GOP power playing

How about this for a New Mexico Republican power circle? It happened in Hobbs Thursday where soon-to-be GOP presidential nominee made his first New Mexico stop of the campaign where he discussed national energy policy and picked up major donations at a fund-raising event.

On the far left with his hand to his chin is Lt. Governor John Sanchez who posted this pic to his Twitter account. Next to him is the one non-New Mexican at the table--Utah US Rep. Rob Bishop. That's GOP southern NM Congressman Steve Pearce making a point to Romney and with her back to the camera wearing red is GOP US Senate nominee Heather Wilson. Notably absent is GOP Governor Susana Martinez, but we wouldn't read too much into it. She'll be cheerleading for Mitt at next week's GOP national convention.

There's a lot of history in that room. Wilson, a former five term ABQ congresswoman, faced off with Pearce for the 2008 GOP US Senate nod. Pearce beat her and then lost the general election to Dem Tom Udall. Sanchez briefly challenged Wilson for this year's Senate nomination and lost. He was the 2002 GOP gubernatorial nominee.

The photo of the GOP leaders with the possible next Prez of the USA will be seen as reassuring to some who fret over Romney's budget plans and how they would impact federally-dependent New Mexico. If these R's can sit down him in Hobbs, the Oval Office shouldn't be a problem. But that meeting will have to wait. Romney has a long, hard fight ahead of him before he gets to convene his New Mexican friends for a power lunch at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

DEAR MITT

Thanks for stopping by, Mitt. We know we're not a swing state this year and you will probably come up short here, but if you take the big prize without our help, don't hold it against us. New Mexico has worked well with GOP and Dem presidents the past 100 years. But please, don't listen to the radical right here that wants to defund the national labs, disrupt other major federal funding and promises to replace it with a free market paradise with lots of jobs and loot. We're all good capitalists, but the vast majority of us know that's nonsense and we welcome your support for our little corner of the world.

The New Mexican-Uncle Sam partnership has benefited both our state and the USA. If you make it to the White House, Mitt, let's keep it going. And come back any old time--especially if the polls start to get close.

IT'S STILL HEINRICH

Heather needs all the exposure she can get. Yet another poll shows her trailing Martin Heinrich--and badly. In the Rasmussen survey, it's Heinrich 48% to Heather's 41%, with 5% backing "other" candidates and 7% undecided.

Here's the brutal facts for the R's: The margin of error in the Aug 21 automatic phone survey of 500 likely voters is 4.5%. In other words, you have to apply nearly the entire margin of error to both the Wilson and Heinrich numbers to get this race in play. That's a giant leap and given the fact that not one poll has shown Wilson ahead means the Senate race continues to slip away from the R's (Heinrich came with his own poll Friday confirming his lead. The poll has Heinrich at 51% and Heinrich at 44%,).

As for the presidential race, the poll confirms the overall Dem trend in the state. Obama blows out Romney 52% to 38%, with 9% citing other candidates and only 1% saying they were undecided. That's why you see no presidential campaigns up on TV here.

The R's are going to have to stop making mistakes and need Obama and Heinrich to start making some if they are going to do anything here. Don't say we didn't tell you.

P.S. Let the honeymoon continue. Governor Susana scores a 60% approval rating in the Rasmussen survey. That is in line with the 59% approval she scored in a scientific poll that was commissioned for New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan and conducted July 17 (Kudos to our pollster--Bruce Donisthorpe for his on the target polling).

AUBREY DUNN DIES

Senator Dunn

As we were wrapping this up we received an evening email that one of the most important legislators in state history has died at the age of 84 at Wichita Falls, TX. Aubrey Dunn was the longtime chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee from which he exercised enormous influence over public policy in the 70's. The Alamogordo native served 15 years in the Senate, leaving the chamber in 1980. He was also a longtime part owner of the Alamogordo Daily News.

We were told of his Thursday death in a brief note from his son, Aubrey Dunn Jr., the GOP candidate for the state Senate seat held by Dem Phil Griego. Aubrey Dunn Sr. was a conservative Democrat. He sought the 1982 Dem gubernatorial nomination against Toney Anaya who won with 57% of the vote to Aubrey's 34%. Anaya went on to win the governorship that year.

Dunn was known for literally taking overt the Senate in the final hours of a session, ramming through important bills often while the "clock was stopped," a maneuver that was later outlawed.

Former longtime New Mexico TV news political reporter Rodger Beimer covered Santa Fe when Dunn held sway and he worked for him in that '82 Guv campaign. We asked him for a remembrance:

That ol’ apple picker from High Rolls, during his power years, knew more about the state’s money than anybody. He surrounded himself with a committee that listened and then acted. There was a lot of legislative power from that Alamogordo area in the 60’s and 70’s. First by John Mershon as head of House Appropriations and then Aubrey Dunn as Senate Finance chairman.

