Here's something you didn't hear at last night's ABQ City Council meeting where $220,000 in legal fees was shelled out to negotiate APD reforms with the US Justice Department and where it was revealed the fees could eventually go to $500,000. A reader writes:

What if we don’t negotiate? What if the city just tells the DOJ we will do what it wants? That way we save our citizens hundreds of thousands--and perhaps $500,000--in a no bid negotiating contract. Would the citizens end up saving money? I think so.

It's worth asking as we lose our collective shirts from all the lawsuits resulting from over two dozen police shootings since 2010 (Councilors Klarissa Pena, Dan Lewis and Rey Garduno voted against the contract).

It is our city and its political leadership--Mayor Berry and the City Council--that lost control of APD and plunged us into crisis. Why were they not "negotiating" with APD as the crisis unfolded over a period of years, instead of playing Ostrich and hiding their heads in the sands of Tingley Beach?

It can be easily argued that the time to negotiate has long passed and now the time for surrender is here--for the sake of the taxpaying public.

Why not simply let Justice list all the reforms it sees as necessary and have the city council vote on whether to approve them?  No burdensome legal fees and no desperate efforts to hold on to the infected APD culture. A clean sweep. This outside-the-box thinking could even give ABQ an argument for getting federal dollars to help implement expensive Justice ordered reforms.

NEW KID IN TOWN

Can Gary King's new campaign manager--a Louisiana native--replicate the success of James Carville, the most famous political consultant to come out of that state?

35 year old Steve Verzwyvelt, Jr. doesn't fancy himself a Carville, but he has been knocking around the political word for a dozen years. most recently working with several Dem Super PAC's involved in US Senate races. He spent a good portion of his career as partner in what he describes as the "award-winning" Democratic media firm Chao SMM. There he specialized in congressional races. The firm has since closed and lead partner Ben Chao has teamed with Joe Trippi & Associates.

Verzwyvelt (Ver-ZWEI-velt) touched down in New Mexico this past weekend and is only now starting to immerse himself in the Guv race. "It's winnable. We need to raise the money to get our message out," he opined to us.

Insiders say Dem nominee King loaned himself about $200,0000 to kick-start his general election effort and used a good chunk of it to make sure he had at least one TV ad up as Gov. Martinez and the GOP governors association flood the airwaves in the early going.

King hails from a wealthy NM ranch family. His new campaign guru can relate. His family owns a 6,000 acre farm in Natchitoches, La. where he picked cotton during summer school breaks.

Veryzwyvelt was not aware of the NM-Louisiana political connection established with Gatorgate--the controversy over the Martinez administration awarding a lucrative racino lease to the ABQ Downs which has Louisiana based ownership. He did, however, say he was familiar with his campaign counterpart--Martinez political operative Jay McCleskey. "I've read a bit about him," Verzwyvelt quipped in his pronounced Louisiana drawl. "I look forward to beating him."

Here's a 2008 article on Verzwyvelt. And here's the National Journal piece on McCleskey.

JAMIE'S JAM

Jamie Estrada (Sorber, ABQ Journal)

Speaking of campaign managers,  as expected, Jamie Estrada who had a short-lived stint as Susana's campaign manager back in 2010, copped a plea in that federal case charging him with hacking into the Guv's campaign email account and distributing emails to her political foes, including Dem Party Chairman Sam Bregman.

The plea carries a good possibility that Estrada will not do any prison time and it avoids a political spectacle that we all would have enjoyed but is probably good for the Guv. She probably doesn't need to be discussing in open court her taste in underwear (the subject of one of the leaked emails) or other intimate matters.

Here's the news release on the plea deal from US Attorney Damon Martinez.

And now that the US attorney and Feds have cleared up the email case, what about the probe into the ABQ Downs racino lease? That was another subject of the emails intercepted by Estrada.

EYEBROW RAISER

A Republican state representative deploring the state of the New Mexico economy? Yep. ABQ GOP State Rep. Jimmie Hall delivered the eyebrow raiser in an op-ed piece he co-authored with syndicated columnist Harold Morgan. It sure wasn't approved by the Martinez campaign. Take a look:

UPDATE: In a rare move, the state Senate Friday rejected the nomination of Matt Chandler to the UNM Board of Regents.

Balderas & Colon

For people acutely tuned to La Politica the big story of the week was a bolt out of the blue: The political team of Attorney General Hector Balderas and former NM Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colón endorsed Republican Matt Chandler for a slot on the UNM Board of Regents. Their Dem tag team for Chandler was what you call a double eyebrow raiser.

Chandler is a longtime member of the Guv's political machine who served as treasurer of the PAC that scorched Democrats and helped bring the R's control of the House in last year's election. Colón is an attorney with the ABQ firm of Robles, Rael Anaya which does considerable contract work for governmental entities, including the state. He has been an effective fund-raiser for Gov. Richardson and Balderas and has nurtured Balderas' political career.

Senate Dems have stalled the Chandler nomination because of his ties to the Guv's machine which makes the Balderas and Colón endorsement all the more problematic with the Democratic base. This is one of the few times that Senate Dems have stood up to the Martinez operation. Of course, that always comes with a price. Dem ABQ Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto, who vigorously questioned Chandler's machine ties at a Senate committee hearing, is now the target of machine radio ads in his swing district condemning him for his opposition to right-to-work legislation.

We asked Balderas, a prospective '18 Dem Guv contender, about the endorsement of Republican Chandler. He replied:

At the request of Mr. Chandler, I informed the Senate Rules Committee that I worked with him as State Auditor on two high-profile corruption cases which led to conviction and removal of office. I offered the letter of support to assist the Senate Rules Committee in their confirmation process, which I greatly respect.

That letter is here.

Plenty of Alligator email on the Balderas-Colón-Chandler team-up. This one was typical:

Chandler had support from Hector Balderas and Brian Colón, but that will be a problem for Balderas in the long term. Balderas did not anticipate the political consequences of supporting someone, who five months ago funneled a million dollars to (Guv political adviser) Jay McCleskey, and was used to defeat the House Democrats.

Chandler didn't exactly "funnel" money to the Advance NM PAC, but he was its treasurer.

Chandler is a former Clovis area district attorney who in 2010 was the GOP nominee for attorney general and was defeated by Dem Gary King. He abruptly resigned as DA in early 2014. He was appointed as a special prosecutor by Gov. Martinez in a judicial bribery case that touched Gov. Richardson, but the case crashed and burned.

Sidebar: Chandler's father, who is a former Clovis police chief and ran as a Democrat against GOP Congressman Joe Skeen back, in the 80's, has been named by Gov. Martinez to the Interstate Stream Commission. Well, at least one Chandler had smooth sailing.

DRIVEN TO DRINK

The editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican was arrested early Thursday on an aggravated DWI charge. Maybe he was drowning his sorrows over the lack of real news emanating from the Roundhouse this session. Or maybe he hit the bottle when Rep. Kenny Martinez said some rapes were the result of drunken college sex." Or it could have been over that photo of Rep. Stephanie Maez that Majority Leader Nate Gentry was caught scrawling sarcastic love notes on. Being forced to watch all of that unfold is enough to make any ink-stained wretch embark on a Lost Weekend.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

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Diane Denish
Old loyalties die hard, but does Diane Denish need to start reassessing hers? That's the tough question for the early front runner for the 2010 Democratic Guv nomination, and it's hitting home in the wake of news that Big Bill's onetime chief fund-raiser is co-hosting an event for Denish and in the wave of escalating Republican attacks over the multi-layered scandals shadowing New Mexican politics.

Eyebrows were raised (or brows furrowed, if you prefer) over an invitation to a $250 July 24th fund-raiser for the lieutenant governor to be co-hosted by Amanda Cooper and her husband, Jim Noel. Cooper hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, but all aspects of Richardson's campaign fund-raising for Governor and President and his various committees and foundations in which Cooper was a key player are under investigation by the US Attorney's office and a federal grand jury. We previously blogged that our insider sources confirmed that Cooper, the step-daughter of US Senator Tom Udall, has been granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony to the grand jury. That does not mean she is implicated in any wrongdoing, but the political implications are obvious. Richardson's fund-raising and the pay-to-play allegations are potential political dynamite for Denish. (The Friday federal indictment watch is now the most popular indoor political sport).

Here's the fund-raising invitation that has them talking:

You are invited to a Reception In Support of Lt. Governor Diane Denish To benefit her campaign for Governor. Hosted By: David Smoak and Charity Townsend Jim Noel and Amanda Cooper July 24, 2009 5:30 – 7:00 pm At The Home of David Smoak and Charity Townsend. Suggested donation: $250 per person

And here's the money graph from the ABQ Journal hit piece authored by NM GOP Chairman Harvey Yates, Jr. as they launch their ethics assault:

(Denish) moved to the other side of the table when Richardson repeatedly poked at the side of her leg. Why hasn't she moved to the other side of the table on corruption? Is it not as important? If she has lacked the courage to speak vigorously against corruption, she is unfit to be governor.

That stung her, and Di used her campaign chair, Ted Martinez, to strike back:

Chairman Yates once again showed how little Republicans have to offer...I know Diane and her record fighting corruption. Just this past legislative session Diane pushed for more transparency in campaign fundraising...She backed a law that requires all state contracts be posted on the Internet...And Diane wrote the law to reform New Mexico's Regional Housing Authorities...That is just the start of Lt. Governor Denish's work on ethics...

The state's number two may be reluctant to firmly separate herself from Bill's operations. She must secure the nomination in a party heavy with his operatives and supporters. And State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez lurks as an alternative nominee.

Denish has spoken out on the regional housing authority scandal, but has not delivered a broader ethics message or taken other high-profile steps to separate herself from the cloud of corruption. Neither has she taken note this year of the specific allegations that have made for the screaming headlines and damaged the popularity of Richardson.

WHAT'S NEXT

Republicans, hampered by their lack of a well-known Guv candidate, are working to find their voice on the issue. Restless independent voters are prime targets. Can the R's define Di with the corruption mess before she gets out of the Dem primary? Does she have the luxury of continued silence as she tries to keep all Dems on board before the primary? Or does a break need to be made now to ensure general election viability?

There's no question that New Mexicans next year are going to want to turn the page on the pay to play and excessive political fund-raising that has tarnished the state. What message is Denish sending with the Cooper co-hosted fund-raiser? More important, what will be her message on the epic corruption that has infested the state during the time she has served? And when will that message come?

THE BOTTOM LINES

The name of the new communications staffer for ABQ mayoral candidate Richard Romero is Tim McGivern, not Tim McGovern, as we called him in a first draft. Of course, he's been called worse...Speaking of typos, we're not alone. Look at this one getting wrong the name of one of the mayoral candidates:

Congregation Albert Brotherhood will be hosting a mayoral debate on Sunday, September 13th at 11:00am. Congregation Albert has a long history of outstanding debates dating back 60 years. The invitees include Richard Romero, Martin Chavez and Richard Perry. Richard Romero has already committed to attend.

Richard Perry? That would be Republican Richard "RJ" Berry. But if Chavez agrees to debate him, he'll answer to any name you call him...

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Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Is MLG a serious prospect for VP under Joe Biden or is her name being pushed out only for Biden to court favor with Hispanic voters? Well, you be the judge. Meantime CNN's VP watchers have moved the NM Governor up to number 5 on their top ten list of potential VP's. Take a look:

5. Michelle Lujan Grisham: Lost amid the flood of news is the fact that Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto removed herself from VP consideration. That move leaves Lujan Grisham, the governor of New Mexico, as the highest-ranking Latina in the VP mix. (Other names like Texas Reps. Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia still seem like something of a long shot to me.) Lujan Grisham has also stepped up her criticism of Trump and his response to Floyd's death. (Previous ranking: 8)

Biden is expected to make his pick by August. Just don't let Lt. Gov. Howie Morales hear about her improving VP chances or he may need a defribillator.

EYEBROW RAISER

As the pandemic continues to rage on the Navajo Reservation a bit of an eyebrow raiser comes from the MLG administration. It is pondering an appeal of a federal Dept. of Education ruling that gives a boost to Native American school districts.

Impact Aid is designed to compensate school districts such as Gallup McKinley for the property tax revenue they lose from tax exempt federal lands and the expenditure to educate Native children. However, the state has been diverting much of that money to the general fund, a practice the Feds have now called out. We get this from a western NM educator:

Native American school districts have opposed the state’s practice of inappropriately taking $60 million per year in Impact Aid from the poorest districts in the state. The federal government agreed with them by ruling NM cannot continue to take the money for FY20. The Governor, who has publicly supported replacing the unfairly taken dollars from these students, is now surprisingly preparing to appeal the Feds decision. The Governor would be using a lot of political capital going against the Tribal communities who overwhelmingly voted for her. The federal government has never reversed a decision on this issue so she should just take the Feds ruling as a win. She is risking this voting block for less than 2% of the educational budget. . .

The deadline for the state to appeal is June 15th.

A PAIR OF BILLS

Sen. O'Neill

ABQ Dem state Senator Bill O'Neill isn't letting any grass grow under his feet. First, he came with a book of poems based on his experiences as a legislator and now he comes with his first book of fiction, the Panoramic Diaries which is described in this promo:

The protagonist moves from a rebellious existence to be more focused in the surrounding adult world. As he heads once more to the freights, after working intensely for seven years with parolees in a halfway house, he brings his old railroad diaries with him. Reading them over as he bounces from railyard to railyard, framed by the scenery of the Southwest, he winces at his own self-absorption back then, the shame he feels about his own privilege. . . 

O'Neill represents District 13 in ABQ's North Valley and is seeking a third term this year. He is opposed by Republican Michaela Chavez in the heavy Dem District.

Former Gov. Bill Richardson is back on the diplomatic beat, with CNN reporting he recently played a role in the release of an American Navy veteran held in Iran:

Michael White, 48, traveled to Iran in July 2018 to visit a woman he said was his girlfriend. In January 2019, the Iranian government confirmed that White had been arrested in the city of Mashhad. The State Department said he had been detained since 2018 and was serving a 13-year sentence. He had been charged with insulting Iran's Supreme Leader and posting private information online. . .Richardson. . . formed an unlikely partnership with the administration and played a key role in securing White's release. Richardson, who was ambassador to the UN under President Clinton, runs the Richardson Center for Diplomacy. . .

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Al Park

The latest news on the mayoral front is a real eyebrow raiser. The story itself is interesting--a lawsuit has been filed by several city contractors to overturn the city ban on mayoral candidates receiving money from businesses or owners of businesses that have contracts with the city. The eyebrow raiser and what has Democrats talking is the attorneys who filed the federal lawsuit.

It was a team effort--stalwart ABQ Republican attorney Mickey Barnett's law firm was joined by none other than ex-progressive ABQ Dem State Representative and attorney Al Park. Yeah, we're off to the races on that one...

Overturning the contribution limit would benefit Republican Berry. Unlike Dem Pete Dinelli he did not opt to receive public financing of some $360,000. He is raising private money and at last count had banked $250,000. But he has run into trouble. $17,000 of those donations are being called into question because it appears the donors do business with the city--a no-no under the current law. (The full lawsuit is posted here.) (Dinelli had $200 in questionable donations and donated them to charity),

The lawsuit says the restrictions are unfair, saying unions and others who do business with the city are free to donate. The Barnett-Park suit--if successful--could pave the way for Berry to start taking contractor money in time for the October election. but it would also give Dinelli and mayoral hopeful Paul Heh the opportunity to accuse Berry of pay-to-play and soil his choir boy image. Dinelli's campaign is already on it:

With all of the issues of this election breaking against the Mayor--our flailing economy first and foremost--the Mayor's political cronies have launched a desperate attempt to buy this election and cling to their power...They want to legalize pay-to-play contributions and put the corporate special interests in charge of our government to maximize their bottom line. That's simply unacceptable....

PARK'S PLACE

Park lost his bid for the Dem nomination for an ABQ Public Regulation Commission seat last year after it was disclosed here that his law firm raked in hundreds of thousands in state contracts from the Republican administration of Susana Martinez. Since then he has been dubbed a DINO--Democrat in name only.

Park is a close personal and professional friend of NM Democratic House Speaker Kenny Martinez who, like Park, is an attorney. Park was a key ally of Martinez when Martinez, in 2006, launched a coup attempt against then House Speaker Ben Lujan. It failed, but Martinez did become Speaker following the 2012 election.

Speaker Martinez lost progressive support in March when in the final seconds of the legislative session he gave in to the Governor and rammed through a corporate tax cut. His ties to former GOP State Rep. Keith Gardner--now the Guv's chief of staff--were called into question by Dems outraged by the Speaker's cave in.

Now Park surfaces again in the Republican camp and that's going to keep the spotlight on the Speaker and how much behind the scenes footsie he is or isn't playing with the R's.

A Senior Alligator comes with the suspicions:

Al Park teaming up with Mickey Barnett should be a giant red flag for Democrats statewide. Once a star of the progressive cause, Park sold out to the Martinez Administration for a lucrative legal contract when he was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and it cost him his race for the PRC. The question Democrats needs to ask: Is Park the only one? Why were other supposed progressives so quick to push through at the last minute of the legislative session the Martinez corporate tax cut?  Was it out of principle? Or do Democrats need to start following the money with their own leadership? 

In La Politica, you always follow the money.

PRESS BASHING

Some  Dems are not only running against the R's, they're also taking on the newspaper. From Bernalillo County Dem Party Chair Ana Canales:

The Republicans are beginning their attacks on us, even digging up old news. They may have the Albuquerque Journal and the money on their side but we have the votes. The number of registered Democrats is greater than the number of registered Republicans. So why do they win? Because we do not get our Democrats out to the polls. Let's start our own attack campaign but let's do it by having block parties, house parties, precinct meetings, etc. 

TALK WARS?

Some of our media Alligators are speculating that if conservative talker Rush Limbaugh leaves 770 KKOB-AM radio at the end of the year, we could get one of the market's FM stations going to an all-talk format with Limbaugh as its centerpiece. That could be the first serious competition in decades for #1 ranked KKOB.

Limbaugh, as we blogged this week, is having conflicts with Cumulus, the company that recently purchased KKOB and where his broadcast is carried weekdays. The talk FM format has been growing in popularity.

Limbaugh has had some problems with advertisers since a boycott was launched over remarks he made, but still has a large core audience.

Are New Mexico's "rising star" Democrats making too many mistakes, giving the Governor's political machine an even easier ride? Let's take a look:

--Senator Martin Heinrich is embarrassed over headlines that he wrongly reimbursed himself with government funds for transportation costs to , trips that should have been paid for out of his own pocket. A rookie mistake that blemished Heinrich unnecessarily.

Attorney General Hector Balderas openly endorses Machine favorite Matt Chandler for a spot on the UNM Board of Regents only to see Chandler's nomination suffer a rare defeat in the Dem state senate. Earlier, the new AG fired en masse 40 staffers who worked for his Dem predecessor, firings that are still making news today.

State Auditor Tim Keller scored points for firing at the Machine with his probes of the secretary of taxation and revenue and the city of ABQ's questionable contract with Taser's lapel camera videos. Then he shoots himself in the foot by opening a private email address to conduct state business on, something Gov. Martinez did and was busted for. Now Keller is busted.

ABQ Dem Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham was coasting along until her magic carpet ride. She received carpets as gifts from the government of Azerbaijan and didn't report it. She was also called out for taking the trip in the first place because of who was paying for it. House Ethics cleared her of any wrongdoing but it gave the R's a possible potent opening if she seeks the governorship.

In just about any context these are minor infractions that would normally not draw much scrutiny, but the state Democratic establishment has been flattened by the Machine and these are the personalities the party is counting on to reverse the tide. They need to be hitting every time they swing.

Another major factor in why the Dems need their A game is the quiescent media when it comes to Gov. Martinez. Controversy after controversy erupts but she is spared the flashing cameras. Google--one of the world's major companies-- pulls out of New Mexico. Anyone ask the Guv about it? Nope. Let the mayor of Moriarty deal with it. The taxation secretary is caught up in Keller's investigation. Anyone ask Martinez on camera about it? Nope. A Guv statement attacking Keller will suffice. NM ranks 49th in child well-being Anyone interview the Governor? Nope. The state ranks at or near the bottom in job growth in the nation? The Governor's response? She isn't asked.

It's not all up to the media. If the Dems were pressing their case against the Machine they would get the press. Keller has shown that, but most seem to be playing the dangerous game of waiting her out. And while they are waiting they are making mistakes when they should be forcing mistakes.

THE EYEBROW RAISER

The eyebrow easier of the week was easily when APD Chief Gorden Eden said he has never read the criminal investigative report on the killing of homeless camper James Boyd, despite it arguably being the most famous slaying in the department's history. Eden made the statement in testimony at this week's preliminary hearing where it will be determined if two APD officers will stand trial on charges in connection with the Boyd shooting. He later explained why he has not read the report, but that explanation puzzled many, including ABQ attorney Tom Grover who writes:

He's trying to say he can't look at the report because if he did he'd violate the officers' due process rights for administrative investigations. First, it doesn't apply to at all to former APD officer Keith Sandy because he's no longer employed by APD. Regarding officer Perez, we're talking about the criminal investigation of the shooting of Boyd NOT the administrative investigation of Perez for misconduct. The administrative investigation of a public employee's misconduct always follows the criminal investigation because statements by officers in administrative investigations are compulsory--an employee who refuses to answer can be fired for simply not answering. Lastly even if there were something that would pose a conflict, Eden as Chief of Police can assign authority to discipline Perez to a deputy chief or to the city's chief administtrative officer. For Eden to come off as so uninformed about this event and again to misstate a legal issue (remember, he at first called the Boyd case a justified shooting) shows how little has changed with APD.

Yep, that's the stuff you'll get nowhere else and we're glad to bring it to you.

THE MYSTERY OF MARY

Mary Han

The most disturbing part of a report about the controversial 2010 death of noted ABQ attorney Mary Han is this:

The noble cause of a forensic pathologist is to seek the truth, says the foreword to Spitz’s seminal “Medicolegal Investigation of Death.” That requires the pathologist to “abandon rhetoric, ancient dogma and fictive contentions in favor of finding and presenting fact.” The facts in Han’s death appear to be irretrievably lost, the truth forever out of reach. Surely it’s time the OMI found the guts to say so and change its report.

Is the truth really "forever out of reach?" Or is there someone out there who some day will step forward and solve this mystery? Or does that only happen on TV?. . . .

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Alford and White
University of New Mexico head basketball coach Steve Alford was playing political hardball Wednesday as the controversy over his attendance at a fund-raiser for ABQ GOP congressional contender Darren White moved off this blog and into the outside media. "I wouldn't know Darren White if he walked in front of me. It got falsely advertised. I was just stopping by," declared the celebrity coach.

It doesn't look like Coach Steve will be posing for those thousand dollar photos with partygoers after all, does it? Whether Alford will be there in any role remains under discussion.

It was those photos, promoted on the White fund-raising invitation, that fueled the fury that now has UNM Vice-President for Athletics Paul Krebs again repeating that Alford is not endorsing White and that there will be guidelines to avert a future donnybrook.

"I would strongly advocate we not publicly endorse political figures, because I think it jeopardizes our program and it compromises our fan base," Krebs told the ABQ Journal.

The newspaper July 4th carried a brief note of the July 16th White fundraiser dubbed "An Evening With Coach Alford," but it was this past Tuesday's blog quoting a Senior Alligator outraged that the coach would raise money by having his picture taken with partygoers that was used to heat the airwaves of talk radio giant 770 KKOB-AM and KOB-TV and advance the story.

Sheriff White told TV veteran Stuart Dyson that the criticism of the event was politically motivated. He cited fund-raisers Alford previously attended for Big Bill and Dem congressional candidate Harry Teague. White had a point, but it appeared Alford had hob knobbed at those events, not had his picture sold for a $1,000 a pop. That was brand new territory, according to the dean of ABQ sportswriters.

"It is unprecedented in my 30 years of covering the Lobos," said Rick Wright from the Journal newsroom, where political writer Jeff Jones and sports maven Mark Smith were putting together their story. Wright promised comment in his Friday column.

The White party was arranged by UNM lobbyist and former GOP State Rep. Joe Thompson. He e-mailed Alford to get confirmation for his attendance, which he got, but the exchange of e-mails appeared to leave open whether Thompson had fully informed Alford on what he was to do at the event.

LESSONS LEARNED?

This latest saga of La Politica is really not about Sheriff White and partisan politics. It is about the political judgement of the University of New Mexico. It is also about UNM employees--especially celebrity employees like Alford--using their state bestowed titles to raise money for political candidates. Vice-President Krebs and Alford played with fire and got burned. The flames were fanned by the Board of Regents. Two regents were co-hosting the White event. Veteran politico Jamie Koch is president of the board. He's now proposing that regents not be allowed to organize political fundraisers headlined by a UNM employee.

Krebs and Koch ought not to take baby steps in drafting guidelines for their respective purviews. What kind of coaches are they going to get if the job includes being a political pawn and a party ornament? Political involvement like that also risks making enemies as well as friends. That can negatively impact funding for UNM in Santa Fe and Washington. New Mexico institutions are already drenched in politics. The UNM sports program ought to be a dry zone.

PEELING THE LATEST POLL
Heinrich
You've got to constantly peel the onion in this political game and we were reminded of that once again when ABQ Dem congressional hopeful Martin Heinrich hit the streets with a poll that showed him beating Republican Darren White 47% to 44%. That's a real eyebrow raiser and contrary to the conventional wisdom that Sheriff White, with about 90% name ID, holds the lead at the start of this race. It turns out he probably does.

The key to the June 29-July 2 Heinrich poll is the phrasing of the question:

"Thinking about the election for U.S. Congress in November, if the election for U.S. Congress were held today and the candidates were Democrat Martin Heinrich and Republican Darren White -- for whom would you vote, Democrat Martin Heinrich or Republican Darren White?"

Most polls do not include the candidate's political party. In this case, clearly identifying Heinrich as the Democrat and White as the R, likely boosted Heinrich's numbers. Ask the question without the party identifier and you are likely to get an entirely different result.

In fact, Republican insiders say White is right on the 50% mark and Heinrich is in the 30's in polling conducted in the same time frame as Heinrich's. That is similar to a poll the White campaign did last year. Have things stayed static in the ABQ race? There's reason to believe so. Heinrich's primary media buy--TV and mail--was relatively small and short in duration.

So just where does the race stand? White remains the clear frontrunner, but Heinrich's poll shows the potential for another close ABQ US House race.

JIMENEZ AND PERLMAN

So what gives with Big Bill Chief of Staff James Jimenez? The Alligators were certain he had turned in his walking papers. We headlined their "news" in a post Fourth of July blog. But the ABQ Journal, picking up on our report, is told by the Guv's office that Jimenez has indeed been approached with unspecified job offers, but as far as Jimenez leaving, a Guv's spokesman says: "I don't think there's anything imminent. He's still the chief of staff."

Did the Alligators jump out of the pond too soon on this one? Maybe, but it seems clear that Jimenez is casting about, especially as the presidential election draws closer. If Obama wins and Big Bill gets a job and leaves, Jimenez would not be working with new Guv Diane Denish.

By the way, the Journal reported that "despite Internet reports to the contrary" Jimenez was still around. Well, this blog is those "Internet reports." However, we won't be using that as our new domain name, despite the paper's encouragement.

The Gators also had Deputy Chief of Staff Brian Condit succeeding Jimenez when he did hit the exits. While any such move is on hold, word comes from Santa Fe that former ABQ Chief Administrative Officer Bruce Perlman, who recently resigned from the city, will become a deputy chief of staff for Big Bill. Michelle Welby, the Guv's health-policy adviser, is leaving and insiders say Perlman, among other things, will pick up responsibility in that area. Condit is deputy chief of staff for legislative and political affairs.

Perlman had enough of the ABQ hot seat, answering to the demanding Mayor Chavez, but where he's headed the temperature won't be going down much, especially with health-care in his portfolio. Read on....

HEALTHY SURPLUS FOR HEALTH?

Big Bill didn't waste any time bringing up the subject of a special legislative session when the rosy new state revenue projections were announced. Those numbers continue to show our little ol' state awash in the green stuff as a result of the black stuff--oil. Natural gas prices are bringing in even more money. Prices for both resources have been soaring for better than a year. And as for all the legislators and wall-leaners who think Bill will end up not calling a special to deal with health care, don't unpack your bags. From the Guv's office:

The state is projected to have $392 million in new money for the upcoming budget year. The Governor said the new money will be on the table when he calls the Legislature into a special session to address access to universal health coverage. "We can invest in health coverage in a fiscally responsible way. While cynics will no doubt complain about using revenue from oil and gas, I am confident..that New Mexico's economy is performing well and will allow us to expand health care coverage to all New Mexicans." Richardson said.

We seem to be headed for another showdown, with key legislators like Senate Finance Committee Chair John Arthur Smith telling the AP some of the surplus should be rebated to taxpayers to help them with the high cost of gas. And Smith adds more fuel to the fire by telling Bill that oil and gas money is too volatile an income source to use for a permanent health care fix.

Richardson previously said if he did not get a deal in a special, he would take what does get done to the regular 2009 sixty-day session. By lowering expectations for a special in either August or September, the cynics wonder whether the Guv is doing more grandstanding than governing. But Bill's backers relish his brinkmanship.

You mean all that talk of a possible health agreement between Bill and the Senate was just that? Seems so--at least so far. Stay tuned.

E-mail your news and comments.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2008
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

We broke the news this week that Downs at ABQ owner Paul Blanchard, a major friend of Big Bill, would be throwing the Guv a high dollar fundraiser Sept. 21st. It was an eyebrow raiser for the New Mexican's Steve Terrell who wondered about that application Blanchard has pending to move the racetrack from the fairgrounds and over to Moriarty. Would the fundraiser influence that state decision?

The Blanchard fund raiser comes on the heels of Bill taking hits over campaign contributions his Prez campaign received from Santa Fe developer Gerald Peters who is involved in a big transportation department construction deal pending with the state. The Guv ordered that job rebid.

Pay to play allegations have been the soft underbelly of the current Santa Fe administration, but it has not hurt the Guv's public standing. Why not? Because, the experts say, the public believes that's the way the system works for all politicians.

THE BILL DEAL

On the Prez trail, the Guv is getting tougher on his opponents as we hit the four month mark before the Iowa January caucuses. They are turning into something of a do or die for the New Mexican. He hovers at around 10 to 12% in the polls there and awaits a mistake from the front runners. His other options are Veep, secretary of state in a Dem administration as well as a NM US Senate run. If he runs smooth from here on out, perhaps his early mistakes will be forgotten. If Richardson isn't having the time of his life dealing with all these options, he needs fun therapy.

THE PETE BEAT

He's back on the radar of the national pundits after being absent for a while. The re-election prospects of NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici are analyzed in the National Journal where Charlie Cook says "New Mexico looks tougher" for Republicans as they fight to avoid heavy Senate losses next year.

Will legal or political problems trip up Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens or New Mexico GOP Sen. Pete Domenici, who are 84 and 75 years old, respectively? Stevens is under scrutiny by the FBI as part of an investigation into influence buying in the state. For Domenici, questions have been raised about the propriety of a phone call from him to a U.S. attorney over the status of an investigation of Democratic political figures, and whether Domenici had anything to do with that U.S. attorney being subsequently sacked. New Mexico looks tougher for Republicans and now that they are in the minority in the Senate, Domenici doesn't have the clout he wielded just a year ago.

THE CAMPAIGN IN COLOR
Martinez
Photog Mark Bralley is out on the city campaign trail. Here's a pic he shot of Katherine Martinez, the political newcomer and government affairs rep for the Home Builders Association of Central NM who is trying to unseat incumbent district 2 councilor Debbie O'Malley. Martinez is the underdog but she has raised enough money to dot the North Valley district with her yellow campaign signs. Debbie has opted for public financing and also has signs up and will hit the mailboxes heavy.

HARRIS RECALL

The city ethics board audit of the campaign finances of District 9 ABQ City Councilor Don Harris has been released and despite being cited for 150 campaign violations, Harris calls the findings "messy, but not dirty." The ethics panel will now decide at a September 24 hearing what punishment, if any, it should mete out. Harris faces a recall election October 2.

Have a good weekend, and stop by again soon.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

The circumstance prompts an eyebrow raiser from conservative House Minority Leader Jim Townsend  now arguing that the $250 rebates approved at the recent session of the Legislature were a pittance: