-Whenever we run into State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez at the Barelas Coffee House nestled in the South Valley of ABQ, we seem to come away some news tidbits. So it was when we stopped there on Cinco de Mayo for lunch with a couple of Alligators. While waiting for our enchiladas Sanchez strolled in and we took the opportunity to quiz him on a subject that is on the minds of a lot of politicos--the upcoming special legislative session over redistricting.

The leader said the month of September is certain for the session which will be called by the Governor. So what about the speculation that the Guv could load up the agenda and the lawmakers could be up in Santa Fe for much longer than imagined.

"I have heard that, but I haven't heard that from her," he responded.

Sanchez guessed that the session to redraw the 112 legislative and three congressional districts to conform with the 2010 census will last about a week--seven days or so. He agreed that longer than that could cause hardship for the citizen lawmakers, many of whom have job and business responsibilities.

The leader also had some good news for the state construction industry. He said the $225 capital outlay bill that was stalled for political reasons in the final moments of the session that concluded in March should have no trouble winning approval in the special September session. Gov. Martinez has said she will put it on the agenda and Sanchez says "we need to do it to get things moving." Those "things" mean jobs and the economy.

We're hearing that several GOP lawmakers are already expressing concern that Martinez could come with a special session agenda laden with subjects that could keep them in Santa Fe much longer than a week. They are not happy about that prospect. Martinez has said the capital outlay bill will be put on the agenda along with the redistricting. She has not yet revealed a broader special session agenda that is causing the concern.

For his part, Sanchez pointed out that the Legislature could call itself into special session while in Santa Fe and pursue a crowded agenda of its own, but he is not going to encourage that.

The majority leader seems to be of a mind if God made the Earth in seven days, surely the legislature can do a redistricting session in a similar amount of time.

OBAMA TO EL PASO

First the news:

President Obama is expected to address border trade and security issues Tuesday during his second visit to El Paso in less than a year next week and then head off to attend a fundraiser in Austin, El Paso Mayor John Cook told The Associated Press Thursday that he has received information that Obama will visit Chamizal National Memorial, on the U.S.-Mexico border, a few blocks from downtown El Paso.

The AP adds:

The White House says President Barack Obama will deliver a speech on immigration when he visits El Paso next Tuesday.

It will be the latest in a string of events the White House has devoted to immigration policy despite an unfavorable climate on Capitol Hill for passing the kind of comprehensive legislation Obama favors.

And the analysis. Well, border trade is very important, but a mile from where Obama will be in downtown El Paso, it's like the killing fields. The spectacular failure to end the drug wars is a black mark on the Mexican government and maybe on Obama's White House. Has the USA done all it can to stop the blood from flowing in the streets?

It is a real moral contradiction to have the President urges good trade relations while the biggest item of trade is illegal drugs and the value of human life is so demeaned on our doorstep. Can't the US be more vigorous in its involvement?

On the political front, the President's support among Hispanics has taken a dive. That's another reason for his attention to El Paso which will also get him into the New Mexico media market.

BALDERAS BANDWAGON

Senate contender Hector Balderas has come with another round of endorsements (full list here). While it shows he has traction in the north, the list is very light on any ABQ or southern supporters, big holes he is going to have to fill as he attempts to beat ABQ US Rep. Martin Heinrich for the nomination.

Some of the Balderas supporters:

State Senator Carlos Cisneros, State Senator David Ulibarri, State Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, Rep. Thomas Garcia, District Attorney Richard Flores, District Attorney Donald Gallegos, Taos County Commissioner Dan Barrone, Taos City Councilor Rudy Abeyta and Taos City Councilor Michael Silva.

This quote of one of the endorsers caught our attention:

Although Hector is committed to cutting spending, he will always make the needed investments in education,” Las Vegas City School Board Member Ricky Serna added.

As we've said before, the cost-cutting and "fiscal accountability" that Balderas is pushing is a pretty conservative message for a Democratic primary. You can see why the major labor unions are with Heinrich.

His team feels the fiscal message combined with his strong ethics record as auditor will do the trick. But is he shooting over the heads of the electorate? We'll see.

And some clarification on the advisors to the Balderas campaign. A former staffer for the 2o10 Diane Denish Dem Guv campaign told us that Hilltop Consulting in DC was involved in the Denish campaign. A Balderas associate says Ken Morely of Hilltop, not Mo Elleithee of Hilltop who is now helping Balderas, was the general consultant for Denish and not the "message consultant." They say the message consultant was Dawn Laguens, not of Hilltop.

They say the last NM campaign that Elleithee was involved in here was the Udall Senate campaign in 2008 where they say "the messaging turned out just fine." Elleithee is now consulting Balderas.

The messaging of the Denish campaign came under intense criticism in the final weeks of the Guv campaign.

NO TAX INCREASE?

James Thorson, a UNM emeritus professor of English, writes:

When are the Democrats (or the teachers, who are directly affected) going to come down on our Republican Governor about not raising taxes? That may be true for the business people she was addressing recently, but a tax has been levied on everybody in education by way of a 1.75 % retirement "contribution" that does not go to the ERA fund but into the tax coffers to help balance the budget.

Point taken, Jim. And we're glad you did not correct our English or that would have been a really long email.

To offset the pension pay cuts, the paper reports "UNM President Schmidly will propose one-time pay increases for staff and merit benefits for faculty if enrollments and tuition revenues increase next fall." PAIN FOR PAYNE
Corwin
Democrat Michael Corwin ran against and lost to newly announced city council candidate Greg Payne when the two squared off for a far NE Heights legislative seat in 2004. Although he came up short, Corwin thinks the contest showed that Payne will be vulnerable to hits from fellow Republican and incumbent City Councilor Trudy Jones who Payne is challenging:

....I got 44% in 2004 when Democratic congressional candidate Richard Romero got 31% and John Kerry got 39% from the voter's of District 31. Payne spent almost $60,000 on the race and was in from the get go. I spent $12K and didn't come in the race until September. I had no name recognition and was publicly pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. Obviously, many in the district did not share my positions. But, I got more Republican support than any other Dem ever did. The reason: countless numbers of Republicans approached me to say that they had never crossed party lines, but did so because Payne's well-documented behavior was an anathema to them. Pretty hard to think that has changed or that Trudy Jones can't capitalize on it.

We blogged yesterday that Payne was doing contract work for PR agency DW Turner. A spokesman for the firm said Payne did do work for them last year, but is not currently under contract.

CALIFORNIA AND US

Some thinkers around here believe as the California economy goes, so goes New Mexico. If so, here is a bit of good news:

State officials are reporting an unexpected $2-billion surge in tax receipts that will help lawmakers close the remaining $15-billion budget deficit, and the Capitol is humming with hope that more is coming. But the windfall could complicate Gov. Jerry Brown's push for tax increases, which he says are needed for California's longer-term financial health.

NM tax collections have picked up some in recent weeks as well. The question is whether the pick-up has staying power.

Thanks for the company this week. This is the home of New Mexico politics.

Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan

E-mail your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2011
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Forget about the 2011 ABQ City Council election being a dull affair or one where the stakes are low. Greg Payne will make sure of that. Albuquerque's well-known political lightning rod announces that he will challenge fellow Republican and NE Heights Councilor Trudy Jones in the October balloting. Payne, 44, burst onto the scene when he won that council seat back in '99 and went on to engage Mayor Jim Baca in a series of clashes that made him a memorable, if controversial city politico.

The Tea Party types might not be ecstatic about it but GOP US Senate candidate Heather Wilson is staking out some important ground on federal spending cuts. She says she wants to bring that spending under control, but is not going to do at the expense of the military. In other words, if elected, she is going to work to protect the federal military bases here.

Wilson, an Air Force Academy graduate, said her candidacy is about cutting the deficit and reducing government spending. What (she says) makes her different is that she has a good reputation for supporting defense spending and some of the strongest supporters of defense in the Senate are retiring. Wilson said the Senate needs to have a Republican majority to stop runaway government spending, but it can’t be done at the expense of the military.

Knowing Wilson's record as a five term ABQ congresswoman, you can probably expand that to include resisting cuts to Los Alamos and Sandia Labs which are funded by the Department of Energy to the tune of billions annually.

