his hispanic heritage.

So what is the common denominator between (most of) these stories? They say he is well-liked and experienced. Even the 770-KKOB talk folks (Jim Villanucci) admitted he is well-qualified and they raved about his popularity among the media types.

Anything that I missed?

Non-Richardson For President News

2007-01-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

The Richardson Presidential announcement pretty much sucked all the air out of the room. Finding anything in the newspapers or blogosphere about something different is a bit tough (the Journal alone had nine pages of coverage); but I thought that some people might already be tired of the media fawning over future President Richardson (tongue firmly in cheek).

Kate Nash actually looks at some non-Richardson stuff (after, of course, talking about Richardson) in her column today. First up is the reorganization of committees in the wake of the failed leadership-grab by Rep. Ken Martinez.

Rep. Joseph Cervantes, who backed Martinez, a Grants Democrat, and made a bid for majority floor leader, was demoted from chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and made vice chairman.

Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat, said Lujan mistook his try for the majority floor leader as meaning he was unhappy with the chairmanship, which isn't the case.

But lest you think Lujan replaced Cervantes with a Lujan supporter, he didn't. Instead, he put in Rep. Al Park, a Martinez fan and Albuquerque Democrat, as chairman.

So Lujan replaced Cervantes with another Martinez supporter. Maybe Lujan just thought Park was better for the job. For what it's worth:

Lujan at a news conference last week denied there was any payback, and said he thought Cervantes had done a "fairly good job" as chairman, but thought that Park deserved a shot. Lujan in the past has passed up Park for the coveted post.

Things aren't so good in the land of GRIP. Richardson wants GRIP (Governor Richardson's Investment Project) II passed, but, Nash points out, GRIP I is behind schedule and over-budget.

But doubters of the Democratic persuasion say the first slew of projects are behind schedule and short $300 million.

The problem is that parts of New Mexico sorely need the better infrastructure. The Coors/I-40 interchange has proved its worth to anyone who lives on the Westside.

And, of course, ethics and corruption issues in Santa Fe. These are on a "low-grade rumble" at the moment.

The whispering is about the upcoming indictments connected to construction of courthouses in Bernalillo County and the Metropolitan Detention Center.
[...]
The housing authority scandal, which among other things involves a top Lujan aide getting free rent from a government affordable housing agency, could be about to get bigger.

Don't be surprised to see legislation soon asking the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate.

Things could get interesting if an investigation starts happening or the corruption stories return to the front pages of papers during the session. It may be what is needed to get the ethics legislation to the front burner.

And finally, Joe Monahan tells us about the plight of State Senator Leonard Tsosie.

It's Sayonara time for Democratic State Senator Leonard Tsosie, say the Santa Fe crowd. They report ("with 99.5%" certainty) that the Native American lawmaker will leave the senate to take a seat on the Navajo Nation Council. Tsosie appealed to the Navajo court to keep both jobs, but the court nixed that idea saying take one or the other.

Monahan goes on to say his decision to take a seat on the Navajo Council may be made while looking for a future attempt at President of Navajo Nation.

So what will happen with Tsosie's seat? Richardson gets to appoint a person to that seat, and so far, the names are just products of rumors.

You can now go back to your regularly-scheduled Richardson-Watch news.

Richardson Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee

2007-01-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Remember that post about thirteen hours ago where I said the announcement that Richardson would announce on Monday was incorrect? Turns out it was -- Richardson announced the creation of his exploratory committee today on ABC's "This Week."

If you want to see the interview, it airs on KOAT at 4:00. So take a break from football, or tape the program and watch it after the finish of the Indianapolis-New England game.

Around the local blogosphere, everyone is saying, "We all knew it."

Jim Baca:

The worst kept secret of the week was that Bill Richardson might announce for President today. Well, of course he did.

Heath Haussamen:

The worst-kept secret in New Mexico became official with an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week (click here to read the article and here to watch a video clip) and was followed by an interview with the Albuquerque Journal.

And, of course, Democracy for New Mexico:

Even the national blogs stepped in to give our governor some press. Daily Kos had this to say:

Fresh off his visit to Darfur, Richardson has a credibility in international affairs that few can match. Governor, congressman, secretary of energy, and UN ambassador.

What's that you say? Anyone running for president should have a good understanding of how energy is driving our foreign policy? Hmm...

If you want to see the full announcement, they have it over at the Bill Richardson For President page. Here is a quick sample to whet your appetite.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced the formation of a Presidential campaign exploratory committee, with the clear intention of seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.

"I am taking this step because we have to repair the damage that's been done to our country over the last six years," said Richardson. "Our reputation in the world is diminished, our economy has languished, and civility and common decency in government has perished."

"The next president of the United States must get our troops out of Iraq without delay. Before I became Governor of New Mexico, I served as Ambassador to the United Nations and as Secretary of Energy. I know the Middle East well and it's clear that our presence in Iraq isn't helping any longer," said Richardson.

MyDD:

Richardson is definitely the resume, experience and accomplishment candidate. His extensive experience in foreign relations (frequent high level diplomatic envoy and Ambassador to the UN), as Governor of New Mexico (chair of the DGA, no less), and as a member of Clinton's cabinet (Energy secretary) is impressive to the point of bordering on dreamy. And oh yeah, he was also in Congress and is a member of the largest emerging voting block in the country.

So we now have Richardson running for President -- officially. The next couple of months will be crucial; Richardson needs to get his visibility up to compete with the likes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. But don't count him out.

Not so fast on Richardson Announcement Announcement

2007-01-21T00:17:00.000-07:00

After going to the Albuquerque Tribune website, I came across this Kate Nash story. Turns out the announcement reported by the Associated Press and, well, everyone in the New Mexico blogosphere that Governor Bill Richardson would announce officially his intentions to run in 2008... may have been a bit premature. Of course, we've been there before, with the Fox News "I am running as a Hispanic candidate" gaffe and the resulting brouhaha.

Here's this version's correction:

"No comment on anything except that the report that it's Monday is not true," said spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

That report, posted on countless Web sites Friday and attributed to United Press International, said Richardson would announce Monday he's forming an exploratory committee for his presidential bid.

Minutes later came another report from the Associated Press that said "several officials with knowledge of his plans" said he would announce his intentions on Sunday.

After that came this from Gallegos:

"Governor Richardson will announce his intentions before the end of the month. No further comment beyond that."

I was one of those "countless websites" to repeat the story; so now I am going to be one of the much shorter list of websites and blogs that will actually print this retraction.

So the announcement will happen sometime before the end of the month -- but don't expect it to be on Monday. Or maybe it will be? Who knows?

Bill Richardson To Announce Presidential Intentions Sunday

2007-01-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

The Associated Press says that Bill Richardson will announce something that all New Mexicans already knew: he intends to run for President in 2008.

The field of Democrats thinking about a White House run apparently is about to expand.

Gov. Bill Richardson plans to announce Sunday that he's taking the first step toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

That's according to several officials with knowledge of his plans.

The former congressman, UN ambassador and Energy Department secretary -- is hopeful his extensive resume will fuel an insurgent campaign to become the nation's first Hispanic president.

You know, in these troubled times, perhaps saying htat he will run "an insurgent campaign" isn't the best of phrases; though surely Fox News and other cable news outlets would have loved to peg Barack Obama with that label (they're doing everything else to connect him with Islam and terrorism).

But it only took me a second to realize who wrote this article -- Nedra Pickler. Oh well.

Wonkette (after mentioning the baseball 'scandal' that the NM GOP unsuccessfully tried to make a big deal of) mentions his qualifications.

He’s half-Mexican and speaks Spanish.

Latinos now outnumber blacks in the United States.

Western governor.

For 23 of the past 27 years, governors have been president.

For 15 of those years, Western governors have been president.

Congressman, governor, Energy secretary, UN ambassador, yet basically unknown/fresh to the general dumb voter.

Actually a talented politician.

Ran the DGA and almost ran the DNC, so knows the machine.

Born in California, raised in Mexico and Boston — he's got the local angle everywhere but the South, which could be fixed with Edwards on the ticket as veep.

Somehow just got a cease-fire in Darfur and gets sent to North Korea by Bush to calm Lil' Kim.

No war support vote to worry about.

Actually coherent on the get-out-of-Iraq plan, because it's the Baker-Hamilton plan and he understands how to make it work with Syria and Iran.

Old enough to make Edwards and Obama look like kids, yet young enough to make McCain look like a crazy old man.

I'll have more on this later, I'm sure other media and blog reports will begin to filter down soon.

Three Day Weekend! Recap Jan 18

2007-01-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Remember back in school, when you were lucky enough to have a three day weekend? An extra day to sleep in, another night to stay up late and watch bad TV... Good times.

Well the state legislatures will have the chance to do all that and more; they went home early today, and don't have to be back tomorrow. Which is good for those down south, so they can actually get home. After all, there is a pretty severe storm coming in soon.

I have also found that, at this extremely early juncture, Steve Terrell's legislature blog has been the best source for information. So far. Remember, not much has happened. Much of the talk is still of cockfighting, with none of Richardson's big initiatives being discussed.

And, from the aforementioned Steve Terrell blog:

In another area, Rep. Al Park's bill to ban smoking in bars and restaurants statewide will be named in honor of the late former First Lady Dee Johnson, according to New Mexicans Concerned about Tobacco.

The ABQJournal's In Session blog has this:

Flanked by family members, Arissa Garcia, the lone survivor of a Nov. 11 wreck that left five of her family members dead, visited the Senate chambers this morning.

Arissa's family was driving north on Interstate 25 on their way home to Las Vegas, N.M., when their minivan was hit head-on by drunk driver Dana Papst of Tesuque, who also was killed.

Arissa, 15, and a student at West Las Vegas High School, came to the Roundhouse on Thursday to lobby for tougher DWI laws. One proposal Arissa's family suggested to Gov. Bill Richardson last month included prohibiting the sale of alcohol in convenience stores and gasoline stations.

I think that convenience store and gas station owners will be up in arms against this; selling alcoholic beverages is a large part of their profits. But something surely needs to be done to stem the tide of DWIs in our state.

It's Not Really a Session Until...

2007-01-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

According to Stephen Terrell:

I know the state constitution provides that the legislative session starts on the third Tuesday in January.

But those who have weathered a few sessions know there are other factors that determine when a session is really under way.

So in that spirit, it's not really a session until ...

* The governor threatens to veto the budget bill.

* House members complain the Senate isn't passing House bills or vice versa.

* Sen. John Pinto sings "The Potato Song."

* A committee meeting goes past midnight.

* You need a "Guest of the Speaker" badge to go anywhere on the Capitol’s first floor.

* A lawmaker dramatically asks during a floor debate, "What kind of message are we sending to the children?"

* The governor threatens to call a special session.

* Sen. Joe Carraro sings "That's Amore."

* The governor threatens to run for president. (This session only.)

Roundhouse Recap, January 17

2007-01-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Today was the first real day of legislation up in Santa Fe. So what got done? Well, there was no 100 hour agenda, and the New Mexico legislature is notoriously, I'll be nice, deliberative. Bill Richardson may have urged lawmakers to rush, but I'm not sure if it is possible for them to push themselves to go any faster.

The big news was the annual introduction of the bill to ban cockfighting by Doña Ana Democrat Sen. Mary Jane Garcia. And this year, everyone is looking for the ban to actually pass because of the backing of one Bill Richardson. While this bill is perhaps not the most important, except to certain interests, it always features contentious debate, and a huge pro-cockfighting lobby.

The other news, less exciting but perhaps more important, is the passing of the so-called feed bill. You can read the actual bill here, if you get the itch. The bill pays for the entire legislative session, and the price apparently went up this year; not all legislators are happy about that.

The funniest part about Kate Nash's post in the Trib Roundhouse Report blog?

Shortly after the bill passed, [House Majority Leader Ken] Martinez moved to sine die, a motion to adjourn the session and go home for good. That went nowhere.

Maybe he had somewhere to be?

Also, Richardson wants a pay raise for judges, according to the AP. Court staffers may also see larger numbers in their paychecks.

New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Chavez, meanwhile, told state lawmakers Wednesday an "ambitious but lean'' budget for state courts makes salaries for court staffers a priority.

But accordign to Chavez, more is needed than just staff raises and brick and mortar projects.

He also warned that a lack of federal funding for civil legal service programs is limiting access to justice for low-income New Mexico families.

Chavez said changes are being considered that would allow more lawyers to volunteer to represent low-income clients for free and he called for more money for interpreters for non-English speaking jurors.

And in another not-so-notable note... We might have an official state tie -- the bolo tie. Hooray!

Highlights of the State of the State Address

2007-01-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

It seems like I have written this before. We have already all heard what Governor Richardson wants to do in this session. All that was missing was the exact words, the images of Richardson giving his State of the State address in front of the Legislature. I missed the images (I was driving through most of the address), but I still heard the words.

I promised I would link to at least a transcript of the speech, and here is a pdf file of the speech. Heath Haussamen also has the text in html form. Peruse it at your own leisure. If that is not your style, perhaps you would like to watch the video, courtesy of KNME. Personally, I have not read through the entire thing yet.

But here are what I think were the highlighted items in the State of the State address. Again, these are what I think; if you disagree (as I'm sure many of you will), commenting is easy.

Tax Cuts

The most popular thing a politician can do is cut taxes. The least popular thing a politician can do is repeal those tax cuts. That's the trick of lowering taxes; if you do it at the wrong time or do it incorrectly, you may have to reverse course. And that could cost a politician his/her job.

Richardson wants to create the Working Families Tax Credit, which will affect 139,000 New Mexicans. In addition, he proposes a personal income tax cut to middle-income New Mexicans -- more than 700,000 people.

