Sen. Jennings
Big Bill probably bought himself some political cover when key state senators (Sanchez, Jennings, Smith & Ingle) agreed to form "bipartisan, executive-legislative working groups" to craft a universal health coverage plan and meet in special session sometime "this summer." Until now, health care reform has been identified as solely a gubernatorial inititative. Now the fingerprints of the Legislature will also be on it.

If we get a plan both sides can live with, there will be credit given all the way around. If the effort implodes as it did during the regular legislative session, Richardson can convincingly point at the Legislature as they prepare to face voters in November. But lawmakers are not without protection. They could come with a plan that is much less than what Richardson wants. If he rejects it, they could say: "We've done the best we can in a shaky economy. Sorry the Guv doesn't see it our way."

Lawmakers had little choice but to sign up with Bill. Not doing so so would make them look obstructionist and obvious targets of key Dem constituencies. It seems Richardson is starting to recover from his post-presidential malaise.

That's the politics of the matter. The details of the complicated plan are another. Richardson will have to win support from the medical establishment as well as more public support. Voters want a health care solution, but Obama and Clinton are sucking all the oxygen out of the room, lessening the urgency for action at the state level.

Richardson wants universal health care as a major legacy. By getting lawmakers to the table, he is closer than he was when the legislative session ended two weeks ago, but there are still many miles to travel.

WIVIOTT'S WORLD

Wealthy Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott is glad to change the subject after mud wrestling all week with northern Democratic congressional rival Jon Adams over the validity of his nominating petitions. Wiviott did just that Thursday, unveiling two TV ads aimed at boosting his name ID and corralling northern Dems who are strongly against the Iraq war.

Wiviott has kicked in $300,000 of his own money to get his campaign started. He faces long odds against favorite Ben Ray Lujan. The political newcomer did not say how much he is spending on his TV ads, but our insiders expect Wiviiott to stay on the tube for the duration of the primary campaign. Once his name ID is established in six to eight weeks, they then expect him to look at polling to help determine how negative he will need to get against Ben Ray.

Wiviott is the first US House candidate to hit the tube. Senate candidate Steve Pearce was the first congressional hopeful with a TV buy, going up in mid-January.

PEARCE BY THREE, NOT FIVE

Speaking of Pearce, state GOP executive director Adam Feldman is ready to give you the official word on the state party poll numbers floating around in Pearce's contest for the GOP US senate nomination with ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson. He says the numbers reported here--given to us by an insider---have Heather three points too low. He says:

We did conduct a poll in January that covered a lot of things of interest to us, one being the race between Representatives Wilson and Pearce. The numbers were 38% for Pearce to 35% for Wilson with a 3.5% margin of error. This was first reported on your blog as being 38% to 33%.

We are pleased to have the definitive numbers. Our Alligator did his best, but gets five lashes with a wet noodle for shortchanging Heather. And we give Heather's staff a wet noodle lash for not quickly coming with a correction. Pearce's too, for letting the misimpression lay there. What are these paid campaign staffers doing? Reading old editions of the ABQ Tribune? All aboard please. The 21st century is leaving the station.

The crux of the poll is that Wilson, despite having more name ID than Pearce, is not leading Pearce. But the race is statistically a dead heat, making it the premier battle for the June primary.

BLAME GAME?

The AP's Heather Clark has a full-time job tracking just who and what was responsible for the fouled up voter lists that were used in the February 5th Democratic Presidential Caucus. She has the latest from the Secretary of State who is asking that the state Dem Party start talking with her about the election problems. The state party is promising a full report. It can't come soon enough, as the botched caucus is now causing jitters over the June primary. The faster we get answers, the more confidence there will be in the conduct of that election.

COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Monday's blog has details of our college challenge for UNM and NMSU students and the $500 first prize we're offering, as well as a $150 second place prize. Here's a report on it from the NMSU student newspaper, the Round-Up. We're looking for a public relations and lobbying plan to win approval of a measure to limit campaign contributions in NM. The entry deadline is March 8, so you and/or the team you form still have time to compete, and we intive you to do so.

Other NM colleges have asked why they are not eligible to participate in the college challenge. This is our first one and we wanted to dip our toe into the water before swimming, but we'll do a follow-up challenge in which more schools will be invited to participate.

