Thursday, April 27, 2023New Mexico Music Back Atop Radio Ratings Heap, Plus: On The Econ Beat With Dreamstyle And Crime Helps Push Retail Icon Out of ABQ Neighborhood KANW 89.1 FM, owned by the ABQ Public Schools since the early 50's, took the #1 spot after slipping back from a previous stay at the top. The station continues to draw droves of listeners with music native to New Mexico and performed by a variety of local, professional artists. Also, the station has long been a favorite for those seeking NPR news programs, especially in morning drive time. Here are the Nielsen top stations in the ABQ metro which ranks 69th in size among the nation's 300 radio markets. The ratings measure the average share of the audience a station wins among listeners 12 years and older from 6 a.m. to Midnight: KZRR-FM Rock 5.3 KPEK-FM. 5.1 KKOB-AM News/Talk 4.7 KMGA-FM AC 4.5 KBQI-FM Country 4.3 KABG-FM Classic Hits 3.9 KKSS-FM Rhythmic CHR 3.9
THE ECON BEAT Renovo Home Partners, a private equity home improvement network, announced majority purchases of three remodeling leaders. . . Renovo’s model focuses on a platform to support growth within their markets. Albuquerque-based Dreamstyle Remodeling, Maryland-based Remodel USA, and Long Island-based Alure Home Improvements are the first three companies under the Renovo umbrella. Dreamstyle has sought out investors to support its expansion goals, CEO Larry Chavez told Pro Remodeler. Dreamstyle Remodeling offers bath and kitchen remodels, window, door, and siding services in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, and west Texas. Chavez will remain CEO until retirement. So Chavez made a tidy sum in the deal but much of the Journal advertising did not survive as the out of state owners took control. Chavez is perhaps best known for acquiring the naming rights for the famous Pit for ten years and $10 million only to see the deal fall apart in acrimony. CRIME AND BUSINESS
“We were approached with the opportunity to take the old Kmart across the freeway (on Carlisie near Indian School) next to where the new Whole Foods is going in,” said Kenton Van Harten, the current owner of American Home Furniture. Van Harten cited crime as a reason for the relocation from the property they've occupied for 60 years: “The crime around here is a bit of an issue and was just an opportunity to kind of refresh the brand.” In March Wal-Mart shuttered a store on San Mateo Blvd. in the SE Heights, another area rife with criminal activity. The city now appears to be undergoing an unfortunate normalization of the long-running crime crisis with businesses taking matter into their own hands, as they see little progress in fighting crime in their neighborhoods and anticipate more of the same. This is symptomatic of an epic failure in public policy, spanning several mayoral administrations and city councils and changing the very fabric of the state's largest city. 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, April 26, 2023Two GOP State House Heavies Eye Departures And '24 Bids For Senate Seats, Plus: It's Ron Not Don For Domenici Son Laxalt
First, GOP sources report former state House Minority Leader Jim Townsend of Artesia is looking for a promotion. This after giving up his leadership title this past legislative session following the GOP's failure to make inroads into the large Dem House majority--45 of the 70 seats--at the November election. What's surprising is that insiders say Townsend plans on launching a primary challenge against two term Senator Ron Griggs, a former mayor Alamogordo who is indicating he will stay around for any Townsend challenge. District 34, made up of parts of Dona Ana, Eddy and Otero counties, is solid R so the winner of the primary will have an easy run in the '24 general election. So what's the outlook? Townsend is signaling that he will run on the results he has delivered for the area in the House and will fault Griggs for not performing for the district. Griggs is well-liked but now will have to raise campaign cash.
Townsend did not get voted out and did not plan to leave. But when the House GOP caucus signaled that they were tired of Rep. Rod Montoya and wanted to replace him as Minority Whip, Townsend said 'if he goes, I go.' When Montoya lost Townsend pulled his name from consideration for the top post and the caucus turned to Rep. Ryan Lane to fill the Minority Leader position. Montoya and Townsend were tied at the hip in the last election, raising some $1.8 million for a committee they led to take out House Democrats, but their campaign never got off the ground and the pair took a severe hit from fellow R's for the failure. MONTOYA ON MOVE Meanwhile, Montoya is hoping to leave the pain of the House behind and join Townsend in the state Senate. Our R's report he will seek the District 2 Senate seat in San Juan County held by longtime Senator Steven Neville who is retiring after serving since 2005. He could have an easy time of it as Montoya remains popular in the Four Corners and is said to have the inside track for the nomination. This district is all R all the time and no D's need apply. You win the nomination and you win the seat. The anticipated departures of Townsend in House District 54 and Montoya in District 1 has the GOP looking for replacement candidates. RON NOT DON Adam Laxalt, son of NM GOP Senator Pete Domenici, is going with Ron not Don in the '24 Prez election: Former Nevada Attorney General Laxalt, a longtime Trump ally, will help lead a political action committee encouraging Gov. Ron DeSantis to seek the Republican presidential nomination. Laxalt, who roomed with DeSantis at the Naval Justice School, will serve as the chairman of the Never Back Down super PAC. Laxalt chaired Trump’s campaign in Nevada in 2020 and has repeated Trump’s false claims of fraud about that race . .Trump endorsed Laxalt in the 2022 Senate race won by Catherine Cortez Masto. But Laxalt has remained a close friend of DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a White House campaign soon. Both were Navy judge advocate generals and served in Iraq. 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, April 25, 2023Comfortable Dems Re-elect Velasquez As Chair; Avoid Infighting At Party Convention, Plus: ABQ Crime Beat Continues To Disturb And Jennings Won't Go For Pirtle Seat The infighting that often accompanies a party with lopsided power did not surface over the weekend when hundreds of Dem State Central Committee members elected party officers for the '24 cycle. Pictured left to right: Vice Chair Manny Crespin, Chair Jessica Velasquez, Secretary Isaac Dakota Casados, and Treasurer Rayellen Smith Crespin was the only one who had a challenger but nothing came of it. Chair Velasquez, now embarking on a second two year term, prepped the party convention for next year's campaign: While in neighboring states, far-right radicals are attacking fundamental rights and the foundations of our democracy, here in New Mexico, Democrats got to work safeguarding reproductive rights. . . enacting sweeping voter protections. . . and helping working families get ahead. . . Looking ahead to the 2024 elections, you will help keep Democrats in the White House, the US Senate and House in Washington, and here at home, we will sweep the NM Senate and House races. It's more like defending than sweeping next year. The state House and Senate are firmly under control of the Democrats. Redistricting and a higher turnout in a presidential election year is going to help them keep their grip on the Legislature. They also have control of all five seats in the congressional delegation and the odds are good it stays that way. Generating enthusiasm will be the challenge. A GOP presidential candidate who is not in tune with pro-choice voters here might do the trick. GUNS AND BRAVADO  . . .Jacob Lovato, 16, is charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Gabriel Gurule. Officers were dispatched around 2 a.m. Friday to reports of a shooting in the 2500 block of Carlisle NE. Witnesses told detectives that Gurule and a person identified as Lovato were comparing handguns, one of which was modified with an “auto-sear, making it a full automatic handgun. They said Lovato asked Gurule how much he would charge to sell his gun, with Gurule responding he would sell it for $950.
Lovato allegedly replied, “What if I kept it?” to which Gurule said, “If you’re going to keep it, you’re going to have to take my life.” Witnesses said Lovato had firearms in both hands and ‘sprayed’ gunfire across the room, striking and killing Gurule. Lovato was later taken into custody. How does a 17 year old just give his life away?
In related news: One-fifth of U.S. households purchased guns during the pandemic, a national arming that exposed more than 15 million Americans to firearms in the home for the first time, academic studies show. Americans purchased nearly 60 million guns between 2020 and 2022, according to The Trace, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that tracks gun violence. Yearly gun sales are running at roughly twice the level of 15 or 20 years ago. All the new weapons may be fueling a historic surge in gun deaths, which reached record highs during the same period. TIM OUT We chided Dem Roswell Mayor Tim Jennings on the blog Monday for considering running next year for the open state Senate seat held by Republican Cliff Pirtle but also staying on as Mayor if he won election. That's not going to happen because Tim is done flirting: I was elected mayor of Roswell, and that is the job to which I'm dedicating myself for as long as the citizens allow me to hold this position. Good move, Tim. Why press your luck? You're about the only Democrat in Roswell who could manage to get elected Mayor in that Republican town. Enjoy it. JUGGLING DECADES Our longtime readers are now juggling decades of La Politica and it can be difficult to keep track. One of those readers, who defended Sen. Heinrich, had some incorrect dates regarding Heinrich's now 20 year career and that we did not correct in our first draft. For the record Heinrich gave up his ABQ city council seat in 2008 to run for the open congressional seat in which he beat Republican Darren White--not Heather Wilson. In 2012 he gave up that House seat to run for the open US Senate seat and then beat Wilson. All of this was to rebut an argument made by another reader that Heinrich has not been a risk taker. And if you missed it that might have been because due to a computer glitch the Monday blog was not posted at its usual time. It can be read by scrolling down. 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, April 24, 2023Heinrich Sets Re-election Announcement As GOP Lacks Name Candidate; May Stay That Way, Plus: Cliff And Candy: State Rep. Ezzell Confirms Run She For Senate Seat of Scandal-Challenged Pirtle He banked nearly $2 million during the first three months of this year so it's about time Sen. Martin Heinrich made his bid for a third six year term official. And he will do just that Friday, May 5th at a private home on Rio Grande Blvd. in ABQ, and in the process raise even more money for his campaign, with donations for the event topping out at $1000. Heinrich had been holding back longer than usual on an official announcement and that led to speculation about his future plans which include pondering a run for Guv in 2026. His official entry will silence any thoughts that he might not make another Senate run and should also quiet stirrings in GOP circles about mounting a significant challenge for the seat. That challenge will apparently be meek. A former top GOP official tells us that there are no prominent GOP names circulating to run against Heinrich and they expect the party to field only a weak candidate. But surprises can happen. If he gets an easy re-elect, will Heinrich then be off and running for Governor? All signs point to it but our Republican heavy says there is something that could stop him: If he were to land the chairmanship of a major committee, I think that could keep him in DC. Heinrich sits on the Senate committee on Intelligence, on the Joint Economic Committee, on Energy and on the powerful Appropriations Committee. We'll have to check with our DC Gators to see if he would have a shot at the top spot on any of those panels following the '24 election, if the Dems keep control of the Senate. BLOG HEAT Heinrich has taken reader blog heat over his possible run for Governor because a potential opponent for the Dem nomination is Sec. of Interior Deb Haaland. Here's some rebuttal from a longtime Heinrich ally: Joe, Thankfully Martin has taken the lead of the Democratic Party, as no one else was doing it. Since Martin has taken that lead Democrats have raised more money, won every statewide race and we hold all three seats in Congress. Democrats are lucky to have Martin step up. Many states wish they had an elected official who is as engaged as Martin. As for not being a risk taker, Martin gave up a relatively safe seat on the ABQ City Council in 2007 to run against for Congress in what up until that time had been a Republican seat---and he won. CLIFF AND CANDY
The question now is whether Pirtle will do the right thing by the party and his constituents and resign the seat so Ezzell can be appointed to fill out his term and put to rest talk of the Dems having a shot at the SE NM district. Pirtle, who has said he will not seek re-election in '24 but is insisting on staying until then, is busy dealing with a divorce his wife filed after she caught him in bed with another woman. Ezzell, a rancher, is a fire and brimstone Republican and is being called a perfect match for the area. Here she is: Folks, your voice needs to be heard. I've been up there 19 years and I will finish my 20th next year and I am going to make a change. I will be running for Senate District 32. I know a lot about agriculture, I know about (the) oil and gas industry, I know about education, I know about volunteerism. And whenever our needs are not being met up in rural areas, I think I can better serve all of the people of the state of New Mexico on the Senate side A GOP consultant says Ezzell currently lives outside the district but has property within it that she will use to establish residency. We won't say "no Dems need apply" but it's close. 46% of registered voters in the Pirtle district are Republicans, 29% Democrats and 24% Indys. Conservative Democrat and Roswell Mayor Tim Jennings, who Pirtle ousted from the Senate seat in 2012, is now trying to start a boomlet for him to run in '24 and at the same time stay on as Roswell mayor. Not going to happen, Tim, and if you jump in the GOP will muddy you up good. Besides, word is you're doing a bang-up job as Mayor so why not keep it that way? The county commissions from the three counties in the district--Chavez, Eddy and Otero--would send a name or names to MLG to replace Pirtle should he resign. Ezzell would be a popular choice and MLG would have no trouble signing off on her. So Cliff, don't go over the cliff. Do something sweet for Candy--and the people of New Mexico. ABOUT THAT SALARY  With the legislature approving pay raises for other statewide elected officials to take effect this year, the Governor's salary is now the lowest among the group and among the lowest in the nation. We also reported Thursday on the outsized raises MLG gave key staffers on the Fourth Floor late last year. That brought reader email along these lines: What a slap in the face to all the hardworking people people in state government who just get cost of living adjustments--and an especially stinging slap to those people who lost their businesses and jobs because of the pandemic. Several legislators--including ABQ Dem Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto--saw our error on the timing of the Guv's pay raise as a major infraction and demanded the traditional ten lashes with a wet noodle be administered. We asked a panel of Senior Alligators for a ruling and they said that the punishment shall be reduced to five lashes. "Lent is over," said the head Gator. "We'll give him a break." Thanks, but we're bracing for impact. . . 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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