Shine by Kiki
Has it come to this? The chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee shining shoes at the Roundhouse to raise money to resolve the state's mammoth budget deficit? Well, we don't know how much ABQ Dem Rep. Kiki Saavedra gets paid for his shoe shining duties, but he looks like he knows his stuff and every bit helps in chipping away at the giant deficit. He's caught in this snapshot buffing the shoe leather of capitol employee David Ortiz. Now, if Kiki could just get some of those 19 University of New Mexico vice-presidents pulling down $4.5 million a year to help out at the shoe shine stand, we just might make a bigger dent in the $600 million deficit.

Come to think of it, Kiki, if you have to axe those Veeps, you might arrange some small business loans for them. Those Roundhouse lobbyists like to keep their Gucci's nice and shiny.

PETE SENIOR ON PETE JR.

Former US Senator Pete Domenici was not exactly brimming over with enthusiasm in discussing the GOP Guv run of his son, Pete Domenici Jr., when he discussed the entry with the ABQ Journal's Michael Coleman. The interview reflects the mixed signals that we heard about Pete Jr's entry from certain members of the Domenici family and former Domenici staffers. Pete Sr. said he pointed out the pitfalls of a Guv run before Pete Jr. pulled the trigger, but now that he is in he is supportive. The interview raises questions on how active the former Senator will be in raising money on behalf of his 50 year old attorney son. Our guess is as the race heats up, the emotional ties will take over and Pete Sr. will get more into this campaign than might be expected.

There's also a weird psychology angle at play here. Pete Sr. ran for Governor in 1970 and lost to Bruce King, his only state election loss. Now the son wants to accomplish what the father couldn't. Just some food for thought or something. And then there's the issue we previously hit on--the legacy of Senator Domenici and how it will be impacted by a rough and tumble campaign.

RACE ACTION

St. Pete Jr. is the odds-on favorite of the GOP. He is all name, and no substance, but that doesn't seem to matter to the unwashed masses here. They think that Daddy Domenici (former US Senator Pete Domenici) saved them from economic bankruptcy, and they think that St. Junior will be able to do the same. Alan Weh, and the rest of the Republican field might as well save their money, or return their contributions, because they're all on that road to nowhere and they all have something to fear, and it's big, out-of-state GOP money.

But don't think that (Democrat) Diane Denish is totally out of the loop when it comes to raising money. I know that the Democrats will fight tooth and nail to get her elected. The Dems will also attract big names and big national money. The only ones going to benefit this Governor's race will be the people the candidates have to buy media time from. hey have a helluva fight on their hands with St. Baby, and they know it. It's going to be a wonderful year, politically.

HOW TO GET IT DONE

Sens. Bingaman & Udall
New Mexico US Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall are refusing to release the list of individuals they have interviewed for the position of US Attorney, arguing that it is a "privacy issue." That's the same argument Governor Richardson used when he refused to release the names of the 59 political appointees he said he was dismissing to achieve budget savings. But the reliable sources that power this blog and who have disclosed many of the "Richardson 59" now come with the list of all the attorneys Bingaman and Udall interviewed back in September for the US Attorney position currently held by Republican Greg Fouratt.

Senator Bingaman, in refusing to release the names Wednesday, told reporters a short list has been sent to the White House where a final choice will be made. More on that, but first here is the list of those interviewed as compiled by Senior Alligators and Legal Beagles with records of 99.9 percent accuracy:

• John Pound, Santa Fe Attorney, Obama campaign coordinator in New Mexico

• Al Park, Albuquerque Attorney and State Representative

• Pete Dinelli, former Chief Public Safety Officer for Albuquerque; former chief deputy district attorney
  

• Stan Whitaker, State District Court Judge, former New Mexico assistant US Attorney, went to high school with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

• Greg Fouratt, current acting US Attorney appointed by federal judges two years ago
  

• Damon Martinez, NM Assistant US Attorney. Worked for both Bingaman and Udall as aide in Washington. Practicing about 10 years; was on Board of Directors of Hispanic Bar Association

• Ken Gonzales, NM Assistant US Attorney, been in Assistant US Attorney about 10 years;

• Pres Torres, NM Assistant US Attorney, over 25 years experience or more. Has been supervisor in office

• Fred Federici, NM Assistant US Attorney, Division Supervisor in office.

