Raquel Roybal At LFC Meeting

When New Mexico sank to dead last in the nation in the rankings for child well-being, we noted that we had lost our longtime fall back slogan--"Thank God For Mississippi."

Usually, we could count on the Magnolia State to come in 50th in most rankings and we'd be at 48th or 49th. Well, no more and that point is being driven home to John Arthur Smith, the powerful chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee.

Demonstrators appeared at a hearing of the Legislative Finance Committee Thursday to present a sarcastic "Thank You" card to Smith from "The People of Mississippi." (Video here of protest at LFC hearing organized by activist group OLÉ NM).

Smith has refused to allow a vote in his committee on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow New Mexicans to decide if they want to appropriate about $110 million a year for ten years for very early childhood education (ages zero to 5) and other programs. The money, advocates say, would finally allow us to wage a full scale battle against the social conditions crisis that haunts the state. That was reemphasized by the Anne E. Casey Foundation finding us 50th in the nation in child well-being.

Smith, a staunch conservative from Deming who helps lead a governing coalition with Senate Republicans, has refused to allow Senate Finance to vote on the amendment, saying he did not want his members criticized for any vote they may take on the measure so he killed it.

Say what, Senator Smith? Aren't the Senators elected to vote on stuff just like this? Or is John Arthur going to switch his nickname from "Dr No" to "Big Daddy" the protector?

In any event, just for old times sake let's all say it together one last time: "Thank God For Mississippi!"

AFTER SCHULTZ

Banks, Berry and Schultz

Inside or outside? That's the really important question facing the city and its police department as it embarks on a search for a new leader of the guys and gals in blue.

When Mayor Berry announced Thursday that he has named Deputy Chief Allen Banks as interim Chief to replace Schultz who says he will retire August 3, the speculation immediately commenced on who would end up with the job permanently at the very troubled department.

With the department under a federal civil rights investigation for numerous police shootings and the city faced with potential lawsuits totaling in the tens of millions of dollars; with the Levi Chavez trial revealing a culture where officers have numerous sexual affairs with one another's spouses; with the department unable to attract enough recruits and with civil rights and business groups both losing confidence in the current APD leadership, it is obvious in this corner that Mayor Berry needs to go outside for the new chief.

Berry says he will conduct a national search. But he will not have to make a decision until after the October 8 election, so if he goes inside for the new chief any upset over it will not have as much political impact.

Banks and just about all the other top brass at APD are close allies of Schultz. Hiring one of them threatens to give us more of the same. In other words, more of the darkest years the department has ever experienced.

ELECTION LOOMS

Schultz getting out of the way is good for Berry. His mayoral foes could have used him as a lightning rod in the final weeks of the campaign, but they still have plenty of fodder, including the outlandish Levi Chavez trial. An Alligator writes:

The Mayor may be trying to eliminate Chief Schultz as a campaign issue, but I can see TV ads featuring Levi Chavez used against the mayor. Levi has to have major name recognition right now, and probably despised by many women voters, in particular, after the high-profile trial.

While Berry was announcing the naming of Banks, politics loomed. On his Facebook page he released this news:

Seasoned political professional Missi Sousa wiil manage my re-election campaign. She is a true professional...

Sousa served as national voter contact director for the Romney presidential campaign. She also has experience in Republican politics in Maryland and Indiana.

Dana Feldman, the wife of Adam Feldman, a political operative with deep ties to political consultant Jay McCleskey, managed Berry's 2009 campaign. McCleskey did the heavy lifting.

Adam Feldman is now in Kentucky working a US senate campaign. Dana Feldman is now a deputy director of the city Cultural Services Department.

McCleskey, aka, "The Shadow Governor," because of his influence with Governor Martinez, has become a political hot button because of his fierce attacks on Dems of all stripes and his intimidation of the NM media. (Got that, Kent Walz?)

Jay is expected to handle Berry's advertising campaign, but no doubt will try to keep himself below the radar.

The FBI has reportedly asked a former Martinez campaign staffer about "consulting payments" made to McCleskey as they sniff around about the controversial ABQ Downs racino lease awarded by the Martinez administration. That ought to keep Berry, Jay and Nicole McCleskey, his pollster wife, on their toes and lawyered up and ready to go. :)

BERRY VS. DINELLI

Mayor Berry said of Schultz at an afternoon news conference:

Chief Schultz is a tremendous leader and has brought about real change at APD. During the past three years Albuquerque has seen the three lowest FBI crime rates in the last 20 years; auto thefts are down by almost 20%, murders are down more than 25%, and rape is down almost 15%.

Mayoral challenger Pete Dinelli sees it in a different light:

Chief Shultz’s departure should have occurred long before the department was destroyed by his leadership. APD does not need the appointment of an interim chief who will support and carry on the same failed policies embraced by Mayor Berry. As Mayor I will bring change to the department and will remove the Chief and the Deputy Chiefs to restore public confidence. Three and a half years ago when I left as Chief Public Safety Office, the department was the best staffed, best equipped, best trained and best funded department in the city’s history. Today APD is in a complete staffing meltdown and being investigated by the Department of Justice. I am determined to restore public confidence and faith in the department.

Berry supporters are now taunting Dinelli for once having called Schultz "the finest chief" the city ever had. But that was before the dead bodies were stacked like cord wood around town and which are going to cost taxpayers millions in lawsuit settlements.

THE WHITE FACTOR

Kat White

The fatal shootings started when Berry put GOP politico Darren White in charge of the APD as well as Chief Schultz. Coincidence or not? You decide. (Hat tip to Fox News).

White was later forced out as city public safety director over allegations that he tried to influence the investigation of an auto accident involving his wife, Kat White. We covered the sordid affair in our blog of July 12, 2011.

Since then a wounded White and his allies--which apparently include the sitting Governor of our fair state--have gone off the rails, publicly accusing us on social media of being a liar, a whoremonger, a dastardly tool of the Dems and just an all around really bad guy.

Hey, we've been known to party, but that's a bit over the top. Should we call Archbishop Sheehan and ask for confession?

All we can say in response to the emotional, personal attacks on your blog from Governor Martinez and her attack dogs is: "Let's see who gets indicted, Susana."

(That's a shout out to Keith Gardner, Dan Mourning, Pat Rogers, Ryan Cangiolosi, Jay McCleskey, Darren White and Adam Feldman. )

(Darn, can't we get the disgraced Dan Foley and "Lightning Rod" Adair on that list, too? Well, they've already paid the price, haven't they?)

The appointment of Banks, the first African-American to lead the department, did not pacify longtime APD critic Silvio Dell'Angela:

Wasn’t there anyone better than Banks who is cut from the same cloth as Schultz? Was this just another Berry campaign PR stunt to diffuse criticism of the two recent shootings of African Americans?

DOWNS DEAL

Joe Monahan

So at first Governor Martinez, Jay McCleskey and the ABQ Journal say there is no FBI probe of the Downs deal--the awarding of the 25 year lucrative racino lease--but now Journal investigative reporter Mike Gallagher reshapes the narrative. There is an investigation as first reported by the Santa Fe Reporter:

At least two witnesses in the FBI’s email investigation said they have also been separately interviewed about what they know about the Expo-Downs contract. The Downs owners contributed more than $70,000 to the Martinez campaign.

The FBI investigation hasn’t reached the grand jury stage, nor have any subpoenas been issued.

The money line? "The FBI investigation..."

KRQE-TV insisted that the Santa Fe Reporter had it all wrong when they said, according to their sources, that there was no FBI Downs probe. Now it is abundantly clear that the FBI is indeed probing the Downs deal. Isn't it time for KRQE-TV to admit it was in error? That its sources had it wrong? That there has been a separate federal probe of the Downs deal--apart from emailgate?

It is now up to the new US Attorney and the FBI to bring the truth of the Downs deal to light. New Mexico can handle the truth--and benefit from it.

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You Know Who

In his most recent missive NM GOP Chairman John Billingsley refers to former Dem Governor Bill Richardson as disgraced" and warns Dems about using him to raise campaign money. So how disgraced is Richardson?

Well, here he is Sunday appearing before millions of Americans on NBC's "Meet the Press" where he discussed--among other things--national immigration policy.

If that's a state of "disgrace," we bet most of Billingsley's GOP candidates would be glad to have it.

Or maybe not. Governor Martinez has no doubt had numerous invitations to appear on national network news programs like "Meet the Press." But she has demurred. (No, Fox News doesn't count.) She's not in a state of disgrace, but she apparently does not feel ready yet to move in the same circles as Big Bill.

Richardson may not be "disgraced" but that's not to say he is popular in the state he formerly led. He left here with approval ratings in the 30's. Most of that was due to his collecting massive campaign contributions for his Guv and presidential campaigns and as a result being investigated for "pay to play."

Richardson lost a cabinet appointment as a result of the probes, but none of the federal grand juries said to have probed Richardson returned any indictments against him or his inner circle.

And speaking of allegations of pay to play....

ONE OF THE WORST?

Governor Martinez, usually the recipient of glowing national coverage, gets the flip side as a well-known ethics watchdog group adds her to their list of the nation's worst governors. The controversial ABQ Downs racino lease deal and the use of private email to conduct public business are among the chief reasons for the designation:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) named Gov. Martinez one of the worst governors in America. Martinez’s administration is facing multiple investigations. The state attorney general is investigating her office’s use of a state agency for political purposes, while federal and state authorities appear to be investigating the process by which she awarded a major contract to a campaign contributor. Gov. Martinez’s administration has also faced repeated allegations of deliberately using private email accounts to shield official business from the public. Her actions have earned her a spot in the latest edition of CREW’s Worst Governors in America report, an examination of shady and unethical conduct by the nation’s governors.

The NM Attorney General’s office is investigating whether Martinez’s administration violated state law when her political advisor (Jay McCleskey) asked the Public Education Department to compile a list of non-union teachers to counter union material regarding the administration’s proposed education reforms. After devoting substantial resources toward compiling the list, the department’s spokesman circulated it to officials in the Martinez administration using private and campaign email addresses.

Additionally, the FBI and state agencies appear to be examining whether Gov. Martinez improperly awarded a state contract to a combination racetrack and casino (the ABQ Downs) whose executives and employees have made substantial donations to her campaign and political action committee. In December 2011, the state awarded a 25-year lease to the Downs at Albuquerque to continue operating on state fair grounds. After an unusually hurried request for proposals, a selection committee appointed by Gov. Martinez chose the Downs’ bid, despite a history of problems with the company’s performance...The losing company filed a protest with the state, which was denied. However, leaked emails show Gov. Martinez’s staff made contact with lawyers for the Downs while the selection process was ongoing.

CREW names 18 of the USA's governors to their "worst list." CREW, based in DC, says it is nonpartisan. Republican activists say it is anti-GOP.

GATORGATE (AND ELKGATE?)

The state Dem Party and its Chairman Sam Bregman have been taking hits for being silent on Gatorgate--the Franco Louisiana alligator hunting trip paid in part by taxpayers. Now the party breaks that silence with this posting on Facebook.

The Dems come with a new angle about a possible link between the First Gent's trip and the 25 year lease that the Martinez administration was in the process of awarding to the ABQ Downs at the time of the adventure. Two of the Downs' owners live in Louisiana. From the D's:

Governor Martinez, did you thoroughly research the alligator permits used on this trip and were they used in exchange for elk permits in New Mexico? If so, who was the individual that originally owned these permits and were they connected to the Dirty Downs scandal?

Say what? Now we're going to have "Elkgate" on the list with Gatorgate? And emailgate? Now that's entertainment.

The Party also asks that over $3,000 in expenses for the two state policemen who accompanied Franco be repaid to the state by the Guv.

And ABQ metro area Dem State Rep. Stephen Easley comes with a rarity--a comment from a state legislator on the ongoing Gatorgate saga, specifically the announcement from NM State Police Chief Robert Shilling that he will retire at the end of the month:

I have known and worked with Robert Shilling for several years. He is a good and rigorously honest man. I have no special information on this, but I suspect that one of the reasons for his "retirement" is that he grew weary of being required by his superiors to try to defend people and events connected to the Gatorgate scandal--people and events he fundamentally did not believe in or approve of. His departure is a big loss for New Mexico.

Shilling took a major hit to his credibility as he tried to explain why he allowed two state cops to be paid to guard the vacationing husband of the governor. If he was indeed tired of defending his superiors over Gatorgate, why didn't Shilling just say so? Now he leaves under a shadow.

ABOUT LEVI

A reader writes of the not guilty verdict in the sensational murder trial of former ABQ police officer Levi Chavez:

People I have spoken with have asked who at APD should be held accountable for the "swingers club" culture that this trial exposed. Let me think. Who indeed should be held responsible for something that adversely effects an entire department and city? Well we know who Mayor Berry has never held accountable---the Chief of Police.

The trial revealed that Chavez had numerous mistresses and that sexual affairs among married APD officers have been widespread. There has been no coverage in the media on how that culture has impacted the department.

Numerous fatal police shootings are the subject of a US Justice Department civil rights investigation.

Police Chief Schultz has said he will be retiring soon, but has not set a departure date.

THE MONEY PIT

First this news and then a reader react:

UNM Athletic Director Paul Krebs said the business model for the rebuild of The Pit two years ago, which cost about $45 million, was “predicated on a naming gift for The Pit. So far that hasn’t happened, and “we have struggled mightily,” Krebs said. The debt service on the stadium’s remodel costs the Athletic Department about $3 million annually, he said. Without a naming rights deal, the school will continue to struggle.“Our model is unsustainable,” he said. Overall, Krebs said, the school is looking for a $10 million naming gift from a family foundation or a company...

To which reader Mick suggests:

How about "The NM Taxpayers' Money Pit?" I'm just saying. We've already paid for it, why not recognize our efforts by naming it after us?

Thanks, Mick. We're sure Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico would appreciate the "honor."

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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Chief Shilling

Gatorgate has claimed it's first victim.

Sure, State  Police Chief Robert Shilling says his "retirement" is a personal decision but it comes as questions continue to swirl over the controversial 2011 Louisiana alligator hunting trip taken by Chuck Franco--the Governor's husband--who was accompanied by two state policemen who provided "security."

Shilling's credibility had been pretty much shot over the Franco trip fiasco. Last Monday we noted his problems, asking why Shilling and the administration have given three different explanations on how Franco ended up in the unusual situation of having two state policemen accompany him on a vacation at taxpayers expense:

a) Chuck Franco wanted to go hunting so the state police chief assigned two officers to accompany him.

b) The two officers were going on a vacation and Chuck Franco asked if he could go with them.

c) And the current version--That the two officers were going on vacation and they invited Chuck Franco along, allowing them to not only have a taxpayer funded excursion, but to draw significant overtime pay which most people don't receive while on vacation.

Shilling, only 42, has battled serious health problems and cited those among the reasons for his departure after two and a half years in the top post. He claimed the Louisiana trip did not play a part.

Shilling now leaves the stage, leaving others to grapple with Gatorgate and the big questions still on the table:

--Did Franco have any direct or indirect contact with two of the owners of the ABQ Downs Racetrack who live in Louisiana and who at the time of the Franco trip were in the process of being awarded a lucrative 25 year racino lease?

--Did the Downs owners have a hand--directly or indirectly--in any aspect of Franco's Louisiana adventure?

--What is the FBI finding out as it investigates the awarding of that racino lease?

--What, if anything, is Attorney General King coming up with?

--Will the Martinez administration finally end its battle with the media and release all records relating to the Louisiana trip? And will they release all emails dealing with the awarding of the Downs lease?

--Finally, who will be the next administration insider to feel the heat and either start talking or start walking as this political melodrama continues to unfold in the months ahead?

SAM'S SILENCE (CONT.)

As we noted in the Monday blog, we are hearing from Dems who are upset that their party's new chairman--Sam Bregman is playing "Silent Night" when it comes to Gatorgate and the Downs deal. Reaction to that Monday blog includes this missive from reaer Mike in Corrales:

Chairman Bregman is flat wrong on his contention that there's little political hay to make of the Martinez administration's ABQ Downs racino controversy. He's certainly correct in identifying the state's depressed economic situation as a real vulnerability for Governor Martinez; however, he has to understand that in order to defeat a popular incumbent, he and his party must exploit every vulnerability.

...If Chairman Bregman is somehow compromised by attorney-client issues as Deming attorney Tony White raised on the Monday blog--or his association with Jason Lorea (a Dem consultant facing child pron charges after his computer was searched as part of emailgate--the hijacking of the Governor's campaign email account), or some other reason, to an extent that he can't be an effective Chairman,, he'll need to step down. Democrats need to understand--this is a winnable election. And here's why...

How can the Democratic nominee defeat Governor Martinez in 2014? Simple. The strategy--give reason to all of the Hispanic Democrats and most of the Hispanic Independents who previously voted for Governor Martinez to vote Democrat in 2014, and of course, keep all the voters who supported Diane Denish. I say the strategy is simple, not easy. The execution is very complex, and again, will need to exploit every vulnerability of the Martinez administration. However, for the "right" Democratic candidate, this race is eminently winnable.

JEFF'S PAPER TRAIL

Bingaman and Harris

All things Jeff Bingaman now reside at Zimmerman Library on the UNM campus in ABQ

Here's the former five term NM US Senator pictured at the donation ceremomy with Fred Harris, a Dem party stalwart and himself a former US Senator from Oklahoma:

Bingaman said he chose to donate the papers to Zimmerman because he trusts UNM’s archiving processes.