Somebody hand me a broom. I have a big pile of newsroom clippings to sweep up and with the political news being non-stop since Senator Domenici announced his retirement earlier this month, I haven't had a chance to get to them .

OK. We've got the broom, so let's go...

Former State Senator Richard Romero hosted a fundraiser this week for the man who replaced him, State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino. Romero, who lost twice to Republican Heather Wilson for the ABQ congressional seat, thinks he may have better luck with the ABQ mayors contest. The former senate president pro tem is considering a run for that office in 2009.

NO FRIEND OF HILLARY

Our post of a Dick Morris column Thursday touting a Hillary-Big Bill ticket irritated several Clinton supporters, not because of the possibility of the New Mexico Guv getting on the Dem ticket, but because of the way we described Morris. Wrote one emailer:

I don't think it is fair to label Morris as a former Clinton adviser. ...He was booted off the '96 campaign for impropriety and immediately turned on his former bosses and into one of Fox News' best anti-Clinton commentators....

THAT POLL

Hillary fans were also emailing in about that recent quasi-scientific SurveyUSA poll showing her losing NM to R Rudy Giuliani by one point (48% to 47%) . Most pointed out that she leads Rudy nationally. True enough, but we specialize in NM so Rudy's showing against Hillary in the mock match-up drew our attention. And how about Republican McCain of Arizona scoring 50% to Hillary's 43% in New Mexico? That's more than the poll's margin of error and shows the Clinton campaign will have to earn our key swing state if she is indeed the Dem nominee.

Off the cuff, we suspect Hillary's problems here are mainly on the conservative east and southeast sides where she has been branded a liberal and where opposition to a woman president may not be insignificant. It's nothing that hard work and help from Bill, who made a special connection with working class New Mexicans, can't overcome. But it will have to be overcome.

DI'S DOUGH

Light Guv Diane Denish is raising money for a 2010 her Guv run , but is also raising funds to give to other politicos at both the federal and state levels. Her money machine is outlined in detail in this AP dispatch. The key point is that of all the committees Di has formed, none point to a run for the US senate seat.

WIVIOTT'S TOUR

On the US Senate beat, Santa Fe's Don Wiviott has been seeking the Dem nod since before Domenici announced his retirement. This week he was introducing himself to southern NM Dems. ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez has also announced for the Dem senate nod and he has put together a finance committee that includes Dem heavy hitters Jamie Koch, Ed Romero and racetrack owner Paul Blanchard.

Both Chavez and Wiviott appear safe from a Denish run, but national pressure on Big Bill to go for the Domenici senate seat will hit a fever pitch if he falters in the first few Prez primaries. Only then---perhaps sometime in late January--will we know with certainty the final field of campaign '08. Chavez also announced he has $560,000 in "pledges" for his run, not cold hard cash. Money could be on the tight side until the Richardson question is settled once and for all.

(Steve Pearce will formally announce his GOP US Senate candidacy next Friday.)

PATSY SAYS NO, REALLY

We are back to where we began the month with Patsy Madrid. She now has ruled out--finally, really, once and for all--another run for the ABQ congressional seat. At least that's what the former Dem AG said in a phone message from D.C. She told us the same a month ago, but then veered and left the door open a crack. Now she has closed it as well as the one labeled US Senate. Madrid's less than 900 vote loss to R Heather Wilson last year will go down in history as one of the tightest state contests ever. Madrid is supporting John Edwards for President and sometimes traveling on his behalf. She also has a well-paying legal job.

Madrid was not expected to run, especially when news broke here that her '06 pollster, Celinda Lake, had signed with Michelle Lujan Grisham. Also, Dems were divided on whether Patsy should make another go of it. The race this time features Martin Heinrich, Grisham and Jon Adams, none of whom have yet captured the hearts or imaginations of ABQ Dems, leaving the race wide open with Heinrich and Grisham in the top tier.

WHITE'S RUN

GOP Insiders inform that Sara Lister, a veteran GOP fund-raiser for Senator Domenici, is switching hats and will manage the congressional campaign of ABQ Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. They also report that Heidi Fuller, another longtime Pete fund-raiser, will also work in the White campaign.

By the way, if White manages to get elected to the House seat next year, the Bernalillo county commission would name a replacement to fill out his term as sheriff which runs until 2010. That means the sheriff's post would very likely go to a Dem.

