Sens. Bingaman & Udall
New Mexico US Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall are refusing to release the list of individuals they have interviewed for the position of US Attorney, arguing that it is a "privacy issue." That's the same argument Governor Richardson used when he refused to release the names of the 59 political appointees he said he was dismissing to achieve budget savings. But the reliable sources that power this blog and who have disclosed many of the "Richardson 59" now come with the list of all the attorneys Bingaman and Udall interviewed back in September for the US Attorney position currently held by Republican Greg Fouratt.

Senator Bingaman, in refusing to release the names Wednesday, told reporters a short list has been sent to the White House where a final choice will be made. More on that, but first here is the list of those interviewed as compiled by Senior Alligators and Legal Beagles with records of 99.9 percent accuracy:

• John Pound, Santa Fe Attorney, Obama campaign coordinator in New Mexico

• Al Park, Albuquerque Attorney and State Representative

• Pete Dinelli, former Chief Public Safety Officer for Albuquerque; former chief deputy district attorney
  

• Stan Whitaker, State District Court Judge, former New Mexico assistant US Attorney, went to high school with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano

• Greg Fouratt, current acting US Attorney appointed by federal judges two years ago
  

• Damon Martinez, NM Assistant US Attorney. Worked for both Bingaman and Udall as aide in Washington. Practicing about 10 years; was on Board of Directors of Hispanic Bar Association

• Ken Gonzales, NM Assistant US Attorney, been in Assistant US Attorney about 10 years;

• Pres Torres, NM Assistant US Attorney, over 25 years experience or more. Has been supervisor in office

• Fred Federici, NM Assistant US Attorney, Division Supervisor in office.

• Roberto Ortega, NM Assistant US Attorney with 15 to 20 years experience
  

• Kyle Nayback, Assistant US Attorney in New Mexico about10 years experience, American Indian heritage and husband of ABQ Metro Judge Briana Zamora

Bingaman and Udall both interviewed all 11 applicants the last week of September and have refused to release to the press the short list of names submitted to White House. KRQE-TV has made repeated requests.

WHOSE THE FAVE?

Our senior sources report Ken Gonzales flew to Washington in late December to be interviewed by the Justice Department and he is believed to be the only one to have been interviewed. Also, insiders report the FBI conducted a background check on Gonzales in January and interviewed staffers about Gonzales at the Federal Public Defender's Office as well as some Federal judges.

Informed speculation has Democrat Gonzales as the front runner and current US attorney Greg Fouratt staying on as his First Assistant. Our Legal Beagles report Fouratt has hired over 30 attorneys in the last year. Gonzales does not have significant supervisory experience. Fouratt boasted in a public appearance earlier this month that he knows who the new US Attorney will be and that he and New Mexico will be pleased with the choice.

WHY UNKNOWN GONZALES?

Fouratt has been investigating a wide array of pay-to-play allegations against Democratic Governor Bill Richardson, but he failed to come with indictments in the CDR bond scandal. The current fed probe concerns investments of New Mexico's permanent funds by the State Investment Council and whether there was political pressure involved in making any investments.

Democrats Udall and Bingaman may be favoring an unknown for the US attorney slot because of concern that having a Dem attorney with political ties will give Republicans ammo to accuse them of trying to thwart the federal investigations. But why, if our sources have it right, is only one candidate being interviewed by Justice?

The eventual nominee must be confirmed by the US Senate and go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for questioning. One of the questions they may want to ask, say the Legal Beagles, is how independent would Gonzales be of Fouratt? Will New Mexico truly be getting a new US Attorney or a clone? And if Bingaman and Udall are fearful of the political consequences of moving Fouratt aside, why not just push the Republican for the post?

THE SENATORS SECRETS

The Senators decision that the short list of nominees they sent to the White House culled from the names listed above should be kept private is not standard procedure. Short lists of nominees to become US attorneys for other jurisdictions have been publicly released elsewhere.

The ABQ Journal, usually aggressive in pursuing government secrecy issues, has stayed silent on the US attorney selection, printing no articles on possible candidates or the future direction or conduct of the office under a Democratic leader. The Santa Fe New Mexican has editorialized against the selection of attorney John Pound.

The New Mexico press has been generally friendly to Fouratt, probably because of his aggressive attitude towards government corruption.

But the release of the names of the US attorney candidates is about the public's right to know, not just of a possibly pre-selected final choice, but of all those who were interviewed and to have a chance to weigh in on the matter if they so desire.

TEAGUE TALK

We talked up Congressman Harry Teague Tuesday night in Santa Fe just as the results came in that the Republicans had pulled up that huge US Senate upset in Massachusetts, but the freshman southern NM lawmaker was as cool as a cucumber.

