Guv & Barela

Drip, drip, drip.  First there were those very politically incorrect audio tapes leaked to Mother Jones magazine and now there's the alleged unsavory saga of NM Economic Development Director Jon Barela and Deputy Secretary Barbara Brazil.

A whistleblower lawsuit that was recently unsealed and that the liberal magazine broke the news of was just what you don't need at your economic department when you are just about dead last in job creation, the rate of poverty, wages paid and are trying to court Tesla for its giant gigafactory.

The suit reads like a soap opera. Barela is busy helping out a company he had a financial interest in. He's busy wiring a state contract to allegedly benefit the wife of Pat Rogers, the ubiquitous Republican attorney and GOP National Committeeman. Barela is said to let Brazil run dairy queen franchises on state time. He's accused of covering up waste and mismanagement at the Spaceport. And last but no least, he's accused of having extramarital sex with a subordinate.

Someone call AMC. When "Madmen" goes off the air, we think we've got a replacement for them.

As is so often the case it was those inside the Martinez administration who turned on it. From the article:

The whistleblowers are Kurt Saenz, the former chief financial officer at the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and Brent Eastwood, a former Army infantry officer and RAND Corporation analyst who ran the department's international trade and business advocacy divisions. Both men are Republicans and were appointed by Martinez. Eastwood's wife, Melanie Sanchez-Eastwood, worked as a scheduler on Martinez's 2010 gubernatorial campaign. A source familiar with the case says the FBI has interviewed Saenz and Eastwood about their allegations. Eastwood also anonymously reported his allegations to the state attorney general and the state auditor. (Saenz and Eastwood declined to comment for this story.)

Barela said  in a statement the lawsuit's allegations are "baseless and malicious rantings from disgruntled employees" fired for sexual harassment and threatening workplace violence.

Econ Development spokeswoman Angela Heisel responded to the allegation involving Brazil:

To show just how off-base this is, the deputy secretary does not run three Dairy Queens (let alone even one). The only relation is that her daughter happens to operate one Dairy Queen store.

A REAL GOOD TIME

RTS state contracts (click to enlarge)

Our readers were busy researching Real Time Solutions--the ABQ web development firm that Mother Jones says  employed the wife of Pat Rogers and "was (paid) more than $30,000 to build (economic development's) new website without a contract—a violation of state procurement code."  The magazine said: "When Saenz alerted Barela to the contracting problem, Barela, the complaint says, dismissed Saenz's concerns. Hiring Real Time Solutions, Barela told Saenz, was "requested by the governor," according to the complaint.

Readers gathered financial info and say  Real Time Solutions (RTS) has been awarded over $3 million in state contracts. In a bit of irony, they got that info from the state's Sunshine Portal which has a contract with RTS. And a list of clients on the RTS web site reads like a catalogue of government agencies. They work for the Governor's office, the city of ABQ, the NM Film Office, the state campaign finance system and more.
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The Barela bombshell was yet another gift for the Democrats in this election year, but they have not yet packaged the many gifts and presented them to the voters in a way that would have them tearing away at them like it's Christmas morning. It will be up to the Dem nominee for Governor--to be selected at the June 3 primary--to do the job.

Dem contender Howie Morales called on Gov. Martinez to immediately fire Barela, but Martinez rarely if ever, ejects anyone in her top circle--no matter the allegation. He said:

I am calling for the immediate termination of Secretary Jon Barela. Additionally, I am calling on the attorney general to perform a full investigation of these allegations and to prosecute any person who was involved in these illegal activities, including Governor Martinez. It is clear Governor Martinez either has no clue as to what is taking place in her own administration, or even worse, she is fully engaged in this type of corruption. Either way, it is clear Susana Martinez is no longer fit to be the leader of our state, and she will soon see the people agree as well.

Candidate Alan Weber came with this:

No wonder she's running fluffy TV ads—it's hard to stay popular when New Mexicans are learning what's behind the curtain.

And Lawrence Rael blasted away:

Maybe now we know why she's failed to create jobs. Mother Jones Magazine has done it again. It has a new expose out alleging: Governor Martinez’s Secretary of Economic Development benefited a company in which he had a financial interest, and when two Republican employees tried to bring this corruption to light, they were fired for it. It’s the worst type of cronyism imaginable. If their disclosures are true, then this administration is truly rotten to the core, and it’s time to cut out the rot...Governor Martinez promised to fight corruption. Here’s her chance: she’s surrounded by it.

HITS KEEP COMING


The hits just keep coming and you have to wonder if and when they will give Martinez real trouble on the trail. We have three polls that show her approval rating at around 55 percent. A March survey from the Dem-oriented PPP (52%) a December Common Cause poll (55%) conducted by Brian Sanderoff and an insider poll done late last month (55%).

The Guv's political operatives are pushing back hard against that take and are shopping their poll that claims Martinez is at 62 percent approval. They are urgently working to keep alive the perception that the Governor's race is a done deal and that the announcement by the national Dems that they won't play here took away the Dems final hope.

But in just the span of a few weeks we have had the release of the damaging audio tapes featuring the Governor with campaign aides in 2010, the news that her chief of staff violated state regulations by using a government credit card for personal expenditures (for which he says he reimbursed the state) and now the possible Barela scandal.

Then there is the long simmering controversy over the racino lease for the Downs at ABQ, the multiple lawsuits the media have brought seeking records from the Governor and the accusations from Jamie Estrada, her short-lived campaign manager who faces federal charges over email hacking. And in the backdrop is one of the worst state economies in generations.

The problem for Martinez is time. There's too much of it. The election is six months away--so long that even the thus far hapless Democrats might be able to come with a powerful narrative to unseat her. And will there be even more onetime administration insiders turning against her in the weeks ahead?

For example, we learn that District Judge Judge Sarah Singleton has ordered the Governor and the Department of Finance to turn over documents to Rick May, the former head of the NM Finance Authority who was fired--he says wrongfully--in a fake audit scandal. The ruling is here.
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On the other hand, the Governor has the money and enough popularity to possibly take out the Democratic nominee early in the race and shove back in the closet the various scandals that are pressing against the door.

Drip, drip, drip.

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THE BOTTOM LINES

We said on the Thursday blog that the DC ad firm that is handling Dem Guv hopeful Alan Webber's media also did the same for Martin Heinrich in 2012. Webber's firm helped enviro groups who assisted Heinrich. A former Heinrich consultant says the ad firm of Kully-Hull produced Heinrich's TV.

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Hand of Heinrich

The plot thickens in the battle for future control of the state's majority party, a battle being played out in proxy form in the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general featuring BernCo District Attorney Raul Torrez and State Auditor Brian Colón. 

Here in the late innings leading up to next Tuesday's primary a PAC has surfaced to blast away at Colón and the PAC, according to reliable sources, could have ties to Dem US Sen. Martin Heinrich.

Heinrich's Colón obsession is rooted in his own ambitions to take control of the party and launch what would be an unusual bid for Governor following MLG's reign.

Colón, already a leader in the party's conservative/moderate faction, would rise to a whole new level if he defeats Torrez, posing a threat to the more liberal Heinrich by positioning himself for his own Guv run or being a kingmaker in the race. 

This late PAC ad, coming from a group calling itself "RNML," is titled "politician" and disparages Colón this way:

Brian Colón--another politician looking to get ahead. He's run for lieutenant governor, mayor and state auditor. Now he wants to be our AG, even those he's never prosecuted a case. He's taken hundreds of thousands from out of state law firms who are lining up for lucrative contracts. He's even used murder victims for his own political gain. Pay to play, exploiting victims. We don't need another politician as attorney general. 

That last line about "another politician" could be read as a veiled hit on current Dem AG Hector Balderas who is a BFF of Colón and who ran for the US Senate nomination against Heinrich in 2012.

Torrez has clutched tightly to Heinrich throughout the race, hoping the senator's popularity with progressives would help put him over the top.

But Torrez's campaign was never able to convince the public of his efficacy as district attorney in crime-ridden Albuquerque and he mostly gave up on trying to do so. Instead, he has concentrated on the  negative to overtake Colón who has the edge in the race because of his statewide name ID. But if the PAC TV buy comes through there is time for Torrez to stop Colón and end his dream of climbing even higher up the ladder of La Politica. 

The AG battle is about the here and now and a possible battle to come over the future direction of New Mexican politics and we'll cover it like white on rice next Tuesday as we bring you the latest election results on KANW 89.1 FM and kanw.com. 

RONCHETTI/DOW SCUFFLING

In the GOP race for Governor, the exchanges between the two top contenders--Mark Ronchetti and State Rep. Rebecca Dow--remain nasty, with Ronchetti calling Dow's latest attacks "brazen lies" and Dow accusing Ronchetti of "making a child relive one of the worst moments of their lives."

The statements are over the hopefuls dueling ads. Ronchetti fires back at Dow's TV spot that continues her theme that he is an anti-Trumper and that tweets she uncovered from long ago confirm her contention. 

First Dow who rips into a negative ad from Ronchetti over a lawsuit she was named in by parents of a sexually abused boy:

Shame on Mark Ronchetti for re-victimizing a child by using a recycled ProgressNow attack against me for political gain. Mark only cares about power and he's willing to make a child relive one of the worst moments of their life to score political points. I sat on the board of the Club. Program administrative staff oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Boys and Girls Club of Sierra County. After learning of an assault in July 2015, the employee was arrested. We partnered with the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, called every family at the Club, and printed an ad in the newspaper encouraging more victims to come forward. That’s how the incident from December 2014 was uncovered. My involvement with the victim was informing the family that the incident occurred and that counseling services would be provided to him. The Boys and Girls Club of Sierra County paid the settlement and my name was removed from the lawsuit with prejudice. I'm sure a judge will agree that Mark's lies are dishonest and slanderous. I assure you that his timeline and incidents described are factually inaccurate.

And the Ronchetti rebuttal to Dow's final days attacks:

(Her) latest attacks against Republican Mark Ronchetti includes a deceitful television ad and an embarrassingly false political mailing. The brazen lie from Dow is so over the top that it recently caught the attention of media outlets. . .According to a mailer, Dow claims “Mark Ronchetti called for President Trump’s impeachment and falsely claimed President Trump had committed a felony.” Not only is this a flagrant lie. . .but Dow intentionally failed to cite the source of this assertion. After being pressed Dow responded that the quote was pulled from a twitter account. . . The attributed twitter account clearly does not belong to Mark Ronchetti and appears to be operated by a dentist from Maryland, or a twitter bot with 14 followers. Regardless, no one - including Rebecca Dow- can honestly believe that these tweets came from Mark Ronchetti. . .Rebecca shamelessly used the account to justify her clearly false attack. In addition to the mailer, Dow also took to the airwaves with a new television attack ad accusing Ronchetti of “striking a deal on amnesty” and “not taking a stance on overturning Roe V. Wade.” This too is false. In fact, Mark Ronchetti has been strong on his plans for border security and is on record as being strongly pro-life. 

DRIP, DRIP DRIP

Meantime, the incumbent governor, running unopposed for the Dem nomination next Tuesday, continues her drip, drip, drip of positivity, unveiling two new 15 second ads, part of a series that has been airing much of the month. The aim being to have voters who formed a negative image of her during Covid to forget it.

This one is on free childcare which MLG says "most New Mexicans" now qualify for. In this ad she says her administration is making universal pre-school a "reality for every family."

The ads come as the GOP posse prepares to come for her June 8 when the fall election begins in earnest.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. 

The great disconnect of New Mexico from mainstream USA continues unchecked and will be the defining story of the first part of this century, long after this legislative session is over and forgotten.

Even as the U.S. stock market made record highs this week and neighboring states continued to report economic recovery, New Mexico was not invited to the party. The new economic reality of the Land of Enchantment for the foreseeable future is what you see is what you get.

There will be more pain--not a rebound--as the drip, drip, drip of federal spending cutbacks take hold without a sizable private sector economy to absorb the ongoing shock.

The state did not plan for this and we are paying the price.

In going over the numbers in news accounts, we've calculated that Los Alamos National Labs now has a permanent staff of just over 7,100, down from 7,600 a year ago. There are about 2,430 contract employees after a loss of 800 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. And they are losing more as we write. That's about 9,500 jobs at Los Alamos. That number was 12,000 as recently as 2007. And the shrinkage is set to continue.

In ABQ, Sandia National Labs struggles to put its best spin on things, but that nuclear facility reports flat employment at best and says it spent $400 million on goods and services from local firms in FY 2012. That is barely up from up from about $387 million in FY 2011.

Then you have the population stagnation here as people move out of the state and a shrinking workforce that makes the unemployment numbers not look so bad. And for how long? Economists say we are still in recession here.

We know we're supposed to be talking about driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, but we thought you should know.

FEAR AND LOATHING

Then there is that multi-year fear and loathing over the repeal of the aforementioned driver's licenses. What is left to say that hasn't already been said with millions of campaign dollars and reams of newspaper copy? As the kid said of the ghosts in Poltergeist "Make them go away, mommy!" But it won't. 

The faux drama continued Wednesday with no resolution and none in sight. The very limited compromise backed by the Guv remains stuck in the House. The Senate is not moving on anything either. The blow-by-blow on the bizarre House events are here.

Winners and losers in this? Oh well, we suppose any day that is not spent talking about the crumbling economy is not an exceptionally bad day for the Guv--even if she is seemingly unable to go along with a compromise that would make her look good on the national stage that she craves. Maybe her hardcore supporters got to her and told her to hang tough.

Loser? Well, new Dem Los Alamos Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard was singled out for punishment on the Twitter feed of Guv operative Adam Feldman. She flip-flopped during the course of the debate. Stephanie, get ready for another visit from Jay and the boys in 2014. 

THE PARLOR GAME 

With no transformative economic plans making the rounds in Santa Fe, the session has become a parlor game of who is up and who is down. It's one we engage in with regularity, albeit without much guilt. Wednesday the pundits put Susana on the high horse. We said their slogan for the session could be "It's good to be Guv." Today another pundit/Alligator tries to take the saddle from under her:

"Good to be Gov?" Why? Because the front page of Wednesday's newspaper reads “License bill tabled by committee, Martinez dealt a major blow?” Because her 3rd grade retention bill has crashed and burned? Her tax incentive based “jobs plan” is going nowhere? Her lighting rod of a nomination for Sec. of the PED,  was just dragged though a bruising confirmation hearing, only to be  left out to dry afterwards? Good to be Gov because her own party’s only recourse to attempt to pass anything of her very shallow agenda is hijacking bills and subbing in the bills she wants, that had no chance in committee? And even then, they go nowhere?

It is amusing that the word out of Albuquerque is it’s good to be Governor. The rumor in the Roundhouse is the Governor has been yelling at the member of her party for their failure to get anything from her agenda done. The Governor is the Executive of the state, her record is much more relevant in 2014 than the collective action of the legislature. If having nothing to show for your years in office is good for re-election, than it might be good to be gov.

The debate seems to come down to this: If you think the Dems squashing the Guv's agenda makes them the winner, then the session is not going too badly. If you think the Dems have to do more to pull down the Guv's over 65% approval rating, then they are losing because they are not able to pass anything to her desk and force her to make controversial choices.

Here's how Susana is playing it as she sets up the '14 election: "They don't want change," said Martinez. "They just talk that they want compromise. When we give it to them they change and move the target again." 

Sounds like someone has a focus group working for them. 

After watching two Governors in a row get re-elected, we think it takes a full-court press on a chief executive to shake their standing.  

COUNTING THE VOTES

Most of us are waiting to see if there will be a legal challenge to the city's decision not to count thousands of mail-in votes in the March 11 special election--some 4,500 so far--that the ABQ city clerk says can't be counted because the voters failed to sign the oath on the outer envelope. We hear there will be a legal challenge. Meanwhile, the prospect of thousands of voters not having their voices heard has given critics of the decision a reason to rally, and they will:

Mayor Berry and his Republican allies have been doing everything they can to stop city voters from holding this election. That’s because it changes the city’s charter to require the Mayor to get 50% of the votes to win an election.  He only received 43% last time so he’s thinking about his next campaign, not fair city elections. Voters have been confused by the unorthodox mail-in ballots and forgot to sign their ballots. For weeks they have been able to come downtown and fix it.  But  they suddenly changed the election rules and now say they won’t count any of those votes – even for those voters who already fixed their ballots. This is election rigging 101 and we won’t stand for it in our city.

A rally sponsored by the progressive group Progressnow New Mexico will be held at 10 this morning at Civic Plaza to protest the decision not to count the ballots.

STREAK ENDS

Mayor Berry told TV news recently how pleased he was that the city had gone six months without a fatal police shooting. But the streak ended when city police shot and killed a suspect this week. Chief Ray Schultz says this was another bad buy with a long criminal record who was killed and his officers acted as they should have. The federal Department of Justice is investigating APD for civil rights violations because of the numerous police shootings here in recent years. The incidents are part of the backdrop of the '13 mayoral election. A TV news producer recently opined that Mayor Berry's popularity has not been impacted so far by the shootings because the public perceives them as "good kills" in which bad guys got what they had coming.

And we welcome the national media into town and to this story. The CBS Evening News came with this piece Wednesday on the shooting of mentally ill suspects by ABQ police. It's fair and insightful. The more sunshine on APD, the better.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Thanks to our readers and to the Washington Post for naming us the best political blog in New Mexico in their annual ratings. We appreciate it. We think it may be due to fewer typos...

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 
Not for reproduction without permission of the author       

The good news for Michelle Lujan Gisham is that she may be brought into the US House because of the strength of President Obama in the ABQ congressional district. The bad news is that she will be a member of the minority in the House unless.....

House Democratic leaders insist they have a fighting chance to pull off what outside analysts call a major longshot: Winning back 25 seats to regain control of the chamber this fall. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the third-ranking House Democrat, told The Hill that he puts the odds at about 50-50, and said President Obama can influence the outcome.

Serving in the minority in the House is a real downer. You are almost completely shut out. Just ask Dem Martin Heinrich who is leaving the ABQ House seat to run for the Senate. Over there, the minority part still has ways to have some stroke.

Grisham will not only be watching her own race results Election Night, but the national picture for the US House. How it turns out will have a whole lot to do with her future job satisfaction.

KEITHGATE

What a week for the Guv and her Chief of Staff Keith Gardner. Emailgate came crashing through the gates with attorney and possible 2014 Dem Guv candidate Sam Bregman driving the truck. All of a sudden emailgate went from drip, drip, drip to a gully washer.

Martinez herself had to go before the cameras and address the multiple angles of the ongoing scandal. Not good. And Gardner's admission heard on a tape recording that he doesn't use state email because he is afraid he would go to jail had the Alligators saying that we may reached an inflection point--that the rosy view of this administration could be sullied by the continuous pounding it's taking. Speaking of which, this reader was quick to pile on Keith:

Governor Martinez appears to have completely dismissed an admission by Gardner that some of his communications, if disclosed, could send him to jail. Gardner admits in a recorded conversation, that he never uses his state email account, but even more importantly that he goes completely "off-line" for many of his communications so as to not wind up in legal trouble. Governor Martinez's silence about Gardner's admission seems to indicate that she is untroubled by illegal conduct by those at the highest levels of her administration--so long as they don't get caught. As a former prosecutor shouldn't heads be rolling after Martinez learned that the man she entrusted to run her government is engaging in actions that could produce jail time?

Unfortunately for Susana, Bregman drew blood this week and the smell of that stuff in the water has a galvanizing effect not only on sharks but also on lawyers. Stay tuned.

THAT TAPE

That four minute video tape of Susana defending Gardner and lashing out at Bregman was unsettling. She was harsh, a bit arrogant, defensive and looked very annoyed. It was the side of Susana that has for the most part been kept out of public view. The background optics of her administration have been her cherry countenance amid the smiling school children she seems to greet almost daily.

This sour Susana is not a selling point. Her political guru Jay McCleskey has done his best to keep Susana from bristling before the cameras--pretty easy to do when the media and the news flow tend to be on your side. But that is slowly changing. Susan and Jay cackling behind closed doors over how they want to devour their political enemies is one thing, but to bring the fighting side of these personalities before the New Mexican public is the last thing you want to do.

Martinez must now go off script and handle a scandal that will continue to develop in an unscheduled and unpredictable manner. Her reversion to the prickly personality of a district attorney--which she was for so long--may help her legally but it can be poisonous to her carefully crafted public persona.

ABQ VS. LAS CRUCES

From Las Cruces politico Tony Schaefer comes with this:

In a posting this week you reported that the construction economy in Las Cruces is far better than that of Albuquerque. I hate to say is just isn't so. If you subtract the massive one time spending by local, state and federal agencies including the public schools and NMSU, our economy is just as flat. 

...The debate between Dems and Repubs can be simply summed up as continued spending versus budget trimming. The big question is where we draw the line, as in how much debt are we willing to accumulate.  Unfortunately, whatever the goal of spending; feeding the poor, housing the homeless, defending the nation, all have costs. The overriding question must be how the costs of such efforts can be paid for and thus sustained.

Respectfully, Susanna Martinez has no idea of how the private enterprise system operates, since she never has held a job that was not supported by the public. Where is the private industry experience of Sen. Tom Udall or Rep Ben Ray Lujan or Rep. Martin Heinrich or ABQ congressional candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham or any of the current office holders or candidates? At least Rep. Steve Pearce was in the private sector, but his veer to the far right has left most of us hoping for better.

The goal of governance or politics here is not the public good, it is not improving the economy, it is not job creation. It is the goal of promoting political hegemony. It is better to gain one more Republican in office than to allow a Dem to ascend the political ladder, even if that Dem would assure more jobs and vice versa. Jobs and the economy are simply not on the agenda. Until the people of New Mexico demand better they will gain nothing better. It is time you and we all wake up and smell the roses. If we expect that New Mexico will survive based upon continued federal, state and local spending then I expect we all will be crying over our demise sooner rather than later, as will I.

WIN SOME CHILE

Hey, it's better than passing around envelopes full of cash like they were said to have done in the old days. The news:

Green chile is the best way to kick-off the 2012 Fall Election Season. Michael Padilla for State Senator is hosting a huge BBQ in the ABQ South Valley this Saturday, September 8. The event will be at 4:30 PM, at 7241 Isleta SW. We will be giving away 15 sacks of New Mexico green chile (extra large 35 lb. sacks). I hope you can make it...

Now don't go thinking someone is going to vote for a candidate just because they're getting a 35 pound sack of green chile. Well, not unless it comes roasted....

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No, the ABQ recession/stagnation has not been wished away. The drip, drip drip of a downsizing economy is keeping us in an official recession, the only major metro in the USA to have that dishonor, says the latest Brookings Institution report:

The metro area remains farther away from pre-recession peak employment levels than any other in the region," the report said. The city was the only one in the report to see its output contract for the fourth quarter, by a small but noticeable 0.2 percent. As a whole, the U.S. saw an increase in output of 0.7 percent for the quarter.

The full ABQ report here It shows we currently rank 100th out of 100 metro areas in recovering from the economic downturn. The glimmer of good news is the increase in health care jobs.

And if you're a renter you may know about this. CNN reports that because incomes here have fallen so much the past five years, we are one of the worst places in the USA for apartment dwellers:

In some areas, rents may not have gone up astronomically, but income has actually declined, heightening the disparity. It is particularly glaring in Albuquerque, where rents have increased 10% in the past five years. But income in the metro area declined 12% in the period. It's a similar story in Providence, RI, Omaha, Tuscon and New Orleans, where income is falling even as rents rise.

This is a city that has flat-lined and the Legislature's crash and burn over the $264 million capital outlay bill isn't helping. Neither is reluctance of the state government to dig into hundreds of millions of unspent funds that are sitting there. The Governor's office says:

Most of the money identified is encumbered, meaning it is not available to be spent elsewhere, appropriated for a specific purpose. Even the best-planned projects are developed and built in phases, where expenditures often occur over a period of years as it is completed.

But what is "most of the money?" There is $1.2 billion in unspent capital outlay sitting there. Exactly how much is "encumbered" and how much can we put to use now to provide jobs and stimulate this moribund metro economy? Is it $500 million? $50 million?

And how about Santa Fe getting off its butt and and speeding up the spending of the "encumbered" money on the projects it was intended for?  Our construction companies could provide badly needed work for hundreds, if not thousands. Gosh. we really work hard at being 50th, don't we?. . .

STAFFING UP

NM GOP Chair Debbie Maestas must have found some money because she's staffing up at party headquarters:

The staff hires include Robert Talbot as executive director, Todd Johnson as political director, Natalie Offenbecher as finance director and Patrick Garrett as communications director.

 Talbot. . . was the RNC State Director in Arkansas. Johnson has worked . . . on the Allen Weh for US Senate Campaign—specializing in grassroots organization.  Offenbecher is a veteran of several campaigns in California. 

Garrett was the press secretary for the House Republicans during the legislative session. 

It's not expected that the '16 presidential race will be in play in Blue New Mexico but there will be that battle for control of the NM House and Senate. There are no signs yet that any of the three US House races will be competitive.

GOT WATER?

Is it "impossible" to sort out who owns what water rights in the Mid-Rio Grande Valley? That was the contention made by an expert in a recent news article. We wondered about that and heard from ABQ's Bill Turner, another expert who makes his livelihood from sorting out the ownership of water rights. He tells us:

Determination of the ownership of water rights is quite simple. We do it every day. Some are more difficult than others. Where it becomes difficult is where county records offices have burned down and land title records have become lost. However, these problems can be overcome from old title abstracts, old census data, and old maps where ownership is identified. . .  

Our firm has more than 70 successful water rights transactions where we have confirmed validity of water rights and ownership. Our advice to the public is keep a file on your property, title documents, tax documents, water records and research them as far back as you can go. . . The State Engineer is requiring much more site specific proof of water rights and title documents.

That reminds us that in the 19th century it was thought that it would be nearly impossible to sort out ownership of the Spanish land grants. But it was done--maybe not fairly or even legally--but it was done.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Readers correct our first draft on that emailgate lawsuit we posted yesterday. There are a total of six defendants, not three. And one of our Legal Beagles comes with this:

You mentioned the "charges" that were dismissed against Anissa Ford and the still pending "charges" against her co-defendants. The word "charges" implies that she and her co-defendants were being charged with crimes when actually the case is a civil case in which various "claims" are made against the defendants.

Thanks for that. Corrections made. It's always helpful to have the Legal Beagles on the trail.

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With the ABQ mayoral election set to round the curve into the summer months, a candidate forum sponsored by the Bernalillo County Democratic Party last week drew the largest crowd to date for such an event--over 250 interested citizens turned out to hear from six of the eight candidates in a session moderated by NM Politics with Joe Monahan and that party officials said had over 1,400 others viewing the action via a live stream.

That high level of interest for one event doesn't necessarily foretell a big increase in voter turnout, but we can safely assume turnout this year will easily surpass the dismal 2013 number which was the lowest for a mayoral election since the 1970's.

Unlike four years ago there is no incumbent this year and there are a lot more candidates. And the issues have never been more compelling--an unchecked crime epidemic, a mostly stagnant economy, stagnant population growth and the fleeing of the professional millennials.

TAX FOR COPS?

Besides the big turnout they attracted to the Pipefitters Hall and on Facebook, the candidates made some other news. That happened when we asked if they would support an increase of a quarter cent in the city's gross receipts tax to fund an expansion of the severely understaffed ABQ police department. Candidates Tim Keller and Brian Colon, both Dems, unhesitatingly answered that they would, with both adding that they would send it to the voters. Colon predicted it would easily pass.

The other member of what we have dubbed the "Big Three" in this mayoral contest, GOP City Councilor Dan Lewis, said he would oppose a public safety tax but would find funding for putting more cops on the street by saving money from other city agencies. Independent hopeful Michelle Garcia Holmes agreed with Lewis, saying that the citizens are already "overtaxed."

Also at the forum were candidates Gus Pedrotty, 23, showing fiery political passion and support for a public safety tax if approved by voters and independent Susana Wheeler Deischel, who was the only candidate to support the controversial Central Avenue ART project. Republican candidates Wayne Johnson and Ricardo Chaves did not attend.

JOHNSON AND JAY?

The back story on BernCo Commissioner and mayoral candidate Wayne Johnson recently blasting fellow R Dan Lewis is that Johnson might be getting guidance from Gov. Martinez's well-known and controversial political adviser Jay McCleskey. At least that was the scuttlebutt at last week's Dem forum. Lewis has been at odds with the Guv's political machine for years so it would not be a surprise. But Johnson ripping Lewis could divide the GOP vote. The division within GOP ranks over Martinez and McCleskey has prompted fears that Johnson--who is running well behind Lewis--could sabotage the R's from keeping the mayor's office. But Johnson's supporters argue he is the true Republican in the race and has the ability to replace Lewis as a "Big Three" candidate. It's about the money now. Will Johnson raise enough to compete? Will he get some kind of outside PAC support with the aide of McCleskey? We'll keep you posted.

THE YEAR WAS 1925

From the time-honored category of "the more things change, the more they stay the same," we turn to this report on the 1925 budget message of Democratic Governor Arthur T. Hannett:

In his message to the legislature on the budget, he says there are too many of these (higher education) schools and he will oppose building appropriations for any of them until the people have had a chance to pass a constitutional amendment to consolidate them as to stop duplications of effort and expense. . . The Governor tells the legislature that these schools were scattered with the "pork barrel" idea by the makers of the Constitution. ..instead of with the idea of efficiency, economy and convenience.

Sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? And with UNM reducing staffing by literally hundreds of employees on its main campus in the past year (why was that news so late in getting out?) the time for the consolidation of higher ed is still with us all these decades after. Gov. Hannett's plea fell on deaf ears.

New Mexico is changing irrevocably in many ways. But rather than a consolidation and downsizing, we are getting a drip, drip, drip as witnessed by the UNM layoffs and another tuition increase at NMSU. It seems it's as politically difficult in 2017 to right the errors of the portion of our state Constitution dealing with higher education as it was in 1925.

ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN

Michael Wiener

Before we get to today's contest for free tickers to this Friday's Vintage ABQ Grand Tasting, let's recap last week's contest. First, the winner was ABQ businessman Mark Fidel. He correctly guessed that it was ABQ's Michael Wiener who was the only modern day politician to serve on the ABQ City Council, the Bernalillo County Commission and in the state Senate. ABQ attorney David Buchholz and Gerald Levine also got it right, but Fidel, son of the late Grants area state Senator Joe Fidel, was first and he gets the tickets (a $170 value).

One interesting twist: Reader Miguel Navrot guessed that it was Steve Gallegos. Well, Gallegos was indeed elected to the ABQ City Council and the BernCo Commission and he "served" in the state Senate as an appointed sergeant-at-arms. Clever try, Miguel, but serving in the Senate means you are elected to that body. By the way, Wiener, 62, continues to work as a business consultant in ABQ.

Now for today's contest and your chance to win two tickets to the Vintage ABQ Grand tasting. We may have used this one a few years ago, but that's a long time and it's a tough one:

Who was the first New Mexican to serve in all three branches of government--as Governor,  a Supreme Court Justice and state Senator?

Good luck!

E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2017

Judging by the behind-the-scenes action, you would think they are picking a pope. The Bernalillo County Commission now says it wants to have three candidates to consider for sheriff who would pledge not to seek election to the office and three who would run. You might ask when the commission received the power to dictate what a sheriff can or can't do when he takes office. The answer is they can't and the option of naming a "placeholder" to fill out the term of GOP Sheriff Darren White who will resign Nov. 30, is purely their own invention.

The sheriff is an elected office and if someone takes the job with the pledge not to seek a full year term in the 2010 election, but then changes his mind after taking office, there's nothing the commission can do about it. They have no power to set qualifications for office, yet that is what they appear to be doing.

The three Democratic commissioners on the five member commission--Art De La Cruz, Alan Armijo and Maggie Hart Stebbins--have the power to name a sheriff who would not be a placeholder--but who would serve the remainder of White's term and try to do a good job because they would soon be seeking approval from voters.

Insiders are saying De La Cruz and Armijo are starting to come across as terrified of making a choice by forming a committee to narrow the 20 candidates to six. They say so many prominent politicos from the Valley want to be Sheriff that the two commissioners fear making enemies unless they appoint a placeholder--something that has never been done---and something that legally can't be enforced. And why does the commission have to have a panel outside the commission narrow the field for them. Even more fear?

Pressure from Dem Party types will increase on the D commissioners in the weeks ahead. Their concern is not necessarily ours--that the commission is overstepping-- --but that a placeholder would increase the chances of the R's retaining the position.

LET THERE BE PEACE

The peace has been made. After some over-the-top accusations leveled against one another and publicized on our Tuesday blog, Republican Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White and Republican Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener say they are on the same page. White has agreed to resign at 5 pm November 30, rather than 2 pm, allowing Wiener, who will be traveling that day, to take part in the meeting via telephone. Wiener issued this apology:

I apologize for leaving a heated message on your voicemail and for sending a letter to a blogger before giving you the opportunity to address my concerns about the timing of your resignation...

White did not need the dispute to drag on and hit the papers and TV news, so this resolution has to have Mayor-elect Berry, who White will soon serve under, breathing the proverbial sigh of relief.

DRIP, DRIP
Diane Denish
If there's anymore surprises lurking on how she spent federal stimulus money from five years ago, Light Guv and likely 2010 Dem Guv nominee Diane Denish might want to get it all out. The first drip came last week when it was revealed that Di had used some of the $225,000 on PR, including work on a Christmas card. Now there's a second drip:

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s campaign fund will reimburse the state for money paid to a public relations officer who wrote press releases in 2004 related to election-year politics. The total amount of the reimbursement is less than $800 but a spokesman for Denish said Tuesday it’s important that there be no perception questionable political activities. The money spent was from federal funds allocated to the state as part of a 2003 economic stimulus package. Denish was state chairman of the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign.

She received her share of the stimulus money from Big Bill, and it seems to be the gift that keeps on giving (Don't say he never gave you anything, Di). The amounts are small, but the news comes against a backdrop of numerous ethics scandals.

LAND RUSH

It appears Matt Rush, a fifth generation cattle rancher from Roosevelt County, has made official his run for the GOP nod for state Land Commissioner. We blogged last month that he was being introduced around the recent NM Oil and Gas Association conference in Santa Fe as a candidate. Now, the Bernalillo County Republican Party lists Rush as a candidate and says he will speak at the party's Friday morning breakfast.

Rush joins Lea County's Bob Cornelius and Dona Ana's Errol Chavez in the GOP race.

THE FUND RAID

Speaking of the land office, that blog we came with Nov. 2 on a controversial proposal from State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez drew comments from several of the land commission candidates. Sanchez floated the idea of taking $2 billion out of the state's Land Grant Permanent Fund to get New Mexico over the budget hump for the next several years.

Republican Errol Chavez:

The intent may appear to be the solution to resolving New Mexico’s deficit, but taking this money is like taking a family’s savings intended for the children’s college education. The Congress of the United States created the Permanent Fund for the benefit of New Mexico’s Public schools. The interest that it realized from the investment of the Permanent Fund is mostly dedicated to the public schools and some public institutions. The duties of the Commissioner of Public Land are simply established to generate revenues that are invested by the State Investment Council. If we divert money from the Permanent Fund it can be devastating to the educational system that today needs all the help it can get.

Democratic land commission contender Ray Powell, Jr., who held the office previously, describes himself as "extremely cautious" when it comes to the withdrawal proposal:

I would be extremely cautious about using the permanent fund to pay for recurring government expenses. I strongly suggest that we first look at how we re-prioritize our spending, reduce high-salaried political jobs, rejuvenate our ailing employee merit system, institute strong ethics reform, and increase transparency and accountability of our state investment policy. If we don't look at a comprehensive reform of state government, we risk squandering our precious limited resources without creating real change.

Unlike the revenues generated from non-renewable resources on state trust lands, which go to the permanent fund, revenues generated from renewable sources go directly to the beneficiary institutions. Therefore, if we generate more money through a comprehensive commercial development and renewable energy program at the land office, we can aid the public schools and other beneficiaries directly.

Republican Bob Cornelius also chimed in:

Democrats would rather tax us more for food, than give state employees a pay cut. Instead of spending education dollars efficiently and effectively educating our children, New Mexico Democrats would rather rob $2 billion from our children’s Land Grant Permanent Fund to pay for planes, trains, and automobiles!

Unwise budgeting decisions and failure to adjust to projected revenues has put us in this situation. The last thing we need to do is mortgage our children's future to pay off these debts. Let's see some commonsense measures implemented first. These hastily drawn up plans to raid the Permanent Fund "because the money is there" should be the last thing the Legislature considers, if it is to be considered at all.

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