The NM Legislature adjourned its 60 day session Saturday at noon.

Some second termitis for Susana as the legislature heads for a Saturday noon adjournment. Republicans joined with Dems on the Senate Judiciary Committee in voting for a compromise on the perennial issue of repealing driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. It was one of the few examples of statesmanship at the Roundhouse this often bitter session, but Gov. Martinez promptly rejected it. That those R's were willing to break from their own party's Governor reveals fatigue with the issue and with Martinez's rigid positioning. On this one she's looking like previous GOP Governor Gary Johnson. He also started to see his own party drift away from him in his second term because of rigid positioning. . .

And in another sign that Martinez may be losing some of her audience, the Lincoln County Commission did a redo of its meeting to recommend a replacement to the Guv for the seat of ex-Sen. Phil Griego (D). He resigned the Senate over an ethics issue. But the second time around the Republican commission still did not send Susana the name of her favorite candidate--former NM Bureau of Elections Director Bobbi Shearer. She received only one of the five commission votes.

The last of the county commissions in the six county Griego district will meet today to submit recommendations to the Guv. The NM Supremes rejected a petition to speed up the replacement process. . .

While we await the machinations to play out over the Guv filling the seat held by ex-Senator Griego, another possible senate vacancy pops up on the radar.

With a little help from his Republican friend on the Fourth Floor, Dem Senator Pete Campos could become the president of NM Highlands University. If he does, one assumes he will give up his senate seat which sprawls across seven counties. It's solidly Democratic and there will be a lot of contenders if Campos leaves. He's been representing the region since 1991.

Speculation is that Campos has been voting with the Guv on some key issues this session because of his hopes for the Highlands presidency. Hey, if he gets the gig maybe he can get some tips on running the place from former NM Senate leader Manny Aragon. He left the senate in 2004 to take the Highlands presidency and he did it with the help of another Governor--Bill Richardson.

LOST OPPORTUNITIES

The biggest lost opportunity for state House Republicans this session? Their inability to broaden their party's base and approve a stand alone fifty cent an hour hike in the state's minimum wage that would have been approved by the Dem controlled senate and signed by the Governor. New House Speaker Don Tripp will get another chance next year but major employers like Target are now raising their own minimums to as much as $9 an hour. This was the year to do it and they missed out.

And the biggest lost opportunity for the House Democrats was not doing the job of the minority--which is to put controversial amendments and legislation out there for the sole purpose of making the Republicans take hot-potato votes that could haunt them at the polls. Where were those votes? House Minority Leader Brian Egolf will be thinking about that after noon Saturday.

BIG PIC BILLS

The GOP is often fairly criticized for being a party of minimalists that doesn't have much interest in governing or using government to move things along. But this session two big picture pieces of legislation actually came from the R's.

The first we've blogged of previously--the long overdue need for an overhaul of the state's tax structure with an eye toward eliminating a myriad of exemptions in order to lower the onerous gross receipts tax. This year GOP Sen. Bill Sharer took on that thankless and nearly impossible task. But the discussion was more serious than years past. And that's progress. . .

And Alamogordo GOP Senator Bill Burt won approval of a bureaucratic bill with big implications. He points out that the state's military bases have a $9 billion impact here and there will be moves in the future--as there have been in the past--to downsize or even close one or two of them. His bill streamlines the state commission charged with keeping a close eye on Washington's plans for the bases and that is ready to defend their presence.

Instead of moaning about "DC dysfunction," Burt's Bill does something about it by putting the state in a more offensive posture in protecting its economic livelihood rather than a defensive crouch.

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The disconnect in Santa Fe is not going unnoticed by readers. The hype over the proposal to take the state off of daylight saving time prompted this comment:
Dem US Sen. Martin Heinrich joins the legislative fray in the final days. He comes with this:

Look at the legislation that Governor Martinez and the GOP-controlled State House are pushing –Lower wages for hard-working New Mexicans; Extreme restrictions on a woman’s personal health care decisions; Taxpayer-funded giveaways to out of state corporations. . . Our Democratic leaders in Santa Fe are fighting every day to bring jobs to New Mexico, improve our children’s access to high-quality education and ensure a more secure future for all New Mexicans. . .Will you to chip in $5 right now to help strengthen our Democratic Party?

Like the Senate Democrats who seemed to have awakened to the threat of the Guv's political machine to them in 2016, Heinrich is perhaps also seeing that if the machine is not slowed now, someday he'll find himself in the middle of its path.

MISBEHAVIOR?

The behavioral health shake-up engineered by the Martinez administration continues to reverberate. This report explains the political relationship between health giant United Healthcare and the Governor and what role it may have played in the controversy. It's another case of follow the money. The Santa Fe Reporter piece is a long and complicated read. We go to reader Pete Evans for synthesis and analysis:

A relationship with a giant out-of-state insurance company, not a fight against “waste and fraud,” was what drove Susana Martinez’s plans for the destruction of local behavioral health providers and the change over of our Medicaid system to an old, expensive, and complicated version of managed care that did not work when first introduced to New Mexico back in 1997. 

Learning that Martinez received $25,000 in campaign contributions from United Healthcare, which then profited from her shut down of local providers, is a disturbing new angle on what is already a sad story of cronyism at the expense of the health and mental health of New Mexicans. The shutdown has cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, put hard-working New Mexicans out of jobs, and—in a state that leads the nation in its death toll due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide—rendered thousands of our most vulnerable citizens without care. As the Arizona companies that Martinez rewarded with contracts pull out, leaving the Southern part of the state without behavioral health services, it seems like it’s past time to shift the focus of the “waste and fraud” investigation to the administration.

RACING FOR DA

Torrez

If Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg decides to seek an unprecedented fifth, four year term next year, she's going to have her hands full. Fellow Democrat and ABQ native Raúl Torrez is already on the campaign trail raising money and prepared to challenge Brandenburg in a Dem primary, if that's what it takes.

Torrez, a trial attorney and former assistant U.S Attorney who also has worked for the state attorney general's office, has scheduled his campaign kick-off for next Wednesday. He is picking up early support form former US Senator Fred Harris and ex-Lt. Governor Diane Denish.

It could be an interesting battle. Brandenburg was criticized for years for not being tougher over the many fatal ABQ police shootings, but more recently has won much praise--and the wrath of APD--for filing murder charges against two officers for the fatal 2014 shooting of camper James Boyd. Also, Brandenburg has in the past used personal assets to make sure her campaigns are well-financed. No GOP contenders have yet announced for DA.

BITTEN BY A GATOR

They just can't help it. Tax cuts to state House Republicans is catnip. Even House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Harper of Rio Rancho can't help himself. And that's getting him tied up in knots.

First, Harper grabs the state's attention by proposing the elimination of nearly 400 tax exemptions so the job-thwarting gross receipts tax can be lowered to 2 percent. But now in the final hours of the session, the catnip is getting to him. So what's he doing? He's proposing more business tax incentives and extending an exemption.

Even conservative Four Corners GOP Senator Bill Sharer calls the bevy of exemptions, incentives and tax credits "rattlesnakes" that in the future are going to drain the state.

Jason Harper, for failing to keep your tongue untied and your catnip habit under control, you've just been bitten by a serious-sized Alligator.

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With the Dem controlled Senate holding like a brick wall against the R's battering ram, the talk is already starting about next year. Can the Senate Dems keep the dam plugged on right-to-work and the rest of the Governor's usual agenda in the 2016 election year session? In the media we say "you're only as good as your last broadcast." For Dem senators, they're only as good as their last session. . .

And how about a friendly bet? How soon after the end of the session on Saturday will Guv Martinez hightail it out of here and hit the '16 national campaign trail? Probably about as fast as Bill Richardson did following the 2007 session when he began running for president. . .

And what's this? The Dems scoring more points against the Republican Governor? It's hard to recognize after all these years of their big lay down. But Senate Majority leader Michael Sanchez has been winning some rounds with the Guv. In his latest knock he questions her for taking big campaign donations from a donor convicted of domestic violence, and he got the answer he wanted:


THE BOTTOM LINES

We blogged erroneously Tuesday that the Bernalillo County Commission would meet Friday to send a name to the Governor to replace former Sen. Phil Griego who resigned. The meeting is scheduled for today. And we called the petition to the NM Supreme Court to get the county commissioners in the six county district to act faster in choosing names a "lawsuit." It is a petition.

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Maybe the Guv's fave to fill the state senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Phil Griego will get a second chance and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? The Lincoln County Commission is doing a do-over of its Sunday meeting on the advice of legal counsel who tells them it was done too hastily.

At the first meeting on Sunday, Bobbi Shearer, former head of the NM Elections Bureau, told the GOP dominated commission that she was the Guv's choice, but the commission ignored her pleas and named one of their own--Commissioner Tom Stewart for the slot. The second meeting is slated for Thursday unless the NM Supreme Court rules otherwise (see below). We'll soon see if Bobbi can bounce Tom.

The Griego district has six--count em--six counties in it and each of them gets to send a name up to to Governor who will make the final choice. Two have done so. The other commissions are slated to do so on Friday--except BernCo which will meet Wednesday-- so it appears the Griego seat will stay vacant until the end of the current legislation session at noon Saturday. But. . .

Martinez camp supporters have gone to the NM Supreme Court to get an order forcing the county commissions that have not yet sent her names to fill the Griego seat to do so ASAP. Like right away. The petition is here.

Does the administration really think the GOP vote that it will appoint to replace Griego can turn the tide for them?  Stay tuned. . .

HYPOCRISY WATCH

And what about the hypocrisy? When ABQ Dem state Senator Tim Keller announced his resignation the Bernalillo County Commission filled the seat within three days and drew cries of outrage from GOP Commissioners Johnson and Talbert and the Martinez media. And they were right. That was too quick. Now they are saying hurry up and send a name to Martinez within the same time frame as the Keller replacement--Mimi Stewart--was picked. Fellas, that bite you feel on your buttocks is an old fashioned Alligator strike.

AT THE ROUNDHOUSE

The solons are sure to pass a state budget for the next budget year that begins July 1. Most everyone agrees on that, but not much else. Speaking of which. . .

No sooner had we blogged that this year--against our better judgment--that this might finally be the year for a compromise on the repeal of driver's licenses for undocumented workers when any possible deal fell apart. The Guv has turned her back on the compromise bill offered by GOP Sen. Ingle and Dem Sen. John Arthur Smith. So it's back to the campaign trail with that one for the umpteenth time. And that's probably just the way the Guv wants it. This was the sixth time the driver's license bill has been debated in the Legislature--five regular sessions and a special session.

Another of the Guv's initiatives of the refried bean variety--third grade retention--is also headed for another failure. Right-to-work was put in the grave earlier, although you could see some of its fingers wiggle through the dirt in the final days. . .

We take note that Republican House Speaker Don Tripp did not come with any major legislative initiatives of his own this session. In an interview prior to the session he excited the bleacher seats when he said it might be time to look at extending the state's gross receipts tax to include giant online retailers like Amazon.com. Nothing but silence on that one ever since.

DOWN TO TWO

Now there are two. Chavez County Dem Party Chairman Fred Moran has withdrawn from the race for NM Dem Party Chair and tossed his support to Santa Fe County Dem Chair Richard Ellenberg. Moran says:

Richard’s understanding of the problems we face and his ability to deal with them, is well beyond the effort I could have provided.

Attorney Deb Haaland, the '14 Dem lieutenant governor nominee, is still in the race. The Dem Central Committee will meet in April to choose a replacement for Sam Bregman. The two chair hopefuls are scheduled to debate in ABQ Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall, 510 San Pedro SE.

APD CRISIS

A new development in the APD fatal shooting one year ago of homeless and mentally ill camper James Boyd:

One of the weapons Albuquerque police chose to help bring James Boyd out of the Sandia foothills alive last March never should have been in officers’ hands in the first place. Nearly two years before the encounter that has come to symbolize the cratered relationship between police and many citizens here, Taser International discontinued its X12 shotgun, according to the company’s own literature. It cited flagging sales. The weapon, which APD officer Rick Ingram fired twice at Boyd, was no longer supported by Taser at the time. Nor was it covered under warranty.

And former APD Chief Ray Schultz is far from out of the woods when it comes to his relationship with Taser:

The city of Albuquerque’s longstanding and cozy business relationship with the Scottsdale, Arizona-based stun gun and body camera manufacturer is under increasing scrutiny.