Thanks for your support, New Mexico. News, comments, corrections, and suggestions are welcome.E-mail them in.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

It's Special Session or bust for Big Bill, a decision not without its share of political peril. The NM Governor Wednesday rejected political scuttlebutt that he would decide against a special because his health care reform plan is still opposed by key state senators.

"There will be a special session. There's no question about that," Bill told reporters.

The Guv will meet with senate leaders today to discuss details of a special, but he is indicating he has not lost contact with political reality and will try to cut a deal on health care before calling lawmakers back to Santa Fe. He said he he hopes to establish "working groups" of lawmakers to try to resolve disagreements over health care.

Those working groups will take time, so don't look for a special in the next week or two. Capitol chatter still points to a June special, following the primary election. That would give legislators a chance to campaign. All 112 legislative seats are up for election this year.

These "working groups" could be interesting to watch. Unless they come up with a working plan, Bill will still be faced with the spectacle of a special session where the senate meets and then immediately adjourns.

This is a governor who has extracted much from the Legislature, but this may be his biggest challenge yet. Even many Dems question why he is pushing so hard when the Dem presidential candidates have made health care a focus and promise, if elected, they will work for a national solution. Bill says the uninsured can't wait that long for a solution.

Does Richardson win and get a substantive health care plan, or does he settle for a fig leaf at a special and take it up again at the regular '09 session? Or does he fight tooth and nail at the special and walk away a loser, shrinking his governorship for its final two and half years? One of those outcomes will be the subject of a future blog. We just don't know when.

POWER PLAY

It's not everyday you see this kind of gubernatorial power exercised, but it was necessary.

Governor Richardson has ordered state police to block access to a high-stakes bingo parlor built in southern New Mexico by Oklahoma's Fort Sill Apache Tribe. Richardson says he was forced to take action after receiving no assurances from the federal government that it would either approve or reject the tribe's plans for a gaming operation at the site.

RED LIGHT COMPROMISE?

ABQ Mayor Marty travels to Santa Fe today to beseech Big Bill to save the red light camera program from the legislative axe. Remember, Marty. Bill is the Guv. That's the guy elected by all the people of the state. You are the mayor, elected by the people of one city. Just a negotiating tip that we thought might come in handy.

NORTHERN NASTINESS

It's getting nasty in the north. Since we broke the news that Dem congressional contender Jon Adams has filed a court challenge over the nominating petitions for Dem rival Don Wiviott, the rhetoric has notched up. Said former assistant attorney general Adams in a news release:

Lawyers for Wiviott have been calling Adams "almost nonstop", and they have been repeatedly threatening to subpoena and depose Adams, even though all the information about the signatures is in the lawsuit, and Adams' signatures are not in issue. This is about the integrity of the process, and we should let the courts decide it, win or lose, without the tactics of harassment and intimidation."

Wiviott's camp hits back calling the 33 year old Adams "a fringe candidate."

He's a fringe candidate throwing around bizarre and baseless charges. We are confident we have sufficient signatures. We will follow the process."

Relishing all this from the sidelines is Dem frontrunner Ben Ray Lujan and Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, as well as other northern hopefuls. A court decision on Adams' challenge is now expected by March 7th. Wiviott has filed a motion to dismiss Adams' complaint.

GIVE ME REWRITE!

Readers let us know we didn't do a very good job Wednesday of describing our turnout analysis for the Dem primary in the Southern congressional district. They were right.

The main point is that Dona Ana County has the lowest per capita turnout of any county in the state in primary and general elections. Dona Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley is probably not going to get a big bounce out of there in his race against Harry Teague. Teague is from Lea County and is expected to perform well there and in the other "oil" counties of Eddy and Chaves. In fact, even though those three counties have about 35,000 registered Dems and Dona Ana has 47,000, historically, considerably more votes are cast in the three SE counties than Dona Ana.

As for the Teague campaign lowering expectations for the March 15th preprimary convention where ballot positions for the June 3 primary will be awarded, we turn to the mailbag where one of our Alligators weighs in.

"I was expecting Teague to dominate the convention, and his contention that McCamley had been in the race longer is not a significant enough factor to account for Teague losing the nominating convention. Even with the lowering of expectations, I think a loss by Teague will bolster McCamley and make him far more viable in the primary than I would have considered him before..."

Agreed. Teague, because of his superior financial resources, remains the frontrunner for the June 3rd primary, but a preprimary convention win by McCamley would give him an opportunity to recast the race, but he will still need funds to do it. The Teague camp says they also expect to place second at the preprimay because convention delegates tend to be "liberal activists" more supportive of McCamley.

BLOG COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Scroll down to Monday's blog for details on our College Challenge. A $500 first prize is being offered and a $150.00 second prize. Here's a report on it from the NMSU student newspaper, the Round-up.

THE BOTTOM LINES
Sander Rue
That ABQ West side state senate seat being vacated by Joe Carraro who is running for the ABQ congressional seat drew another R hopeful this week. Sander Rue, 54, who has twice run unsuccessfully or the ABQ city council, hopes he can change his political luck and win the GOP nomination for the senate chair. Already campaigning for the GOP nod is attorney David Pyne.

Thanks for stopping by. E-mail your political news and comments.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Wilson vs. Pearce
The no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners race for the NM GOP US Senate nomination rocked the political community again Tuesday as Rep. Steve Pearce boasted he is on the "verge of a huge victory" at the party's important March 15th preprimary nominating convention. Pearce, taking dead aim at rival Heather Wilson's money supply, pushed hard in a late afternoon news release:

"The convention...will shock the establishment in Washington, D.C. and open up new doors of support for Steve Pearce and his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The Wilson forces are spinning and demoralized while the Pearce campaign seems to reach a higher level every day."

County conventions to pick delegates to the preprimary just concluded and the Pearce forces can see they are on their way to a victory which will give him the top spot on the June primary ballot. More importantly, it will give him momentum to raise more money, discourage donations to Wilson and ultimately--if his wildest dreams come true--lay the groundwork to force her out of the race.

The Wilson camp is furiously spinning that Pearce was expected all along to win the preprimary by a huge margin, but that is not the case among the political classes of New Mexico or Washington. For the June 3 primary the case has been made that the conservative Pearce may have an edge because more right-wing voters tend to go to the primary polls. However, there has been no mainstream media coverage of preprimary expectations in the race, only back room speculation among deep party insiders. If the Wilson camp truly felt Pearce was going to pull off a victory, they did a poor job preparing the media, press, public and bloggers. Pearce is now taking full advantage.

If there was any betting line at all on the preprimary (around here, we bet on anything that moves) it was that the race could be decided by single digits among the 400 plus delegates. And Pearce knows it, leaving the field for him to shape. Pearce labels his expected victory an "upset" which is a stretch since neither Wilson or Pearce was the perceived front runner in the public or party consciousness. But that doesn't mean the victory won't be a momentum builder and money raiser when it occurs.

THE PEARCE TARGETS

The Pearce reference to the Washington "establishment" is a shot across the bow of forces at the Republican National Committee and the camp of departing GOP Senator Pete Domenici where operatives ardently support Wilson, fearing that Pearce is too conservative to carry moderate New Mexico in the fall. They have spread that word among establishment Republicans. Pearce's camp hopes that touting the anticipated preprimary win will begin the process of scaring off top Republican donors from feeding Wilson and preparing for a possible Pearce primary win. Wilson out raised Pearce in the last three months of 2007, after Pearce insiders erroneously predicted Pearce would top her totals. The Pearce campaign must be seething to see Heather out raise Steve by two to one in money from political action committees---the favored vehicle of the "establishment."

Both candidates are well-financed. However, Pearce has millions in personal oil-based wealth. Wilson is not wealthy. If Pearce can slow her cash flow, she would have nowhere to go.

Of course, if Pearce somehow failed to win at the preprimary it would spell disaster for him. Announcing the outcome of any vote before actual votes are cast carries inherent risk and demonstrates that the rule book is being thrown out as we fill the first open NM US senate seat in 36 years.

INSIDER STRATEGY

Pearce's likely win will be based on blow-out showings in the rural counties, while Wilson will carry big Bernalillo County. It is a classic rural vs urban New Mexican campaign. (Think Obama vs. Clinton recently) The first signs of it came last year when Earl Greer of T Or C launched a challenge to incumbent NM GOP Chairman Allen Weh. Greer claimed the party gave too much attention to the needs of Wilson and Albuquerque. Greer lost but performed much better than expected as rural county chairmen rallied to his side.