Although he watched state government operations with a keen eye, he had a vision for what was good for this state. The New Mexico Natural History Museum would not exist today if it were not for Aubrey Dunn. He headed the committee with  State Senator John Irick and businessman Art Spiegel. They spent thousands of their own dollars traveling the country raising the private funds to help get it open.

Working in his campaign for Governor, we’d be sweating bullets needing cash to buy stamps. He’d come by the office late in the evening, open the trunk of his car and bring in a few more checks to deposit. The workers didn’t always know how much money the campaign had, but Aubrey did. And, I think sometimes that’s the way it was when he was Chairman of Senate Finance.

And while he could be gruff, he knew his stuff and he cared. That can’t be said about lots of people today. Many have one trait or the other, but not all three.

One night late in a session, I returned to the Roundhouse from a night of investigative reporting at The Bull Ring. There in his office at 3 in the morning were a number of his legislative lieutenants smothered in giant green sheets of computer paper. They were developing the “Christmas Tree” bill--the bill that outlined the capital outlay spending for the coming year. I made a pot of coffee and watched as it came together.

Then there was the other legislative achievement that I don’t think has been repeated.  With the adjournment deadline only minutes away, he called a committee meeting on the floor of the State Senate and in one fell swoop reported out about 45 bills, asked unanimous consent that the bills be shown in the legislative journal as though they were reported out and acted upon individually--and then he took a breath and passed all the bills in a period of 2 minutes. There were no objections.

Thanks for that, Rodger. Aubrey Dunn was a power player of supreme skill who made a difference for the better and earned his chapter in the never-ending book of La Politica. Well done, Senator.

Thanks for stopping by this week and for making us the state's #1 political web site. We appreciate it.

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Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan.

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Maybe he'll unleash the dogs of war on Heather before it's all over, but not now. Still nursing a small but healthy lead in the public opinion polls, Dem US Senate candidate Martin Heinrich will finish the month of August with some Democratic boilerplate. His latest TV ad:

..Martin’s running for the US Senate to look out for the middle class. Cut taxes for families and small businesses.  And make big corporations and millionaires pay their fair share.  To protect seniors relying on Social Security and Medicare. Veterans by giving them the benefits they’ve earned. And kids by making college more affordable. Martin Heinrich: New Mexico values, our priorities.

Not to be a wiseguy but we needed an extra shot of Starbucks to jolt us awake after seeing that one. But laid back and steady hasn't hurt him...so far.

Third party out-of-state groups continue to put Heinrich through the meat grinder with regular negative TV hits. The latest one attacks the ABQ Dem congressman for wasteful spending and warns of the debt time bomb. That theme has not worked all summer, so why will it now?

Still, we sense that Heinrich rival Heather Wilson knows that her campaign propaganda that the race is a "dead heat"is a palliative for the politically unwashed and not to be the guiding light of her strategy. Her turn against the Ryan budget as detailed on Wednesday's blog is a sure sign of that.

Heinrich is doing what a front-runner should do. Wilson needs to fully embrace the role of underdog and start showing us what she's got. She knows how to fight from behind. Witness that epic ABQ congressional battle of 2006 when she narrowly beat Dem Patricia Madrid.

DEM FUN

Leave it to the Dems to rain on Mitt Romney's New Mexico parade today--or at least try. They point out that the GOP presidential nominee is having a public event at a business in Hobbs in Lea County that was the recipient of Obama stimulus money. From Dem headquarters:

Watson Truck And Supply Of Hobbs, New Mexico Was Reimbursed $50,500 For 13 Transactions Through The Obama Administration’s Car Allowance Rebate System. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Watson Truck And Supply Inc. of 1501 North Grimes in Hobbs, NM was reimbursed $50,500 for 13 transactions through the Obama Administration’s Car Allowance Rebate System. [NHSTA Car Allowance Rebate System Database, Accessed 8/22/12] 

Romney and the various committees supporting him will be getting some stimulus of their own while in oil rich Hobbs. His high-dollar fund-raiser will see some of the local oil barons giving donations of $50,000 or more.

THE NEW MEXICO VOTE

Mitt is going to blow the doors off in Lea County on election night. It's one of the R's banner areas, but Romney getting 38% of the Hispanic vote statewide here is an entirely different matter. But that's what he says he wants to do:

..Romney's campaign has set a precise target for the share of the Hispanic vote it needs to win to defeat President Obama: 38 percent. That's a significant step up from the 31 percent of the Latino vote won by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom Obama thumped while winning a number of key states where Hispanic voters are an important constituency, including Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.  Obama led Romney 67 to 23 percent with Latino voters in a poll conducted in late July poll by NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and Telemundo.

President Bush is said to have hit the 40% mark with Hispanic voters in the 2004 NM president race, although some dispute those exit poll numbers.  

STATE OF THE STATE

The crystal ball gazers in Santa Fe say that when lawmakers get together in January of 2013, the state cupboard won't be too bare. Martinez administration forecasters  told the Legislative Finance Committee they see the state generating about $272 million that could be used for budget increases for the budget year that begins July 2013. That's up some from an earlier estimate as oil prices remain strong and natural gas prices low, but stabilized. Still, nearly $75 million will be gobbled up for higher public employee pension payments required by the state and the Medicaid budget will likely need a boost. There will be another estimate on state revenue before the sixty day session starts. With federal budget cuts threatened and the economy still shaky, there is still plenty of uncertainty to keep Santa Fe edgy.

THE DOWNS DEAL

The down and dirty and politically dangerous ABQ Downs deal resurfaces with an in-depth recounting in this news piece that discusses allegations that the 25 year old racino lease awarded to the Downs at ABQ was a wire job:

...Details of a fast-tracked deal have emerged. In June, (State Fair Commissioner) Rode submitted a formal complaint to State Auditor Hector Balderas, who says he’s planning to deliver a response soon. Earlier this month, state Attorney General’s Office Special Agent Stan Gloria informed the State Fair Commission that the AG’s office was “conducting an inquiry” into the RFP process and requested interviews with six commissioners. Rode also says she’s met with the FBI, which wouldn’t confirm or deny an investigation.

ASTUTE REPORTER WANTED

One of our Alligators writes of Governor Martinez's speech next week to the GOP national convention and the party's platform plank on abortion:

Given the Akin scandal, I wonder how Susana feels about the subject? Does she agree with the GOP platform that has denied abortion in the case of rape? As a woman and a governor, when they trot her out to speak at the convention, will she be comfortable speaking before the convention and the medieval platform committee given their Draconian stance on the issue?  Or does she support that position? You would think some astute reporter would ask these questions when her office trumpets her convention speaking spot.....

GOP US Senate candidate Heather Wilson and ABQ GOP congressional candidate have said Congressman Akin of Missouri needs to withdraw from the US Senate race there because of his controversial comments about rape. Governor Martinez has not yet been heard from on that matter.

SURVIVING THE NEW

Dems who didn' think he was liberal enough came after Dem State Senator Phil Griego in the June primary. He won that battle, but now has to run against conservative Republican Aubrey Dunn, Jr. in the sprawling district that includes a large swath of the north but also extends all the way down to Lincoln County. That probably explains why Phil is happy to get this conservative tip of the hat:

The New Mexico senator whose district now includes much of Lincoln County has been honored by a coalition that supports economic development and job creation. The National Coalition for Capital (NCFC) bestowed a Champion of Small Business award on Sen. Phil Griego...Griego was one of 34 legislators from across the country who received awards at the meeting. The coalition pointed to Griego's recent effort in support of a program (that) makes low-interest loans available which are solely dedicated to New Mexico businesses.

Dunn has a storied New Mexico political name and probably the cash to give Griego a strong challenge, but the voting performance of the district tilts Dem.

RESTAURANT ROW

Yes, to De La Vega's Pecan Grill in Las Cruces. Decent steaks, a pretty sophisticated wine list for you vino lovers and competent service....No, to the Nob Hill Bar and Grill. The used-to-be-cool outpost on ABQ's Nob Hill has lost its way. It's too cool. Not the food--which retains its trademark flair--it's the newly installed ceiling fans that chill the place so much that your regular coffee could turn to the iced stuff. And service is unpredictable when not too slow. A couple of fixes and they can bring it back...

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CLICK TO ENLARGE

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney won't be just filling his campaign coffers when he stops off in Hobbs in Lea County on Thursday. There will also be an event for the "little folk" who might not be able to afford to be with Mitt at his fund-raising reception where the cheap seats will be going for a thousand and a pop and where some will drop more than $50,000 to support committees working for Romney.

The soon-to-be official 2012 Republican presidential nominee will attend what is being dubbed as an "Energy Event"at 10:30 Thursday morning at Watson Truck & Supply in Hobbs. It's assumed he will talk about his national energy policy as he takes the stage in oil rich Lea County.

Hobbs may be four hours away from ABQ but it is in the ABQ media market and the TV stations are sure to staff the event, giving Mitt his first chance to address New Mexicans directly.

It doesn't get any friendlier for a GOP presidential candidate than Lea County. You've heard us tell the story of how on Election Night 2004 we were broadcasting the results on public radio when we saw the county breaking 80% to 20%. We did a double-take, thinking the 20% was a Green Party candidate or something, but it was Dem presidential nominee John Kerry getting blown off the map.

Veteran political consultant Karl Rove brilliantly organized New Mexico that year, boosting turnout in rural New Mexico to give Bush the win (he became the first sitting president to ever visit Hobbs during that campaign). Could Mitt win as big? He doesn't have the same appeal to pull off that kind of performance, but he might be able to do better in the cities. His election as Governor of Massachusetts shows he can play ball at center court, but the R's and Mitt have been pushed so far to the right, he might not be able to make the move here.

Still, Romney has a shot at being president of the USA, even if New Mexico is not in his win column. Local Republican leaders need to ensure that he is not only informed about our energy abundance, but also the vital role the state plays in national security and our history of federal funding. For decades that chore fell on the shoulders of GOP Senator Pete Domenici, but he is gone. US Senate candidate and former GOP Congrsswoman Heather Wilson is equipped to be his successor, but she may not get the chance. Southern NM Congressman Steve Pearce has cachet, but he is not a statewide force.

Governor Martinez won't be at the Hobbs event Thursday but she will see Romney next week at the GOP national convention in Tampa where she will give a prime time speech (Martinez will speak right before the keynote speaker on the convention’s second night.) One hopes that a friendship between the pair can be solidified that will work in the state's interest, if Romney takes over the Oval Office. Martinez will be around for at least the first two years of a Romney administration.

Mitt's selection of budget-cutter Paul Ryan as his running mate has made many here nervous, including many in his own party who are federal contractors employing thousands (More on this below). But Romney comes across strong on foreign policy and would appear to welcome a briefing on our state's historic role in advancing national security, defense as well as energy. The question is whether the state's Republican leadership will pick up where Senator Domenici left off and ensure that small New Mexico has an out sized presence in the mind of the man who may become the federal government's chief policy maker.

Governor Martinez has won the attention of Team Romney because of her unique status as the nation's first female Hispanic Governor. Can she now go beyond that and become a player for the state in regards to the immense federal presence here? She has not shown any predilection thus far for doing so, but if Romney's visit here gets her thinking about it, it will have been worthwhile.

RUNNING AWAY

GOP US Senate candidate Heather Wilson, running behind in all polling, is now starting to more firmly separate herself from Paul Ryan and his controversial budget plans. She gave this quote as she responded to renewed attacks from Dem rival Martin Heinrich:

...Wilson told The Hill on Tuesday that she has “been very clear that I have concerns about the budget Congressman Ryan proposed 18 months ago,” and voted against a version of it while serving in Congress in 2007. "If I oppose something, that's now recorded as 'implicit'?" Wilson said. “Had I been in the Senate and on the budget committee and the Ryan budget came over, I would have worked on getting an alternative,” Wilson added, elaborating that she has worries about what the Ryan plan would do to Medicare.

For two years Wilson has refused to say how she would have voted on the Ryan budget. Just recently she praised Ryan's "bold ideas." We've called it "Wilson's riddle" but this is a cleaner break with him, especially that crucial reference to  Medicare.

Heinrich's campaign immediately pointed out that Wilson's tougher talk on Ryan shows she is trying to "have it both ways." Yep, she is. But the public has seen it all before. It's not necessarily where Wilson started that counts--as wrong as it may have been--it's where she ends up.

It's the right move for Heather, even if the Tea Party doesn't like it. If she is to become the next US Senator for New Mexico she must be the one throwing baggage off the ship, moving to the vital center and redefining Republcianism for a large segment of the New Mexican electorate that has come to revile the brand. No wonder she is not going to next week's national GOP convention.

Wilson has to form her own party if she is to get out of the penalty box and back in this game. This new positioning on Ryan's budget is a start (Did you hear her, Janice Arnold-Jones?).

THE ECON BEAT

The permanent campaign is always a big story around here, but what has become a permanent economic malaise continues to compete with it for attention. For example, our City Hall watchers report that ABQ tax collections for July--the first month of the new budget year--are down a tenth of a percent compared to last year. In other words, the city economy continues to flat line. Sometimes we wonder if this town's new slogan should be "Got Space" as those signs advertising retail vacancies are as ubiquitous as luminarias at Christmas time.

The city has been bleeding government jobs as well as professional sector employment. And a cornerstone of the local economy--tourism--continues to struggle. Look at the hotel occupancy rate for the peak summer month of July:

The report shows that in 2011, July was the top-rated month for occupancy, with New Mexico hotel rooms 70.9 percent occupied. That decreased to 64.7 percent in July 2012. Albuquerque’s year-to-date hotel occupancy rate fell to 60 percent in 2012 from 61.8 percent in 2011. The Santa Fe year-to-date occupancy rate dropped from 58.9 percent in 2011 to 56.8 percent in 2012.

There are probably a variety of reasons for the plunge in the occupancy rate, but we've been among those pounding the table over the lack of promotion of the state. Repeated smoke signals to up the tourism advertising budget have been sent to Governor Susana, the tourism department and the Legislature. The argument being that we need to show off the natural wonders of this state to get people to visit and drop their dollars. Well, maybe the smoke signals were sent at night because there's no sign that Santa Fe sees much of anything--except the next election.

THE BEAR MARKET

Joe Craig of Craig and Co., an ABQ consulting firm, writes that not all of New Mexico is acting like a slacker:

Went to Carlsbad and had to book a room two weeks in advance. Motels were booked, restaurants were full. Carlsbad Schools are preparing for a bond in February for $60 million. New $9-10 million addition to the Eddy County Sheriff's office is being awarded for design. Roswell, Artesia, Hobbs all looked prosperous. Of course that is oil or energy money as they call it. Poor little Lovington looked like it needed some loving, but hey one out of 5 towns ain't bad.

Kept mulling over the economic black hole that is ABQ/Santa Fe on the long drive back. The best conclusion that I came to is lack of leadership in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Albuquerque Public Schools are telling me that enrollment is down. Duh! There's positive job growth in all the states around us and we are showing consistent negatives.

TRACKING THE BEAR

New Mexico native Danny Lopez reads us from Washington, DC every day and comes with a lament that we've heard for several generations. But it bears repeating:

Joe, I have been following your blogs regarding the Governor's and Mayor's performance and stance on NM economic development. I think this link about Pittsburgh brings home the fact that New Mexico is losing a golden opportunity with the Hollywood film industry.  

I am one of those young professionals (38 years) that recently left New Mexico in an effort to seek greener professional and economic pastures. Although I plan to return home at some point, I was saddened and frustrated that I felt that I had to leave as jobs and professional opportunities are hard to come by there. I hope that the City and State gets their acts together soon and begin to invest in the plethora of people and resources that are available and within reach. 

Albuquerque has so much potential and hearing how people from outside New Mexico speak highly about our State, it baffles me that New Mexico government and businesses are not doing more. We are sitting on a true gem but if we are not proactive it seems that we will suffer the fate of the fictional New Mexican communities in John Nichols' "Milagro Beanfield War" and eventually be exploited by non New Mexican industry. We New Mexicans need to recognize our worth and work together to better position ourselves and our resources on the national political and economic stages. 

It's sad to say but if you are a young professional in the ABQ area nearing 30 and still not hitting it, you may have to hit the road--or else risk becoming a thirtysomething slacker.

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New Mexico doesn't seem very Mitt Romney friendly, with President Obama leading in all the polls here, but that doesn't mean the GOP presidential nominee is going to ignore us--at least not those with deep pockets. He'll be in the state for the first time since securing the nomination, holding a fund-raiser Thursday in Hobbs in Lea County. That's oil country and Mitt knows it. The solicitation for donations tops out at at whopping $50,000 per person (Click on posted invite to enlarge). Of course, that's pocket change for some of the oilmen in southeast New Mexico. A PAC run by Governor Martinez's political adviser raised nearly $200,000 in one day, mostly from oil country that was used in the recent June primary election.

Among those on the committee for the lunch reception with Romney at the Lea County Event Center are several members of the Yates oil family of Artesia, southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce, ABQ Mayor Richard Berry and former GOP Lt. Governor Walter Bradley. Governor Martinez and Lt Governor John Sanchez are not on the committee. They are apparently holding their fire for Romney until he is officially crowned at the GOP convention.

With the cheap seats going for a thousand a pop, Mitt should be able to crack a big smile when he touches down in New Mexico, even if those polls still make him frown. 

EMAILGATE AT UNM

From the UNM Daily Lobo:

With a flick of his pen, one member of the 2011 UNM Presidential Search Committee was no longer legally bound to the same confidentiality agreement other members of the committee had agreed to. GOP lobbyist Pat Rogers crossed out part of the agreement before signing it and went on to share emails between committee members with non-committee members. According to the University, he did nothing illegal.

Rogers was recently forced to resign from the board of directors of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government because of his role in emailgate.

THE APD PROBLEM

Reader Stan Fitch writes of the problems of APD and our Monday blog on the subject:

The truth about the mayoral and police problems in Albuquerque could be distilled from all the diverging viewpoints expressed on the Monday blog. First, it is very difficult being a policeman, especially in Albuquerque with its profound crime problems. Those who strongly criticize the APD would themselves be absent a comprehensive solution. Second, the mayor is neither a strong nor a charismatic leader.  He is well intentioned, but keeps dropping the ball on a number of issues.  It was far too easy for Berry, the radio stations, and the R's to criticize Marty Chavez, who was a much stronger mayor.  Third, Chief Schultz is stuck between a rock and hard place; that is, he is stuck somewhere between political realities and retirement.

Thanks, Stan. But we would be remiss if we did not address that part about a "comprehensive solution." We and others have offered one--dismiss the current chief and his upper echelon and ask the Department of Justice to investigate the police shootings and other matters and support our rank and file police officers with good pay and retirement benefits.

LUJAN VS. BYRD

Northern GOP Congressional candidate Jeff Byrd slammed Dem US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan on the blog last Thursday saying he is partially blame for the lost jobs at Los Alamos National Labs:

Northern New Mexico has lost thousands of jobs in these economic sectors because Congressman Lujan’s ideology gets in the way of fighting for New Mexico jobs and fighting for New Mexico families.

But Michael Wheeler, chairman of the Los Alamos County Democratic Party says it is Byrd and the Tea Party that are the problem:

Congressman Lujan has fought diligently and repeatedly for jobs in Northern New Mexico, especially for Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Republican controlled House, however, has worked to cut LANL programs and jobs. Byrd and the Tea Party Republicans in Congress want to slash government spending with no regard for its impact on jobs, seniors, and youth of Northern New Mexico.
 
