Greg Zanetti
The 2010 race for the GOP nomination for Governor seems even more wide open in the wake of the Friday afternoon announcement from Greg Zanetti that he will pull the plug on his short-lived effort. Zanetti said he was getting out because the campaign was too much of a strain on his family. My inside sources said a key reason for Zanetti's departure from the political scene is that he has apparently been offered a sought after job in the business world or is in the process of securing such a position. Also, fund-raising has not been easy, but his spokesman said the campaign has raised about $100,000, much of which he said will now be refunded. Greg, 51, is a longtime ABQ financial adviser. His wife, Teresa, is a former ABQ GOP State Rep. who lost her seat in 2008. He is familiar to many New Mexicans, not as a political figure but as an experienced financial analyst for ABQ TV news. His spokesman insisted that it was family considerations that was the overriding reason for the decision to call it quits.

ABQ GOP State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, who has formed an exploratory committee for Governor, told me late Friday the development makes the GOP race "even more wide open." But Janice also said that would change rapidly if former ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson gets in.

"That's the elephant in the room, but other candidates can't wait. We have to get started now. If she does decide to run, you could see fewer candidates."

Those "fewer candidates" would likely include Janice who cited Wilson's ability to raise money quickly and put together an organization.

One of our Senior Alligators speculated about the Zanetti withdrawal this way:

"This could be read as a sign that Heather may get into this thing. It's been pretty clear the last week or two that Republicans are trying to entice Heather into running. Zanetti probably weighed some of that in his decision. This could be read as an encouraging sign for Heather's supporters. Zanetti was the apparent front-runner in a field of also-rans and it makes you wonder if his getting out isn't related to her position."

But Wilson is in Africa and can take several more months to make up her mind. Party pros say pressure on her to get in or out will not start to mount in R circles until late October. Meantime, the tea leaf readers will be all over the map.

Zanetti was a true-blue conservative and his withdrawal leaves former GOP Chair Allen Weh as a possible beneficiary, but Weh's tumultuous tenure as chair has made it tough for him to make significant inroads as he explores a guv run.

Since Zanetti was an ABQ candidate, I told KOB-TV in a late Friday interview that you might speculate his withdrawal would help ABQ's Arnold-Jones or ABQ public relations executive Doug Turner who is seriously considering a run. Turner agreed with Janice that the GOP race remains a wide open affair, pending a Wilson decision.

Even as Zanetti was getting out, Dona Ana County GOP District Attorney Susana Martinez was getting in, making a formal announcement in Las Cruces Friday afternoon. Insiders are not going to count her or anyone else out as this unsettled enviornment dominates.

The upside of the Zanetti withdrawal and the Wilson uncertainty is that it creates interest in the downtrodden Republican Party. The not so good news is that Dem Diane Denish has $1.9 million in cash and is a strong front runner for her party's nod. Unless the remaining GOP candidates can somehow start raising big money and/or igniting excitement, the Dems will remain the favorites to keep the power that goes with the Fourth Floor of the storied Santa Fe Roundhouse.

Here is Greg Zanetti's complete withdrawal statement:

ALBUQUERQUE — Greg Zanetti announced today he no longer is seeking the Republican nomination for governor. Zanetti cited family concerns as the reason for his decision to withdraw.

“Last year I was deployed with the 75 New Mexico National Guardsmen to Guantanamo Bay. This deployment, as all Guard deployments, was more difficult for families than for the Guard members themselves, Zanetti said.

“I returned to New Mexico and immediately began exploring a run for governor. I traveled our state for the past six months, visiting all four corners and many communities. I met hundreds of New Mexicans and was greeted warmly. These travels only increased my love of New Mexico and my fellow citizens,” Zanetti said.

“But to myself and to my family these travels seemed like another deployment. I missed a number of important family events. I have concluded that another year away from my family is just not acceptable, so today I notified GOP Chairman Harvey Yates and other potential Republican candidates that I will not seek our party’s nomination,” Zanetti said.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Time for some of end of the week clippings from my summer newsroom floor. And the newsroom floor was cluttered for a mid-summer week with a bunch of political news making headlines. But we have our broom and have swept up the clippings and here we go...

We are getting the first hints of the restructuring that needs to be done at the top levels of the New Mexican government pay scale as we deal with a more restrictive economic era. The president of the Central NM Community College, Kathy Winogard, has been given a one year contract extension, but her salary of $206,000 will not go up. What? A big government salary not increasing? Egads!