But the biggest applause (of the entire speech) came when he said, "Let's eliminate the state's income tax for active duty members of the military. Period." Judging by the response, I believe this has a very good chance of passing.

Richardson also proposed income tax relief for small businesses.

Water

This is the Year of Water, as declared by Richardson. Accordingly, Richardson had a series of water initiatives to propose to the Legislature.

Much of it seemed to be in building infrastructure in areas like the Eastern Navajo checkerboard region, Curry and Roosevelt counties, and accessing the water under Otero Mesa. Which should be much cleaner than drilling for oil in the same region. Less chance of a toxic spill.

Education

One of Richardson's proposals that has been given the most attention is his proposed salary increase for teachers. He wants a 7.4% increase to make New Mexico 27th in the nation in teacher's salaries -- in other words, to become competitive around the United States.

He also proposed adding incentives for teachers to go to rural areas.

And forgive loans for teachers who work in low-income areas, and give a tax
credit to encourage highly qualified teachers to work in schools with the greatest
needs.

And for college students (an issue near and dear to my heart), he proposes more funding for financial aid, and 2500 new scholarships for needy students.

Minimum Wage Increase
"Let's restore dignity to a hard day's work," Richardson said before announcing his intention to raise the minimum wage to $7.50

There were other highlights (DWI, health care, renewable energy, etc.), but above are the ones I believe will be big.

Oh yeah, and cockfighting. He's against it.

Anything else that caught your eye?

Ready, Set, Go

2007-01-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

Joe Monahan calls it the Presidential Session because of Bill Richardson's impending announcement of his Presidential intentions.

Democrats swear they will not be a rubberstamp to Richardson's wishes. Republicans, like Congressional Democrats last year, seem to have remembered they are the party of opposition in New Mexico. There is a record amount of money floating around, thanks to the oil and gas industry. Ethics concerns seem to be on the back burner despite their obvious effects on last year's elections.

In other words, it should be an entertaining session to watch. And Cocoposts has a front-row seat, so to speak in the audience. I will be reading her posts along with Kate Nash of the Tribune and Jeff Jones of the ABQJournal. Not to mention Joe Monahan, and the other tireless New Mexico bloggers (see my blogroll for my favorites).

At 12:30 today, Governor Richardson will be giving his State of the State address. You can listen to it online here. If I can find any audio or video of the speech, or even just the transcript, I'll post it here, or at least a link, for those who are stuck in work during the midday address.

Speaker Ben Lujan has said he wants to immediately begin discussing bills. Perhaps he wishes to prove he is still deserving of the Speaker post after a battle with Rep. Kenny Martinez in December. But it may just be a necessity because fo the large number of issues that seem to have hot-button status this year. After all, Richardson will want some big, splashy initiatives to help his Presidential ambitions.

I will try to have a post up tonight on the State of the State address and first day of the 60 days of legislation, New Mexico-style

How to Spend the Money This Legislative Session

2007-01-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

The 2007 legislative session begins tomorrow. And one of the big issues (besides ethics reform, of course), is how to spend the money. With record oil and gas profits, the state has a large budget surplus.

A quick aside: On last week's KUNM call-in show, four New Mexico state legislators were the guests; two Democratic, two Republican. When asked why the budget surplus was so high, the Democrats reluctantly admitted it was because of high oil and gas prices. It was fairly humorous.

But what will the extra money go to? How much will be tax cuts, and how much will go towards services? Will the state be able to afford new recurring costs five years down the road? These are all issues the state legislature will be forced to face head on in this year's 60-day session.

And while there is a lot of money out there, there is never enough money to satisfy everyone. From the ABQJournal:

Rep. Edward Sandoval, D-Albuquerque and chairman of the House Capital Outlay subcommittee, said he expects he'll have to wade through some $10 billion in requests from legislators, state agencies, towns and cities and tribal governments. Richardson will want his share, too, for statewide projects— maybe too big of a share, according to lawmakers in the recent past.

But don't worry, this year they are actually thinking about the overspending problem (this is only partially tongue in cheek).

As for the temptations of the new money for ongoing programs— not the bricks-and-mortar ones— all the participants say they want to prevent overspending.

"We still need to guard against overspending, like what happened last year," said Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos. He was referring to the governor's veto of hundreds of millions in spending last year, saying Richardson had to balance the budget.

The political writer for the Albuquerque Tribune, Kate Nash, has an analysis of the upcoming legislative session. This includes such issues as cockfighting and crime treatment, but for now, I'll just look at the governmental spending issues.

Health care

Details: Richardson wants to spend $77 million to get all low-income working New Mexicans covered by health insurance.

Prospects: Many Republicans are likely to object, in part because of the cost. Democrats are generally supportive, giving it a good chance of becoming law this year.

Why it's important: New Mexico has close to 400,000 residents without any kind of coverage.

This is one of those recurring costs. But this type of health care initiative is becoming vogue nationwide; Massachusetts already has a universal health care law, and In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing a similar initiative. A Presidential Richardson would want this as a feather in his cap for the liberal parts of the Democratic party.

Water

Details: Richardson has dubbed this the Year of Water. Expect serious policy discussions on water conservation and education. The governor also has bandied about the idea of requiring all new homes to have water-saving technology.

Prospects: Money for water projects - some to be spent immediately and some to be set aside for future projects - will go over well. Other long-term strategies for dealing with drought might get lost in the two-month tangle with other issues.

Water is important all over the West, especially in New Mexico. The ABQJournal has an article about the water issue today. Richardson wants $100 million for water-related issues. But it looks like it will be more towards building infrastructure than new taxes. In fact,

[State Engineer John] D'Antonio said the governor has not been willing to "endorse anything that looked like a new tax."

Teachers

Details: Richardson wants to give teachers a 7.4 percent raise while giving a 5 percent pay boost to other school and transportation employees.

Prospects: Likely to be popular with Democrats; could be hard to get past some Republicans who will want more accountability from the school system. Some Democrats might be concerned that 7 percent is more than the state can afford.

Cost: $69 million for the teachers' raise; $34.8 million for the other school employees.

This is another recurring cost, but it is one that is worthwhile. A more competitive salary will keep and bring in the best teachers. And, as we all know, education is important.

It will be interesting to see how this session runs its course; it should be a packed session, with many controversial issues to keep bloggers tapping away at the keyboards. So stay tuned, the starting gun goes off tomorrow...

Insight New Mexico with Eric Griego, Episode 1

2007-01-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Today, Insight New Mexico, or "That new Eric Griego show," debuted on 1350 AM. If you missed it, you will have to wait until next Saturday at 3:00. I have a recap here; I know, it's not the same as listening, but you'll just have to do a better job of listening next week! So how did the premiere show go?

It was a little... raw. Some little mistakes (more on this later) which will be ironed out in time, but no giant problems.

Griego's first guest was Senator Dede Feldman. Feldman is a progressive voice in New Mexico's state Senate who actually *gasp* listens to her constituents. I know, a shocking thought. Sen. Feldman mentioned that she believes this year is the year that the minimum wage increase will be passed; up to $7.50 statewide. The national House, of course, recently passed a minimum wage hike that will push the minimum wage up to $7.25.

For more on Feldman's thoughts, you can read her blog. For some reason, it disappeared off our blogroll, and I will have this situation rectified by tomorrow.

Jim Scarantino from the Weekly Alibi was Griego's second guest. Scarantino talked about the ethics reform, and wondered aloud who would actually oppose these ethics reform initiatives; apparently, trial lawyers and lobbyists. Scarantino was particularly animated about public financing for judicial races -- currently, according to Scarantino, the lawyers themselves are the major contributors to judge's election bids. This does seem a bit... wrong. At the very least, he said, judges should recuse themselves from trials tried by donors.

Maggie Toulouse, the new Bernalillo County Clerk, stopped y for a chat the next segment. You may know her as DemFemme from our little corner of the blogosphere. She briefly discussed some of the local blogs, but somehow forgot to mention New Mexico FBIHOP. That's alright, while on my post-election semi-hiatus, I didn't mention Toulouse's ascension to the post of County Clerk, so I'll call it even. Griego and Toulouse mostly discussed what her new job will entail; as I read in comments on another blog, it is a thankless, yet totally necessary job.

The discussion of the blogosphere really makes me happy; it is good to see Griego acknowledging the contributions of the bloggers. And it looks like Insight New Mexico will continue to do this every Saturday.

Richard Romero, currently a lobbyist and a formerly a state Senator, came in to talk with his former student (Griego mentioned that Romero was his former principal, back in the day). He also, of course ran for Congress twice against Heather Wilson. Romero seems to be a huge proponent of public financing of elections. What surprised me was when Romero mentioned he spent over six hours a day calling people and shaking them down for campaign cash just to stay competitive in his Congressional runs.

Overall, I'd give the premiere a B-. Griego obviously can handle the show, but I would like to see them give him a bit more room to breathe, so to speak. Every segment was jam-packed with guests. While it is nice to hear these voices, it would be nice to hear what Griego has to say on the subjects as well. Maybe they can add another hour to the show...

Another problem I heard was the tendency to cut off the callers. It may just be because they are settling in to the new show, but it seemed they were a bit quick on the trigger to dump guests. They shouldn't let callers ramble on and on as they sometimes do on KUNM's call-in show, but maybe should let them talk a little longer.

But overall, a good show. Definitely a better listen, for me, than anything on 770. Now if only we can get Griego to do the show daily...

Darfur Group Claims No Ceasefire

2007-01-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Thousands of miles away, on a different continent, the words of a rebel leader killed any mojo that Bill Richardson may have had. The Associated Press is reporting that a rebel leader is, well, calling Richardson a liar.

From the Albuquerque Tribune:

The cease-fire was "probably made for public consumption as we have not been officially consulted in that regard," said Abdullahi el-Tom, a leader of the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group.

This comes, of course, on the heels of Richardson and the President of Sudan annoucnign a ceasefire.

But another major rebel group said they would honor the ceasefire as long as the government did.

Delegates from another rebel group that met with Richardson said they would accept a cease-fire if the government respected it. "When the government is serious we have no problem," said rebel Col. Abul Abdallah Ismail of the Sudan Liberation Movement, one of Darfur's many splinter factions.
[...]
In a statement, the Justice and Equality Movement said its delegates met with Richardson for 30 minutes and that was too brief to reach a truce.

The fractured nature of Darfur's rebel groups proves once again how hard it is for diplomacy in the war-torn region. Richardson started a dialogue between the rebels and the government; obviously a short diplomatic trip will not solve every problem. But this new development does serve to take some of the shine out of what was Richardson's big victory.

Since the original announcement of a ceasefire did not generate much national notice, this should not negatively affect Richardson's presidential aspirations very much.

Denish Next Dem Gov Nominee?

2007-01-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

The Albuquerque Journal thought they had a scoop, apparently. They used the BREAKING NEWS icon to show that Diane Denish said she will run for Governor yesterday. It was this Associated Press story.

New Mexico's first female lieutenant governor would like to be its first female governor.

Denish, who was inaugurated with Gov. Bill Richardson this month for a second term, said she loves being lieutenant governor, but plans to run for governor when her term ends.

What a coup, right?

I thought that I had heard that before, so I went over to Albuquerque's other newspaper, the Albuquerque Tribune (who, as I have said before, have the best website of any local newspaper I have ever seen).

Kate Nash apparently beat the AP and the Journal to the punch, on January 6. It was on this date that Nash quoted Denish thusly:

"I am going to run in 2010, God willing and barring anything that would prevent me."

Steve Terrell from the Santa Fe New Mexican wrote about this yesterday, but he didn't write as if it were breaking news.

But she said she's planning on running for the No. 1 spot when her term is over.

Neither did the Trib, for that matter; the Saturday story was more of a profile of Denish than an article highlighting her pending gubernatorial run.

Of course, none of this is that big of news; the next election will be in 2010, and Denish is expected to take over for Richardson in 2008 if he runs for President. So we could see Denish as the governor of our state in 2008; but this shouldn't be a suprise to anyone.

Joe Monahan sees this as limiting potential Democratic challengers in 2010; the only potential Democratic challenger that he mentions is Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez. But maybe Chavez will be in Washington in 2010 as well; Domenici could still retire...

BIll Richardson Brokers Cease Fire in Sudan

2007-01-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

It looks like Bill Richardson's diplomatic trip to Sudan has borne some fruit.

According to the press release (pdf) from earlier today (also available as a Daily Kos diary, Richardson "has secured a commitment from Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al Bashir to agree to a 60-day cessation of hostilities in the Darfur region."

The Bill Richardson Blog (not to be confused with the seemingly-defunct The Plaza blog) heaps praise on New Mexico's governor.

It was an honor to be asked, and the Gov was their pick because of his massive diplomatic mojo and the fact that President Omar Al-Bashir already knew and liked Richardson from when he negotiated for the release of a hostage last year.

Richardson won some other key concessions from Al-Bashir.

Sudan also has agreed to let foreign journalists visit Darfur after a two-month ban and to remove a requirement for exit visas for aid workers, one of the biggest bureaucratic obstacles to the world's largest aid operation in Darfur.

However, Richardson could not convince Al Bashir to allow UN forces in. Al Bashir says that African Union forces can do the work themselves.

This led to an interesting look at how the media covered the story; was it a breakthrough, or a failure?

The Associated Press went with the failure angle.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir today rebuffed calls for U.N. peacekeeping troops in war-ravaged Darfur despite personal pleas from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Contrast this lede with the lede from the Reuters story.