• Roberto Ortega, NM Assistant US Attorney with 15 to 20 years experience
  

• Kyle Nayback, Assistant US Attorney in New Mexico about10 years experience, American Indian heritage and husband of ABQ Metro Judge Briana Zamora

Bingaman and Udall both interviewed all 11 applicants the last week of September and have refused to release to the press the short list of names submitted to White House. KRQE-TV has made repeated requests.

WHOSE THE FAVE?

Our senior sources report Ken Gonzales flew to Washington in late December to be interviewed by the Justice Department and he is believed to be the only one to have been interviewed. Also, insiders report the FBI conducted a background check on Gonzales in January and interviewed staffers about Gonzales at the Federal Public Defender's Office as well as some Federal judges.

Informed speculation has Democrat Gonzales as the front runner and current US attorney Greg Fouratt staying on as his First Assistant. Our Legal Beagles report Fouratt has hired over 30 attorneys in the last year. Gonzales does not have significant supervisory experience. Fouratt boasted in a public appearance earlier this month that he knows who the new US Attorney will be and that he and New Mexico will be pleased with the choice.

WHY UNKNOWN GONZALES?

Fouratt has been investigating a wide array of pay-to-play allegations against Democratic Governor Bill Richardson, but he failed to come with indictments in the CDR bond scandal. The current fed probe concerns investments of New Mexico's permanent funds by the State Investment Council and whether there was political pressure involved in making any investments.

Democrats Udall and Bingaman may be favoring an unknown for the US attorney slot because of concern that having a Dem attorney with political ties will give Republicans ammo to accuse them of trying to thwart the federal investigations. But why, if our sources have it right, is only one candidate being interviewed by Justice?

The eventual nominee must be confirmed by the US Senate and go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for questioning. One of the questions they may want to ask, say the Legal Beagles, is how independent would Gonzales be of Fouratt? Will New Mexico truly be getting a new US Attorney or a clone? And if Bingaman and Udall are fearful of the political consequences of moving Fouratt aside, why not just push the Republican for the post?

THE SENATORS SECRETS

The Senators decision that the short list of nominees they sent to the White House culled from the names listed above should be kept private is not standard procedure. Short lists of nominees to become US attorneys for other jurisdictions have been publicly released elsewhere.

The ABQ Journal, usually aggressive in pursuing government secrecy issues, has stayed silent on the US attorney selection, printing no articles on possible candidates or the future direction or conduct of the office under a Democratic leader. The Santa Fe New Mexican has editorialized against the selection of attorney John Pound.

The New Mexico press has been generally friendly to Fouratt, probably because of his aggressive attitude towards government corruption.

But the release of the names of the US attorney candidates is about the public's right to know, not just of a possibly pre-selected final choice, but of all those who were interviewed and to have a chance to weigh in on the matter if they so desire.

TEAGUE TALK

We talked up Congressman Harry Teague Tuesday night in Santa Fe just as the results came in that the Republicans had pulled up that huge US Senate upset in Massachusetts, but the freshman southern NM lawmaker was as cool as a cucumber.

He insisted the race was not a bellwether for what might await him at the hands of GOP challenger Steve Pearce in the conservative leaning district. But that isn't stopping the national R's from terrorizing Teague with the Bay State results. Spokeswoman Joanna Burgos unloaded both barrels:

Harry Teague, who supports the Democrat agenda nearly 89 percent of the time, is misrepresenting his constituents in a district that for years voted for fiscally-conservative Republican representation in Congress and voted for the last three Republican presidential nominees. There is no doubt that Harry Teague woke up in fear today as he realized that, in November, he will pay the price for advancing the Obama-Pelosi big-government, tax-and-spend agenda.”

We joked with Teague, asking whether he will put up a billboard in Hobbs of Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and himself. He laughed aloud and replied: "No, I won't, but they (the R's) probably will."

POLITICAL SIMPLICITY

Dem Lt. Governor candidate Lawrence Rael, former head of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, bases his campaign in part on his success in getting the Rail Runner commuter train to Santa Fe up and running. Now the Rail Runner is in financial trouble and service may have to be cut. That does not help Lawrence Rael.

