Tuesday, July 21, 2009October Special Session Coming Into View; Bill's Call But Key Lawmakers Bowing To Inevitable; State Finances Shipwrecked, Plus: The Carruthers Stretch![]() The big question for the special which would have to be officially called by Big Bill is: Are we going to have across-the-board cuts to balance the state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1st? Maybe not, says Wilson-Beffort: "We hope we are not looking into across the board cuts. It is a complex situation, but there are some programs that are not necessary for running state government that could be cut," she told me after a recent LFC session. Bucket loads of federal stimulus money are slated to be plugged into ongoing government programs like Medicaid to avoid huge shortfalls, but plunging oil and gas revenues continue. Also, Big Bill and Dem Governors know a second federal stimulus bill is politically untenable as R's score points over the already huge federal deficit. One possible worry for the Guv in a special session could be a grab for the NM stimulus money by legislators seeking to divert it to their special projects, but financial circumstances are such it seems the chief executive will have little choice but to call the special. Gerges Scott, a former journalist and now a communications consultant specializing in energy issues with public affairs company DW Turner, points out: For every 10 cent drop in the price for a thousand cubic feet of natural gas, the state loses $12 million annually. For every dollar a barrel of oil drops, the state loses $3.4 million. Natural gas prices have fallen to around the $3.50 level--a stunning crash that is costing the state hundreds of millions in annual revenues. Oil prices at or below $60 a barrel are adding to the financial pressure. And the general recession is causing personal income and gross receipts tax to fall off the cliff. What a mess! THE TRIGGER Wilson-Beffort ![]() Those plunging personal and gross receipts tax collections are caused in part by fearful psychology. New Mexican consumers, like their counterparts elsewhere, have shut their wallets and purses, concerned that it could be their job that is the next to vanish. Throw on top of that the near depression conditions in the ABQ commercial real estate market and you have a state government under increasing pressure to restructure and rid itself of the excesses accumulated during the great bull market that crashed and burned in 2008. POPULIST WAVE? Smith aka "Dr. No" ![]() As rank and file state workers begin to absorb the financial hit, an undertow of populism is evident regarding the outsized salaries for hundreds of political employees, educational administrators and other state positions that have seen their pay scales skyrocket under Big Bill. Outrage is also being expressed over apparent violations of the state's hiring freeze ordered by the Governor. Senator Wilson-Beffort said that issue has been a hot one among LFC members as they question the authorization for exceptions to the freeze. THE CHAIRMAN Rep. Saavedra ![]() Still, taking on a powerful chairman who can administer heavy payback if a challenge fails, could keep potential opponents in the heavy Dem district at bay. WATCH YOUR WALLET ![]() Another year of this depressed economy and the rubber is really going to hit the road. Federal stimulus money and excess dollars still floating around from the golden years are preventing a full-fledged crisis that would force widespread government layoffs and severe program cuts. Chairman Smith and Company hope an economic recovery will kick in before unprecedented action has to be taken. Meanwhile, an anxious public looks on, wondering what programs, salaries and jobs may be cut and whether the politically connected will continue to avoid their share of the burden. SPIN PATROL Gov. Carruthers ![]() But as endearing as the home towning can be, it doesn't mean we're off the spin watch. And that brings us to a contention of former Governor Carruthers. The dean of the College of Business at NM State University asserted in an ABQ Journal interview that Martinez is better known than Carruthers was at this stage of his campaign for Governor. Garrey sought and won the 1986 GOP Guv nod. He also claimed Susana was more known than Gary Johnson was in the summer before the 1994 GOP Guv primary. Johnson won that race and was elected Governor in November. Here's Garrey's newspaper quote: Carruthers...said (Martinez) is "held in extremely high regard in Dona Ana County as a crusading DA," and has better name recognition now than he or the other recent Republican governor, Gary Johnson, did at this stage of their campaigns. Garrey may want to review his history. By July of 1985, Carruthers, now 69, had a statewide profile and was a well-known New Mexico political personality. Why? Carruthers served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1974 to 1975, director of the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute at New Mexico State University, State Chair of the NM Republican Party from 1977 to 1979 and Assistant Secretary of Interior for Land and Resources from 1981 to 1984. It was this well-established resume that put Carruthers in the top tier of GOP candidates for 1986. As well-known as DA Martinez is in Dona Ana County, to say she is as well-known as Carruthers was 10 months before his June primary is, well, a hometown stretch. GARREY AND GARY Susana Martinez ![]() All of this is not to say that Susana can't win, only that she is going to need more than hometown boosterism to do it. An unvarnished view of the historical challenge that awaits her and a plan to bring into her tent R's who live outside her home county would seem to be a sensible start. THE CRUCES CONNECTION When we think of Governors who came out of Las Cruces we always think of Jerry Apodaca, the state senator who was elected chief executive in 1974 and whose campaign was the first we ever covered. Garrey Carruthers was from Las Cruces when he won the governorship in 1986. but we always felt Garrey ran as a hometown hybrid. He grew up in the Four Corners--on a farm in Aztec--and when he campaigned in '86 he claimed both Cruces and San Juan County as home areas. Kind of like the first President Bush who claimed both Texas and Connecticut as home states. But when he won in 1985, Garrey was a Governor residing in Las Cruces, even if it didn't quite feel that way. SPOILED ENCHILADAS ![]() I guess he couldn't wait for enchiladas. And we don't know if he wanted red or green!" WHY WOULDN'T THEY? Rey Garduno ![]() Substantial police raises (already negotiated for the current fiscal year) will put a strain on the city budget as tax collections continue to sputter. Garduno says criticism of the police budget has become tantamount to casting aspersions on mom and apple pie. But he points out public safety is consuming an ever larger percentage of the budget. More aggressive oversight is needed, argues the councilor. And he sounds persuasive. Garduno's is a lone voice on the nine member council where the political implications of appearing "anti-public safety" are too hot to handle. The candidates for mayor join with Chavez in heartily endorsing more and more spending. (City Councilor Ken Sanchez has warned of tighter budget times ahead, and Monday repeated his concerns. Can't the dead-tree media do an update on the public safety budgets?) Garduno pointed out that a long ago shop-lifting conviction he had and that surfaced during his council campaign in 2007 would surely be brought up if he aggressively pursues a watchdog role. He's probably right, but his willingness to advocate an overdue public debate at a personal cost has a ring of nobility. That's not a word that we have been able to employ much in describing recent events in our still beloved La Politica... E-mail your news and comments. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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