Thursday, February 16, 20232023 Unveils New Generation Of Political Leaders; The Smalls Are New Power Couple As Other Youthful Politicos Also Rise, Plus: Rep. Jaramillo Explains Controversial Booze Vote And One Gun Bill That Might Have A Chance
The latest sign of that came Wednesday when the White House nominated former southern NM US Rep and current UDSA Rural Development Director Xochitl Torres Small to be the next Deputy Secretary of the US Agriculture Department, the number two position in the sprawling agency. Her appointment--expected to be confirmed by the Senate--is an affirmation of her bureaucratic competence and added to her already considerable star power in her home state. At only 38, Torres Small has the political world at her feet. And her husband is right there with her. Nathan Small, similar in age to his wife, was named chairman of the powerful state House Appropriations Committee last month in a coup engineered by new House Speaker Javier Martinez, only 41 himself and already showing he is here to stay. Then there's US Rep Melanie Stansbury, 44, who has demonstrated that she is no fluke. After winning a special election to the ABQ area House seat in 2021, she followed it up with a 56 percent win for a two year term last November. Put in new southern US Rep. Gabe Vasquez, only 38, and new Attorney General Raul Torrez, about 47, and there's a crowd of Generation X and Y politicos who form the nucleus of the state's future leadership. It's especially notable that all of them are Democrats, assuring the majority party of a strong stable of contenders for years to come and yet another obstacle to a Republican revival. This new slate of leaders is also diverse with several women, Hispanics, an Anglo and with roots in both ABQ and the south. Senators Martin Heinrich, 51, and Ben Ray Lujan, 50, are in their prime years but must already be hearing footsteps. EXPLAINING HER VOTE  Socorro and Dona Ana county Rep. Tara Jaramillo offered no explanation at the time of her vote but two blog readers who are her constituents wrote her of their disappointment. Here's Jaramlillo's reply: I am sorry you are disappointed. I had many constituents who own winery’s and brewery’s in our rural area from Socorro to Dona Ana (6) who have had a hard time keeping their businesses open during the pandemic. They expressed that .25 a glass increase would cause a large burden and potentially shutter their doors.
I am a huge proponent of mental health support and believe that the funding that I have supported and proposed will go a long way in assisting individuals with addition. But the pandemic is long over. Also, small businesses impacted by it, such as the wineries Jaramillo mentions, were eligible for federal aid under the American Rescue Act. And should the negligible impact of the tax on a handful of businesses outweigh the state's responsibility to address its ranking as worst in the nation for alcohol deaths and disease? Jaramillo says she is a "huge proponent" of mental health support but the alcohol tax would bring in $155 million a year with almost all of it going for treatment. What comparable bill is she supporting that will do that? There is none. AN UNLIKELY COALITION? This commonsense safe storage bill will help protect New Mexico’s children from gun violence and tragic accidents by making sure adults store their firearms safely and responsibly. Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart has signed up as a sponsor. Can she put together an unlikely coalition? POLITICAL FANTASY  Joe, one could spin out an overheated political fantasy from this story:
1. Heinrich runs and wins his Senate Seat in 2024
2. Heinrich runs and wins the Governor's race in 2026
3. He resigns his Senate seat a couple of hours before being sworn in as Governor (and here's the important part) while MLG is still the Governor.
4. Michelle appoints herself to his Senate seat! Good for 4 years!
5. Howie becomes Governor for an hour!
6. The Alligators go wild! Wild is just how those Gators like it, Kevin. But if MLG did get the appointment she would have to stand for election for the remainder of the term in the '28 general election. THE BOTTOM LINES We stumbled in a first draft of our US Senate coverage Wednesday, saying that Steve Pearce ran against Martin Heinrich. He did run for Senate--but in 2008 against Tom Udall. . . And we misidentified the Maryland senator who had a stroke. He is Chris Van Hollen. . .Finally, Sen. Lujan, who we said did not address the Legislature this year, will do so February 21. Sorry to disappoint those seeking punishment but these are relatively minor infractions and there will be no ten lashes with a wet noodle. But have a nice weekend. . . This is the home of New Mexico politics E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 Wednesday, February 15, 2023Heinrich Confirms Interest in '26 Guv Run By Not Ruling It Out; Haaland Would Present Formidable Obstacle In Far Off Race, Plus: Lujan's Tears Of Thanks And Solution Offered For Overtime Abuse At ABQ Fire And Rescue
In an interview after his remarks (to the state Legislature), Heinrich declined to address speculation about his possible interest in running for governor in 2026. “Right now, I’m focused on my reelection two years from now,” he told the Journal, referring to the 2024 election cycle. He also said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who won reelection to a second four-year term in November, should be able to focus on her second term as governor without distractions about possible successors. That's not ruling it out but going for it is no easy decision. Much will depend on Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland, a Dem favorite who would be the first Native American to serve as Governor, if she ran and won. She is an almost irresistible lure to Democrats, similar to when Republicans made history by nominating Susana Martinez who became the first Hispanic woman Governor in the nation. Friends of Haaland, 62, have signaled that she is also serious about running. Based on discussions with veteran Dem operatives Haaland is currently seen as a hands-down favorite in a primary battle against Heinrich, 51, but the race is so far off that firm judgments are not possible. Meanwhile, in his '24 re-election bid Heinrich appears in good shape. He is still waiting for a major Republican to announce their candidacy while the state continues to act reliably blue. Heinrich's approval numbers have never been high but he has managed to generate enough enthusiasm to put him over the top in every campaign he has waged for the US House and Senate. Also, his last GOP senate opponent--Mick Rich ---was not first tier and lacked national backing. Our Alligators continue to report periodically that Heinrich is not very happy with his senate job and that is motivator for him to look at the Guv race. But he is accumulating important seniority on the Hill and will get more if he wins next year. That and the risky bet that he could beat Haaland--should she signal a run--could have him reject a run for the Roundhouse Sen. Heinrich and Reps Teresa Leger Fernandez and Gabe Vasquez gave speeches to a joint session of the Legislature Monday. Video is here. TEARS OF THANKS Sen. Ben Ray Lujan gave a moving speech recently to the International Stroke Conference as he observed the first anniversary of his own stroke on January 27, 2022. Although he has previously spoke of the perilous night when he was felled, this speech is the first time we have seen and heard him publicly go into deep detail. It is quite a gripping account and had the 50 year old lawmaker moved to tears several times. He noted that in the senate his colleagues John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland have also suffered strokes. The NYT came with this report on Fetterman's recent hospitalization and Lujan's ongoing support of him. OVERTIME SOLUTION?  Joe,
The overtime situation has been completely mismanaged for years at AFR. This last Chief just let it get even worse. The problem has been there since at least Fire Chief David Downey was appointed in 2014. The chiefs bring in their buddies for cushy support division positions. To make matters worse, many of these individuals are paramedics taken from the field positions they were sent to school for perform.
To make matters even worse, they are paid "skill pay" for a skill they are not performing when they are in a support division. On top of that, when they work overtime from a support division, they will work at about a 40% higher hourly rate than paramedics who are assigned to the field. That's because the support divisions make a higher hourly rate because they work 40 hour work weeks as opposed to the 56 hours that are worked by field personnel.
Both these hourly rates will work out to the same weekly pay. For a 40 hour person to make equal to a field worker, their hourly rate is higher. This part of it is reasonable, it's how it's been manipulated to increase overtime that is not. Many of these support paramedics claim they are unable to perform their field duties as paramedics in order to get into the scam overtime positions. Once there they are miraculously cured and able to work overtime. It's so unfair because these support positions provide the opportunity for all who work there to get evenings, weekends and holidays off, while the field personnel work all these times regardless: that's their job. Easy solutions:
1. Send all trained paramedics back to the field to fill open paramedic positions. These positions are where most of the overtime is being worked anyway. 2. Those who can not or will not go back to the field should have their paramedic "skill pay" taken away since they are not utilizing these skills. 3. If support personnel are to work overtime in field, they should be working it at the field rate not the support rate. This has been extremely unfair to field personnel who see this happening. The services provided by AFD are necessary and the firefighters are truly heroes, just like the police officers. It's the abuses that the Chiefs allow and those willing to take advantage of it that make their respective departments look bad, Joe. Put some pressure on the abusers, but don't hit the rest of the public servants too hard. Overtime is necessary, it's the abuse that needs to stop. If our informed reader can come up with a reform plan, can't new AFD Chief Emily Jaramillo, Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael and Mayor Keller come up with one? And where are city council critics Dan Lewis and Louie Sanchez? Just asking. . . This is the home of New Mexico politics E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 Tuesday, February 14, 2023A Step Ahead Of The Sheriff; ABQ Fire Chief Heads For The Exits Amid Questions On Overtime Abuse; APD Cancer Now At AFD?
That's a good idea when your public information officer pulled down an over-the-top $191,000 in annual pay, thanks to a boatload of questionable overtime. But then pampered public safety officials have learned there's not much consequence to their in-your-face overtime abuse. Remember APD's Simon Drobik, the "robocop" who for years was among the highest paid city employees and who made $193,000 in 2018 by reporting he was in two places at one time? An internal APD investigation said he was engaged in rampant fraud but the city and AG Balderas ultimately looked the other way. Drobik resigned and nothing came of it. Now it appears that under Chief Gallegos APD's bad habits have spread to the fire department, a job he was appointed to only in 2021 but now appears to be getting the mayoral boot in an effort to put out the overtime blaze that erupted on his watch. That blaze not only includes the $193K for the PIO, who is also a paramedic, but the $235,000 pulled down by AFD's Clinton Anderson, making him the highest paid employee in the city, thanks to massive overtime. In fact, AFD had over 50 of the highest paid employees of the top 250 on the city payroll while APD had 143 of them. Police and fire personnel not only account for the overwhelming majority of the city’s highest paid employees, thanks primarily to overtime, but many are more than doubling their base pay. In 2021 State Auditor Colón completed the seventh APD overtime investigation in seven years and was greeted with a yawn. Before him Auditor Tim Keller got the same treatment and now as mayor presides over a mid-management overtime cancer in APD that has spread to AFD. Now it lands in the lap of new Auditor Joseph Maestas, if he can muster the muscle to shove back against an old boys network that leans on a public too willing to label them "heroes." And the city auditor (who's that?) should get complimentary smelling salts if needed to be awakened. A SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT
And AFD has been a traditionally easy beat for ABQ firefighters, if not the paramedics, with generous retirement and pay packages. It appears that under Chief Gallegos the overtime fire was jumping the containment line and engulfing AFD. Now it is hoped his exit will extinguish the blaze. It would be appropriate to say nice things about the retiring chief and his 23 years of mostly distinguished public service but the city has already done that in a lengthy love note as they held the exit door open for him. We get the "undistinguished" stuff. Now comes the new chief, Deputy Chief Emily Jaramillo, who we dutifully note will be the first woman to lead the department when confirmed by the city council. Bully for her. But it's not a gender gap that we have at the ABQ Fire Department, it's a credibility gap. Check it out, Chief Emily. Just don't charge us overtime. ALCOHOL TAX Reader reaction to our Monday blog on legislation that would increase the state alcohol tax and devote the proceeds to alcohol treatment. Richard Ferrary writes: Thank you for your blog thison HB 230. I have been married to state Rep. Joanne Ferrary for 25 years and one of the first things I knew about her was her involvement in addressing the DWI crisis in the early 90's.
You may remember the Christmas Eve 1992 Cravens car crash that resulted in legislation (including the excise tax increase) to attack that issue. NM has made solid strides to reduce DWI since then.
The problem is, DWIs only represent 10% of NMs excessive drinking problem. So many of our current problems can be traced (in part) to excessive alcohol consumption.
Unless both Ds and Rs in the legislature decide to stop taking money (and other benefits) from the alcohol lobby, the situation will continue to get worse! THE BOTTOM LINES A math error on the Monday blog had sharp-eyed readers coming with a correction. We pegged the cost of renovating 100 hotel rooms for the homeless in ABQ's NE Heights at $570,000 per unit when it should have been $57,000. The hotel is being purchased by the city for $5.7 million. This is the home of New Mexico politics E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 Monday, February 13, 2023A Quarter A Quaff; Alcohol Tax Aimed At Cutting Consumption Would Be First Hike In Decades, Plus: Taxing Booze Too Taxing For New Dem Rep; She Votes No, Also: ABQ Sees Progress On Homeless Housing Front The influential lobbyists armed with Rio Chama expense accounts would label that "newspeak" but with a worst in the nation ranking for deaths caused by alcohol the state continues to take the argument to the grave.
The narrative change is a free tip for the House Taxation and Revenue Committee where one of the session's most competently drafted bills--HB 230--now heads after winning on a 6 to 4 vote in the House Health and Human Services Committee. The measure would, for the first time in 30 years, raise the cost of drinking and thus cut down on consumption, if numerous studies and real-world outcomes are any guide. The legislation is simple. Tax alcohol a quarter a serving, dropping the current method of taxing it by the gallon or liter and at an exceptionally low rate that amounts to 4 cents a beer and 7 cents for a shot of the hard stuff. The estimated $155 million raised from the quarter a drink increase would be devoted to treatment for alcohol related diseases. But an enormous need and well-crafted legislation don't guarantee success at the Roundhouse. We saw that with the multi-year efforts needed to reform the out of control payday loan industry and the effort to get a constitutional amendment for urgently needed early childhood education. BELOW THE RADAR The alcohol lobby's success is due to below the radar support. For example, freshman Dem Socorro area Rep. Tara Jaramillo, who has been a darling of progressives and even owns a healthcare business, surprisingly voted against the alcohol tax in the health committee. Jaramillo did not explain her vote but in these instances it is usually the campaign money that does the talking.
Business opposition has got this one wrong. They think we can build up the beaten down economy from the top down. We could if we were a "normal state" but with hundreds of thousands of residents among our 2.1 million afflicted with alcohol and drug addiction, poor education outcomes, obesity/diabetes, domestic violence, crime victimization and high suicide, repairing the population is the first order of business in helping business. How else will they fill the extraordinary number of vacancies they are saddled with? How else will more out of state business look to expand here? In other words, HB230 is pro-business and pro-life. For all the commitee Republicans to oppose it seems reflexive, not a result of critical thinking. Two of the bill's sponsors are Native Americans--Wonda Johnson in the House and Shannon Pinto in the Senate. They don't need to look far to get the body count due to alcohol. Neither did their grandparents. So here we are again at what the politicos like to call a "transformational moment" due to financial good fortune. But only if a large swath of the population is transformed. That hard work begins in the legislative trenches where Reps. Johnson, Ferrary and Thomson are--along with Senators Pinto and Sedillo Lopez. If you see them, lend them a shovel. They have a historic hole they're trying to dig out of. HOUSING PROGRESS  The Keller administration has moved relatively quickly to put in place a program that renovates hotels into housing for the unhoused. The city says this spring it should close on a $5.7 million deal to buy a hotel near Lomas and Eubank NE and begin converting it into 100 housing units for people now living on the streets. ABQ has a serious homeless crisis but not as onerous as other western cities like Los Angeles. If all goes according to plan, 100 units will make a dent in the homeless population here that is estimated at 2,000 to 5,000. This will not come cheap. Going by the price of the hotel being purchased it would cost some $60 million for the 1,000 conversions the city hopes to do by 2025. There are federal and state funds available to defray the expense, if the city can make this first project work. Also, zoning issues are minimal. The city has unveiled a comprehensive program to address the city's housing needs, some of which is going to draw intense debate, but it is a roadmap. Now if we only had one to lead us out of the crime quagmire. J. PAUL TAYLOR J. Paul Taylor is dead. He was a living legend in Las Cruces and a well-respected voice for education across the state who served 20 years in the state House and retired in 2005. The Governor said: You would be hard-pressed to find an individual as passionate about the people, culture and communities of New Mexico as J. Paul Taylor. . . a friend and mentor who demonstrated the true heart of a servant, always striving to make New Mexico a better place to live for future generations. J. Paul Taylor was 102. THE BOTTOM LINES MLG has been in DC for a governors conference and appeared with three other governors on CBS' Face the Nation Sunday. Video and a transcript are here. This is the home of New Mexico politics E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 |
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