REPUBLICAN NOMINATION BATTLE

The rumblings we reported this week among some R's of having GOP Guv candidate and Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez switch over and seek the GOP nod for attorney general drew a predictably harsh reaction from Martinez operatives who said no such switch is under consideration. Whatever the case, a switch would have to be made on a tight timetable. The official filing date for statewide candidates is February 9. Hey, maybe Susana should ask Pete Jr. to get out of her way and run for AG?

Meanwhile, NM GOP executive director Ryan Cangliosi checked in to spin the Massachusetts Senate news, saying the Republican victory there makes Dem Diane Denish more vulnerable than previously thought. He won't get much argument there, but what about the R's still having no candidates for attorney general, treasurer, auditor or secretary of state with that February filing deadline looming? No candidates yet, but the ED indicated they are coming.

As for Pete Domenici Jr., he's not going to chase any of his four rivals out of the race or be the favorite at the pre-primary convention in March unless he meets fund-raising expectations. Those expectations go up in the wake of the Dem debacle in Massachusetts. Look for Pete Jr. to be chewing up a lot of cell phone minutes and maybe his famous dad, too.

JOE AND MIKE

We sat down for a wide-ranging five minute interview for the KRQE-TV 4 p.m. news with Mike Powers Wednesday. How the Massachusetts upset plays out here was our focus. Here's the video.

SOME FAME IS GOOD?
George P. Bush
One other R note, Susana Martinez, trying to thwart any early momentum from Domenici, released an endorsement letter of her candidacy Wednesday from attorney George P. Bush, 33, the eldest of the three children of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The attorney said of Martinez:

A prosecutor, she takes on rapists, murderers, and even corrupt public officials. She fights for what’s right and does not back down, even when faced with long odds, or powerful opposition. That character and passion is what will make her a great Governor.

Nice enough, but that news release was followed by an Alligator strike. This particular Gator reminded us that it was just days ago that Susana put out a news release saying Domenici's famous name doesn't mean much when it comes to having substance. What makes the Bush name any different for Martinez, they asked?

WANT SOME "OOMPH?"

Pete Domenici Jr. will do two hours with KKOB-AM radio's Jim Villanucci next Tuesday. Jim says he wants to see some "oomph" from Pete Jr. who gave a rather pedestrian announcement speech Sunday. R's have been debating on the conservative talk station if they can increase their chances of taking the Guv's chair by trying to unite behind one candidate and end the five way primary battle now underway.

NASCAR, COKE AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Here's some sponsor news that will interest you NASCAR fans. The American Indian Graduate Center in ABQ is holding a raffle to award a $5,000 travel package for two to the Memorial Day Nascar-Coca Cola 600 at Concord, North Carolina. Only 2,000 tickets will be sold for $25 each and you can get them here. The trip includes air, hotel and lunch and dinner with the drivers. Best of all, the raffle makes possible scholarships for American Indian students.
This is the home of New Mexico politics. Email your news and comments

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

Senator-elect Brown
The Bay State Bombshell sent political shrapnel flying coast to coast last night and some of it struck the Sweeney Convention Center near downtown Santa Fe where the elite of the state Democratic Party was gathered for its annual legislative dinner marking the opening day of the 2010 session. Taking the podium as news spread of the Dem Senate loss in Massachusetts, Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, the all but certain Dem nominee for Governor, took an unexpected and some argued a panicky strike at Pete Domenici Jr., the latest and biggest name entrant in the five way race for the GOP Guv nomination.

Denish did not mention the 50 year old ABQ lawyer by name but there was no mystery that she was shooting at the son of the legendary ex-US Senator Pete Domenici. Declared Di:

We can't afford a Governor who has a name but no ideas or priorities!

Forgive us if a word or two of that quote is out of place. We were in the back of the center getting sleepy and ready to count some sheep when Di dropped her jaw dropper.

Di's words, uttered only moments after Scott Brown's stunning US Senate upset over Dem Martha Coakley, soon became evident to Blackberry watching Dems and set off breathless analysis among Alligators of every stripe attending the confab. And with good reason.