It's no surprise that Jefferson Byrd, just like Republican candidates across the country, is trying to put some daylight between himself and Paul Ryan's radical ideas...I wonder if Byrd would have voted for the Ryan budget, because when it comes to privatizing Social Security, giving more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, and deregulating Wall Street banks, Byrd and Ryan see eye to eye.
 
Jeff Byrd has now blamed Rep. Lujan for supporting government spending and for cutting government spending. He can’t have it both ways. The fact is our Representative from Northern New Mexico has been fighting to improve our economy....The loss of jobs and opportunities for Northern New Mexico have come about because of the Republican tactics in Washington to ensure that no positive legislation is passed.

Thanks, Michael. But there may be blame to share for the misfortunes at Los Alamos is a Democrat in the White House, isn't there? And Los Alamos is being cut while he is there, right? And then there is the issue of Los Alamos getting too fat under the protection of former GOP US Senator Pete Domenici but that's another story....

DONA ANA DOINGS

Amy Orlando

Reaction to our exclusive that the Governor's Susana PAC is not only getting involved in the state legislative contests this cycle, but is pumping money into the Dona Ana County district attorney's race. Our insiders report that the hot battle between former Dem federal prosecutor Mark D'Antonio and incumbent Republican District Attorney Amy Orlando is tight. That's why they think Susana PAC came with an early hit piece on D'Antonio that we posted here last week and that was mailed to independent voters.


Governor Martinez was the Dona Ana district attorney before becoming Governor. She has a deep personal interest in the outcome as she appointed her deputy, Amy Orlando, to replace her. Now Amy must get elected in her own right.

Some Republicans have raised questions about the use of Susana PAC money for a DA's race, arguing the money was solicited for legislative candidates and statewide issues and that spending money on the DA's race means legislative candidates in close races will not get the cash.

Reader Kathryn Carrol of Tuscon has been mulling over Susana's deep involvement in the DA's race and comes with this reaction to the attack piece on D'Antonio:

...The voters of Dona Ana County have probably not forgotten the justice denied to Mr. Stephen Slevin who was arrested in August 2005 on a DUI charge, thrown in the County jail and left to languish in solitary confinement with no medical attention nor ever seeing a judge until someone discovered him in a totally deplorable mental and physical condition in May of 2007. The voters will also not have forgotten that after Mr. Slevin sued the county, jail personnel and others in a Federal Court he won "one of the largest federal civil rights settlements in history ($22 million) for illegal imprisonment," according to multiple news reports.

Voters are, no doubt, also very aware that they are on the hook for the $22-million, which could  stand through all appeals, and their tax dollars will be used to pay the judgement. While the DA's office was not a defendant in the suit, it cannot be denied that the incident occurred on the Governor's watch as DA and was the responsible party for bringing his case before a judge...

While claiming to start the SusanaPac to help Republican state legislative candidates get elected in order to insure passage of her agenda, make no mistake about it--another and perhaps more urgent use of the funds is to protect her legacy in Dona Ana County, because no one really knows how many more Stephen Slevins might be languishing in a jail cell because the DA's office never got around to prosecuting the charges. There is a lot at stake for the former DA if Mr. D'Antonio were to get elected.

Thanks for that view, Kathryn.

A STRATEGY

Mark D'Antonio

By attacking D'Antonio with her Susana PAC, the Governor has elevated the race on the statewide stage. Like the showdown in the GOP state Senate primary in Clovis in June, her power and prestige are again on the line. She lost some of it in Clovis when Pat Woods beat her favored candidate. Will she bounce back in Dona Ana or take another political dive?

D'Antonio's strategy could mimic that of Woods' who produced paid media attacking Martinez political adviser Jay McCleksey, instead of hitting the Governor directly. The media included a TV spot featuring McCleksey and accusing him of operating an ABQ political machine that was trying to dictate to the people of Clovis. D'Antonio appears ready to start beating the drum. He emails this reaction to McCleskey's hit piece on him:

I read your blog post about the district attorney’s race and the nasty attack coming from Amy Orlando's "slick Albuquerque political consultant" Jay McCleskey.  It's unfortunate that the governor's political advisor is interfering in a local county race, but it wouldn't be unprecedented.   Looks like they're using the exact same playbook they used against Pat Woods in Clovis! Notice how the attack on me looks almost exactly like the mailers McCleskey and company sent out attacking  Woods earlier this year, e.g., this mailer that's already on your website from May.
 
Rather than letting Dona Ana County voters choose for themselves who is best for D.A., the governor and McCleskey want to make this race a referendum on the governor’s political strength. Given the mudslinging that Republicans in Clovis experienced earlier this year, voters here in Dona Ana County should buckle up for another round of McCleskey’s dirty tricks.  I hope this gives your readers up in Albuquerque and Santa Fe some insight into what’s at stake here in Las Cruces.

An automatic poll the blog conducted last month in Clovis and supervised by veteran GOP pollster Bruce Donisthorpe revealed that in the wake of the Clovis primary Martinez's popularity had taken a dive with Democrats. Did Woods' attacks on his Republican foe using McCleskey as his foil peel Dem support away from the Guv? It would seem so but McCleskey political associates Darren White (now general manager at the Downs at ABQ) and Adam Feldman, a political consultant, publicly criticized the poll as having too small a sample to draw any conclusions. To answer those critics, we are planning to resample Clovis area Democrats in more substantial numbers.

Meantime, if D'Antoino is able to raise campaign cash, don't be surprised if he uses it to make Jay and the gang his foils as he works to unseat one of the Guv's closest friends.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We ran in to Dona Ana County Dem State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia in ABQ last night who reminded us that we yet again mistakenly identified Dem Dona Ana County State Rep. Joe Cervantes as her cousin. He is her nephew. We don't have anything against the family, but judging by the number of times we have made this mistake over the years, you might think we do...Also, in in the corrections-omissions category, we recently had the wrong spelling up for Ron Solimon, head of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in ABQ. Our apologies Ron. And we did not have this link up to a KRQE-TV news story in our first draft Monday on the city's police problems. We do now.
 
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Berry & Schultz

Once again the Albuquerque Police Department has jumped the tracks, with another sensational police abuse case that undermines the morale and perception of the department and could cost the city serious money as it inevitably makes its way through the courts.

This is the latest in a long line--a very long line--of abuse cases, police shootings (there have been 25 officer-involved shootings--17 fatal--since 2010) and other astonishing indiscretions at the troubled APD.

The latest case:

The video shows the man lying on the ground on his stomach with his hands behind his back. “I surrender,” the suspect says on the video. Officer Ronald Surran then steps on the man’s head while Rice hits the man’s upper body three times. The two officers slap each other high-fives after the suspect is handcuffed, according to the video.

Yet ABQ Mayor Richard Berry--despite the contrary position of law enforcement experts--some of whom you will read here today--continues to maintain these incidents are somehow isolated:

The mayor said the May incident does not, however, “point to a systemic problem within the department.”

But even Berry must see the clouds darkening by now (over the weekend a couple of disparate groups made TV news asking that he be recalled). In this quote he actually mentions bringing in the Feds to investigate the latest police abuse case:

“I believe the incident needs to be investigated by law enforcement, the DA and potentially the US Attorney’s Office,” Berry said. “There is zero tolerance for this type of behavior within the department. When individual incidents such as this happen it reflects poorly on all other officers who are following procedures and keeping our community safe.”

Critics have been pounding the table for the Department of Justice to get its boots on and get down here and help clean up the mess. Maybe Berry secretly would like them to come because he and Rob Perry, his chief administrative officer, seem constitutionally incapable of making the tough personnel decisions that are needed to restore the integrity of the department and protect the reputations of the great majority of the department staff that work hard to keep the city safe.

After more than seven years of repeated and pained explanations, stonewalling and dodging, ABQ Police Chief Ray Schultz resembles the guy in the circus who follows the elephant around and cleans up the mess. And surely it is a rogue elephant in charge of the police department in the state's largest city, not Chief Schultz.

The destructive culture that has caused the nervous breakdown at APD now runs riot and is a stain on the city's national standing and its ability to foster economic development.

The see-no-evil leaders of the business community, the asleep-at-the-switch City Council and the look-the-other-way Mayor are all responsible. And so are the mainstream media that refuses to call for a complete house cleaning at the department.

Where, oh where, has the leadership gone in our beloved River City--and in Washington DC where the Department of Justice resides?

MORE ON THIS

We pass the baton to retired APD captain David Gilmore:

Sometime, somehow, APD has fallen to the wayside since Schultz took the helm. Schultz and his command staff have instilled a culture of vindictive discipline. This in turn has yielded a department of officers that do nothing proactive for fear of a citizen’s complaint and the chief’s resultant vindictive discipline. He and his command staff have failed to instill both individual and departmental discipline. How hard can it be to train an officer to treat the good citizens the way they would  want to be treated and the  many bad subcultures of society in a manner consistent with the “use of  force continuum”?

YET ANOTHER

No systemic problem, Mayor? Yet another APD problem breaks:

An Albuquerque Police Department sergeant found video from a stun-gun incident so disturbing she asked APD brass for an internal investigation, according to a memo obtained by KRQE News 13. Sgt. Cassandra Kukowski wrote the memo on June 1 addressed to her supervisors and APD's Internal Affairs Unit. In it she asked them to investigate a possible use of excessive force by Officer Connor Rice at the scene of a domestic-violence call two days earlier....

Maybe the Mayor and CAO need some help. Here it is: You fire the police chief, you appoint an interim chief and you launch a national search for a new chief with the requirement that he clean house and bring in new leadership. No charge for that, Mayor. We're all in this together,

MEDIA BASHING

And then there's the chief's media bashing. The news:

As part of its investigation, APD detectives sought an interview with KRQE reporter Kim Holland, who had filed the first IPRA request for the video. Attorney Marty Esquivel wrote in a letter to the City Attorney’s Office that APD’s requests to interview Holland were “retaliatory in nature and grossly inappropriate.”

And the reader reaction:

Chief Schultz's attack on the news media for demanding a public record, is cause for concern. Chief Schultz's attitude and actions regarding public records requests, that possibly show him and his department doing wrong, is shameful. His opinion that the media is just striving for a "gotcha" moment just shows that he is all about appearances. When he and his department look bad, instead of thanking the media for bringing it to their attention, he turns and blames them. It took weeks to release these lapel cameras, and this was done only after the media sued in court. Yet it took less than 24 hours for the Chief to release video of the latest police shooting. Spin Spin Spin.

And regardless what the motive for a public records request is, the chief should follow the law and just release the records. The chief is the top dog and when he shows disdain for our laws, make no mistake that this message is sounded loud and clear to the rank and file officers. 

It was back in July 2011 when we blogged of the outrageous news conference conducted by Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry as he tried to intimidate the press into backing off from covering the troubles of Public Safety Officer Darren White. It didn't work. White was forced out.

The chief's assault on the media is yet another sign that he has lost command and control of his department and is beholden to the aforementioned culture and its renegade personnel that now run the show. The stakes are high. A thorough federal investigation of this department would reveal matters that would make a sewer system smell like a rose. (Mary Han, anyone?)

SOMETHING NEW NEEDED

And here's retired APD Seargent Dan Klein, a regular contributor on these matters and who has a good as reason as anyone to be getting blue in the face waiting for the clean-up of APD to begin:

I figured out why New Mexico is in the mess it now finds itself in. No accountability for the big dogs. We have all seen Rob Perry or Governor Martinez on TV showing video tape of some low level government worker getting caught doing something wrong or illegal. They pound their drums to let all of us good taxpayers know they are looking out for us. But are they? What about when it comes to their political good old boys in high  positions?

Case 1--Chief Ray Schultz. He has overseen a police department that above all other problems has lost the taxpayers of Albuquerque over $30,000,000 (from the Albuquerque Journal), yet Mayor Berry does not replace him.

Case 2--Mark Sanchez, executive director of the Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. He has overseen the reduction of the Water Authority Bond rating from AAA to AA (again Albuquerque Journal).  This will probably cost the ratepayers millions in higher interest payments for future bonds. Yet Mayor Berry and the other members of the Water Authority Board do not replace him.

Case 3--The New Mexico Finance Authority. The fake audit has resulted in Wall Street putting NMFA on notice that we may be paying higher interest rates to float our bonds. When members of the NMFA were asked about it some responded that they didn't even review the fake audit. If they had they would have seen they were quoted for comments never spoken, at meetings that never took place. Yet Governor Martinez has not announced that the nine members she appoints are being replaced for this total failure to do their jobs.

What is the  common denominator? All three comprise long time New Mexico government    workers. Most have been here well over 20 to 30 years working at different levels of government. Politicos and political favors are costing taxpayers millions. We need new ideas and new people.

SENIOR ALLIGATOR ANALYSIS

And finally, Berry's political situation laid bare as only a Senior Alligator can do. Sit tight in your saddle, here comes the stuff that you can't and won't get anywhere else:

Berry and GOP political adviser Jay McCleskey both know the mayor's poll numbers are soft and could be knocked down 20 points overnight with any serious attack on Berry's record. In addition to being vulnerable on jobs and the economy, Berry also has PR problems with all the officer involved shootings. If he has to get rid of Chief Schultz it would represent the second major scandal involving Berry's picks to run APD. The first was McCleskey's good friend Darren White who received a no-confidence vote from the APD rank and file as Chief Public Safety Officer then was forced out from that position in disgrace after his wife was involved in a one-vehicle traffic accident that White improperly involved himself in. 

Schultz--the only prominent holdover from the Chavez Administration--was kept on in 2009 at the urging of White and has had what can at best be described as a sub-standard tenure. The fact that the Dept of Justice may step in and take over the department (and Berry has had to fight that action) tells you everything you need to know about what's really going on at APD. Regardless, the buck stops with Berry. He's the mayor, these are his picks and he's the one who will have to defend them at election time. Right now it's clear his defense strategy is to circle the wagons. We'll see if it works.

FROM EL PASO CITY

In El Paso there's also citizens unrest, but of a different sort a different sort

A group of protesters who are upset at the way the City Council approved building a $50 million Downtown baseball stadium plan to "Occupy City Hall" beginning on Monday. They also vowed to start a new petition to get the council to put its decision on hold. The protesters, calling themselves the Quality of Life Voters for Democracy, will be at City Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday to collect signatures to put a proposal on a May ballot asking that all quality-of-life actions, such as the stadium, be decided in an election. 

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)
  
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2012
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