Senate Committee Disappears into Thin Air!

True fact: No current member of the Senate Public Affairs Committee will be back when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Here's the deal. Chairwoman Dede Feldman, Vice Chairman Tim Eichenberg (both D-Albuquerque) and members, Sens. Cynthia Nava, D-Las Cruces, Mark Boitano, R-Albuquerque, Vern Asbill, R-Carlsbad and Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, did not seek re-election.

The remaining members, Sens. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Dona Ana and Lisa Curtis, D-Albuquerque were defeated for re-election.

If the Senate was hoping for some institutional memory on this committee, they're out of luck.

Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque, I understand, was the first to notice this.

UPDATE: 3:44 pm In the original version, I mistakenly called the Public Affairs Committee "Public Works." It's been corrected.

Ken Gonzales Nominated for Federal Judge

President Barack Obama today nominated U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gonzales will replace U.S. District Court Chief Judge Bruce D. Black, who retired in October.

In a joint news release U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall expressed support.

“Ken Gonzales has been an outstanding U.S. Attorney and I believe he is an excellent candidate for U.S. District Court.  His experience and temperament make him a great fit for the court,” Bingaman said. “I hope Ken’s confirmation process moves quickly in the new year so that he can be confirmed by the Senate in a timely manner.”

“Throughout his career and in his military service to our country, Ken Gonzales has demonstrated great reverence for the law,” said Udall. “His depth of knowledge and thoughtful approach will serve New Mexico well on the federal bench.”

Gonzales was one of five names Bingaman and Udall  submitted to the White House for consideration after Black announced his retirement.

Gonzales is a graduate of Pojoaque High School. He also served as a judicial law clerk to a chief justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court, and was a legislative assistant to Bingaman.

Prior to his appointment to the U.S. attorney position in 2009, Gonzales worked more than 10 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in both the Las Cruces and Albuquerque offices. Gonzales also has been an adjunct professor in the U.S. Army Reserves. He also teaches criminal law at the Judge Advocate General Legal Center & School.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: New Dynamic in Legislature?

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Nov. 11, 2012

All the sound and fury of attacks ads and the millions of dollars spent by PACs and super-PACs are over. And as far as the state Legislature is concerned, what we basically have as the dust settles is a Roundhouse in which Democrats — originally feared to be in danger — end up with a slightly stronger hold on the House of Representatives while not significantly weakened in the Senate.

Javier Gonzales

But a new dynamic might be about to unfold. Two Democrats in recent days have told me that they expect the Legislature to start taking the initiative to set the state’s agenda — as opposed to the governor taking the lead in coming up with legislation, as has been the case in recent years.

On election night, state Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales told me, “Democratic leaders [in the Legislature] will be involved in producing critical legislation for New Mexico.”

Gonzales said that while Republican Gov. Susana Martinez was successful in her quest to defeat Senate President pro-tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, she failed to take out her other major target, Majority Leader Michael Sanchez of Belen, and had weakened her relationship with the Legislature as a whole.

Later in the week, Sen. Tim Keller, D-Albuquerque, who won re-election to a second term, had similar thoughts. “I think we’re going to find [the Legislature] returning to the traditional way of doing things — where the Legislature sets the agenda and sends bills to the governor.”

Sen. Tim Keller

Of course, the Legislature always sends lots of bills of its own to the governor, who can sign or veto what she pleases. But Keller noted that starting with Gov. Bill Richardson in 2003, the governor’s agenda became the primary focus of legislative sessions.

Gov. Martinez has continued that role, Keller said. Generally, she sends bills down to the Legislature, which, in effect, “signs” or “vetoes” her proposals.

Will the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate be united enough to retake these reins? “I don’t know,” Keller said. “There will be so many freshmen, that’s the wild card.”

Indeed, because of retirements and election defeats, there will be 15 new senators (that’s more than a third) and at least 20 new members of the 70-member House (the numbers there aren’t final yet because of a pending recount in one race).

But even if the Legislature seizes the agenda, there’s one inconvenient constitutional fact. The governor has the power to veto. Gov. Gary Johnson took pride in vetoing hundreds of bills. And when he ran for re-election in 1998, that sure didn’t hurt his popularity.

So we might just end up with a different kind of Roundhouse gridlock.

You can’t go home again: Two former House members from Las Cruces, Nate Cote and Jeff Steinborn, are getting second chances in the Legislature. Both Democrats lost in the Republican sweep of 2010 but were successful this time. Cote defeated Ricky Little, the Republican who beat him two years ago.

However, three Albuquerque senators attempting to make a comeback fell short.

Shannon Robinson was a Democrat who switched to Republican (although we know that in his heart, he’ll always be a “Bull Moose,” as he sometimes described himself). He lost to Keller, who beat him in the 2008 Democratic primary.

Joe Carraro, a former Republican, changed his registration to declined-to-state. He was defeated by Republican John Ryan. We declined-to-states might be the fastest growing segment in terms of voting registration in the state, but we didn’t do well at the ballot box Wednesday. The only other independent running for Legislature, Rep. Andy Nuñez of Hatch, came in third in the District 36 race, losing his seat to Democrat Felipe Archuleta.

The third former senator to loose a comeback bid was Diane Snyder. She lost her seat in 2008 to Democrat Tim Eichenberg. She lost Tuesday to incoming freshman Daniel Ivey-Soto.

Las Cruces House Race Now is 1-Vote Race

UPDATE 6:17 pm.  State Election Bureau director Bobbi Shearer just called to say that in the District 37 race Ferrary now leads McMillian by one vote, Bobbi Shearer just said. She said they found two more provisional ballots that had one vote for Ferrary and one without a vote in that race. This race still  isgoing to recount.

Original post below:

I just spoke with state Election Bureau director Bobbi Shearer who told me that all the absentee and provisional ballots have been counted in the state House race between incumbent Republican Terry McMillan and Democrat Joanne Ferrary ... and it's a tie.

It's been known since election night that the District 37 race was heading for an automatic recount. Unofficial results initially showed Ferrary with a 12-vote lead. But once local election officials started counting absentee and provisional ballots, Ferrary's lead began shrinking.

Shearer said the state will canvass the vote, then the recount will begin.

Another House race might be headed for a recount as well. In the District 23 race in Sandoval County, Republican Paul Pacheco was leading Democrat Marci Blaze by 69 votes according to unofficial returns on election night. That's only 1 vote shy of the number needed for an automatic recount (one tenth of one percent of the total vote.)

Shearer said she was not yet certain about the final count for Sandoval County.

UPDATE: As stated above, the McMillan/Ferrary race number is not final. However if this remains a tie, it would be the first legislative race since Bill Payne, now GOP Senate whip, won his first race by a coin toss in 1996.

McCleskey on TV

Jay McCleskey, Gov. Susana Martinez's political consultant,  wouldn't talk to me last week for my profile of him in The New Mexican. But he did talk to Matt Grubbs on KNME's In Focus, which airs tomorrow night.

On the clip below, he acknowledges this year was a tough one for Republicans in this state. He also talks about how the Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District -- in which Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham handily defeated Janis Arnold Jones -- has grown more Democratic in the last 10 years. Republican Heather Wilson held the seat for 10 years, but by 2006 (an even worse year for Republicans almost everywhere) Wilson hung on by less than a thousand votes.

According to the KNME press release, on the program tomorrow, McCleskey will discuss "campaign tactics, the changing face of the Legislature, the impact of independent political committees on the election, & what's in store in January."

It airs 7 p.m. on Channel 5.

UPDATE: 11-12-12 9:57 am: I just replaced the teaser with the entire 15-minute interview.



I just realized that the segment on the teaser -- actually a "web extra" isn't on the video above. So I'm restoring the teaser, in which McCleskey talks about CD1 and how rough that district has become for the GOP. (Thanks Matt R!)

Republicans Gain in Senate, But Democrats Gain in House

Roswell area farmer Cliff Pirtle, aided by Gov. Susana Martinez, was successful in defeating Senate President Tim Jennings yesterday. Republicans gained a total of three seats in the state Senate.

Stephanie Garcia Richard

But Republicans blew a chance to take control of the House. Democrats actually increased their strength in the House by a net gain of two seats. That'll be three if Republican  Rep. Terry McMillan of Las Cruces is defeated. Unofficial results show him 12 votes behind Democrat Joanne Ferrary. There will be an automatic recount in that district.

Apparently Stephanie Garcia Richard's lead held over incumbent Republican Jim Hall of Los Alamos. Unofficial results show her 310 votes ahead of Hall.

Despite their losses in the Senate, Democrats still will hold a healthy 25-17 lead over Republicans in that chamber. And with Jennings gone, chances are the next president pro-tem will be a lot more liberal. Jennings, after all was first elected to the post with the support of all Senate Republicans.

Among the incumbents who were defeated yesterday was Democratic Whip Mary Jane Garcia of Dona Ana. She was the subject of an ethics investigation this year over possible campaign finance violations. She paid a $1,200 fine to the state.

Also appointed Sen. Lisa Curtis, D-Albuquerque, who spent about a quarter of a million dollars, couldn't buy her seat in her heavily GOP district. She lost to Mark Moores, former chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley.

In the House, the only registered independent, Rep. Andy Nunez came in third in his race, losing to Democrat Felipe Archuleta. Nunez was attacked by both Democrats and Republicans, including Gov. Susana Martinez's Reform New Mexico Now PAC, even though Nunez had been allied with the governor on her driver's license bill.

Other incumbents to be defeated were Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock, who lost to Republican Sharon Clahchischilliage (Bad news for reporters who now have to learn how to spell "Clahchischilliage"); Ricky Little, R-Las Cruces, who lost to former Rep. Nate Cote (who lost to Little in 2010); and Rep. Conrad James, R-Albuquerque, who lost to Democrat Elizabeth Thompson.

Most Santa Fe area legislators were unopposed. Longtime Rep. Lucky Varela, D-Santa Fe won 80 percent of the vote against Libertarian Bob Walsh.

There will be some new local lawmakers however. Besides Richard, Democrat Stephen Easley won the seat held for 14 years by Rep. Rhonda King, who didn't seek re-election. And Carl Trujillo of Nambe, who won his primary race and faced no general election opponent, will fill the seat held by retiring House Speaker Ben Lujan.

35,936 Early Voters in Santa Fe County

That's according to Denise Lamb, Santa Fe County's Elections Bureau director. 35,936 is the number of early, in-person voters.

In addition, the county has received 5,760 absentee ballots so far. That number will undoubtedly rise, however because nearly 1,100 absentee ballots that were issued have not come back yet.

The number of early voters is slightly behind the total in the last presidential election.

In 2008 the day before the election County Clerk Valerie Espinoza reported 37,383 people had voted early in-person and 15,391 at that point had voted absentee.

Lamb said in the 2008 general election voter turnout in Santa Fe County was 72 percent.

According to the Secretary of State's website, there are 99,511 registered voters in Santa Fe County as of Oct. 31.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: The Rehab of Richardson

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Nov. 5, 2012

Is this the rehabilitation of Bill Richardson?

Late last week, I found a big surprise in a short email message from the former governor’s office: “Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Miami and Orlando, Florida on Friday, November 2, to take part in early vote rallies for President Obama. He will also appear on network and cable channels this weekend leading up to the Election Day in support of the President’s campaign.”

Richardson speaking at the 2008 Democratic National
Convention in Denver 

Ever since early January 2009, when Richardson had to withdraw his nomination as secretary of Commerce because of a grand jury investigation dealing with possible “pay-to-play” campaign contributions and state highway project bond funds, Obama has kept him at arm’s-length.

True, Richardson was invited to a state dinner or two at the White House, but you haven’t seen him as a campaign surrogate for Obama.

As it turned out, neither Richardson nor any of his administration involved in the investigation were indicted in the scandal over the program known as Governor Richardson’s Investment Partnership — though the U.S. attorney noted that decision came from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., not the Albuquerque office.

Another grand jury investigation into state investments, reportedly begun years ago, also hasn’t produced any indictments.

This new announcement reminded me of a day in May 2009, when Obama spoke in Rio Rancho. It was the first time the president had met with Richardson face to face since the Commerce withdrawal.

Obama began his speech that day by recognizing Richardson, who sat with other state officials near the podium. He called Richardson “a great friend” and “one of the finest governors in the country.” Later, Obama told the crowd, “New Mexico’s been fortunate partly because of some good administration from the New Mexico governor.”

Richardson later told reporters that he’d had a “very brief” one-on-one encounter with Obama before that speech. He said they didn’t talk about the Cabinet nomination.

Beginning in 2009, Richardson’s approval ratings in the state took a nosedive, and many have said that was a huge factor in Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s loss to Susana Martinez for governor the next year.

It’s not clear when New Mexico Democrats will ask Richardson to campaign for them here.

Our celebrity govs: The Richardson announcement means that we have had three New Mexico governors out on the campaign trail this year. Martinez, in recent weeks, has been a Romney surrogate in swing states such as Colorado and Nevada, which have large Hispanic populations. Former Gov. Gary Johnson has been all over the place in his quixotic quest as the Libertarian Party presidential nominee.

Strummin’ on the old banjo: Maybe it’s because she has been so far behind in all the polls — except for her own — that Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson has dared to do something I haven’t seen any other candidate in New Mexico do — run an ad that makes her look fun and a little goofy.

I’m referring, of course, to Wilson’s recent “banjo ad” featuring her two teenage kids, Josh and Caitlin. It shows Wilson playing the banjo and home-movie footage as a child riding a unicycle. From the start of this campaign, Wilson has tried to soften her image. We’ve seen her choke up talking about her childhood in one previous spot. But the banjo commercial is one designed to make you smile.

And the banjo’s not just a prop. In 2007, I revealed in this very column that Wilson played banjo. I learned this from Al Hurricane — the godfather of New Mexico music — who told me that he and Wilson had been at a presentation for students at an Albuquerque middle school, and she joined him on banjo for a song.

Hurricane, a longtime friend of the candidate, has been playing at Wilson rallies in Northern New Mexico in recent days. In Las Vegas, N.M., Wilson got out her banjo and played some tunes with Hurricane. (There's some photos of Heather and Hurricane HERE)

Here's the ad below.

New Bluegrass Supergroup: Hurricane Heather

I first reported that Republican U.S.Senate candidate Heather Wilson played the banjo back in 2007. My source for this crucial information: the godfather of New Mexico music, Al Hurricane.

Some folks who weren't around back then have looked at me in disbelief when I've mentioned that. But the Wilson campaign itself redeemed me when they came out with their recent ad showing Wilson plucking away on the old banjo.

And now the campaign has released this photo featuring Wilson jamming with the godfather himself.

Not showing favoritism here. If anyone has a photo of Martin Heinrich playing accordion with Joe West or something, please let me know.

Richardson to Campaign for Obama

Ever since then-Gov. Bill Richardson had to withdraw his nomination as Secretary of Commerce because a grand jury investigation dealing with campaign contributions and a state highway project, President Obama has kept an arm's-length from him.

Sure there were one or two invites to a state dinner at the White House, but you haven't seen Richardson as a campaign surrogate for Obama.

Until now.

This just in:

Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Miami and Orlando, Florida on Friday, November 2nd to take part in early vote rallies for President Obama. He will also appear on Network and Cable channels this weekend leading up to the Election Day in support of the President’s campaign.