The Governor's story about just what happened in that noisy hotel room where she retreated with staff after a larger staff party in the hotel ballroom is not standing up. Santa Fe police audio recordings from the scene released Tuesday show that she admits that bottles were thrown over the balcony earlier in the evening. In her first account of the night she said snowballs were thrown from the balcony.
In talking about the Governor out of her presence, the hotel security guard and police Seargent Tapia agree that the chief executive is "inebriated." That is clearly the case to anyone listening to the portion of the tape in which Martinez is interviewed. She said this week she had one cocktail at the party. The tape is both embarrassing and damaging to the Governor as were the initial audio tapes of a phone call showing her pressuring the police and hotel desk clerk over the noise complaint.
This is troublesome. It looks like a direct lie now from the office of the Governor:
From the tape:
“Five hours ago, there was somebody that we said, ‘Get out of the room. Do not be doing what you’re doing.’ There were bottles being thrown over. We said, ‘Get the hell out and stop.'"
And here's the but in the news report:
After news of the party broke on Friday, the Governor’s Office issued a statement that said snowballs had been thrown off the balcony. It did not say bottles had been thrown, which was part of the original complaint to police.
We wondered here Monday why Susana's husband, Chuck Franco, did not interfere with the Governor when she headed to the front desk of the Eldorado to conduct that now infamous phone chat with Santa Fe police. Reader Sarah Stevenson writes:
Great column on pizza-gate, with one exception: why should the governor’s husband receive any blame for not preventing our elected governor from acting the way she did This is far too similar to statements that electing Hillary Clinton would mean we would have two presidents in the White House, a pretty blatant argument that a woman can’t govern without her husband. The blame lies solely with the governor, not with her husband.
Another reader offers this:
Am I the only one wondering whether her security detail purposely let the Eldorado mess unfold knowing it could mushroom and bite her in the ass because they are sick of her brutish arrogance too?
And from reader Barbara Grothus:
I think you misspoke in assigning Franco responsibility for stopping the Governor from embarrassing herself. He lives with that bully, and he knows better than anyone what her behavior is all about. She clearly wears the sleepy pants in the mansion. He knows who butters his bun. . .
There's never been a governor impeached but in the aftermath of the pizza party, this group is circulating a petition promoting the "I" word. . .
The ABQ Journal tries to catch up with the Santa Fe New Mexican on news of that Federal grand jury subpoena of records from the Dona Ana County District Attorney's office when Gov. Martinez was in charge and running for Governor in late 2010. No new ground broken. Nothing from TV news on the story. Maybe it's too complicated for them.
We recently blogged that we hadn't heard of any Democrats seeking the primary nod next June for the right to take on GOP US Rep. Steve Pearce. Dona Ana County State Sen. Bill Soules says there is a Dem contender: "My sister, Merrie Lee Soules, is running for Congress against Steve Pearce."What about the chatter over Dem US Senator Tom Udall running for Governor of NM in 2018? An Alligator of the Dem variety says:
People keep throwing out the Udall for governor thing, but I don't see it (yet). He's not making any moves to increase his exposure or fundraising. I also don't see him having the fire in the belly for it.
Good point and we hear he doesn't like pizza and cokes, either. So there.
Reader John thinks Susana's pizza party was a case of exquisite timing coming as it did as the latest Star Wars movie premiered:
Perfect timing NM. Welcome to the Dark Side!
Reader and former NM news reporter Jana Lee Aspin writes on our Facebook from Hawaii:
Thanks for this (blog), Joe. I think of Governor Martinez as the Nero who fiddles while Rome is burning. As you pointed out: highest unemployment rate in the country, schools failing, and I like to add the fact that Fortune has named Albuquerque the worst place in the country for home ownership. I left Albuquerque a year and a half ago after it became clear to me that things aren't going to change until there are visionary, honest leaders running the state. I'm not holding my breath.
An anonymous reader writes:Joe, Great synthesized coverage on Gov-Gate on the blog Monday. Thanks for pulling it all together for those of us outside the ABQ-SF metroplex in a way we would otherwise not have access to. Your work is a tremendous public service, and a courageous one as well, given Martinez's polished, knee-jerk vindictiveness.
You hear that on the Fourth Floor? Don't you go throwing any empty liquor bottles at the blog. . .
Reader Joe Barela in Rio Rancho says the Guv and her staff should have been eating something other than pizza for their after party munchies:
Joe, All real New Mexicans know that after a a night's boracha, that peet-zah does not work. You need menudo! Here is a proven recipe. Happy Holidays,
Oh yeah, now we're blogging. . .Take us out of here, Frank. . .
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2015