Sudan's government and Darfur rebels have agreed to a 60-day cease-fire and a peace summit sponsored by the African Union and United Nations as steps toward stopping the violence in west Sudan, a visiting U.S. official said Wednesday.

An interesting contrast between how Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press decided to write the story and how the Reuters staff writer wrote the article.

Will the media coverage turn this into a victory or defeat by Richardson? We know that he has gone into Sudan and used his diplomacy to win several key concessions from the Sudan government and the Darfur rebels. But will the MSM concentrate on the failures?

Only time will tell.

AAR 1350 Feeling a bit more Connected

2007-01-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

I am just repeating what Barb has said over at Democracy for New Mexico, but I think it bares repeating:
There is going to be a local show on Air America 1350, and the host is going to be Eric Greigo. Its about time that there is some local political flavor on the air. (I have heard some good local programming on 1350 on the weekends, but not any that are concerned with local politics). Its a welcome programming change, and hopefully it will be the first in many local political programs on 1350 that will try to pry the death grip away from 770 KKOB being the leader in local talk radio.

In other AAR news, while poking around their site, I have found the exciting news that Ed Schultz will be in Albuquerque on Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th, broadcasting from 1350's studios. You can register at their website for a chance to meet the man from up north, which would be pretty cool.

When Will Richardson Announce His Intentions?

2007-01-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Kate Nash asks the question on everyone's mind in today's Trib -- When will Richardson announce his presidential plans?

Nash looks at Richardson's packed upcoming schedule:

Richardson is in Sudan, Africa, until Wednesday or Thursday pushing for a United Nations policing force to enter war-struck Darfur and quell the 3-year-old violence.

On Saturday, he'll be in South Carolina to speak to current and former Democratic governors, Cooper said.

That leaves room for a Sunday morning talk show announcement. Or it could leave Monday - Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a state holiday - as a possibility.

Nash also mentions that Richardson promised to announce his intentions before the beginning of the legislative session -- which is only seven days away.

It looks like that will come and go. Unless, however, Richardson wins some sort of cocession in Sudan. If he can get the rebels to agree to the cease fire, he could parlay that momentum into announcing his candidacy; or maybe he wants to wait so as to get maximum news coverage (once for his work in Sudan, once for his announcement).

There are other in-state considerations as well:

"If I were him, I wouldn't want to do it before the State of the State Address, because that could take the wind out of the sail of the legislative initiatives," [University of New Mexico political science professor Lonna] Atkeson said.

So after January 16...

Right now, it is all a guessing game. But everyone seems to be sure that it is a question of WHEN and not IF.

What Should the Legislature Tackle?

2007-01-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write about this since I read about it on New Year's Day. But some internet troubles and general snow-induced malaise have conspired together to make this task impossible. But here I am today to write about Kate Nash's Predictions for 2007's 60-day session in the State Roundhouse.

Minimum wage: Look for a statewide increase to be approved. Expect debate over how much, how soon, for whom. Late night and early morning wrangling killed a raise in 2006, but put your money on this being the year the rest of the state will follow the lead of Santa Fe.

The national minimum wage will get a bump also, thanks to the new Democratic-controlled Congress. So will this bill even matter? I don't see the Legislature raising it past the soon-to-be $7.25 per hour minimum wage, so the minimum wage boost, statewide, may be moot.

From here, Nash looks at everything from the Richardson-running-for-Pres angle (a quick aside -- has anyone else seen those "Governor for President" bumper stickers? Hmm...).

Other issues to be tackled, according to Nash, and my thoughts on them:

[b]Payday Loans[/b]
The scourge of New Mexico, this is a hot-button, front-page issue in our state. We all know we live in a poor state, and this is an entire industry based on preying on the poorest in our society. Expect some new, stringent standards.

[b]Cockfighting[/b]
I still cannot believe that New Mexico is one of two states that hasn't outlawed this practice. Even if it [i]is[/i] a part of the Spanish culture, surely it isn't a part that we need to revisit? Not every part of every culture is necessarily worth remembering.

[b]Water Conservation[/b]
We just need to do a better job of conserving water; bigger fines for companies or individuals who waste water, and maybe a water-waste hotline, to report water wastage? Albuquerque has one (768-3640), perhaps a state-wide one would help?

But, as Nash notes, "not everyone likes to be told what to do in their own home." I don't know anyone who likes to be told what to do in their own home, actually.

[b]Eminent domain[/b]
Here in Rio Rancho, it seems that eminent domain simply leads to even more urban sprawl. There are really no borders except for Santa Ana tribal lands for expansion, so we just have more and more of a suburban wasteland.

The ABQJournal also tackled the issue of what Richardson wants to do in his remaining time (whether it be two or four years).

"Today I propose that we renew our commitment to education in another unprecedented way - let's raise teachers' salaries by 7.4 percent," Richardson said to applause.

I'm not sure you could find anyone who believes that teachers DON'T deserve a raise; they have a very tough job, and a more competitive salary can only serve to bring in more, better teachers.

What else will they talk about or should the Legislature discuss?

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow... (Part 2)

2006-12-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

You know, usually sequels just aren't as good as the original. Sure, Spiderman 2 was better than Spiderman, and some will argue that The Godfather 2 was better than the original; but usually sequels just aren't the same.

Well, the first New Mexico Winter Storm of '06 was nothing compared to its sequel. Sneaking in just before the new year begins, the second big winter storm of '06 has been -- so far -- anything but a disappointment.

Unless you, you know, wanted to actually get somewhere between sundown yesterday and ... well, any time today. And if you didn't think that the snow was enough, in the comments of a Duke City Fix post, people have reported lightning! Thunder snow!

This reminds me, if anyone has pictures of them in the snow, of giant snowmen, of an amazing amount of snow on the ground, send them to my e-mail at fbihop [at] gmail [dot] com, and I'll put them up. I love the snow, personally, and want to see how everyone is doing around the Land of Enchantment.

At around 11:15, I went outside and measured seven inches of snow, consistently up here in Rio Rancho. At 12:45, it was eight inches. And just before I finally crashed (went to sleep, not got in my car and did something stupid), at 3:45, there was a full 10.25 inches of snow on the ground.

Yes, over ten inches of snow -- the Tribune says the Sunport had 13 inches as of early this morning, with a possible three to four inches before the end of the day. Weren't meteorologists telling us not to expect anything too great from this storm?

A quick glance from WeatherUnderground.com tells me that we have broken some sort of record or something.

... Record daily maximum snowfall set at Albuquerque nm...

A record snowfall of 11.3 inches was set at the Albuquerque sunport
yesterday. This breaks the old record of 9.3 inches... previously set
in 1958.

And, as I said, it's expected to get up to 16 or 17 inches.

While us here in the metro area are staring up in wonderment at snow falling, and down in wonderment at snow that doesn't melt before noon the next day, other parts of the state clearly outshone us. From that same Trib article:

By mid-afternoon Friday, the storm was packing its most serious punch in the central part of the state, the weather service reported. The Pecos area received more than 3 feet of snow, while Madrid got more than 2 feet.

And in this weather, the state is telling us to STAY HOME!, via the ABQJournal.

City streets in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho were said to be "slushy and snowpacked" and drivers were being advised to use extreme caution.

In fact, drivers were being urged to say home.

"You can't drive anywhere with the weather conditions the way they are," Mahesh said.

Seriously, we've all seen the driving conditions in this state when there is an inch or two on the ground; how about a foot of snow?

If you're worried that this just isn't enough snow for you, never fear, says the Trib.

The storm is expected to taper off tonight, followed by cold, sunny weather. But by Monday another storm will begin rolling in from the Pacific Northwest, with yet another on its heels.

So here's a quick recap:

1) DON'T DRIVE. Unless it's life or death, it ain't worth it. Take a day off.

2) Have fun. Have a snowball fight, build a snowman, do stuff you generally can't in New Mexico; don't sit inside and play XBox all day.

3) Send in your pictures, if you have any. Cause I know you want to show off your eight-foot tall snowman.

4) Be ready for, but don't count on, more snow after New Year's. Plan accordingly.

Richardson Vows To End Cockfighting

2006-12-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we've all heard it mentioned dozens of times: the only two states that haven't outlawed cockfighting are New Mexico and Louisiana. Every other state in the union has laws against the practice. Thirteen counties already outlaw the practice, and they're joined by 29 municipalities.

And now, Governor Bill Richardson is saying he will push to outlaw cockfighting everywhere. The Albuquerque Tribune:

"I will support a ban on cockfighting. The time has come to make it happen. The people of New Mexico want it to happen," Richardson said at a news conference. "Not only will I support a ban, but I will actively try to make it law."

Unfortunately, not everyone is on board with the ban. From the ABQJournal (subscription):

But state Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, said banning cockfighting could set New Mexico on a slippery slope toward eliminating other treasured events.

"You start doing away with cockfighting, then you open the door and they're going to start doing away with rodeos. And when you do away with rodeos, they're going to start doing away with hunting and fishing," Griego said.

"It's a way for these liberals to kick in the door and do away with everything we've ever been accustomed to for over 300 years here in the West."

I'll say it again: New Mexico and Louisiana are the only two states that have not yet outlawed this practice. It makes our state look backward, stuck in the mindset of centuries past. And Richardson has been loath to take a position on the ban because he doesn't want to give up any percentage of that massive amount of support he has garnered.

But when over two-thirds of New Mexicans say they would support banning the, er, sport, then Richardson knows it is safe to go after it. In fact, it would actually be more popular for Richardson if he were to succeed in pushing through a ban.

And it would be even more popular nationwide -- the support of which Richardson needs if he wants to become President. Griego doesn't think the announcement has anything to do with Presidential aspirations.

"I don't look at it as him trying to get a step up in the political world," Griego said. "I see it as him concerned about an issue that's going to come before the Legislature."

If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'm willing to sell to you...

Richardson is angling himself towards the Democratic nomination in '01; it's the only thing that makes sense.

Nevadans Want Richardson To Run

2006-12-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ken Camp from Washington For Richardson for the tip. It originally came from Emettoconnell's blog at America For Richardson.

It all started with Hotline getting this press release.

Las Vegas, NV-More than 50 prominent Nevadans will make a major announcement on Thursday, December 21, regarding the 2008 Presidential Campaign. A "Draft Committee" has been formed and will announce their plans and members at that time. Nevada is scheduled to be the second state in the nation to hold a nomination contest, a caucus, as part of the 2008 road to the White House.

So, basically it was a press release to announce an upcoming press release.

So then came today's press release.

NEVADANS CALL FOR RICHARDSON CANDIDACY

Form "Draft Richardson Committee"

Las Vegas , NV— Seventy prominent Nevadans called on New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today to seek the Presidency in 2008.

"Nevada will be a lynch-pin in the Democratic Presidential nomination process in 2008 and many Nevadans believe Bill Richardson is the best choice to lead our party", stated "Draft Committee" Chairman Reynaldo Martinez, a resident of Incline Village, and former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Harry Reid. Earlier this year the Democratic National Committee (DNC) designated Nevada to be the second state to hold a nomination contest on January 19, 2008 following Iowa (caucus) January 14 and before New Hampshire (primary) January 22, and South Carolina (primary) January 29. Nevada will be a "caucus" state and the State Democratic Party will sponsor and organize the state-wide event. Martinez added, "Bill Richardson is the Favorite-Son of the West, and the West beginning with Nevada can lead the Democrats to the White House in 2008."

From there, 70 - of what I assume are prominent Nevadans - are listed. And I'm going to have to say that they should have probably used "linchpin" instead of "lynch-pin". Bad choice of words there.

But Richardson's campaign will be based on Nevada. If he does well in Nevada (he should - it will be between him and Edwards there), then he has a puncher's chance. If not, Richardson may pack it up and go back to being governor.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

2006-12-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

You know, as a resident of the west side of the mountains, I'm not used to this whole "snow" thing. Oh, sure, we'll have a quarter-inch of snow or maybe a half-inch ... but by noon, it is long-since melted. So when I woke up early on Tuesday to see the glorious white stuff all over the ground, I figured it would be short lived.

But a funny thing happened. It kept snowing. And snowing. And snowing. Nearly all day long, fluffy, white snow fell out of the sky, blanketing the ground. Officially, four inches in all; and I could see all four inches on my car. While Denver steals all the headlines for their blizzard (always trying to top us! We're a mile-high city too!), Albuquerqueans were mostly happy with their snowfall total.

Unless you had to drive somewhere. Luckily for me, my car has not had to move since Sunday night; there is still a couple inches of snow on my car as I look out my window. The streets are once again white from the dusting of snow we received last night, and everything looks ... Christmassy. All that's missing is Santa Claus and his reindeer flying through the sky.

Of course, you know that something is wrong when Sandia Peak Ski Area gets more snow out of a big winter storm than Taos Ski Valley. I'll probably be heading out to hit the slopes soon (armed with a brand new pair of skis and boots), so if you see someone careening (almost) out of control down the mountain with a lime-green knit cap with "Doublemint" across it (gotta love thrift stores), you'll know it's me.

Hope everyone had a happy couple of Snow Days, and, if I don't post again before Christmas, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas.

Child's Play Charity

2006-12-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

I got this from Avelino Maestas at the blog Live From Silver City. I would write about it myself, but it looks like Maestas wrote about everything that needs to be said.

I’m late in mentioning this, but I wanted to put a plug in for Child’s Play. I posted a button to the site in the sidebar a week or so back, but failed to include any information.

I’ll just go right to the source:

Since 2003, gamers have banded together through registered Seattle-based charity, Child’s Play. Over a million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

We collect no administrative fees or other charges, 100% of all gifts and donations go directly to our partner hospitals, to help make life a little brighter for a sick child.

To me, this is an example of the way in which young, technology literate Americans will be forging our future. Child’s Play was started by the guys behind Penny Arcade, one of the most successful online ventures I can think of. In eight years, the creators went from doing a comic strip on the side to running their own corporation. Penny Arcade gets millions of hits every day, and the Penny Arcade Expo draws tens of thousands of people to the Seattle area each year.

With Child’s Play, they make the power of the Web work for them. Wish lists at Amazon.com (and now DStore as well) are tailored for individual children’s hospitals. You make a purchase from the wish list and select the hospital’s shipping address, and the toy/game/book/whatever is automatically delivered to the hospital. That’s it.

So, what does this have to do with New Mexico? Well, one of the participating hospitals is UNM Children’s Hospital in Albuquerque. You can view the wish list here, and any toys, books or games you purchase will go to help a sick kid right here in the Land of Enchantment.

So far, they’ve raised more than $760,000 this year, and are close to the $2 million mark for the years the charity has been around. Why not contribute?

So go ahead, donate a toy to charity this Christmas season; make some kid's Christmas day.

Richardson Watch: Pre-Christmas Edition

2006-12-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

Bill Richardson made his fourth trip to New Hampshire this weekend. Hmm, wonder why he's there...

The ABQJournal tells the story of a former Evan-Bayh-supporter who was forced to change his loyalty once Bayh bowed out of the Presidential race. Seriously, how crazy is it that people are already announcing their intentions to run/not run in December of '06 for an '08 race?

The Journal story also takes a dig at Richardson:

The architect of Richardson's schedules and contact lists in New Hampshire is Richard Bouley, a New Hampshire state government lobbyist and Democratic political activist.

One of Bouley's clients is a payday loan company that gave Richardson free use of a private jet while he was chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.

Obviously it's a conspiracy by the payday loan agency to get Richardson into the White House!

Meanwhile, Western Democrat, highlights a column by Ruben Navarrette of the San Diego Union-Tribune that says, in reference to Richardson's impending Presidential run, "It's about time."

Richardson would have to be considered a serious contender, no matter what his ethnicity. He's got the goods. Having served as a member of Congress, a Cabinet secretary and U.N. ambassador, Richardson also has the benefit of being a governor -- in a Democratic field likely to be chock-full of senators, in a country where voters haven't elected a senator to the presidency since 1960. He won re-election this year with 69 percent of the vote.

Western Democrat adds some context on Naverrette's relevance.

This just isn't any blogger - this is Ruben Navarette, nationally syndicated columnist and CNN politics opinion writer. After the deluge of positive "Western Democrat" coverage after the election, people are starting to see Richardson for what he is - the Democrats best chanced for an experienced executive with foreign policy experience that can solidify and build on the Western gains seen with this last election.

Go read the post, seriously.

In one of those ubiquitous newspaper Presidential roll-calls, the Concord-Monitor has this to say of Richardson:

Even as governor, Richardson has focused on foreign policy issues. On Friday, Richardson met with two North Korean officials about the upcoming six-party talks on that country's nuclear weapons program.

This segues perfectly into an Associated Press story about the North Korean meeting with Richardson.

Richardson said he pressed the officials during a two-hour session to take specific steps, such as inviting U.N. weapons inspectors back to the country and shutting down its nuclear reactor.

The governor - a former congressman, U.N. ambassador and energy secretary in the Clinton administration - said he is "cautiously optimistic" that progress would be made. He described the North Koreans' attitude as "positive, hopeful."

"What I believe is that the atmosphere is good for some progress, and that is a step in the right direction, because for 13 months there's been no progress," Richardson said.

One thing that Richardson has on most other candidates is that he has visual evidence of respect by foreign governments. He has the credentials (UN Ambassador), he has the photo ops with foreign heads of state...but does he have what it takes to become President? After all, if being well-versed in international politics were an essential part of being elected President, George W Bush would never have made it.

No matter what, it will be a wide-open race. And expect Richardson to leap in, fighting for the scraps left from Obama and Hillary.

Pat Frisch Leaves KKOB Morning Show

2006-12-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

I hate KKOB. The only reason I listen is to get traffic, since they are religious about having traffic on the 7s.

I can sometimes stand Villanuci (though his callers might as well be baaing they are such sheep), but I could never stand listening to Pat Frisch in the mornings. I'd rather get caught in traffic than listen to Frisch natter on about whatever.

And it seems it will be safe for me to listen to KKOB in the mornings now; Frisch is stepping down from his morning show duties, but will be the full-time program director at KKOB now.

Pat Frisch, morning drive show host at KKOB-AM (770), is stepping down and making way for Bob Clark, who is moving up from his evening sports slot.
[...]

Clark takes over Monday.

Besides having to adjust to a new pre-dawn wake-up call, Clark said he's looking forward to tapping his news and entertainment side, which he has always mixed into his Lobos coverage and sports talk. "I'm looking forward to the next stage of my career," he said.

I occasionally listen to Clark's show, if there is nothing else on the radio while driving and I'm tired of the CDs in my car. I'm not exactly sure of Clark's politics; the post at the ABQJournal blog says it best.

Clark is definitely an unknown quantity, politically speaking -- a polite, down-the-middle kind of guy, whose strong opinions are reserved for sports.

Will the replacement of Frisch result in a less-right-wing tilt for New Mexico's largest radio station? I doubt it. While their numbers are falling, they are still the most popular radio station in all of the Land of Enchantment. And Frisch is still the program director.

It can't be any worse, though, right?

Congressional Redistricting in New Mexico?

2006-12-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

After the Supreme Court decision saying that mid-decade Congressional redistricting is legal, having control of state legislatures has become important after every cycle, not just post-census.

Here in New Mexico, our State House stands at 42 Democrats and 28 Republicans, for a solid Democratic majority. However, when it comes to US Congressional seats, Republicans hold a two to one advantage. And so the idea of redistricting has come up here in New Mexico.

Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino is spearheading the effort. From Democracy for New Mexico:

Sen.Ortiz y Pino is proposing two different configurations meant to consolidate the area's urban and Native American components and make the district more cohesive as a metro area voting bloc. Proposed changes would include moving more rural parts of Torrance County, in the East mountains, to the second district and including more urban parts of Valencia County, south of Albuquerque, into NM-01. The district currently consists primarily of Bernalillo County, but also encompasses portions of Sandoval, Santa Fe, Torrance and Valencia counties. According to an Albuquerque Tribune article:
"The last election showed how uncohesive our current district is," Ortiz y Pino said.

"We'd like to not be splitting the Native Americans as we are now and we'd like metro Albuquerque to be metro, not urban and rural."

Sen. Ortiz y Pino says that he will not go ahead if he doesn't have the support of Bill Richardson

Of course, Republicans are heavily against the idea.

"I think it's wrong-headed," said Sen. Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson, a Republican from Las Cruces.

"I think we do redistricting once in a decade, not right after an election," he said.

I am going to go ahead and assume that Sen. Rawson believes the Tom DeLay-led redistricting in Texas that began this whole craze. I'm going to go ahead and believe that if things were reversed in New Mexico, Sen. Rawson would be a staunch voice against this.

Of course, actually making a cohesive district, instead of bits of urban, bits of rural and splitting up the Native American vote so they have even less political power is against what Rawson believes in. After all, his ineffective party cannot do anything on the statewide level, but they have some very conservative-voting members of the House representing New Mexicans in DC.

Redistricting to give a more cohesive, accurate representation of what New Mexicans actually believe is a good idea, in my opinion. But not Sen. Rawson.

Bingaman Questions Need to Roll Back Handouts for Big Oil

2006-12-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is, perhaps, not so timely any more, but after a problem with changing the blog over to Google Beta, I wasn't able to access the blog. So, better late than never.

Over in the House, incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the new Democratic majority have promised to repeal tax subsidies for large oil corporations within their first 100 hours in office. This was part of the platform Democrats ran on in their successful November takeover of the House.

But our Junior Senator, the incoming chairman of the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Jeff Bingaman, says that may be rushing things a little bit. And even if this legislation passes the House, Bingaman will take his time on the issue. He wants hearings to be held in his committee before the Senate considers cutting such incentives. This could take weeks.

While Bingaman has gained much love from Democrats from his vote against the Iraq War, other decisions have not sat as well with some Dems. Comments on the Daily Kos front-page story on the subject criticize Bingaman for his vote for CAFTA, his aid of Alito and other such gaffes (from the Democratic perspective). Of course, Bingaman remains immensely popular among New Mexicans, winning in his November race by a margin of 70.6 - 29.3 over Allen McCulloch -- the highest margin of any statewide candidate.

Bingaman, as a Senator in an oil-and-gas producing state, has historically been pro-big-business (see: CAFTA). Bingaman, like most New Mexico politicians, is also very much in favor of alternative energy sources. In fact, an article this last Sunday's NY Times quoted Bingaman promising to pass "some version" of a bill, the excitingly-named National Renewable Portfolio Standard, which would require utilities to 'derive 10 percent of their electricity output from renewable sources.'

Bingaman is also in favor of extending tax credits for alternative energy companies. "Clearly, we do need to extend those tax credits that relate to renewable energy, and we need to do so for a longer period," Bingaman said, I imagine, in that exciting, impassioned voice that only he can muster.

But back to the oil-subsidy issue. The Common Sense Test (CST) shows that giving corporations who are already making record profits subsidies just doesn't make sense. The oil companies will not cease to drill for oil in the US because of the loss of tax credits; the US is still one of the safest areas for oil companies to extract oil world-wide. We can count of Republicans to band together to protect Big Oil from having to give up even a tiny percentage of those record profits.

While Democrats have a sizable majority in the House, the Senate is balanced on a razor's edge. A single Democratic defection would give the tie breaking vote to the Vice President. For some reason, I don't think the former head of Halliburton is going to vote in favor of the people; rather he will vote in favor of big business.

The defection of the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee would be eve more disastrous. Bingaman could sink the legislation, making sure it never reaches the Senate floor. This would only serve to advance the Republican meme that Democrats just can't get anything done (though, as we have seen recently, Republicans themselves have not done so well at getting things done in Congress).

Let's hope that Bingmana sees the light on this issue.

FOX News Lies about Richardson

2006-12-08T01:52:00.000-07:00

Wow- this is crazy.
Lets dissect the madness in pieces though:
First, you have kos over at Daily Kos getting angry for Bill Richardson allegedly announcing his intention run for President on FOX news, writing:

"Bill Richardson gets the award for Worst Announcement Venue Ever for a Democratic presidential candidate."

Ok, well it turns out that Kos thought FOX news was a real news agency, when in fact they are not, since real news agencies do not make stuff up.
So Kos goes through, strikes out the stuff about Richardson's award for worst venue ever.

Richardsons campaign denies them announcing.

How can FOX report this? No idea really. In their so-called video of a part of the interview with Richardson, he never utters the words "he is running", though he does say:

"I am Hispanic, which I believe is an asset," Richardson said. "But I'm not running as an Hispanic, I am running as an American who is proud to be Hispanic."

But he did not utter those all important words. Fox even said he would be forming an exploratory committee, which suggests that he is looking into the possibly of running.

Insane. If hes smart, he will go on The Daily Show and announce, get some major coverage and hopefully move up on FOX's list of potential Democratic contenders for president.

UPDATE: The Albuquerque Journal has a good story about the supposed announcement in this mornings (Friday the 8th), and attributes it to:

Shipley said that the governor misspoke in response to a hypothetical question posed by FOX political correspondent Carl Cameron and that the reporter took his response out of context.

They never showed Cameron ask the question, so this is very possible.

Domenici: They're Not Pajamas!

2006-12-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

What's the big news this week with our lawmakers in Washington, DC? Were those pajamas or hunting pants?

According to Roll Call:

We had a number of reports Friday that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) was wandering the halls of Senate office buildings in his jammies.

Two staffers said they saw the Senator wearing "tartan" or "buffalo plaid" pajama bottoms and a "loose-fitting shirt." By the end of the day, one informant called to say she heard Domenici was walking around in his boxers. But by that point, we already had spoken to the Senator, who assured us, "These aren't pajamas! They're hunting pants!"

Some people said, "What kind of hunting pants are PLAID!?" Today's ABQJournal answers that burning question.

Domenici is an avid hunter. His red and white, buffalo plaid pants are designed to alert other hunters to his presence and not to camouflage him from his prey, usually quail, geese or ducks, aides said Tuesday.

But it wasn't just big news here in New Mexico, even Wonkette got in on the action, with a post titled, Capitol Threatened By Confused Old Man In Pajamas.

The Albuquerque Tribune couldn't be left out, and gave their take on it.

Domenici told the paper that their informants were wrong: that in fact, he wore hunting pants and a University of New Mexico golf shirt.

The Senate was in recess, after all, said Steve Bell, the senator's chief of staff.

"We dress like New Mexicans would dress on casual days," Bell told The Tribune today.

I think that Heath Haussamen (I'm quoting him a lot today) hit it on the head with this quote:

The consensus seems to be that Domenici wasn't wearing pajamas – he just lacks a bit of style sense. At age 74, and with his tenure as a senator, I think Domenici has earned the right to not care what others think about his attire.

I could think of worse fashion disasters for a 74-year old man. In honor of Domenici, I went to class today in my pajamas.

Richardson Watch

2006-12-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Pretty much everyone, from local political-followers to the national press, are counting Richardson in on the 2008 Presidential election. From the NY Times, in a list of potential candidates:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former House member and U.N. ambassador who is one of the nation's leading Hispanic politicians.

Expect to see Richardson's race to be thrown out there a lot.

Heath Haussamen notes that at Daily Kos, Markos ___ says that Richardson may be staking his entire Presidential ambitions on South Carolina (and also a strong showing in Nevada). Haussamen delved deeper into the assertion that Richardson's campaign will hinge on South Carolina:

That may be why former N.M. Economic Development Department public information officer Katie Roberts abruptly left that job in September to move to South Carolina. As I reported back then, Richardson's people said that wasn't why Roberts moved, but the South Carolina Democratic Party spokesman said otherwise.

Officially, Roberts was there to work for the Democrats' gubernatorial candidate. But the state party's spokesman told the Albuquerque Journal in September that Roberts' move was at the request of Richardson, and said it would be good for the presidential hopeful to have a worker in the state who knew the lay of the land.

After working on a gubernatorial campaign and a recount, Roberts has certainly learned a lot. I couldn't reach her for comment, but another source told me that Roberts hasn't finalized future plans and isn't currently in South Carolina.

Haussamen notes today that Richardson is on his way to Washington DC and New Hampshire. Kos says that New Hampshire will go against Richardson handily

[T]they hate Richardson because he pushed to insert Nevada into the calendar ahead of New Hampshire

Speaking of Kos, very, very early in a straw-poll, Richardson is running far behind blogosphere rock stars like Barrack Obama, Wesley Clark and John Edwards, but is neck and neck with Hillary Clinton for that fourth spot. This is, of course, just an unscientific poll on one blog, so nothing is set in stone.

Richardson's national name recognition is pretty low right now, but expect him to be on TV even more in coming weeks, building up to his January announcement. And yes, I fully expect Richardson to announce his candidacy.

Streetcar Idea Quietly Goes Away

2006-12-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

From the ABQJournal:

City councilors formally backed away from the streetcar project Monday by withdrawing legislation that would have authorized revenue bonds for the system.

Councilor Martin Heinrich, one of the sponsors of the bill, moved to withdraw the proposed ordinance, and no other councilor objected. Heinrich has said the idea needs more study.

I wouldn't be surprised if this were the last we ever heard about the streetcar proposal.

Mayor Martin Chavez and the City Council instead will oversee a transit study.

Joe Monahan:

It was a poker game that the Mayor probably should never had sat down to, but like Big Bill, he has high popularity ratings and perhaps he figured he could tilt this one his way. Meantime, Heinrich showed too much enthusiasm for the unpopular concept, jeopardizing his reputation as a liberal, but not an ideologue. He pulls back just in time.

The Mayor says instead of pushing for a streetcar, he will form a study group on city transit. That study could take up to a year to complete.

I hope the study group on city transit comes up with some viable ideas to help fix the public transportation problems in Albuquerque. When was the last time you took the bus or any other form of public transportation? We need to change this in Albuquerque, soon.

Streetcar Named Controversy

2006-11-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

I can't say that I'm very surprised at the vehement opposition to Mayor Martin Chavez's "modern streetcar" proposal. I just don't really see the point.

And people from both ends of the political spectrum are, well, not happy with it. Jim Baca:

I have to admit even some of my left leaning friends feel 270 million dollars for a "Nob Hill Streetcar" probably wont fly with west side voters.

I would advise the Mayor and City Council to complete a truly effective grid system for bus service throughout the city.

I agree. If they spent a fraction of that 270 million dollars on creating an effective, modern, comprehensive bus service, that would be money much more well-spent than a streetcar that would only service a small portion of Albuquerque.

And with the news that city officials cannot combine the vote with the APS bond, the odds of taxpayers voting to keep the tax going is slim; in fact, combining the two may have just doomed the APS vote; this issue will energize the base of people who are anti-tax, no matter the use.

I think that a streetcar just isn't feasible for Albuquerque at this time; first, let's upgrade the bus system, then we can start looking at other transportation items.

Richardson Lands 10th in Presidential Poll

2006-11-28T10:11:00.000-07:00

Gov. Bill Richardson finished No. 10 in Quinnipiac University's "thermometer reading." The poll, taken the week after the Nov. 7 election, asked voters to rate their feelings for 20 leaders on a scale of 0 to 100.

Giuliani, a Republican weighing a presidential bid in 2008, scored the highest at 64.2. Obama and McCain, who are also considering 2008 campaigns, finished next at 58.8 and 57.7.

Richardson has a 47.7 rating, but is second only to Sen. Evan Bayh in the percentage of people who don't know enough about him to rate (his is 65; Giuliani's is 9; Bayh's is 75).

It should be noted that this is not a poll of potential Presidential candidates; Bill Clinton is on the list (he comes in at number five), and, obviously, he will not be running for President in '08.

If Richardson wants to run for President in two years, he will have to get to work soon; his name recognition is dangerously low.

Where Will "Rising-Stars" Go From Here?

2006-11-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's Albuquerque Tribune, Kate Nash looked at three rising stars in New Mexico politics: Lt. Governor Diane Denish, Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez.

Nash quoted the oft-cited Madrid concession speech where Madrid floats the possibility of a run for Governor or Senator, then looks at the other two main contenders.

Denish and Chavez might top the list.

Chavez, it seems, has a strong eye for Sen. Pete Domenici's seat - should St. Pete not run. Seems Chavez wants to move on to leading the country, not the city.

Chavez says he will consider an '08 Senate run -- if Domenici does not run. In an interview with KOB-TV, blogger Joe Monahan concurs that these three are considering Senate runs in '08.

Monahan also adds all three New Mexico Representatives (Republicans Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce and Democrat Tom Udall), and "any one of many wealthy New Mexicans."

Look for maybe a businessman with a lot of money," he said. "Someone who's got five or ten million dollars in the bank, can finance his own seat and says, 'You know, I think I'd be a good U.S. senator.'"

After all, it worked for Phil Maloof, right? Right?

But what about those Republican rising stars? The 2006 election was not kind to Republicans; they were favored to pick up a seat or two in the state legislature, but are still 14 seats behind, 42-28. Of all the statewide races, only Pat Lyons could win for State Land Commisssioner. They did, however, keep their two U.S. Congressional seats, and gained one prominent name.

"Jim Bibb will be back," [state GOP chairman Allen] Weh said.

Bibb, who wanted Gary King's new job as attorney general, would make a good state lawyer, Weh said. Or maybe a congressman one day.

Bibb's home-district (according to his Biography, he is from Santa Fe) is not kind to Republicans; Democrat Tom Udall won reelection with a shade under 75% of the vote.

District 1, if Wilson decides to go for the Senate seat, went to Bibb's opponent, Gary King, 56-44. So that would leave District 2, down south, if Steve Pearce were to go for the Senate seat.

Though if Pete Domenici runs again ... all this is pretty much moot. There isn't really anyone who would run against Domenici, Republican or Democrat.

Tune in to see...

[Update]:
Over at MyDD, Jonathon Singer looks at the possibility of a Democratic pickup in the next election in this seat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all you New Mexicans out there. I could tell you the history of the Mayflower, of how Thanksgiving began, and all that jazz... or I can just tell you that I hope you have a very good day.

On this day of giving thanks, I just want to thank all the readers out there for reading my sometimes-half-baked opinions and for correcting me in the comments when I am obviously wrong. So thank you to you, the readers, who make this worthwhile.

Everyone have a great day, doing all the things Thanksgiving was made for: family, food and football -- is there a better day out there than that? And New Mexico football fans should be pretty happy today -- both the Cowboys and the Broncos play today. But I have to admit, I cheer against the Cowboys every week on principle, and cheer against the Broncos because I'm a Chiefs fan.

Have fun eating today, whether it is turkey, tofurkey or turducken. Have fun being with friends or family.

And, again, thank you.

[Update:]
New Mexiken highlights a Boston Globe story about another Thanksgiving Day tradition.

...And Some Bad Environmental News

2006-11-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

Literally seconds after finishing the post on the Senate's approval of Valle Vidal protection, I checked my e-mail, and this Daily Kos article was there. It speaks of an LA Times article about uranium mining on the Navajo reservation.

From the LA Times:

Decades after the Cold War uranium boom ended, leaving a trail of poisonous waste across the Navajo Nation, the mining industry is back, seeking to tap the region's vast uranium deposits once again.

Companies are staking claims, buying mineral rights and applying for permits on the edge of the tribal homeland. They make no secret of their desire to mine within the reservation as well.

And Uranium mining is bad business.

Just two months ago, I wrote about a Western Democrat post on the issue. Don't be surprised if Western Democrat has a post on this issue up soon.

The Navajo government told their employees to avoid contact with uranium mining companies.

The directive infuriated mining executives. "You tell me, what kind of a democracy is that?" asked John DeJoia, a Strathmore vice president. "They've got tremendous resources out there. They're a very poor nation. That could change."

A Navajo who had served as the tribe's environmental director, Watchman-Moore told McNair there would be no new uranium mining until past contamination had been purged. "My strategy was to discourage them from asking for a permit," she said.

From the Daily Kos post:

In Mr. Dejoia's world, apparently just saying "no" is antithetical to democracy. Think about the implications of this for a moment. If an individual or entity decides it's not interested in a deal corporate America offers, if some company wants something badly from you and you refuse, if you decide the monetary trade-off is not worth the exchange ... well, then, you're simply undermining (no pun intended) democracy.

In a "free" market, apparently the only "free" democratic answer when a corporation comes knocking is an eager and unequivocal "yes."

The Navajo nation is very wary of uranium mining. Because of the exploitation of their lands in the past, and the subsequent increase in lung cancer and other illnesses, many Navajo want nothing to do with uranium mining. And the uranium mining companies don't seem to care about hte health of the Navajo.

[Strathmore's vice president for environmental and regulatory affairs, Juan] Velasquez said he had no concerns that today's stricter mining regulations might likewise prove inadequate in the future. The Navajos, he said, have more pressing health issues than uranium mining.

"We could worry ourselves to death that one additional cancer in a million will be caused," Velasquez said. "It sounds stereotypical, but these Indians jump in their car and drive 90 miles per hour down the road. But they won't take the risk on uranium."

Clearly, the Navajo nation is vehemently opposed to letting uranium mining companies once again destroy their land. But there is heavy political pressure against them.

But URI, Strathmore and Energy Metals have pressed on. They have an important ally in Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), who has been a forceful advocate for nuclear power as chairman of the Senate Energy Committee.

Hopefully, Domenici will come around to the right side of this issue like he did with the Valle Vidal issue. And hopefully, the Navajo nation doesn't have to deal with uranium mining because corporations want it.

Victory for Valle Vidal

2006-11-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

I read this yesterday, and meant to get a post up last night. Of course, things come up.

But even given late, this is great news for people who care about the environment. From the Albuquerque Tribune:

After holding up the bill for nearly four months, the Albuquerque Republican announced Thursday that he and Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat, would try to pass the bill quickly through the lame-duck session of Congress, without any legislative hearings or a vote by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee they lead.

So what, you say, old news. Loyal readers will recall that I already wrote about Domenici's flip-flop. But the important piece of information comes in the next paragraph of the Albuquerque Tribune story.

Hours later, the Senate approved the bill unanimously.

Yes, this bill now sits on President George W Bush's desk, waiting for his signature (hopefully sans-signing statement).

I first read about this over at Unbossed.com, who also tell us why this is an important decision by the US Senate.

Why is this victory so important? The Valle Vidal victory represents the first significant win in the myriad oil and gas battles being waged across the West (some of these below with the hope that you all can help these other groups out). Local folks have stood up and waged a David vs Goliath fight against a major oil and gas giant. This victory opens the gates for still more victories. These rapacious companies are attacking our health, our economies and our land - they must be stopped. This was step one.

I recommend going over there and reading the entire post.

As I said before, great news for those who care about the environment.

Madrid Concedes

2006-11-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

It's officially over.

Patricia Madrid conceded today. I could go on about the concession, but I think I have made my post-election analysis pretty clear in earlier posts.

But I will concentrate on this:

"Whatever I do, if I look at it, will very likely be a statewide race," she said.

"Certainly, I don't ever want to run for attorney general again, because I don't believe in going backwards in your life," Madrid said. "But there are only two statewide races that I think would be higher and that's, of course, governor and Senate."

Seriously? Patricia Madrid couldn't win an election in a Democrat-leaning district, and she believes she can make a successful race for Governor or US Senate? Come on.

I really hope -- for the sake of Democrats in New Mexico -- this is the last we see of Madrid. Earlier, I was very gung ho about her candidacy. But as the election neared, her mistakes and pure invisibility made me angry. She had better stances on issues than Heather Wilson -- but she never voiced those positions.

Unless she learns how to speak up between now and 2008... I'm not sure what sort of political future Madrid will have.

Domenici Flip Flops on Valle Vidal

2006-11-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

I read about this over at Western Democrat. And I'm not just mentioning the post because they linked to our humble blog (though it can't hurt!).

Apparently Sen. Pete Domenici is now on the side of conservationists on the issue of Valle Vidal.

From the ABQTrib:

In a stunning turn of events Thursday that has all the earmarks of smart politics, Republican Sen. Pete Domenici of Albuquerque reversed his long-standing opposition to protecting [Valle Vidal] the tract.

Domenici, who had bottled up Valle Vidal protection legislation in his committee this year, suddenly released the enabling legislation Thursday, brought it to the Senate floor with the support of fellow New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman - a steadfast supporter of Valle Vidal protection - and saw it pass the Republican- dominated Senate unanimously.

That's not all. Domenici, who is chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which Bingaman will take over next year, said he "is confident" that President Bush will sign the bill protecting the 101,784-acre preserve from oil and gas drilling.

The aforementioned Western Democrat puts their two cents in on the issue.

While Domenici is certainly favored to win re-election by a wide margin, it is hard not to see moves like this as either A: securing his legacy, in preparation for retirement or B: appealing the conservationist lobby. Since Domenici has held the legislation down for so long, it makes you wonder if the senior senator is seriously thinking of retirement.

I have to agree with Landon Mascarenaz (sorry about the tilde over the n, my blog doesn't reproduce those very well). It's the little things like this that make you think Domenici is coming back for yet another run.

Domenici Says He'll Run Again -- Probably

2006-11-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

It has become a favorite game of New Mexican politicos -- hosted by none other than Chuck Woolery! OK, I couldn't resist mentioning Woolery.

The ABQJournal couldn't help but get into the action with an article Sunday by Michael Coleman.

Domenici told me one day after the election, and again on Friday, that he fully intends to run for a seventh term in 2008. He said despite some injuries and related health problems that have nagged him for years, he'd still rather report to the Senate every morning than sit home watching the action on C-Span.

Domenici left himself a little wiggle room by saying he still needs to evaluate the landscape in the Senate and see how effective he can be in the new Democratic-led climate. But he was emphatic in his optimism that he can work with the new majority.

"My thinking is still the same," Domenici said Friday, referring to his intention to seek a seventh term in 2008. "I've spent about half my career in the minority. I can still get things done."

So will he or won't he? Tune in next time on "Guess When Domenici Will Retire!*"

*Accepting suggestions for snappier names.

What Went Wrong For Madrid?

2006-11-19T21:44:00.000-07:00

I've had a while to look back and think about the New Mexico First Congressional Race between Patricia Madrid and eventual winner, incumbent Heather Wilson ( the official announcement will be tomorrow). For the last week while provisional and in-lieu of ballots were being tallied, it was apparent that only a miracle would save the race for Madrid. That miracle never materialized.

So -- what happened? On paper, all things look good.

As we have all heard shouted at us ad nauseam, the district has more Democrats than Republicans. Patricia Madrid had won two statewide elections as Attorney General -- the same position Rep. Tom Udall held for two terms before taking over as Representative up north. Included in these victories was a easy victory in Bernalillo County in 2002 -- even with a Green candidate siphoning off 9 percent of the balloting. Madrid, however, did lose Bernalillo County in 1998. And, of course, Madrid is a woman.

Nationally, the mood was strongly against Republicans. The war in Iraq was (and still is) supremely unpopular and was seen as a Republican effort. Oil companies, who were in bed with Republicans, were making massive profits while gas prices rocketed upwards. Seemingly weekly, bad news for the Republicans was in the news, whether it be the Mark Foley scandal or the Jack Abramoff issue coming back from the dead.

Despite all this, Heather Wilson won. It was only a matter of less than 900 votes, hardly a mandate, but still a victory.

The problems weren't with the national mood, the volunteers or even the money. Instead, you can look at the candidate herself. Madrid's volunteers were out every Saturday for months, canvassing neighborhoods for votes. Madrid herself was virtually invisible.

Not as invisible as, say, John Dendahl (Republican candidate for Governor) or Allen McCulloch (Republican candidate for US Senator), but not as visible as she should have been. Madrid should have been on TV, pushing her ideas, talking about her positions on issues, criticizing Wilson's votes and just being among the people. Maybe Madrid was doing these things -- but it didn't get any media coverage.

The media will never be kind to Democrats in Albuquerque. Despite the aforementioned Democratic majority, the Albuquerque Journal has a serious pro-Republican bias. The TV channels usually follow the ABQJournal's lead when they aren't sensationalizing the latest bit of news. The radio? 770 KKOB is the most popular radio station in town (indeed, in the state) and Jim Villanuci and company were actively campaigning for Wilson on the air in the lead-up to November 7.

It will never be easy for a Democratic candidate in Albuquerque. That's why a Democratic candidate needs an extraordinary media person. Clearly, the Madrid campaign did not have one.

The Madrid media strategy failed, especially in the final days. The ABQJournal said that Democrats nationwide used a strategy of sitting back and letting the Republicans implode. This isn't true. The most effective Democratic challengers were those who stayed in the spotlight, got their name out to voters -- like in any election.

Everywhere I turned, it seemed as if Madrid had no voice to speak. Instead, she hid behind Heather Brewer when she even deigned to respond to the Wilson attacks.

But there was one forum where Madrid was thrust into the spotlight, whether she liked it or not: the live, televised debate. The New Mexico Attorney General held her own in the the radio debate; and this was all Madrid needed in the televised debate. Voters were letting their unhappiness with Wilson show, and Madrid led in every poll.

It wasn't the gaffe itself that doomed Madrid. It was the way that the Wilson campaign and the national Republicans jumped on it. I saw the ads of Madrid staring into the camera, flubbing a tax question every commercial break on every network TV show. And Madrid had nothing to fall back on.

If Madrid had run a somewhat competent campaign, she could have survived the gaffe. Not everything was horrible in the Madrid campaign; she held her own on money, considering the vast amount of special interest cash flowing into Wilson's warchest. The online campaign was quick to jump on what little positive media coverage Madrid received from the local press. The volunteers were great, enthused and worked hard.

But they were all let down by the candidate and those who oversaw the campaign as a whole.

Wilson Wins by 879

2006-11-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

It's official: Heather Wilson has won the race for House in New Mexico's First Congressional District by 879 votes.

What happened?

Brian Sanderoff, an Albuquerque pollster, said the race was close because voters were upset with Republicans in Washington and the Iraq war. But Madrid never energized voters, he said, and was hurt by a poor debate performance late in the campaign.

"Basically this time the Democrats had a candidate with a great resume on paper, but she was not a good communicator and ultimately the weak communication skills cost her the race," said Sanderoff.

I'll have more on this tomorrow morning, why Madrid lost (I think that Madrid lost this rather than Wilson won) and what comes next.

More Signs of Richardson Presidential Run? (Update)

2006-11-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

[Update Below]

Via the Bill Richardson Blog, Nevada Up North reports that Richardson has hired a field organizer for northern Nevada.

In other words, things are looking like Richardson is running for President in '08. NV Up North:

Nevada could be Richardson's springboard to the rest of the nomination schedule. A win in Nevada with decent 2 showings in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina would allow him to survive to Super Tuesday and then perhaps to the convention. Because the new battleground has become the West, a loss in Nevada could bring his campaign to a screeching halt.

The Bill Richardson blog says this is just another of many hints. This seems to be more than a hint, more like an open admission of looking towards the election in '08.

Every major publication has mentioned Richardson as a potential Democratic candidate. I'd imagine that Richardson's January announcement will be that he will run for the seat.

[Update]:

From the aforementioned Bill Richardson Blog post:

UPDATE (11:01pm): It appears this information may not be quite correct. I'll post further details soon, but until I do, assume that this information is speculative and possibly inaccurate.

Oops.

Final Tally Today?

2006-11-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I'm waiting for this to be over. By federal and state law, the election results must be finished by 11:59 tonight. Hopefully, in time for the 10:00 news. ABQ Journal:

County Clerk Mary Herrera said Thursday evening the county canvassing board plans to meet at 9 tonight— three hours before the deadline to complete the county canvass.

The board would certify election results that could determine whether Republican Rep. Heather Wilson would hold onto her narrow lead over Democratic Attorney General Patricia Madrid in the 1st Congressional District contest.

Wilson's lead was at 1,182 votes Thursday evening, up 18 votes from the previous day after updates from outlying counties in the district.

There are 1,985 votes left to be counted.

Let's get this over with, and go back to our regularly scheduled lives.

Domenici Says He'll Run Again

2006-11-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Joe Monahan has spent all week discussing who will make a run for Senate if Sen. Pete Domenici decides not to run for re-election. Monahan looks at the two Republican House members, Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson, to go up against each other in the Republican primary. As for Democrats, Monahan name-checked Lt. Governor Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez and Rep. Tom Udall in today's post.

But Heath Haussamen cuts off that talk. Haussamen cites an article from The Hill where the 74-year-old Domenici says he will run again.

From Haussamen:

Domenici is 74, and it's no secret that his health is declining. But, if the newspaper is to be believed, the senator has made clear that being a smaller player in Congress won't be enough to chase him from office.

But Haussamen can't help but think about if Domenici does retire.

His retirement would create a domino effect. On the Republican side, Wilson has been groomed to take Domenici's place, but Pearce may believe he is the stronger candidate after Wilson's recent battle to keep her seat. Pearce is currently making a bid to move up in the leadership of his party.

On the Democrat side, many would consider running for Senate if Domenici wasn't in the race. Very few would seriously consider running against Domenici. Those who might be interested include U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, Lt. Gov Diane Denish and, depending on how his presidential hopes go, Gov. Bill Richardson.

That means we're talking about the possibility that all three U.S. representatives, the governor and lieutenant governor could seek a job change in two years, depending on Domenici's future.

If Domenici stays in the race, he won't have a serious candidate. He's just too popular; My DD puts the Senator's approval-disapproval ratings at 61-30.

But if Domenici bows out before '08, we are in for a crowded race.

For Republicans, it would be Rep Steve Pearce vs Rep Heather Wilson. This could possibly hand New Mexico's First Congressional District (Wilson's district, where she has a narrow lead in votes for re-election) to Democrats. Pearce's district is probably safe Republican.

For Democrats, it could get tricky. If Richardson jumps into the Senate fray like Haussamen suggests, no one else would go up against him; Richardson won statewide re-election Tuesday with the largest margin in New Mexico gubernatorial history, 69-31. If Richardson is busy making a Presidential run, I can't see Denish running for Senate; she would be too busy running things as Lt. Governor. So that would leave, possibly, Udall and Chavez.

Interesting. But it's all moot if Domenici stays in.

KOAT: Madrid Gains 323 Votes

2006-11-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

After finishing watching "Day Break", I watched the first segment of the local newscast; and KOAT led with new numbers in the New Mexico First Congressional Race between Heather Wilson and Patricia Madrid.

The new numbers are as follows:

Heather Wilson (R) - 105150
Patricia Madrid (D) - 103992

Madrid has gained 323 votes -- but Heather Wilson still holds a lead of over 1150 votes. The newscaster said a 1164 vote lead, but math on the above numbers shows a 1158 vote lead for Wilson -- I may have written the numbers wrong, but it is right around 1160 votes. If you subtract the previous 1487 vote lead by 323, that comes to 1164 votes.

The reporter said there are still 71 in lieu votes left and about 1500 provisional votes left to be counted. Hope is very, very slim, but still there for the Patricia Madrid camp. Personally? I think Wilson has it.

These numbers, the reporter said, are from Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera. Herrera also said the vote would easily be finished by Friday's deadline. Of course, we've heard that before.

Wilson Lead Down to 644 Votes (Correction: Still 1487 Votes)

2006-11-15T13:11:00.000-07:00

Correction: CQ Politics has actually said this isn't true. So the rest of this post is incorrect. Sorry for passing on the false information.

Here is the text of CQ Politics' correction notice:

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported an incorrect vote margin between Republican Rep. Heather A. Wilson and Democrat Patricia Madrid, and also incorrectly stated when Wilson delivered her remarks to supporters.

Here is the corrected CQ Politics quote:

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Republican Rep. Heather A. Wilson leads state Attorney General Patricia Madrid by 1,487 votes as the precincts continue tabulating votes. Speaking with supporters at a rally on Election Night, Wilson said she was confident she would hold onto her seat for a fifth term. “We want to make sure every vote that gets cast gets counted,” Wilson said, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

Obviously, I read the story before the update.Thank you to Renee Blake from the comments for the correction. Sorry for any confusion. The rest of the post below is in its original form.

According to CQPolitics.com, Heather Wilson's lead in the hotly-contested New Mexico First Congressional District Race is down to 644 votes. In other words, Patricia Madrid is closing.

New Mexico's 1st: The latest provisional count has narrowed the lead held by Republican Rep. Heather A. Wilson over state Attorney General Patricia Madrid to 644 votes, with 549 of the district's 552 precincts reporting as of 9 a.m. Tuesday. Speaking with supporters at a rally on Monday night, Wilson said she was confident she would hold onto her seat for a fifth term. "We want to make sure every vote that gets cast gets counted," Wilson said, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

There are only three precincts left, and Madrid has to pick up 644 votes according to CQ Politics. As I have said many times before, this is an election that is heading towards a recount. But the vote would have to be within 200 votes or so for a recount to change anything, in my humble opinion.

What do you think of this?

And why haven't the ABQJournal or Albuquerque Tribune had these numbers yet?

Bingaman To Take over Domenici's Spot

2006-11-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's official: NM Senator Jeff Bingaman is taking over for the other New Mexico Senator, Pete Domenici, in an important committee chairmanship. While it was widely acknowledged that this was probably what would happen, now we can talk about it as fact.

From the AP, via the ABQJournal:

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman will take over as head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee when the 110th Congress goes into session in January.

Bingaman, D-N.M., was named chairman of the committee on Tuesday.

Bingaman, who handily defeated Republican newcomer Dr. Allen McCulloch of Farmington in the Nov. 7 general election, was in line for the energy chairmanship after the Democrats took control of the Senate. The committee oversees national energy policy.

Bingaman also will continue as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.

In addition, he will be the Democratic chairman of Committee Outreach, which makes him the voice in the Democratic leadership for committee chairmanships in the Senate.

The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is obviously a very important one when it comes to setting an environmental agenda.

New West has this to say about the committee Bingaman now heads:

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over energy resources and development, including regulation, conservation, strategic petroleum reserves and appliance standards; nuclear energy; Indian affairs; public lands and their renewable resources; surface mining, Federal coal, oil and gas, other mineral leasing; territories and insular possessions; and water resources.

The Christian Science Monitor says Bingaman is "another advocate of dealing directly with climate change."

Here's to Bingaman doing a good job after his new promotion.

[Update]:
From John Fleck in the comments.

He notes this article from last December that he wrote on Bingaman's view on climate change. I recommend reading the entire article, but here is a little bit of an appetizer.

"The truth is," Bingaman told the gathering, "there is a diverging view within the United States that I do not believe is accurately represented by the president and the current administration."

Scientists say greenhouse gases -- carbon dioxide and other tailpipe emissions from an industrializing world -- are changing Earth's climate. In addition to broad warming, scientists expect regional changes ranging from more droughts and more flooding to rising sea level.

"I think the science is stronger every year -- that the problem's real, that human activity's a substantial cause of the problem," Bingaman said in an interview.

More Ballots Tossed, Madrid Hopes Dim

2006-11-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

The ABQJournal reports that 420 more ballots were tossed. The two sides, who already fought tooth-and-nail in an ugly, heavily contested race, each had their own spin.

Democrats said Tuesday that their partial analysis showed that more provisional and in-lieu-of ballots from their party members were qualified than those of the Republicans.

"Judging by the characteristics of Monday's ballots, Madrid is poised to gain several hundred votes," said state Democratic Party Executive Director Matt Farrauto.

Paul Kienzle, an attorney for the Republicans, countered Tuesday that more GOP provisional ballots would be qualified once elections workers started reviewing ballots from predominantly Republican precincts.

Of course, several hundred votes isn't enough for Madrid. Madrid needs over 1400 votes, and with the 420 votes disqualified, Madrid would now need 72 percent of the ballots left to win the election.

Of course, a bright spot for Madrid is that they have already gone through 75 percent of the precincts, and disqualified 420. If that rate continues, then less than 150 more votes will be disqualified. This will leave slightly more than 3,000 ballots left for Madrid to get the 1,487 votes needed to win.

Provisional ballots tend to be Democratic; but I'm not confident that they will go to Democrats in a 3-to-1 margin.

Still, it could close enough to warrant a recount. Remember Florida in 2000? A recount here will make that look simple.

Is It Almost Over?

2006-11-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

Those crazy campaign commercials are over. No more pieces of mail from the candidates. No more early voting, absentee voting or election-day voting.

But still the vote-count goes on.

The ABQJournal says there are only 2,698 provisional ballots left; Heather Wilson continues to lead by 1,487 votes. Many provisional ballots will be disqualified, so even if the votes go strongly Democratic (as provisional ballots usually do), it will probably not be enough for Patricia Madrid to overtake Wilson.

The state Democrats are still hopeful:

John Wertheim, state Democratic Party chairman, said he didn't expect many provisional ballots to be thrown out.

"I thought there was a lot of agreement between the parties," he said. "We'll see how cordial it remains if they try to challenge a bunch of them. But it will be very difficult. From our standpoint, the current law is very clear."

State law says a provisional ballot "shall be qualified as long as the voter provides a valid signature and sufficient information for the clerk to determine the voter is a qualified elector."

There are a total of 3,756 ballots left; enough for Madrid to pull off a tiny, tiny victory, but the hope is fading.

So when should we know by? I won't even say; we were told on election night, we would know that night. Then we were told the next morning. Then, Friday by the latest. Now? Who know? It must be before November 17 according to federal election law; the way it's going, it will be a close race to that date.

Wilson Declares Victory

2006-11-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

This morning, the Albuquerque Tribune website reported that Heather Wilson has declared victory in the New Mexico First Congressional District race.

At 9:50 p.m. Thursday, more than 48 hours after the vote count began in the 1st Congressional District, two Wilson supporters set out champagne and orange juice at campaign headquarters.

At 10 p.m. sharp, Wilson strode to the podium and called the election, even as votes were still being counted.

Patricia Madrid says that it is too early for her to concede, but she would need a very unlikely turn of events to pull out the victory.

As of Thursday night Wilson was leading 104,575 to 102,968, according to unofficial numbers by the Associated Press.

With only a couple thousand votes left (some say 3500, others 4000), Madrid would need to win a signifcant amount of the votes to be within striking distance.

The fat lady isn't singing yet, but she's warming up.

Albuquerque to stay the 505

2006-11-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Expect to hear about this a lot over the coming days and weeks. The Public Regulation Commission has voted 3-2 to split the new phone area code by geographic location. And here's how it breaks down.

Areas keeping the old area code include Albuquerque, Farmington, Gallup, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Los Lunas, Belen, Grants, Gallup and most of the state's northwestern quadrant.

The remainder of the state will get the new area code starting in 2008. There will be a yearlong transition period before use of the 575 area code becomes mandatory.

I don't think it is all that big a deal, but the TV news people seem to think this is a sign of the apocalypse.

I really like how they snuck the decision in while people are still recovering from the elections -- and when the results in the First Congressional District come out, this will be completely forgotten in the media.

New Committee Chairmanships for NM Dems?

2006-11-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

With a Democratic takeover of Congress, the makeup of committees will be changed. Included in that changed will be new chairmanships, and Senator Jeff Bingaman and Representative Tom Udall stand to gain from the new leadership. Republican Senator Pete Domenici stands to lose a chairmanship after the change in Senate demographics.

With a Democratic majority in the Senate, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., will lose his chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. But he will most likely pass the gavel to Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a fellow New Mexican and the ranking Democrat on the same committee.

Tom Udall will also get a promotion. And, again, it could be at the expense of a New Mexico Republican.

With Democrats in control of the House, Udall is expected to become chairman of one of the following House Resources subcommittees: forests, national parks, or energy and water.

Pearce chairs the national parks subcommittee, but he will have to relinquish it, possibly to Udall.

Udall would be a perfect choice for any of the positions named above; with his environmental bona fides and political acumen, Udall can soon become a very imporant and poweful person in the House.

This is one large result of the elections; now the Democrats will not only have the most votes, but will set the agendas and hold the keys to all the committees.

Let's hope the Congressional Democrats use their new power wisely.

Post Election Thoughts

2006-11-09T00:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy last couple of days for any of those who watch politics. It was a treat to be able to be there at the Democratic Party's Election night celebration, with both LP and I live blogging the whole event. (Ok, LP did 98% of the work, and he did a great job as well.)
In all the excitement I found a real air of hope all around the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town that has been missing the past couple of years. And what has everyone so happy and optimistic? The winning candidates. From the top of the ticket all the way down to the state legislature canidates, it felt as if the Democrats are ready to seize upon this opportunity that the voters have given them in this midterm election.

I was surprised to hear such bold promises bandied about, like Tom Udall saying that within the first 100 hours of the next congress session they (a Democratic congress) will work to raise the min. wage. (Update: Udall wasn't going out on a limb, he was sticking with the house democrat's plan but I am impressed anyways, the Democrats have a plan!). Its a far cry from the Democratic Party that Jon Stewart said on last nights "Midterm Midtacular" that let the Republicans lose it for themselves, asking if: ". . . their cunning strategy of slowly backing out of the room while their brother got yelled at for burning down the garage," would work.

But more surprising was the trumpeting of what Democrats have done for voters, and what they intended to do to keep themselves in charge.

Knowing that Democrats are willing to try something with their new found control of congress (some are saying Webb won Virgina including the AP to give the Democrats control of both houses), and that since these things run contrary to those of what the Republicans want, these seem to be things that the American people were wanting when they voted for a change in the makeup of the Congress of the United States.

Make no mistake about this though, the Democrats really have a lot still to prove to the voters. In our two party system of Democracy, when you do not approve of one, you only have one choice. The voters, in being fed up with the current state of the nation chose to hand power over to those that did not create (or at least have as big a hand) the messes we are in today. But they did not overwhelmingly think that the Democrats had a magic pill. Many races were very close, indicating that when faced with the choice of Republicans making bad choices and the Democrats, many do not feel that the Democrats could do much better.

But once again, I was happy to hear a cohesive message from the Democrats. And that is a good sign, a sign that the Democrats are realize the job the American people have given them, and are prepared to meet that challenge head on.

No Results Until Friday?

2006-11-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

The Albuquerque Tribune says results in the Madrid vs Wilson election may not come until Friday.

Votes are still being tallied in a warehouse. They need more Republicans to go help out. This is because votes are tallied by teams of two; one Democrat and one Republican. They are having trouble finding enough Republicans to volunteer.

That is the last I heard, but I'm sure at this point, they need everyone; from what I hear, it isn't the most exciting job.

If you want to help out, call the County Clerk's Office at 505-468-1290.

The more people we get, the faster this ordeal will be over with.

Latest NM-01 Numbers from AP

2006-11-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

Update below

Here are the latest Madrid-Wilson results from the AP:

County_______TP____PR_____ Madrid____Wilson
Bernalillo___414___414____91,488____90,731
Sandoval_____15____12_____3,158_____2,903
SantaFe______3_____2______521_______1,053
Torrance_____18 ___18_____2,100_____3,266
Valencia_____15 ___15_____2,990_____3,352
Totals_______465___ 461____100,257___101,305

There are four precincts left to be counted. Dividing the total votes by the number of precincts counted leads to about 440 votes per precinct.

So, at best, there are about 1600 votes left, with Madrid down by 1100. Yeah, things don't look good.

[Update:]
It has come to my attention that, well, I'm wrong. Thanks to Colorado Dem from Daily Kos for reminding me of the absentees and provisionals still out there. There is a lot more hope than I had previously said.

Al Kissling's Moral Victory

2006-11-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

I was writing about Al Kissling's moral victory in the south of New Mexico. Then the news came in that Donald Rumsfeld resigned. But back to Kissling.

Live From Silver City has more.

Regionally, it looks like Al Kissling pulled in 40 percent of the vote against Steve Pearce, a remarkable number considering Kissling’s lack of funding and political experience. He performed better than Gary King did in 2004, and that's saying something.

Gary King, of course, is our new Attorney General-elect in the state of New Mexico.

Kissling was outspent $944,406 to $145,639 up to October 18, according to Open Secrets. He was left with less than $2,000 on hand for the final weeks of the campaign.

Compare this to Gary King in 2004. While Pearce spent significantly more, $1,771,284, so did King: $1,073,606. King raised nearly ten times the money Kissling did. Yet, King could only manage 39% of the vote.

Of course, there are other circumstances in play this election. There was no close-Presidential election to drive the mostly-Republican voters in the New Mexico 2nd District to the polls. It was a "Democratic Wave" year where the Democrats took 28 seats from Republicans and are poised to take at least two more.

But that doesn't change the fact that an underfunded, unnoticed candidate exceeded expectations in a very heavily Republican part of the state -- against a Republican two-term incumbent. In fact, the only candidate to do better was John Arthur Smith in 2002 -- when they were running for the open seat vacated by Joe Skeen.

While Pearce is a longshot to be taken down in any election, so is Tom Udall -- who won with nearly 75% of the vote this year -- and you still see Republicans putting candidates up against him. With a well-funded, well-known candidate who campaigns well ... Pearce could be in trouble.

You think I'm a crackpot? Look at some of the districts Democrats won in nationwide this year.

The Morning After: Major Races

2006-11-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

It's the morning after the midterm elections and ... well, we still don't know who will be representing New Mexico's First Congressional District next year in the House of Representatives.

With 99% of precincts reporting, Heather Wilson is ahead of Patricia Madrid by about 1300 votes. What's the hold up? According to Joe Monahan:

[A]t [sic] lest 4,000 Bernalillo absentee and other out-of-county-ballots will not be tallied until later today, maybe longer

This is a very, very close election.

At the moment,it is the closest congressional race in the nearly 40 year history of the district. In 1980, Bill Richardson almost upset Republican Manuel Lujan. [...] [T]hat one was finally settled with a several thousand vote win for Manuel.

Speaking of the current governor, Bill Richardson easily won re-election, winning 32 of 33 counties. And the 33rd is only a two vote win for Dendahl with 99% reporting; it's possible that Richardson wins every county in the state. It was 68-32 overall.

But Richardson was upstaged by Jeff Bingaman, who posted a 70-30 victory, and won every county outright. The closest was San Juan, where Bingaman won 51-49.

Up North, in my district, Tom Udall is ahead 74-26 with 97% of precincts reporting. It looks like Udall has won the battle for biggest victory. The Patricia Madrid/Heather Wilson winner will lose by about 24 percentage points.

Down South, Pearce is ahead by 20% (60-40) with 96% of precincts reporting.

So when will we find out the Madrid/Wilson winner? Not for a logn while -- and even when we do, there will surely be a recount.

Live Blogging: 11pm

2006-11-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

11:06
Yes, 11 pm. We've been going for five hours now.

Land Commissioner still looking bad, Lyons still up 53-47 with 84% reporting.

James B Lewis took his race (as you know after reading in my last post about his great victory speech).

Just that and Madrid left.

11:08
93% of precincts in, Madrid up by 800 votes. Madrid needs for Santa Fe to come in big for her. Very big. Still votes to be counted in all counties, including Wilson strongholds of Valencia and Torrance.

11:45
Who needs Red Bull? All we need is for Patricia Madrid to come out and rally the troops. I have a cell phone video below.

12:02
Gonna go with this post the rest of the night.

Heather Wilson just was on KRQE, saying that she is confident of victory. Nearly all the areas left are hers, she says. We'll see.

12:23
There will be no victory speech or concession speech tonight here at the Hotel Albuquerque. We'll find out in the morning, folks, I'm packing up and leaving. I have class in about 8 hours, and I would like to get a few hours of sleep between now and then.