Protecting the federal funding and employment in the state are a time-honored role for a New Mexico Senator. In that regard, Wilson would be on strong footing with general election voters if she were the nominee. Her problem remains a Republican primary electorate, a large segment of which can be fairly described as radicalized when it comes to any federal spending being protected.

If Lt. Governor John Sanchez challenges Wilson for the GOP nomination, will he share Wilson's views on defense spending? And what about declared candidate Greg Sowards?

A NEW CONGRESS?

Well, maybe what the country needs is a brand new Congress. Something like this?

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In a startling measurement of public opinion since the successful mission to kill Osama bin Laden, Americans in record numbers are signing a petition to replace Congress with SEAL Team Six, the elite unit that took out the al-Qaeda madman. The petition echoes the results of a new poll by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, in which the Navy SEALS trounce Congress by a lopsided 97% to 2% margin, with the remaining 1% answering, “Superman.”

Professor Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota said that the numbers behind the numbers were even more striking: “By a wide margin, Americans favor SEAL Team Six landing on the Capitol building with helicopters and taking out Congress by force.”

Well, we think it's a joke.

Meanwhile, toasts are being lifted across the nation to those exceptionally skillful, but unknown Seals who took out Bin Laden.

NM southern Congressman Steve Pearce ended up outside the White House Sunday night and came with a moving account of the spontaneous celebration there.

Like Steve, a Vietnam vet, we were moved by the young people who turned out for the momentous occasion and we wrote about it on Monday's blog.

MEDIA BEAT

A media Alligator reacts to the news that State Auditor and Dem US Senate candidate Hector Balderas has hired Hilltop Public Solutions of DC to assist with this campaign:

Hilltop was also Diane Denish's campaign communications firm/consultancy for her 2010 Governor run. Funny how they don't advertise her Guv race on their website. They can be pinned for most of the messaging that failed to connect with "those everyday" New Mexicans the campaign talked so much about. There were frequent objections to the messaging from New Mexico communications, political and field advisors....

We remember that well as Denish was urged by the Senior Alligators, among others, to take a more populist bent in the closing weeks of the campaign but it fell on deaf ears. Not to put all the blame on Hilltop, but it a player in a Guv campaign that was and is frequently criticized for having its head in the sand.

KOB-TV has hired a new news director with some local roots:

Laurie Passman comes to KOB-TV from KTVK-TV...in Phoenix where she was the Assistant News Director. Passman...grew up in the North Valley, attended Cibola High School and the University of New Mexico. She started in news as an intern at KOB 4 in 1996. Passman left KOB in 1999 to join KTVK...

THE BOTTOM LINES

Our old friend and veteran media maven Arthur Alpert tossed a compliment our way the other day, saying, "Joe, You're an institution!"

"Well," we responded, "then how come Big Bill didn't name one of those state buildings after us like he did for every Tom, Dick and Harry?"

Arthur replied, "It's too late for that. But Governor Martinez's staff has agreed to take up a collection for a going away gift for you anytime it's needed."

Thanks, Arthur. It's so nice to be thought of (I think).

This is the home of New Mexico politics. It's led by your humble servant, Joe Monahan.

E-mail your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

Sen. Pinto
We're getting word on the first legislative retirement in advance of the 2012 election and it's a biggie. Our insiders report the longest serving member of the New Mexico State Senate--Senator John Pinto--will not seek re-election next year. He has served since 1977 and is co-chair of the Indian Affairs Committee. When he ends his run next year he will have been elected to nine terms and served 36 years.

Pinto, 86, is a Navajo who represents McKinley and San Juan counties and was one of the first Native Americans to serve in the Legislature. During WWII he was trained as a Navajo Code Talker. He is known for bringing numerous public works projects to his district and working to have more Indians involved in government. He is also well-known for his annual singing of "The Potato Song" which he usually performs at the conclusion of each legislative session. It has come to be known as an uniquely New Mexican moment.

Early speculation about who will seek to replace Pinto centers on his son, but there will be other names. The legislative redistricting later this year will be closely watched now to see how it impacts this sprawling NW district.

Pinto was born in 1924 into a family of sheepherders on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and was raised in Gallup. He earned a masters degree at UNM and became a school teacher. There's more about his fascinating life story. Here's an excerpt that brings it home:

Back in 1977, (ABQ State Senator) Manny Aragon was on his way to the opening session of the New Mexico Legislature in a terrible January snowstorm when he spotted a middle-aged Navajo man standing in Downtown Albuquerque with a blanket over his head and his thumb out.

Aragon pulled over in his old Cadillac and gave the guy a ride. "I just thought he was a transient," Aragon said. As they drove north, Aragon asked his passenger where he was headed. The hitchhiker said he had taken a bus from Gallup to Albuquerque and was now traveling on to Santa Fe. "Oh, yeah?" Aragon said. "What are you going to do there?" "I'm a state senator," the hitchhiker replied. "So am I," Aragon said.

How about that?

ADVISING HECTOR

Freshly minted Dem US Senate candidate Hector Balderas is getting some heavyweight help in his bid to upset US Rep. Martin Heinrich for the nomination. Mo Elleithee of Hilltop Public Solutions has signed up to advise Balderas on communications.

Among Elleithee's former clients is NM Senator Tom Udall. The senator's step-daughter, Amanda Cooper, is a political consultant with close ties to attorney Brian Colon, a close friend of Balderas and who is involved in his Senate bid. Both Cooper and Colon were closely associated with former Governor Richardson.

None of this means Senator Udall is leaning toward Balderas, but the lines are worth connecting.

As for Hector's communications skills, Mo may want to examine the state auditor's repeated use of the term "fiscal accountability." Is that really a phrase that is going to get hard-core Dems out of their seats? Just asking.

That huge slash to the NM Spaceport administrative budget that went unnoticed until last week---down to $500,000, for a more than 50 percent haircut--came as a surprise to Spaceport watchers, but they say what's happening in Santa Fe isn't slowing Virgin Galactic's plans to keep moving forward with the plans to launch tourists into space at $200,000 a pop.

But with such a slim budget what about state oversight and marketing? That's the danger--operationally and politically. After all, overseeing a Spaceport isn't like building an erector set. Future foul-ups? Look for fingers to point at the spartan budget and the Fourth Floor.

The Spaceport construction budget--$209 million from the state and a taxpayer supported tax--is unaffected.

Why do Spaceport backers pester Martinez to say something positive and out loud about the Spaceport? Well, because of stuff like this :

Space Expedition Curaçao (SXC) will launch 35-minute flights into space from the southern Caribbean island beginning Jan. 1, 2014, according to the company. SXC is an initiative of aviators Ben Droste and Harry van Hulten and investors Michiel Mol and Maarten Elshove; former Space Shuttle pilot Rick Searfoss will pilot the one-passenger flights, which will cost $90,000. Searfoss is a test pilot for XCOR, a U.S.-based manufacturer of and builder of the Lynx2, the two-seater space ship to be used for the flights.

We think New Mexico will get it done, but if we don't, someone else will.

Besides our Governor, Spaceport backers say the project, which could be a major job generator for the state, could use some renewed interest from State Senator John Arthur Smith, the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He represents a large swath of Sierra County where the Spaceport is located and not a state budget cut goes through without him knowing about it. Will "Dr. No" offer southern New Mexico some assurances about the future?

SPACEPORT ALLIGATORS

We have Spaceport Alligators now and they are on the case for us. Here's a letter from one of them:

I have been involved with the construction of Spaceport America since ground was broken in 2009. So I've worked with all three Directors...I believe they currently have six staff members. Surely those can't be sustained with only a $500,000 budget.

....The Spaceport has the potential of being a significant economic generator. We've had visitors from around the globe, many exploring how to build similar facilities in places such as Australia, the Caribbean and Scandinavia. National Geographic has been filming the construction activity and will produce a documentary on the project. Boeing Corp. is paying to utilize the completed runway over the next few weeks to conduct testing.

The basic infrastructure (the water, wastewater, roadways, drainage, etc.) is essentially complete. However, permanent power to the site is still not available. That has caused considerable construction-related difficulties. Hopefully, permanent power will finally be brought to the site by mid-summer.

Virgin Galactic remains committed to Spaceport America, despite a very tenuous administrative transition since January 1. Surely, Sir Richard Branson has the financial resources to one day say, "enough is enough New Mexico" and take his operation elsewhere. He'd likely make good on a contract withdrawal payment, but where would that leave our Spaceport? I remain optimistic that such a doomsday scenario will not happen.

It's concerning that our Governor, who hails from the region of the state that has the most to gain from the success of the Spaceport, continues to throttle her support....

We aren't ready to throw the towel in on Susana on this. She's got--as the astronauts say--"the right stuff." She just needs to lighten up and show it.

Maybe some of the southerners can light a fire under her as well as her top aides--Keith Gardner of Roswell and Brian Moore of Clayton. Surely, they are advocating for rural New Mexico in their new positions, aren't they?

FUNNY NUMBERS

Martinez told a business audience Monday that her "administration worked with state legislators during the recent legislative session to close a $420 million budget deficit without raising or imposing new taxes."

How does she figure that when the AP reported:

Gov. Martinez signed into law a package of financial measures, including a budget allocating $5.4 billion next year for public education and general government programs. The budget, as signed, will cut state spending by nearly 3 percent, or $156 million, in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

How she continually gets to $420 million--which makes her political muscle look bigger--is one of the ongoing mysteries of New Mexican politics.

THE KIRTLAND FACTOR

We get a little hyper on the Spaceport because we live in a city where everyday we see Sandia Labs, a private-public partnership that serves as a foundation of our economy, as it has for some 60 years. Together with Kirtland Air Force Base the annual economic impact is immense. New figures show the payroll for Kirtland and Sandia is over $2.1 billion annually. Click on the image to see that and more financial info.

Could Spaceport America someday make a similar contribution? Well, maybe not a $2 billion payroll, but development of a full-fledged space industry here holds out so much promise that we would violate a blogger's fiduciary responsibility by not taking up its cause. (Geez, that makes us important sounding).

LOS ALAMOS

Then there's Los Alamos Labs and the latest info on its financial impact in the north.

We didn't make New Mexico a federal reservation, but unlike some critics, we don't fight it. We're for the advancement of the people of New Mexico any legal way we can get it. The last we looked that federal money spent is the same as money generated by the private sector. And in this everlasting recession, that's a very good thing,

WOMAN POWER?

Come to think of it, there's no woman yet in the race for the ABQ congressional seat and while Diane Denish may seem unlikely for the contest, a field of all men could make the race more enticing. Audience reports say she gave a robust speech at Saturday's Dem central committee meeting nominating Javier Gonzales for another term. Dem media consultant James Hallinan says:

When Diane and I discussed CD1 (the ABQ US House seat) she made it very clear to me that she is seriously weighing a run. She has been in regular communication with the DCCC and others in DC, and of course her many supporters.

PICKING A PREZ

The Tuesday blog marches on with NMSU economics professor Chris Erickson and his thoughts on the search for a new president of the University of New Mexico. He comments on how much faculty representation there should be on the search committee:

Joe, Why shouldn’t faculty make up a significant proportion of a university president search committee? After all faculty are higher education professionals who know a lot about running a university. During NMSU’s most recent president search, eight out of thirteen committee members where either current or past employees of NMSU; five were faculty. We also included two politicians: Former Governor Garrey Carruthers, who in a previous life was a tenured full professor at NMSU and is currently Dean of the Business College, and Dolores Connors, a Las Cruces city councilor and long time NMSU booster. No current regents were included on the committee, although the Chair was a former regent.

Our committee worked very well and resulted in the hiring of Dr. Barbara Couture who has proved to be a very able leader in a tough budget environment. (See here for further details about the NMSU presidential search committee.)

Thanks, Chris. We're never too proud to take advice from an Aggie. Send Dr. Barbara up here for a visit.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Media watchers report KOB-TV's Kayla Anderson is leaving the station to become public info officer for Dem Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenberg....

When Dem US Senate candidate Hector Balderas got into the race, we blogged about his family background and mentioned that his grandfather on his mother's side--Juan Vigil--was a sheepherder in the Wagon Mound area where Hector was born. So what was the maiden name of his grandmother, a reader asked? Hector's campaign says her name was Fabiola Martinez. And about that name, we find:

(The name) possibly means "one who grows beans." Also, Saint Fabiola (fourth century) was an energetic Roman matron who organized the first hospice for sick and needy travelers.

See, you learn something new around here every day--or at least we do.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. Reporting to you from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan.

Thanks for the comments. Send them and your news tips via the email. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2011
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Finally, good news. No, great news! Your heart could not help but be gladdened by the spontaneous demonstrations of joy at the White House and Ground Zero in NYC in response to the news that Osama bin Laden, the man whose terror so traumatized the great American nation, had finally been brought to justice--killed by our forces in Pakistan.

And the youth of the demonstrators! A generation that came of age during September 11, economic recession and polarized politics reminded us as they danced in the streets of the great, glory days of America and made us feel that, yes, we can recapture it all.

Suddenly, the downer economy, the deficit, Social Security, Medicare, jobs---all of it--seemed so much more solvable. Truly, much of the weight was lifted from the mighty shoulders of this nation when the President delivered the news in the most welcome political speech in memory.

This jolt of joy will not last, but we revel in it while it does.

The cliche comes true: Today all of us--Republicans, Democrats and Independents--are all Americans and we all carry the hope, optimism and can-do spirit that define the exceptional American character.

BIN LADEN POLITICS

The political consequences are obvious--the President gets a big popularity bump. Dems running for Congress will also benefit--at least for a while. But the question, as always, is for how long? When the elation wears off, the economy will reassert itself as the dominant issue, but this will still be a long-term benefit to the national security credentials of the Dems, sometimes an Achilles Heel for them.

Rep. Martin Heinrich's recent call for getting American forces home from Afghanistan seems especially timely now that the chief villain behind that war is dead. For many Americans, the death of Osama bin Laden is the equivalent of Mission Accomplished. The ABQ congressman said last night:

The death and capture of bin Laden is a tremendous victory for the United States, our intelligence community and for every serviceman and woman who has been fighting al qaeda on the front lines since September 11, 2001. Let this be a warning to anyone who would consider harming Americans at home or abroad.

WHO FOR CONGRESS?
Griego, Park & Chavez
There was buzz at this weekend's big meeting of state Dems when the potential candidates for the ABQ US House seat were trotted out for inspection. They included State Rep. Al Park whose potential candidacy has not made much waves and was thought by some to be completely dormant, but now becomes much more intriguing. Dems have their worry beads out over the race, fearing they have not put on the field a contender who can beat the R's.

As expected, State Senator Eric Griego, who earlier announced an exploratory committee, made official his bid for the seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich. Rep. Heinrich is leaving the House to run for the US Senate seat held by Jeff Bingaman who will retire next year. Park and former ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez--who also spoke--did not throw their hats into the proverbial ring, but told the state central committee delegates they remain undecided about a run.

Griego's candidacy has been received with open arms by party purists who want an unabashed liberal to carry the party's banner on to the 2012 battlefield. But Griego's aggressive style--not necessarily all his positions--make other Dems nervous about his ability to win the ABQ seat. And, as usual, there is an ethnic angle. No Hispanic Dem has won the seat in its nearly 45 year history.

The district has also had a reputation as "moderate." Congressman Heinrich quickly secured a seat on the House Armed Services Committee, balancing out his liberal reputation. The district's political character could change with the legislative redistricting this fall, but not much.

PARK'S PLACE

Park, now 41, was elected to the state House from a diverse ABQ Heights area in 2000 when he was just 30. He was pinpointed then as a rising star, but his career slowed as he tangled with House Speaker Ben Lujan. Still, his decade of legislative experience, his years as a practicing attorney and his ability to tilt moderate or conservative on occasion make him a top congressional prospect in the eyes of top Dems here and at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in DC. In addition, Park was an early and ardent supporter of President Obama.

As for ethnicity, Park's background is not all Anglo. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone to a mother of Venezuelan descent. His father is a corporate attorney. Park is not the only high profile figure in his family. He is married to Bernalillo native and attorney Jessica Perez, the 2011 president of the NM Bar Association. She in turn is the daughter of former District Court Judge George Perez who was among the Dems who sought the northern US House seat in 1982 when it was first created. He lost the nomination to Bill Richardson.

Park has a pre-school daughter. Family considerations have played a a role in his hesitancy to make the dive into the ABQ race. He describes his statuss this weekend as "undecided."

State Senator Tim Keller, another recruiting target of the Dems, recently rejected a race, citing his impending marriage as one reason. With Keller out, the recruitment of Park has become more intense.

One vote that Park took this past legislative session is sure to cause a stir if he does get in. He was among eight House Dems who voted to rescind driver's licenses for illegal immigrants--a tinderbox issue that Governor Martinez lost when the state Senate shot her down. It is that kind of vote that pragmatic Dems feel give Park more entree into the conservative Dems and R's who populate the NE Heights of ABQ. Other Dems, of course, look at Park more cynically.

For a number of years Park has had a hefty cash balance in his state campaign account. At the end of 2010, it was at $263,000. He previously weighed a bid for attorney general and is currently weighing a 2012 candidacy for the ABQ area Public Regulation Commission (PRC) seat as well as the congressional seat. Election law says he can't use that state campaign money directly on a federal race. The PRC job pays $90,000 a year. Park will be eligible for a legislative pension of $10,000 per year once he leaves the Roundhouse.

Park is still relatively young, but if he wants a congressional career this could be his last and best chance. Like the top Dems analyzing the race, Park also has plenty to get nervous about.

GRADING GRIEGO

Griego, 45, made his first splash with a four minute announcement video as well as that speech to Dem central committee delegates who later re-elected Javier Gonzales over Sam Bregman in a very tight race for state party chairman.

Griego went right for the jugular, attacking "conservative Republicans" for threatening Social Security and Medicare. He did so not in a caustic or sarcastic way that his critics say has become his detrimental hallmark, but conversationally and with earnestness.

His economic development message centered on developing alternate energy industries. No mention of the federal military-industrial complex which is seen with disdain by a number of progressives. He said:

I'm not the kinder softer version of a Democrat. I'm not a corporate Democrat.

The freshman lawmaker has matured considerably since he was first elected to the ABQ City Council in 2001. He will be giving up the ABQ Valley Senate seat he was elected to in 2008 to make this run, but as the progressive favorite in the race the timing is near perfect for him.

As for those who assert he is too far left, Griego points out that Martin Heinrich was also known as the most liberal candidate when he first sought the House seat in 2008 and went on to win.

But Griego recently tangled with conservatives when he erupted on the state Senate floor and said that ABQ conservative talk radio station KKOB-AM ought to be known as "KKKOB," an unveiled reference to the Ku Klux Klan. Griego appeared on the station to try to explain his remarks and apologized to host Bob Clark who said he was personally offended. That's not the kind of hot water you would see Heinrich getting in.

Griego, now executive director of NM Voices for Children, has to be worried about his fund-raising. He has never been obsessed with it and that showed when he ran against Marty Chavez for Mayor in 2005. Many of his voters don't need to be prodded with paid media--they are true believers--but if heavyweight contenders like Park or Chavez get in, that calculation will change.

Meanwhile, as the only announced candidate who is all in, Griego has time to wear down resistance to a candidacy that seems to evoke equal shares of passion and scepticism.

MAYOR MARTY

Does political veteran Marty Chavez have one more race in him? The firm answer is "maybe." The former three term ABQ Mayor has a much more complicated scenario on his hands then in the days when the political world was his oyster. Former associates of Chavez say he is much more serious about a US House run then they first thought. But then there are those complications.

Does he give up what is thought to be a very well-paying job in D.C. for what for him would be a junior political position? After all, this is a legendary former mayor and the 1998 Dem Governor nominee. What attraction can serving as a freshman in the US House (and in the Dem minority)--have for him, aside from the personal benefit of resurrecting a once high-flying career?

More practically, what about his high negatives? The ability to raise money? And most threatening: what if Park joins Griego in the race, presenting the not unlikely event that Marty and Eric could split much of the Hispanic vote and leave Park with the win? Chavez can argue that his is a more holistic candidacy than that, but history is not partial to that theory.

Marty has always been a strong general election performer, but it is the nominating wing of the party (both Hispanic and Anglos) that has always given the moderate/conservative Chavez headaches. Chavez was chased out of the 2008 Dem US Senate primary in which he challenged Tom Udall. He got in that race only after polling showed he could not beat Diane Denish for the 2010 Guv nomination so he switched to the Senate run. In 2009, he lost a bid for a fourth mayoral term when progressive Dems rallied for Richard Romero. Republican Richard Berry took the prize.

In 2012, Marty's headaches would not go away, not with liberal Griego unloading on his old foe to the delight of the party's base. At 59, Chavez might have one more good race in him. But it is questionable if this the one.

SIDELINE ACTION

Watching all of this from the sidelines is attorney and Dem Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham. She and former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron lost the '08 nomination to Heinrich. She did not make a speech to the delegates over the weekend, moving her down a notch on the list of possibles. But friends say she is still mulling it over.

Friends of Diane Denish say she is enjoying being mentioned as a possible US House candidate, but firmly report it is about as likely as Susana Martinez appointing her to the cabinet.

MESSAGING THE CHAIRMAN
Gonzales
That incumbent NM Dem Chairman Javier Gonzales, 44, only beat attorney Sam Bregman by 11 votes at Saturday's central committee meeting obviously speaks to the party's disappointing performance in the 2019 cycle--the loss of the Guv's chair and eight state House seat--among other setbacks. But Bregman's insistence on a more aggressive posture toward Governor Martinez and on party-building throughout the state also resonated.

In the tradition of the north, Gonzales of Santa Fe is not a show boater, and delivering a message all these Dems can agree on can be like herding cats. But Bregman tapped into a deep fear that Dems could actually lost outright control of the state House in 2012--something that hasn't happened in decades. The party also holds concerns over retaining the Bingaman Senate seat and the ABQ House seat.

These are the post-Bill Richardson years for the Dems and the vacuum his departure has created was on display this weekend. Gonzales can't be Big Bill, but the close vote shows he is being asked to assume some of Bill's swagger and Sam's certitude.

WATCHING THE R'S

What's new in R world? Well, Steve Pearce is running around like a 29 year old, not the 63 he is. He is darn excited about the very conservative bent the US House has taken and is showing an energetic side that was hibernating during his previous stint as the southern NM congressman.

While Steve is a near lock for re-election in 2012, there are the first signs of life in Dem land. Sunland Park Mayor Martin Resendiz says next week he will get in the race to oust Pearce. He may end up being the only major Dem candidate in the Republican safe district.

As for Pearce running for the GOP nod for US Senate, it is de rigueur for the journalists to mention Pearce as a possible candidate because he has said he is considering such a run. But no one--and we mean no one--in the upper echelons of the NM GOP takes it seriously. They see Pearce, who was the 2008 GOP Senate nominee, as a place holder for Lt. Governor John Sanchez who has been inching toward a run against Pearce arch-rival Heather Wilson who is already announced.

Pearce is keeping the southern conservative base excited and away from Wilson. And he's also keeping the money away from her as he holds out the possibility of his own bid--money that could eventually find a home with the Light Guv.

As for the R side of the equation in the ABQ congressional contest, our Republican Alligators say all eyes are still on Jon Barela. Will the current economic development secretary and 2010 GOP nominee, give it a second try? Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis, the only announced candidate, sure hopes not. But our in-the-know R's say Barela is watching to see how Lewis does with his fund-raising. If he falters, look for Barela to come back for a second run. Former State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones has formed an exploratory committee. Barela will also keep an eye on her money totals.


SUSANA MEDIA BEAT

That Sunday front-pager in the newspaper didn't do Governor Martinez any favors. Maybe a sign that the honeymoon is fading? Why she opted to do an interview on whether she was too political in the recent legislative session at "her top political consultant's office in ABQ" is odd (For some reason, the paper did not identify that consultant as the controversial Jay McCleskey). Was that an in-the-face message of support for his tactics which drew so much Dem criticism?

And that unsmiling photo they ran of her was also a come down from the beaming smilers she is usually awarded. Is it a signal that the mainstream media is buying into the case (and burned up about it) that the administration is being guided more by an interest in the 2012 GOP vice-presidential nomination and not by New Mexico considerations? Or is it an acknowledgment that Susana's political arm is too often trumping her policy arm?

Yes.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

E-mail your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2011
Not for reproduction without permission of the author