Friday, July 03, 2009Happy Birthday, America! We're breaking with you for the holiday and will be back next week to kick off coverage of the second half of 2009. What was the big story of the first half of the year? It had to be the accelerated investigations into state pay to play allegations that now hang over the 2010 election like the sword of Damocles. The outcome of the federal grand jury investigations will color much of the politics of Part Two of 2009.Another big story we can anticipate is the state's economic outlook and whether there will be a special legislative session to keep up with falling tax collections. Can the state avoid a special by dipping into reserves and then tackling the problem when lawmakers hold a regular session in January? More important, can the state avoid job layoffs? Add in a race for ABQ mayor and the dropping in and dropping out of candidates for statewide office as the positioning continues for 2010 and you have the recipe for a fascinating mix of political news. But in New Mexico when is politics not the most enjoyable of spectator sports? From Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan reporting. Happy Birthday, America! E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Thursday, July 02, 2009GOP Calls For Teague Political Funeral Over Energy Vote, But Harry Still Breathes Deeply; The Inside Story On Where He Stands, Plus: On The Econ Beat The political death of southern NM Congressman Harry Teague is greatly exaggerated. Let's explain. Within hours of Teague voting for the energy and climate change bill, Republicans began touting the vote as a deal-breaker with his mostly conservative district. They asserted the measure, which passed the House by a narrow 219-212 vote, would hurt the oil and gas industry and cause utility bills to go up, all making Teague hyper-vulnerable to a Republican challenge now considered likely to come from former Congressman Steve Pearce. But there was a hitch on the way to Harry's political funeral. True, the bill is not causing small town parades in "Little Texas" in the southeast where the oil and gas industry holds sway. Also, 44 Democrats, perhaps fearful of the political consequences, voted with the Republicans. But Teague did offer amendments to soften the blow the measure had on the state's independent oil and gas producers and refineries. And don't forget. Teague is himself an oilman--a successful one. It's hard to see Teague's vote causing massive hemorrhaging within the industry ranks he calls his own. Even if Teague's energy vote does hurt him some with voters in the SE portion of the district, there is still a major problem with the GOP Teague death wish. It's called Dona Ana County.DOTING ON DONA ANA  For the most part Dona Ana, a Democratic county with a not insignificant environmental community, is going to be pleased that Teague voted for the bill. By the way, Teague crushed his Republican foe in this key county in 2008 by a stunning 15,000 votes. My experts say it is nearly impossible for a Republican to take back the southern seat without at least running close to Teague in Doan Ana--home to the city of Las Cruces and the district's most populated county. In that regard, the R's have a mountain to climb. And don't forget that the GOP also needs a huge margin in Harry's home county of Lea. Do they think an incumbent US Congressman is not going to get at least 40 percent of the vote there, and probably more? Where do they make up the votes they don't get in Lea and especially Dona Ana? They don't. They must crack those areas, and the energy bill vote--unless utility bills skyrocket--doesn't get it done in Dona Ana.R's are pushing hard, however, to get traction on what they see as the first majro vote that gives them an opening in the district. They put up this radio ad hitting Teague. Teague has obviously done his political homework. He offered those amendments, hoping to stop any bleeding in the SE, but voted for the bill to hold his general election base in Dona Ana and also to not incite a possible liberal Dem primary opponent. But there is a chance the House bill will die in the Senate and there will be no final law. The R's would then be talking about a vote that really didn't matter. Not that the R's don't have a chance to re-take the seat, but it's not going to be as easy as they might wish. So call off the funeral. Teague breathes. ON THE ECON BEAT  We wanted to find out if that 7 percent unemployment rate for the ABQ metro for the month of May was some kind of record. It seems so. From the state Dept. of Workforce Solutions:The data we have in house only dates back to 1990...The Albuquerque MSA’s previous high was 6.8 percent in June 1993. Add in folks working only part-time and you have a lot of job hunters out there. The statewide official jobless rate is 6.5 percent, but probably considerably higher say economic experts. The pain is spreading to previously exempt areas--like Carlsbad. The SE NM city lost a call center this week that employed 100. Finding replacement jobs is the challenge. The center had been in the city for nearly 10 years. E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Wednesday, July 01, 2009Second Banana: Updated Dem Light Guv List; New GOP #2 Contender Eyes Run, And: State's Current Second Fiddle Feels Some Summer Heat It was famously said by Vice-President John Nance Garner that his office was "not worth a bucket of warm spit." The same might be said for New Mexico's #2 position, but never have so many wanted so little. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the latest list of prospective and announced Democratic 2010 Lieutenant Governor candidates as updated by our Senior Alligators:ABQ State Senator Linda Lopez; Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano; Mid-Region Council of Governments executive Lawrence Rael; NM Democratic Party chairman Brian Colon; State Auditor Hector Balderas; former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron; State Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino; ABQ State Senator Tim Eichenberg; Espanola Mayor Joseph Maestas and State Senator Pete Campos. If there was ever a recipe for a political free for all, this race for lieutenant governor is it. Even the Alligators can't handicap this race. But let's see how many of these prospective candidates are left standing come October when it will be time to get serious and gather petition signatures. THE CLAYTON CANDIDATE? Brian Moore  The list of prospective #2's is not nearly as long on the Republican side of the aisle, but there is interest. Today we can tell you that former Clayton area State Rep. Brian Moore is looking at starting up a campaign, and doing it as soon as mid-July. Moore, owner of the Clayton Ranch Market, says education and ethics are two of the obvious issues for the 2010 cycle. He is a native of southern Colorado (Trinidad) who came to the state in the mid-90's. He voluntarily retired from the Legislature where he sat on the appropriations committee and was respected on both sides of the aisle for his financial acumen. Moore would conceivably balance a Republican Guv ticket with an ABQ candidate at the top. Santa Fe's J.R. Damron is also eyeing a Light Guv run.CURRENT NUMBER TWO She may have donated to an affordable housing nonprofit group the $5,000 she collected for her Guv run from characters involved in the housing authority scandal, but Lt. Gov Diane Denish is not being left off the hook by the Republicans--and one e-mailer identifying himself most appropriately as "Al. E. Gator" who says: Denish's choice of the United South Broadway Corporation (USBC) for the Housing Authority contributions still smacks of political gain from tainted sources. After all, USBC is a politically connected non-profit. It's executive director, Diana Dorn-Jones, has even run for elected office and is former Chief Operating Officer for Mayor Chavez. Is Dorn-Jones staying out of the 2010 cycle perhaps, or should we now expect her to put her political muscle behind Denish? There were scores of worthy non-profits Denish could have given the tainted money to, non-profits without the serious political undertones... Dorn-Jones ran for the ABQ City Council in 2005 and was defeated by Ike Benton who is seeking re-election this year. Her candidacy imploded when she did not correctly answer the Journal questionnaire about whether she had ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy. AND MORE PUSH BACK  Denish was also pushing back this week against all the politicians forming "exploratory committees" to weigh a possible Guv run, saying with a bit of bravado:I, however, do not need to explore the idea of running for Governor; I am running and want to be the next Governor of New Mexico. Now there is push back to Di's push back. And why wouldn't there be as this Guv race draws closer and closer? From Santa Fe and Democrat Jim Terr comes the retort: "I’m very aware that you’re running for Governor because I keep reading about the incessant fundraisers. Do you suppose you’ve got enough money in the bank, enough of a lead in fundraising, to consider how rotten is this system of constant fundraising? I don’t plan to vote for any candidate who doesn’t stop and take a stand for public campaign financing. I would like to see you have a little time for study, contemplation, governing, and looking out for my interests--which you must know is inhibited when you have to spend all your time fundraising. That's some good ol' fashioned summer heat there. But Denish supporters can be consoled that she wouldn't be getting any if she wasn't leading the race. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Tuesday, June 30, 2009Possible Shredding of Flying Tacos Prompts Finger-Pointing; Heinrich In Middle, Plus: How An Enchilada Became A Taco, And: He's Back: Foley Follies
Rep. Heinrich Eyes Tacos
  The finger-pointing is starting over why the Tacos may be shredded. We speak, of course, of the NM Air National Guard 150th Fighter Wing stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, employing nearly 1,100 and pumping $25 million a year into the local economy. Yes, ABQ Dem US Rep. Martin Heinrich has managed to get through the US House legislation that would delay the dismantling of the storied Tacos, but getting another permanent mission for them remains an uphill battle. The Wing has 40 fighter pilots and flies aging F-16's that are being retired. The Pentagon has not given the Tacos a new mission, making it clear it is not of a mind to save the wing--unless forced to.Alarm and the aforementioned finger-pointing is spreading as the prospect of the Tacos getting crunched is fully digested. We have Alligators in the Tacos. Here is an e-mail from one of them with an eye-opening critique of why we reached this point. It's stuff you haven't heard anywhere else: Here's the dirty little secret. There are plenty of missions we can get into--C130's, CV-22's, helicopters, UAV's (Unmanned aerial vehicles), intelligence and cyber warfare. The list is long and the Air Force desperately needs Guard units to take them...The fighter pilots who run our organization won't hear it. Fighter planes or nothing, and nothing is what we will get. 1,100 good paying jobs will go down the toilet. Some of these new missions would CREATE more jobs! The National Guard has as much of a state mission as a federal one. You can't rescue anyone with an F-16. C-130's, helicopters, UAV's all have good applications to help save New Mexican lives...C-130's can be equipped to fight forest fires. UAV's can be used to search for stranded hikers, monitor the border, track bad guys, etc. What's going on with the 150th's mission needs to be brought to light. Hard working, honest New Mexicans are being discarded for the egos of a few fighter pilots. Nobody is calling them out. To do so would end your career. They absolutely blew it by not locking another mission down when (GOP US Senator) Domenici was still in office. Rep. Heinrich says he wants the Tacos to keep some kind of flying mission--not necessarily as fighters--so they can stay intact until new fighter aircraft can be assigned to the wing. Not insisting on a fighter role, but on any flying mission is a new flexibility, but does Heinrich need to be even more flexible? He says: "...Keeping (the Tacos) in the air in some form...is critical to continuing to play on their strengths and what they can best offer our armed forces..That's why we've been pushing so hard for...a mission that involves piloting aircraft as opposed...to doing UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or...other missions that we've seen floated."
The flying Tacos have a proud 60 year history, but focusing only on a flying mission when other missions may be available risks getting nothing and adding to the already record unemployment levels afflicting the metro area. This was not a problem of Congressman Heinrich's making---it was left to fester--but now that he owns it, he (and our US Senators) may need to lay down the law and say a Taco on the ground is as appetizing as one in the air. MORE TACO BLOGGING  Our continuing coverage of the Taco controversy has generated additional e-mail and new blog readers. Chuck "Chuckie" Feurgson is one of the Taco fighter pilots. He sent us this cool history on how the Tacos were once enchiladas.In the early '50s, the NM Air National Guard did a lot of travelling around the country. Some of our enlisted folks were quite adept at the culinary arts, and made it customary to cook a big enchilada dinner as a farewell gesture to our hosts (a tradition that still holds true to this day). So, we quickly picked up the nickname "The Enchilada Air Force." Soon after, our pilots began flying with the "Enchilada" call sign, and did so up to when we deployed to South Vietnam. The controllers in Vietnam did not like the call sign "Enchilada" because it had too many syllables and made it difficult to pronounce...Our pilots suggested the call sign "Taco." It worked, and the rest is history. We've been known as "The Tacos" ever since...The 40th anniversary of our return from Vietnam was on June 4th. Congrats on that anniversary to Chuck and the rest of the Tacos. We're honored to have them checking in here and you can be sure we'll be following their story wherever it leads. HARRY'S MATCH Southern NM Congressman Harry Teague wouldn't say who the generous supporters are who are matching dollar for dollar recent campaign donations. He unveiled the novel pitch in an e-mail message: Thanks to the generosity of some of my strongest supporters any donation that is made to my re-election campaign before Tuesday, June 30th will be matched dollar for dollar by another supporter. Sounds like Harry has a telethon going on. FOLLOWING FOLEY Dan Foley  He's long out of the public eye, having lost his Roswell legislative seat to Dennis Kintigh in 2008, but ex-GOP State Rep. Dan Foley might not have taken to heart those election results. KRQE-TV reports Foley, who now lives in Rio Rancho, has continued to drive with the special license plates awarded only to sitting legislators. Foley's pick-up truck was picked up by an ABQ red light camera showing him going 46 mph in a 35 mph zone. The photo also revealed the special legislator license plate. The former House Minority Whip says he was unaware that he was to turn the prestige plates back to the state as soon as he ended his legislative term. The 10 year lawmaker added that he planned to return the plates when they expire so he doesn’t have to pay MVD fees again to re-register his car. Well, he always claimed to be a "fiscal conservative."Foley now lives in Rio Rancho where he sells insurance. Despite his defeat in Roswell, there is already talk that Foley may try to revive his legislative career by running in 2010 for the Rio Rancho legislative seat held by freshman Dem Jack Thomas. Foley was defeated with major assistance from Roswell oilman Mark Murphy who spent over $250,000 to oust the controversial lawmaker. Look for the checkbook to come out again if Foley tries a legislative re-entry. And you can print that in bold on a license plate. E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Monday, June 29, 2009Pearce Not Ready To Play; Delays Decision On 2010; Could Guv Be His Best Shot? Plus: Di Putting Out Some Fires
Pearce (New Mexican)
 There's tentativeness in the Steve Pearce camp. The former southern NM Congressman previously said he would make a decision by June 30 on whether to seek his old southern congressional seat or launch a bid for Guv by 2010. Now he is delaying that decision until the July 20 to July 27 time frame. Insiders are saying the 61 year old Pearce is very likely to want to see more polling before deciding whether to plunge into or stay out of the political waters.Pearce's camp is spinning that the 2008 Democratic sweep of the state's congressional delegation can be written off as an "historically bad year." The Dems captured the three open US House seats as well as the vacant Senate seat. But history has another very different lesson. It says that the opposition retaking a congressional seat is the real historical anomaly. Since 1972, only one incumbent NM US House member has been ousted, and that was in a fluke race in the north in the late 90's. New Mexicans are as likely to change their congressmen as they are their allegiance to their Aggies or Lobos--which is to say hardly ever. PEARCE FOR GOVERNOR?  Can we argue for a moment that Pearce's best bet to resurrect his political career may not be the southern congressional seat now held by Lea County Dem Harry Teague, but a run for Governor? That may sound like a stretch, given Pearce's very conservative profile that doesn't play well in the ABQ metro and up North. But consider this: New Mexico has been known to give the R's the Guv's chair, especially after a period when corruption news dominates. (Mechem in '50, Cargo in '66; Johnson in '94).Pearce, a former state legislator, is not associated with the current mess, has a reputation for integrity and would have believability when he campaigned on cleaning up Santa Fe. Also, his military background has particular appeal among male Hispanics. Pearce's problem is his ideology. Would he stubbornly cling to the too far-right policies that have spelled disaster for this generation of New Mexico Republicans? Politicians change all the time and Pearce's image is not set in stone statewide, but it takes strength to change. As for campaign money, that takes us to Pearce's personal oil-based wealth. Pearce will count on national money that may or may not come for a southern congressional run. That will largely depend on polling. For a Guv run, he might feel more pressure to write a personal check to kick-start a campaign. National money is not going to be heavily involved in that race. Pearce is estimated to be worth north of $10 million. But it may be money he wants to keep for a long retirement rather than an political comeback that is going to be uphill no matter the race he might choose to enter. Our bottom lines on this are.... We know the scuttlebutt that Pearce is not a Santa Fe fan and not anxious to take up residence in the Guv's mansion, but if ethics and corruption are to be the banner issues for the GOP next year, a case can be made that Pearce could have major potential. At least we just attempted to make that case. TURNER'S TURN? Doug Turner  While Pearce ponders, another Republican is making louder noises about joining the three GOP contenders already up with exploratory committees for the '10 Guv run. Public relations executive Doug Turner has been traveling the state and talking with potential staffers for a Guv run. The 40 year old has never sought elective office. He is seen as a moderate R who would compete with ABQ GOP State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones. Conservatives Greg Zanetti and Allen Weh have been in the race for a couple of months.IN THE OTHER CORNER... For Lt. Governor Diane Denish, the very early front runner in the 2010 Guv race, these languid summer days are filled with rumors and rumors of rumors. The latest that swept across the state like a fast moving Monsoon was that she had reconvened her transition team. It was first formed late last year when it appeared Big Bill was heading to a cabinet job in D.C. The rumor that she had reformed it led to speculation that something was afoot with the tenure of Bill. But Denish's office moved to quash the gossip: There is absolutely no truth to that rumor. The Lieutenant Governor has not reconvened her transition team. Diane Denish is focused on serving the people of New Mexico as Lieutenant Governor, continuing to make state government more open and transparent. And it seem like Di is ready to rumble. Take a gander at this campaign message she zapped into cyberspace: You may have heard over the last couple of weeks that there are several people who said they are "exploring" a run for Governor. I, however, do not need to explore the idea of running for Governor; I am running and want to be the next Governor of New Mexico. Okay, if you say so, Di. THERE'S MORE Denish  And then there was the Light Guv's mini brush fire over donations she received from some of the key figures in the NM housing authority scandal.The Lt. Governor cut a check donating the funds we received in relation to the housing indictments to the United South Broadway Corporation. The check was for $5,000. There's some deja vu with that one. Remember how Big Bill was constantly returning campaign donations when he was getting busted in the newspapers in his earlier years for taking money from those who then ended up with contracts from the state? Denish has had a few episodes of her own, including this latest one. Suffice it to say, she doesn't need any more. BLOG BUG We are having technical difficulties for a number of readers using Internet Explorer to view the blog. The margins are out of whack. We are working on the problem and apologize for the inconvenience. NEW MEXICANS TO WHITE HOUSE Friends of Lynn Rosenthal, executive Director of the NM Coalition Against Domestic Violence, have been sending in this notice of Rosenthal's appointment as the White House's new advisor on violence against women. And friends of Raul Torrez, 32, of ABQ also wanted it known that the assistant attorney general in the special prosecutions division for AG King has been named a White House Fellow for 2009-2010. The program is for promising future leaders and it is a hard-to-get appointment. Don't get too homesick, Raul. Tell mom to send you green chile. They don't serve that in the White House cafeteria. E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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