Santa Fe Mayor Dave Coss says he won't seek a third term next year and they're already talking up former NM Dem Party chairman and onetime Santa Fe County commissioner Javier Gonzales as a possible contender. Longtime Councilor Patty Bushee is another name on top of the speculators list.

On a lighter note, how about retired US Senator Jeff Bingaman? He's a Dem and even more laid back than Santa Fe....

The recession/Depression ravaged Santa Fe and it will probably never be what it once was in terms of tourism. Coss had to deal with parsimonious budgets caused by a drop-off in tax collections because of the tourism bust which cost the city jobs. Then there were the state government cutbacks in the capital--yet another blow to the City Different.

The next mayor will hopefully face a better economic climate. Top of the agenda is to revive Santa Fe's tourism market.

As for Coss, he walks away with a solid reputation. He bit off more than he could chew last year when he tried to become a state representative while still holding the mayor's office and the city's battle against crime seemed uneven during his years. But he avoided major scandal and was devoted and effective in preserving the over 400 year old city. We wouldn't be surprised to see him in the political arena again.

FACING THE KNIFE

Now they're coming for Kirtland. Yep. First we received the news that the Department of Energy is proposing a flat budget for ABQ'S Sandia National Labs for the next budget year--which in this era was actually interpreted in some quarters as good news--now we have ABQ's Kirtland Air Force Base in the target sights of the budget cutters.

Senators Udall and Heinrich say they will both fight the proposed cuts to a space program there that would mean the loss of 100 good paying jobs.

Fight is the key word for New Mexico's Senators in the next decade. With our loss of seniority on the Hill and budget cutting fervor continuing, we imagine the raids on our federal dollars will become more emboldened...

JOE AND SUSANA

Governor Martinez flew to Rome with Vice-President Biden last month for the inauguration of the new Pope and now Biden has invited her to DC for a Cinco_de_Mayo party. The Republican Governor says it shows she can work with Democrats.

Biden is taking hits from Dems here for chumming it up with Martinez who is up for re-election next year. Also, friends of Senator Tom Udall don't like the formation of this political odd couple because Udall is also seeking re-election in '14. He doesn't need Martinez getting steroid shots from the nation's #2 Dem.

Meantime, we aren't seeing any results yet if this is indeed a working relationship and not just more symbolism for the nation's first female Hispanic governor and a Vice-President who is weighing a 2016 presidential bid and needs Hispanic support.

Martinez would be a lot more convincing if she could point to something specific her relationship with Biden has or will produce for New Mexico. Meanwhile, we're sure the Cinco de Mayo Coronas will be ice cold at Biden's bash. Maybe they'll save a few for Udall.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

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Paul Heh

Is the addition of Republican Paul Heh to the 2013 ABQ mayoral ballot a break for Dem Pete Dinelli? That's the question now that Heh has been certified for the ballot by the city clerk and officially joins Dinelli and GOP Mayor Richard Berry in the mayoral fray.

The three man field is final and will face off October 8.

Heh, 67, is a retired APD sergeant who has been highly critical of the mayor. One key question: Will Heh position himself to the right on social issues? Berry has run into trouble with the right-wing of the GOP, specifically Christian evangelicals. If Heh veers to the right, he could eat into some of Berry's R support and help Dinelli.

Even Heh's inner circle admits his chances of actually winning the race are not realistic. He has raised no significant money and prospects for doing so are not good, but in a three way race he will draw his share of free media attention. You'll be hearing from Heh.

DEFENDING DINELLI

R's unloaded on the Wednesday blog on Dinelli for calling Dems who voted for R's "pendejos,"slang for idiots or dumb asses. Dem Brandon Trujillo comes with the Dinelli defense:

Pete was merely taking a shot at his own party members. As many New Mexicans know, Democrats elect Republicans. This was in no way targeted at Republicans, but just at the Democratic base. Many people in Albuquerque may not know that Pete is working with both sides of the aisle. If you look closely at his organization, he has Republicans that are working to get him elected. 

