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Wednesday, December 07, 2011Old But Not Out; Octogenarians In The Senate Prep For More, Plus: Speaker Lujan's Legacy, And: Why Santa Fe's Fiscal Hawks Are Fighting The Last War
Sen. Papen
 Mary Kay Papen turns 80 in March and John Pinto is now 86. Will both state senators seek re-election in 2012? Papen says she is a go for a fourth term. "My health is good." She declared.The Dona Ana County lawmaker is concerned about her vote not to eliminate driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. She's sending out a questionnaire asking what her constituents think. Republicans are sure to fire both barrels at her for that vote. Maybe even a Dem primary opponent surfaces. But the Papen name has a lot of goodwill. Her late husband Frank was a major political player. Papen has a reputation as a crusty, straight-shooter. And she's no wall flower, either. She sits on the powerful Senate Finance Committee as well as the Legislative Finance Committee. Republicans or a Dem challenger will have their hands full in trying to take out this soon to be octogenarian. PINTO PLAY As for Pinto, you wade into Indian Country politics at your own risk. The Gallup area senator said last year he would seek another term in '12, but insiders are watching him carefully. We went with a blog not long ago that Pinto was preparing to end his long career. He said last spring, "I have no intention to quit." But when you're 86 intentions are subject to change at any time. Longer life spans are definitely having an impact on legislative age. Back in the day, it was rare to have many lawmakers hang around after they turned 75. House Speaker Lujan and Reps. Varela,Nunez and Saavedra all will be well over that mark when they seek another two year term next year. Speaker Lujan has not made an official announcement, but the betting is he goes for one more. Newsman Steve Terrell reports this week that Carl Trujillo who gave Lujan such a scare in the 2010 Dem primary will challenge the speaker again. Will that deter Lujan? Under redistricting the Alligators expect him to have a district a bit more friendly. They say he may shed some rural voters and pick up more city of Santa Fe voters to replace them. More importantly, the absence of Big Bill probably helps Lujan who can now run against the policies of GOP Gov. Martinez and not be shadowed by Richardson as he was two years ago. Lujan became Speaker in 2001. He hits the ten year mark next month. That's the second longest run in state history. Raymond Sanchez served as speaker in '83 and '84 and again from 1987 until 2001 when Lujan took over the gavel. THE SPEAKER FILE Lujan's iron hand has been softened by the slim margin the Dems currently have in the House and by the election of a Republican Governor. But the Speaker actually started to cede power when Bill Richardson took over in 2003. Not long after Lujan agreed to historic personal income tax cuts that Richardson pushed to enhance his resume for his 2008 presidential campaign. New Mexico's top personal income tax rate dropped from 8.2% to 4.9 percent over 5 years. The state tax on capital gains (stock sales, etc.) was slashed by 50%.Lujan, a lifelong working man's liberal, was scored by critics for caving in to Richardson. The cuts cost the state treasury hundreds of millions of dollars of annual revenue and today make it even more dependent on tax receipts from the oil and gas industry. Richardson said taking the rate down would attract high income individuals to the state and spark business expansion. Evidence to support either contention is highly dubious. It's true that since the cuts the state's personal income ranking improved, but much of that was due to federal spending on entitlement programs and the massive military/national security complex here. Richardson provided a huge political boost to the career of Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, the son of Speaker Lujan. He endorsed him for the Democratic nomination for a Public Regulation Commission seat. Ben Ray won. And Bill was there yet again, taking Ben Ray's side in a crowded 2008 Dem primary for the northern congressional seat. If Lujan's son was not pursuing a political career would Speaker Lujan have resisted Richardson and proposed less sweeping tax cuts? That's one the wall-leaners of this era and the next will long ponder. MONEY MATTERS  The latest state revenue projections are anything but rosy, but at least they are not going down as they have for three years running, The state Republican Party says the latest projected surplus of $250 million for the budget year that begins next July can be credited to Governor Martinez. But the real reasons are the 2010 tax increase the Legislature passed, the continued high price of oil which has benefited state coffers and a state hiring freeze that was implemented under Governor Richardson. Martinez can take credit for fostering an atmosphere of frugality and leading the charge with largely symbolic moves like firing the Guv's personal chef, slashing away at cell phone bills and renegotiating state leases on office buildings.But the $250 million will get chewed up quickly. Medicaid costs continue to explode so kiss $50 million goodbye for that and another $50 million for