Palace Of The Guv's
Thank you, Dr. James Damron. Thank you very much. No, the Santa Fe radiologist did not cure me of a serious ailment, but he did ease the shapeless and featureless political landscape of the 06' Guv's race. It's been giving me serious heartburn. Damron is our "unknown" candidate we blogged of yesterday. The beauty of writing this thing is that within 24 hours I can get an answer by e mail to just about any question I pose except, of course, whether the stock market will be going up or down the next day.

Senior Alligators in the GOP bailed us on this one and pointed us to the phone to dial in to Damron who promptly informed me that yes, he is taking a "very serious" look at running for the GOP Guv nomination in 06'; that he's a "conservative to moderate" Republican with a deep interest in health care and education; that he's 60 years old and will use some of his own dough to launch his gubernatorial bid if he does decide to go. A decision will come by summer. Is Dr. D a stalking horse for any particular faction of the GOP? With so few prospects, he may be the candidate for all the factions.

The 60 year old affable medical doctor is a political newcomer having never sought office before, just like the GOP's Gary Johnson in 94'. He shied away from attacking Big Bill directly, but said he does disagree with the policies of the incumbent. Wow, someone who disagrees with Big Bill and says so publicly! This guy is definitely not a member of the NM Legislature. Potential contender Damron joins Dem Bengie Regensburg in the Guv's race. Thanks fellas, I almost had to get a life.

SI CISNEROS
Henry Sisneros
ABQ Mayor Marty will flex his big money muscle March 29 when he hosts a $1000 a pop dinner party with former San Antonio Mayor and Clinton cabinet secretary Henry Cisneros. I had to learn this from outside of the Chavez camp even though I attended the Mayor's 53rd birthday party the other night. I guess I got nothing because I did not pay to get in. Anyway, insiders on the outside tell me the party will be hosted by Downtown touter Leba Freed at her big house in the far NE Heights. Chavez has already raised well over $100 grand and will probably head north of the $400K level. His only announced challenger so far, City Councilor Eric Griego, was also raising money at a party in Santa Fe this week. Griego will need about $300K (my estimate) to get this one competitive. The election is in October. It will take a 40% winner to avoid a run-off.

Speaking of running off, I am outta here for the weekend. Thanks for tuning in, for your emails and for all those things you say about me. Right back at ya.
The caravan moves again on Monday. See you then.

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The Unknown Candidate
I don't yet have the name. But I do have the scuttlebutt on a possible Republican candidate for Governor that reminds me a bit of Gary Johnson back in 1994. The "unknown candidate" being talked about is reportedly a wealthy Santa Fe doctor, perhaps relatively new to the state. Alligators on the R side have not been able to fill in the blanks and these rumblings come from the D camp. Anyone would probably be welcome by the candidate starved R's. So far, only 2002 contender John Sanchez has really indicated much interest and even he has yet to take the plunge. State Rep. Foley is another possible but, like Sanchez, does not put fear in the hearts of the party of the Donkey,

Maybe a rich Santa Fe doctor is just what the doctor ordered. When Gary ran in 94' he was completely unknown but was able to use his own money and personality to take the victory. Beating Big Bill will be a tall order for any R, but new blood might at least throw the D's a curve.

DEATH PENALTY DANCE

Insiders deep in the bowels of the Roundhouse (no guessing, please) say freshman ABQ NE Heights State Rep. Justine Fox-Young, freaked out over the heat she is taking for voting to abolish NM's death penalty, is preparing to ask for the measure to be reconsidered so she can change her vote and get back in the good graces of conservatives who are aghast that she turned on them after declaring in a newspaper candidate questionnaire that she would vote to uphold the penalty. It was a rookie mistake for the 25 year old. One of her mentors, Rep. Dan Foley, is trying to help her with damage control. There are very few single votes that can cost a state legislator their seat. Fox-Young picked one of them.

MARTY'S PARTY

He may now be 53, but friends of ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez were not about to let him turn the calendar with a creak. They ensconced the city's chief exec in the ultra-hip atmosphere of the OPM bar in downtown Albuquerque last night and feted his honor who gracefully accepted the honor by foregoing the Grecian formula and letting the gray hang out.

The party had a quaint admission price: $53.00. But don't worry, my lifetime record of never paying to enter a political event is still intact. Posing as a delivery man never fails.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Tim Cummins was the big name R at the bash. And the Mayor didn't mind since the GOP has yet to field a serious foe against him. All the big dogs were there: Police Chief Gil Gallegos, Public safety boss Nick Bakkas and City Attorney Bob White. The incumbent's sole declared foe in the October election is City Councilor Eric Griego who is going to be mad when I report that the Chavez food was of high quality and there was plenty to go around. I reported that Eric's December kick-off party featured tacos and not enough of them. Of course, Griego could reprieve himself by throwing a free food bash to top his rival, but so far the food poll says Chavez is in the lead.

Marty's birthday buddies report that with his personal and political storms quieted for now and the opposition yet to show it has the muscle to take him out, he is much lighter on his feet and in a more relaxed frame of mind. Sometimes, it is good to be mayor.

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: JOHN MOORE'S ANNUAL CLIENT EDUCATION DAY

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Zangara
The bloodsport of La Politica may be set to claim yet another victim. The insiders say GOP Bernalillo County chair and car dealer, Ken Zangara, appears headed towards the exits and Fernando C de Baca, a South Valley R who ran for state senate last year, appears to be in line to replace him. Zangara has been roughed up bad by his longtime political rival, Dem Attorney General Patsy Madrid. She drew out the long knives and a negative story on his dealership burst into the headlines. "Ken took a severe hit. Not only does it appear he will be exiting as chair, but any hopes he had to become a U.S. Ambassador under Bush are out the window," said one GOP source.

Zangara is one of the best GOP fundraisers in the biz having raised hundreds of thousands for Bush, but this is his second controversy with auto dealerships. In 1992 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges that he defrauded 80 employees of a previous car dealership out of more than $20,000 in wages and benefits. Zangara was put on a three-year probation and ordered to pay the affected workers $73,000 in restitution.

With Zangara on the political ropes enter Fernando C de Baca who told me: "If Ken does not run I will enter the race for county chair." Zangara is a close friend of C de Baca's, an ABQ native and retired businessman who came up short in 04' in his duel with Dem James Taylor for Manny Aragon's state senate seat. C de Baca says voter registration would be a top priority for him. But don't look for him to knock state GOP Chair Allen Weh, who he's backing for re-election. He does say, however, that the party at all levels needs to be aggressive in the fight against Big Bill and if Weh gets a two year term in April he expects to see the party turn up the heat either thru Weh or GOP surrogates.

DEATH WATCH

Meanwhile, feedback from our story yesterday on how some R's were stunned when self-described conservatives of ABQ's NE Heights, Reps Justine Fox-Young and Larry Larranaga, voted to repeal New Mexico's death penalty. A questionnaire Fox-Young filled out for the ABQ Journal in May of last year has her declaring she would vote NOT to repeal the penalty, unlike the vote she cast Monday. Larranaga was more consistent. He said in the questionnaire he would vote FOR repeal and that's what he did.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

It's hard to say what good it's doing for him with the liberal wing of the Dem Party, which often turns out to be the nominating wing, but Big Bill continues to win praise from such unlikely corners as the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal. Tuesday they called him the "best" Democratic Guv because he cut taxes for the wealthy in NM. The paper picked up their praise from the conservative D.C. Cato institute which also threw bouquets the Big Fella's way. Now, If Big Bill could just get some praise from all those Hillary fans. Aah, that's a much tougher row to hoe, isn't it?

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Rep. Fox-Young
Since when did conservative GOP Members of the state House support abolishing the death penalty? Since Monday, that's when. The eyebrows arched when it was noted that five R's joined with the Dems to abolish the death penalty on a 38 to 31 vote. Never mind that the measure will die before it gets to Big Bill. How could R's Justine Fox-Young of the conservative ABQ NE Heights, Brian Moore of redneck "Little Texas" and Larry Larranaga of the far ABQ GOP Heights take the liberal position on this litmus test issue of the conservative movement?

Fox-Young ousted fellow Republican Bob White in a bitterly contested primary contest last year after accusing White of being to close to "liberal" Big Bill. It was no surprise to hear White on the end of the phone line late Monday pointing out Fox-Young's anti-death penalty vote and telling me he is contemplating a rematch against her. If he doesn't run some other Republican surely will, claim my GOP watchers. The 25 year old freshman Rep has been held out as a future leader of her party. After her anti-death penalty stance the question now is which one, the D's or The R's?

Insiders were equally stunned by Rep. Larranaga's vote against the death penalty, but they say Larry may be an unlikely candidate for re-election and was simply voting the way he really feels, no matter how out of tune it is with his constituents. Brian Moore from the East side had an easy go of it last year, drawing no primary or General opposition. But against the death penalty in Little Texas? Is Moore's death penalty vote a death wish? Time will tell. R's Teresa Zanetti of ABQ and Dub Williams of Lincoln County were the other two House GOP anti-death penalty votes.

PARK'S PLACE

And what about Dem attorney general candidate Al Park of ABQ voting against the death penalty? Even a notable progressive like Al has to know he is playing with fire. Perhaps it's a vote that will go down OK with liberal Dem primary voters in 06, but it was also noticed that possible Park opponent and House Judiciary chairman Joe Cervantes of Las Cruces voted in favor of the death penalty. Whether Park is opposed the primary by Joe, or becomes the General Election AG contender, his vote on is going to be a major issue. Don't say we didn't tell you.

THE WEH WATCH
Chair Weh
Meanwhile, insiders report the Chairman of the NM GOP was not exactly firing up the troops at his recent meeting with House Republicans. They say Allen Weh was asked why he was not more aggressive in attacking Big Bill's policies and holding him accountable. Weh, according to my reliable sources, told the lawmakers that was not his job and that he was concentrating on voter registration.

House Republicans voting against the death penalty, the party chair giving a pass to Big Bill, no heavyweight candidates for Guv or U.S. Senate. That's the state of the NM GOP today. But hey, Bush won NM!

BEHIND THE IMPEACHMENT

Some stuff is briefly mentioned and too quickly forgotten. Take the impeachment resolution introduced in the state House against alleged pot smoking NM Public Regulation Commissioner Shirley Baca. It was only briefly noted, but the Alligators were quick to point out that it was two Native America Reps introducing the resolution. And who, they ask, has Baca been fighting tooth and nail the last couple of years? That would be fellow commissioner, former State Rep and Native American Lynda Lovejoy. Is she encouraging Rep's Begaye and Harrison? We're just asking.

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Big Bill
I now take you to the very epicenter of modern day New Mexico political power and report uncensored a raw, no-holds-barred meeting led by perhaps the most powerful figure in state history: Big Bill. This Roundhouse session was between the Legislative leadership and an impatient Guv. According to my senior Alligators, men who are accustomed to the most brutal tactics imaginable in the pursuit of power, the Guv strode into the room, looked around and bellowed at these top guns of La Politica: "You're fucking me!" The room was stunned, but there was more to come as Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez was singled out for particular scorn. "You don't return my calls...we're not communicating," berated Big Bill who has consolidated more power in his office than any previous governor.

Leader Sanchez, who indicated before the session that he would show a streak of independence, is said to have retorted that he is busy with his work and has things to do afterwards that have kept him from communicating with the leader of the Fourth Floor. What are those things? Playing racquetball for one, zinged Sanchez in a tense exchange that exposed the fault lines of the political game created over two centuries ago.

HIGH STAKES GAME
Leader Sanchez
PR wise the Guv has done well this session, but not much has passed yet and the results oriented chief executive is concerned that his pet proposals could get left on the table in the rush to go home in mid-March. He has also picked at the lawmakers for not approving his $29 million tax cut, for not giving state police bigger pay raises and for not fully funding a pre-kindergarten program. It's the Guv's fellow Dems holding things up. The R's love the tax cuts and have been bought off with capital outlay for their districts. Some D's are upset with policy--not liberal enough--and others want to assert Legislative power from what has been one of the most cowed Legislatures in history.

But the chance that little gets done is too big a chance to take with the governorship on the line in 06' and the Presidency itself beckoning in 08.' You don't get either without laying it on the line. "The Governor comes to play. If you are not prepared to stand your ground, or too fearful to defend yourself, you will die in the line of fire," commented one of the Alligators who has seen and done it all.

As the countdown begins on Legislature 05,' there will be more clashes of the heavyweights as final decisions are made on how billions of dollars will be disbursed. In years past, lawmakers have succumbed to heart attacks or taken to the bottle as the pressure became to great to bear. Now, the first heat from the flames of this year's battle have been felt. Only the most highly-skilled in the ancient arts of La Politica will be able to claim a seat at the table where Big Bill presides and where the battle for the power and glory is fully joined.

MARKS' CHALLENGE
Jason Marks
Can anyone save the dysfunctional NM Public Regulation Commission (PRC)?. That's the five member panel whose utility regulating members have had constant infighting and a commissioner, Shirley Baca, busted for pot possession. The newest Dem PRC member, Jason Marks, was able to get state insurance boss Eric Serna to back down from a bizarre fundraising scheme in which Eric raised money for a charitable foundation from the companies he's charged with regulating! Now, Marks has put up a web site he says will let him better communicate with the public. Good luck with the site Jason, but we also need a better PRC. For starters, how about meeting with Republican House leader Ted Hobbs and listening to some of his reform ideas?

Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005
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