Monday, June 03, 2019Marco Serna, A Leading Northern Congress Contender But Father's Legacy Hovers, Plus: Lighting The Rez
Apodaca, a former top administrator with USDA in NM, made a solid entry with his video. Serna, the Santa Fe County district attorney, came in dubbing himself the "Progressive Prosecutor." That's a new one. His announcement received good coverage but the Alligators were quick to point out what they saw as a misstep. Serna made his announcement (video here) at the Española jewelry store his mother operates. But hold on. Marco's father, Eric Serna, once a controversial political power player, ran into problems with that very same jewelry store when he was serving on the old State Corporation Commission: In 1985, Serna and his family purchased a jewelry store in Española. Rumors and news accounts followed over the years of Serna trying to sell jewelry to commission employees and to people having business with the commission. Serna consistently denied any wrongdoing. That was just one of the ethics controversies that erupted involving Eric Serna in his long career and, like it or not, fairly or unfairly, it will be an issue for Marco Serna. Most Democratic primary voters are over 50 and well remember the events of yore, or will, when reminded by Marco's foes. Eric Serna is also the only Dem to ever lose a run for the northern seat, falling to Bill Redmond in a special election in '97. Redmond made ethics a central issue. Will the "sins" of the father be visited on the son? That's the question hovering over the Progressive Prosecutor who would be a congressman. LIGHTING THE REZ
First, this from PNM and then a reader analysis: A PNM line crew recently traveled to Indian Wells and Dilkon, Arizona to participate in a project that is electrifying homes throughout the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona. This project, called Light Up Navajo, began on April 6 and ended May 18, and the goal of the project was to connect two hundred new customers to the energy grid. The Navajo Nation and the American Public Power Association, in partnership with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), launched Light Up Navajo in the Spring of 2019. The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American territory, yet among the 55,000 homes located on the 27,000 square mile reservation, around 15,000 families do not have electricity. They make up 75% of all un-electrified households in the United States. That in the year 2019 the Rez makes up 75 percent of the homes in the USA without electricity is, well, a national disgrace. Las Cruces reader Larry Gioannini of Las Cruces weighed in on this when we first reported on the numbers: How much less would it cost to provide each home on the reservation with a photo-voltaic or wind turbine electric system? In 1996 Sierra County Co-op wanted about the same amount to extend their lines an 1/8 of a mile to my place as a PV system would cost. The owner at that time went with the PV system and I am still benefiting from his decision. We asked PNM for a response to Larry’s comment but they had none. NO LIMITS, PLEASE Reader Jim McClure writes: Joe, I agree that term limits are a bad idea. Unelected bureaucrats already run circles around our elected representatives, and term limits would give them even more power. But Congressional seniority is not what it used to be in the absence of appropriations earmarks. 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.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019
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