He insisted the race was not a bellwether for what might await him at the hands of GOP challenger Steve Pearce in the conservative leaning district. But that isn't stopping the national R's from terrorizing Teague with the Bay State results. Spokeswoman Joanna Burgos unloaded both barrels:

Harry Teague, who supports the Democrat agenda nearly 89 percent of the time, is misrepresenting his constituents in a district that for years voted for fiscally-conservative Republican representation in Congress and voted for the last three Republican presidential nominees. There is no doubt that Harry Teague woke up in fear today as he realized that, in November, he will pay the price for advancing the Obama-Pelosi big-government, tax-and-spend agenda.”

We joked with Teague, asking whether he will put up a billboard in Hobbs of Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and himself. He laughed aloud and replied: "No, I won't, but they (the R's) probably will."

POLITICAL SIMPLICITY

Dem Lt. Governor candidate Lawrence Rael, former head of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, bases his campaign in part on his success in getting the Rail Runner commuter train to Santa Fe up and running. Now the Rail Runner is in financial trouble and service may have to be cut. That does not help Lawrence Rael.

REPUBLICAN NOMINATION BATTLE

The rumblings we reported this week among some R's of having GOP Guv candidate and Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez switch over and seek the GOP nod for attorney general drew a predictably harsh reaction from Martinez operatives who said no such switch is under consideration. Whatever the case, a switch would have to be made on a tight timetable. The official filing date for statewide candidates is February 9. Hey, maybe Susana should ask Pete Jr. to get out of her way and run for AG?

Meanwhile, NM GOP executive director Ryan Cangliosi checked in to spin the Massachusetts Senate news, saying the Republican victory there makes Dem Diane Denish more vulnerable than previously thought. He won't get much argument there, but what about the R's still having no candidates for attorney general, treasurer, auditor or secretary of state with that February filing deadline looming? No candidates yet, but the ED indicated they are coming.

As for Pete Domenici Jr., he's not going to chase any of his four rivals out of the race or be the favorite at the pre-primary convention in March unless he meets fund-raising expectations. Those expectations go up in the wake of the Dem debacle in Massachusetts. Look for Pete Jr. to be chewing up a lot of cell phone minutes and maybe his famous dad, too.

JOE AND MIKE

We sat down for a wide-ranging five minute interview for the KRQE-TV 4 p.m. news with Mike Powers Wednesday. How the Massachusetts upset plays out here was our focus. Here's the video.

SOME FAME IS GOOD?
George P. Bush
One other R note, Susana Martinez, trying to thwart any early momentum from Domenici, released an endorsement letter of her candidacy Wednesday from attorney George P. Bush, 33, the eldest of the three children of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The attorney said of Martinez:

A prosecutor, she takes on rapists, murderers, and even corrupt public officials. She fights for what’s right and does not back down, even when faced with long odds, or powerful opposition. That character and passion is what will make her a great Governor.

Nice enough, but that news release was followed by an Alligator strike. This particular Gator reminded us that it was just days ago that Susana put out a news release saying Domenici's famous name doesn't mean much when it comes to having substance. What makes the Bush name any different for Martinez, they asked?

WANT SOME "OOMPH?"

Pete Domenici Jr. will do two hours with KKOB-AM radio's Jim Villanucci next Tuesday. Jim says he wants to see some "oomph" from Pete Jr. who gave a rather pedestrian announcement speech Sunday. R's have been debating on the conservative talk station if they can increase their chances of taking the Guv's chair by trying to unite behind one candidate and end the five way primary battle now underway.

NASCAR, COKE AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Here's some sponsor news that will interest you NASCAR fans. The American Indian Graduate Center in ABQ is holding a raffle to award a $5,000 travel package for two to the Memorial Day Nascar-Coca Cola 600 at Concord, North Carolina. Only 2,000 tickets will be sold for $25 each and you can get them here. The trip includes air, hotel and lunch and dinner with the drivers. Best of all, the raffle makes possible scholarships for American Indian students.
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Mayor Keller

Try as he might with the latest PR techniques featuring a myriad of announcements on small ball stuff, ABQ Mayor Tim Keller remains behind the eight ball as a violent summer continues pretty much unabated in the state's largest city.

The city is approaching 50 homicides for the year (47 so far) and that number has already been surpassed when you include all of BernCo. The latest slaying was that of a 25 year old man Saturday night in downtown ABQ, delivering a further blow to the city's economic development even as Keller prepared the release of his economic plan.

Downtown ABQ, with often good cause, is perceived by tourists and visiting businessmen and women as a dangerous place to traverse. Keller has resisted pleas from business owners to establish a downtown police district, something they assert he promised during the campaign.

The administration has claimed some success in reducing auto theft and other property crimes since taking power last December, but the spate of shootings and murders lend a sense of anarchy when it comes to getting crime truly under of control.

Patience is starting to wear thin, with not only the violence weighing on residents but the still uncertain leadership skills of APD Chief Michael Geier.

Mayor Keller's economic plan has long concentrated on bolstering local businesses. That's good. Because what major national business with good jobs, young employees and their families would want to come here given current circumstances?

CAMPAIGN ON CRIME

The ABQ crime wave has entered the Governor's race, with Dem hopeful Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham releasing a TV ad that touts her success in winning federal funding for crime fighting:

In Congress I got millions of dollars for our police. I can do even more as Governor.

More money is always welcome but that is not ABQ's problem. The Mayor and City Council approved an increase in the gross receipts tax that took effect July 1 that is expected to pump over $50 million a year into city coffers, the lion's share of which will go to police and crime fighting.

That money is Mayor Keller's last leg to stand on. If a year from today we are still dealing with an orgy of violence, drug-dealing and horrid child abuse cases it won't be for a lack of money, it will be for a lack of leadership.

COUNCIL BYPASSES KELLER

Meanwhile the city does continue to attract some mostly low-wage employers with enticing financial incentives like the ones offered to TopGolf and which has won the backing of the nine member city council but which Mayor Keller vetoed. Monday, in a rare rebuke of a Mayor, the Council on a 7-2 vote, overrode that veto. His dream is for high paying economic base jobs. The council is desperate to put any kind of economic points on the board.

Keller's council setback is somewhat stunning. He garnered 62 percent of the vote in his landslide election last November to win a four year term. That he has already suffered such a stern political defeat is worrisome for those hoping for a firmer hand at the helm in the wake of the failed tenure of former Mayor Richard Berry.

CONGRESS ACTION

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi continues an ABQ visit on behalf of ABQ Dem congressional candidate Deb Haaland that started Monday with a fund-raiser at the home of ABQ attorney Lisa Curtis.

Today. . . Pelosi will join Haaland to call out Republicans who refuse to strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence, including Native American women. If elected, Haaland intends to prioritize the crisis of violence against Native Women. Currently, programs supporting law enforcement in Indian Country are drastically underfunded based on estimated need. . . Pelosi will urge voters to rally around Haaland to ensure she can bring the fight for survivors and justice for Native American women to Congress.

Pelosi is a lightning rod in many congressional districts but ABQ's has gone a deeper shade of blue and should boost Haaland. Not that the Dem nominee is in any trouble. The seat continues to be ranked Safe Dem as Republican Janice Arnold-Jones struggles to gain traction.

In blogging that, it struck us that for the first time it appears two of the three NM US House members will be women. Both major party ABQ nominees are women and ditto for the southern congressional district. (There is also a Libertarian candidate in the ABQ District, Lloyd Princeton.)

THE BOTTOM LINES

Maybe after all Senators Udall and Heinrich, who have combined forces with other Senators whose states are impacted, can get the funds to keep the Southwest Chief train rolling. We've mentioned that issue here as a possible signal of NM weakness in DC during the Trump era. . .

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No summer fun for state Senate Democrats gathered in caucus at a Belen hotel Sunday afternoon where they mulled over the upcoming special legislative session and where, our insiders report, pessimism hung in the air over Big Bill's plans to give cash rebates to Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico based on an oil and gas surplus that is there one day and gone the next.

Our insiders report Big Bill stopped by the caucus where he was greeted cordially as he outlined the purpose of the special, including those rebates. "But as soon as he left, the senators began to worry over the budget projections. They will get an updated forecast from economists on Tuesday. No one seemed to expect the forecast to show the nearly $400 million surplus first projected." Said one of our sources.

If cash rebates are nixed because of the recent price plunge in oil and gas prices, then what will the special session set to begin Friday accomplish? "It appears the Senate could pass the Governor's health care proposal. It is rather modest now. That would give them reason for a short session, and avoid them coming in and simply adjourning. If there is a small surplus, maybe they use it for Medicaid expansion. That money is matched three to one by the federal government," analyzed our insider.

The Sunday caucus was treated to a financial analysis by the Legislative Finance Committee staff which informs that the original budget surplus was based on $134 a barrel oil and $11 natural gas per thousand cubic feet. With the markets plunging, those forecasts seem long ago and far away. And how do the Senators justify a rebate? By telling the public the prices will surely be back up to where they were? Who has that crystal ball? The last we looked there was no one named Houdini serving in the Legislature, but that's who Big Bill may have to emulate if New Mexicans' mailboxes are going to be stuffed with rebate checks.

KING READY TO SWING
Eli Lee Vs. AG King
Attorney General Gary King will "come out swinging" as soon as today, as the battle over politicking nonprofit groups heats up, reliable sources report. The AG, reports our insiders, will again ask that the secretary of state make nonprofit groups like the New Mexico Youth Organization (NMYO) and its parent group, Center for Civic Policy, comply with state campaign reporting rules. If the secretary doesn't, expect King to file a lawsuit to force the issue. Meanwhile, lawyers representing the nonprofits are warning King that they will sue the state if he persists in his bid to hold the groups feet to the fire.

Meanwhile, feeling the heat, political operative Eli Lee, who heads up the Center, revealed some of the funding sources for his controversial nonprofit. He told the ABQ Journal the McCune Foundation and the McKay Foundation--set up by heirs to the Taco Bell fortune--are two of the biggies. Our Alligators had pinpointed the Taco Bell money as one source of Lee's funding, but he shot down speculation that billionaire George Soros was a Center contributor. He said his budget for the next fiscal year will be a whopping $1 million. However, Lee refused to release the individual donors to his nonprofit. He indicated records of them should be available in a November IRS filing, but that's after the election. Also, Lee can only speak for nonprofits he controls. The problem of nonprofit disclosure remains and that's where King is headed.

King's attention on the political non-profits, who bill themselves as "progressive," was refocused Friday when a report surfaced that claimed an assistant attorney general had told a deputy secretary of state to "ignore" King's original request that the secretary classify the NMYO nonprofit as a political action committee, forcing them to more fully disclose their money sources.

"Despite some reports to the contrary, we fully support our earlier position in a letter that the Secretary of State's Office needs to tell the New Mexico Youth Organization (NMYO) to immediately comply with the law," King said.

Insiders say King was none too happy that he was made to look like he was dragging his feet and perhaps fearful of retaliation by the far-left wing of the Democratic Party. Democrat King is up for re-election in 2010. He has also been mentioned as a possible Dem Guv candidate.

WE DIG DEEPER

NMYO is under the umbrella of the Center for Civic Policy, the political nonprofit led by operatives Lee and Matt Brix. Our insiders say King's action will cover both entities. The group mailed out attack literature to help oust three incumbent Dem legislators in the June primary. The AG maintains the literature is obvious campaign material, not educational material as the nonprofits insist. The lit hit the mail boxes about sixty days before the election, keeping within the timeline that nonprofits are allowed to do mailers. But the attacks we've seen are nearly identical to election hit pieces, leaving little doubt that recipients are being urged to vote against the target in the lit. Many of the mailings deal with environmental, big business and ethics issues. We'll try to get some of them and post them here so you can be the judge.

Political nonprofits report their finances to the IRS, but requirements are less comprehensive and not as timely as the state requirements that King is demanding that they meet. Three legislators--Senators Robinson and Taylor and Rep. Silva--were defeated in their primary bids with the help of the nonprofits. They have filed suit to nullify the election results, a long shot play, but one that served to highlight the big "progressive" money coming into legislative races. Most of it, as we learned from Lee over the weekend, coming from out-of-state. Nonprofit hit pieces are now going out against more lawmakers including Senators Rawson, Snyder and Rainaldi.

PROGRESSIVE OR HYPOCRITICAL?

The nonprofits have also been active in promoting ethics legislation, opening themselves to a charge of hypocrisy. Ethics advocates ask if the nonprofits want to improve ethics why don't they fully disclose their finances and lead by example? One reason is that donations to the nonprofits are tax deductible. That gives them an advantage over other political groups. And, yes, donors get to make accusations against candidates under the cover of darkness. And it's not just progressives. What about right-wing interest groups using nonprofit status to hide from the public? One of them came recently with radio spots hitting Dem Tom Udall on gas prices.

King is warning that the nonprofit explosion threatens to take political financing underground and deprive the public of its right to know. The nonprofits retort that they are not engaging in overt political activity that violates their nonprofit status. Their critics want AG King, the IRS and/or the US Attorney to examine that claim. Some are pushing for the NM Legislature to take on the issue in next year's session. Legal beagles say if the lawmakers lawsuit seeking nullification of the election leads to testimony during a "discovery" process, funding sources for the nonprofits could be fully revealed.

If the nonprofits stick to their guns and the SOS does not force compliance with state regs, it looks like they and Attorney General King will get to tell it to a judge. With hundreds of thousands of unaccounted for dollars already pumped into our state's political process, and more coming as we speak, the time is ripe for a legal showdown.

FOLEY AND KING

Another hot potato on Attorney General King's platter is a matter involving outgoing State Rep. and House minority whip Dan Foley, Chaves County Commissioner Harold Hobson, as reported recently, is asking King to investigate the business ties between Allstate insurance, Rep. Foley and state insurance contracts. Foley is an insurance agent. The Hobson letter asking King if a contract Foley has should have been put up for competitive bidding raises some interesting questions. (Click the image to enlarge.)

YOU TUBING HEALTH CARE

Here;'s a little exclusive for you--an ad warning against government-run universal health care coverage. It was paid for by Farmington area GOP State Senator Bill Sharer. Not that Sharer has to worry much or buy TV time for his ad--Big Bill has scaled way back the health care reform measures he is asking the Legislature to approve when it meets in special session this Friday.



DEBATING DEBATES

Should Tom Udall agree to as many TV debates that are offered and put to an end the dreary debate over debates that has become a summer staple of the US Senate campaign? If he did, he would only be taking part in perhaps two more than the three TV face-offs he has already agreed to and deprive Steve Pearce of his soapbox. The southern NM congressman was hammering Udall again over the weekend, accusing Udall's camp of stalling in setting up the TV debates.

I urge him to have a meeting within the next seven days with our campaign and all of the electronic and print media to finalize a date certain for a series of debates to be televised in New Mexico.

KOAT-TV has proposed an October 26 debate. We await word from stations KOB, KRQE and public stations KNME in ABQ and KRWG in Las Cruces on whether they want to host debates. Also. NBC's Meet the Press has scheduled a Sunday morning national face-off between our two Senate hopefuls. NO date set yet. Udall says he wants only three statewide TV debates and he wants to count the MTP appearance as one of them. Pearce does not.

INSIDER ANALYSIS ON THIS
Udall
Why the reticence to debate in the first open US Senate seat since 1972? The usual and obvious reason--Udall is way ahead and doesn't want to help Pearce by giving him face time. The other reason, not mentioned much, is that Udall, like Pearce, is not noted for his oratorical skills and his handlers do not want to risk a mistake like the "brain freeze" Dem Patricia Madrid made in her 2006 congressional race against Heather Wilson and which probably cost her the race. Pearce is also unpracticed in the TV debate format, but lagging by double digits, he needs to take the risk.

The problem in recent years has been a lack of interest by the network affiliates in broadcasting debates. If not all of them offer time, Udall will get off the hook. But if KOB wants to have a debate, in addition to broadcasting the MTP appearance, and KRQE also makes time available, does the Udall camp turn them down KOB because it will mean going over its self-imposed limit of three debates? And what about public TV, is Udall going to turn them down?

The life of a US Senator revolves around debate--on the floor and in committee. While taking part in all the TV debates offered might give Pearce a slight advantage, Udall looks risking weak and fearful if he refuses a major network. The possibility of trapping the contender may even make the stations more prone now to offer debate time. It would make a pretty good story for them if he did refuse, and could explode into a major issue--jut what Udall wants to avoid.

Udall could simply agree to one NM hosted debate on each major station. It would quickly put an end to Pearce's jabbing, serve the interest of the electorate and, if he wins in November, it just might make Udall a better prepared United States senator.

STEVE'S HIPPIES

An enterprising Alligator revealed that the pic of those hippies Steve Pearce used for his full-page ABQ Journal ad hitting Tom Udall was taken from the cover of an album promoting 1960's rock. We posted it for some Friday fun. Now we go one better. We have the hippies promoting the album on a video!



Okay, we don't know for sure if they are the same hippies the GOP US Senate nominee used in his ad, but it's close enough. So come on all you love children--that means you Tom Udall and you Steve Terrell--let's get down with Steve's hippies. And Steve Pearce, we dig you, man. But don't bogart that joint, just dance.

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Could you imagine if Bill Richardson proposed that the state borrow nearly $100 million to balance its budget and replenish its reserves? They would probably hang him in effigy the same night they burned Zozobra. But Republican Governor Susana Martinez--she of the never, ever raise taxes school of thinking (expect if it's a food tax to slam the poor)--is backing this borrow from Peter to pay Paul scheme at the special legislative session and is getting the support of not only her fellow R's but weary Democrats:

New Mexico could end up borrowing money to help it survive a budget crisis. The state Senate voted 38-3 on Wednesday to pass a proposal that could raise about $100 million for the general fund — in part by borrowing the money. The complex bond transaction would essentially take the state’s capacity to borrow money to build big capital projects and convert it into cash to help boost reserves or pay operating expenses. No one seemed to liked the idea. But senators on both sides of the aisle said the state’s financial crisis demanded action and that Gov. Martinez’s administration had pushed for the move.

What happened to the fiscally conservative Republicans who abhor such debt maneuvers? Well, they dislike even more the prospect of taxing their wealthy contributors and constituencies. With the weary Democrats unable to fend her off, it will be future taxpayers who are saddled with the irresponsibility of the chief executive and the acquiescence of the Dems and get stuck with paying the bill. But, hey, everyone gets home in time for the Memorial Day barbecue.

As Dem Senator Joe Cervantes tweeted:

We can't muster 2/3 of Legislators to pay current expenses of State. So tonight we're bonding 10 yrs to finance the budget on the backs of our kids.

That two-thirds vote he refers to is the number needed to override the Governor's vetoes and implement mild tax increases to raise the money to balance the budget. Instead, we get years of debt to pay off. Go home, Santa Fe, go home.

TARGETING PEARCE

The national Dems said this week they are "targeting" the seat held by GOP southern NM Congressman Steve Pearce, but they aren't saying who will be aiming at the target.

He does seem more vulnerable than years past, given his vote to repeal Obamacare and his general allegiance to the president who is having popularity troubles but could recover by late next year when voters trek to the polls.

Ejecting a sitting congressman will take millions of dollars and a charismatic challenger. The Dems previously targeted the seat in 2014 but the candidacy of onetime Eddy County Commissioner Rocky Lara ended in disaster. Pearce says he's toying with running for Governor in '18 but one of the factors that will probably keep him put is the much better Democratic chances of taking over his district when he does leave the seat. (In a May 9 blog we incorrectly reported the registration figures for the southern 2nd congressional district. They are: 41% Dem, 36% Republican and 19% independent.

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE

There has been very little for the minority Democrats in DC to celebrate in these early months of the Trump presidency, but Jon Goldstein, director of legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund wants to point out one rare Dem win that he says will have great impact on New Mexico:

Great news for New Mexico as a vote to repeal the BLM methane waste rule failed on the Senate floor This means the rule limiting methane waste and pollution on federal and tribal lands remains in effect. It’s a huge victory for New Mexico especially where more natural gas is wasted ($100 million worth) from these lands each year than in any other state. More natural gas captured means more royalty revenue to the state budget where it is sorely needed right now.

This was also a victory for Senator Tom Udall who led the effort over many months to protect the rule from repeal. And Senator Udall wasn’t alone. Senator Heinrich was right there with him. Also worth noting, the earlier fight against the repeal in the House was led by Congresswoman Lujan Grisham and Congressman Ben Ray Lujan while Attorney General Hector Balderas and State Auditor Tim Keller have championed the issue back home in New Mexico as well.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Reader Tom Miles mulls over the recent scandal at the UNM athletic department in which the school spent $64,000 to send the department director, staffers and local businessmen on a Scottish golf vacation:

It seems like almost all institutions refuse to consider any change that goes against preconceived notions and habits. UNM and lots of others either refused to consider, or ignored willfully, the demographic tectonic shift of retiring baby boomers. Every university “knows” and acts like big-10 football income is as important as higher education for students … and raises tuition, woo’s wealthy sports contributions, and treats f’ball coaches like untouchable Saudi princes accordingly. NM planned as though $100 barrel oil was the new normal and we got huge tax cuts and RailRunner.Way back when, GM “knew” what kinds of cars were best for Americans. That worked for a long while … until it didn’t.

The State Auditor is reviewing the money spent on the Scotland golf junket.

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Sens. Udall & Bingaman
Jeff Bingaman announced he is seeking re-election Monday. No, he did not make a formal announcement with all the political bells and whistles. What he did was become one of only a handful of U.S. Senators to vote against allowing the tax bill to go forward--a bill that extends the Bush tax cuts for everyone, including the wealthiest Americans. The bill moved in the Senate on a 83-15 vote. A final vote on passage is expected today.

Maybe down in the trenches, but on Wall Street they're dancing in the streets.

Compensation on Wall Street is on pace to break a record high for a second consecutive year, as more than three dozen top banks and securities firms will pay $144 billion in salary and benefits.

And for what, you might ask? Good question. They are essentially moving money around and trading. But they did get that taxpayer bailout in 2008 to keep doing it.

This historic and now enduring imbalance in the American economy between the haves and the have nots and the resistance to doing anything about it may be the story they remember most about this era.

THE PLANE!

We chuckled when we saw this line from Governor-elect Martinez's announcement that Ed Burckle has been selected to head the General Services Department:

“One of Mr. Burckle’s first orders of business will be to sell the state’s $5.5 million jet, which has become a symbol of government waste and abuse...

Susana has gotten more mileage out of that state jet than a New Mexico Roadrunner races in a year. But now the headache is here. How does she fulfill her travel plans without angering short-tempered taxpayers? Heck, she may have to get one of those mopeds to keep everyone happy.

EARN $100 AN HOUR!

Sounds like one of those late night TV ads, doesn't it? But it is the actual list of jobs that pay $100 an hour or more presented here with future UNM and NMSU graduates in mind.

Or how about a job where you don't make $100 an hour, but you are definitely overpaid. That would be a $90,000 a year PR flack for Bernalillo County or the Sheriff's department, a topic we dealt with last week and which continues to draw reader email. Like this one:

Wow, Joe! You really drilled the PR/PIO/media relations/ marketing/ communications/ pay story! Made me go to the inflation calculator: in 1978-79 I was hired as PIO for the City of ABQ at $12,500, which in 2009 would be $40,654.60 according to a Googled inflation calculator I just ran.

We searched around and found that a PIO's average pay in NM is about $67,000, meaning the PIO's at Bernalillo County and the Sheriff's department are exorbitantly overpaid. Of course, the spin will be that a "PR manager" makes more. We won't even mention that the county has even more PR people working under the PIO who is making the 90 Grand. And we'll leave out today the PIO making $87,000 a year for the County Clerk when the Clerk has never even had a PIO until now.

Where are the watchdogs on the County Commission? Where's County Manager Thaddeus Lucero? Do they have their heads in Luminaria sand?

ON SECOND THOUGHT

Maybe we should have held back when we blogged recently that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour doesn't want anything from Gov-elect Martinez, only to influence policy. Barbour could be knocking on her door for support if he decides to seek the 2012 GOP Prez nod. The issue arose when we dubbed Barbour one of the key political power players for New Mexico for 2011, based on the Republican Governors Association donating $1.3 million to Martinez's campaign. Barbour chairs the organization.

GIVE IT UP ALREADY

Here's the official spin on the failure of that proposed $500 million Rio Rancho solar project that was supposed to create 1,500 jobs. It's a doozy.

HOW DID HE DO?

The appraisals of Big Bill's eight years at the helm are underway.

ALLIGATOR STRIKE

An Alligator takes a bite out of us for giving too much credit to ABQ Dem State Senator Tim Keller for compiling a list of tax credits that cost the state over $1 billion each year.

Keller didn’t compile anything nor did he request the report. You just made it look that way.

The list was put together by the staff of the Legislative Finance Committee at the request of Chairman Lucky Varela, but Keller does get credit for bringing it into the public debate.

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What's that Susana's shooting at? And more to the point is the once proud carrier of a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum going to shoot her way into the new year or will she take a less confrontational path as she prepares for her '14 re-election bid?

Well, Susana proved herself a perfect shot when, in 2011, she took her gun exam with a .38 caliber handgun, but when it comes to her record on the shooting range of La Politica her score is far from perfect.

2012 was the year Susana targeted the world...well..the world of La Poltica anyway...and she mostly fired blanks. It started with her second legislative session in which she again could not persuade the lawmakers to give her a big game trophy by repealing the law that allows undocumented immigrants to get a state driver's license. Then the Republican Governor aimed squarely at Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez in the November election but that was a hunt that also ended without a score. He beat Susana's candidate by a whopping 11 points.Will she try to make Michael forgive and forget come the January 2013 session or is that important political relationship shot through with holes that can never be repaired?

Susana and her political guru Jay McCleskey also took aim at the State House with ammo clips filled with millions of campaign dollars, but again the bullets failed to fire. The Dems picked up two seats in the 70 member chamber and since then the Dems have anointed State Rep. Kenny Martinez, a liberal, as Speaker. They hold a 38 to 32 edge.

Susana did manage a bullseye when it came to Dem Senate President President Pro Tem Tim Jennings of Roswell, ending his political life by fielding an unknown 27 year old farmer against the formidable Jennings but backing it up with constant machine gun fire. But guess what? With the conservative Jennings gone, Susana probably faces an even less friendly Senate--one even more liberal

Hey, be careful what you aim at in 2013, Guv. You don't need to bag any more big game like that.

TOUGHER ON GUV?

Former ABQ Mayor and blogger Jim Baca has a question he is mulling over during the holidays. The lifetime Dem and onetime journalist wants to know if the media will start to get tougher--or at least more inquisitive in 2013--about the leadership of the state and city 2013?

Governor Martinez and Mayor Berry sit in the shadows chuckling that we have such a lame news media. The state and city economies are mired in a swamp. That is reported by the media.  But they never seem to go get comments from these two political leaders about what they are doing to help us get unstuck. Cops and robbers all the way.  A reporter recently interviewed the Governor on some inane story.  She didn't even throw in a question about the economy.  Maybe the Governor only does these interviews with the understanding that no tough questions are allowed.  Well, maybe there would be no opportunity to air the answers anyway because 911 tapes and dash cam cop videos demand too much time.

And the Governor and Mayor just love that...

THEY SAID IT

KOB-TV's Stuart Dyson on the passing last week of longtime NM state House Speaker Ben Lujan:

Lujan was a tough little guy from Pojaque with a Conway Twitty haircut and a firm grip on the political hardball. the old iron worker did have an iron fist when he served as speaker for 12 years, including Bill Richardson's two terms as governor. The two Democrats were close allies.  

Lujan will be replaced by State Rep. Kenny Martinez of Grants who tried to oust Lujan in 2006 but then became a firm ally of Lujan's. The speaker died only several days after the House Dem caucus chose Martinez as Lujan's replacement.  

Outgoing Dem State Senator and Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings on the loss of his Roswell area seat in the November election as told to Lorene Mills of Santa Fe's Report from Santa Fe:

“Now we have all these outside groups that come in, that spend ungodly amounts of money spewing nothing but hate. A democracy can’t survive in hate and I refuse to participate in that. You know, my own race all by itself, I didn’t really lose. It was stolen from me by outsiders and I am sure the governor doesn’t feel that way, but you know there is life beyond this thing. You know a prosecutor’s theory is always as long you can get a conviction it is okay... I don’t think anyone can ever accuse me of not working for the best interest of the state. It has been a wonderful ride… because we have done it together as friends…That’s the way I believe democracy was when it started.”

THE BOTTOM LINES 

Alex Wirth is 19, a native of Santa Fe and wants a presidential youth council. He writes:

I Chair the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council and wanted to write and pass along this press release.  Both of New Mexico's senators recently announced their support for a Presidential Youth Council....

Alex wrote more about it at the Huffington Post.

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McCleskey & Martinez

The post-McCleskey political era in New Mexico will have to wait. However the decision by the Feds not to indict the notorious political consultant known as the state's "Shadow Governor" because of the immense influence he exerts over Governor Martinez, does not mean McCleskey and the political machine he heads will strengthen. The opposite could be true.

The serious legal questions raised by the federal grand jury probe put McCleskey and Martinez on softer legal ground. There will be more scrutiny of him and the millions he hopes to raise this year in an effort to keep Republican control of the State House and take control of the State Senate. And, on the moral authority front Martinez was downgraded by her infamous holiday pizza party when audio tapes revealed her bossing around low-level hotel employees and the police--and appearing pretty loaded while doing so.

Still, the no indictment outcome had to cause a big sigh of relief for the pair. An indictment would have been devastating to them and cratered their campaign plans as Jay awaited trial. They live to fight another day, but because McCleskey overreached and triggered an investigation the fight in him and Martinez will not be as furious.

Another reason for that is the calendar. Tomorrow is filing day for all the legislative seats. It will be the last chance for Martinez/McCleskey to push candidates into the primary and general election races. State Senators, in particular, will be free to roam about the building once they know with certainty that they are not machine targets.

THE GREAT UNRAVELING

Secretary Earnest

And that brings us to the state of state government which continues to unravel before our eyes. The latest body blow was delivered by Human Services Secretary Brent Earnest who reported that the cost of the state run Medicaid program is about to blow an enormous hole in the budget. That follows a cannon strike from the oil and gas fields where plummeting prices there have already shredded the treasury.

The secretary said the shortfall will amount to a hefty $86 million over the next 16 months, but because that money is matched much more than that by the Feds, the actual shortfall will be an elephantine $417 million.

Gov. Martinez agreed to President Obama's plan to expand Medicaid but she and the Legislature have yet to figure out how to pay for it. Because there are so many low-income New Mexicans, they are eligible for Medicaid. Come July 2017 it's expected half the state or nearly 1 million individuals will be on Medicaid. Boom!

Folks, we'll say it again. Before the radical transformation of the economy here is finished, you're going to continue to see and hear things you never thought possible. Add 1 million New Mexicans getting Medicaid to the list of shockers (and you thought 10,000 applicants for 290 Cheesecake Factory jobs in ABQ was the topper.)

You can't cut your way out of the Medicaid hole. Santa Fe needs to find cash and fast. Taking over $400 million out of medical care--one of the few sectors growing jobs in this state which is saddled with the highest jobless rate in the USA--is economic suicide.

Still Martinez and company are still chanting "no new taxes" even as state government sinks into the abyss and the state economy seems headed for its worst performing decade since the Great Depression (we'll get our No Bullshit Economists working on that one). How our elected leaders can refuse to come up with $86 million when it means over $400 million in spending for health care is a question for a political malpractice lawyer, not a blogger.

Here's some low-lying fruit to get that $86 million. Yes, do some cuts. Then start sweeping some of the hundreds of millions in unspent capital outlay into Medicaid for at least a one time funding fix; raise the gas tax a nickel a gallon for three years and slow down the corporate income tax cut that has failed to attract businesses as promised. That means legislative finance leaders such as Senator John Arthur Smith and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Harper must get busy with Secretary Earnest and stop the nonsense about no new taxes forever and ever, even if it means citizens head to the cemetery instead of the ER.

If Medicaid is allowed to go into the gutter look for high quality medical professionals to join the exodus out of here and for a work force even less prepared to work. You think it can't get worse? Think again.

STUMPING WITH SUSANA

There's no use imploring Gov. Martinez to join in the Medicaid problem solving. She's out of here. It's kind of like Big Bill when he found succor on the national stage.

As the Medicaid crisis brewed and oil prices stayed in the cellar, she was off to Kansas Friday to give a badly timed endorsement of Marco Rubio, with a dash of Trump bashing thrown in. (Transcript here. Video here). No sooner had she announced Rubio as her new Prez pal and he goes and loses a bunch of states and is essentially out of the race. Like we said this political machine is dented--and showing rust when it pulls stunts like that. . .

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