The state auditor's office and the city Inspector General have both been investigating the city's relationship with Taser.

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Chandler & Martinez

Shellshock turned to rage on the Fourth Floor of the fabled Roundhouse Friday when word came that the New Mexico Senate--in a rare rebuke to a sitting Governor--had rejected the appointment of Matt Chandler to the University of New Mexico regents.

Gov. Martinez, suffering her first major political setback since assuming office in 2011, responded by having her spokesman employ language that put out front the backroom vituperativeness the rejection provoked:

The decision by these extreme Senate Democrats not to confirm a decent and highly qualified man is disgusting and pathetic. It’s despicable politics at its worst.

But in the 23 to 17 vote against the nomination all but one Democrat voted against Chandler. Well-known conservative Dems John Arthur Smith, Mary Kay Papen and Clemente Sanchez, who have often sided with the Governor on key policy issues, all rejected Chandler.  They are hardly "extreme."

As for "disgusting" and "pathetic," that borders on the personal, if not impinging on it. Even though the harsh reference is to "the decision" the Senators made, they are the kind of words that end relationships and reveal the deep-seated anger and frustration the executive harbors toward her opposition. The emotional outburst served to underline the scope of the defeat she suffered.

Clearly, the Governor and her political machine led by adviser Jay McCleskey are teeing the ball up for an attempted GOP takeover of the Senate in 2016 thus the effort to discredit the Senate. But the name calling and bullying is wearing thin with lawmakers and the political community at large. Often that presages a shift in gubernatorial popularity in a second term. We'll see. . .

FROM TAOS TO T OR C

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, who held his side together on the Chandler vote with the exception of Sen. Pete Campos, said he had "never been prouder" of the Senate and left it at that. There was no need to shout. The vote was heard loudly and clearly from Taos to T or C. His foes argued that the victory would ultimately hurt the Democrats but political players of all stripes recognized it as a high-water mark in his lengthy leadership.

THE THEATRICS

The Chandler debacle was accompanied by high-level political theatrics when UNM Regent and former NM Dem Party Chairman Jamie Koch announced he was resigning from the regents because the rejection of Chandler was "a low point" for the Senate. He argued that Chandler's political involvement was no reason to reject him, citing his own political tenure. If Koch and Martinez thought Koch's resignation would switch Dem votes, they were blindsided.

Koch's was a view shared by few, including it seemed Senate Republicans who voted for Chandler but did not publicly share the Governor's outrage at his defeat. Chandler--who is tied at the hip to the Governor's political machine--was treasurer for the big money PAC that helped engineer the GOP takeover of the state House last year with hard-hitting literature and media. He was simply too close to the recent political fires to be a viable nominee.

It didn't help that the Governor's operatives are openly boasting that they plan to repeat their '14 success and get GOP control of the Senate. That's what you call an existential threat.

Democrats like Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto--representing a swing ABQ district--seem to be realizing that no matter how hard they try to broker a deal the Guv's machine is going to come for them. The fight that state Democrats have put off time and again can no longer be denied or delayed. A loss of the Senate following the House loss would amount to an extinction level event. And that subtext was present in that Democratic display of unity over Chandler. Now everyone is asking if they can hold together in the final pressure-packed week as the Governor frantically tries to salvage a big win from this session.

This is not a politics that the 79 year old Koch is familiar with, having held political power in a much milder time when Democrats easily dominated, some mutual respect existed and somewhat bipartisan figures like Bruce King and Pete Domenici paraded across the state political stage. In excoriating the Senate and in trying to bail out the Governor while defending Chandler, Koch seemed like a football player running toward the wrong goal post.

A BIGGIE

The rejection of Chandler was more significant than any other such Senate rejection in living memory. That's because the Board of Regents is enshrined in the state Constitution. UNM is a state institution whose management and control are placed by the  Constitution into the hands of a seven-member Board of Regents. The spurning of Chandler will be a major marker of Martinez's tenure. Because he was formally rejected by the Senate, the Guv can't pull a fast one and try to appoint Chandler to the vacancy created by the Koch resignation.

UNM'S ROCK

For UNM President Bob Frank and VP David Harris, it was a rock and a hard place. They chose to use the soft touch on Susana. Frank said:

This whole set of events is a real loss to UNM,” given the “very complicated waters the university is in right now. We need these regents. We’re facing enormous financial challenges right now. Being a regent takes hundreds of hours.

The university has become so political under Gov. Richardson and now Martinez you can see Frank's dilemma. He has a budget in Santa Fe to worry about but in a battle between two equal branches of government, the more circumspect response would not have been a kowtow to the Fourth Floor, but a rose to both sides. Like this:

UNM respects the constitutional process of regent selection. We are hopeful that we will soon have all vacancies filled so we can fully address the challenges facing us. 

That Frank was unable to issue such a statement shows how UNM remains drenched in politics.

OUT OF POSITION

Besides the aforementioned Koch, other Democrats who found themselves out of position on the big story were the tag team of Attorney General Hector Balderas and former NM Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon who is the current president of the UNM Alumni Association. They publicly endorsed Chandler. They simply got it wrong, assuming that he would make it through and the Democratic base would not take notice. This was the first significant Democratic uprising against the Republican Governor and was a big miss for the AG who led the state Dem ticket in '14.

Balderas is not the only Democrat who has played footsie with the Governor and her political machine. Now with battle lines being drawn and the stakes much higher, such games will be scrutinized by all manner of observers--including those who nurture hopes for the 2018 Dem Governor nomination.

GRIEGO GOES

Sen. Griego (Bralley)

The race is on to replace Phil Griego. The ethically embattled Democratic state Senator became one of the first senators in decades to resign amid a legislative session as ethics charges over a real estate deal he brokered took him down. Now the guessing game is over who will replace the conservative Dem. Guv Martinez makes the call. But first. . .

The six county commissions in the district will send Martinez recommendations. She wants to appoint as fast as possible to get that conservative vote onto the Senate floor for the final days of the legislative session which ends Saturday. That appears doubtful.

Her insistence that the county commissions hold emergency meetings is getting stiff push back and she risks losing another political battle to the state Senate. An open government group says state law requires 72 hours notice for the county commission meetings. Martinez is trying to say an emergency exists and the 72 hours is not a requirement.

Senate Dem leaders are expected to resist seating any appointment by Martinez unless all six counties have had the chance to submit a name to her. That is not expected until at least Friday. The leaders have put her on notice that she needs to take off the track shoes.

Martinez was backing off Sunday, with her office indicating it will stop trying to rush the process.

The Torrance County Commission met Sunday and selected Republican Ted Barela, a former mayor of Estancia. Video of the Torrance commission meeting is here. The Lincoln County Commission also met Sunday and sent Martinez the name of Republican County Commissioner Tom Stewart.

In what could be seen as a sign of weakness for the Governor, Harvey Twite of Ruidoso radio station KEDU-FM reported of the Lincoln commission meeting:

The commissioners decided against the Governor's recommendation of former NM Bureau of Elections Director Bobbi Shearer. who has roots in Lincoln County.

Twite further reports that Shearer told the commission she had the support of the Governor.

A move was made at the Torrance meeting to nominate Shearer but no commissioner did.

Now to the drama over Griego that played out Friday and Saturday at the Roundhouse. NM Politics with Joe Monahan takes you directly to the floor of the Senate for the history-making hours:

Joe, the whole Senate Friday was asking: "Is today the last day for Phil Griego?" After the behind the scenes maneuvering over the ethics charges filed against him, the hope among Democrats was that he would resign by the end of the day. If he didn't it was feared the GOP caucus would move for expulsion. That would put the Democrats in an untenable position: if we vote to expel and he fights it, the caucus would be split beyond repair. If we didn't vote to expel, it would offer a golden opportunity for the Governor to paint us as protecting unethical behavior and that could help to turn the Senate over to Republican control in 2016.

For weeks Griego hunkered down with his lawyers and pretended everything would be made to go away. When he finally wised up and retained effective counsel, he had to stipulate to all the charges the investigation brought against him. If he did not resign he probably would have been expelled. 

That is some heavy duty politics and we're glad to get it out there so it's understood just what prompted that resignation in the final vote-filled days of this legislative session.

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