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| Sheriff Gonzales (Journal) |
The latest and final legal loss for BernCo Sheriff Many Gonzales in his desperate effort to win over $600,000 in taxpayer funding for his mayoral campaign leaves him with no other option than to rapidly seek private donations to keep his struggling campaign from complete collapse.
Dem State Rep. Debbie Armstrong joins the list of House members who won't seek re-election next year. Its a pretty short list with ABQ Dem Rep. Daymon Ely the only other entry.
And with less than a month to go before heavy in-person early voting begins and just seven weeks until Election Day, the campaign clock is ticking so loudly it sounds like the chimes of Big Ben.
The scrappy lawman shot himself in the foot by having his campaign go rogue and collecting forged signatures to qualify for the public funds which in turn led to Tuesday's final court ruling that kept him out of the money and on the death watch.
Besides that court ruling there is another ominous sign. Donations to the outside PAC supporting Gonzales--Save Our City--had been coming in fairly strong but started to dry up in the latest reporting period when Gonzales was embroiled in legal imbroglios and not pounding away at the city's crime that had been motivating the big money.
Mayor Keller has over $500,000 in public financing still in his kitty and will soon be swamping the TV airwaves. At a minimum Gonzales would seem to need half that much to come even close to competing.
Gonzales, who remains a nominal Democrat, immediately blamed the "liberal establishment" for his loss in the courts.
In an email blast he called himself "a strong fiscal conservative," pointing out that he was attacked when he accepted federal law enforcement help from Trump.
He added what used to be an oldie but goodie in city politics but now looks soggy and saggy--repealing ABQ's status as a Sanctuary City.
Manny's urgent hard-right campaign missive might have made sense a month ago when Republican talk show host Eddy Aragon wasn't on the ballot, but Eddy and a cash-starved Manny are now eating from the same trough while Keller has the middle and left essentially to himself. That and Keller's cash are enough to bring this thing home with an outright 50 percent win and no run off. Stay tuned.
DODGING A BULLET
Talk about dodging a bullet. Demesia Padilla, state taxation secretary under GOP Gov. Martinez, was quietly sentenced to five years probation last week. No jail time for her embezzlement convictions, even though she faced up to 18 years in prison on the felony charges. That led one reader to exclaim:
If anyone needed a sentence as an example this woman was it!
The Padilla sentencing came amid sensational charges against former Dem State Rep. Sheryl Wiliams Stapleton who faces charges of stealing nearly $1 million from the ABQ Public Schools. She's probably hoping to get the same judge as Demesia.
MLG BFF BIDS BYE
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| Rep. Armstrong |
Armstrong is an expert in health care and a BFF of MLG who put out a statement praising the ABQ North Valley lawmaker. Armstrong says she wants to focus on family and other projects.
Armstrong is serving her fourth term from District 17 which will now see a major primary battle to replace her in the Dem heavy area which could also see more redistricting because of her departure.
Armstrong's legacy will be her medical expertise which was leaned on when the legislature adopted legal cannabis and approved an end of life options bill.
She will also be remembered for a major campaign controversy with MLG in 2018. Armstrong founded Delta Consulting with her which did most of its business with the state's high risk insurance program. Republicans called that into question.
And Armstrong was one of the few people in the room when MLG campaign aide James Hallinan alleged that the gubernatorial candidate threw a bottle of water on his crotch and made derogatory remarks. Hallinan received a legal settlement from Lujan Grisham's campaign of $62,500.
The retiring Armstrong may miss the Roundhouse but her future friendship with MLG should be an easier ride.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021