As soon as I wake up, I'll find out.

Live Blogging: 10pm

2006-11-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

Last hour's post

10:11
KUNM on the Madrid-Wilson race: "I see a recount in our future."

I'll be here late night.

10:12
A huge jump in precincts reporting to 58% puts Wilson up 100. This is according to CNN.

Crazy.

10:22
"The voters of NM have spoken, and they have spoken loud and clear, they want progressive government. We need to take our country back."

"Thank you all for going door to door ... for giving our campaign a grass roots campaign. Now, could you all give me a milk, please."

"We're going to win with the Attorney General in Gary King, we're going win with James Lewis, we're going to win with James Lewis as State, we're going to win with Hector Balderas we're going to win with Mary Herrera, Secretary of State, we're going to win in a close race, late in the night, our new congresswoman, Patsy Madrid! And we're going to win the State Land Commission race, Jimmy Baca will win!"

10:27
It's going to be a long, long night. Pguy just left to a soccer game (11pm soccer game), and may be back afterwards, but I doubt it. I'm staying for the long haul -- will someone bring me some Red Bull?

Milk is good and all, Bill, but I need something to keep my eyes open.

10:30
Richardson is on KUNM now. He was asked what Bush should do about Donald Rumsfeld. "He should fire Rumsfeld."

Straight shooting.

10:40
CNN now has it 51-49 for Madrid.

Somehow, Santa Fe County (that small part that is part of NM-01) is going to Wilson 2-to-1.

10:55
I just listened to Gary King, James Lewis and Hector Balderas speak. Three excellent speakers, three excellent candidates -- but James Lewis was the best speaker I have seen tonight. He even outdid Governor Richardson, at least in my eyes.

This man is going places.

Live Blogging: 9:00

2006-11-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

9:03

Entering the 9:00 hour, and is it going as fast for you as it is for us out there?

The numbers are looking good for Madrid right now.

Another blogger has joined me, New West is now here, and Burque Babble is on the way.

Good times for NM bloggers.

9:13

My brother says Madrid 54-46 with 10% reporting. Very early.

But there is a very energetic speaker outside.

9:18
Did I say energetic?

You should have heard the energy when they announced we won the House. Yup, we took the House, from now on, it's just gravy. And part of that gravy train will be Patricia Madrid. I can feel it.

9:21
Colorado for Richardson is in the house. More blogging action.

9:23
It is a very surreal experience to be surrounded by these powerful men and women. When Jeff Bingaman is giving a phone interview ten feet from you ... not something you see every day. When Udall gives an interview literally five feet from you ... your heart beats faster.

And I've still yet to see the Man of the Hour, Big Bill Richardson.

From the comments, Patsy is on her way to her victory celebration. If you see any numbers, put them in the comments with the precincts reporting, or you can e-mail me at fbihop@ gmail . com (take the spaces out) or IM me on AIM at fbihoplp.

9:26
Via text message from my brother: KOAT has it 53-47 with 9 percent reporting. I've yet to hear results with Wilson ahead.

"Don't Stop Believing" is currently playing in the ballroom.

9:27
More good news on the Madrid front -- KOAT also just said that after the absentees, Madrid is still ahead by 1000. Wilson won the absentees by 4000 ballots.

9:29
Sophie Martin of Duke City Fix is here. If you read this, Sophie, look two seats to your left, I'm sitting here typing. I'm in the soccer jersey.

9:31
CNN has Wilson ahead by 100 votes. 16% of precincts reporting.

KOB-TV has it 51-49 Madrid with 15% reporting

9:35
Richardson is ahead 67-33, every network has called it -- though I called it first -- and Dendahl still hasn't conceded. Sour grapes, sore loser, you call it what you will.

9:41
CNN now has Madrid ahead by 1000 votes. Still 50-50 statistically.

Oh yeah, down south, they have called it for Pearce. Probably did so a while ago.

9:49
In the race for biggest win, it is Udall with 71%, Bingaman with 69%, Richardson with 67%, Pearce with 61% and Madrid with ... just kidding. It's a battle between Udall and Bingaman! But Bingaman and Richardson are doing it statewide, while Udall gets the super-Democratic North to bolster his numbers.

9:53
Richardson to speak in six minutes. We'll have some choice quotes up after he's done, I'm sending our roving reporter (Pguy) to cover it all.

9:56
Not looking good for Jim Baca in the Land Commissioner Race.

Pat Lyons is up 53-47 with almost half the precincts reporting.

Mary Herrera is up by the same margin in the SOS race.

Same with Hector Baldera for State Auditor (Jeff Armiwho?)

Liveblogging: 8pm

2006-11-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last hour's post

8:08

From the comments:

More liveblogging over at New Mexicans for Richardson. Check it out.

8:12
Things are picking up here, I sent my brother out for some pictures and possibly interviews. I've heard some chatter of maybe a blogger talk with Richardson? Lots of rumors flying around.

8:15
Jeff Bingman is speaking a wall away from me. The crowd is excited and sounds big. I wish they would let me out of my cage to see it.

8:19
Bingaman is speaking now, here is a big quote:

"I think at this point, we need, once the elections are behind us, and we still have a lot of good democrats who are going to be annoucing their victories here tonight in this hall and i want to be here cheering them just like you all are cheering them on. So once that is all done, we need to see how we can see how we can get back to working to build common ground in this country and particularly in the congress to solve the major problems facing this country. Thats what this is all about."

8:27
First Madrid numbers that I've seen: 52-48 for Madrid with 10% reporting.

Jim Baca is down by the same numbers, not sure the precincts reporting in that. But one person watching said, somewhat forelonely, "Oh, Jim..."

8:35
In another "DUH!" call, I'm calling this for Udall. He's up by 50 points right now.

Pics coming from our event soon, they're uploading.

8:40
Pictures!

Just links, don't feel like resizing.

8:30
Udall just made a speech, and made a bold prediction: "My prediction is that we will win 29 or 30 seats in the house of rep. that will be democrat, and one of those will be Patricia Madrid " His speech was pretty good, talking about some issues a Democratic controlled house will tackle, including: Raising the min. wage to $7.50, fix the pharmacy drug bill, replenish student loan funds, fund stem cell research. "Don't Let anyone tell you Democrats are not strong on national security. We are going to pass everyone of those 9/11 commission recommendations and make this a stronger country."

Liveblogging: 7pm

2006-11-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

7:38I'm back, folks, what have I missed?

I'm here at the Hotel Albuquerque Old Town (or whatever it is called nowadays) and in the press room. I'm watching CNN, Fox News and CBS right now, wit MSNBC on a tiny monitor to my right.

I'm going to try to hook up to KUNM or KANW's online webcast to see what they have to say.

Remember, e-mails, folks.

7:52
They called it for Bingaman in New Mexico.

And I heard on the radio on the way over, they called it for Richardson as well.

But remember, I called it two hours ago!

Liveblogging: 6pm

2006-11-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

I'm headed out to go to the Governor's "Victory Party" at the Hotel Albuqeurque Old Town. I'll be blogging from there, but there will be a good half hour, 45 minute dead spot.

6:16
Non politics alert!

I just heard on KOB-TV and KKOB radio that there has been an arrest in the East Mountain triple-killings from seven years ago.

Here's the story from the ABQ Journal website.

Brandon Craig, 27, was charged Tuesday with an open count of murder. Police would not comment on what led to Craig's arrest or the motive in the case. An arrest warrant naming Craig has been sealed.

Liveblogging: 5pm

2006-11-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the liveblogging of the 2006 midterm elections, here at New Mexico FBIHOP. All times are Mountain Standard Time, and all comments, unless otherwise noted, are mine and mine alone.

5:30
There have been questions of not enough ballots in some districts. Republicans are blaming Mary Herrera.

And while Joe Monahan has his Alligators and the MSM has their well-placed sources, I have ... my grandma.

She dropped off her absentee ballot at Bel Air Elementary school for her precinct (444). There were two other precincts voting there (442, 443). She spoke to the man running the polling location, Joseph, a man she says has been working the polls for years.

He said the voting was moderate, and that "lots of people did early voting." There have been no big problems at this location. He also said it was sad that not as many people went out for the APS vote.

My grandma, in her short time there, said people were coming and going, but here wasn't a line -- yet. So no excuses, get out there and vote!

5:45
Ugh. My internet is dying.

OK, if I go offline for an extended period of time, here are some things to tide you over. Joe Monahan will be blogging, and he will be on the radio at 89.1 KANW.

On TV, we will be seeing some bloggers on "The Line" M-Pyre and Duke City Fix have more on the show. It will air from 7pm-9pm.

And as for liveblogging? Every blog out there, baby.

Any news, shoot me an e-mail!
5:54
Jim Villanuci almost called it for Bill Richardson! Then he realized it was an hour before the polls close.

You know what? I'm gonna jump the gun and go ahead and call this for Richardson. You heard it here on New Mexico FBIHOP first, anywhere in the nation: 5:54 pm; I'm calling it for Richardson.

Case For Change

2006-11-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Need to convince someone to vote at the last minute? Read Madrid's Case for Change.

In Congress, I will be an independent voice that puts New Mexico first. I'll challenge the Bush Administration on the disastrous Iraq war and I'll demand that they present a responsible exit plan that brings our troops home.

I will fight to fix the Medicare Part D Disaster and make it work for our seniors - instead of for the pharmaceutical companies. I'll work to overhaul the plan by making it easier to understand, eliminating the donut hole and saving our taxpayer dollars by making sure that Medicare can negotiate with the drug companies for lower prices.

I will fight for energy independence. This includes tackling catastrophic climate change and protecting our environment. I will fight for new investment in the clean technologies of the future - and I will work to bring new energy industries back here to New Mexico.

I humbly ask for both your vote and for your help. Please, forward this email to at least five friends or family members - especially those that don't always make it to the polls. Tell them why it's so important that they vote in this election. Tell them why a vote for my opponent is a vote to reaffirm the failed policies of George Bush. And, tell them that a vote for me is a vote for change.

Thank you so much for all your support.

Sincerely,

Attorney General Patricia Madrid

P.S. After the election, head over to the Democratic Party of New Mexico's Victory Party at the Hotel Albuquerque, 800 Rio Grande Blvd., N.W.

I'll be at the Victory Party, liveblogging as late as I can. Come and join us at the party.

Liveblogging Tonight

2006-11-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'll be liveblogging tonight! Somewhere around 7:00 or 7:30, you can read my incoherent ramblings about state and local elections. If you have any news from anywhere around the state, e-mail me at fbihop [at] gmail [dot] com, or you can IM me at FBIHOPLP.

And VOTE! And spread the word, get five other people to vote, you won't regret it.

I Voted!

2006-11-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

I fulfilled my civic duty, and just completed voting in the 2006 midterm elections. And I feel enlightened. OK, not really, but I did vote, and it was painless, and didn't take as long as I thought it would.

Granted, I live in a precinct without much drama (no Madrid or Wilson to vote for), and poll workers outnumbered actual voters in the time I was there (3 to 2). But I was the 109th person to vote in my precinct, and I voted at 11:00 am.

I could give you my list of people who I voted for, but I am sure you don't care, so I'll spare you that.

But I proved that I could do it, now it's your turn.

Last Minute Numbers, Predictions

2006-11-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's election day. No more scary ads, no more Bill Clintons, no more campaigning after today. It's your duty to go to the polls and vote for the men and women you think are best in the different elections. If you haven't voted yet, you better get out there today (10am and 2pm are the best times, according to Joe Monahan) -- you won't get another chance for two years.

And you have no excuse, as the ABQJournal says the weather will be fine. If it is as good as the past couple days, it will in fact be a great day to be outside. Hop on your bike or walk to your polling location and cast your ballot.

In other words: VOTE!

Some quick numbers from the aforementioned Monahan.

The AP reported 205,000 of us cast our votes early, compared to over 222,000 cast early in the 02' gubernatorial year. It wasn't just the negative campaigning that may have kept some votes on their couches, it was he utter lack of competitive races at the top of the ticket; it's only because of the hard-fought ABQ congressional race gives us a shot at attracting a 50% turnout.

There are 1,088,000 registered voters, but if we take out the 200,000 or so "inactive voters," We are left with 889,000 and a 50% vote would give us about 444,000 votes cast, less than 02' and about where we may come in. If you count the inactive, we are headed for a turnout in the low 40's.

And I have some predictions for you from some national folks.

First up, Robert Novak.

This time, Rep. Heather Wilson (R) has too strong an opponent in Atty. Gen. Patricia Madrid (D) to make the late surge that has always saved her in the past. She can never be wholly counted out, but we expect her to lose.

National pundits think that Wilson will fall just short of the election-day surge needed. This may be because Madrid has had her ground game going for months, having Saturday canvasses since before the sun went down at 5:00.

The Cook Political Report puts the race as a toss-up (pdf).

Burque Babble puts it as a three point race for Wilson. And, Monahan had his pre-game show on KANW last night, and 'his' experts had these predictions:

On my KANW-FM Election Eve special veteran NM journalist called it for Madrid "by a nose."ABQ GOP State Senator John Ryan said he is hanging his hopes for Heather on a superior GOP turnout and called it for her by three points. Lobbyist Scott Scanland said the trend is with Madrid and Dem State Rep. Al Park got real specific saying Madrid would win with 50.8%.

Me? I'm saying it will be Madrid, very, very close. Perhaps a half-percentage point.

Make me right, go cast your vote for Madrid. And get a friend, co-worker or family member who normally wouldn't vote outside to see the Sun and vote for Madrid -- do it for me, so I can go to sleep early tonight.