The release of the final delegate preprimary list was fortuitous for Pearce as he was able to predict his forthcoming win on the day the ABQ Journal front-paged his foreign policy slip. Pearce asserted England exported more radical terrorists than any country in the Middle East. It was what we in the biz call "a one day story" that didn't make much TV, but it came on the heels of Heather's assaults on Pearce over border security and the status of Cannon Air Force Base. Some operatives felt Pearce was starting to fall behind the curve in answering the ABQ congresswoman and think the preprimary victory prediction puts him back on higher ground.

Pearce's consultants are obsessed with staying on the offensive. Shortly after declaring, he conducted a telephone conference call with thousands of NM GOP households. Heather claimed it violated congressional rules. Then, in January, Pearce became the first NM congressional candidate to make a major TV buy. Now, he is crowing of a victory even before the votes are counted. Wilson has started to attack more frequently, but she has been unable to change the dynamic of the race in the early going. She will now step on the gas, but she has to make sure she has operatives on board who know more than react and attack politics. She must match Pearce's package of creative surprises. Sorry, Heather. I'm not available.

In the Pearce news release, the campaign mentions "a state party poll showing Pearce in the lead..." That is a reference to the poll we exclusively covered for you in which Pearce scores 38% of the Republican primary vote and Wilson gets 33%, It was taken in mid-January. Pearce's reference to it nails down our original reporting.

Republicans know that Pearce's conservatism does not bode well historically in a general election match-up with Tom Udall, But many hardcore convention goers and June primary voters are not concerned with history. They are voting what they believe. Wilson has their minds, but Pearce has their hearts. The epic battle for both goes on.

SETTING THE BAR

Some expectations for the Democratic Party preprimary convention, also to be held March 15th, were set on this blog Tuesday, when operatives for southern congressional candidate Harry Teague told us they expect the Hobbs oilman to finish behind rival and Dona Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley. They said that's because McCamley has been on the campaign trail much longer, but a McCamley operative bit into that one:

Don't you find it strange that Teague is trying to lower expectations so much before the convention? Many out there (yourself included at times) have been calling Teague the frontrunner, and yet here he is trying to push expectations way down...The fact is that Teague has been in the race since October, and he's had the opportunity to speak at every county convention. With all his money and the overt support of Lt. Governor Denish, he should be very strong...As much as he wants to play the expectations game, why shouldn't he be aiming for top of the ballot?

Of course, all of this is a carousel of expectations. After his first round of spin, if Teague comes in first he can make a bigger deal about it. If he doesn't, he has already lowered the bar.

Teague will have some ground to make up for not coming in first, but his front-runner status for the June 3rd primary is the result of other factors recently explained here, including that McCamley is outgunned two to one in the money department.

FREE RIDE ENDS
Lisa Torraco
It was good while it lasted, but the free ride for Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg is over. Unlike 2004, when no fellow Democrat challenged her in the primary and the Republicans failed to field a general election challenger, in 2008, Kari has drawn a GOP foe. She is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Lisa Torraco who announced her candidacy Tuesday. (See her GOP campaign contributions here.) The 1991 UNM Law School Graduate has a fat target to shoot at--no, not the slim Kari--but the city's crime rate. Torraco says that "everyday 17 houses are broken into and every 95 minutes a car is stolen."

DA Brandenburg is seeking her third four year term. Whether you support her or not, a competitive election campaign is good for the city. Compared to past years, the DA's office has been under covered by the press. Torraco, who has taught prosecutions at UNM, seems up to the challenge of asking the incumbent to defend her long tenure. Brandenburg, the daughter of a former DA, has run an open shop and is herself a former defense lawyer. We look forward to some comparing and contrasting over ABQ's bedeviling crime problem.

BLOG COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Yes, UNM and NMSU students have plenty of time to enter the blog College Challenge and compete for our $500 first place prize and a $150.00 second place prize. The details are here. Thanks to our loyal readers and advertisers for making the contest possible, and good luck to those of you working on your entries.

This is the home of New Mexico politics and exclusive on-the-money analysis. What else can you ask for?

E-mail us any ol' time.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Million Dollar Man?
The stakes are getting higher in the crowded contest for the GOP nomination for the southern congressional seat. Campaign operatives for restaurant chain owner and attorney Ed Tinsley confirm he recently ponied up $200,000 of personal cash for his campaign. He had told us in November he was ready to come with the money, but did not do so until after fourth quarter financial reports were filed. Combined with outside money he has raised, Tinsley has now breached the $500,000 mark, the first candidate to do so not only in the south but also in the two other open NM US House seats. And before these primaries are over, we could be headed into the financial stratosphere.

"This could be a million dollar primary...This is a large district and campaigning in all its forms has gotten more expensive," a Tinsley operative told me as I caffeined up at my neighborhood Starbucks..

Tinsley owns a ranch in Lincoln County and he and his wife also have oil interests. Throwing out the $1 million dollar figure could be seen as a ploy to intimidate other candidates, but with over half a million raised and the campaign yet to hit full stride, the figure seems entirely possible, if not probable. If it happens, we believe it will be the first time in state history that a House primary candidate has become a million dollar man.

The man looking most closely at Tinsley's ATM card is GOP Lincoln County rancher Aubrey Dunn Jr., son of the legendary former state senator of the same name. He has put up $300,000 of his own cash to take on Tinsley but has not had the same success at raising outside money. Will Dunn have to ante up even more to stay at the table?

NO SUSPENSE, BUT EXPECTATIONS

Much of the suspense has been drained out of the March 15th pre-primary conventions that both political parities will conduct. That's because Big Bill says he will sign legislation that will allow a candidate to get on the June primary ballot even if he or she does not win 20% of the delegates at the convention. Still, there is the expectations game to play, and playing it they are.

In the south, financial big feet Tinsley and Dunn are seen easily reaching the 20% mark. If there is room for a third candidate, it will be probably be Hobbs Mayor Monty Newman or Earl Greer of T or C. As we said, if a candidate does not get the 20% they can gather extra petition signatures and still get on the ballot. The main impact of a poor showing at the pre-primary could be financial. A weak performance and potential donors may question the credibility of a candidacy. There is also the burden of history. No candidate who has failed to secure 20% of a party's pre-primay delegates has ever gone on to win the June primary.

On the Dem side for the southern district, operatives for Hobbs oilman Harry Teague are lowering expectations for his pre-primary showing, saying he will easily get the required 20% but they expect 29 year old Dona Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley to finish first. They say that's because McCamley has been in the race and working since the middle of last year while Teague has been in just a couple of months. Still, McCamley who lags Teague significantly in the money department, will try to make some hay over any first place convention showing. And he should. The other Dem southern candidates trail far behind.

ABQ HOUSE ACTION

In the ABQ Dem US House contest, newcomer Jessica Wolfe, who jumped in the race only this month, says she knows she started too late to win much pre-primary support. She says she will circulate petitions to get on the June ballot.

Insiders who say they have not been blown away by Dem Martin Heinrich's campaign are now saying they think he has got it right when it comes to the pre-primary. Heinrich reportedly has had a solid ground game at the initial Bernalillo County ward and precinct meetings and the pros expect a big showing from him at the March pre-primary. That will help the former ABQ city councilor who has been battling perception problems that the looming Dem primary fight is increasing the odds of victory for likely GOP nominee Darren White.

Michelle Lujan Grisham is the other Dem US House contender seen as having a shot at a good showing among the pre-primary delegates, but the late entry of Rebecca Vigil Giron and the candidacies of the aforementioned Wolfe and attorney Robert Pidcock muddies the waters. Will any of them cross the important psychological threshold of 20%, or will they split up the votes and give Heinrich an upset?

More in the days ahead on the pre-primary convention outlook for the Senate and the northern congressional seat in the days ahead.

THE NM CONNECTION

There's a a New Mexico connection to Vicki Iseman, the Washington, D.C., lobbyist reported to have had an improper relationship with Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain several years ago. Iseman's lobbying firm, Alcalde and Fay, has a number of NM clients, including the cities of Hobbs and Rio Rancho, New Mexico Tech in Socorro and San Juan and Sandoval counties. Iseman continues to hold a partnership at the firm. Another NM connection at the firm is lobbyist Suzanne Eisold, former chief of staff for the late NM Congressman Joe Skeen.

