Benton and Bassan

City Councilor Ike Benton got the scare of his political life, Ane Romero was easily handled by Republican Brook Bassan and the Dem political hierarchy got egg on its face. Those are the headlines from City Election Run-off '19. Final unofficial results here.

When the long election season started the political pros pointed to longtime District 2 Dem Councilor Ike Benton as the most vulnerable candidate in the four council districts at stake. In Tuesday's run-off Zack Quintero tried his best to show them right, but fell short. Benton carved out a narrow 52 to 48 win by taking the early vote and losing the election day vote by a small margin.

(Final:Benton--52.22%; Quintero 47.78%)

In the first round voting in November, Quintero, 28, was crushed by Benton by 21 points in a six way race. That he came back to within four points in the run-off speaks to the discontent with the 14 year incumbent over the crime wave and the disastrous ART project he enthusiastically supported. Also, he seems to have disappeared after the November election. Quintero gets credit for finally hitting the crime issue hard in the final days and also winning over more Hispanic voters. He'll be back someday.

In District 4 there was no surprise, except that Dems fell short of expectations that the race could be a nail biter. But Republican Brook Bassan took the prize garnering nearly 54 per cent of the vote. It was 53.46% to 46.54%.

This was the second heartbreaker for Romero, a high quality candidate who also lost a legislative contest in 2016. But she and her progressive supporters were outplayed by the R's who hammered away at illegal immigration and crime, issues that resonated in the affluent portions of the NE Heights district, just as they did for Republican Councilor Trudy Jones in the November election when she easily dispatched her Dem challenger.

If the R's play that hand in 2020, will it help them take back a BernCo legislative seat or two that they lost in the Heights in '18? Dem political consultant Sisto Abeyta said it's a theme to watch. But another D consultant spun hat the Dems "competed strongly" in District 4 and that turnout in the presidential race will be more Democratic than in an off-year, local election.

Well, as they say, we shall see.

The deal this year for the Dems was to have just about all of their prominent officeholders endorse Romero in a lowly city council race. It didn't work. Those wiping the egg away today include Mayor Keller, Rep. Haaland, MLG, AG Balderas and Senator Heinrich.

On the other hand, Keller's endorsement of Benton probably put the endangered councilor over the top (how do you like that, Zack?).

The Bassan win means she and Republican Jones will give Keller more vocal public opposition. The Council, however, remains controlled by the Dems, 6 to 3. With Bassan's win the number of women on the nine member council reaches a record high of five.

SPEAKER DRAWS CHALLENGE

Lyla June Johnston

NM House Speaker Brian Egolf appeared to come into his own in the 2019 legislative session when he shepherded a bundle of bills through the chamber on behalf of the new Governor. He took over as Speaker in 2017 but it wasn't until this year that the gavel seemed fully comfortable in the hands of the 43 year old lawyer. Now he is going to have work a bit harder to keep his grip on that gavel. Unexpectedly, the Speaker has drawn a Democratic primary challenger.

Among the bills that Egolf managed was the controversial Energy Transition Act (ETA), beloved by the environmental community, with one major exception. New Energy Economy (NEE) has fought the renewable energy measure tooth and nail. Now a former communications staffer for NEE, Lyla June Johnston, is set to announce her candidacy at the capitol tomorrow for Egolf's Santa Fe legislative seat. From her social media:

Lyla June is a Native American environmental scientist, doctoral student, educator, economist, community organizer and musician of Navajo and European lineages from Taos. Her dynamic, multi-genre performance and speech style has invigorated and inspired audiences across the globe towards personal, collective and ecological healing. Her messages focus on the climate crisis, Indigenous rights, supporting youth, inter-cultural healing, historical trauma and traditional land stewardship practices. 

Here is a video of one of Lyla June's performances.

Speaker Egolf

Egolf is well-liked in the district he was first elected to in 2008 and is the odds-on favorite for the primary, but if Lyla June raises anti-ETA money she could keep him busy. In addition she may score attorney Egolf for his representation of the medical marijuana industry while presiding over House debate over laws for that industry, a matter that has already caused him headaches.

More broadly, the primary challenge, presuming it will be largely over the ETA which is aimed at transitioning the state to renewables, spotlights who will pay for that transition.

NEE maintains PNM is let off the hook under ETA. They claim the electric utility's consumers are being asked to shell out too much of their monthly bills to close down the company's coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. Egolf and PNM maintain consumers will save money because of the move to cheaper renewables.

Egolf has a gavel but he'll soon be wearing a catcher's mitt--to trap the curve ball he's just been thrown.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019