(Former GOP BernCo Sheriff) Darren White and his colleagues are trying to latch on to what little dirt they can since the only other thing they have is the Dinelli personality. That being said, everyone likes our current mayor and say he is a really nice guy! Well, let's look at the city's economy and public safety and where this "nice guy" mayor has positioned us in comparison to all our neighboring cities and states. Maybe we don't need a mayor that we can call our best friend.

Dinelli apologized for his remark.

Reader Norm came with this:

There could be no surer sign of how much trouble Mayor Berry is in than in the Republican reaction to Dinelli's "pendejo" remark. When the GOP begins to call out the media for being biased, it means they're in deep trouble. Remember Bush 41's "annoy the media, vote for Bush" in 1992? It's better than any poll. And if Dinelli did indeed say it to signal his Hispanic bona fides, good move. I don't live in Albq. so I haven't paid a lot of attention to the race, but I assumed he was Italian.

Dinelli is half-Hispanic, on his mother's side who was a native of Mora County.

LEWIS CHALLENGER

Some insiders think ABQ GOP City Councilor Dan Lewis has his eye on the mayor's office--in 2017. But first he has to deal with 2013 and getting re-elected to another term to his west side seat. He is the odds-on favorite to do so, but Dem Eloise Gift says she will make the run against him:

Paradise Hills realtor, business person and educator Eloise Gift will challenge Dan Lewis for City Council seat in District 5.Ms. Gift’s main priorities will be: 1) creating good paying jobs for Westsiders, 2) addressing public safety and property crime, 3) reforming Albuquerque Police Department and 4) making New Mexico schools great. ”A quality education is key to creating jobs and reducing crime in our community. We have waited too long for our economy to get back on track and need a new voice and fresh ideas.”

Gift was the Dem challenger to R Monica Youngblood for a west side state House seat last year, Youngblood won.

Lewis, currently the council president, announced his re-election plans this week. He lists among his accomplishments his break with Mayor Berry over the Department of Justice probe of APD. Lewis welcomed the use of force investigation. Berry did not.

Lewis made a brief run for the 2012 GOP nomination for the ABQ congressional seat, He dropped out and Janice Arnold-Jones won the nod but lost to Dem Michelle Lujan Grisham. Arnold-Jones has since been appointed to fill a vacancy on the council so she and Dan can share all those pleasant campaign memories. Well, maybe not.

IT'S THE ECONOMY

We know the folks at the state economic development department are anxious to give Governor Martinez any good economic news as she prepares for a potentially testy re-election bid in 2014, but it appears they are popping the champagne corks a bit early. Look what they're celebrating:

The Albuquerque Journal's Economy Watch has indicated the worst is over for New Mexico's economy and the state is on the road to recovery. According to the Journal, recent numbers show employment grew in New Mexico by 0.4 percent in the last year. The growth can in part be attributed to the transportation and warehousing industry as well as the mining industry.

Leave it to the Alligators to put the cork back in the Dom Pérignon at the econ department. Here they come:

I like how the state economic Development Department is celebrating .4% growth and a news article that says Albuquerque is in the pits and NM’s economy is a regional “laggard.” I wouldn’t be patting yourself on the back for .4% growth.

The good news--and there is some--is that the unemployment rate dropped in March in the state's cities. The bad news? The work force continues to shrink as people stop looking for work or get out of here. That's a chief reason for the jobless rate declining.

BILL'S DICTATOR TIPS

His New Mexico critics might say it takes one to know one. Here's former Governor Big Bill on "How to Talk To A Dictator":

You have to learn what their current moods are, who they’re having an affair with, who they are threatened by, and what you think they want out of the negotiation with you. Don’t get emotional.

Who they're "having an affair with?" Hmm. Is that how Bill got all that stuff passed in the Legislature?

Bill's book, "How to Sweet Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories From a Master Negotiator," will be published in the fall.

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Pete Dinelli

Mayoral candidate Pete Dinelli is getting off light for calling Dems who vote for Republicans "pendejos," Spanish slang for "dumbass" or "idiot."

So says Bob Cornelius, the former Bernalillo County GOP executive director who landed in hot water for recent off-color comments of his own.

"It's a sign of liberal media bias" that Dinelli's comment received muted coverage, says Cornelius who engaged in a Facebook conversation with BernCo GOP executive director Steve Kush that caused a media sensation. In it Kush called a woman a "radical bitch" and Cornelius implied that she was a streetwalker.

The woman was appearing before the Bernalillo County commission to support an increase in the county's minimum wage, a measure the pair of Republicans opposed. The Kush-Cornelius exchange was major news and received extensive broadcast attention. Both men apologized for their comments.

Cornelius said that he is not downplaying the error of his ways, only that the Dinelli coverage paled by comparison.

Conspiracy theorists argued Dinelli--who is half-Hispanic--intentionally dropped the "p word" to let the Hispanic community know one of their own is carrying their banner. He takes a short term hit but gains long term.

Former GOP Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White agreed with Cornelius, saying the media has been too soft on Dinelli--the only Dem in the mayoral contest:

If Mayor Berry called people "pendejos" for voting for Dems, I bet it would lead the news and (liberal group) ProgressNow NM would picket his office.

Dinelli made his comments at the weekend meeting of the Dem state central committee and immediately apologized, saying, "I made a poor choice in using a word at an attempt at humor..."

Dinelli's misstep received attention in social media and the newspaper did a brief mention, but the coverage was nothing like the "radical bitch" story. Broadcast reports were minimal. Conservative talk show host Scott Stiegler of KKOB-AM joined White in chastising local media for not playing the pendejos gaffe bigger.

State R's weighed in on Pete's pendejos refrain, saying:

It is disheartening and disappointing that Dinelli has insulted the intellect of a large number of his own party members and other New Mexicans...

Poking fun at the way someone votes--as Dinelli did--and personally attacking someone exercising their free speech rights as Kush and Cornelius did-- is the difference here. The media played both about right.

On the lighter side, one of the Alligators suggested that Dinelli form a PAC called "Pendejos for Pete."

DINELLI'S DANDER

Mayor Berry's political operatives were closely watching the Dinelli incident. They already think he is on  course to lose the election because of the "likability" issue. They portray him as a scowling, mean-spirited prosecutor who people can't and won't connect with. The pendejos incident reinforced their belief that they can lure Dinelli into losing his temper during the long mayoral campaign, making it that much easier to defeat him in October.

JANICE AND KUSH

The aforementioned Steve Kush was placed on "indefinite suspension" by GOP BernCo County Chairman Frank Ruvolo who is now taking hits for not firing Kush. And the decision to keep Kush in limbo could have political implications.

State Dems are attacking new ABQ GOP City Councilor Janice Arnold-Jones for her association with Kush. She brought him to NM in 2010 as her campaign manager when she sought the 2010 GOP Guv nomination. And when Kush was later a lobbyist for payday loan companies, Dems say he gave generously to Janice's political coffers. They hit this way:

As a city councilor, Arnold-Jones should know better than to associate herself so closely with a person with anti-woman views that are way outside the political mainstream of our City.

The Arnold-Jones city council race is key to control of the council. She was appointed to replace Republican Mike Cook who resigned after a DWI arrest and is running for election in October. She faces Sandia Labs retiree Diane Gibson,

If the seat goes Dem, there is a good chance the D's could retake control of the GOP controlled nine member council. Arnold-Jones did not respond to a request for comment about the Dem Party news release. Candidate Gibson has not made a statement, but she could have plenty to say in her campaign literature.

Another Dem--gym owner and Iraqi war veteran Matt Biggs--says he's getting in this council race. That could help Republican Janice--if he makes the ballot and splits the Dem vote with Gibson.

SAM AND GARY

Will it be awkward for new state Dem Party Chairman Sam Bregman if Attorney General Gary King is the '14 Dem Guv nominee? ABQ KKOB-AM radio host and GOP supporter Bob Clark reminded his listeners this week that Bregman, a trial lawyer, once called King "the worst attorney general" the state has ever had. Clark said politics makes for strange bedfellows but "this could be a hard sell." (Audio here).

King is far from getting the nomination, but R's certainly hope he is the nominee. They see him as easy pickings for Susana.

So far, it is King and ABQ State Sen. Linda Lopez officially in the Dem Guv race.

HE'S BACK

And welcome back, Tim:

Legislators on Tuesday named former Senate President Tim Jennings to a board that oversees more than $17 billion in state investments.The Roswell Democrat will serve a five-year term on the State Investment Council. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.Jennings fills a vacancy created by last year's resignation of Lordsburg banker Michael Martin.

The forces of Governor Martinez narrowly ousted Jennings from his GOP-leaning state Senate seat in 2012.

THE APD STREAM

There's just no end to the stream of controversial news from the embattled ABQ Police Department. First, the latest from there and then the reader reaction:

Police Chief Ray Schultz has signed off on a change to the department’s standard operating procedure...that says a first instance of untruthfulness related to their jobs or “operations of the department” can earn officers and civilian employees anywhere from a one-day suspension to termination. For many years, APD employees who lied faced sanctions on a first offense that typically ranged from suspension of a month or more to termination...

Now the cannon fire from our APD watchdogs starting with retired APD Captain D.M. Gilmore:

With all the problems currently facing APD--lawsuits, officer misconduct and a federal probe--I cannot believe they are now going to ease up on a decades old policy of demanding the truth from its officers and civilian personnel. The Standard Operating Procedure warns against lying and furthermore the officers are given a warning prior to giving statements to Internal Affairs that lying is a terminating offense. A lie is a lie. 

 Has the manning level at APD slipped to the point where they can no longer fire employees for untruthfulness? We all know how an officer will be perceived by a judge or jury once he has been found guilty of lying no matter the level of sanction now to be imposed. The Albuquerque Police Department nor the public should tolerate lying.

Retired APD Seargent Dan Klein adds this:

Have Mayor Berry and Chief Schultz not listened to any of the juries and judges who have lambasted APD for the lack of integrity some officers and command staff have shown?

 In a $4,000,000 judgment against the APD in 2011 Judge Theresa Baca described a chain of mistakes regarding the shooting of Andrew Lopez and she blasted the APD officer’s testimony as not believable.  

In 2013 a district court jury awarded the family of Kenneth Ellis, shot by an APD officer, over $10,000,000 in part because the police department failed in hiring and in retaining officers who had questionable truthfulness issues. 

Instead of lowering standards APD needs to look at itself in the mirror and demand accountability for their actions from the Chief to the lowest officer. Mayor Berry and Chief Schultz are making a huge mistake by lowering the standard for truthfulness. APD will never regain its status until it demands professionalism from within.

As always, opposing views are welcome.

The US Department of Justice is currently investigating the use of force policies at APD.

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Rep. Richard

One of the key seats--perhaps the key one--in the Republican dream of engineering a 2014 take over of the New Mexico State House is held by freshman Democratic Stephanie Garcia Richard.

It is so important to them that when Richard waffled in the recent legislative session on her pledge to support the repeal of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, Governor Martinez personally went on the attack, accusing Richard of breaking her campaign promise.

It was a signal that the Guv's political operation was going to target the Los Alamos area rep.

But it may be turning out to be one of those easier said than done deals. Insider R's are fretting that they don't yet have a heavy-hitter candidate to unseat Richard, a school teacher who claimed the seat by beating GOP State Rep, Jim Hall in 2012. Here's how a GOP player put it to us:

Stephanie is vulnerable on her driver's license votes, but Jim Hall now sits on the school board in Los Alamos and won't be running against her. And the district is not only Los Alamos. It also takes in parts of Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Sandoval counties. We probably need a Hispanic candidate to make a good run at the race and right now we don't have one.

The current breakdown of the state House is 38 Dems and 32 R's. The GOP needs a pick up of three to tie it up or take it over for the first time in decades. The obstacles already surfacing in Los Alamos show that they will need some breaks to accomplish either.

HEATHER'S ESCAPE

Reader reaction to that snarky reader comment posted here Friday (see below) about the departure from New Mexico of former ABQ GOP Congresswoman and 2012 US Senate candidate Heather Wilson. She leaving the state to take ea job as president of  the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Here's Tom Greer in Tome:

You know a love for New Mexico doesn't put food on the table. Heather has world class credentials as a Rhodes Scholar and Air Force veteran. If the jobs aren't here our best are going to leave. She isn't the first one with exceptional skills to depart the Land of Enchantment. The brightest and the best continue to flee the stagnant job picture in New Mexico. I wish her the best of luck, South Dakota landed a good one.

And former Lt. Governor Diane Denish also weighed in on Heather's exit:

Your reader who commented on Heather Wilson's departure may be right about her work to steer work to Oak Ridge Labs in Tennessee and at the Nevada test site, but they are off base with the snarky comment about "loving New Mexico." Loving New Mexico and loving what is happening here are different. 

Heather, like other talent of both political parties and across professional sectors and ages has recognized that what is happening here is nothing. We have become the Land of No Opportunity with no leadership. Popular leaders and transformational leaders are not the same. We have the former but not the latter. Who can fault Heather or anyone else for recognizing that and opening a new chapter in a new location?

Point taken, Di, but South Dakota? The land of the perennial snow plow? That sounds more like punishment than opportunity.

DEM DOINGS

SPIFFY WRITING

Ray Powell

We don't know if he has a ghost writer, but this is some pretty spiffy writing from State Land Commissioner Ray Powell. He put it together for the Dona Ana County Dem Party newsletter:

In New Mexico there is a long and proud tradition of being connected to the land. Our citizens take pride in their agricultural roots and their shared daily interactions with the natural world. 

Our sovereign tribal nations and traditional Hispanic communities have been connected to the land for hundreds of years and their spiritual foundations are based on their connections to special places where their families have harvested crops, wildlife, and the sacred water that has sustained them. More recently, residents from across the globe have been drawn to the beauty and grandeur of these special places and have settled here to raise their families and make their livelihoods.

May it always be so.

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Sam Bregman

He promised a lot. Now we'll see if Sam Bregman can deliver. The aggressive ABQ trial attorney won election as the new state Democratic Party chairman Saturday in a landslide vote at the party's central committee meeting in Las Cruces. He took the prize 66% to 34% (245-129) over Carlsbad attorney Roxanne Lara.

Bregman promises Republican Governor Martinez that "a storm is coming" and that the Democratic donkey--either asleep or munching on hay during her first two years--will now come back alive and kicking.

No doubt the flamboyant Bregman will be much more up front in leveling criticism against the popular Guv as he prepares to ease the way for the party's eventual 2014 Guv nominee who, as things look today, appears to have an unenviable task.

But politics can change in a flash. Bregman's immediate task is to get the public used to the changed tone and more open criticism of Martinez who is clinging to opinion polls that show her approval well over 60%.

He has plenty of material work with--the state continues to be mired in the worst economic environment of the post-WWII era and there is nothing much being said or done about it.

Bregman's first test will be the October ABQ mayor and city council elections. It is unprecedented for the R's to hold the mayor's office and control the council at the same time as they now do.

Bregman and the Dems don't have to deliver an outright win with Dem Pete Dinelli, but they will have to get him close if they hope to soften the terra firma for next year's run at Martinez.

Look for Bregman and the Dems (and the labor unions) to form super PACs to get the ball rolling against GOP Mayor Berry.

Dem analysts say Bregman also needs to hire a strong executive director for the Dems who have been roundly criticized for pulling in their horns and laying down against the Governor. Ditto for the Democratic leadership in Santa Fe. Said one:

The new director has to be someone who is willing to take on (Guv political adviser) Jay McCleskey & Co. 24/7--not just in terms of responding and playing defense, but going on offense and taking the attack directly to them. And the new Democratic team is going to have to be willing to whip up some courage and party discipline among the elected Democratic officials who have shied away from confrontation.

SAM VS. JAY

McCleskey and Martinez

Bregman will not only target Martinez but also give McCleskey--who has the run of the Fourth Floor--his first real run for the money since Susana took the helm in 2011. On Saturday Bregman repeated Jay's nickname in the political community--"The Shadow Governor," signaling that he sees mileage in making him one of his foils.

Also, Bregman is invulnerable to the intimidation on a personal level that has been a hallmark of the Guv's attack machine. He is wealthy from his legal practice and is a trained professional who relishes the game.

As he has long done with political foes, a number of news reporters, this political blogger and others, McCleskey immediately attempted to personally discredit Bregman as a credible foe in the hope that the public will not listen to his arguments:

Sam Bregman is a criminal defense attorney who had made a name for himself by defending politicians accused of corruption, and New Mexicans will reject his smears against the governor in the same way they rejected his bombastic defenses of corrupt politicos.

But not all of Bregman's clients were "rejected." Many of them had the charges dropped. But what does any of this have to do with the policies of the Santa Fe administration?

McCleskey handled the campaign of Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston who has called several of his female staffers "fat whores." Should we dismiss McCleskey's defense of Martinez administration policies because of his association with Houston?

A Republican analyst suggested that Bregman could model himself after former GOP Chairman John Dendhal, one of the more deadly political pit bulls the state has ever seen and who held forth in the 90's.

Dendahl is probably the model for Bregman. He will need a right-hand man. Dendhal had Kevin Moomaw as his director--aggressive and knowledgeable. Bregman will need to follow suit.

That reminds us. It was Dendahl and Moomaw who cut Bregman's political career short back in 1999 when they engineered his defeat for re-election to the the ABQ city council.

As for Lara, a Carlsbad attorney and former Eddy County commissioner, she lost big to Bregman but she waged a credible campaign. At 38, she has a long political road ahead of her--if she chooses to travel  it.

It simply was not her time.

The great majority of the 369 activist Dems who decided the chair battle Saturday had had enough. They represent the majority party in the state that has been looking and acting more like a minority. They have been losing ground to Martinez in Santa Fe, in the press and in the polls.

The bottom line is that Bregman will be Pit Bull to the Martinez and McCleskey Doberman. We don't know yet where it will lead, but it certainly won't be boring.

THIN SKIN

Rob Perry

The city is getting pretty thin skinned now that the reality of what they face with the troubled APD is setting in. Take a look:

ABQ City Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry refused to say how much the city was paying them (attorneys) and instead suggested a public records request be filed for the information.

The question was posed to Perry as litigation continued over the $10.3 million the city must pay the family of  an Iraqi war veteran who was shot and killed by APD.

Perry, an attorney, knows very well how much those five lawyers for the city are being paid. Why make his bosses--the taxpayers--jump through hoops to find out how their money is being spent?

Numerous police lawsuit cases as a result of the many fatal police shootings  are going to go on for years and years. They will cost the city untold millions and millions. It does no good to try to deny it, spin it or go into the bunker. That has been the past practice and that's a reason why the Untied States Department of Justice has had to come to ABQ to investigate the police department and its management.

KING SUSANA?

And the same attitude (arrogance?) is creeping into state government. Governor Martinez's office issued a somewhat bizarre statement when asked about her education secretary dropping the word "desigante' fro her title. Because she has not been confirmed by the sate Senate, Hanna Skandera remains "Secretary of Education designate," but the department has chosen to ignore it and with the full support of Martinez. Here's the statement:

“Secretary Skandera has been in the job for more than 2 years and the Rules Committee has had ample opportunity to give her a vote on the Senate floor. The governor supports Secretary Skandera and the work she’s doing as her cabinet secretary for public education...The Governor and Secretary Skandera are focused on giving New Mexico students every opportunity they deserve to succeed. Legislators and the media can keep calling her Secretary designate if they wish, but Governor Martinez considers Hanna her Secretary of Public Education.”

"Legislators and the media can keep calling her...designate?" Hey, Fourth Floor, she's called that because it's the law--one of the many the Governor of the state takes an oath to uphold. You don't get to pick and choose which ones and you don't get to decide what an independent branch of government should do. That is, unless there's a new law we haven't heard of that says when your approval rating is over 60% you get to do whatever the heck you want...

FOR THE RECORD (CONT/)

Sometimes you just get off on the wrong track on a story and stay there. Readers enjoyed our analysis and commentary on the wayward comments of the Bernalillo County GOP executive director about two young women who testified before the Bernalillo County commission in favor of an increase in the minimum wage, but we had trouble with the details, Nothing earth shaking, but still. First, we made it sound as if only one woman was the target of his derogatory remarks ("radical bitch" etc.). Then we screwed up the correction, saying the women were against the minimum hike. Finally, we called BernCo GOP Chairman "Roger." His first name is Frank. Maybe it was spring fever?

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