In this edition of Other Voices a variety of opinions on issues of the day. 

O'Neill and Bregman (Journal)

This time the Fighting Irishman has a real fight on his hands. 

State Senator Bill O'Neill has been a Roundhouse fixture since his first election to the House and then to the Senate in 2012. So entrenched is O'Neill that in 2020 he drew no GOP opponent. Now that's all changed. 

Speculation that former two term ABQ city councilor and former two term Bernalillo County Commissioner Debbie O'Malley would run against O'Neill has been confirmed, making official her run for the Dem nomination in the June primary. 

Her chances of pulling off the relatively rare feat of ousting an incumbent senator in a primary are not too shabby. Not at all. 

First, O'Neill, who has been a diligent walker during his campaigns, is not as spry as his old self--as seen in today's photo taken at his re-election announcement this week where he is pictured with BernCo District Attorney Sam Bregman. Still, he has announced he and his team will be out walking door to door this weekend.

Second, O'Neill's admirable efforts to make the Legislature more bipartisan is out of sync with the polarized times leaving him especially vulnerable to a progressive challenger like O'Malley. 

Third, District 13 remains heavily Democratic but the boundaries have changed significantly and now include more areas that O'Malley represented in her elective career but are brand new for O'Neill.

Fourth, O'Neill does not seem very well positioned financially for a competitive primary, reporting just $32,000 on hand at the last reporting period in October. 

O'Malley's campaign points out:

As a result of redistricting in 2020. . . over half the district is “new.” It still includes parts of the North Valley, but now incorporates Wells Park, Downtown, Barelas, as well as the South Broadway and San Jose neighborhoods. These are communities I know well. What we need most in Santa Fe are progressive fighters — leaders who are unafraid to stand up for the needs of our families and our environment, and leaders who are unafraid to stand up to the corporate lobbyists and their outsized influence on policy.

O'Neill took note of the district's changes as he informed his constituents he wants a fourth term: 

Having colleagues and supporters join me at my home for a post session get together was wonderful. We were able to discuss our triumphs and future plans. Now, with a moment of relaxation behind us, I'm excited to venture into the district, connect with new voters, and share my vision and track record.

Lately O'Malley has been serving as a policy aide to ABQ Mayor Keller. The progressive machine that has twice elected him is embracing her and ready to do battle with the more moderate wing of the party represented by O'Neill and DA Bregman.

Professionally, O'Neill served as Executive Director of the New Mexico Juvenile Parole Board, and as Development Director for the PEP Program, "a mentoring program for high-risk juvenile offenders through the New Mexico Conference Of Churches."

O'Neill is also an author and playwrite. This year he is in need of a new script if he is to hold on to his seat. 

(No R's need apply. District 13 is all D all the time--57% to 18%).

PIRTLE PLACE--THE END

Pirtle and newborn

One of the state senators O'Neill struck up a friendship with in his search for more bipartisanship is Republican Cliff Pirtle of Roswell. But if O'Neill is re-elected he won't be seeing Pirtle in the senate chambers. The disgraced Pirtle finally pulled the plug on a run for reelection after saying he was reconsidering his initial decision not to run. 

Now that he's out it is very likely that state Rep. Candy Ezzell, who has announced she is running for the June GOP nomination for District 32, will win that election and the general election in November in the GOP dominated district. 

As for Pirtle, 38, the politicos and the media soft-shoed his extra martial affair with a Senate staffer that apparently began when she was a teenager and who he ultimately impregnated while married with three other children.  

The proud papa then took the newborn to the Senate floor as seen in today's photo. Really. 

Pirtle is now going through a nasty divorce with his wife which was precipitated by his cheating. 

Senate leadership, to their lasting shame, looked the other way when asked to employ the Ethics Commission to investigate the propriety of Pirtle's relationship with senate staffer McKenzie Luna.

That was all put aside in the final hours of the '24 session as many of Pirtle's fellow senators rose to commend him for a job well done. It was quite the spectacle and a reminder that while reams of news copy are devoted to the goings-on in Santa Fe, the goings-on that make lawmakers and the establishment media uncomfortable are often swept under the rug.

One of our Senior Alligators comes with a fitting satire of the bizarre display in the Senate as Pirtle was regaled:

Pirtle slowly walks off the Senate floor, holding his love child and with his paramour by his side. Fellow senators reach out desperately to shake his hand and hold him, all while wiping away a deluge of tears. 

As Pirtle leaves the chamber, a pack of white doves suddenly fill the chamber, their wings pushing the marijuana smoke like the wisps of clouds. Pirtle exits and the chamber doors shut. 

The Senate is empty now, with the exception of Lt. Gov. Howie Morales who stands behind the dais. He sadly looks  around, wipes away a lonely tear as he stares at the door that closed behind Pirtle and whispers to himself, “Now he belongs to the ages.” End Scene. 

Yes, Cliff, you and your enablers are the target of an Alligator Strike. Congrats. . . or something--and so long. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

In a first draft Tuesday we had $16 billion going to improvements at ABQs Balloon Fiesta Park from the legislature's capital outlay ball. They wish it were so. The correct total, of course, is $16 million.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.  

Legislative sessions can be beehives of activity but most don't result in landmark legislation and don't leave much of a mark. So what will be remembered about the 2024 session? 

Results were meager with just 72 of the 658 bills introduced winning passage. But one of them--or at least the results from it-- has the best chance of New Mexicans recalling it a dozen years from now. 

That would be the colossal $1.4 billion capital outlay bill (fondly referred to as "pork) authorizing a myriad of construction and other projects that will in many cases change the landscape of numerous neighborhoods. Now that's memorable.

Here's a glimpse at some of them, mostly financed with royalty and tax money from the ongoing and historic oil boom in SE NM.

--Nearly $16 million was approved for improvements to ABQ Balloon Fiesta Park, home to the state's most iconic tourist attraction and soon to be the stadium home for the popular NM United soccer team. Balloon aficionados and soccer fans alike will be enjoying the improvements for decades to come.

--The renovation of of the historic downtown ABQ Rail Yards has been greeted with skepticism but with the addition of the NM Media Academy to train future film workers it appears a massive renovation to turn the Yards into a major attraction has gained favor. A $10 million appropriation will speed up the process and is on top of $40 million approved by lawmakers in 2023. 

--The Legislature approved an immense package of $748 million of bonds and cash for roads this year, the most in decades. $107 million of it will go for long-awaited improvements to heavily traveled Rio Bravo Boulevard in ABQ's South Valley. The orange barrels will be fearsome but worth it. On ABQ's Westside Paseo del Norte and Unser Blvd will get $2.8 million for construction.

--APD will be buying a new $3 million helicopter; the state fair will receive $8 million to improve infrastructure and electrical systems at the aging fairgrounds and UNM's Popejoy Hall will see $1.07 million for improvements to the fine arts center. 

Martinez shot back :

I put the paid family leave bill on the floor because it deserved a floor hearing and debate, and while there were other tough bills that I could have brought to the floor on the final day, I prioritized family medical leave because it's been a long time in coming. I knew there was an even chance of it going either way.

Martinez also pushed back against the theory that he wanted a floor vote to "get on the record" those Democrats who were in opposition:

I didn't put that bill on the floor simply to "get people on the record." That's not how I operate.

Martinez said the 2025 session could be the one where the bill, which provides up to 12 weeks of paid family and sick leave for employees, could meet with success. The measure easily passed the Senate this session but then fell victim to coalition politics. Says Martinez: 

I liken this to the long battle over the constitutional amendment to allow us to increase the funding we take from the Land Grant Permanent Fund and deploy it for early childhood education. This is taking a while but I firmly believe it will happen. 

Meanwhile, those not quite as confident as the Speaker are talking of a possible compromise in the  aftermath of the defeat. For example, having the paid leave first apply only to mothers-to-be. 

They would get the 12 weeks of paid leave without a tax on employers or employees--as the defeated bill called for--but would instead have the leave financed with child care assistance funds already available to households with incomes at 400 percent of the poverty level or $120,000 a year for a family of four. 

The argument is that the state is awash in child care funds and fast tracking paid medical leave for pregnant women would be readily accepted by the House. They also say this would set up a future scenario where coverage could gradually be extended to others.

Like any compromise this one is going to leave proponents sour but it is out there.

As for the Speaker, the defeat of paid leave was his first major setback since taking over at the 2023 session. He will live to fight another day.

FOOTNOTE

Karen Wentworth of the League of Women Voters comes with this tidbit that might have influenced the opposition to the paid leave act: 

Joe, this act was also frightening to cities and counties. Bernalillo County put a family leave act in place a couple of years ago to attract new employees and then they tracked what happened. In FY22, employees of the Metropolitan Detention Center took 134,000 hours of family leave. Because MDC is a 24/7 operation, other employees had to be paid overtime to take up the slack. It cost Bernalillo County $1.8 million dollars. The county didn’t oppose the act, but they did ask to be exempted from it. They want to be able to make adjustments in the future. 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.