state employee retirement funding. Now you are down to an extra $150 million in a $5.7 billion budget. That's not a whole lot of wiggle room and certainly not cause for yet another round of tax cuts as the Governor is proposing. It could be, however, time for tax reform. That means cutting taxes in one place (like the gross receipts tax) and raising them elsewhere (like the income tax on top earners). If Martinez can advance a revenue neutral tax bill, fine. If she can't, tax cuts will be dead on arrival at the January legislative session. OUR PROBLEM The state's widespread poverty (18.6% of the population in 2010 and 17.5% in 2000), the lack of health insurance (nearly 22% of the population) and a public education system that has yet to make a dent in the high failure and drop-out rate among Hispanics and Native Americans means continued high demand for Medicaid and every other public assistance program. More tax cuts aren't going to dig us out. The state needs to give a push to the demand size of the equation. That's why so many of us are urging lawmakers to push the envelope when it comes to a capital outlay bill. Get that construction money coursing through the economy by repairing and renewing the state's infrastructure. (Worthwhile projects, please, not political pork). FIGHTING THE LAST WAR  What we have in Santa Fe is a fiscal majority that is fighting the last war--the overspending that took hold in the last bull market. We pounded the table as hard as anyone when those hundreds of millions in surplus dollars were rolling in, arguing against cutting tax rates too much and holding the line on Big Bill's tax rebates. But the cops (and the economic crash) long ago cleaned up that party. The state payroll has dropped dramatically and with it the state budget. And the fiscal hawks continue to weed out waste. But that's not going to get us moving. Heck, we're not sure a big capital outlay bill of $400 million or more will do the trick, but it could be a spark that sets the fire. Otherwise, we drift for certain.And while they're at, the Legislature can ask the citizens of New Mexico to amend the Constitution to allow targeted spending from the state's permanent fund for early education and care for children five years and under. Breaking the generations-old cycle of dysfunction that prevents the state from moving forward is our major challenge. Changes we make today may not have any impact for decades, but at least our generation can get the ball rolling. THE BOTTOM LINES On a more prosperous note, ABQ Sunday brunch steps up to the big city level at the downtown ABQ Hotel Andaluz. It includes a made to order omelet station as well as a prime rib stop. The repast ends with an array of desserts and a well-made frothy cappuccino. Your visit is topped off with good service, a quality often lacking in the local restaurant scene... 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 Tuesday, December 06, 2011Why Politicos Aren't Shouting Over Lower Jobless Rate, Plus: Shouts Of "Show Us The Prez" At UNM, And: Just What The APD Doesn't Need The politicians around here are wary of shouting "hallelujah" over the latest unemployment stats, even though the rate continues to go down. What is also going down and making the jobless numbers look better is the fewer number of people going to work. For example, the state says the four counties making up the ABQ metro had about 374,000 employees in Oct. 2010. Flash forward to Oct. 2011 and the number of employed drops to 372,000. And that explains in part how you go from a metro jobless rate of 8.8 percent a year ago to the 7.0 percent today.If the politicos start talking up the decreased jobless rate these numbers are going to be thrown back at them, not to mention the anemic growth rate of tax collections, another good indicator of how the economy is really doing, This is especially tricky for Governor Martinez. She would like to take credit for a statewide jobless rate that was at 8.8 percent a year ago and has since dropped to 6.6%. But then she would have to explain why so many unemployed have given up or left the state. In fact, her own NM Republican Party came with a missive decrying the recent drop in the national jobless rate, citing the shrinking work force--not real jobs gains--as the main reason for the national decline. HELLO, SANTA FE? The construction Depression continues to carve a devastating path through the metro. The latest: Commercial construction is an endangered species in the city, while home building is at the level of 1991. Former Mayor Marty Chavez often describes ABQ as the driver of the state's economy. Well, right now it's been driven into a ditch. The oil and gas fields are carrying the state.Why won't Santa Fe give us a tow and come with a meaningful capital outlay plan to spark a recovery here? The claim that the state does not have the bonding capacity isn't ringing true. ABQ Dem Senator Tim Keller pinpointed some $700 million in available capital outlay when speaking the other night at a fund-raiser. Maybe he can get fellow Dem Senators like John Arthur Smith and John Sapien behind closed doors and convince them of the need. If the Dems remain divided on a jobs bill Governor Martinez has yet another opportunity to get ahead of them if she comes with a nice, fat capital outlay bill in the January legislative session (She outflanked the Dems on this issue in this year's special session). But it would be more important than politics, it would start putting working people back to work. The "free market" needs a booster shot, Guv. NOW WHAT Despite the grinding bear market that has set Santa Fe back, the City Different still has some tourism mojo:Santa Fe was rated the "Most Artistic City in America," in a feature article published in The Atlantic this week. That's yet another reason Tourism Secretary Monica Jacobson needs to reexamine her tightwad ways when it comes to promoting the state. She is sticking by a $2.5 million advertising budget. What happened to spending money to make money? ON THE CAMPUS We're getting closer to leaving behind the troubled stewardship of UNM President David Schmidly. Five finalists have been named as the search for his replacement goes forward. None of them hails from New Mexico. It will be interesting to see if Governor Martinez plays in the presidential picking game. Big Bill did so and it turned out for the worse, with the campus administration become highly politicized. One of the candidates, Elsa Murano, a former president of Texas A& M, has some similarity to Martinez. Both are Hispanic women from Texas. SIZING UP THE PREZ UNM has a chance to turn over a new leaf now that President David Schmidly will end a troubled tenure and exit next year, but they don't quite seem to get it. The news: University of New Mexico officials hope to have their presidential search finalists visit campus before students leave for the holiday break Dec. 17. But that means all five candidates will make their appearances amid students’ final days of classes and end-of-semester exams over the next two weeks. And a UNM professor emails us: Alligators are wondering why UNM wants to conduct its presidential search effectively behind closed doors by bringing candidates to campus when neither students, faculty nor staff will be able to participate. They keep saying that they will drum up participation. Do they mean they will bring out people who support only their point of view? Why this indecent haste? Faculty staff, students and the surrounding communities sense another rat that is going to profit monetarily from New Mexico coffers again just like Schmidly. Regents should be forced to postpone interviews until the semester is well underway. Governor if you want your administration associated with transparency then you should step in! NOT THAT!  ABQ attorney Diane Albert emails us with the popular take on this new APD cruiser that could end up patrolling city streets:What kind of message is the Chief sending here? This proposed cruiser looks like something out of Mad Max! The dept is under a Department of Justice cloud and picking this kind of dark, scary model reinforces the violent and dark image of APD I much prefer the white model! We hear you, Diane. And we note that in one of his cartoons the ABQ Journal's John Trever also asked if this is really a good time for APD to start looking more aggressive. IT'S ON The Legislature couldn't do it, but the court can and will. The first formal wrangling over redistricting the state's political boundaries for congress and the Legislature (among others) is underway. THE BOTTOM LINES Former Governor Bill Richardson on Monday announced the death of his mother on his Facebook page: Maria Luisa Lopez Collada, 97, passed away peacefully today in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She was surrounded by family, including her son, Governor Bill Richardson and his wife, Barbara Richardson; and her daughter Dr. Vesta Richardson. I recall meeting her on the campaign trail once--either in '80 when Bill ran against Rep. Manuel Lujan in ABQ and lost narrowly, or in '82 when he ran and won the newly created northern congressional seat. She had a stately and graceful manner--an aristocratic look, if you will. She was like any other mother as she watched her son in action. She sported a broad closed-mouth smile and a twinkle in her eye. Her financial backing of her son was critical to the great political success he had and became a campaign issue those many years ago. In what could be called sadly ironic, the New York Times reported this week that a former advisor to Richardson said a Federal grand jury in ABQ was looking into allegations that a state worker who allegedly had an affair with Richardson was paid $250,000 in hush money. The Times' source said that Richardson’s lawyers entered into a confidential settlement with the woman for $250,000 and that a person familiar with but not connected to the investigation said the money was believed to have been wired to the woman’s lawyer from a bank in Mexico. Whether presidential campaign laws were violated is the open question. And so it goes... 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 Monday, December 05, 2011State Rep Defends Downs Deal & Draws Spotlight, Plus: Making Her A Happy Heather, And: The State Economy: Looking For Ideas
Rep. Gentry
 Some Republicans are expressing disappointment to us that ABQ GOP State Rep. Nate Gentry has been positioned as a prominent defender of the controversial racino lease that the Martinez administration is awarding to the Downs at ABQ. Gentry had not really shown his true colors publicly when it comes to the factions within the state GOP, but he is now on the attack against GOP State Fair Commissioner Charlotte Rode who opposed the deal as did well-known ABQ GOP businessman Tom Tinnin. He resigned in protest from the state Board of Finance. Gentry, an attorney, is being trotted out on radio and in the newspaper to defend the questionable deal. His critics say so much for Nate being an independent Republican.Gentry's embrace of the questionable Downs deal is his first major foray into the court of public opinion. Gentry, a former aide to retired GOP Senator Pete Domenici, follows Sec. of State Dianna Duran and attorney Matt Chandler in bearing the torch for the wing of the party represented by Governor Martinez and that is controlled by GOP national committeeman and attorney Pat Rogers, lawyer lobbyist Mickey Barnett and Martinez political consultant Jay McCleskey. The other wing includes, among others, the aforementioned Tinnin, State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and now Commissioner Rode. Duran's embrace of the far-right wing of her party ended in political disaster when she failed to come up with the goods on voter fraud. And Chandler's political career seems to be hanging by a thread as he spearheads the prosecution of a judicial corruption case that is skating on thin ice. That would seem to be good reasons for Gentry to ponder whether he is a pawn or a player in what has been dubbed the down and dirty Downs deal. HAPPY HEATHER GOP US Senate hopeful Heather Wilson has come with a new website and logo. The site is heavy on large pics of Heather in smiling mode. The issues section is skimpy but will probably be filled out as the campaign rolls on. The latest take on Wilson among our Senate watchers is that she appears to be running well in her effort to take the GOP nomination against Light Guv John Sanchez and Greg Sowards, but that she has a major issue to resolve if she is to go all the way. Wilson, a former 10 year ABQ congresswoman, carries high negatives after her many years in public service. Some of the smart crowd think that it will prevent her from getting to 50%, leaving her a few points shy of the victory. Warming Wilson up appears to be job one for her campaign. That explains why her website is dominated by Happy Heather. If they don't like you, they probably won't vote for you. BEN RAY BOOST? From the Politico on northern Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan:It's been less than a week since Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Charles Gonzales (D-Texas) made the surprising decision to retire, but that hasn't stopped the speculation from flying downtown over who will replace him as head of the CHC. The odds-on favorite for the position so far is Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, according to K-Streeters..Lujan, who is currently chairman of the CHC's Bull PAC has a strong following downtown and would be in line for the slot as long as Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) decides not to run. Didn't Angela Ramirez, Ben Ray's chief of staff, come to him from her job as a former director of the Hispanic Caucus? Yes, she did. Meantime, Arizona Rep. Grijalva, a member of the Hispanic Caucus is prepping an endorsement of Rep. Martin Heinrich, a nice little pop for the ABQ congressman who faces Hector Balderas for the Dem Senate nod. MORE ON D'ANTONIO Piecing together more on the ouster of John D'Antonio as state engineer, another source comes with additional info on how it came down: During his interview with the US Army Corps of Engineers,, the hiring committee asked him if he were offered the job, would he accept it. John answered, yes he would. A couple of weeks later, the Corps called and offered John the job. He accepted. Within an hour of accepting the job, John called Ryan Cangiolosi of the Governor's office to tell him that he had accepted a position with the Corps and will be submitting his resignation. At the time, Ryan and the Guv were attending the US/Mexico Governors Border Conference. Ryan called John back and asked if he was willing to meet with the Guv the following week. John agreed. And at that meeting D'Antonio submitted his resignation. MORE BILL The NYT posted some new info on the federal grand jury probe of former Governor Big Bill that centers on an allegation that he had a n affair with a state worker and that it was covered up with hush money. Some readers ask how Richardson can claim the investigation is politically motivated when the new US Attorney is Dem Ken Gonzales. The answer is that former US attorney and devout Republican Greg Fouratt is still a major influence in that office, according to insiders, even though they say he is not part of the official team investigating Bill. TV RATINGS Media observers were mildly surprised that KOAT-TV announced it took the 10 p.m. news rating crown in the November sweeps. KRQE has been a multi-year leader in the category. And it turns out they are still #1, if you count only the Monday through Friday newscasts. Only when the weekends are taken into account, does KOAT take the prize. The ABC affiliate also put in top ratings performances for other news broadcasts, but the station had a good ratings book a while back but never followed through. We'll know if this latest ratings pop is a fluke or for real when we have the February sweeps. Speaking of TV news, Neil Simon is a former KOB-TV reporter who is now communications director at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. He writes to us with a piece of criticism for a joke that ran on Friday's blog that was about dousing congressmen with gasoline: Your blog is the best way for me to keep up with NM politics, but I found offensive the joke \ about burning members of congress. Amid a Congressional session where violence against Members has left people dead and a U.S. Rep. seriously injured, and an era of international political upheaval sparked in part by self-immolation in Tunisia and more of the same among monks in China, I found the joke about burning Members of Congress in poor taste. THE MAES CHALLENGE  And keeping the mailbag open for a moment, we find this one from Santa Fe lobbyist and former state senator Roman Maes:Joe, I share and appreciate your concern for New Mexico's economy. Will you consider a challenge? Let's turn a negative economy into a positive one by using a small portion of your blog to receive serious recommendations, ideas, solutions to improve our economy. Your readers need an outlet for positive thinking. Maybe, just maybe someone will listen and move on a great idea. Thanks for that, Roman. We've done that on occasion over the years and if we get any responses we will gladly run them. Meanwhile, if we ran into the Guv a few of our favorites we might mention: ---Look to float a capital outlay bill of at least $400 million to kick-start the state's depressed construction sector ---Cut the job-killing NM Gross Receipts tax and raise the personal income tax rate on the highest earners ---Support building a dental school at the University of New Mexico ---Now that you have endorsed the NM spaceport, keep hugging it. ---Support using some of the state's Permanent Funds for early childhood education. 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 Friday, December 02, 2011Friday Clippings From My Newsroom Floor: Dems Not Tough Enough?, Chief Schultz Future, And Those Sexsational Big Bill Charges The R's have dropped the ball twice in a big way but Dems are letting them off too easily. That's the take from some disgruntled Dems checking in here. They say the Martinez administration botched the awarding of the new racino lease at the state fairgrounds, using a process that flirted with pay-to play, They believe the state legislature needs to call hearings over the matter and hold some GOP feet to the fire. Ditto for Dianna Duran. The Republican secretary of state came up empty handed with her highly touted investigations over illegal aliens voting and dead people on the registration rolls. None of it panned out (as the Alligators predicted) but will Duran and the R's take a hit for the time and money spent going into a dead end over the dead?And while they're at it, now that Susana has discovered a new fondness for the state film industry, will the Dems look at repealing those scaled back movie industry tax incentives she supported? They could test her newfound warmth by sending her a bill doing just that... How did the end of State Engineer John D'Antonio go down? One of our sources relayed how D'Antonio described it to him. He says D'Antonio went to see Governor Martinez when his job was clearly in limbo. He told her he was being considered for a position at the federal Army Corp of Engineer. She asked what job he wanted--state engineer or the federal job. He replied he wanted to stay on as state engineer, a job he had held for nine years. She said she would call him the next day. She never called so D'Antonio went to the Guv's office and handed in his resignation. He now works for the feds. CHIEF TO EXIT? He is trying to shoot them down, but rumors persist that the days are numbered for ABQ police chief Ray Schultz. Insiders say a federal Department of Justice probe into the many police involved shootings under Schultz's watch is a fait accompli. They also maintain the chief's fate is sealed--that Mayor Berry is going to dump him. The betting line favors Schultz getting out soon. Berry is indicating he will seek re-election in 2013 and that time is drawing too close for comfort. A steady drip of bad news from APD continues. Schultz's problem is an age old one--he stayed way past his expiration date. He has had the gig since April '05. That's nearly six years. Berry could have replaced Ray in December '09 when everyone was expecting it, but at the urging of former Public Safety Director Darren White and others he kept him in place. Now it's time for damage control and a reshaping of the top management levels at the beleaguered department. MORE RADIO DAZE We blogged this week of how Cumulus Media, the new owner of 770 KKOB-AM radio, let go 11 full-time and part-time employees. One of them was local broadcast veteran Art Ortega who was compliance officer for the radio group purchased by Cumulus. That drew this missive from Santa Fe based political and media consultant Chris Brown:Seasonal political advertising is pure gravy for broadcasters, and Art's absence is likely to cost Cumulus more than they save. Political