Martinez & Gardner

Now that Governor Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner has called Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings "a cocksucking son of a bitch," how does she do business with the majority Dems in the Senate?

Yeah, we thought that might grab your attention, but we're just getting started. Grab your Starbucks and read on as we explore the unplugged world of Keith Gardner, who after this bout of publicity may switch to sign language when he meets you.

And remember that moniker the tall and lanky Gardner was given when he was in the Legislature as a state rep from Roswell? It was "Gentle Giant." Well, the giant reveals that he has a not so gentle temper and he has just stepped his big foot in a towering pile of political dung.

Here we go, kids.....

You've probably heard or read about bits and pieces of the over one hour long audio recording from October 2011 that was taped by Brian Powell, a city of Roswell employee involved in a legal matter with Gardner, 45, and his family. (It is being posted in its entirety here and here for the first time).

The tape was brought to light by attorney Sam Bregman. We've had our Alligators examine the recording so we could put the most sensational and newsworthy quotes in one place. And we don't use the word sensational lightly.

More background on how this tape came about later, but first put on your gas mask and protective gloves as we dive deep into Keith's world.

HE'S A PRICK, TOO

Sen. Jennings

Here's the complete uncensored quote from Gardner on Roswell area Senator Jennings, a key power player in the Senate who was first elected in 1979:

 Fuck...special session kicked my ass. I hate those fuckers. I hate fucking Tim Jennings so bad right now...Oh God I hate him! He’s a cocksucking son of a bitch. So it’s all good. We’re fine. We’re fine..things are good.

We suppose Gardner was thinking things were good after that tirade because the special session he referred to was finally over. But while things may be "fine," political retribution is not far from the chief of staff's mind. Here's more of Gardner's rant that is going to make La Politica history: 

BRIAN--How is she liking the job as Governor?

GARDNER--She loves it. She has her days when she is like, “these people are so stupid.” She hates Tim Jennings right now, it’s so funny.. And he is just being as asshole....Fucking prick. I mean a total prick. He was such a prick on that first day of the session that (Senate Majority Leader) Michael Sanchez told him to tone it down. That tells you how big of a prick he was. When Michael is telling him to tone it down, that he is being disrespectful. And Michael hates the Governor. Yeah. So, Tim has been just a son of a bitch. He and I have been fighting. God, we’ve been fighting.

B- Is he going to run again.
 
GARDNER: Yeah I think so. What else does he have to do? We are going to find someone to run against him. We raised half a million dollars just to run one set of races. We are gonna try to raise another five hundred to a million. 

Jennings is a popular Democrat in a conservative SE NM district. He was unopposed in the June 2012 primary. In November he has a young Republican opponent in Cliff Pirtle who would be the ostensible beneficiary of the monetary largess Keith refers to. It remains to be seen how much the Gov's political action committee pumps into Pirtle's effort, especially in light of these quotes from Gardner.

As for Jennings, we await any response he cares to give, besides the big belly laugh we hear up here in ABQ echoing from the SE NM ranch where he lives.

TITS ON A WARTHOG

The entertainment continues as Keith recalls an incident in Roswell when he was pulled over for speeding:

Brian--Sheriff’s office. Sheriff’s office is in charge of that. Britt Snyder. You know Brett. Son of a bitch. You know Britt is in Reserve. I’ve known Brett my whole life.

GARDNER- Worthless as tits on a warthog. I like Britt, we get along fine, but that son of a bitch. He was a new cop and he pulled me over 20 some years ago. In Reserve. I passed some car going five miles an hour in a no passing zone. My dad was a judge. I’m like, “Britt, write me the fucking ticket or leave me alone. I was leaving on my mission to Spain for two years the next day. Either write me the ticket or leave me alone. You know if you write the ticket I’ll get it dismissed because my dad is the judge so, write the fucking ticket I don’t care.

The mission to Spain that Gardner mentions was part of his service as a Mormon, although his mixing in the "F word" in his recounting of his ticket story might not settle so well with the elders of that conservative religion.

ARROGANT KEITH

Gardner is sometimes brash, dripping with machismo, sometimes defensive and sometimes arrogant in the recording. Here's arrogant Keith:

GARDNER--Oh shit, I hired a PIO away from a public relations firm and next thing you know I’m getting hit.

B- You are?

GARDNER-Yeah. Because she is my friend.

B-Who is?

GARDNER--Her name is Aimee Barabe. And they are like, “Oh she gets a sweet job because she is friends with Keith Gardner. But it is a one day hit. I don’t give a shit. Why can’t I put people in there that I trust? That is what my job is.

Well, hiring a PIO may be a one day hit, but this tape of Keith is going to follow him to the grave. (Barabe is the spokeswoman for the Department of Health).

MONEY LINES

And here are the money lines from the tape that have been widely reported. Gardner discusses why he never uses state email to communicate:

That is all discoverable. That is why I never e-mail on my state e-mail, anything that can come back to bite my ass, it is all done offline. Shit I never use my state e-mail, because it is all done on different stuff. I don’t want to go to court or jail.

Well, Keith, if they could put people in jail for swearing too much, you'd get the maximum sentence.

And then there's this quote that KOB-TV has reported. It's Gardner telling Powell how he might be able to get him the state fair manager job, a position currently held by Dan Mourning, a former restaurant owner and a close friend of Darren White, the former GOP Bernalillo County Sheriff who is now general manager of the Downs at ABQ which is located on the fairgrounds.

Let me get with (Deputy Chief of Staff) Ryan (Cangiolosi) and get serious, tell him I want something. Find me something. Maybe an opening for state fair manager, I’m about to fire that fucker. I’m so pissed. God they screwed up, those guys could screw up a wet dream. So many headaches. 

Anyone who has been in politics is going to empathize with Gardner for unknowingly being taped, but won't sympathize, Chiefs of staff have license to be tough-talking but they are supposed to be smart enough to not do it on tape and embarrass their boss--the Governor--even in a state like ours that allows secret taping if only one party agrees to it.

KEITH IN CONTEXT

For context on all of this, here's how the ABQ Journal reported the background on this story:

...Gardner was talking in Roswell to Brian Powell, a city of Roswell employee (Sam) Bregman represents in a civil lawsuit unrelated to ongoing email controversies involving the administration. Gardner was in Roswell to speak at a meeting of a regional economic development group. During their one-hour and 13-minute conversation, Gardner and Powell--who Bregman said made the recording without Gardner’s knowledge--begin talking about a sexual assault case involving members of their respective families. That led to discussing email messages sent by relatives of the alleged perpetrator regarding the case.

Gardner, on the tape, said that material was “discoverable” and could be seized because it was on school system computers. He urged Powell to pursue that and then said the state, in other cases, had seized computers from people’s desks for forensic examinations. Gardner said: “That’s all discoverable; that’s why I never email on my state email, anything that can come back and bite my ass. It’s all done offline. … It’s all done on different stuff. Because I don’t want to go to court and jail." 

An apparent shadow government that communicates off the record, a complete and total breakdown in legislative relationships, the down and dirty Downs at ABQ racino deal and now the Gardner Tapes. What's a Governor to do?

FOLLOW THE MONEY 

The AP reports from Santa Fe on the cash coming in to influence the state legislative races. It's the trial lawyers for the Dems and Susana and Jay for the Rs.

THE BOTTOM LINES

We had the spread right in the latest poll in the US Senate race in our first draft of the Monday blog. Seven points separate Dem Martin Heinrich and Republican Heather Wilson. But the numbers posted said Heinrich 49 to Wilson's 41. For the record, the Journal poll has Heinrich at 49 and Wilson at 42...

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Keith Gardner

The email poured in reaction to the sometimes shocking rants of Governor Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner contained on a leaked audio tape and disclosed here for the first time on Tuesday.

Gardner's repeated use of salty language (to put it mildly), his attitude and the state of the governorship all came in for reader scrutiny in the aftermath of the tape shocker. Here's a sample from ABQ:

These tapes do more than just reveal Gardner's penchant for foul language and his dislike of various people. It really shows how pedestrian this gubernatorial administration is in its approach to governing. I think there is an expectation, at an economically challenging time for the state, that the governor's chief of staff would be working intensely--every minute of the day--at the highest levels to address the massive problems in new Mexico.

Instead he is having an hour and a half discussion with some buddy from Roswell that reads like a scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. All it's missing is a few references to "bro's" and "dude's"

Governor Martinez ought to be hugely embarrassed by this--but she won't be. This is what you get when you hire a small town district attorney to be governor. She was a mediocre administrator who made poor hires as DA and we're seeing an exacerbation of this same traits coming out in the governorship. She runs the place like it's Mayberry and Keith is just the happy go lucky goofy deputy sheriff. And all this hullabaloo is just the way town folks talk.....

This is not a serious governorship. They aren't taking on the big issues and addressing them like professionals and adults. They're mired in petty B.S. and it's time to get serious.

Reader and Democrat Stephanie DuBois comes with this:

Joe, I just want to know if Keith the good Mormon eats with that mouth. His language is enough to make the Mormon Bishop blush. And Joe, there are those that think Republicans are nice. I wonder if the Governor's popularity will take a fall over this. No respect to Senator Jennings who is a very powerful legislator with many friends on both sides of the aisle. That is why he has stayed there for 33 years. We have a Governor and staff that in two years has certainly undermined our New Mexico government. The Governor should fire Keith but she won't. Maybe the Mormon church should sanction him for language unbecoming a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints.

And another:

Tuesday's blog is dead on. It exposes Keith Gardner for what he is: an arrogant pompous ass. I wonder if Susana is happy that she ran to his defense after hearing this recording. The statement that stands out and shows what a two faced person Keith is, is the statement he made about Senator Tim Jennings. If you will remember, when Keith created the state job for his wife it was Senator Jennings who came to Keith's defense. The folks in Roswell should be very happy with Keith after hearing how Keith hates Roswell and the people there.I know the Mormon Elders must be proud of him. I wonder if his daddy the judge is going to get him out of this mess. 

FROM ROSWELL

We posted the entire hour and thirteen minutes of the Gardner tape. We did not summarize the part this reader is concerned with, but give him the floor to rebut statements made in the recording:

Mr. Monahan: My name is S. Doug Jones Witt. I am an attorney in Roswell. I successfully defended David Lawrence with regard to the allegations made by Kayla Powell against Coach Lawrence. I was shocked to hear the full and uncensored conversation between Brian Powell and Keith Gardner on your blog. 

Let me state for the record: I have never had a "substance abuse problem" as referenced by Mr. Gardner. I have never been arrested or investigated for any alcohol or drug-related offense. On the contrary, I began my legal career as a prosecutor in the Ninth Judicial District Attorney's Office and prosecuted drug and alcohol cases for four (4) years...I left the DA's office in 1998 and joined the law firm of Sanders, Bruin, Coll & Worley, where, after 5 years, I achieved partner status.  

Mr. Gardner alludes to an ex-employee of his who shared this false information about me. Her name is (was at the time) Stacey Hendrix (not sure on spelling).  Mrs. Hendrix was accused of stealing money from a local business here in Roswell and ultimately received other charges which led to the violation of her conditions of release and her incarceration.  These facts are easily confirmed through a basic search in New Mexico Courts.com.  Again, I have absolutely no documented history of substance abuse. I consider Mr. Gardner's comments to Mr. Powell defamation of the highest order and have contacted legal counsel to discuss my rights. 

Helen Laura Lopez writes from Taos

You are on fire again!

Another reader, commenting on a reference Gardner made, said it is a boarhog, not warthog:

"Worthless as teats on a boarhog." The Arkansas Times used it against their Governor.

A reader writes:

Wow! is all I can say about Tuesday's post..

Cathy Chavez emails:

Joe-- In all the years I have followed your blog, you hit one out of the park with Tuesday's Keith Gardner column. Keep up the great work.

Thanks for that, Cathy. We are confident we made the right call in publishing and if we have to stand alone, so be it. Read on...

WHERE'S THE MEDIA?

A number of readers and politicians wanted to know whey the sensational revelations in the Gardner tape have not made their way into the mainstream media, even though the tape has been out there for a week. (They started to cover after our Tuesday blog. See below).

News organizations last week did quote the segment of the tape in which Gardner says he does not use a state email account because it could be dragged into court and he doesn't want to go to jail. They've also referenced the portion where Gardner is talking about replacing the state fair manager, but the rest of the tape had been ignored--despite what it says about the relationship between the leaders of two branches of the state's government and what impact that will have on public policy and the taxpayers. That's why we deemed it newsworthy. One of our Senior Alligators came with this:
 
The hands-off/kid glove treatment Gov. Martinez has received throughout E-mailgate shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. It's how the news media works these days.

It starts at the top with the corporate and upper management types who are way too cozy with the politicos they're supposed to keep an eye on and goes right down to the beat reporters who re-hash and regurgitate press releases from political PIOs they (more often than not) used to work with.

There's also the fear factor.  There are no consequences from the public if a reporter or news organization goes easy on the Governor and her cronies.  But on the other hand, upset the Governor or political Svengali Jay McCleskey and your on the "Enemies List."  Bottom line: the news media needs to stop sucking up to the Powers That Be and needs to start covering them - the way Edward R. Murrow would.

There's something to be said about the intimidation factor. The political team of the governor has been known to put the pressure on upper management and that has trickled down to reporters' coverage. But our job--and theirs--is to put the heat on them---"them" being whoever happens to be in power. 

As we said, coverage is starting to trickle out. The alternative weekly, the Santa Fe Reporter, examines the Gardner tape in an article titled "Giant in the Dark."

KOAT-TV did a report on the Gardner tape (to its credit) Tuesday night. They asked the Governor about it and she said the conversation was a private one between two men who have since patched things up? But what about Gardner's profanity laced diatribe against Senator Jennings? Should he apologize? Will she discipline him?

And the Santa Fe New Mexican comes with coverage in its Wednesday editions. Senator Jennings makes his first comments:

Jennings expressed surprise about Gardner’s statements. “His wife and family, I thought we all were friends,” Jennings said. He said his son was friends with Gardner’s son. He said he didn’t understand what Gardner was referring to regarding the first day of the session and didn’t recall Sanchez telling him to “tone it down.” Jennings said he didn’t like the sentiments or the language Gardner used, but said he wouldn’t hold it against him. “Hate and destruction have no place in government,” he said.

Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email Tuesday that Gardner and Jennings “have been able to work together, even though there have been heated disagreements in private over various policies. Keith is not proud of his language, but this particular private conversation took place a year ago and the two have talked and worked together since then on multiple occasions. Just like when the Governor has been disparaged or called names by legislators … we are moving on and won’t allow that to distract us from doing the work the people of New Mexico expect and deserve.”

MET HIS MATCH?

Has Jay met his match? Out-of-state Dem union money is coming in to match the out-of-state oil money that has largely financed Governor Martinez's PAC and another political PAC--both run by Martinez's controversial political guru Jay McCleskey. The AP says:

Labor unions and a retiring Democratic legislative leader have provided nearly $400,000 to a newly formed political group planning to make independent campaign expenditures in New Mexico, including races that will determine whether Democrats retain control of the Legislature...The committee raised $393,816 in July and August, and has most of that left after spending only $62 for a bank fee and the costs to register as a political committee in New Mexico. The super PAC allied with Martinez — Reform New Mexico Now--had cash-on-hand of $305,000 as of last week after raising $281,000 in the past two months.

R's were quick to point out that Amanda Cooper, a longtime political aide to former Governor Big Bill, is involved in the new Patriot Majority fund that will counter McCleskey. Our insiders report that David Contarino, a longtime political strategist and former Chief of Staff to Richardson will also be working with the PAC.

The R's may try to connect the two to the scandals of the past, but most Dems are happy to have the pair on the ground here. McCleskey has been running riot without any real opposition. With the experienced Cooper and Contarino, suddenly there will be some checks and balances.

NOT THAT LONG

 Governor Martinez, as expected, appoints 38 year old GOP attorney Simon Kubiak to the Bernalillo County Commission. He will face Debbie O'Malley in November in a contest for the North Valley and Westside seat. That gives the Republicans a three person majority on the commission--their first in nearly forty years. We said it would last at least until the end of the year, but a spokesman for Michelle Lujan Grisham, the ABQ Dem congressional candidate whose resignation created the vacancy filled by Susana, says that is not the case:

Joe, You reported --and so did the Journal and TV--that the governor's appointment to the county commission would serve till the end of the year. We had researched that when Michelle was considering resigning, and it appears the governor's appointment would only serve through election day. The winner of the election would seemingly take over the day after the election, unless it's the same person. So it would seem the Republican majority has less than two months, not the four months everyone assumes. I don't know what the governor's appointment letter says. Here is the language in the statute:

If a vacancy occurs in the office of district attorney or county commissioner , the governor shall fill such vacancy by appointment, and such appointee shall hold such office until the next general election. His successor shall be chosen at such election and shall hold his office until the expiration of the original term. (As amended November 8, 1988.)  

Okay, so if O'Malley beats Kubiak Nov. 6 the Republican majority ends--we assume--when the election results are certified. That would give them several more weeks in the majority beyond November 6.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Clara Apodaca announces her retirement as president and CEO of the Foundation at the National Hispanic Cultural Center...The proposal to have ABQ voters decide on an increase in its minimum wage at the November 6 election met its Waterloo in court Tuesday. A judge ruled the petition asking for the public vote is flawed.

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Martinez & Gardner

When asked by Gallup to rate their state as a place to live, New Mexicans ranked their enchanted land as one of the worst. Only 28 percent said it was the best or one of the best states to spend the days of their lives. That had us at 46th among the 50th states. And after what we have been through in recent months, many of us might quip: "We rank that high?"

With a long-term sour economy and a generations-old social conditions crisis that has only worsened, it's no wonder that Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico are discontented with their state's lot in life.

That's the way they see it, but for public officials looking to avoid accountability our state has been a virtual paradise. In that category we have to be far and away #1. Let's take a look:

You're the Governor's chief of staff and you go on a bender and use the state credit card for your personal expenses thereby directly violating state policy and procedures? No problem. Just shrug it off as business as usual. And don't worry about your Governor boss firing you or even disciplining you. Those words are not in her vocabulary. Besides,  the rules don't apply to you. You work on the Fourth Floor but answer to the Fifth Floor.

You're the ABQ police chief and one of your officers guns down a 19 year old woman in the street. Problem? Not if you're the APD chief. When folks wonder exactly what happened, you just say repeatedly: "I don't know." No one will bother you. After all, you know best.

You say you're the former APD chief with a pay-to-play scandal over a nearly $2 million contract looking you square in the eye? Just say you didn't do it. If you're the city's chief administrative officer, just refuse to answer questions. Whose going to question you? You decide what's right and what's wrong.

You're the Governor and you're busted on leaked audio tapes calling your Dem Guv opponent a "little bitch" and one of your top campaign aides likens the House Speaker to a "fucking retard? Fugghedabout it. No apologies needed. Who's going to make you? Anyway, apologizes are for weaklings.

You're Mayor of ABQ and folks ask why during your first four years on the job you didn't take firm action over the many fatal police shootings that plagued the city and that forced the Dept. of Justice to come in here? Heck, that's child's play. Just blame most of it on your predecessor and then go back to hibernating. What do you have to fear? Hardly anyone holds you to account.

You're a former APD top cop who is brought in to oversee a "fix" for the department and insure that needed reforms are implemented. Say what? Well, if you're that ex-top cop you say it's Justice that says APD needs fixing, you dont' necessarily see it that way. After all, when you are in public power around here, you just don't sweat the small stuff. Everyone knows the public can't be trusted.

Now do you agree that we are actually lucky that we rank 46th and not 50th among the states in which people don't feel it's one of the best places to live? Yep. Thought so.

GARDNER GATE

Our Alligators have speculated for months that Guv Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner may soon be headed for the exits--or another nicely padded state job. But the former Roswell state representative and tough-talker seems to have super glue on his seat.

His flagrant violation of state policy by using a state credit card for personal use--even though he defended himself by pointing out he reimbursed the state--is the latest in a long line of Gardner gaffes and worse. There was this:

Schools lobbyist alleged in a letter to Gov. Susana Martinez that Chief of Staff Keith Gardner painfully gripped her arm and yelled at her in “in an extremely threatening manner,” during the legislative session in February.

The Journal is calling this Jay McCleskey duo of Berry and Martinez out for their amateurism. Both of them are being asked to essentially step up and act like adults. In the case of Martinez she needs to start acting like an incumbent Governor and take responsibility for her comments heard on those audio tapes. In the case of Berry, he needs to move beyond city hall insiders and local Republicans to attack this APD issue like a real big-city Mayor. What the Journal may be coming to realize is that Berry and Martinez are just not ready for prime time. They made great candidates and pawns in (political consultant) Jay McClesky's game, but they have a very hard time governing.

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Martinez & Gardner

Carrie Menapace (Facebook)

It's not like you didn't have a honeymoon, Keith. Back in November 2010 when then Governor-elect Martinez named Keith Gardner, a state legislator from Roswell, as her Chief of Staff and Brian Moore, a state rep from Clayton as her deputy chief, we blogged:

Overall, this group will likely be seen in Santa Fe as having the depth and experience to run the day-to-day operations of state government. Their challenge may be to keep deeply ingrained partisan instincts in check.

Today Moore is long gone--a moderate voiced grocer forced from an administration that took a sharp turn down the path of take no prisoners and harbor no compromise. As for Gardner, after the release of his now infamous obscenity-laced recordings and this week's allegations (here, here, here and here) that he intimidated ABQ Public Schools lobbyist Carrie Menapace by grabbing her and threatening her. Keith looks like some kind of roadkill you see when you're speeding down La Bajada. The carcass is there, but there is no life.

As we said, Gardner came in with good wishes and high hopes, but his temper has gotten the best of him and his credibility is shredded. This Governor, whether she knows it or not, needs a new chief of staff. But who? She is encapsulated in a bubble, a captive of her own inclination to keep her circle tight and seemingly putting all her faith in Gardner and her chief political adviser who for good reason has been dubbed the "Shadow Governor." The old Republican guard that could help her--Senator Domenici, Lou Gallegos, Tom Tinnin, Garrey Carruthers, Walter Bradley etc. are long gone or banished.

In both the audio tapes and the incident with lobbyist Carrie Menapace it is a bullying mentality on full display. A "my way or the highway" approach. Ironically, when he served in the Legislature some of the press corp dubbed Gardner the "Gentle Giant." But the pressure for results and the power of the Fourth Floor apparently got to him.

The administration wants to wield power with a bloody axe during the legislative sessions and on the campaign trail. They are drawing blood but it is spattering back on them. The bloodiest of them all right now is Keith Gardner.

With the January 2013 legislative session fast approaching, Santa Fe looks like gang warfare--the crips and the bloods--not the Democrats and Republicans. Martinez needs some power players and peace makers. The switch blades aren't working.

GARDNER FALL OUT


The latest Gardner imbroglio hands the Dems a chance to make political hay. ABQ State Sen. Linda Lopez does the lifting:

The Governor’s Chief of Staff has effectively rendered himself unable to continue in his present position as the top administrative official responsible for directing and managing state government affairs. The release of a recording in which he terribly maligned the President of the Senate, followed by yesterday’s disclosure of allegations of physical intimidation of a female Albuquerque Public School employee, has severely damaged Chief of Staff Keith Gardner’s ability to push forward the Governor’s agenda. His erratic and frightening behavior leaves me no option but to advise Governor Susana Martinez to release Mr. Gardner from his position.

 The "Gentle Giant" is crashing. Look out below.

COME ON DOWN, SUSANA

Arnold-Jones & Lujan Grisham

"Come on down, Governor." That was the money line of the first TV debate between the two ABQ congressional candidates on KNME-TV Tuesday night. It was uttered by Republican contender Janice Arnold-Jones in response to a question asking why party support for her has not been more robust. That Governor Martinez has been nowhere near Arnold-Jones--who ran against her for the 2010 Guv nomination--says it all. The GOP long ago threw in the towel on the district it held for forty years until Dem Martin Heinrich took it in 2008.

Martinez is nowhere, the national GOP is nowhere and unfortunately for Janice, it appears she has nowhere to go.

Arnold-Jones and Dem contender Michelle Lujan Grisham faced off for an hour in a polite exchange of views, even while being pressured some by veteran network newsman Sam Donaldson.

Either Janice or Michelle would make a good congressional representative. Janice did her best to disassociate herself from the radical wing of the GOP as represented by tax foe Grover Norquist and Michelle held high the Democratic banner and bested Janice as she powered through a comprehensive answer to the issue of global warming.

Veteran Dem analyst Harry Pavlides said Lujan Grisham "did exceptionally well," meaning the race did not get shaken up. "There was no knock-out but Grisham's superior knowledge of the issues had her winning on all three referee cards. Her experience as an attorney showed."

In years past this would have been a debate with standing room only. But with polling basically showing the race out of the R's reach, the event probably drew only a small audience.

The abandonment of the Arnold-Jones candidacy by the Martinez circle and the national and local GOP will stand as a black mark on the party. She is a class candidate who deserves better. As it is, she can barely afford a TV buy. Martinez could show some class by cutting a TV ad for Janice and writing her a check. Like the lady said, "Come on down, Governor."

SUSANA FOR PIRTLE

The Guv is not being bashful in her effort to get rid of Dem Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings. She came with a direct letter on behalf of political neophyte Cliff Pirtle, saying Jennings' refusal to support her repeal of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants makes it "crystal clear that as long as he's in office, New Mexico will continue giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants..

The Martinez letter was sent out on Reform NM PAC stationary, the PAC run by her political svengali Jay McCleskey. Martinez also personally endorsed GOP state Senate candidate Angie Spears in June in a hotly contested primary. Spears was routed by rancher Pat Woods.

Jennings says he expects $400,000 to be spent against him, mostly raised from out of state. He is favored for re-election, but that is huge money in a state Senate race, forcing Jennings to also mount an expensive effort. 

State Senate races are notoriously difficult to poll, so look for a lot of panic buttons to be pushed and a lot of numbers--some good and some bad--to be floated in the next month.

2014 WATCH

From the AP:

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez reports raising more than $800,000 in the past six months for her 2014 re-election campaign, and Democratic  Gary King has collected about $160,000. According to finance disclosures filed Tuesday, the governor's campaign had a cash balance of $1.2 million as of Oct. 1. King, who's serving a second term as attorney general, had cash-on-hand of nearly $101,000 in his campaign account.

NO SECRETS


Another university president is ousted and another round of outrage over a golden parachute for the dearly departed. This time it's New Mexico State University and the ouster of President Barbara Couture. She will get a going away check for $453,000 and be paid another $100,000 for staying on the job though the end of the year. But yet she was forced out and the Regents won't talk bout why, claiming they don;t have to. Reader James Meiers says Santa Fe need to change things:
 
Because the privilege that the NMSU and UNM boards have enjoyed in recent years regarding compensation to ousted presidents is statutory, I would suggest that if there is enough righteous indignation at the secrecy of the process then the answer is simple in concept and difficult in execution: Lobby the legislature to amend the act to remove the exception for decisions made on personnel action, or at least for certain personnel, e.g. presidents and vice-presidents.

I would also hope that the student regents are the most directly accessible to ask "What did you do?" There is nothing to my knowledge prohibiting them from speaking on the issue, and if there is then that is an even bigger problem that needs to be addressed. There should not be any sort of non-disclosure agreement prohibiting the temporary stewards of New Mexico's taxpayer-funded institutions from speaking to the community, especially the student body, from which they are supposedly serving on behalf.

WHO SAID IT?

"Mr. Heinrich is a great man, a wonderful father, and a passionate man." 

That quote about ABQ Dem Congressman and US Senate hopeful Martin Heinrich is from none other than northern US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan who is seeking re-election this year. 

Lujan and Heinrich ought to be saying nice things about one another.  Both of them came to the congress in the 2008 Obama wave and both are positioned to be around for a long time.

The latest polling from the Heinrich camp as they prepare for their first TV debate with Republican Heather Wilson Thursday night at 6 on KRQE-TV has him in the comfort zone:

An internal poll conducted for Democratic Rep. Martin Heinrich's New Mexico Senate campaign shows his lead growing over former GOP Rep. Heather Wilson. The poll, conducted by GBA Strategies, shows Heinrich leading Wilson 55 percent to 42 percent in a head-to-head match up. When Independent American Party candidate Jon Barrie is included in the poll, Heinrich's lead shrinks to 12 points: Heinrich 51, Wilson 39, Barrie 8. It's an improvement from Heinrich's last internal poll, released in late September, which showed the Democrat up by eight.

MONTOYA VS. OCKSRIDER

The under-the-radar race for an ABQ seat on the state Public Regulation Commission comes to life as Republican Christoper Ocksrider--running as the underdog against Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya--announces this news:

Ocksrider (received) endorsements from the Chicano Police Officers’ Association and from former Governor David Cargo. "When you consider education, experience and ethics, Christopher is clearly the best candidate for this important position,” wrote Cargo in his letter of endorsement.

Ocksrider's father served in the Legislature from ABQ's NE Heights back in the 70's. The battle between Ocksrider and Montoya is over who will succeed Commissioner Jason Marks who is term-limited.

NM DYNASTY

The WaPo recently had some fun asking readers to name state political dynasties. Here's what they came with for our state:

New Mexico – The Lujáns

The Lujáns include current Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D) and former state health secretary Michelle Luján Grisham (D), who is about to join him in Congress. Ben Ray’s father, Ben, was speaker of the state House, and Michelle’s grandfather, Eugene, was chief justice of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, a distant Republican relative, Manuel Luján, served as a longtime congressman and later as U.S. secretary of the interior, and his father of the same name was mayor of Santa Fe.

But the Lujans have not always had it easy when it comes to building a dynasty. Back in 1988, Manuel Lujan tried to hand off his ABQ congressional seat to his brother Edward who was soundly defeated in the GOP primary.

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Keith Gardner with Rep. Cook

There's no cooling off period for former Governor Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner--he's joined the legion of lobbyists at the Roundhouse after finishing an eight year stint under Martinez at the end of 2018. Gardner signed up this month to lobby for oil services company Select Energy Services of Houston as well as the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the national firearms industry.

We wondered on the blog recently what Gardner was going to do. Political insiders expressed some surprise that he had not landed a comfortable gig.

His decision to become a lobbyist does raise the revolving door question--top government officials going to work to influence legislators after completing their government jobs. But Gardner can argue the government he would influence is no longer, as Martinez has been replaced by MLG. Still, his government tenure made many contacts for him in the bureaucracy which brings up this from Martinez in her 2012 State of the State speech:

It's why all of my appointees must disclose their financial interests online and it's why my appointees are barred from lobbying state government for 2 years after serving in my administration. Public service should be about serving the public--not setting up a future payday.

Gardner may be happy to have any job. As chief of staff he once confronted a female lobbyist for the ABQ Public Schools at the Roundhouse and was accused of physically assaulting her by grabbing her arm. That's not much of a selling point on your resume in the "Me Too" era.

Then there was the disclosure of secretly recorded audio tapes in which Gardner, a former GOP Roswell state representative, trashed numerous politicos including former Roswell State Senator Tim Jennings He also opined about state legislators in general, saying, "I hate those fuckers."

Well, politics is nothing if not notorious for having short memories, a blessing so far for freshly minted lobbyist Keith Gardner.

THE GREAT ETA DEBATE (cont/)

A lot of fun this week here debating the Energy Transition Act (ETA) (SB489) with some of the sharpest minds around when it comes to the environment and energy.

Reader Robert Levy jumps into the fray with an idea that may have seemed off the wall a decade ago, but may now cause some pondering:

Joe, the state of New Mexico would be smart to buy PNM. The regulated utility has a state guaranteed rate of return which I believe would be higher than the interest rate on the bonds that would be needed for the buyout. NM should be selling energy country or worldwide. PNM has always been in the way.

Interesting stuff. The stock market currently values the electric utility at $3.47 billion. That's a lot of money but not that much if paid off over 30 years. And the state could aggressively market renewables to sell on the open market as Levy suggests. NM bonds are being floated in the 3 to 4 percent area so that does indeed look good with nearly a 10 percent rate of return guaranteed. 

(click to enlarge)

You knew they were coming. And they're here. The obscenity-laced audio recordings of Governor Martinez's Chief of Staff Keith Gardner are now campaign fodder and could be the turning point in the fight being waged by Dem Senate leader Tim Jennings to save his Roswell area seat.

When the tapes were first released by New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan on September 11 they caused a statewide sensation and no more so than in the Roswell area. Gardner was a state representative for Roswell before going to work for Martinez.  In them he declares he agrees with Brian Powell that he  "hates" Roswell and calls Jennings "a cocksucker" for opposing Martinez. And there is much, much more of that type of language.

Now the recordings--made without Gardner's knowledge--will be heard on the radio, described in the mailboxes and even showcased in expensive TV ads that will be seen across the state. All of it is posted by the Jennings campaign at this web site, titled "theyhateroswell.com."

Jennings is in a do-or-die battle against Governor Martinez political adviser Jay McCleskey and his Reform NM Now PAC. The Guv is targeting Senate President Pro Tem Jennings as well as Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, accusing them of stalling her legislative agenda, and using big oil and out-of-state Republican money to finance the PAC, which is technically not associated with her.

Jennings is being challenged by 27 year old tea party activist Cliff Pirtle, hardly a threat by himself, but with thousands of dollars being pumped into the district Jennings has been forced to wage all out combat. He has hired veteran political consultant Tom Hujar of Seattle who also lives part-time in Santa Fe to go toe-to-toe with McCleskey. Hujar previously worked for ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez and other Dem candidates here.

Interestingly, Jennings' literature never mentions Gardner by name, identifying him as "a chief architect of Reform New Mexico Now."

The mail piece also refrains from using McCleskey's name but makes clear who they are talking about, saying the Reform NM Now PAC "was created by an Albuquerque political consultant who is renowned for running negative campaigns."

This Jennings rebuttal is reminiscent of what we saw in the June GOP primary for a Clovis area state Senate seat. That's when the Guv and McCleskey supported Angie Spears over Pat Woods. Woods responded with a TV ad and literature calling McCleskey out by name, but avoided attacking the popular Martinez. Now in Roswell we have Gardner and McCleskey--the two closest advisers to the Governor--as major campaign issues. This gives Jennings (and Sanchez) a way to energize their voters without making risky attacks on Martinez.

It's not as if Jennings hasn't been provoked. Reform NM Now PAC has been pounding the Senate heavyweight in the mail, with Jay even using one of his old tricks--conjuring up the image of former Dem Senate leader Manny Aragon who is serving time in prison and linking Jennings to him.

Republican Martinez would have her hands full no matter the outcome of this year's election, but by taking on Jennings and evoking this reaction--as well as the hits on Sanchez--she is now deep in the woods. Only winning will get her out.

HARDEN TO RESIGN

Our Alligators reported late Thursday that GOP State Senator Clint Harden will resign his eastside seat. This comes in the wake of a blog item this week that reported Harden was raising eyebrows in Santa Fe by apparently soliciting business for his new lobbying venture. Harden's term runs until the end of the year. He decided not to seek re-election this year. Speculation was that he was pressured by the Guv to get out. His seat is being taken by Pat Woods who won the GOP primary and is unopposed in November. Harden had been in the Senate since 2002.

(Harden officially announced his resignation Friday afternoon, saying that he would like county commissioners in Senate District Seven to submit the name of Republican nominee Pat Woods to Governor Martinez for appointment.)

IT'S LIKELY


On October 1 we moved the New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan ranking for the open US Senate seat here from "Lean Dem" to "Likely Dem." We now have some company from Roll Call which joins the "Likely Dem" club:

For all of former Rep. Heather Wilson’s (R) strengths as a candidate, she entered this open-seat race with high unfavorable ratings from her previous statewide campaign. Plus, she’s running in a heavily Hispanic state no longer viewed as competitive in the presidential race and against a solid Democratic recruit in Rep. Martin Heinrich (D), who took the lead in August and does not appear willing to let go.

The race is Heinrich's to lose, with Wilson having a couple of shots in the upcoming TV debates to try to stave off what is looking more and more inevitable.

PEARCE TV

Southern GOP Congressman Steve Pearce is in even better shape than Heinrich. We rank his race against Democrat Evelyn Madrid Erhardas "Safe Republican." And we don't need any polls to make that assessment. Pearce is widely popular in the conservative oriented district. He won't be spending a lot of money this election, but he will have a presence. His first TV ad is all red, white and blue. An excerpt:

Pearce passed landmark legislation that will fully fund veterans' pensions, disability benefits and improve the quality of medical care. A Vietnam veteran, Steve Pearce will always keep America's promise to those who served.

While Pearce may be a lock for re-election to his US House seat, conjecture continues on whether he will make another bid for the US Senate, namely the GOP nomination for the seat held by Dem Tom Udall and which is up in 2014. It's probably a long shot but the speculation will continue until the GOP gets a name candidate on the field. So far there is none.

VOTER SUPPRESSION?

This report caught our eye as it dragged Pearce into the middle:

ProgressNow New Mexico, a left-leaning advocacy organization, released a video showing the New Mexico Republican Party instructing its poll watchers to engage in what could be illegal voter suppression. The poll watchers are told to request identification from voters, even though the law in New Mexico does not require voter ID. There are other troubling parts of the video...Poll watchers are told to deceive Spanish-speaking voters by telling them that interpreters are not available, when in fact New Mexico law provides for language assistance for minorities and Spanish-language ballots. 

At CPAC Colorado, a conservative conference  in Denver, I asked Congressman Steve Pearce about the brewing controversy.... “We’re simply saying that we’re going to start, we’re going to take it back it into our hands,” said Pearce. “We should check for ID since you have to show an ID to do anything in America.” He did, however, admit that doing so would be against the law. “It’s against New Mexico law to check for ID,” the congressman conceded.

Madrid-Erhard may be the undecided underdog in her race against Pearce but he handed her an opportunity there. 