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Schmidly
The president of the University of New Mexico, Dr. David Schmidly, is now officially a New Mexican. We can say that with authority because he has passed the official state residency requirement for highly paid public employees--giving money to Big Bill. It turns out that less than a month after it was announced that he would take on the handsomely compensated job of UNM Prexy, Schmidly coughed up a $2300 contribution to Big Bill's presidential campaign. Some woud call it a rite of passage as everything that moves in this state is subject to the tentacles of La Politica.

Schmidly, a Democrat, gave this explanation for donating to the Guv: "I donated to him because as I’ve met him and heard his platform and his presentation, I resonate with the man, and that’s why I donated to [him].”

Schimdly was president of Oklahoma State University before coming here. That university's student newspaper reported the Schmidly contribution and also took note of the timing of the contributions.

"According to the Opensecrets Web site, Schmidly gave his donation on March 12, which an Albuquerque newspaper reported was the same day he attended his first board of regents meeting and said he had plans to meet with Richardson later. Schmidly said he didn’t remember if he met with Richardson that day."

Four of the seven UNM regents who appointed Schmidly have contributed a combined $8,800 to Richardson’s campaign. The Guv has raised $5 million in his small home state for his Prez campaign.

Will he send his staff trick or treating to get even more? Will they knock on President Schmidly's door? After all, his base salary is nearly $600,000 a year. Maybe he can be persuaded to help other needy politicos.

For now, let's welcome President Schmidly aboard as a full-fledged resident of our Enchanted Land. Just remember, Doc, around here, your checkbook is your passport.

HILL & BILL?

The idea of a Hill and Bill ticket hasn't been talked up much lately, but national pundit and former Clinton adviser Dick Morris predicts a Clinton-Richardson ticket for '08. The bad news for Bill? In recent years, the Morris track record has been muddy.

PETE & HEATHER

Senator Pete continues to keep the door open a crack on endorsing GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson in her US senate primary race with fellow Rep. Steve Pearce. Domenici's office said this week:

...At this point he does not plan to endorse. He expressed his hope that the primary campaign proceeds in a manner that will allow the nominee to run a strong race in the general election."

An endorsement of Pearce by Domenici is out of the question. Wilson was made by Domenici when he endorsed her in the GOP primary for her House seat in '98. The question now is whether a Domenici endorsement would help or hurt Wilson. For sure, it would be a controversial and divisive move, but it is early and political calculations by Pete and Heather will continue.

NM PREZ POLLING

Hillary beats Thompson and Romney in the SurveyUsa NM Prez poll conducted this month, but not Rudy. All the match-ups are here.

A DANIELS DIVIDE?

Nothing in La Politica is unanimous. We blogged that we did not hear any squealing over the appointment by Big Bill of ABQ trial lawyer Charlie Daniels to the NM Supreme Court seat, even though the seat he will fill belonged to a woman, the late Justice Pamela Minzner. No sooner had the cyberspace ink dried on those digits came this from a legal insider.

"Some women are steamed over the Daniels appointment. They believe it should have gone to either (judge) Linda Vanzi or Maureen Sanders. There is sentiment that Richardson "sold" the seat to the New Mexico trial lawyers to tap their not-inconsequential war chest for his campaign. Women who were supportive are abandoning the Richardson for President campaign as a result, telling campaign callers to drop them from the call list."

We heard the "seat for sale" theory making the rounds before the Daniels appointment, and there's no doubt the trial lawyers have their share of power. If the critics' concern is serious, they could make their case by getting a candidate to run against Daniels next year when he must stand for a contested election. As for Judge Vanzi, she was appointed to her ABQ district court position by Big Bill, so it's not as if she has been completely slighted.

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Harry Teague
The muscle of New Mexico oil money will be flexed in the Democratic race for the southern congressional seat with Lea County's Harry Teague telling me he will soon personally commit a minimum of $100,000 to his primary campaign kitty and $200,000 if that's what he thinks it takes. With that cash the former two-term Lea county commissioner and owner of Eunice Well Servicing Co. in Hobbs will break open the race, putting immense pressure on Doña Ana Dem State Rep. Joe Cervantes who continues to weigh a run and cause hopeful Bill McCamley to rethink his strategy. Dem Al Kissing is also running.

Teague is a low-key player, but a sure-footed one who immediately entered the race when his Hobbs neighbor and friend, GOP US Rep. Steve Pearce, announced he would leave the seat to seek the R nomination for the US Senate seat being vacated by Pete Domenici.

Now Teague says he is about to make the big play. With one stroke of the pen he could equal what McCamley has raised all year and force Cervantes, who has wealth from a family chile growing business, to decide just how much he wants the Dem prize.

THE TEAGUE FILE

Teague may be underestimated in some Dem circles. He should not be. He is cut from the same cloth as Harold "Mud" Runnels, another self-made millionaire oilman from Lea county who was the last Dem to capture the congressional seat, serving from 1970 until his death in 1980. Veteran Dems are not concerned about Teague being media savvy. The district likes the home grown approach ala Runnels, Joe Skeen and Pearce.

Teague has nurtured his political connections. In the past few years, he and his company have donated over $60,000 to Governor Big Bill and Light Guv Denish and thousands more to other state Dem office seekers. Members of his family have also donated heavily and Teague says he has given the maximum allowed to Big Bill's Prez effort.

He goes back to the old days with Denish. She's a Hobbs native and went to school with Teague, 58, in the early 60's. She recently named Teague chairman of her transportation task force.

"In the seventh grade, I had four or five classes with her. Half the boys in school, including me, had a crush on her," He joked.

MORE INSIDER INFO

Teague describes himself as a conservative Democrat. He has also donated to the campaigns of his Republican friend and fellow oil services executive Pearce. That is not going to hurt him if he makes it to the general election.

With Republicans still without a formally announced contender and with Teague flashing his checkbook, Democratic hearts are beating faster as they ponder their southern prospects.

Rep. Cervantes is assumed to be polling. He would be a formidable challenger to Teague, but the race would be no sure thing, particularly with Teague spending heavily. Teague says he is being advised that a contested primary battle could cost in the area of $500,000 to $700,000. He will have the funds to stay in the game until the final buzzer.

Teague says he came to Hobbs from Texas with his family in 1959 and "they had nothing." He brings to the political poker game the gambler's instinct honed in the topsy-turvy oil biz and a big enough bankroll to go all night. The other players will need the same because now we're really gambling.

RAWSON WON'T GO, TINSLEY EMERGING?
Ed Tinsley
Meanwhile, fans of State Senate minority whip Lee Rawson of Dona Ana county were expressing disappointment Tuesday night as word spread across the southern congressional district that he will not seek the Pearce House seat but opt to run for re-election to the senate next year. He is expected to make an official announcement later today.

The highly regarded Rawson, who has been in the senate for twenty years, was seen as a strong player for the R's, but he is one domino the Pearce decision will apparently not tip. That leaves my Alligators looking more closely at K-Bob's restaurant chain owner Ed Tinsley.

They think Tinsley may have an inside track with the leadership of the state and national GOP. He placed second in a primary for the seat in 2002 when Joe Skeen retired, but Pearce beat Tinsley after Tinsley's residency became an issue. At the time, he had a home outside the district on Rio Grande Boulevard in Albuquerque. Still, Ed carried most of the counties, getting beat in the SE.

This time there is no incumbent and national R's may be especially warm to Tinsley because he has personal money and the coffers of the GOP congressional committee are nearly bare. Tinsley must be hoping for the luck of the draw--that no other wealthy Republicans get in the race and he could run on the cheap.

THE SECOND TIER

Phelps Anderson of Roswell also ran in the '02 GOP primary and has personal wealth, but has made little noise about another run. Aubrey Dunn III, 51, a retired banker and rancher in Chaves county, has resources but an Alligator who spoke to him Tuesday said Aubrey is a registered independent who has to switch back to the Republicans to make the run. He plans on doing so. Whether he is willing to come with the cash is unknown. Earl Greer also ran in '02, but doesn't have big bucks.

That takes the Gators back to Tinsley who says he will make a decision in a couple of weeks. He maintains a ranch in Capitan, but has a second home in Santa Fe so the residency issue could come back. But the national spotlight in which the decisions of war and peace are made has a price. All who enter must be willing to defend themselves to prove they can and will defend this great country.

CHAOS, CONFUSION AND INSANITY!

Even seasoned Alligators are submerged under a shower of intense political speculation and positioning. We've been unable to nail down initial reports that State Rep. "Dub" Williams is retiring, but the R who told us he wanted to replace him in the Lincoln-Otero district, realtor Dan Power, now says he is not running and isn't sure Williams is getting out. Williams could not be reached, but if he is retiring, he may try to keep it quiet and try to hand the seat off to someone in his circle. Power now says he is thinking about running for the Pearce House seat even though he has no money to throw at the race and no name ID! We forgive you Dan, but...

Suffice it to say, we are putting a moat up around your blog. Pretenders, wanna-bes and assorted hangers-on are not getting across that moat as we deal with the unprecedented opening of two US House seats, a US Senate seat as well as all the Legislative seats. I know everyone wants to play, but there's an admission fee to the game, or at least have a bat and ball.

Finally, what happened to Sen. Pete Campos who a northern Alligator in training said would be on the finalist list for president of this community college? Pete's name didn't make the list. It's a shame, but a Gator in training only gets one shot and if they are wrong, they get shot. Bang!

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Celinda Lake
A reshaping of the race for the Democratic nomination for the ABQ congressional seat could be in the works. Freshly minted candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham says national pollster Celinda Lake, who worked for Dem nominee Patricia Madrid in the '06 election and who has deep ties to the politically powerful women's group, Emily's List, has been signed for Grisham's '08 effort. (Lake Research has also inked a polling deal for the US senate run of ABQ Dem Mayor Chavez. More on that below.)

The signing of Lake could be significant for Grisham not only because it is a well-regarded polling outfit, but Lake's connection could help get the candidate closer to wining credibility with Emily's List, the grassroots political network that has played a crucial role in electing women to Congress by pushing major money their way.

Lake's Web site says of her: "Lake is one of the nation's foremost experts on electing women candidates and on framing issues to women voters. American Politics calls Lake a "super-strategist"...

Madrid lost to GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson last year by less than 900 votes. Grisham hopes to pick up where Patsy left off. Maybe Lake and company have some fresh ideas after that meat grinder of a campaign.

Emily's list does not often get involved in Democratic primaries, but it is not a rarity. For example, they recently endorsed Ann Kirkpatrick in her primary race for the northern Arizona congressional seat.

Grisham, 47, is facing off with ABQ City Councilor Martin Heinrich and former assistant attorney general Jon Adams. The June primary winner will advance to the November election. To get on that ballot a candidate will have to score 20% of the delegates at a mid-March pre-primary convention.

Heinrich jumped into the race this summer before GOP Senator Domenici retired and before Wilson announced she would leave her seat to run to replace Domenici. The councilor has raised about $300,000 for his campaign. He last reported about $180,000 on hand.

But what was once seen as an easy romp for Heinrich is now looking like a spirited battle. Insiders say if Grisham, the sole Hispanic and woman in the race thus far, can raise over $100,000 in the next several months, she could impress Emily's List enough to win their endorsement and attract major league dollars from their supporters. Having Lake as an ally in that quest can't hurt.

TEAM MARTY

Lake Research is going to do double-duty in NM. ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez says the D.C. firm will handle the polling for his Dem US senate run. Mark Fleisher who has worked with Santa Fe's Butch Maki & Associates will be campaign manager. The D.C. firm of McMahon Squier Lapp and Associates has been hired to do the TV. Armando Gutierrez of ABQ has signed up to do Hispanic outreach and Chris Brown, who has been associated with past Chavez campaigns, will consult the senate run as well.

For you adventurous types, Marty has an opening for a campaign press secretary.

CANDIDATE WATCHING

ABQ State Sen. Joe Carraro will continue to take a look at the GOP race for the ABQ congressional seat, but he is not going to give up his senate seat to do so. He will form an exploratory committee so he can raise some money and do polling.

Newly reelected ABQ City Councilor Brad Winter is also floating his name for the R congressional race. ABQ State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones is also making noise, but no one is coming with news of money or saying they will leave the Legislature and go all in. That leaves the GOP field clear for Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White.

Just where are all the Republicans aching for Pearce's seat? Can you believe no one has yet formally announced a candidacy? Name floating does not constitute a serious candidacy.

What are they waiting for. Polls? (Yes) A check from their grandmothers'? (Maybe) Who would have thought we would have seen such a delay in getting even one announced GOP candidate for an open congressional seat in a district friendly to the R's? As one Alligator is fond of saying: "No one gives you the power, you have to take it." They better hurry up.

Restaurant chain owner Ed Tinsley and Dona Ana State Senator Lee Rawson are prominently mentioned but they have yet to jump. (Tinsley says he is "strongly considering," will decide in "a couple of weeks" and sounds like he wants to go). Meanwhile, the Dems have three announced and serious candidates.

The enthusiasm of the Dems is as noticeable as the caution of the R's. The R's better be quicker on the jump during next year's general election campaign or for the first time since 1980 the seat could go to the Dems. Don't say we didn't tell you.

CAUTION WHEN WATCHING

We are hearing all kinds of names for the two open US House seats and still some senate candidates lurk. We blogged more of them today. Most will be nonstarters, but all will enjoy having their names listed in the blogs and papers. It's natural, but the wheat will have to be separated form the chaff, and you can count on us to do just that.

STILL KICKIN’ IT
Chavez
Fabian Chavez of the NM House of Representatives 1951-1952, the State Senate 1955-1964 and Senate Majority Leader 1961-1964, is now an Old Lion enjoying his winter years, but he still knows how to administer a butt kicking. The 1968 Dem guv nominee, now a lobbyist, recently turned back an effort by the government labor union AFSCME to pack the board of directors of the Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) resulting in howls and scowls from AFSCME political director Carter Bundy.

Chavez, now 83 and a lobbyist for PERA, felt letting union members dominate the 12 member board would mean investment of $13 billion in PERA state employee retirement money could be invested by political whim and urged defeat of the AFSCME slate.

Despite spending over $50,000 on the campaign all three of AFSCME's candidates were defeated by state workers. That led Bundy to publicly accuse Chavez of being "unethical" and to blame the media for giving "credence to rumors."

The Bundy outburst had heads turning at the Roundhouse where wall-leaners wondered if the political director was digging his own political grave.

It wasn't a joke that Chavez came in at #4 on our list of the most powerful NM legislators since WWII compiled in July by our esteemed panel of Alligators. The PERA victory will only add to his reputation for being a master political power player. As for that outburst from caustic Carter, the Old Lion had no comment. Maybe he was busy dining on his kill.

THE BOTTOM LINES

That new Bill Richardson Presidential TV ad unveiled Monday sure looks familiar. And it is, as was pointed out by KOAT-TV political reporter Matt Grubs, among others. Much of it is a rehash of an ad Big Bill ran in his 2002 race for NM Governor against R John Sanchez. The emotional 60 second spot tells how he freed hostages from Iraq in '95. Hey, if it worked here, why not up there in Iowa?...

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Steve Pearce turned the tables on Heather Wilson by launching the first strike in the already heated contest for the GOP US senate nomination, aggressively taking the role the ABQ congresswoman has usually assumed and sparking expectations for further battle between the two NM US House Reps.

Pearce's automatic phone call into 130,000 Republican households Thursday night defending his vote to uphold President Bush's veto of SCHIP--children's health insurance program--was the kind of surprise attack and defense of hard-edged conservatism that is the trademark of New York based political consultant Arthur Finkelstein. His firm, D.C. insiders say, will be Pearce's lead consultant in the epic battle for the state's first open US senate seat since 1972.

Whether Pearce's first strike in which his campaign says 13,000 R's ended up hanging around for a conference call with the congressman was the brainchild of Finkelstein or not, his presence in the campaign is notable.

He started in '72 with Nixon, He made his name large in '94 when he managed the upset New York governor win of George Pataki over Democrat Mario Cuomo. Along the way, he was credited with making "liberal" a dirty word. He is also known for hammering home a single message and doing it with great repetition. But he loses, too. His efforts to derail Hillary Clinton's New York Senate campaign went nowhere.

Pearce used Finkelstein to consult his '06 campaign against Democrat Al Kissling, but there wasn't much need for hardball as Kissling never raised enough cash to become a serious threat.

That's all changed. Heather, who is known for launching preemptive strikes of her own, is no longer dealing with Democrats who have a historically weak record when it comes to negative campaigning. As ABQ Tribune editor Phil Casaus noted, this will be "the toughest fight of Wilson's political career."

HEATHER CRIES FOUL

Pearce's aggressiveness did leave him open to a counterpunch that his Thursday night phone calls refereed folks to his official US House Web site, not one from a campaign which Wilson charged was a violation of House rules. But Pearce was apparently willing take that minor hit in exchange for shaking up the race. On Saturday, I interviewed with KOB-TV and reporter Chris Ornelas about the Pearce ploy and Heather's response.

Pearce's first strike was both offensive and defensive. The SCHIP veto was not popular with all Republicans--Heather voted to override the President--but by vigorously defending his vote Peace firmed up his support with conservative R's and took some of the wind out of any Wilson attack on the issue, if it comes.

Finkelstein is a character in his own right. Despite being an advocate for conservative Republicans, many of whom favor a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, in 2005 he made news when he affirmed that he was gay and married his longtime partner in a civil ceremony in Massachusetts.

That didn't stop Pearce from keeping Finkelstein on the payroll. In '06 He paid the New Yorker nearly $92,000. Some R's in ultraconservative areas may be uptight about Finkelstein's background; other R's will argue it shows that Pearce harbors no prejudice, a plus as his foes seek to paint him as an extremist.

Consultants are an unlikely issue in this campaign; it's the candidates, but who the contenders surround themselves with gives clues to how they will conduct themselves. Pearce's first play telegraphs that while fighting without gloves may not be his preferred method, he is as ready as Wilson for a match featuring bloody knuckles.

Who will throw the next punch? Stay tuned.

THE DEMS MUTTER

On the Democratic side of the senate equation, uneasiness continues. For many, Marty Chavez and Don Wiviott don't cut the mustard. They want Governor Big Bill to come in if his Prez campaign falters. The clarion call is now going out in the national media with the liberal New Republic (subscription required) actually calling for Bill to drop out of the Prez race right now and go for the Senate.

Richardson, of course, has the right to nurse his hopeless presidential ambitions until his fellow Democrats unmercifully crush them in the actual caucuses and primaries. But, if Richardson truly cared about his party--not to mention his country--he would give up that right, abandon his presidential campaign, and toss his hat in the ring for the U.S. Senate. After all, while Richardson won't be in the White House come 2009, there's a good chance that another Democrat will be. And that president will need all the help she--or he--can get.

DARK DAYS FOR ECLIPSE

If you had trouble translating what Eclipse Aviation was saying about its future status when it announced the layoffs of 10% of it's workforce, you're not alone. The company's tortuous explanation, followed by more shades of gray from city officials, did not address the real story, according to aviation insiders. That story is that the light jet manufacturer which has received $100 million in cash and tax incentives from New Mexico taxpayers, is in financial trouble.

Stan Blankenship, an aviation expert, has been blogging this story for nearly two years with assists from aviation insiders around the country. Despite repeated warnings, they were paid little mind. Maybe that will change because the proverbial chickens appear to be coming home to roost.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez chose Eclipse as the backdrop for his announcement that he will seek the 2008 Dem senate nomination, showcasing Eclipse as a model for economic success. He has been among the strongest advocates for public subsidies for the company. He has been joined in that support by Big Bill, Congresswoman Wilson and Senators Domenici and Bingaman and assorted legislators.

But Eclipse is nowhere near to annually producing the 500-600 planes it needs to just break even. The thousands of "high-wage" permanent jobs the politicos promised are in doubt. The bombastic CEO of Eclipse, Vern Raburn, who sold the state and city on a massive public investment in his start-up, is going to have to pull a rabbit out of his hat and soon. Chavez, who was manhandled for his fiscal policies when he lost the '98 Governor's race, better hope Vern does, or those photos of him announcing at Eclipse are going to look like shots from Halloween IV.

If this was a private venture, it would be just another business deal gone bad for high-risk investors. But critics point out this involves an investment of the public's money and credibility and are calling for oversight and investigation by the Legislature, the ABQ City Council, Mayor Chavez and the press.

Someone may want to start asking questions now while there's still a chance for a take-off. Otherwise, they may be gathered at the scene of a fatal crash.

THE BOTTOM LINES
Rep. Herrera
From the Governor's office Sunday night: "Governor Richardson will order flags to fly at half-staff beginning Monday in memory of Rep. Manuel Herrera, who died this weekend following a long battle with cancer.

“Manny Herrera was a quiet, but effective advocate for the people in Grant and Hidalgo counties. I always turned to Manny Herrera on any issue that affected Southwest New Mexico. He will be missed.”

The county commissions for Grant and Hidalgo will recommend a name or names to the Governor who will appont a replacement for Democratic State Rep. Herrera....

Dub is going and Dan is coming. GOP State Rep. "Dub" Williams tells friends he will not seek re-election to the Legislature next year from his Lincoln-Otero district. That has given rise to Dan Power, who is in the real estate biz, and who tells me he will seek the GOP nod to replace rancher Williams. Power is a former El Paso city councilor who also once ran for a US House seat. As for those other "D's,"--the Dems--they don't have much hope of picking up the heavy R seat...

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