NO SPECIAL FOR R'S

NM Republicans are hardening their position against any special session of the Legislature as Big Bill prepares to meet with key senate Dem leaders Thursday. The state GOP says: "For the sake of New Mexico taxpayers and small businesses, Richardson should not call a special session this year. And on the issue of health care, the state should make every effort to increase enrollment in the current health care programs available to New Mexicans, allowing the legislature to reassess our health care situation next year.”

HEATHER VS. STEVE

Heather won some free media as she unloaded on rival GOP US Senate seeker Steve Pearce for what appears to be a misstatement on foreign policy. The campaign has entered the phase where the lights are shining brightly and even little slips are going to make news. That's old news to battle tested Wilson, but new territory for Pearce.

COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Looking for the rules on the blog "College Challenge" and that $500.00 prize we're offering? Just scroll down to Monday's blog below for all the details.

HERE'S A FUN ONE

You're going to get a kick out of this. It's Mariachis for Obama--and in Texas to boot. Viva La Politica!


Email your news, comments and suggestions. If you wish to remain anonymous, let us know.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

The political oddsmakers have to keep resetting the line on whether Bill Richardson will finish out his term as New Mexico's Governor. Information about his real relationship with potential presidents Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has only dribbled out, making it difficult to forecast if he would be high on the list for a top job in either of their administrations, or whether his day has come and gone. The latest development: The New York Times hit with an exclusive look on how Richardson is being romanced for an endorsement. Richardson told the paper Obama is calling him "every three days or so," and there was a tidbit that shed new light on his relationship with frontrunner Obama:

The two men developed a back-of-the-classroom rapport during the presidential debates, exchanging winks or eye rolls when one of the other candidates “would get outrageous or something,” Mr. Richardson said.

But throughout the interview Big Bill takes note of his personal loyalty to the Clintons who made him UN ambassador and energy secretary. The Guv seems genuinely torn on whether to endorse, and that could be costly indecision. He says he could offer an endorsement this week or none at all. And that could mean nothing at all when it comes to getting back in the national limelight. Says Richardson:

"I’m not pining for it, and if it doesn’t happen, I’ve had a great life. I’m at peace with myself.”

Richardson's relationship with the Dem prez contenders is more than a political parlor game for New Mexico. If he left for D.C. the state would have a non-elected Governor in Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. It is yet another example of the incredible political year this is--three open US House seats--an open US Senate seat and the possibility of an non-elected governor.

BILL'S CROWN OF THORNS

If Richardson does get a ticket out of here, the thing he'll miss the least is dealing with an uncooperative state senate. This Thursday is another big day in that relationship. That's when the Governor will meet with senate leaders Tim Jennings and Michael Sanchez to see if a health care deal can be hammered out. If so, a special session of he legislature is in store. If not, the Guv would be well-advised to hold off, but that doesn't mean he will.

The state still does not seem ready for Bill's health care plan because he has not built widespread public support. After the regular session, he talked of hitting the road to promote the plan. But we didn't see much of that and now Thursday is deadline day.

There is very limited downside if the Guv decides against a special in an election year and looks for health care reform in the '09 sixty day session. A simple pledge of cooperation among the state's leaders Thursday would be face saving enough for all involved. Somehow, though, the relationship between the senate and the Guv is never that simple.

JON VERSUS DON

Jon Adams is going on the offense against fellow Dem and northern district congressional hopeful Don Wiviott. Adams claims Wiviott has failed to submit enough valid nominating petition signatures to be considered for the June primary ballot and he is asking the courts to throw the Santa Fe developer out of the race.

Don is 123 people short of having enough registered voters. His signatures even included 188 people from the ABQ congressional district. And some people signed his petition two or even three times. We're just trying to protect the integrity of the process," claims Adams.

The Wiviott campaign told us their petitions are completely in order. A court decision on Adams' challenge will come by March 3.

REVISITING ETHICS

A couple of weeks ago we quoted one of our Alligators--in this case a lobbyist--who questioned why, if an overwhelming majority of the public supports ethics reform, the ethics lobbyists and advocates in Santa Fe have walked away empty handed year after year. The comment evoked high-pitched reaction--much of it negative; some of it emotional--and we were asked about it during a recent radio interview hosted by Heather Brewer and Javier Benavidez.

The point was not that this Gator was against ethics reform. In fact, he is for it. The point was that lobbyists are hired by clients to get results and if you are not getting them, the client is entitled to ask why. We linked to Common Cause and suggested they and other leading ethics advocates might want to review their lobbying tactics. We did not suggest New Mexico is not in need of stronger ethics laws, nor did our knowledgeable Gator.

One possible strategy we discussed is for the ethics lobby to focus on one major reform each legislative session. Make it the symbol and hold lawmakers' feet to the fire. The public and press has a hard time concentrating on the myriad of ethics proposals floating around the Roundhouse, thus it is easier for them to be swept under the rug. With just one major reform in the limelight, perhaps defeating it would be more difficult.

Some critics believe a handful of legislators are responsible for the failure of ethics bills, but not many passed in the 80's and 90's when other leaders ran the Roundhouse. This is more difficult than just voting out a couple of legislators.

New Mexico needs to put some points on the board when it comes to ethics reform--especially a ceiling on campaign contributions. But we have had three consecutive legislative sessions with no significant movement on that or other major items proposed either by the Guv or his ethics panel. Our Gator had it right--what is being done now is not working. That is not an excuse for legislators trying to bury ethics legislation, it is a tactical suggestion to force their hand, and was offered here to stimulate action, not inertia.

BLOG COLLEGE CHALLENGE

Speaking of action, we so strongly agree that new ideas and tactics are needed to advance ethics legislation that we're putting the blog money where the blog mouth is and turning to our state's next generation of leaders for inspiration. It's the blog College Challenge.

Currently, there is no limit on how much cash can be donated to a New Mexico political candidate. We'll award a $500.00 first place prize and a $150.00 second place prize to the students who submit the best lobbying/PR plan to win legislative approval to limit campaign contributions in NM. A panel of esteemed Alligators will be our judges. We'll share the winning plan on this blog and with the state's political leadership.

THE RULES

* The contest is open to full-time students attending the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University who have completed their freshman year. Undergraduates only. You must include on your entry your academic status (sophomore, junior or senior) and your age. (We hope to include NM's other colleges in future competitions.)

* Your action plan can be no longer than 950 words. Two or three person teams are permitted, but none larger. If a team wins a prize, it will be split evenly between the team members.

* Plans must be submitted by e-mail to jmonahan@ix.netcom.com and in the PDF format. Entrants must provide the name and telephone number of a full-time faculty member who can attest to their academic standing. No anonymous entries. You must also provide your phone number, a valid e-mail address and a snail mail address.

* IMPORTANT: Entries will only be accepted via e-mail on March 7 & 8, 2008. Entries submitted prior to or after those dates will not be considered. Winners will be announced by March 30th and notified via phone and e-mail

* You must agree to have your name (s) and plan published on www.joemonahan.com and your photograph (s) taken for publicity purposes, and you must provide written permission to do so when you submit your plan.

* Failure to follow any of the posted rules will disqualify an entrant (s) from consideration.

We seek creative, original thinking, not diatribes or opinion pieces. How are you going to get this legislation passed? What can you bring to the table that hasn't already been tried? You need to be New Mexico specific and understand the current political dynamic. If you wish, use YouTube to provide a brief overview (no more than 90 seconds) of your plan and also use links to appropriate Web sites. Please, no Goggle cut and paste jobs or help from non-students. Remember, this contest is about ethics; if you participate, be ethical.

We look forward to hearing from New Mexico's youth. We think they have what it takes to shake up the establishment and help move us toward better government. So start shaking gang, and get going on those action plans. Who knows? You could be one of our lucky winners---just in time for Spring Break.

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THE BOTTOM LINES

Congratulations to editor Phil Casaus and the staff of the ABQ Tribune for an outstanding final edition Saturday, concluding an 86 year run of the afternoon daily. In his final missive Casaus exhorted Trib readers, "Don't cry for us, Albuquerque." But there are some things worth shedding a tear over, and many were as nearly a century of history of our beloved Albuquerque was so tenderly recounted in that final edition. As Albuquerque grew rapidly into a large metro area, the great ABQ writer and poet V.B. Price often wondered in the Trib's pages about who really cared about the city. The Tribune did. Oh my, how they cared.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
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