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Monday, February 08, 2016

Will NM Play On Presidential Trail? Candidates For Primary Finalized; Plus: Mayor Berry Hit On Double-Dipping, And: Buckhorn Tavern Redux 

You never know. Maybe this is the year when New Mexico's very late presidential primary makes a difference. While right now we have hot nominating contests in both major parties, the pros think by the end of March the matter should be settled, but just in case here are the official NM prez candidates as certified by the Secretary of State:

Democratic Party: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders; Republican Party:Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina John R. Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald J. Trump.

The odds of all these candidates still being in the race come June 7th is slim to none, but if the nomination is still up in the air and New Mexico matters, we'll be ready.

DOUBLE-DIPPING

Then there's the mayor of ABQ so determined to shift responsibility (and blame) for his mismanaged police department to Santa Fe. . .

Our Alligators listed the double-dipping bill that would allow retired police officers to rejoin APD and other state police departments and continue to keep their pensions while drawing paychecks as DOA at this year's legislative session. They still feel it will be that way when it gets over to the Senate. Meantime a House committee in the Republican-controlled House has approved the measure to bail out Mayor Berry's understaffed department. APOA VP Shaun Willoughby wants to get some digs in before the measure passes out of the House:

Mayor Richard Berry would have everyone believe that we’ve lost hundreds of officers over the past six years as a result of the state’s repeal of double dipping. It’s the argument he’s currently using to try and convince state lawmakers to overturn their repeal. Conveniently, he fails to mention that the 25% drop in officers coincides with his time as mayor. Ask those who’ve worn the badge under the Berry Administration and they will tell you it isn’t double dipping, or retirement changes, or increased scrutiny that has officers headed for the exits, but rather it’s how this administration deals with and treats its police force. Deteriorating staffing numbers are actually a result of years of low morale. 

BUCKHORN REDUX 

Rowena Baca & Michael Olguin
We'll get to the story on this photo in a minute but first. . .

Lee Huntzinger was one of many readers who were quick to correct us for a geography error in the first draft of the Friday blog. We said the Buckhorn Tavern was north of Socorro:

OMG Joe. Lol, I bet your inbox exploded this morning with folks wondering if you got lost in Texas or just turned your map upside down! As penance, you should drive back down and take a picture of the old Hilton bar while you knock down a green chile cheeseburger at the Owl :-). I've been eating burgers at the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio for 40 years, but I always had to go SOUTH from Socorro to get there! It's a tradition when we go to the Bosque to see the birds.

Jerome Block wrote:

If you were having a hamburger North of Socorro, you must have been at the Lemitar truck stop!

Self-described Las Cruces senior citizen Violent Cauthon writes that you should go deeper into the south to find the dream burger:

Joe, Joe, Joe, who are these consumers who believe the Owl Cafe green chile cheeseburgers are worth talking about? I have told you before about Burger Nook on Madrid off N. Solano in Las Cruces.

And reader John somehow ties in the Buckhorn to the news that the US Hispanic  Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Gov. Martinez to be the GOP VP candidate:

Hello Joe, Did you happen to read the glowing news story on Susana Martinez being touted by the Hispano Chamber? I had to read three times and came to the conclusion that the national Hispanic group had to be referring to another Susana and another New Mexico. And yes, Joe, the Buckhorn burgers Are that Gooood! Maybe the Hispanics mentioned above should have asked folks at the Buckhorn about Susana. . .

Now about that photo posted with this story. It pictures Rowena Baca the owner of the Owl Bar and Cafe, located across the street from the Buckhorn in San Antonio and Michael Olguin, former state House Majority Leader and brother of Buckhorn owner Bobby Olguin. We talked about how many politics consider Rowena's Owl the Republican pit stop in San Antonio while Bobby holds court for the Dems. But judging from this pic, the burgers are really bipartisan--besides tasting great.

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