Let's ring out 2009 with some clippings from our newsroom floor--tidbits that got lost in the shuffle as we blogged our way through another year of New Mexico politics.

We all know that RJ Berry became mayor of ABQ by consolidating the city's Republican vote under his tent. But Berry consultant Jay McCleskey says R's not only supported Berry, they came out in larger numbers than in the 2005 mayoral derby:

One key to this turnout turnaround was the absentee voting swing from 2005 to 2009. Importantly, many of these Republicans who voted absentee had not cast ballots in the previous mayoral election. This boosted the Republican share of the overall electorate and led to Republicans outperforming their registration numbers by almost 10%.

Thirty-two percent of the city's electorate is Republican, but McCleskey said they made up 41.3 percent of the electorate in the October election that gave ABQ its first GOP mayor in nearly 25 years. In 2005, GOP mayoral turnout was 38.5 percent.

TRANSITIONS

From Rio Rancho

Gayland Bryant is calling it a career. The Corrales resident will be retiring as the Sandoval County director of public affairs on Dec. 31. “It’s really been a pleasure and challenge,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to work for and serve the people in what has been one of the fastest growing counties (in the nation) for a number of years.”

INTERESTING RACE

It's a three way race so far for the Democratic nomination to replace Alan Armijo on the Bernalillo County Commission. Businessman Dan Serrano tells us he is off and running. Former NM cabinet secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham has also announced a bid as has retired ABQ city planner Loretta Naranjo Lopez. She challenged Armijo unsuccessfully four years ago. Serrano has made several stabs at elective office. Lujan Grisham sought the ABQ congressional seat in 2008. The Armijo district is heavy Dem. Whoever wins the nomination in June can be expected to take the prize in November.

ALEX ABEYTA, JR. IS DEAD

Alex Abeyta, Jr., a veteran New Mexico power player, is dead at the age of 76. Abeyta served as Bernalillo County manager for nine years during 1979 to '91. He was also elected Bernalillo County Treasurer to a four year term in 2001. He was also in the restaurant business for many years. Alex had a bad back and in his later years was confined to a wheelchair. His spirits remained high. His last job was as a disability liaison to the NM Dept. of Transportation for the Governor's Commission on Disability.

THEY SAID IT

From NM columnist Sherry Robinson:

If you've ever spent $40 to send $10 worth of chile and pinto beans to a loved one overseas, you must be a New Mexican.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thanks for stopping by here in 2009. We invite you to join us in the new year. It should be fun. We'll elect a new governor, the three NM US Reps will face their first re-election bids and there will surely be some surprises in the campaigns for the 70 state House seats.

Thanks as well to our advertisers for their continued interest and support. They make possible our continued exploration of our beloved La Politica.

Happy New Year, New Mexico!

Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. Email your news and comments.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
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Critics have pounced on the Legislature's latest effort to police itself, calling an interim committee's proposed ethics commission an over engineered scheme resembling a Rube Goldberg contraption that will end up being a toothless sham. Their main complaint is the composition of the commission. Eight of the eleven members would be legislators. The Guv would appoint the remaining three members. What would it take to have a really independent ethics panel? A reader with a long background in ethics enforcement and elections comes with this:

Joe, I read the proposed bill and was struck by the same thing you mentioned-- the appointment process. All you have to do is see how the Federal Election Commission has turned into a partisan and toothless entity because of the so-called bipartisan appointment process. What happens is that each party protects their own from any penalties.

What New Mexico needs is along the lines of the Wisconsin Governmental Accountability Board. That state's Court of Appeals appoints retired judges to the board and these appointees are prohibited from engaging in any political activity. The Board has supervision of ethics and elections as well as some review over state contracts.

I think that those who have endorsed the proposed commission here don't believe they can get anything tough passed and signed by the Governor...The rationale is that something is better than nothing, but I don't really see the composition of this commission as serious...

So what will come out of the January legislative session? A milquetoast commission? A strong Wisconsin type panel? Or nothing? Don't bet a lot of money against the third option.

WHO PAYS?

Now that it appears Congress is about to pass a health care reform bill, supportive lawmakers have started their spin patrol. ABQ Dem US Rep. Martin Heinrich came with a twist in a recent newsletter to quiet concerns over the cost of the measure. He said the costs are fully covered:

Half through eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and half through a surcharge on the income of the top 0.3 percent of the wealthiest individuals...which includes 590 households in our district and excludes 99.81 percent of our residents...

You mean all those folks concerned that their Medicare is going to be slashed to pay for the reform have nothing to fear? Look to hear more about that in the 2010 campaign.

Mayor Berry
He's only been in a month, but early signs indicate that new ABQ GOP Mayor RJ Berry is going to resist the temptation to try to steer this middle of the road city down a right-wing path. His campaign rhetoric over ABQ being a "sanctuary city" has been toned down and any attempt at changing law enforcement policy toward undocumented residents has been put on the back burner. He says he will study the controversial red light camera program, not move to eliminate it. Also, he will not immediately swing a bloody axe by pushing for layoffs in the city work force and he will have a Democrat or two at his elbow, i.e., chief administrative officer David Campbell.

All of this has not gone unnoticed by R's who want a sterner and more conservative Berry. There has been some post-holiday buzz among Republicans over the new GOP mayor's absence from the big Bernalillo County GOP Christmas party. We're told some 150 attended, but not Berry or any of his top Republican aides like Public Safety director Darren White or constituent services head Tito Madrid.

Was Berry sending a message? Maybe. After all, three Republican city councilors were the only ones to vote against his nomination of Campbell as CAO. Or perhaps Berry is just generally wary of being too tightly embraced by the GOP in a city where Democratic registration is 48 percent and the GOP commands only 32 percent. It doesn't take long for that math to have an impact as you weigh the future from the lofty heights of the 11th floor of City Hall.

A SPEEDING CAUCUS?

NM GOP state senators have a good start on forming a "Speeding Caucus." First it was Roswell Senator "Lightning" Rod Adair getting busted this summer for clocking 118 MPH in a 65 mph zone in Guadalupe County. Now, Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle joins the club, according to a Senor Alligator. They report that Ingle was ticketed recently for going 59 mph in a 50 mph zone near the ghost town of Yeso west of Fort Sumner on the state's East side. In years past, the speeding caucus would have included Big Bill whose drivers regularly had heavy feet on the accelerator. But he hasn't had any speeding incidents of late. Maybe that's because he's been spending more time boating.

HE'S GONE--FOR NOW

Former Dem NM State Rep. Bob Perls emails us from bucolic Corrales:

...I will be leaving for DC to join the Department of State as a diplomat. I have accepted an appointment to the US Foreign Service...I will find out in January at which US Embassy I will serve. I served as state representative from 1993-1997 representing southern Sandoval County. I sold my medical technology company in 2008 and have been working on a Masters in Public Administration at UNM...I would hope to come back to New Mexico with newfound skills (and) provide innovative and ethical leadership for our state...

Sounds like fun, Bob. We've been looking into the French Foreign Legion ourselves, or maybe just a long weekend in Chama.

LET'S GET WET
John D'Antonio
We waded into a water controversy over Tucumcari way when we posted Catherine Bugg's complaints over farmers, ranchers and other members of the Arch Hurley Conservancy Disrict not getting what they consider their full allotment of water from Conchas Lake, despite what Catherine said was a large snow pack. State Engineer John D'Antonio read what bugged Bugg and sent this in:

As an avid reader of your blog, I wanted to address Ms. Bugg’s concerns...Most of the surface water rights upstream of the Arch Hurley project are senior water rights that date back to the mid to late 1800’s, whereas Arch Hurley’s water rights only date back to 1938 and therefore are considered junior rights. We have investigated the alleged illegal diversions and have found all diversions are legal with valid senior rights. The claims of 250% snow pack is something that has not happened anywhere in New Mexico in recent memory.

We have been discussing a metering program for the Mora River and its tributaries that would allow future water use to be verified on a real-time basis to eliminate potential upstream over-diversions. Our goal is to have all of New Mexico’s water usage measured and metered in order to protect priority water rights and correctly administer water, especially during times of short supply.

Thanks, John and Catherine. You've reminded us why we're an aficionado of the deliciously obscure disputes that dot the landscape of La Politica.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. Email your news, your comments or your existential angst.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
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All 70 state House seats are up for election in 2010, voters in several New Mexico locales recently rejected bond issues and the economy is still flat on its back. Given that backdrop, we're not shocked to hear increasing reluctance from legislators when it comes to tax increases. This is in spite of a gargantuan state deficit that needs to be closed and estimated to be $600 million for the budget year that starts next July 1 and perhaps much more.

A proposal to reinstate the gross receipts tax on food purchases is being greeted with withering criticism as it would hurt low income and unemployed New Mexicans the most. Also, a vote for it could easily be transformed into a hot button campaign issue. House Dems in particular are treading carefully, knowing that primary challenges in this volatile environment can sprout as quickly as dandelions.

That doesn't mean lawmakers will completely skirt "revenue enhancement." There is a sense among veteran political analysts that the myriad of tax credits that are on the books and that cost the state hundreds of millions annually may be the most likely target for revenue raising. Backers of the generous film industry tax credit are especially tense as lawmakers search for revenue options that don't incite the voters or their potential opponents.

TAX RATES AND THE RICH

Big Bill would probably veto any increase in personal income tax rates, but his 2003 tax cuts for the wealthiest New Mexicans are coming under intense scrutiny because of the pronounced inequality between rich and poor households that arose this past decade. From the AP:

New Mexicans with the most money--the top 1 percent of taxpayers, who earn $395,000 or more--paid about 5 percent of their income in state and local taxes in 2007. That compares with almost 11 percent for those in the lowest income group...

But the ABQ Chamber of Commerce remains insistent that the Richardson 2003 tax cuts for the rich should stay. A spokeswoman:

The changes that were made in the income tax are part of a bigger plan to create an environment in New Mexico which brings high-wage jobs to the state for people who live here...As we make decisions about the budget, we ought to do that very carefully or we will roll back any possible progress that we can make to create high-wage jobs here when this economy turns around..

The problem for the Chamber and others continuing to advocate for these historically low tax rates for the rich is that there is no proof that they have spurred the creation of any of those promised high paying jobs and we've had the low rates for six years.

CAP CAPITAL GAINS?

While we're on the subject, lawmakers might also want to finally look at the very generous treatment of capital gains--sales of stocks and bonds and other assets--in NM. From The Institute on Tax and Economic Policy:

New Mexico is one just nine state offering a significant tax break for capital gains income. The state allows an exclusion equal to the greater of $1,000 or 50 percent of net capital gains income. This tax break costs the state as much as $51 million in 2008; repeating it would help ease New Mexico's budget woes, make its tax system fair, and keep valuable dollars in the state economy.

In casual conversation with a wide range of acquaintances, it is clear that there is populism in the air. But in Washington it appears to be drowning in a cascade of special interest influence. Wall Street remains in pleasure while Main Street remains in pain. In New Mexico, the same resistance to this populism---a reaction to a decade of economic imbalance--also is being manifested. But if state lawmakers are looking for tax hikes that would actually enlist popular approval, they may want to consider the tax brackets on the state's upper crust and the generous treatment of profits generated from stock and bond sales.

THE RICHARDSON 59 (Cont.)