Governor Big Bill took a symbolic step this year and reduced by two percent the salaries of his political appointees. However, there has been no movement on the too-high salaries at the University of New Mexico--the UNM president and the chief operating office pull in well over $1 million a year between them--or the city of ABQ, where some top director salaries are now well over $110,000. But if in the future policy makers are going to be forced to lay off mid-level employees or force them to take unpaid holidays, how will they justify these bloated salaries?

The CNM board action may indicate that the populist argument is starting to resonate. Mayoral candidate Richard Romero has started to rattle the cage over the number of highly-paid city political appointees that were added to the payroll during the record economic run that finally crashed in 2008. Will he get any mileage out if for the October 6 election?

Diane Denish came with another strong campaign finance report Wednesday, reminding any potential Dem challengers (Hello, Michael Sanchez) for the 2010 Dem Guv nomination that the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. The news that the lieutenant governor raised $512,000 in the second quarter will also be heard loudly by Heather Wilson, the remaining heavyweight R on the sidelines who insiders see as having the best chance of derailing the Denish express. Wilson has not yet ruled out a run. Five other R's have either formed a committee or expressed serious interest. With this report, Denish has laid down a marker for them when they come with the first required finance reports in October. Denish has been releasing her reports more frequently than the loose state laws require. Dems say its an example her R' challengers should also adopt as the campaign season heats up. The AP's Barry Massey goes long and deep on the numbers. Denish's full report is posted on her Web site. Scroll down the page.

Tacos
How best to save the Tacos? With 1,100 jobs at stake and $25 million a year coming into the ABQ economy because of the 150th NM Air National Guard Fighter Wing stationed at Kirtland Air Force base, it's an argument worth having. And we've been having it right here on this blog. We don't think an ABQ with flat population growth and few job opportunities is the best vision for our future and we fear losing the Tacos could open up more raids on KAFB jobs.

Some of the Alligators have been urging ABQ Dem Congressman Martin Heinrich, who has taken a leadership role in trying to keep the Tacos here, to not rule out going after other Air Force missions that don't involve fighter jets. But they're getting push back to that notion. The 21 aging F-16's the Tacos fly are being put out to pasture in seven years and KAFB is not slated to get the new fighter jets that will replace them. But Sherman McCorkle, who leads the Kirtland Partnership Committee that saved Kirtland and its thousands of jobs from near-extinction back in 1995, maintains there is no realistic alternative to a fighting mission. He told me over a recent cup of Starbucks:

"Alternative missions, such as UAV's are not available and even if they were, they would employ only a fraction of the guardsmen and civilians we now have. The F-16's the Air Force wants to move out of here are not being sent to the bone yard. They will still be flying over the next seven years, but at other air bases, We don't see how this saves any money or makes any sense.
Our best bet is to keep pushing the Air Force and Pentagon to back off and to keep the Tacos flying here with an eye toward getting the new fighters when the F-16's are finally phased out.

But getting the Pentagon to back off may not be so easy. Defense Secretary Gates is a determined downsizer and it appears he believes that having the F-16's operate at other bases--not KAFB--until the new fighter comes on line will indeed save significant funds.

We agreed with our e-mailers that Rep. Heinrich should pursue whatever mission he can to save the jobs, but if McCorkle is right and there are no other available non-fighter missions, what can he do? Do you Taco watchers agree with Sherman's view? Let us know.

RELATED NEWS ON THIS
Rep. Heinrich
While we were putting this story together, this came over the wires from Governor Bill and the congressional delegation:

SANTA FE –...Richardson applauded the U.S. Air Force’s announcement that it will permanently locate two unmanned vehicle training operations at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico. Holloman has been chosen as the new location for an additional MQ-1/9 formal training unit and will soon be home to the MQ-1 Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper.

That's 600 jobs, including 150 contractors, according to Sen. Bingaman's office. Should KAFB and the Tacos been working in previous years for a non-fighter mission to replace the Tacos? Well, that's water under the bridge, but one Taco who e-mailed us was not ready to turn the page:

As a Taco I was really not very happy to see new hardware being announced for Holloman today! Even more UAV's are on the way. Good for them but a tremendous mistake by the Tacos for once again not going after the missions that are available. With the F-22 mission alone, Holloman is going to be safe for decades. I would be very curious as to what Rep. Heinrich has to say about this. The folks in the Guard leadership have some explaining to do.

Meantime, we await further Congressional action on Rep. Heinrich's House-passed legislation that would delay the demise of the Taco's--at least for one budget year. If we get that win, Heinrich will deserve at least a couple of free taco plates at the restaurant of his choice.

SUSANA'S STORY
Susana Martinez
We think they're hometowning it just a bit in Las Cruces when they call the expected entry of Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez into the 2010 GOP race for governor a "game-changer." But having a Hispanic woman run for the job can't hurt the marginalized R's. We think it may be a first and can understand the local pride. (The ABQ congressional candidacy of Jon Barela is also a step toward renewal for the GOP). Martinez is a regional candidate, unknown outside of her home area. In fact, in her many years as DA, we don't recall ever seeing her on ABQ TV news. But it will take only 20 percent of the delegates at the March 2010 pre-primary convention to get a spot on the June primary ballot, so maybe her hometown energy will give her a solid launch.

The 50 year old who was first elected DA in 1996 will bring some corruption fighting credentials to the table in what is now a crowded race to become the GOP standard-bearer. However, fresh and extensive Republican polling being leaked to me indicates that ethics and corruption have yet to be established as the paramount issues in the race for the Fourth Floor. In fact, education and the economy, according to those supplying the info, rank higher. That may surprise the newspaper editorial writers but not the political insiders. Still, continued ethics explosions (indictments) and perhaps ethics becomes the really big deal. And for DA Martinez, the issue is probably more important in a Republican primary than a general election.

R's have nominated a Hispanic contender before--John Sanchez in 2004. And while her ethnicity could be a hurdle in a very Anglo party, the more pressing concern to some observers is whether she has the gravitas for the position she seeks. Why after 12 years on the job has she not established more of a statewide reputation, especially if she harbors ambitions for the state's highest office? But Martinez's impressive personal narrative has long had appeal to GOP professionals seeking to broaden their party. This is their chance to make something of it.

MORE SUSANA ANALYSIS

Martinez's entry forces the hand of the other possible female GOP Guv contender--ABQ State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones. She has formed an "exploratory committee" while Susana is going all in. Neither woman is well-funded yet, with Martinez said to have about $10,000 to get her candidacy off the ground. Arnold-Jones just recently had her first fund-raiser.

The geographic disadvantage faced by the Dona Ana DA is evident in the way she will apparently announce her candidacy--at 5:30 this Friday afternoon at Roberto's restaurant in Las Cruces. That is a regional play, not a statewide one. But others will argue as the only non-ABQ candidate (so far) Martinez's appeal will go beyond her county's borders.

In one of those "only in New Mexico" moments, on the day that Martinez's candidacy leaked, Roberto's restaurant was downgraded to unsatisfactory by the NM Environment Dept. because of cleanliness issues. Welcome, to La Politica, Susana. (Should we check those frozen tamales from Roberto's we have tucked away?)

Susana was born in El Paso and moved to Cruces in 1986 after graduating from Oklahoma University Law School. Her husband, Las Cruces native Chuck Franco, is also in law enforcement, serving as Dona Ana County Undersheriff. Here is her complete resume.

Martinez, Allen Weh, Greg Zanetti, Doug Turner, Janice Arnold-Jones. All are talented in their own way, but none are top-tier names. That's keeping Democratic front-runner Diane Denish off the anti-depressants and all eyes glued on the lone top-tier Republican candidate still on the fence--Heather Wilson.

DODGING THE CAMERAS

If you've been with us this week, you've heard the back and forth over "viewer advocacy journalism" and what role it played in the firing of the news director at KRQE-TV. Well, whatever the case, longtime investigative reporter Larry Barker trudges on with what might be called his own version of VAJ. Here he is with a six minute piece on double-dipping by "retired" government employees. PERA Board Chair Cynthia Borrego grimaces and protests as do a bunch of other government functionaries caught in the spotlight, but all of them fail to give an answer on why some folks are "retiring" for a month, only to go back to their government jobs and continue to collect both a retirement check and their work paycheck. The abuse, reports Barker, will finally get the attention of Attorney General King. ABQ Dem. State Rep. Al Park is looking at it from the legislative angle.

The unions moaning mightily about the increased percentage of their paychecks that has been mandated to go into the state retirement kitty might want to pay special attention. This double-dipping is a major drain on the retirement funds which have already suffered hits because of the decline in the stock market.

PASSWORD PROBLEM?
Sec. Herrera
Our Alligators are working the angle on that employee at the Secretary of State's office who the office says is the subject of an investigation but neither the employee or the SOS's office will say why he is being investigated. First, Dan Boyd of the ABQ Journal lays out the key point.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera said the assessment (of her Web site) has uncovered potential criminal violations committed...That employee, Brad Allen, is the same one who raised the possibility the agency's network isn't secure as currently configured. He has denied any wrongdoing and said he doesn't know what the investigation is focusing on. The repairs that forced the Web site to be shut down for nearly a week have drawn criticism from the public and legislators, who have said a backup system should have been in place and notification given about the decision to take the site off-line.

Now from our tech Alligator:

What I heard is that their techie changed all of the access (i.e. passwords) and refused to release them prompting them (the SOS office) to contract with Mark Fidel's company--Caanes--and Andrew Baca's ABBA Technologies to rebuild the web site and servers from the ground up. The talk is of federal charges, but you didn’t hear this from me.

With the bad press the SOS is getting, she should enjoy her appearance today on Capitol Hill:

A Congressional Subcommittee has chosen New Mexico as model of efficient provisional and overseas balloting. Secretary of State Herrera has been invited to testify about New Mexico’s provisional balloting process and overseas voting process by the Committee on House Administration...New Mexico’s laws have been recognized as the standard for the development of Federal voting-related laws and guidelines...

THE BOTTOM LINES

We have a winner of the six month free supply of Coca-Cola products, and we'll tell you about it tomorrow. We'll also have another contest soon for free Coke, and we promise to make it a bit easier.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news tips and comments.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

There will be no jobs boom because of funding for Sandia Labs. The same for Los Alamos. But recent action in D.C. also appears to spare the national defense Labs from drastic spending cuts. The budget making its way through the Congressional maze appears to fund the labs within a percent or so of what they are now getting. We won't be sure until late September. But the money paragraph in the ABQ Journal news article that described the long-term outlook for the labs was buried. And that's the story that needs to be highlighted:

While the current spending plans appear to offer stability for the labs, the following year's budget might not be as good for them, said David Culp, a lobbyist for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, an arms control group. "The big battle will be next year," Culp said. "Success is never permanent in Washington," Senator Jeff Bingaman pointed out.

Fast forward to the summer of 2010 and we'll probably be in the midst of a major budget battle over the labs, just as the campaigns for the state's three US House seats heat up.

PEELING THE NUCLEAR ONION

While funding for the budget year starting October 1 appears relatively stable (Senator Bingaman gets some kudos) it still represents a long term, downward trend in overall lab funding.

Because of their importance, let's repeat some numbers and analysis of figures released by Bingaman's office in May. In fiscal year 2008, he says DOE funding for Sandia was $1.40 billion. In FY 2009 it went down to $1.322 billion. The President has requested $1.342 billion for DOE Sandia funding for the fiscal year starting this October--FY 2010. Throw in some onetime federal stimulus money and you soften the blow for the coming budget year.

Sandia gets more than DOE money. It's total revenue, according to its Web site, for FY '08 was $2.294 billion. The estimate for this fiscal year was $2.249 billion, a reduction of $45 million.

Bingaman says the overall DOE appropriation for the state two years ago-- in FY 2008--was $4.54 billion. The president's request for the upcoming year is $4.0 billion, a reduction of $500 million or about 11 percent.

Maybe we tick up from that $4.0 billion when the budget is finalized, but the trend from FY 2008 is down and likely to continue. We know this can be hard to follow, but there is an historic and deep seated bias among policy makers and the press here to see lab funding thru rose-colored glasses. And why not? We've had a great 60 year run. But even a small reduction in funding has a large ripple effect. All the more reason to be seeking other federal programs as well as new industry. Barring unforeseen developments or large, onetime projects the national labs have seen their peak budget years. Why? Because, in a nutshell, nuclear weapons ain't what they used to be.

FOLLOW THE PEOPLE

The population of Los Alamos County in 2000 was 18,344. In 2008, the estimate was down to 18,150. The labs and their future size---it's the really big story of the second decade of this new century in New Mexico.

ETHICS DUST

Knipfing vs. Carr
A newsroom showdown has them talking in TV land. The news director for the top-rated ABQ TV news operation, Forrest Carr, was abruptly given the axe last week after serving in the post for less than a year at CBS affiliate KRQE-TV. One of our media Alligators has the back story--the one you won't get anywhere else: