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Tuesday, April 01, 2025Haaland Camp Sharpens Knives As Bregman Preps Entry Into '26 Guv Race; Battle Lines Drawn Between Progressives And Moderates, Also: La Politica's Bill O'Neill Dies In Santa Fe The camp of Deb Haaland is sharpening their knives as Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman prepares his entry into the Dem gubernatorial race. A campaign spokesman issues this warning to their rival: For good measure the spokesman dropped a cliche that will be heard often as Bregman crisscrosses the state sporting his now trademark black hat: Haaland, the former Secretary of Interior under President Biden, also shares a title with Bregman--former chair of the state Democratic party. The initial scoffing over Bregman's chances has waned. One of our Senior Alligators explains: Bregman will have a clear and defining message--tough on crime--while Haaland has had a soft opening with no clear message. She says 'she is listening' to voter concerns. That contrast will give Bregman a boost with moderate Democrats who will form his base of his support while Deb dominates the progressive wing. She will be the favorite but Bregman's chances have improved. In addition, there's the money. Haaland, a national political figure has, already raised over $2 million but Bregman collected $500,000 for his successful bid for DA last year. In addition, he made good money as a prominent defense attorney. Add to that his multimillionaire baseball star son, Alex Bregman, who signed a three year contract with the Boston Red Sox for $120 million, and $2 million seems a much easier hill to climb. Of course, he will still have to show it in this race. THE POLLING A poll conducted last December 4-5 by Dem leaning firm PPP and that is floating in political circles showed Haaland with 50 percent support among the 557 likely primary voters surveyed. Bregman received 18 percent, State Treasurer Laura Montoya 6 percent and undecided was at 27 percent. With over a year to go, the polling is of interest but far from definitive and obviously not inhibiting Bregman from entering the contest as Haaland supporters had hoped. THE BACK AND FORTH
There's a lack of energy in Haaland's candidacy. She's uncertain about her positioning, like a boxer swinging at air. Many Democrats appear to have passed peak progressiveness and are looking for something different--something that delivers. The Haaland campaign counters that their candidate has been drawing large crowds, that her politics are well-known and popular among primary voters and take note of Bregman's long record of losing elections. Bregman is expected to announce in Las Vegas April 10, according to his mailer. That decision is a blatant appeal to northern Hispanic Democrats (especially men) as well as rural Dems statewide. Many of them are culturally and politically moderate. That's why his black hat is staying put--at least for now. The cities--ABQ, Las Cruces and Santa Fe--are Haaland's stomping grounds. The disconnect of the early campaign is how crime dominates the news in those cities while Dem voters there appear to resist the "get tough" message. Meanwhile in the rural stretches, impacted less by crime, voters are much more receptive. The primary isn't until June 2026 but the approaching summer of '25 will not be spared the political heat. FIGHTING IRISHMAN DIES
This passage from our January 26, 2012 blog explains why we dubbed him "The Fighting Irishman.": He is in a district he hangs on to by a thread, and when ABQ Dem State Rep. Bill O'Neill defied the Republican Governor by voting against her bill to repeal driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, he felt her wrath and that of her operatives. They flooded his district with robocalls in hopes of softening him up for November. Now O'Neill, aka, "The Fighting Irishman," is looking for some armor for the next round of hits he will take on the emotional issue. His office reports: Representative Bill O’Neill, House District 15, introduced a bill today that represents the simplest and most effective solution to the volatile driver’s license issue. His bill calls for issuing a provisional driver’s license to foreign nationals who do not have a social security number. O'Neill, went on to win that battle with a compromise finally crafted near the end of the Martinez years. O'Neill, who grew up in Ohio, attended Cornell in New York and served as Executive Director of the NM Juvenile Parole Board, died of cancer Monday at a Santa Fe hospital. He left his ABQ North Valley House seat to run for the state Senate in 2012 and escaped the wrath of the GOP machine. He won and served there through 2024 when he was defeated in the Democratic primary after Senate District 13 was drastically change under redistricting. Besides being a politician O'Neill was a noted novelist and playwright, authoring the well-received play Save the Bees that explored bipartisanship in an era of division. ABQ Dem state Senator Moe Maestas of ABQ said O'Neill was one of the most "authentic" people he has ever served with. O'Neill was popular among his colleagues, chairing a nonpartisan karoke caucus that included lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who met up to relax and blew off steam. Senate Democrats said:
He championed many legislative reforms regarding juvenile justice, including prohibiting life sentences for juveniles, and probation and parole measures. He helped establish Dismas House, a transitional living program in Albuquerque for men on probation or parole. His legacy will be remembered through the countless lives he touched and the policies he advocated through his dedicated service. . . Bill O'Neill was 68. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. Thursday, January 26, 2012Obama Heads West But Not Here; Is NM Safe For Him? Plus: Berry's Cross: Money For Paseo Rebuild, And: "Fighting Irishman" Looks To Sidestep Susana New Mexico Dems have reason to be increasingly confident about their 2012 election prospects and the reason resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. President Obama's rejuvenation--if that's what it turns out to be--could foil the R's hopes of picking up a couple of state House seats and taking control of the chamber. And they could also be denied the open ABQ congressional seat and the big prize--the open US Senate seat.
Obama gave a solid state-of-the-state speech, his probable GOP rival--Romney or Gingrich--both polled tepidly in New Mexico in a December survey. The biggest "tell" on where the White House and the Dems think they stand in the state came on the heels of the President's Tuesday night speech, The next day he took off for Iowa, Michigan and our neighbors in Nevada Colorado and Arizona. New Mexico, often a crucial swing state in a presidential contest, was notably absent from Obama's stopover list. Obama strategists apparently see New Mexico's five electoral votes as pretty much nailed down: ...Of five paths that Obama campaign manager Jim Messina has charted to win re-election in November, all foresee winning Michigan, three require winning Iowa, two require Colorado and Nevada, and one has Arizona in the Obama win column. In 2008, of the five states he's visiting, Mr. Obama only lost Arizona, the home state of then rival John McCain. In addition, we are told Washington GOP insiders remain cautious on their prospects for the Senate and ABQ House contest. While R's here are shouting down a poll from the Dem-favorable firm PPP, in DC they are much more realistic. They are not sneering about Dem Martin Heinrich's seven point lead over Republican Heather Wilson in that December survey. A strong Obama in New Mexico is only going to complicate matters when it comes time for the national R's to decide how much money to dedicate to a state that two years ago looked much more promising. WHY SHOULD THEY? Berry  Will the Dem Legislature bail out the Republican ABQ mayor and approve millions of dollars of funds for a rebuild of the busy Paseo Del Norte-I-25 interchange? Why should they? Berry stepped in the manure pile last October when he refused to have a stand-alone vote on the Paseo bond money. Instead, if voters wanted Paseo they also had to vote for bond money for Berry's unpopular sportsplex proposal. As a result, Paseo went down in flames (62% to 38%) in an example of one of the worst political chess moves in recent city history.
Sure, the city council has since come with bond money and Governor Martinez is trying to help Berry out by asking the Legislature to put up $30 million to get the rebuild going and even the Bernalillo County Commission is getting in on the act. Commissioners approved $5 million for Paseo. But Berry lost important public support that could have helped him carry the day. The screw-up could cost him dearly. Democrats in Santa Fe can stall the funding and come October 2013 when Berry is seeking re-election, they can blame him for the Paseo traffic jams. Maybe Santa Fe gives Berry a token amount for the project so ABQ Dem legislators have political cover, but otherwise this is a golden opportunity to leave Berry hanging and twisting in the wind. SUSANA WHO? She's the talk of the town around here, but a national poll of Hispanics says more than half of them have never heard of her. Fifty-one percent of the registered voters nationally did not know of Susana. That number grew to 57% in California. CHU ON THIS  The nation's energy chief, Dr. Steven Chu, drops in on ABQ today amid continued nervousness over long-term funding prospects for Sandia National Labs which falls under the Department of Energy umbrella. Even though the Labs get zinged on occasion for having a bunch of pampered scientists, the budget of over $2 billion a year is vital to the city's economy.
On Thursday Secretary of Energy Steven Chu will travel to Albuquerque to tour renewable energy research facilities at Sandia National Laboratories, which is working to advance industry collaboration on clean energy and advanced manufacturing. Secretary Chu will also host a State of the Union Town Hall with students at the University of New Mexico. Secretary Chu will be joined during the visit by U.S. Congressman Martin Heinrich. Sandia and Los Alamos have good funding visibility for the rest of this calender year. It's what comes after the presidential election that is worrisome. And, yes, we noticed that Rep. Heinrich will be the lead politico with Chu. Sorry, Hector, but that's a federal incumbent's advantage. JUMPING THE GUN? ABQ Dem congressional candidate Eric Griego may be getting a bit ahead of himself with this statement: It’s too bad then that Republicans in Washington and my Tea Party Republican opponent Dan Lewis continue to insist on policies that brought about the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and created the worst income inequality between the top 1% and the rest in our nation’s history. Well, Dan Lewis is not yet anyone's opponent and Eric Griego is not yet the Dem nominee for the ABQ US House seat. Griego has two opponents as does Lewis. There's this little thing called the June primary to determine who will be the final two candidates for the November election. Maybe Eric's 2012 calender got lost in the mail. FIGHTING IRISHMAN Rep. O'Neill  He is in a district he hangs on to by a thread, and when ABQ Dem State Rep. Bill O'Neill defied the Republican Governor by voting against her bill to repeal driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants, he felt her wrath and that of her operatives. They flooded his district with robocalls in hopes of softening him up for November. Now O'Neill, aka, "The Fighting Irishman," is looking for some armor for the next round of hits he will take on the emotional issue. His office reports:
State Representative Bill O’Neill, House District 15, introduced a bill today that represents the simplest and most effective solution to the volatile driver’s license issue. His bill, House Bill 171, calls for issuing a provisional driver’s license to foreign nationals who do not have a social security number. Such an approach would solve the fraud problem instantly,” O’Neill said, “as the provisional license would not be valid outside of New Mexico. Therefore, individuals would not come here to take advantage of our current law. At the same time, the whole point of providing access to car insurance for these individuals would be safeguarded, which was the intent of the 2003 legislation. That should help O'Neill when the Guv's guns are again fired his way, but is there any chance he will crack and move over to Susana's corner on this one? No, says O'Neill: When Governor Martinez states that 74% of New Mexicans support her approach, she is wrong. 74% of New Mexicans want the fraud problem ended immediately, and my bill does precisely that. In the redistricting boundaries approved by the court, O'Neill's district did not get much better for him, if at all. He's going to have to live up to his nickname to keep the seat and keep fighting. LICENSE HEAT The firestorm over the licenses continued this week with a robust rally against repeal held at the Roundhouse and the Associated Press coming with a widely distributed report raising questions about abuse of the system. For example, the report cited multiple licenses being issued to persons using an ABQ smoke shop as their address. The issue goes before a legislative committee today. State Senate Dems came with damage control in the hours following the AP report: The current law must be strengthened to include provisions that clearly address the flaws. Repealing the law and forcing a fraction of the driving population to go without proper licensing, registration or insurance puts New Mexican families at risk. That is why in the last session we fought for a law that would directly address the challenges that we face. The compromise bill would have required license renewal every two years, required fingerprints in a database that would have been available to all departments of law enforcement and would have raised the penalties for those who knowingly provided false paperwork for foreign nationals... There's no calling off the dogs now. The license repeal is expected to fail for the third time and then it goes to the political arena in the form of campaigning for the legislative races. If Martinez can't win passage of the repeal on her third try she will have to knock some legislators out in November if she is to have any credibility when she brings it up for a fourth time in 2013. (What do you mean, a "fourth time," Joe? Hey, we've got a new slogan in New Mexico politics--"All Driver's Licenses, All The Time." ) SHE DIDN'T KILL FILM  Reader Jim McCaughey thinks Susana got a bad rap here Tuesday from the ProgressNow PAC who charged her with stifling the film industry:
Joe, Has anyone looked at the actual number for the film tax credits? First, the new $50 million cap on film rebates is a rolling cap, so a film maker can get all of the credits coming to him. It is just that some may be paid in the next fiscal year. 2010 was a down year, but 2011 was better Over $73 million in tax credits were paid out in 2011. The film industry had one of it's worst years at the box office last year. Other states have all cut back on film credits. New Mexico is still very competitive. Film makers are just not filming as much. The idea that Governor Martinez has killed the film industry all by herself is completely false. And we might add the film industry here is far from dead. News recently broke that the Lone Ranger will film here, a production of more than $200 million. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's political community? Advertise here. Email us for details.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2012 Not for reproduction without permission of the author Wednesday, February 21, 2024Fighting Irishman O’Neill Faces Stiff Senate Primary Challenge From Former Councilor And Commissioner; District Changes Could Decide Contest, Plus: Pirtle Place: The End
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
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. 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 2024 Thursday, March 10, 2011Senate Pushes Back: Guv Loses License Repeal In Midnight Showdown; Long Debate Gets Ugly, Plus: Janice Looks At Heinrich Seat, And: Partying Alligator The Great Diversion--otherwise known as the debate over repealing driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants--finally ground to a halt late Wednesday night with the Senate rejecting Republican John Ryan's bill for an outright license repeal. Instead, they adopted a compromise bill that keeps the licenses, but toughens penalties for fraud. That will probably go nowhere with the House which must agree to it, thus ending the emotionally-charged and sometimes ugly exchanges that have echoed around the Roundhouse. The Ryan bill lost 24-17 with two Dems joining the losing R's--Tim Eichenberg and John Arthur Smith. The compromise bill that the Governor called a sham passed on a 25-16 vote shortly before Midnight. Smith was the Dem voting against.She won in the House last week, but the Senate vote was a big setback for Governor Martinez. However her political team will spin it as a win, claiming it will mean their chances of picking up legislative seats in 2012 have dramatically improved because the public is overwhelmingly in favor of an outright repeal. But even if that is the case, there is a price to be paid. The five hour Senate debate last night descended into talk of the Ku Klux Klan, racism and Mexicans. By pushing so hard on this racially charged issue, Martinez, as Governor King, might say, "opened up a box of Pandoras." Fighting hard for what you believe is one thing. Putting at risk the state's historic "live and let live" attitude among all its peoples is another. That is not goodwill that the state's first female Hispanic Governor wants to squander. The death threats against legislators shows how toxic the atmosphere has become. The Guv's strong arm tactics may or may not have backfired. What is clear now is she needs to apply equal passion to healing the wounds this debate has opened. She came with this statement following the defeat: It is unfortunate that the Senate Democratic leadership rejected a bi-partisan compromise to repeal the law giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, which had passed the House with a significant bi-partisan majority. The people of New Mexico sent a loud and clear message that they want this dangerous law repealed, but some in the legislature chose to shut out the voices of their constituents in favor of partisan political gamesmanship. I promised the people of New Mexico that I will fight to repeal this law and that fight will continue. The long obsession with this temper-triggering, but ultimately secondary issue was an in your face reminder that neither political party is really ready to fully grapple with the economic predicament the state faces. A stubbornly high unemployment rate, a commercial real estate collapse, a continuing bear market in residential real estate, business closures and anemic tax collections by local governments continue to stare this new Governor and the Democratic leadership in the face daring them to do something. Don't hold your breath. SUMMING IT UP State Senator Kent Cravens, speaking near Midnight, summed up the prevailing sentiment: "This has been a mess tonight." THE WAY IT PLAYED Here's how the AP played it to the state and nation late Wednesday when the closely watched license debate drew to an end: SANTA FE, N.M.—In a political setback for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, the Senate rejected a politically charged proposal Wednesday night to stop New Mexico from issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The Senate voted 24-17 against a proposal by Republican Sen. John Ryan of Albuquerque that would have ended the practice of granting licenses to foreign nationals without a Social Security number. SNEAK PEEK Rep. O'Neill  It may be remembered as one of the gutsiest votes of Legislature 2011, but will it cost ABQ Dem State Rep. Bill O'Neill his seat? The second term lawmaker from a swing district refused to bow to pressure from Governor Martinez and her attack team (robocalls into his district etc.) and voted against their favored proposal on the hot-button issue of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants. The measure was blasted out of committee on a 36-34 vote. O'Neill is already prepping for the 2012 battle that the R's are sure to engage him in. We get a sneak preview in this this op-ed piece he authored:I voted for a floor amendment that I felt was far superior to HB 78. It narrowly failed in a 36-34 vote. Offered as bipartisan compromise, it incorporated elements from several driver’s license bills...This compromise bill would have revoked falsely issued driver’s licenses. It would also have made it a third-degree felony for an MVD employee to issue a fraudulent license, and it would mandate a two-year expiration for any license issued to a foreign national. Since the vote, I have borne a great deal of criticism as a result of my vote. And if you wonder just how gutsy O'Neill's vote was, look at this. O'Neill won re-election by a mere 163 votes against Republican Justin Horwitz, It was O'Neill with 5,535 votes to Horwitz's 5,372. That's 50.70% to 49.30%. Maybe he wins next year. Maybe not. Either way, the fighting Irishman appears ready for whatever Martinez and her political arm throws his way. IS IT THE ECONOMY? While the R's will use wedge issues like the licenses to try to pick up the three seats their party needs to take the majority in the state House, the Dems will counter with the economy as we see in this missive from Dem Party Chair Javier Gonzales: Martinez's rhetoric and actions seek to divide New Mexicans...She has spent absolutely no time during her first legislative legislative session focused on what the people truly care about: jobs and job creation. Let her adopt the no-compromises attitude of George W. Bush and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. Getting her driver's license bill by attacking those who disagree with her won't change the fact that her lack of leadership on jobs so far has been appalling. In fact, the only substantive thing she's done so far on jobs is to kill them--leading a personal crusade to kill the film industry in New Mexico. Which will prevail, the wedge issues or the economy? It seem much would depend on how the economy is doing here come late 2012. TESTING THE WATERS  We dropped the tidbit the other day that former ABQ GOP State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones was looking at a bid for the ABQ congressional seat held by Dem Martin Heinrich. Janice now announces she's formed an exploratory committee to formally test the waters. She wants to see if she can raise the necessary money before going all the way in.The two biggest things that must be tested are whether or not we can raise the financial resources necessary and how much support can be generated. Also, she is assuming that Heinrich will give up the seat to seek the Dem US Senate nomination. But if he doesn't, she could decide to stay out. ABQ GOP City Councilor Dan Lewis has already formed an exploratory committee. An Arnold-Jones primary could get interesting. He is seen as the more conservative candidate, but Janice was prominently positioned behind Heather Wilson this week when she made her announcement for the Senate seat. That gave rise to speculation that perhaps Heather might quietly help Janice in the months ahead. Quietly being the key word as Arnold-Jones has often ruffled the feathers of some of the conservatives who Wilson needs to secure the Senate nod. Wilson held the ABQ House seat for 10 years. HEATHER AND THE DEMS Reader James Meiers writes: The Dems should stick to their own yard right now. (Dem Guv nominee) Diane Denish's decision to attack Susana during the primaries was so stupid that whoever even suggested it should have been fired. Like this current action does with Heather, it made them look scared when they are holding somewhat of an advantage and emboldened their political foes. More importantly it motivated the Republican voters that if the Dems are scared they're already losing two years before election day. WHITE PR MAN MOVED Wilham  From City Hall:This week TJ Wilham requested to be reassigned to a different position for personal reasons. Public Safety Director Darren White honored that request and assigned him to serve as a special projects coordinator in the Office of Emergency Management. Wilham is a former ABQ Journal reporter who was paid $75,000 a year in his PR job which was created when White took over in December 2009. No previous public safety head ever had their own PR flack. The controversial White has run into a rugged PR patch of late, getting a vote of no confidence from the ABQ police officers union. His actions as Bernalillo County sheriff have also been making headlines. Maybe the pressure got to Wilham. No word on what his "personal reasons" were, but having seen these moves before, a meltdown would not be unusual. Berry has been urged to tone down White and TV news insiders say it appears he has not been as active on the media front. With Wilham out, Berry could now decide not to hire a replacement which would keep White further away from the media stream coming out of Government Center. As for Wilham, this is a soft landing. Just what does a special projects coordinator do? And with a City Hall budget crunch, do we really need one? ALLIGATOR REPORT From the capitol and an Alligator with their sense of humor fully intact: Strange things happen in Santa Fe during the legislative session. The Santa Fe Democratic Party had their annual Mardi Gras fundraiser event and one of the prominent guests attending was the southeast NM GOP strategist, the Honorable Senator Rod Adair. He was visiting with Javier Gonzales, the current state Democratic Party Chair. Has Lightning Rod finally seen the light, turning left and going blue? Is he developing a strategy to help Javiar get re-elected as Chairman? Did he think it was a GOP fundraiser? Does he just enjoy Jambalaya and rice and beans? Are Democrats just more friendly and fun? Maybe it's all of the above. I'm glad to see he finally saw the light! This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2011 Wednesday, November 09, 2011Selling New Mexico: What's it Going To Take? Plus: More Redistricting; Outlook for Leaders Lujan And Sanchez Appraised, And: Karen Montoya--A Hero? The state Tourism department continues to tilt at windmills. They release a study that says more than a few potential travelers have a sour outlook on New Mexico--that it is arid, boring and one big desert. On the other hand, Secretary Monica Jacobson insists we don't need to spend more money to let people know of the many attractions here. Is that how PepsiCo--where Jacobson earned her marketing stripes--would respond to such a dour study?The amount spent on promoting the state has a direct bearing on who comes here and spends money. It's as simple as that. But the Secretary expresses exasperation that our smallish state will never have the same sized ad budgets as our larger neighbors and concludes--illogically--that we should therefore not increase our advertising and promotional budget. She says: It will take money, but that is not the key. The key is to have a smart strategic plan in place and what we're looking at this year is building that plan, understanding how we talk to people. What do we tell them that is going to make them want to come here? But Sharon Schultz of the Tourism Association responds simply but powerfully: If you don't make people aware of your product, they're not going to know you exist, to come and visit you. A poverty mentality is not going to improve our standing from 38th in the nation for attracting visitors. Just ask Pepsi. FOLLOWING THE LINES  More today on what our analysts are saying about the redistricting of the state legislative seats...ABQ Dem State Rep. Bill O'Neill, who has been hammered by the Governor and her political team for refusing to support their position in support of repealing driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, appears to have improved his chances for re-election under the redistricting plan passed by the Legislature but vetoed by the Guv. Our analysts say the eastern precincts in O'Neill's Northeast Heights district have been dropped, giving it a more Democratic flavor. "For a hard campaigner like O'Neill this change could make a big difference," says one of our Alligators poring over the data. The redistricting is not set in stone. But the court that will decide the boundaries will take into account the plan approved by the elected legislature. For O'Neill, the break he got in the redistricting bill is seen as well-deserved. When other Dems faded from the heat of the attacks on the driver's licenses, O'Neill stood firm as he was blasted with robo calls and other hits. The R's are sure to try to wrest the district from O'Neill. He won his first re-election in 2010 with only 51% of the vote, but if the "Fighting Irishman" takes his case door-to-door as he has in his past two runs, he is going to be tough to crack. THE SPEAKER'S PATH And what about NM House Speaker Ben Lujan? The powerful lawmaker had the scare of a lifetime when Carl Trujillo nearly ousted him in the 2010 Dem primary. Lujan won by a mere 80 votes. Well, our analysts say the redistricting gives Ben, 75, a bit more of the city of Santa Fe and a bit less of the rural precincts in his Santa Fe County district that he has represented since 1975. One Alligator reports: Trujillo is still a threat, but if the Speaker works it, he should win. He can now argue to fellow Dems that he has stood firm against Republican Governor Martinez. Also, Lujan's tight relationship with Governor Richardson worked against him last time, but now Bill is gone. That helps. And his son, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, is more established in his own right so the speaker is not dealing with as much resentment there... Trujillo has not yet made a public statement on whether he will mount a primary challenge against Lujan. SANCHEZ OUTLOOK And what about that other powerful Santa Fe lawmaker, State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez? There's been talk that he could be a prime GOP target in 2012 because of the way Valencia County has been voting more Republican. Our redistricting gurus say Sanchez is prepped to come out of redistricting with a safer seat. He loses some precincts in Los Lunas which lean R and he picks up Isleta Pueblo which gives him more Dems. They say the seat will now have a performance rating of 53 percent Dem, up from 49 percent. The R's can still try to take out the veteran, but they are going to have a steeper hill to climb, assuming as we are that the courts go with something similar to the above scenario. KAREN IS A HERO? Montoya  Reader Rosalie Montano comes with a full-throated defense of Democratic Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya amid a controversy over layoffs at the office.Mr. Monahan, Karen Montoya finally made the move that all taxpayers praise--lay off employees due to lack of work. Then we have the County Commissioners playing politics and not supporting her. Why is Commissioner Wiener asking for an investigation? An investigation was already asked for by the Commissioners. And the Human Resources know that there is just not enough work in that office at this time. She submitted a plan to lay off positions that are no longer needed and changed four office positions which these laid off employees can apply for. It is simple--move these employees over to departments that have been asking for positions for over 10 years. There has not been any growth in many departments and they are struggling. Karen Montoya to me is a hero, finally an elected official taking the risk for doing something right. Time for the media to back off and give the correct story to the public, us taxpayers want our money to be used correctly and efficiently! We're sure Karen appreciates the vigorous defense, Rosalie. There is more on all of this here. And another report on whether the layoffs targeted employees who did not support Montoya politically. Another note: Montoya has long been accused of being in the hip pocket of Dem State Sen. Tim Eichenberg, a property tax consultant, who works closely with the Assessor's office. She says he has no undue influence, but he was important in getting her elected. Also, Montoya is now considering a run for the ABQ Public Regulation Commission seat being vacated next year by Dem Jason Marks. Montoya is in her second four year term as Assessor. By the way, a couple of months ago we had a note up on the blog that Eichenberg might leave the Senate and go for the ABQ PRC seat. Word is he is now seeking re-election to a second four year term. Our insiders report he is being much more friendly with liberal Dems. Redistricting is going to add Dems to his NE Heights Senate seat. That means a primary challenge is more viable, even as the seat becomes much more safer from the Republicans in the general election. REMEMBER WHEN? Oldtimers will recall that a very young Tim Eichenberg was elected Bernalillo County Treasurer back in the mid 70's. We remember attending a couple of his news conferences. That was a case of the cub reporter covering the political cub. VALLEY WARS If you have been following the back and forth volleys here on what exactly constitutes ABQ's South Valley, this note from reader Phil Leckman will be of interest: Not to disagree with the Senior Alligator, but the statement "Nobody except the uninformed from out of state include any part of Albuquerque in the South Valley" is, in fact, uniformed. The city annexed much of the Atrisco neighborhood, so the east side of Atrisco from Central down to at least Hooper falls within the city limits. There are additional pocket annexations all the way down to Coors and Gun Club… CRUCES ELECTION Miyagishima  That didn't take long. We broke the news to the state via Twitter last night that Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima had been re-elected to a second four year term,. The first seven precincts reporting gave the Democratic incumbent a more than 20 point lead and he was off to the races. Insider campaign polling had shown the mayor with a comfortable lead.GOP City Councilor Dolores Conner earned second and Dem political operative Michael Huerta trailed in third. Near final results showed the popular Miyagishima blowing the doors off with 62% of the vote. There was no anti-incumbent mood in the City of Crosses Tuesday night. Well done, Mayor. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line. (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2011 Not for reproduction without permission of the author |
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