When she singled out Domenici, Denish was predicting him as the eventual winner of the GOP nomination and her general election foe. And she also may have been signaling that her camp was stunned by the landslide Brown scored with independent voters. She may have felt the need to respond because the indys also hold the keys to the Governor's office here. Last night's Massachusetts Miracle for the first time called into question the comfort level enjoyed by the Denish camp.

DIVINING DI

One veteran state Senator chastised Denish for singling out Domenici.

She should just let the Republicans fight it out among themselves. He is not necessarily their nominee and it only helps him when she goes after him. I think there was a bit of panic there...

But others said the Massachusetts results were so consequential that Denish had no choice but to start to frame the race. Another Senator warned that Domenici Jr. is the most likely to raise big money because of the Brown US Senate win.

"His father (former US Senator Pete Domenici) can work the phones for him. Republican money across the nation is going to loosen up and it is going to find its way into our Governor's race," said the Senator.

Denish has $2.5 million in the bank, but if a national GOP feeding frenzy develops that amount could look like spare change.

NM AND THE WHITE HOUSE

The Brown victory was a body blow to the White House political operation. More of my Alligators were on the attack last night, saying if Governor Richardson had been given a job by Obama, making Denish Governor by appointment, then the dangerous trend that seems to be developing for Dems and perhaps Denish would have been softened here. They were again urging Obama to get Richardson out of here and give Denish the advantage of the incumbency or else risk giving the Guv's office to the R's this year and the state's five presidential electoral votes to the GOP in 2012.

HER FIRST INSTINCT

Denish's first instinct in the wake of the East Coast Democratic debacle seemed to be to veer right to curry favor with those jumpy independents. She issued this statement to mark the opening day of the 30 day legislative session:

...The primary focus this legislative session must be to create an economic environment that fosters new jobs, new opportunities and sound fiscal policies. That means balancing the budget--not on the backs of regular families--but by making government smaller and more efficient.

Instead of debating which tax increase to embrace, legislators must focus their attention on which reform measures to implement...Major reform proposals must be debated and passed long before the legislature gives any consideration to raising taxes on regular families.

But progressive Dems are arguing if Denish caters too much to the right it will make her appear more vulnerable, not strong, and dampen enthusiasm for her among the liberal base. Fortunately for Di, she faces no primary opponent.But for now the promise of a mundane Governor's race is gone. R's are justifiably energized.

REPUBLICAN ROAR

While we supped with the elite of the New Mexican Democratic establishment, our Republican Alligators were feeding us appetizing developments about that now even more important race for the GOP nod for Governor. They report that some top Republicans are now quietly moving to persuade Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez to drop her Guv bid and run for attorney general. This follows talk of similar discussions to have R Guv hopeful Janice Arnold-Jones also step aside ad run for secretary of state. Allen Weh and Doug Turner round out the GOP field. The R's still have no candidates for the down ballot races.

But clearing the field for Pete Jr. may be easier said than done. His somewhat lethargic maiden speech Sunday did not send waves of excitement pulsating through Republican ranks. And there is still resentment that his famous father is trying to crown his son. However, the Massachusetts upset may overcome those objections. Certainly Diane Denish seems to think so, even if it is questionable whether she should be saying so quite so loudly.

OPENING DAY

Big Bill acknowledged the elephant in the room when he gave his final State-of-the-State speech as New Mexico's chief executive, but he quickly shunted it aside in favor of a long trip down nostalgia road, recounting a litany of his accomplishments. The dire straits of the state's finances seemed to demand more attention than Bill was willing to give them, but Richardson, the original "can-do" Governor, doesn't relish taking about what can't be done, which, in the end, will be the fate of this 30 day legislative session. (Speech transcript here. Complete video here.)

At under 35 minutes, it was, as promised, Bill's shortest state-of-the-state. Applause didn't eat up much of the clock either because there was little to applaud as the 26th man to hold the governorship since statehood spoke of the worse economic downturn in our lifetimes.

Richardson's middle of the road approach--cut spending and raise some taxes temporarily--reflects the consensus thinking in the New Mexican electorate as well as the intellectual classes, but the devil is in the details. Out here in the peanut gallery, we want permanent cuts that shore up state finances not just for a year, but for many years and we want those cuts written in stone before we accept the new taxes that we realize are necessary to provide services to one of the most impoverished populations in America.

GOOD OL' ANALYSIS

Former State Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero, reflecting current thinking, told public television he senses that the major tax increase we are looking at is on the gross receipts levy. A quarter cent boost would take in $100 million of the $200 million in annual taxes that the Guv and key lawmakers want. Romero said he is counting Senate noses and it looks tight.

In his speech, Richardson, to the disappointment of the ABQ Chamber of Commerce, put the nail in the coffin to reinstating the gross receipts tax on food, which was already dead in the House. However, he offered precious little else in the way of guidance on what taxes should be raised. The self-described "tax-cutting" Governor is more than happy to leave the public aspect of that bloody battle to lawmakers. Alas, he repeated to the point of ad nauseum, his insistence that his 2003 tax cuts for the wealthy not be touched, nor his sacred cow tax incentives.

And there was little acknowledgement of the systemic problems facing the New Mexican economy. In Bill's world this is a garden variety economic recession that will soon vanish, leaving in its wake the seeds of plenitude he has planted. (He did say that the state must break its dependence on oil and gas revenues as a major source of state funding, but he did not say how.)

NO BOUNCY BILL

Richardson was less bouncy than in past state-of-the-state stemwinders. He says he is not a lame-duck, but it is clear he is operating more on automatic pilot than ever before. He has to be somewhat exhausted after seven years which have included a run for president, constant fights with the Legislature, ongoing play-to-pay investigations and now an economy that is softer than a soggy sopapilla.

While this Governor was willing to hog it all during good times, advancing an ambitious and often productive agenda and taking full credit for it, he now looks for power sharing and reconciliation in the bad times. He half-joked:

There have been times where we have stood far apart--when we stood behind bully pulpits pointing fingers, instead of sitting side-by-side at the table solving problems. I may have even been wrong, once or twice.

This Governor and Legislature have aggravated citizens, overreaching in the boom years on spending, giving overly generous tax cuts to the well-off, taking a head in the sand approach to ethics; refusing to cut administrative bloat that permeates the entire body politic; failing to reform an educational system that has made economic advancement that much more difficult and offering incentives to create jobs that are tilted too much toward capital at the expense of labor.

Despite this Richardson seemed to capture--if not the prevailing mood--at least the prevailing hope among the average citizen--when he neared the end of his speech and quoted former Governor Bruce King who died this past November:

When asked what his legacy would be, he said “I guess just getting New Mexico to realize that if we were going to be successful, we were going to all work together and be one large family.” I believe in this time of need, if we are to succeed, we must work together, maybe even as a family.

THE R'S RESPOND
Rep. Gardner
Richardson wasn't the only one who seemed somewhat detached from the reality of the New Mexican economic dilemma. Take a look at this reaction to the Guv's speech from House GOP Whip Keith Gardner:

Let’s remember that our state’s budget is not in bad shape because of the economy, it is in bad shape because of reckless overspending. By making smart choices and exercising proper restraint we can put our state’s budget back on track..

Say what, Keith? The state has lost over 40,000 jobs in the past year; the oil and gas industry has been in a bear market; commercial real estate in he ABQ area is in a depression; job creation is at a standstill; the unemployment rate when you include the underemployed and those who have given up looking for work is well over 11 percent; housing values have crashed and consumer and commercial credit is as tight as a vise.

Gardner's concern about overspending is grounded in reality, but the incredible shrinking New Mexican economy is a chief cause of the budget collapse as it generates less and less revenue.

And Keith may have been distracted, but in his opening day speech the Governor reminded everyone that he has cut taxes over $1 billion in his seven years on the job. Republicans voted overwhelmingly in favor of Richardson's budgets and his tax cuts, another part of the equation that adds up to a budget shortfall of at least $500 million and possibly quite more.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
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Sens. Smith & Jennings
Perhaps the most intriguing question of Legislative Session 2010 is whether Dem conservatives in the state Senate will play hardball over spending cuts, but in the final days agree that some form of tax increases are needed to balance the extremely out of balance state budget. (Up to a total $1 billion shortfall for the budget year we are in and the one that starts in July.)

Senate Finance Committee Chairman John "Dr. No" Smith has been talking tough against most tax measures as has Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings. But chopping perhaps more than $600 million from the budget for the year that starts July 1st may unleash political forces the two legislative heavyweights may not anticipate.