radio advertising is underused in politics because national consultants do not realize that piling up gross rating points on TV is nauseating the 40% who watch 4 to 9 hours a day while still not reaching the 60% who are doing something else with their time, like listening to radio on the commute, reading the newspaper, or surfing the web. Old timers will remember that one of Brown's first campaigns was the successful Guv run of Jerry Apodaca back in 1974. BIG BILL LOOMS Was Big Bill screwing a state worker (literally) and had her paid $250,000 in hush money, violating campaign finance laws? That's the latest sensational charge that a Federal grand jury is supposedly looking into and one the Wall St. Journal went into heat over this week. The name of the woman Bill was allegedly having hanky-panky with has not been revealed. The R's are bubbly over this, the fourth grand jury probe of the ex-Guv. They think they would benefit from an indicted Richardson when the 2012 election rolls around. But legal experts say these type of charges are difficult to prove. If this case were to erupt, the impact could be felt on the leading candidates for Senate and US House, most of whom have close political ties to Bill. Remember, running against Richardson and corruption is a lot easier for the R's than talking about jobs and the economy. The leaking of this probe could undermine Bill's credibility as a defender and promoter of President Obama--especially among Hispanics. But we would never infer that there is any political skullduggery at the US Attorney's office. Perish the thought! THE BOTTOM LINES  A friend sends this rib-tickler that is making the Internet rounds:A driver was stuck in a traffic jam on the highway outside Washington, DC. Nothing was moving. Suddenly, a man knocks on the window. The driver rolls down the window and asks, “What’s going on?” “Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they’re asking for a $100 million dollar ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them all in gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, collecting donations.” “How much is everyone giving, on average?” the driver asks. The man replies, “Roughly a gallon.” That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. 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 Thursday, December 01, 2011Griego Fires Another Shot Across Marty's Bow As A Scorcher Of A Race Begins To Take Shape, Plus: The Political Character Of John Sanchez
Chavez, Griego & Lujan Grisham
   Eric Griego has fired another warning shot across the bow of Marty Chavez as the two leading contenders for the ABQ Dem congressional nomination prepare for what insiders now expect to be an exceptionally bloody feud between the two old political rivals. (Okay, we don't know how bloody, but we do need some good copy).Griego came with his second major environmental endorsement this week, signaling that the battle for the heart and soul of the nominating wing of the Democratic Party is fully engaged and Griego has come to play. The endorsement from the League of Conservation Voters action fund comes on the heels of Griego's endorsement from the Sierra Club, the nation's legacy environmental group. This backing will help Griego raise the money he needs to keep pace with former ABQ Mayor Chavez. Chavez left a top job with a DC environmental group to seek the congressional seat. As mayor, he was a major booster of green initiatives. But to no avail politically. The former Mayor's strong pro-development record--especially for the city's West Side--continues to haunt him with the enviros and their endorsements are eluding him. The Alligators expect negative campaigning when the calender turns to 2012. And many of them expect Marty to fire the first volley at Eric--not vice versa. Chavez backed off the 2010 Guv race when liberals raised a ruckus over him and he also had to look away from the 2008 Senate race for similar reasons. He is not looking for a third strike and must now pull out all the stops or risk being sent to the showers yet again. The three time mayor who lost a bid for a fourth term in 2009 has seized on the jobs issue as a way to unite the disparate factions of the Dem Party. He unveiled a clever section on his web site called "Marty's Job Center" where he lists open jobs. Now it appears he is going to have to use some of that creativity to slow down the early Griego surge. Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham is the other contender in the contest, coming with a decent initial finance report, but yet to convince the insiders that she can compete with experienced and battle-scarred warriors Griego and Chavez. She could not floor the gas when she ran for and lost the nomination in 2008. That memory lingers. She will have to move it early or the ship will sail without her as spring approaches. Griego, a state senator and former city councilor who ran against Chavez in the 2005 mayoral contest, says the enviro endorsements show his campaign is building momentum. The anti-Griego crowd continues to chant that he is too liberal to win in November and that Chavez or Lujan Grisham is the best choice for the Dems to run in the swing district. Observers initially seemed confused about the impact of a three way race for the nomination for the seat being given up by Rep. Martin Heinrich who is running for the Senate. But now conventional wisdom sees it as benefiting Griego. The reason? If he can consolidate the liberal vote he can take the prize with as little as 40 percent--not the more formidable 50% that he would need in a mano vs. mano with Marty. Chavez and Lujan Grisham are trying to get their share of the liberal voting bloc, but so far Griego is the clear choice of the libs. One thing is now certain--no one will be walking into the nomination. Get the popcorn out, this one's going to be a spectacle. THE SANCHEZ FILE Say what you will about Lt. Governor John Sanchez, he is proving to be a class act when it comes to handling his public relations with Governor Martinez. Given the chance to take a whack at the Gov because she does not always notify his office when she will be out of state thus making Sanchez acting governor, his office simply said it had no comment. But Martinez and her political operatives have taken plenty of snipes at Sanchez who took over his step-father's roofing biz and built it into a major ABQ company.Once he announced he was a GOP candidate for the US Senate Martinez said she would not give him additional duties other than the minimal ones already prescribed in the state Constitution. And she basically endorsed Heather Wilson for the Senate nod shortly after Sanchez announced his bid. That kind of treatment would be hard to swallow by anyone, but must especially sting Sanchez, a native New Mexican who came up the hard way and made a success of himself. Then there was that 33 county road tour Martinez sent Sanchez on during the transition months, keeping Sanchez away from Santa Fe while critical decisions regarding the future administration were made. And then there is Martinez's public chafing over the constitutional directive that once she crosses the state line--even if only to visit her family in El Paso--gubernatorial powers must transfer to the lieutenant governor. Sanchez could play like previous Light Guvs and engage this governor publicly and loudly over the many slights she and her political operatives have inflicted on him. But his Senate candidacy in a party where Martinez remains popular and his own persona hold him back. We wrote months ago of Sanchez's critics who deride his lack of a college degree and question whether he is smart enough to serve in the Senate. They also question his work ethic since he missed a lot of votes when he served a solo term in the state House. But this even temperament Sanchez is showing is a strength of character that one could argue is as important as other criteria for being a US Senator. He can hold his tongue, bide his time, await his day and then strike while the iron is hot. Are those personality traits that could benefit New Mexico in the US Senate in the difficult years ahead? Heather Wilson is the acknowledged front-runner in the GOP Senate bid and is certainly no lightweight, but Sanchez's subtle demeanor and respectful approach to public life while under pressure belie the notion that he is a dimwit. The irony here is that the more the Governor and her political operatives snub Sanchez, the better he looks. Sanchez is two for three in politics. In 2000, he won an ABQ state rep seat when he knocked off the incumbent House Speaker. He faltered when two years later, in 2002, he secured the GOP Guv nomination but lost the general election to Big Bill. He came back to life in 2010 when he trounced his opponents to take the GOP Light Guv nomination and was swept into office with Martinez. Sanchez's political personality was born in the extremely competitive trenches of free enterprise where showboating in lieu of performing is verboten. This is a different breed than those who have spent their careers with the comfortable certainty of a government paycheck. As in his business, Sanchez pursues goals--not vendettas. And it shows. WHIP THE WHIP?  Will longtime ABQ SE Heights State Representative and House Majority Whip Sheryl Williams Stapleton draw a 2012 primary opponent now that she has suffered a media beating? Probably not anyone formidable, but she will keep looking behind her shoulder.Stapleton, 53, was waxed in a KRQE-TV news report for receiving a paycheck for her duties as an assistant ABQ Public Schools superintendent Schools while was attending the legislative sessions in Santa Fe. The morning fishwrapper also piled on before the APS superintendent retroactively approved Cheryl's double duty. The reports were intriguing, but Stapelton, first elected in 1995, was not accused of being a crook. Many pubic employees serve in the Legislature and the critics harped that the rap on Stapleton came across as a technical violation. One of our Alligators played it this way: The media hits were more like chinks in her armor rather than a fatal wound. Still, there is good material there for any foe who does step up to the plate. And Stapleton has not been the most communicative legislator when it comes to the media. Our legislative watchers say a strong Hispanic name or an Anglo liberal would give Stapleton the most headaches. The district is safe Dem so no R's need apply. 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 |
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