Don Harris
Maybe for his next campaign Don Harris will use the slogan: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." You heard right--his next campaign. The controversial freshman ABQ City Councilor, survivor of an October recall effort, tells me he wants to stay in the political game and is laying plans to seek re-election in '09. He even invoked the Bible in announcing his intentions. "The verse is Proverbs, 19:11 "The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger; And it is his glory to pass over a transgression."

Attorney Harris, who in September was slapped with $2500 in fines from the city ethics board for campaign finance violations, says he is no rookie having won three elections in less than two years--his 2005 initial council election, the '05 run-off in which he captured the Four Hills area council seat and the October recall election which he easily turned back.

But Jim Lowe, the retired military man who spearheaded the Harris recall, is not welcoming back Harris, saying he expects at least one well-known Democrat and one Republican to enter the contest to challenge Republican Harris. They better look for some Bible verse or Don is going to quickly lock up that Evangelical vote.

HERE COMES CUMMINS

Look for GOP Bernalillo County Commissioner Tim Cummins to seek a seat on the Public Regulation Commission in the new year. Insiders say Cummins is preparing an entry and so far faces fellow Republican and former ABQ City Councilor Allan Reed in the June primary. Cummins is term limited at the commission. He is also is a former ABQ city councilor. The seat he's going after is held by Democrat Jason Marks who is seeking a second four year term. The district is actually GOP leaning. Marks won a 52% to 48% victory over Ward Camp in 2002. But the seat was previously held by Republican Herb Hughes.

WHAT ABOUT NEXT YEAR?

That's the question they are already asking even as they sigh in relief that there will apparently not be any more layoffs in the next year for NM's national labs. Senator Domenici saved the day--again. But is the day of reckoning merely being postponed? Pete is retiring and has just one more year on the Hill. After that, it's every lab for itself.

ANCHOR ETHNICITY

We've blogged that with KOB-TV's Carla Aragon and KOAT'-TV's Cynthia Izaguirre leaving the scene, there will be no Hispanic female anchors in the ABQ market. But longtime politico Kurt Lohbeck says he believes Izaguirre's replacement, Shelly Ribando, is Cuban-American, giving the market one female prime time Hispanic anchorwoman. Ribando is coming in from Orlando, Fl. Maybe someone from KOAT can confirm Kurt's take and we can pass it on to you.

Also on the media beat, while many have been wondering about the fate of the Albuquerque Tribune, they've failed to notice the Albuquerque Journal's circulation problems. Veteran New Mexico reporter Dennis Domrzalski, a sometimes disgruntled alumnus of the Trib, fills us in.

LOUISIANA MAN
Lenton Malry
OK, Lenton Malry. This being the Christmas season we are going to succumb to your shameless self-promotion. "Bernalillo County Neighborhood Association Coordinator Lenton Malry, PhD. has been inducted into his alma mater’s Alumni Hall of Fame at Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana. Malry, 67, graduated from GSU in 1962 with a B.S. in elementary education. He later received his Master’s degree from Texas College and his PhD. from UNM in Administration."

Lenton also served as the first African-American NM legislator and as a Bernalillo County Commissioner. But his big claim to fame is his 20 years of contributions to our Election Night coverage at KANW 89.1 FM, where he has unfailingly reported early results from key precincts. Coming from Louisiana gives Lenton a leg up on La Politica. I think that's about the only other state besides this one that generates enough political news to do a daily blog...

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2007
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