Darren White

It's another of those only in New Mexico moments. A former sheriff with not a day of racing or gaming experience gets named as the general manager of the Downs at ABQ. That eyebrow raiser had the chins dropping to the floor all over our enchanted land this week, as Darren White, former Bernalillo County sheriff, former ABQ public safety director and unsuccessful 2008 GOP congressional candidate assumed the helm at the controversial ABQ racino.

White has one qualification that is undisputed--his political connections to the Martinez administration and its chief political adviser--Jay McCleskey--are superb.

Darren gave us plenty of blog copy when he was bounced from City Hall last July as public safety director for intervening in an auto accident involving his wife. He also popped up in the blog news this month when he put a message on Twitter that was negative towards ABQ GOP congressional candidate Janice Arnold-Jones. And with Darren as Downs general manager, you can expect the hits to keep coming

The watchdogs immediately charged that the White appointment was evidence that the lease for the racino at the Downs--recently approved by the state--was a wire job from start to finish, and now we are seeing the payoff. Earlier, tapped in lobbyist/lawyer Pat Rogers surfaced as the attorney for the Downs as it negotiated its decades-long lease that is going to be worth major league dollars. Big Bill could not have done it any better. And we're probably not finished. Darren at the Downs could mean a full-scale employment agency--for the politically connected.

The state gaming commission controlled by the Martinez administration did not even do a double-take over the unusual appointment.

The Downs deal is under the scrutiny of the attorney general and state auditor. The probes of exactly what happened in awarding that lease will be bounced around for months to come. Hey, maybe Darren's law enforcement experience is actually what the Downs needed after all.

HEINRICH VS.WILSON

It's pretty tight, but according to Roll Call Heather Wilson's campaign says her own polling shows her lagging Dem Martin Heinrich by three points. 

Wilson's camp is working the national press hard to keep this race on the radar and the cash coming in. Her 49% unfavorable rating in this week's PPP poll has some R's worried that the well-known Wilson has hit the wall. One other interesting note--Heinrich says there is a down side if Obama stays way ahead here--his campaign will have to put up the field operations that the presidential campaign would do in a tight contest.

RIO RANCHO TEA

Our insiders and Alligators report the four new  Rio Rancho city councilors are decidedly pro-Tea Party, but there is a dissenting view. It comes from a reader in the City of Vision who prefers to remain anonymous:

As far as I know, Councilor Crumb is not a Tea Party member...And, I know for certain that Mark Scott is not a Tea Party member. He was endorsed by the Tea Party because they watched him attend all the City Council meetings and speak at public forums there. They liked what they saw and heard. But, he is not a Tea Party member...In fact, councilor Scott even commented at a meeting on Wednesday that he was not a Tea Party member. He's been to several of their meetings by invitation. He's gone to Republican meetings by invitation. The Democratic Party never invited him to any meetings.

I am weary of this finger pointing at the Tea Party as though they are the root of all evil...I've learned that the members of the Rio Rancho Tea Party are a very diverse group comprised of Independents, Liberals, Libertarians and Conservatives. It's become obvious to me that people who talk about the RR Tea Party have not done their homework to find out who they are. Instead, it becomes an easy way to label and blame for whatever is convenient at the time...

 I highly doubt that the vast majority of those that voted are engaged at any level with the RR Tea Party. There is no science behind all these claims that everyone is making about the influence of the Tea Party. It is all speculation and perception based. If you're going to make those claims and publish it, at least do the metrics! 

Thanks for that anonymous reader, but there is a lot of parsing going on in your missive. The Alligators are saying the Council is controlled by politicians sympathetic to the platform of the Tea Party--not that they are formal members of the "Tea Party." I've talked personally with one of the new councilors and can say that the Gators are indeed correct. A strong ant-tax, anti-spending message has taken hold with the new Rio Rancho City Council--in line with the beliefs of the Tea Party.

The fact that you mention one of the new councilors has had the endorsement of the Tea Party says it all. So you see, it is not all "speculation and perception." It is an actual change in the philosophical direction of the government of the state's third largest city. You might not hear about it elsewhere, but you will here.

ROGERS RESIGNS

Friday night lawyer/lobbyist and GOP national committeeman Pat Rogers, under increasing pressure to resign from the executive board of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, did just that. Here is a portion of Rogers' resignation letter to the board:

...My prompt resignation will allow NMFOG and all of the NMFOG volunteers to concentrate on your critical First Amendment and open government mission and avoid further distractions by an issue that has become improperly politicized.

While even the most virulent partisans calling for my NMFOG resignation admit (as they must) that my actions were always lawful, it is also a fact I sent e-mails to individuals in government using an address that was not a state-issued address.  Use of personal e-mail addresses is a universal practice. My attempted use, however, as highlighted by the publication of certain portions of the stolen emails (emails that  were never received by the intended recipients) has become a significant distraction for this organization.  Moving forward, perhaps NMFOG can recommend changes to update the state law on this issue and develop an approach that is consistently applied to all government and to all persons interacting with government.

Improperly politicized? What is being investigated and questioned are back channel communications via private email accounts to top government officials by a private attorney/lobbyist. That's a matter of how public policy is executed--not the improper application of politics.

Rogers submitted his resignation to FOG executive board president Terri Cole, who also heads up the ABQ Chamber of Commerce.

The Santa Fe Reporter, KOB-TV and New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan this past week published or aired the latest email communications between Rogers and top Martinez administration officials. They were released recently by the Independent Source PAC--a union funded watchdog group. See our Thursday blog below for more on that.

Now here's the story we posted Friday, prior to the Rogers resignation:

Joe Monahan

The future role of lawyer/lobbyist Pat Rogers on the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) Board of Directors will be examined by the board in light of Rogers' role in emailgate. From Gwyneth Doland executive director of FOG:

You were unfair to FOG. If you'd asked me I would have told you...the executive committee has discussed this issue and asked Pat for a meeting. Meanwhile, he's recused himself from board communications.

We did not intend to be unfair. The article we linked to that quoted Doland--who does not have the power to remove Rogers--did not mention the proposed meeting with the lobbyist. It was contained in another article written by the newspaper. We assumed (mistakenly) that the set of quotes from Doland in the first piece where she pointed out Rogers' experience with open government issues were the sum of what she had to say on the matter. That's why we did not seek addditional comment from Doland. But let's get to the meat and potatoes, kids...

FOG says it's been trying to set up a meeting with Rogers who ran from the KOB-TV news cameras when asked about emailgate (that video aired on the 10 p.m. news this week but has not been posted on the station's web site) and accused the Santa Fe Reporter of unsound journalistic practices. We know he doesn't speak for the board, but attacking and hiding from journalists who are trying to defog emailgate is abrerrant behavior for a FOG board member who is supposed to be there to advocate for open government. But Pat is now in the business of protecting the government that FOG is charged with watchdogging. Isn't it time for FOG to stop playing footsie, protect the credibility of their organization and advance the cause of transparency by showing Pat the door?

We're just asking...

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Pat Rogers

Pat Rogers is not funny. That's one judgment that doesn't need too much investigation, not after the release of another spate of emails that reveal the lawyer/lobbyist and GOP national committeeman cracking bad jokes to the Governor's top aides via private email accounts. But even more striking is the blatancy of Rogers, as he lobbies the Guv's high-ranking staff through those accounts. His clients would be proud, the taxpayers and public not so much.

There is an undercurrent of pandering and sordidness to this large batch of emails. And the lobbyist seems to be able to push around the Governor's senior staff like so many pawns on his chess board.

The emails may not disclose anything illegal, but they reveal a cynicism and an insider ball game that Martinez campaigned so vigorously against. And importantly, the emails reveal how a shadow government has formed around Martinez and how Rogers is a key player in it.

The Santa Fe Reporter printed excerpts of the Rogers emails and we've posted all of them here. They were released by the union-funded Independent Source PAC which has been breaking much of the emailgate news.

From the paper:

Rogers’ email is one of a year’s worth of messages sent from the Albuquerque law firm of Modrall Sperling to the private accounts of New Mexico government officials. Most went to key aides to Gov. Martinez, who campaigned for her present office on a platform of transparency and open government but whose administration has been rocked by the discovery of a private email network for conducting state business....

Rogers had emailed (Guv Martinez deputy chief of staff Ryan) Cangiolosi that Rudy Beserra, Coca-Cola’s vice president for Latin affairs, might be calling about the company’s lobbying in New Mexico. “I have been asked where I got the ‘I hate Ryan Cangiolosi shirt[.]’ I have insisted it was a limited run,” Rogers joked. At the same time, though, he clearly wanted a favor.

“[Coca-Cola corporate] are, apparently, of the mind that, perhaps, a Republican NM lobbyist wouldn’t hurt,” Rogers wrote. In a possible reference to Martinez’ political advisor, Jay McCleskey, he added, “As this is unrelated to the poor Hispanic Dr. Pepper girl that Jay hates, I would appreciate a plug if Beserra calls.”

Then there's this email that is not going to help Rogers' image. It's referencing Douglas Howe, a Martinez appointee to the state Public Regulation Commission who is openly gay. Back to the paper:

On Nov. 7, after Gov.  Martinez...named Douglas Howe as Block’s replacement, Rogers forwarded an article about Howe’s appointment to Ryan Cangiolosi, the governor's deputy chief of staff, and Jay McCleskey, the governor's political adviser.

“He promised on his boyfriend’s grave he would support Pat Lyons for Chair, right?” Rogers’ email reads.

“If these emails are genuine, that’s utterly false,” Howe tells SFR. “During the vetting process, I think one of the very last questions the governor’s office asked me is whether I would challenge Commissioner Lyons…” he says. “What I answered was that I wouldn’t promise not to do that—but I thought it was unlikely that I would given that I’d be coming in as a rookie not knowing anything about the internal management of the PRC.”

We found it odd that there is no reaction from Howe about Rogers' homophobic quip that he "promised on his boyfriend's grave." 

THE SHADOW KNOWS

If there had been any doubt about a shadow government being formed in Santa Fe, the emails erase any doubt. In one of them Rogers describes how he is seeking to put together a meeting between Governor Martinez and outgoing UNM President David Schmidly:

It's now time for the Gov and Schmidly to meet. I met with him last week and contacted Jay about setting up a meeting with the Gov and Schmidly.  The Gov is going to have to make sure the next president is serious and capable. Schmidly can assist in that endeavor.

Say what? The Governor's private political adviser--not on the state payroll--is going to be in charge of arranging a meeting between the Governor of New Mexico and the president of the state's largest university?

You might ask: Who put him in charge? Well, ask the Governor.

Rogers has been somewhat of a press darling because of his commitment to transparency in government via his service on the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. The executive director of that group, Gwyneth Doland, seems nonplussed by Rogers' emails that were clearly meant to influence state policy in favor of his lobbying clients and sent to private email accounts to avoid public and press scrutiny. The paper reports:

....Doland writes in an email that he has “25 years of experience working with open-government and First Amendment laws and is a nationally-recognized expert on the issue,” and in 2006, NMFOG named him Lawyer of the Year.

That's it? No concern about the integrity of NMFOG as a result of emailgate? No debate over whether Pat ought to step aside from FOG while all of this sorts itself out, especially his use of private emails to high government officials regarding the state racino lease for the Downs at ABQ for which he was the attorney?

Heck, Pat, even refused to comment about the emails the Reporter printed. He said:

You have ignored my offers, my questions, my concerns, federal and state law and [the Society of Professional Journalists] ethics rules. That would be my on the record comment.”

Oh, now we get it. Gwyneth and FOG need to keep Pat at their side because he is an expert on journalism. Silly us. We thought there was a problem here.

(Doland says the executive committee of FOG has discussed the issue and asked Rogers for a meeting. Meanwhile, she says he has recused himself from board communications.)

CHASING THE TRUTH

Intrepid KOB-TV investigative report Gadi Schwartz tried to get Rogers to comment on the emails, but the powerful player in the Martinez administration trotted away from the TV cameras, refusing to talk. Maybe Gadi should try emailing Pat. He seems to be quite communicative in that medium.

NO EMAILGATE FOR HIM

Blog reader Michael Winders beats up on us for our coverage of the administration:

Martinez's handlers?? Emailgate?? (Belly laugh). Who handled Richardson...you? I've met the Guv and she is her own woman. She spent two hours with our town's children and there were no handlers present. She also doesn't need a posse like Richardson did. He is a crook who wanted to be a rock star, she is a Governor, and you are the water boy for the Left. ;) 

Thanks for the laugh, Michael. But you are making it too easy. Why would the Governor need handlers when she is entertaining school children? I will give you points on the Richardson posse quip. Martinez travels light and that's a breath of fresh air. But then you lose points by trying to paint us as an ideological hack, acting as the "water boy for the left." Does that mean you can't attack the message so you hit the messenger? You say Martinez, in contrast to Richardson, "is a Governor" but emailgate seems to reveal the direct opposite, with a shadow government calling the shots--not the chief executive. But hey, don't take us too seriously--we're just the water boy, or as we have often put it--the piano player in the whorehouse.

THE NM PREZ RACE

The Dem friendly PPP poll says the Prez race here has gotten closer. They say only five points separate the candidates, with Obama polling 49% to Romney's 44%. Does that mean we are a "swing state" again and that NM TV managers can pop the champagne corks and await a slew of expensive TV ads? No. Five points is still a relatively healthy lead, but looks much less so compared to the 14 point lead Obama had in the April PPP poll. Still, the trend is with the President here.

The good news in this poll--if it is accurate--is for GOP US Senate candidate Heather Wilson who is locked in a tight race. If Romney can keep Obama's margin of victory here in the 52% or 53% range that would give her a better chance of beating Dem US Senate candidate Martin Heinrich. But how close is Romney? The Hill says:

The (PPP) poll could be an outlier: A poll from the conservative pollster We Ask America released earlier this month had Obama up 11 points, and pollsters for former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), without saying exactly what the presidential race looked like, said that her internal polls for her Senate race had her out-performing Romney by more than a few points in the state and trailing Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich by three points.

PPP also polled Gary Johnson, the former NM Governor and this year's Libertarian Party candidate. He gets an eye-catching13%, but history says that by Election Day that will shrink dramatically Still, Johnson could be poised for a 5 or 6 percent percent showing here. PPP says he is drawing a lot of support from independents. The poll also confirms he draws more Republicans from Romney than Dems from Obama.

PPP says it surveyed "724 New Mexico voters from July 13th to 16th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.64%.  This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

ROMNEY TO NM

How about some exclusive political news for a mid-Summer day? You got it. My sources attending a recent ABQ fund-raiser for southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce say Pearce announced that GOP prez candidate Mitt Romney will appear at a fund-raising lunch August 23 at the Lea County Convention Center in Hobbs. Romney has yet to visit NM since wrapping up the prez nomination.

Lea County is conservative and delivered huge victory margins for GOP prez contenders. In 2008, McCain won 72% of the vote there.

ABOUT THAT NUMBER

Blow back from some Guv Martinez critics on her 56% approval rating from the PPP poll this week. We start with this one:

She's had fawning press coverage, spent hundreds of thousands promoting herself with Susana PAC and polling a whopping two percentage points higher than she was elected with. She is also polling well because the Democrats aren't doing the same thing her that the Republicans are doing to Obama. If these numbers are indicative of anything it's the weakness of Javier Gonzales as Democratic Party chairman...

And another:

Emailgate may yet produce a whopper if the Downs at ABQ racino lease story blows up, but it's equally likely to just fizzle out. What will test Susana's popularity for real will be if Obama wins and it becomes put up or shut up time for Obamacare. If, as some speculate, she's a captive of the national GOP's right wing, she might follow Texas and Florida in refusing to implement the law. My guess is that her support among working poor Hispanics would quickly disappear if she chose to deny health insurance to thousands of them for what would be obviously political reasons. So far, she hasn't indicated she's thinking of going that route. Which makes her smarter than Governors Rick Perry or Rick Scott. Though that isn't saying much.

And one more:

Martinez's numbers reflect the fact that news coverage has not caught up with the news. Martinez and her shadow government are under federal and state investigation on the dirty Downs deal. But you would not know that if you got your news from TV or the state's largest paper. Martinez numbers will only head south as that information reaches more and more New Mexicans. Martinez's numbers are not solid. They reflect a public focused on their own day to day existence. A public too busy trying to keep a roof over its collective head to pay attention to the governor's actions. They are hardly focusing on an upcoming Senate race let alone a gubernatorial election two years down the road.

Susana can take delight in her critics misery, but she also has to be somewhat frustrated. Here she is with a 56% approval rating and unable to get hardly any legislative points on the scoreboard as she wrestles with the Dem-controlled Legislature. Success there will take more than high voter approval, it will take compromise.

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Funny how gasoline below three bucks a gallon looks like a deal these days, but it does. After holding our collective breath over possible $5 a gallon, this crack below the $3 mark at the Valero station on Sandia Pueblo land in north Albuquerque, looked like a bargain, We haven't seen many other stations follow suit. There are fewer taxes on gas sold by the pueblos.

The gas price is especially sensitive for the legions of New Mexico workers who make $10 or $15 bucks an hour. An uptick of a buck a gallon is glaring for them, while the professional classes grimace, they don't feel it anywhere near as much.

It is those blue collar and service workers hurt the most by high gas prices and high unemployment who seem to be clearly in the sights of Dem US Senate candidate Martin Heinrich as he unveils his first TV spot since the June primary.

He positions himself as connecting with the working man, as he is shown building a house with a group of workers and saying: "I've always enjoyed building things..." He also points out that he sponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage while on the ABQ city council.

Heinrich concludes this spot---speckled with biographical info--by saying, "I believe in the dignity of work."

It is the bread and butter of those blue collar and working class Dems, many of whom are no stranger to voting Republican.

Heinrich is not rich and his family was strictly middle class. That ordinary background contrasts sharply this cycle with the debate over Romney and could make the ad resonate with the "hands on" Dems it is aimed at.

Like Heinrich, Heather Wilson also hails from relatively humble beginnings, but she is getting the backing of some of the wealthiest Americans. The Chamber of Commerce PAC has come with a 30 second spot for the GOP Senate nominee that calls her "an independent voice" who has sound energy policies. Wilson is losing the independents in the early polling and there's no way she can win this election if she loses them.

THE HISPANIC FACTOR

Our Senate race starts to get national attention. The WaPo visits here and asks whether Republican Heather Wilson can garner enough of the Hispanic vote to overtake Dem Martin Heinrich. Key points:

Her essential problem is that New Mexico is 47 percent Hispanic, and those voters tend to vote Democratic, particularly in presidential election years. Barack Obama won New Mexico with 57 percent of the vote in 2008...The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials estimates that 35 percent of New Mexico’s voters will be Hispanic this year, a share of the electorate that is higher than in any other state. “It’s a swing state trending to the Democrats, and part of that is its cultural diversity,” said Robert Lang, director of Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. “It’s a majority-minority state with a large Hispanic population. Nevada and Colorado are truer swing states. New Mexico is a little more solidly blue, but I wouldn’t discount it if you had a moderate Republican.”

We tell the paper that Wilson on her own performs well among Hispanics It is the harsh reputation the Republican Party currently has among many Hispanics that is a yoke around her neck:

To succeed, Wilson will have to win over some conservative Democrats, along with a sizable share of independents, said Joe Monahan, a political blogger and analyst in New Mexico. It will be tough.

“Wilson has been around a long time, but when you’re reaching out to a larger part of the electorate, the Democrats’ registration advantage kicks in,” Monahan said. “Her hope would be to win the race with the independent vote. She’s kind of held down by the yoke of her Republican affiliation.”

The political community here is still absorbing the unusual news that Heinrich and Wilson have agreed to three televised debates in October. That's a lot of important exposure and one of our Alligators came with this take on what the debate and the presidential campaign means to the campaign:

The fact that these debates are on and settled in the Senate race at this early date is pretty remarkable.  Heinrich doesn't act defensive or intimidated by Wilson. Both candidates seem interested in debating. They actually scheduled them at decent times when people might watch. But debates only help so much and Wilson shouldn't assume these are game changes for her. They're only potential game changers if she puts the seat into play and she has some work to do to get there. 

The presidential race will help Heinrich, most likely because it gives him the advantage in ABQ (due to a strong Obama ground game). That wipes away Wilson's advantage there and forces her to rely on the rural vote which she still has yet to cement after the divisive 2008 GOP Senate primary she had with Steve Pearce....

THE POLLING

The Senate race has remained remarkably static and the newest poll has it staying that way. The PPP poll--a Democratic firm--says Heinrich leads Wilson 48% to 43%. The five point lead is one better than a survey released last week by an enviornmental group that had Heinrich ahead by four (49-45). Another automatic phone survey conducted last week by a Republican oriented group put the Heinrich lead at a more robust nine points--51% to 42%.

There is an early indication of trouble for Wilson in that she is not breaking past 45% in any survey, even as Heinrich moves to the upper 40's and across 50% in that one poll. Her "unfavorable" rating in PPP is a high 49%. That could mean there is a ceiling on her support and that she will need to run a strong attack campaign against Heinrich in order to win. That should begin in a month or so,

The Wilson campaign again complains that PPP is oversampling Democrats, but as we have repeatedly pointed out there has not been a single poll that has shown her tied or ahead. For sure, her campaign fears that these polls will hurt fund-raising, but attacking PPP's accuracy and not that of the other surveys hurts Heather's credibility. Why not just say you are a couple back and working like crazy to close the gap in October?

Pundits don't hesitate to call the race "close" and give Wilson a chance to win, but she seems intent on framing it as a "dead heat."  It isn't, and the insistence is wearing a bit  thin. Better to fight with Heinrich than with the pollsters. No?

SUSANA'S NUMBERS

The early stages of emailgate have not punctured the popularity of Governor Martinez. PPP puts her approval rating at 56%. In addition, they say if the 2014 Guv's race were held today she would defeat the only announced Dem candidate--Attorney General Gary King-51 to 39. She would also defeat State Auditor Hector Balderas 50% to 37%, says PPP.

 That poll is best taken as entertainment value at this stage of the game--well over two years before the election. Martinez won election in 2010 with 54% of the vote.

Emailgate still has the potential to damage the Guv. It is a drip, drip, drip affair and has only begun. She and her handlers will be kept busy protecting her popularity, using tactics like showcasing her family (as was featured on the Tuesday blog) and other methods that will continue to present the softer side of the first female Hispanic Governor.

By the way, Martinez's standing among Hispanics in the PPP poll is nearly 40% favorable. That's high for a Republican and explains why she is above the 50% approval mark.

The polling company says: PPP surveyed 724 New Mexico voters from July 13th to 16th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.6%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. 

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A gubernatorial image just doesn't happen, it's crafted. That's why we found the following interesting. For two years we've heard of but rarely (if ever) seen Governor Martinez's developmentally disabled sister. Only now have the Guv's handlers decided to bring her into the Guv's public life by allowing a TV news crew to film a birthday party held for the 55 year old.

Lettie lives in Las Cruces as does Martinez's father, Jake, who suffers from Alzheimer's. The Governor is said to spend considerable time in Las Cruces visiting her sister who has a full-time caregiver.

In the KOB-TV news report, Martinez is seen for the first time interacting with her sister and says she is the reason she could never accept the VP nomination on the GOP prez ticket because moving her sister away from here is not an option (not that Martinez has ever been very high on the VP prospect list).

Martinez's handlers have been adept at presenting the Governor as warm and affable, surrounding her with school children and other circumstances that result in photographs that humanize the chief executive. But this is the first time--to our knowledge--that her sister has been presented in the television medium.

Martinez is known behind the scenes as stern and tough, every inch the former district attorney she once was. Recently disclosed insider emails give us a glimpse at that side of Martinez, but on television the public only gets occasional glimpses of that side of the Governor. It's a reason her popularity ratings remain high. (A new PPP poll coming out today is expected to show Martinez with a solid approval rating).

A similar situation exists here in ABQ, where our top sources report that GOP Mayor Richard Berry often displays a stern--even autocratic personality--in closed door meetings. As with Martinez, that side rarely surfaces on television news.

The TV images of Martinez and Berry clash mightily with the image that is being drawn of them in recent printed news and blog reports of the respective scandals they are grappling with--emailgate and the police department management mess. That's why it is interesting that we are now seeing a portion of the Governor's private life that had previously been walled off from the news cameras.

SAM'S SLAM
 Bregman
Move over Gary and Hector, Sam wants a piece of the action. Sam Bregman, trial attorney and possible '14 Dem Guv contender, again bursts into the emailgate headlines. The latest:

The attorney representing a fired state corrections department employee plans to subpoena Governor Martinez to testify at Larry Flynn's wrongful termination hearing. Sam Bregman said he learned  that Martinez's Deputy Chief of Staff Ryan Cangiolosi used a personal Yahoo e-mail account to forward a secret New Mexico State Police background report on Flynn to the governor's personal campaign e-mail account.

The governor's staff said the report..was requested after they found out Flynn was living with then Correction Secretary Lupe Martinez on state prison grounds south of Santa Fe. Manning's report includes information about Flynn's car registrations, foreclosure, bankruptcy, and links to his social media accounts...Bregman said he does not think it is appropriate for the governor to target classified employees with secret investigations conducted by the state police. "It appears she's acting almost Nixonian," Bregman said. "Quite frankly getting state police to do an investigation on a classified employee using private emails to disseminate it, it's very scary."

Martinez Chief of Staff Gardner has already been ordered to testify in this case, after the Guv tried to prevent it with a claim of executive privilege.

The Governor told the newspaper:

The governor became adamant that she never got the emails when asked about the possibility of a subpoena because of them.“Those are emails that I never received,” she told reporters following a news conference. “These are emails that were intercepted by someone and the FBI is investigating. You cannot say that I accepted or received any email that has that address on it. … How can I comment on what Ryan sent me when in fact it was sent to an address that was hijacked?”

Bregman may be seeking political points but he raises an important question over the state's Governor ordering up a state police report on a classified state employee and then getting that report via private email. It's another question in a long line of them that Bregman, Attorney General King and Auditor Balderas are sure to find intriguing in the months ahead.

TERRELL ON KING

Writing in the New Mexican on the gubernatorial campaign of Democratic Attorney General Gary King:

...If Martinez’s approval numbers stay high through the next year or so, King’s chances of getting the Democratic nomination will increase--simply because other well-known Democrats will back away from the governor’s race. The last two times an incumbent ran--I’m talking about Bill Richardson and Gary Johnson--they were re-elected by big margins. So, someone like State Auditor Hector Balderas, who has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial contender, might decide that he’d have a much better chance going for attorney general and wait until 2018 to make his move for governor. But wait a minute, we haven’t even had time to get sick of the 2014 election, and here I am talking about 2018.

Keeping it in Santa Fe but moving it to the econ beat:

The median sales price for homes in the Santa Fe area--including the city and the county--dropped 6.8 percent between the second quarter of 2011 and the second quarter of 2012, according to a report from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. The median sales price in the combined city and county for the second quarter of 2011 was $359,000 compared to $334,450 for the first quarter of 2012. Dan Wright, 2012 president of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, attributed that change to the steady decline in the market since the 2008-2009 peak. “We’re at the tail end of the decline in the market,” he said. “Personally, I don’t think it will continue to go down at this point.”

Maybe Wright is right and home prices have finally stopped their slide in Santa Fe, but layoffs at Los Alamos National Labs and the state workforce cast some doubt on his prediction. At a median price of $334,000 we have come down from the insane levels at the peak of the bubble, but even if Santa Fe has finally bottomed, it doesn't mean prices are going to go up anytime soon--only that they have ceased cratering.

HE'S RIGHT?

So who is going to lead New Mexico out of its economic malaise? Veteran politico and radio talk show host Mike Santullo recently lamented the absence of leadership here and that drew this response from a Senior Alligator at the state capitol:

Mike Santullo is right--where are the business advocates? My profession requires me to attend Republican/Democrat candidate fundraisers and business events. I have not heard a candidate this year talk about unemployment, creating jobs or developing business. Instead, they enforce the importance of "fighting" not compromise. Likewise, I belong to both the ABQ SF Chambers of Commerce. They do not encourage or discuss business. They will, however, sell you a trip to Italy, China or South America.

Well, give Governor Susana some credit. Days after it was announced that a Guv-touted scientific "ghost town" planned for Hobbs doesn't seem to have a ghost of a chance of getting off the ground, she was back before the TV cameras touting the state's big tourism industry. She says visits here were up 5% in 2011. The catch is that visits have been crashing for several years, so we are bouncing off the bottom.

Still, any turn is good news. But how about the Guv finding some extra money to promote the state from that $250 million in unexpected energy royalty money that Santa Fe says is coming in, And maybe we can recut the TV ads the Tourism Department ordered up but hardly anyone seems to like?

And yes, Tom Clifford, Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration--a 13% state reserve is way too much. We need to invest some of that cash to get things moving. Keeping that reserve at 9% or so is just fine. Don't you think?

GRIEGO GRAPES

He's been taking hits for having sour grapes for not endorsing the woman who beat him, but now Eric Griego finally comes with his backing. He isn't exactly oozing with enthusiasm, but unsuccessful ABQ Dem congressional candidate Griego does endorse Michelle Lujan Grisham, the winner of the three way primary, nearly six weeks after the fact. In an email to supporters Griego said:

I ask that you join me in working hard to keep this seat in Democratic hands. President Obama, Congressman Heinrich, and Commissioner Lujan Grisham will need your help to make sure we can fight the Republican right and their draconian cuts and policies. 

Griego also came with this note for us:

Just sent this out to my whole list of 15,000+.  I took some time off and needed to recover from the tough primary before I was ready to jump back in. I know you and some of your readers were piling on in the interim. Hope this clears things up...

Thanks, Eric. We hope those Alligator bites cure quickly.

CHICHARRONE FAST

In honor of State Senate Majority Leader Michale Sanchez and his recovery from recent heart problems, we are swearing off the chicharrones at Barelas Coffee House....okay, at least for two weeks. Sanchez, 61, returned to work Monday after having a procedure to clear a blocked artery. He is a private attorney as well as majority leader. Friends are urging him to go slow for a while. Our decision to sacrifice the fatty and tasty morsels was prompted by a discussion of Sanchez's health we had at Barelas last week with Richard Anklam, executive director of the nonpartisan New Mexico Tax Research Institute. It was a thoughtful discussion. Anklam ordered a big bowl of chicharrones to fuel the conversation and we dipped them in red chile. Hey, we're trying....

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It's been a long, hot and often tortuous summer for the politicians and those charged with economic development for the state. The announcement of nearly 500 layoffs at three different businesses slammed the ABQ metro in one week, there is continued worry over the future of federal funding for New Mexico and now comes word that a $1 billion "Ghost Town" project for SE NM--so highly touted just two months ago by Governor Martinez--turns out to be haunted by financial demons. The news:

The company behind plans to build a scientific ghost town says it is pulling out of a deal to develop the make-believe city near Hobbs. Pegasus Global Holdings in May announced with much fanfare its selection of a 15-square mile site in Hobbs and Lea County near the Texas border for development of the Center for Innovation, Technology and Testing...Robert Brumley, managing director of the project...said the group was pulling out "due to some very complicated and unforeseen issues with acquiring the land." The deal involved both public and private parcels..."We are still very committed to locating in New Mexico if a site can be identified," Brumley said....

The collapse of the ghost town deal was a pointed lesson for Governor Martinez. This economy is shakier than cafeteria jello and any jobs announcement has risk as well as rewards. The only consolation in this downer is that Lea County has been absolutely booming because of high oil prices and other development.

ECON EMBARRASSMENT

There's also a bit of an embarrassment for the administration to go along with the ghost town bust. The state's economic development director--Jon Barela--was s prime player in Cerelink, the Corrales-based tech company that was partnering with Hollywood. It has gone bust and left behind a stack of bills, including one for nearly a million dollars for use of the state's super computer.

YET ANOTHER HEADACHE

And there is more headache inducing news for the Guv when it comes to her top aides. Chief of Staff Keith Gardner is being dragged into the courts by trial attorney and possible '14 Dem Guv candidate Sam Bregman:

Martinez’s chief of staff must testify at a wrongful termination hearing requested by parole officer Larry Flynn, who was fired last year after police investigated him for shooting a gun outside his home on the state penitentiary grounds south of Santa Fe. Flynn, who at the time of his dismissal was living with then-Corrections Secretary Lupe Martinez, claims his firing was illegal because the Governor’s Office improperly got involved in a personnel action against a classified state employee...The governor’s lawyer had invoked executive privilege in trying to quash subpoenas of chief of staff Keith Gardner and other top administration officials...

With 19 months under their belts and Big Bill receding into the mists of history, the Martinez administration now fully owns what happens around here. That means the good the bad and the ugly...

GHOST TOWN TALK

There is impatience about the often woeful economic news that Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico continue to digest. Reader Keith Miller, who describes himself as an independent, is one of many who have written in since we blogged last week of a visit to the city by financial analyst Joe Duarte. His subsequent report labeled ABQ an economic "ghost town" (Hey, that's supposed to be in Hobbs, isn't it?). Anyway, here's Miller's take on the current biz and jobs scene:

No one wants to admit that there is nothing going in ABQ for fear that they will be targeted by local governments, whether city, county or state as being negative. I had great hopes that Gov. Martinez would bring a new era but this hasn’t happened and it is not because the Dems oppose her. It is because she owes people that created her campaign and they have no interest in this state except to export oil and gas...

Around Texas, where she has much support, these counties seem to be thriving. Hobbs has over 40,000 population and no one can find a place to live! Las Cruces is growing and much is being done for Dona Ana County…while the areas north have been left for naught. She has chased what she knows, “crime” but has not shown an inclination for business...

Again this is not an R or D problem, it is a competency problem, very similar to the national one we face. If we are in such a fever to educate our youth and then have nothing for them to do once educated, why will they stay in New Mexico? I am an independent that typically will vote R for local stuff as I believe they are fiscally conscious. At this point I believe that “unconscious” is the correct adjective.

BANISH THE GHOSTS!

The ABQ as ghost town meme hit a nerve with Bernalillo County officials. They came with this:

Bernalillo County’s economic development team is hard at work, partnering with the private sector on several projects that will create nearly 1,000 new jobs. The county is supporting projects that will create 340 construction jobs and 659 permanent jobs on four projects. Recent success stories include a new warehouse for Admiral Beverage Corp.; a new facility for Friedman Recycling; and the Oxbow Family Apartments, a major residential construction project. The Lowe’s customer support center will create an estimated 600 jobs. County staff worked in partnership with city and state officials to support this project. The county is also sponsoring a job fair on Tuesday...

The Lowe's call center jobs will come on line over the next year and half or so. And it's true that there is some job creating going on, but we are bleeding more jobs than we are adding. That's why the announcement of nearly 500 jobs lost in one week hit home so hard.'

GHOSTS PAST AND FUTURE

Here's another insightful take on what's happening around here from Republican and veteran businessman and investor Paul Donisthorpe, brother of La Politica pollster Bruce Donisthorpe:

I was frankly surprised at New Mexico's standing at tied for 36th in the places for doing business category...moving up from 43rd a year ago. But before we wrench our shoulders trying to pat ourselves on the back, our 46th and 47th ranking in education and business friendliness, respectively, is terrible and by themselves will doom us to mediocrity into the future.

Every single state in our region outranks New Mexico. Texas, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming are in the top 10...All in our region, save us, are in the top 25...As a state we need to find a way to get out of the mindset that "...improving means not falling behind.." as a recent newspaper editorial put it.

While lamenting the loss of incentive monies spent on trendy new businesses now shuttered and the loss of call center jobs due to economic factors totally out of our control, we see the headline where revenues for the state will be up $250 million over previous expectations due to "robust oil prices and production, primarily in southeastern New Mexico." Duh!

Of course, everyone in government will be clamoring for their piece of it ... never mind that oil prices have fallen 20% or so since...fasten your seatbelts.

SENATE ACTION

We're going to have TV debates in the US Senate race that could really make a difference. Heather Wilson's campaign came with the dates for three TV face-offs between her and and Dem rival Martin Heinrich. All three will come in October and well before Election Day Nov. 6.

The KRQE debate will be held Thursday, October 11, 2012 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the KRQE studio. The KOAT-Albuquerque Journal debate will be held Sunday, October 21, 2012 from 6 to 7 p.m. at the KOAT-7 studios and the KOB debate will be held Thursday, October 25, 2012 from 7 to 8 p.m. at a public venue to be determined.

These debates will come in time for the legions of early voters to be influenced. Heinrich's camp says the campaigns are working on a fourth face-off for the Las Cruces area media market that would be held sometime in October on KFOX-TV.

So far there has not been one joint appearance--televised or nontelevised--between Heinrich and Wilson since they were both nominated June 5. The race is being controlled by huge campaign war chests--from both the candidates and out-of-state interest groups--used for a parade of TV ads. Since she is running behind in the polls, three TV chances to do damage to Heinrich is good news for Wilson, but Heinrich needs to get better known personally by the voters. The debates will give him that chance.

The TV stations seem to have risen to the occasion. Two of the debates are on weeknights and in prime time.

According to the latest finance reports, the candidates have about the same amount of cash in their bank accounts and both are being supported with those big out of state dollars. Wilson reports raising $1.6 million in the last quarter (April through June). Heinrich raised $1.4 million. He has $1.8 million in cash. Wilson has $1.6 million. As for out-of-state interest group support, a polling group said Wilson has thus far received more support in third party TV ad spending.

Wilson continues to describe the race as a "dead heat" but Heinrich's polling lead is in the four point range. That's within the margin of error for many polls and a close contest, but not a dead heat. For us, a dead heat is when the candidates are tied or separated by only one polling point.

POSTSCRIPT

We ran into ABQ Dem congressional candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham Saturday night at the New Mexico Jazz Workshop "Women's Voices" concert at the ABQ museum. She had some good news about debates in her contest with Republican Janice Arnold-Jones, telling us that the campaigns are near final agreement on taking part in three TV debates. As in the Senate contest, joint appearances are few--if any--in the congressional contest. The TV debates would fill a large gap in voter knowledge.

Meanwhile, in the money chase in the ABQ congressional derby, Michelle says in the early going she is blowing Janice out of the water. Federal reports were made public over the weekend and her campaign says:

Lujan Grisham raised more than $459,000 during the last three months (April-June). The campaign raised $353,232.04 since the last reporting period in mid-May, nearly a 5-to-1 advantage over her general election opponent. The campaign has $203,606.70 cash on hand, a nearly 3-to-1 advantage over her opponent...

That Janice does not have even $100,000 in cash at this point speaks to the tepid support her candidacy has been greeted with in her own party, a point we blogged about earlier this month. She raised $113,000 for the quarter and reports only $78,000 in cash on hand.

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