Gonzales

Word arrived after we published that Gonzales will indeed appeal the city's denial of public financing of his campaign to district court:

Manny Gonzales held his fire in the immediate aftermath of a city hearing officer's ruling that upheld the denial of $661,000 in public financing for his mayoral campaign. The BernCo sheriff did not say whether he would take the avenue of last resort--an appeal to district court--to gain the funding that could be critical to his hopes to upset Mayor Tim Keller at the Nov. 2 election. 

An appeal would present opportunity but also legal treachery. Top campaign aides would have to explain under oath how no crime was committed even though the campaign admits some voter donation signatures were forged to get Gonzales enough of the $5 contributions to qualify for public financing.

Supporters of Gonzales were maintaining that even if he ends up not getting the public money, he could still raise enough private cash to be competitive with Keller. Former GOP BernCo County Commissioner Michael Wiener asserted:

An outside committee supporting Gonzales this month reported $85,000 in cash on hand while one supporting Keller had about $18,000. 

Still, the city's decision to deny him public financing and the Gonzales campaign admission of forgeries have taken their toll. A Senior Alligator contemplating events said;

There's no public polling yet to back up the various opinions on the state of the race. Meanwhile, the city awaits Gonzales' next move.

Ivey-Soto

We checked in with state elections expert and ABQ Dem State Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto to get a clear picture on that proposal outlined here to have the ABQ Inspector General take over the verification of public finance donations for mayor and city council candidates in light of the mess that has occurred this election 

Ivey Soto says the city has purview over the finance system and "can do  anything it wants." However the county clerk has purview over the nominating petitions for city candidates and the city can't change that. 

The problem is not with the nominating petitions but with the $5 individual donations and accompanying signatures to qualify for public financing--over $660,000 for a mayoral canadiate and in the neighborhood of $40,000 for city council contenders. 

Beefing up the check of the donations is seen by political pros as a step to preserve the integrity and confidence of public financing. Following the Nov. 2 election would be the time to begin a debate at the city council. 

State Senator Joe Cervantes is a moderate Democrat who has upset the newly empowered progressives at the legislature. But his denial of communion by the Archbishop of Las Cruces may have a political benefit for the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We asked a Santa Fe Wall-Leaner to explain:

And what about the latest outburst from ABQ Dem Senator Jacob Candelaria against Gov. Lujan Grisham, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth and Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart? He attacks what he calls the "white progressive elite ambivalence" over queer people and people of color. The ABQ Westside lawmaker says other stuff as well that had reporter Daniel Chacon strapping on his muck boots and diving in. Let's call in another Senior Gator for their take:

Candelaria has resigned from the state senate Dem caucus. No comment from Wirth or Mimi over his latest tongue lashing. 

It's true. This will be the only mayoral election since the founding of ABQ's modern form of government in 1974 when there will be no Republican on the mayoral ballot. It's another sign of the near extinction of the party in Bernalillo County, even though is was only seven years ago--in 2014--that the city elected a GOP mayor. 

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