SUSANA'S LICENSES

Has a sitting Governor ever had worse luck on an issue? Susana is 0 for 3 in her efforts to have the Legislature overturn the law that permits undocumented immigrants to get a state driver's license and now this:

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration agreed  to settle a lawsuit and not revive a plan to cancel the driver's licenses of immigrants who fail to verify whether they still live in the state. The administration announced the program last year but it was suspended by a state district court in Santa Fe after the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed a lawsuit. District Judge Sarah Singleton issued an order permanently blocking the program and stopping the administration from canceling licenses of any immigrants initially checked unless the state has evidence of fraud.

Susana will try again for a repeal of the licenses in the 2013 legislative session and her political PAC is hammering legislators with the issue on the campaign trail, but it doesn't appear to be working. Looks as thought she is about to go 0 for 4 on this one...

Thanks for stopping by this week.

Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan

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Sometimes it's best left for others to say. And so it is today in the aftermath of that Mother Jones piece that follows others in unmasking Governor Martinez and her Shadow Governor Jay McCleskey. From Salon:

JAY'S GREATEST HITS

Speaking of Jay he reprises his hit man role in the Mother Jones piece, screaming in capital letters in a text message about former ABQ GOP state Rep. Janice Arnold Jones:

"I HATE THAT FUCKING BITCH."

That kind of borderline personality behavior is old hat around here. The news is the long and painful disclosure to the mass public that Martinez is Jay's clone.

RAEL RAILS

Democratic Guv candidate Lawrence Rael was first out of the gate with comment on the Mother Jones piece. He earned a TV shot for it, a rare event in this sleepy primary campaign. And in a move that got to the heart of the political impact--he released his response first in English and then in Spanish:


MEDIA AND MOTHER

Noticeably absent in posting any mention of the Mother Jones piece on their websites during the day Wednesday were the ABQ Journal and KRQE-TV.

The Journal has been an arch-supporter of the Governor's. Previously, one of its editors dismissed a revealing National Journal piece on Martinez/McCleskey as a rehash and maintained--erroneously--that the Journal had covered the explosive information contained in that piece. They may have a more difficult time dismissing audio recordings never heard before as a "rehash."

The Journal did do a story for today's print edition. They dutifully report the piece--but with no context, no reference to the previous National Journal article, no mention that McCleskey is trying to get Martinez on the '16 prez ticket and no mention of McCleskey as a key figure in the article and the administration. As journalist Sherry Robinson said recently:

The Albuquerque Journal. . . .has been so blatantly pro-Martinez as to sacrifice its credibility.

The pettiness and vindictiveness revealed on those audio tapes was enough to have even ardent Susana backer Scott Stiegler of conservative talk station KKOB-AM radio calling for a time-out on his love fest with the Fourth and Fifth Floors. "I have a problem with this" he told his audience. . . .

KRQE-TV has done a bang-up job on the APD crisis and aggressively questioned ABQ Mayor RJ Berry. But when it comes to Governor Martinez the station still can't seem to bring itself to provide hard-hitting coverage. They were the odd man out in TV land in not covering the audio tapes on their website. KOB and KOAT also covered the story on both their early and late newscasts. KRQE covered it only at 10 p.m.

Producers are insistent that there is no bias at the station, but the way its news department handled the big political story in comparison with its rivals doesn't help their argument.

In addition, the one-hour long 9 p.m. KASA-TV news produced by KRQE had no mention we saw of the Mother Jones piece. What was it? Dean Staley's poker night?

Why is it the national media--the National Journal, Mother Jones and Real Clear Politics--that has to tell us of the seamy underbelly of New Mexico government? With the exception of NM Politics with Joe Monahan and a few other "alternative"outlets, the mainstream media has too often turned its back on reporting the real story. And that's why they are getting their asses kicked by the nationals.

Another example of all this came on Twitter from Las Cruces based journalist Heath Haussamen who came to the defense of Kennicott who made the retard comment about Lujan:

There's a difference between saying words were racist and calling a person racist. We know Kennicott's words, not his heart.

Okay, so we can go around using the "N" word but that doesn't make us a racist because that is not what is in "our heart?" This is the thinking of the state's "journalists?" Please, bring on the bloggers. . . .

The real Martinez story is only going to get bigger as her camp promotes her for the 2016 presidential ticket. The media that refuse to cover it--or cover it up--are only going to look even smaller.

WE'RE EVERYWHERE

It seems New Mexico is making more national news than New York. There's the radiation leak at the southern NM WIPP site--(you know about that one, don't you Guv?), the national scandal over APD and the Justice Department intervention and now the audio tapes of the nation's first Hispanic female governor acting out a high school locker room mentality with her tough boy home boys. Of course, businesses and tourists will be flocking here to see all of these spectacles in person. What? They won't?.. . . .

JEFF WATCH

The most watched state representative is back in the news. Dem Sandra Jeff is still not out of the woods when it comes to getting on the June 3 primary ballot:

Rep. Sandra Jeff is still not assured a spot on the  primary election ballot, after the Supreme Court reversed a decision by a Gallup district court judge and sent the case back for an additional hearing.
The Gallup judge had previously dismissed an attempt to bump Jeff, a maverick Democrat, off the ballot for failing to turn in enough valid voter signatures. In that ruling, the judge found Jeff had not been provided adequate notice of the allegations against her. However, the Supreme Court today ordered a Friday hearing be held on the merits of the candidate challenge.

Our money is on Jeff to make it, but maybe that's because she makes blogging fun and it would be tough losing her. . . .

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