Thursday, July 31, 2014Susana Crowns "Millionaire Gary King" As State Awaits Word On How He'll FInance Run, Plus: Grumbling Dems Vent, And: Indian Gambling Flatlines It's the first we've seen Martinez go after King for hailing from a wealthy land-owning ranching family. But it probably crosses her mind quite often. As insiders have often observed here, a key question in this gubernatorial campaign is how King will finance his final months. He is not going to be able to raise anywhere near the $4 million Martinez has in her war chest, but if he was able and willing to write a personal check for $2 million or so would it radically change the complexion of the contest? We'll only know if it happens. Meanwhile, enjoy your crown, Gary. IF you need some ideas on what to do if you were to become "Your Majesty," take a look at our recent blog titled: "King For A Day." GIVE ME LAND, LOTS OF LAND King's grandparents came from Texas to the Stanley/Estancia Valley area in 1917. They traded a Model T for an unproven homestead. They bought up neighboring properties as others moved out because of the bad economy. It was mix of dryland farms and rangeland. Overt the years, King's father Bruce and his brothers continued to purchase more land. The size of the family's current land holdings has not been published. GRUMBLING DEMS We continue to field email from disgruntled Dems about the state of affairs. One reader writes:
Joe, in your Wednesday blog you mentioned a demoralized Democratic base, and how DC pollsters have advised New Mexico's Democrats to play nice with Susana Martinez because she is supposedly popular. Popular with who? The people leaving New Mexico in droves just to have a career? The parents of public school students whose kids are being subjected to an endless battery of worthless tests rather than being educated? The women who see how Martinez publicly attacked the victim after her chief of staff physically attacked a young women trying to do her job? There is something deeply wrong that New Mexico Democrats have to turn to DC beltway types in order to know what to think.
It is certainly no wonder that the base is fed up. Where are the Democrats, like the late Speaker Ben Lujan, who had instincts for what the people need and the guts to act on those instincts?
THE MARIJUANA MOVIDA
And an Alligator of the Dem variety weighs in on what he calls the "Marijuana Movida." That one is where the Republican controlled ABQ city government raises the bar on the group that is petitioning to get a marijuana decriminalization measure on the November ballot:
Joe, Democrats are being outsmarted because they think they are far more intelligent than the Republicans. There is an unwarranted arrogance found with many people working on campaigns for Democrats. The city intentionally kept quiet after the people collecting the marijuana petition signatures said they needed 11,000. They let the supporters think it was 11,000 until it was too late. Remember when the city clerk kept a a proposed abortion ban off of last year's mayor election ballot by taking so long to verify petition signatures? That insured that pro-choice voters would not overwhelm Mayor Berry at the polls. And she moved the polling location out of UNM and moved multiple polling locations inside churches. And she left a system in place that outsmarted Democrats after she was gone. Who is stupid now? It is thought that putting a decriminalizing measure on the November ballot might attract more Democratic voters to the polls--voters who would be much more likely to vote for King over Martinez. IT'S A GAMBLE New Mexico Indian gambling casinos are now cannibalizing each others customers as the long bull market in gaming has come to an end: Indian tribal gaming revenues have leveled off in recent years and face an uncertain future, Congress was told. . . Indian gaming revenues have plateaued at around $26 billion to $28 billion annually, Kevin Washburn, Interior Department assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, told a U.S. Senate panel. “In fact, gaming revenues have been pretty flat since 2007,” Washburn said. “The days of tremendous growth are probably behind us for Indian gaming.” He said that means tribes “are going to have to learn to live with existing amounts of revenue” since they far outstrip the resources the government is able to offer them. For the quarter ending Dec. 31 NM Indian gaming tribes had a "net win" of $182 million. In the fourth quarter of 2012 it was also $182 million. Net win is the amount wagered on slots minus the amount paid out in cash and non-cash prizes won on the gaming machines. It is not the net profit of the casinos. In an effort to expand revenues Pojoaque Pueblo has been arguing with the state over its gambling compact. They want to lower the legal gambling age to 18 and allow booze to be served while customers play the slots. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   |
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