tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58832262024-03-28T21:28:28.249-06:00New Mexico Politics with Joe MonahanWelcome to my site where you will keep up on the latest political developments in New Mexico. I am Joe Monahan, a veteran political analyst, consultant and political journalist. We are not affiliated with any political party and cover all aspects of state politics. Check here regularly for updates and send a link to interested friends: joemonahan.com. Use the e-mail link on this page to send me political news. Thanks for supporting our site by visiting our sponsors.Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comBlogger4887125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-82563871668846139942024-03-28T00:30:00.093-06:002024-03-28T00:30:00.244-06:00Other Voices: Over $5 Billion Sits Idle In Santa Fe And Draws Ire Of State Senator; Years Of Complaining But Reform Remains Elusive$5 billion and counting. That's how much sits idle in state capital outlay funds as the dysfunctional method of getting those funds out the door for needed public works projects acts more like a roadblock than the needed speed ramp. Over the years lawmakers have called the system a disgrace and worse but reform efforts have been pushed back because it is our lawmakers who cling to a system Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-88415582941216011182024-03-27T00:30:00.213-06:002024-03-27T00:30:00.241-06:00One Sure Sign Primary '24 is Hitting its Stride, Plus: On The Pot Watch Beat; Readers React To Rodriguez Column Rep. Sanchez (LA Daily Post)Let's start on a lighter note today. If you want to know if the June 4 primary election is starting to heat up take a look at this social media post from District 40 Dem state Rep. Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde:It has come to my attention that a mug shot of me from about 13 years
ago is circulating. This was the result of a warrant for failure to
appear in court for a Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-28273346500040936592024-03-26T00:30:00.593-06:002024-03-26T00:30:00.128-06:00Land Commissioner Jolts Oil Boys; Halts Leases For Drilling On Prime State Land; Says Royalty Rate Too Low; Blog Explores Politics At Play In The Big MoveGarcia RichardElection '26 is a far off affair but it appears it could already be influencing state energy policy. State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has made a sudden turn and is now going after the oil boys. In what appears to be an unprecedented decision she has halted leasing for oil drilling on prime pieces of state trust land until the royalty rate is raised to 25 percentJoe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-60445458886802009032024-03-25T00:30:00.599-06:002024-03-25T07:49:18.275-06:00APD DWI Scandal: How Deep? Fifth Cop Caught Up In Alleged Scheme Resigns; Asserts Corruption Is "Generational"; City Awaits Fed Dominoes To Start Falling, Plus: Political Impact Of Scandal Now Less Cloudy and Legal Beagle Analysis Will it be just few bad men or a broadening and deepening scandal that could bring down more than the five cops already under investigation in the APD DWI scandal? That's the question that has lurked since the scandal broke in January, the core of which has cops conspiring with at least one defense attorney to get his DWI cases thrown out of court by having the cops failing to show up for Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-8087576089505235012024-03-21T00:30:00.009-06:002024-03-21T00:30:00.244-06:00Other Voices: New Mexico Marijuana Bust; Big Hopes Go Up In Smoke; Pot Guru Says Stagnant Sales; Too Many Pot Shops, Inflation, Cheap Fentanyl And Under The Table Dealing Cited As Reasons. What a bust. The state's two year old legal marijuana industry looks like a too-crowded flea market. MLG pounded the table for legalizing pot and finally got it by calling the Legislature into special session and pressuring lawmakers to no end. Legal cannabis sales began April 1, 2022 and in spite of indicators pointing in the wrong direction the Governor is celebrating:Cannabis Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-90026950726265348032024-03-20T00:30:00.321-06:002024-03-20T00:30:00.132-06:00Ethnic Politics Pops Up In Newly Designed ABQ Senate District; Irish Names Look For Hispanic SupportWith names like O'Malley and O'Neill voters might think the Dem primary battle in state Senate District 13 is between two champions of the Irish. It isn't but ethnic politics could play a pivotal role in the outcome. Former Bernalillo County Commissioner and City Councilor Debbie O'Malley is working to defeat Senator Bill O'Neill who has held the seat since 2012, but the district was Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-91705087579778657442024-03-19T00:30:00.275-06:002024-03-19T13:39:01.517-06:00Gaming The Next State House GOP Leader; Rep. Armstrong May Have Inside Lane; Sports A Variety Of Credentials Rep. Gail ArmstrongOf the three names being bandied about to replace Ryan Lane as state House Minority Leader, Rep. Gail Armstrong is looking like the obvious choice. Armstrong is the spouse of Dale Armstrong and is co-owner with him of the mega plumbing and AC company TLC that has oodles of customers and a fair share of government contracts. The couple also have a ranch in Magdalena in Socorro Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-19792709628839259412024-03-18T00:30:00.385-06:002024-03-18T10:49:26.108-06:00Trump Shadow Emerges In GOP State Senate Primaries; Some Candidates Heap Their Praises; Others Look To Lay Low, Plus: A Blog Reader Who Has Never Missed This is New Mexico not Alabama so there are still Republicans here who don't genuflect at the mention of Donald Trump. And that is going to be an issue in GOP state primaries. Already former Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block is touting his love for Trump as he faces non-Trumper and former state Senator Candace Gould in the GOP race for District 12 in Sandoval County County and parts Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-86095084843975380932024-03-14T00:30:00.007-06:002024-03-14T19:05:16.778-06:00Post Filing Day Clippings From Our Newsroom Floor, Plus: On The Media Beat; Santa Fe Paper Goes Up For SaleWe came with a monster blog on candidate filing day Wednesday but even that was like chipping away at an iceberg. Many political stories fell to our newsroom floor as we pulled together the drama of the GOP's top legislative leaders announcing they have had enough and will leave the Roundhouse. That said, lets take our broom and sweep up clippings left behind from a hectic day. . . Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-15815815782197256872024-03-13T00:30:00.037-06:002024-03-13T15:40:02.108-06:00Filing Day Drama: Top Two GOP Legislative Leaders Announce They Will Not Seek Re-election; On The Way Out Sen. Baca Slams Dems Over Redistricting; Hands Off Seat And Draws Criticism; House Minority Leader Lane Also Bows Out, And: BernCo Oldtimers Vie For Treasurer And Clerk PostsSen. Baca The official filing day for the state's 112 legislative seats turned dramatic Tuesday as the top two Republican legislative leaders decided not to seek re-election, throwing open both their leadership positions and their legislative seats and stunning the long-suffering GOP rank and file. All legislative and county candidate filings here. The unexpected decision of Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-74400615266386292542024-03-12T00:30:00.495-06:002024-03-13T10:28:11.456-06:00Heinrich Wades Into Fiery State Senate Primary; Endorses Foe Of Embattled Incumbent Ivey-Soto; He Snaps Back As He Combats Progressive Challenge; Analysis And Context Of This Top Tier ContestSenator Martin Heinrich has waded into the emotionally charged Democratic primary in ABQ state senate District 15 with an endorsement for Heather Berghmans, a challenger of Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto. But unlike most of Heinrich's dozens of other endorsements this one is anything but routine and he's getting blow-back from the embattled incumbent: I wasn't aware that Senator Heinrich lived in Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-29140611068935191842024-03-11T00:30:00.615-06:002024-03-11T10:37:18.127-06:00Telling It Like It Is: Education Secretary Again Calls Out State's Last In Nation Ranking As 180 Day School Year Is Enacted, Plus: Heinrich's Biden Moment At SOTU; Nervous Over Nella?Sec. RomeroThey say the first rule of being a good teacher is to set a good example. So it is with Secretary of Education Arsenio Romero. He barreled through withering criticism to enact a rule that mandates public school kids attend classes 180 days a year, a plan already in effect for ABQ and Santa Fe schools but that could eliminate the four day a week schedule in some rural areas, although Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-86213316769270955992024-03-07T00:30:00.372-07:002024-03-07T09:22:06.964-07:00Last House Republican Standing In Bernalillo County Leaving And Works To Hand Off Seat To Fellow R, Plus: Large Field Expected For Rep. Chasey Seat, Also: NM Guests At Tonight's SOTU Speech And MLG's Impactful Veto Rep. RehmGOP state Rep. Bill Rehm holds a somewhat ignominious honor in his party. He is the sole Republican left serving the state's largest county in the state House of Representatives. But he will soon shed that title. The retired BernCo Sheriff's deputy, who has relentlessly proposed tough on crime measures in the Democratic controlled House with little success, announces he will not seek Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-7241075789555692442024-03-06T00:30:00.474-07:002024-03-06T00:30:00.241-07:00He's Back: Manny Can't Say No; Former Sheriff Scarred From The Battles Of La Politica Plans To Seek State Senate Seat, Plus: Reaction To Former US Attorney Slamming DA Bregman Over DWI Dismissals There seems to be no amount of public humiliation that will keep former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales off the campaign trail. The lawman and Marine suffered a landslide defeat in his 2021 ABQ mayoral bid after it was discovered his campaign forged petition signatures to qualify for public financing. This year he was forced to withdraw from the race for the GOP US Senate Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-78449618228676894922024-03-05T00:30:00.037-07:002024-03-05T00:30:00.131-07:00Hot DA Race Down To Two With One Dropout And As Former US Attorney Iglesisas Slams DA Bregman Over DWI Dismissals In APD Corruption ScandalDavid IglesiasThe hot and heavy race for the Democratic nomination for Bernalillo County District Attorney is down to two hopefuls after progressive attorney Mathias Swonger has dropped out after his campaign was unable to gather the required number of nominating signatures.That word comes from an operative associated with former US Attorney Damon Martinez who is now the lone challenger to DA SamJoe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-23208599820507336002024-03-04T00:30:00.506-07:002024-03-04T00:30:00.126-07:00Progressive Letdown; What They're Leaving On The Table, Plus: A Santa Fe Coalition To Resolve Wrecked CYFD?, And: GOP Preprimary ResultsIt's been almost four years since progressive Democrats busted the state Senate's conservative coalition by successfully primarying conservative D's but now it's the progressives looking shop-worn when it comes to the generational issues they promised to confront. For example. . . New Mexico's Governor and Legislature, faced with by far the highest rate in the nation of deaths caused by alcohol (Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-22051396633966527652024-02-29T00:30:00.254-07:002024-02-29T09:27:02.132-07:00Sidebar TO MLG Chamber Speech; Chatting Up APD Chief Medina, Plus: House Speaker Supporters Calm Coalition Talk, And: More Pushback On Possible Special Session From Senate Judiciary Chair (Journal, Eddie Moore)Embattled APD chief Harold Medina (back to camera) appears anything but as Gov. Lujan Grisham and ABQ Chamber of Commerce President Terri Cole appear highly entertained by ABQ's top cop whose recent auto accident in the city's homeless district caused a sensation. Just what's going on at that table at the Chamber meeting? Maybe. . . MLG: And then you went straight Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-69191137022538508892024-02-28T00:30:00.312-07:002024-02-28T00:30:00.125-07:00Guv Still Contemplating Calling A Special Session With Anticipated Focus On Crime But Senator With Stroke Pushes Back; Says Any Special Should Be On CYFD Implosion, Plus: An Unwelcoming Welcome Center 7 year old Samantha RubioMLG Tuesday continued to keep the door open on calling a special legislative session as she reviewed the results of the recently concluded 30 day session before an ABQ business group and as an old rival indirectly chided her over a prominent failure of that session. In her speech the Guv said of a possible special:You'll know when I know. I don't know. I think Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-135901579539716652024-02-27T00:30:00.445-07:002024-02-27T11:14:36.175-07:00Longtime BernCo Manager Hangs It Up; Her Hits And Misses, Plus: Dems Try Guilt By Association to Get Nella To Talk Abortion, And: Anti-Semitic Trope? Readers Come With More On Columnist's Remarks Quezada & Morgas BacaNine year Bernalillo County Manager Julie Morgas Baca had her praises sung by the County Commission as she announced Monday that she will resign her $215,000 a year job at the end of June even though her current contact runs until October 2025. She said she has worked in the public sector 33 years. Commissioner Michael Quezada, who will leave the commission at the Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-35360024008240291592024-02-26T00:30:00.743-07:002024-02-26T09:36:28.969-07:00APD Scandal: City Again Sent Back On Its Heels As Explosive Details Of Alleged DWI Bribery Scheme Surface; Exclusive Legal Analysis On Where Fed Probe May Go From Here, Plus: Anti-Semitic Dog Whistle On Blog? Readers Weigh In Carlos Sandoval-Smith (Journal)The brazen in your face corruption revealed in audio recordings made last June by a DWI suspect interacting with an APD officer and a paralegal has sent the city back on its heels yet again and wondering if the decades-long rot at the department will finally be extracted.The DWI scandal, on simmer for a while, exploded with renewed force when Carlos Sandoval-Smith, Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-1214210938435204342024-02-22T00:30:00.237-07:002024-02-22T09:32:24.010-07:00Other Voices: Opinions From Around The State On Family Leave, Progressive Power, Running Education And A Silent Domenici In this edition of Other Voices a variety of opinions on issues of the day. We start with this reader's reaction to the stunning defeat of the paid family and medical leave act when 11 Democrats joined with all House Republicans to kill the bill: Joe:
I thought you had a good take on what happened at the Roundhouse with
the bill. From my perspective, the
Democratic caucus is in Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-26247889902842924412024-02-21T00:30:00.441-07:002024-02-21T15:20:04.329-07:00Fighting Irishman O’Neill Faces Stiff Senate Primary Challenge From Former Councilor And Commissioner; District Changes Could Decide Contest, Plus: Pirtle Place: The EndO'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 Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-52651791146497115302024-02-20T00:30:00.421-07:002024-02-20T09:53:21.599-07:00Massive Capital Outlay Bill Will Change The Face Of Many Neighborhoods Across The State; That Bill Is Our Pic Of Most Memorable From Session '24, Plus: A Peek At Many Of The Projects To Come 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 Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-20544572143163218802024-02-19T00:30:00.065-07:002024-02-19T00:30:00.140-07:00Picking Up The Pieces: Progressives Plan Another Play For Family Leave Act; Talk Of Compromise Also Surfaces As Speaker Defends Calling Doomed Bill To Floor Speaker Martinez (Moore, Journal)The House defeat of the paid family and medical leave act on the next to last day of the legislative session startled the Roundhouse and handed House Speaker Javier Martinez his first big defeat. Now progressives are trying to pick up the pieces. The bill went down when conservative Democrats formed a coalition with Republicans and carried the day 36 to Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883226.post-88792271008653960152024-02-15T19:43:00.003-07:002024-02-15T19:43:40.137-07:00Legislative Session EndsThe 30 day session of the NM Legislature ended Thursday. Here is the AP wrap. Here is the Governor's post-session news conference. Here is a list of the bills sent to the Governor. Joe Monahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13648686835414145054noreply@blogger.com