Wednesday, October 06, 2021On The Trail: MLG Will Travel Nation To Help Dems Raise Dollars, Plus: What Worries Dems About Redistricting? And: ABQ Council Races Get Going: Sena Vs. Sanchez Is A Hot One, Also: Punishment For A "Chile" Misspeller The Democratic Governors Association is pouring more dollars into a fund that supports female Democratic gubernatorial candidates. This year, the Women Governors Fund has a fundraising goal of $5 million — five times what it raised at its inception in 2018 — and will be overseen by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The two will travel the country and lead fundraisers for the fund. But the fund has limits. It can only be used to support women who make it out of their primaries, and $5 million doesn’t go very far in the campaign finance world, especially as it gets more expensive to run with every cycle. Brown is term limited. According to one of our Senior Alligators, the Governor's political team is gearing up to run a "don't rock the boat" '22 campaign, believing the field of GOP contenders does not pose a threat. That may be sound politically but it could also mean a mild--not an aggressive--legislative agenda at the '22 session. SEE WHAT SHE SEES?  You can find out in this video of an in-depth forum held for the candidates by ABQ East Mountain GOP State Rep. Stefani Lord and ably produced by Pablito Herrera. (Another service of yer little 'ol blog. Thanks, Pablito and Rep. Lord). DEM WORRIES What do Democrats worry about most in the upcoming legislative redistricting? Well, not much since they control the Governor's office as well as the Senate and House. If pressed the D's will admit they are concerned about the R's gaining ground in House District 68 currently held by Dem Rep. Karen Bash who insiders report will not seek re-election next year. The census experts say the NW ABQ district has grown more Republican in the last ten years and it's going to take some imagination (or gerrymandering) to keep the seat Dem. Ditto for House District 27 in the far ABQ NE Heights. Growth in that conservative district that only recently went blue will also keep the Dem mapmakers busy. The seat is now held by Dem Rep. Marian Matthews. TUBE TIME How much does TV time for the ABQ mayoral race cost? Sheriff Manny Gonzales knows the answer down to the dime. That's because he is still beating the bushes for campaign money to get his first TV ads on the air. He reports in a fundraising plea: Let me give you an idea of the commercial time your personal contribution can help fund: $15 for early morning news $105 for the Noon news $250 for Jeopardy $350 for the NFL Sunday Pregame $2,500 for an NFL game on Sunday night. WESTSIDE COUNCIL CLASH
On the city's westside two Dems are in the running for Council District One. Retired APD officer and business owner Louie Sanchez is trying to oust appointed Councilor Lan Sena. They find themselves at odds over that $50 million bond voters are being asked to approve for a soccer stadium for NM United: Sanchez said he favors the construction of the stadium as long as New Mexico United “has some skin in the game” and signs a long-term contract or lease agreement with the city to help pay off the $50 million bond.
Sena said she does not favor the large investment in a soccer stadium.
“The economics of it, the finances of it, just don’t sit well with me,” she said. “I think that currently, we really need to be focusing in on a lot of the issues that we face, whether it is affordable housing, poverty, addiction and mental health services.”
On raising taxes the 31 year old Sena, the first Asian to serve on the council and appointed by Mayor Keller to fill the seat left vacant by the death of longtime Councilor Ken Sanchez, came with a novel twist: I would consider supporting a tax on cannabis to pay for housing and water conservation efforts. Considering cannabis growers use high volumes of water, that's food for thought--or cannabis--if you are so inclined. But Sena will have to stay on her toes. Her opponent is not related to the late Ken Sanchez but carries the last name of the well-respected councilor and is beating the hometown drum hard: I was born, raised and educated in District 1, not a recent transplant. I know the needs of our neighborhood because I have lived in it for 56 years. I have 26 years’ experience fighting crime, our No. 1 issue. I am the only choice for the West Side. This is a good race with two solid candidates that will be at the top of our Election Night coverage list when we broadcast Nov. 2 over KANW 89.1 FM and kanw.com. WET NOODLE TIME  Joe, first of all a real New Mexican would know it's ‘green chile’ not ‘green chili.' Second, I find it ludicrous that a soccer stadium will provide more water to the small farmers the MRGCD serves. I pay my water taxes to the MRGCD but will refuse to subsidize the stadium as we all know the rest of the state will have to pitch in to cover the cost. Joaquin Baca argued that a downtown stadium would create spin-off development that would be subjected to property taxes that MGRCD would benefit from instead of having development that harms Valley farmland. We did say it was an "unusual" angle. And we generously corrected Baca's sacrilegious misspelling of chile. Still, he will be subjected to ten lashes with a wet noodle soaked in Rio Grande irrigation water for his serious offense. Welcome to the blog, Joaquin. Or something. . .
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