In another sign that Big Bill will soon be headed back to the national stage, reliable sources report he has hired a speechwriter to help craft the message that he hopes will land him a spot on the national ticket in 2008. The new addition comes on the heels of the Guv's assumption of Chair of the Democratic Governors Association and the continuing speculation on who can best pick up the pieces of a shattered Democratic Party. The new speechwriter (don't have the name yet) last worked at the office of outgoing Indiana Governor Joe Kernan who lost his bid for election to Republican Mitch Daniels.

The new wordsmith will join message managers Billy Sparks and former ABQ Trib reporter Gilbert Gallegos on the Fourth Floor of the Merry Roundhouse. Pahl Shipley picks out the Big Fella's ties. (Hey, Shipley's a TV guy) Chief of Staff Dave Contarino remains major factotum.

If the Guv is serious about running for the White House, he will be using the services of his speechwriter soon. Candidates vying for 08' can be expected to appear at various events in New Hampshire and Iowa this year. The Guv's national ambitions got a pop from New York Times columnist Bill Safire who appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press' this weekend. He was asked, partly in fun, who he thought would lead the Dems in four years. He predicted Indiana U.S. Senator Evan Bayh for Prez and Big Bill for VP. Hmmm. Perhaps that speechwriter from Indiana can let the Guv know more about his possible rival for the top slot.

DOWN IN DONA ANA

There was plenty of lawmaker misbehavior to occupy our attention in 04', but no where was it more noticeable than down in Dona Ana County. Get a load of this list of 2004 officialdom misdeeds from a Las Cruces reader:

--County Commissioner Art Terrazas saw electric theft charges against him dismissed by a judge who said prosecutors did not prove how much theft occurred. He was accused of illegally tapping into an electric line and sucking the electricity into his mobile home.

--County Clerk Ruben Ceballos was removed from office after being convicted of numerous violations of state election code.

--Deputy County Treasurer Rocio Gamboa was arrested for an outstanding warrant; court records show a string of traffic offenses.

--Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan was suspended from the bench and now faces criminal charges of rape and bribery.

--Public Regulation Commissioner E. Shirley Baca of Las Cruces was arrested at the Albuquerque airport after screeners found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in her luggage.

It seems Billy the Kid would feel right at home in his old stomping grounds, even in the 21st Century.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005
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