A blend of major cuts and the $200 million in tax hikes proposed by the Guv and key legislators seems a moderate road to follow. Smith earlier talked sympathetically of raising the gross receipts tax on food, but that's not going anywhere. So will he look elsewhere?

Are Smith and Jennings holding back on supporting any tax increases because they fear they would lose leverage in getting needed spending cuts? Maybe. But if they get the cuts they want, do they then bend and agree to some kind of "revenue enhancement?" How the tax card is played in the Senate will be one of the most anticipated poker hands of the next 30 days.

Have we and others been too optimistic that the tax deal will be an easier part of the legislative equation than the spending cuts? Or are both going to be cause for deadlock and a dreaded special session?

THE GUV

Big Bill will deliver his final state of the state address early this afternoon as the session formally gets underway. You can see it live starting around 1 p.m. on KNME-TV or KOB-TV or watch it streamed on the KOB Web site. Bill says it will be his shortest opening day speech ever. Who wants to talk about bad news for an hour?

Richardson has gone through seven legislative sessions during fat times and has much to show for it, but this session could be the one that most defines his legacy. The economic decline is simply too big to be just be a blip in the history books. Can this Governor collaborate more and dictate less to get the deals that will right the state's listing economic ship?

KOB-TV reported on their interview with Bill on the eve of the session:

The governor stressed one of his legacies is tax cuts during less difficult times .

"Well, you're looking at Bill Richardson, the tax cutter. I've cut a billion dollars in taxes for New Mexicans in my seven years. One billion dollars."

And those tax cuts were quite justifiable when the state was toting up surpluses that are nearly equal to the deficits we now face. Heck, we even argued for larger rebate checks in some of the boom years. But Richardson's critics now say he has been imperiously inflexible in recognizing the new reality in which government is starved for revenue and faces a tax code that has clearly favored the well-off at the expense of the middle classes.

Richardson cant freeze-frame where history judges his legacy. His billion dollars in tax cuts were of their time, now times have changed. Bill's insistence on not rolling back even one iota the 2003 tax cuts for the rich and also not touching even one of the many questionable tax credits on the books threatens to make him look more like a relic of the Clinton 90's than a trend setting leader of the 21st century.

GOOD BILL

He may have work to do to protect his economic legacy, but the chief executive continues to secure his place in history as one of the nation's leading advocates for human rights. He will again push for domestic partner legislation. If he didn't, most supporters would understand because of the budget crisis, but Big Bill will push ahead despite the Senate repeatedly shutting him out on this one.

The Guv can also take credit for the surprisingly few allegations of civil rights violations we have heard coming out of the state corrections system (knock on wood) and for addressing the Hispanic achievement gap in education.

MORE TAX TALK

Domenici Jr. w/ Mom & Dad
He may be 50 years old, but that didn't make it any easier for Pete Domenici Jr. to finally emerge from the shadow of his father, former US Sen. Pete Domenici, one of the most famous political figures in state history. But on Sunday, clinging to a podium and with celebrity dad sharing the stage with him in a cramped conference room at ABQ's Embassy suites, Pete Jr. plowed--and sometimes plodded through--a 15 minute speech that officially entered him into the 2010 race for the Republican nomination for Governor. (TV news coverage here and here.)

It was an unassuming if not inauspicious beginning for the ABQ attorney who inherited a political name larger than life, but not the political dynasty that reached its peak in the 80's and gradually disintegrated and ended with Pete Sr's announcement in October 2007 that he would not seek re-election to a seventh US Senate term.

But in the media age a big name is nothing to sneeze at--at least not when you are breaking from the gate. The attractive logo unveiled at the event, featuring a turquoise backdrop and the slogan, "Domenici--Governor for a New New Mexico," reinforced the prime attribute Domenici Jr. brings to this now five way contest. For ardent admirers of Domenici the elder, that name will be enough, but for voters at large, scrutiny of the attributes of Domenici the younger will be the key to their decisions.

Domenici, who has never sought political office, will not set off a wave of enthusiasm that will force his competitors from the race. In fact, feisty Allen Weh was first with a stern attack on the would-be Governor: