"Ready For Hillary" Coming to Santa Fe

Sick of the 2014 election yet? How about 2016?

Former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez is involved in the "Ready for Hillary" PAC and he's helped organize an event in Santa Fe scheduled for May 21 at Hotel Santa Fe.

Hosts for the event are Mayor Javier Gonzales, Joe Wilson & Valarie Plame and former state Democratic Chairman Earl Potter and his wife Deborah Potter.

Craig Smith will be the featured speaker. This is a former White House political director, not the guy who used to do classical music review for Pasatiempo.

Former Secretary of State, U.S. senator and First Lady Hillary Clinton probably won't be there. She hasn't officially decided whether she's running yet.

Tickets start at $250.

NEA Endorses Webber (and, Uh..., All the Other Dems)

OK, I realize I'm not the fastest blogger/Tweeter, one-man-band journalist etc around these parts. I'm an old guy and trying to get over that old 20th Century newspaper mindset in which in most cases you have until the end of the work day to get your story out.

But ever-so-often there's an advantage to that.

Take this morning, when checking my email. One of the first things I saw was one from the Alan Webber campaign that said the National Education Association had endorsed him.

Given how important education has been in my life, and the lives of my family and friends, I can’t describe how much it means to me that professional educators have publicly expressed their faith in me—specifically, in my commitment to public education, and in my ability to deliver on the investments we so desperately need to build a brighter future for our children.

I don't write about every endorsement that comes down, but I thought this one probably blogworthy. After all, the other teacher's union, the American Federation of Teachers, already had endorsed Howie Morales.

But I got distracted by other things, (mostly making coffee) and decided to wait. And I'm glad I did. Shortly after 9 a.m., the Lawrence Rael campaign sent an email saying Rael had been endorsed by the NEA. But his email had a little extra information:

I am pleased to announce that I have been endorsed by the National Education Association (NEA-NM), along with all five Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

(And yes, the Rael email did use red letters for that last part.)

A few minutes later, a similar email came from the Morales campaign. I suppose Gary King and Linda Lopez might do the same later today.

In other words, Webber told the truth, but not the whole truth. Sometimes it's good to go make some coffee before jumping on the first email to come along.

(Speaking of slow, I just noticed that my colleague Milan Simonich beat me to blogging this!)

UPDATE 2:57 pm: Webber's campaign manager, Neri Holguin just responded to this post:

Of course it was never our intention to cause confusion but we fully expected each campaign to tout their own NEA-NM endorsements—and quickly. Previously, we followed an example by another campaign with respect to joint endorsements and no confusion seemed to result from that, but lesson learned. We worked hard to earn NEA-NM's endorsement and we're proud of it. 

Susana Needs to Catch Up!

I don't think U.S Sen. Marco Rubio has actually read Gov. Susana Martinez's campaign finance reports.

He just wrote a fundraising letter for the governor and one line caught my eye:

Susana is facing a fundraising deadline and your contribution will help her catch up to her opponents, who have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money into their campaigns. 

According to the latest round of reports last month, Democrat Alan Webber had $439,914 in the bank, Lawrence Rael had $228,767, Gary King King had $89,177, Howie Morales had $46,624 and Linda Lopez had $19,289.

Martinez was lagging way behind with only $4.2 million. She really needs to catch up.

UPDATE: 10:10 am Rubio is one of many GOP stars who will be hosting a May 21 fundraiser in Chevy Chase Maryland for Martinez. Others include Sen. Rand Paul, Congressman Paul Ryan, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and more.

This should help her catch up.

Andy Kroll, author of the infamous Mother Jones article about Martinez, just posted an invitation. You can see that HERE.

Agreeing to Agree: No Fireworks at Dem Forum

The five Democratic candidates for governor seemed to be adhering to a self-imposed “fireworks ban” at a forum Saturday, as they fastidiously avoided taking any shots at each other.

In fact, at the end of the two-hour debate sponsored by the state Democratic Party, Attorney General Gary King, state Sens. Linda Lopez and Howie Morales, longtime government administrator Lawrence Rael and Santa Fe businessman Alan Webber all pledged to enthusiastically support whoever wins the June primary to take on incumbent Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.

All five agreed on several issues including raising the state’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, allowing undocumented immigrants to be issued driver’s licenses, and adopting a comprehensive state water plan. And, to the delight of the 175 or so Democrats who attended the forum at the Nativo Lodge, all five contenders happily tore into Martinez.

More in tomorrow's New Mexican

"Cowboy Hippie" Mayor Endorses Susana

McKinney

Gov. Susana Martinez's campaign is boasting about winning the endorsement of another Democratic mayor: Jackie McKinney of Gallup.

McKinney, who called himself "just an old cowboy hippie" in an interview with The Albuquerque Journal  a few years ago, said the recordings of Martinez and her staff that emerged in that Mother Jones article last week is a factor that helped lead him to the endorsement.

According to a news release:

 ... I am profoundly disappointed by the personal and unfair attacks launched against Gov. Martinez by those trying to divide our state along partisan, political lines.  Using four-year-old audio tapes of a private conversation in which the governor curses is a cheap shot, and I stand by her because she tackled the issue head-on and refuses to allow this petty bullying and gotcha politics to distract her from focusing on the issues important to New Mexico.

McKinney also said:

"I know Gov.  Martinez very well and have worked closely with her over the years on various issues, including honoring New Mexico’s veterans, helping small businesses create more jobs through increased tourism and serving the needs of our Native American communities. "

Last week Martinez launched a TV ad featuring two other Democrats endorsing her --  Las Vegas Mayor Alfonso Ortiz and former Taos Mayor Darren Cordova (who in March lost his re-election bid in a landslide.)

Anti-Susana Ad Emerges

A political committee that has been harshly critical of Gov. Susana Martinez released a hard-hitting 30-second ad denouncing the governor as being two-faced.

Called  '¡Qué Vergüenza!,' ("how embarassing") the spot refers to the controversial recordings of Martinez and her staff released recently by Mother Jones. It;s the work of the Better New Mexico PAC, which is associated with ProgressNow New Mexico.

Here's the script:

We all want to be proud of our leaders, but Susana Martinez is not the leader we thought she was. Turns out, she's just another politician.
Behind closed doors, Susana Martinez played along when her staff laughed and shamed Spanish speaking families, like mine.
Caught on tape, she refuses to apologize. Que Verguenza!
Susana Martinez is not right for New Mexico. She's not right for me, she's not right for you.

Martinez's campaign spokesman told my colleague Milan Simonich, “This is a false ad run by an extreme, dark-money group that has a history of peddling fictional and misleading attacks against Gov. Martinez.”

Here's the ad:

Rael Becomes 1st Dem Governor Candidate to Run TV ad

Lawrence Rael is the first of the five gubernatorial candidates to go on television with a campaign ad.

It's a positive ad full of optimism. Lots of images of children can be found here, as well as footage of a rancher, a teacher, a lumberjack, some medical professionals and a guy making espresso.

And though it's called "Contrast," and says Rael sees the state "in a very different light," it doesn't actually contrast Rael's view with that of Gov. Susana Martinez or any of his Democratic primary opponents.

Lawrence Rael sees New Mexico in a very different light. He sees a New Mexico that can thrive.
Where we lift up our children with an education that nurtures and inspires their full potential. A state with no shortage of good jobs and opportunities.
A place that grows local business and welcomes others. Where poverty is transformed into prosperity and the life we all deserve.
Lawrence Rael sees a very different New Mexico.
And as governor, you can trust Lawrence to get us there.



Another Democrat, Alan Webber told me this morning that he'll have a TV ad on the air in the very near future.

Discouraging Words for NM Dems from Democratic Governors Association

Democratic Governors Association Chairman Peter Shumlin, whose day job is governor of Vermont, said what some national pundits have been saying for a long time: He doesn't expect Democrats to win gubernatorial races in New Mexico (or Nevada. And he's not real hopeful about Texas).

Real Clear Politics quoted Shumlin saying yesterday “I wish that we could spend money for Democrats in all 50 states. My job is not to promote governors’ races in states where we can’t win.”

Sam Bregman, chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party told KRQE “I’m a little disappointed. I’m not surprised. ... I gather they’re basing that decision on polls that are old and showing Gov. [Susana] Martinez at high poll ratings. But I think now and certainly once we get a nominee that they may be reconsidering that decision.”

There's no way Shumlin's statement will make it easier on the five Democratic gubernatorial candidates to attract national money for their campaigns.

In 2010, the DGA contributed more than $300,000 directly to the unsuccessful campaign of Democrat Diane Denish. Plus, the association spent more than  $770,000 on "media buys" (television time for campaign ads) for Denish in 2010.

UPDATE 12:45 pm The earlier version of this post didn't include the part about the DGA spending money for media buys on behalf of Denish.

GOP Lawmaker Talks Up ALEC

Rep. Herrell

I hadn't even thought of the American Legislative Exchange lately, but I just got this news release from the state Republican Party that has Rep. Yvette Herrell, R-Alamogordo talking about her trip next week to an ALEC meeting in Kansas City.

ALEC hasn't been in the news much since the 2012 shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. That state's controversial "Stand Your Ground" gun law was based on model legislation from ALEC. In recent months, several corporations have left the group.


Earlier in 2012, there was a confrontation between ALEC and Occupy Santa Fe, which crashed a legislative dinner for ALEC at the Eldorado. One legislator's girlfriend was injured, but didn't press charges. The only people convicted were two hotel employees accused of roughing up a photographer . The two pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery charges in Municipal Court.

The organization includes state lawmakers from all over the country. Not only does it have corporate sponsors -- which is the case for many national organizations -- corporations also are members. Their representatives help legislators craft model legislation.

Anyway, here's what Rep. Herrell had to say today about ALEC.

Next week, I will be traveling to Kansas City for the American Legislative Exchange Council spring meeting. As a volunteer leader of the organization in New Mexico, I am glad to attend these meetings and support state-based, free market initiatives. You will no doubt hear claims of undue influence by those who disagree with ALEC ideas and would rather attempt to discredit the organization than debate its proposals.

What is often and conveniently omitted from the anti-ALEC narrative is that member legislators believe in and support limited government, free market and federalism priorities, and we were elected by citizens who share the same views. As a legislator, I stand for my constituents’ interests and the interests of all New Mexicans first, and to make the best decision that is most consistent with the desires of my community, I need to be well informed.

Seeking information does not mean I agree with or act upon everything I hear.  Sometimes, standing up for New Mexicans involves discussing policy with other legislators from New Hampshire or New York or learning about what regulations might stifle free enterprise and innovation. These discussions and education are desperately needed in New Mexico.

Nearly half of all land in New Mexico and more than a third of our state budget comes from the federal government. But, as population growth slows, baby boomers age and the national debt increases, New Mexico needs to find new approaches to attracting businesses, creating opportunity and funding our state programs. As the federal money-well dries up, New Mexico continues to increase its dependence on a well that gives no water. Between 2001 and 2012, our state budget coming from the federal government increased from 28 percent to 37 percent. This is a serious problem—one that needs to be solved now.

So why should New Mexico legislators share with and learn from other state legislators about economic policy? Without smart and innovative policy, excessive federal spending will curtail competitiveness and stagnate growth in New Mexico. We are too dependent on the federal government and need innovative, free-market solutions to balance our budget and put New Mexico on a path to a sustainable future.

For proof that state-based solutions work, look no further than our neighbor, Texas.

The Lone Star state doesn’t collect a personal income tax and its hands-off approach allows businesses to thrive. The results have been impressive. Over the last decade, Texas’ job growth topped 12.5 percent – well above the national average – and more than a million more Americans moved to Texas than moved out.

Private sector enterprises are flocking to Texas, with tech firms leading the charge. In 2012, Apple alone created 3,600 new jobs across Texas. The Lone Star state is now home to the second-largest and fastest-growing technology sector in the country.

Meanwhile, economic growth in states that impose high-taxes and burdensome regulations has slowed to a crawl. In California, where the top individual income tax is a nation-high 13.3 percent, tax policy hasn’t solved the state’s economic woes. While Texas was creating jobs at a double-digit rate, California’s employment grew by only 0.4 percent.

Learning from the successes and failures of others helps me work with the New Mexico Legislature to create a bright future for all New Mexicans. A more informed legislator makes more informed decisions, and it is in this spirit that I am honored to serve New Mexico and glad to seek opinions and innovative solutions from all viewpoints.

Rael First to Blast Gardner for Credit Card Story

Keith Gardner

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lawrence Rael won the rapid-response prize for his reaction to the story about Gov. Susana Martinez's chief of staff Keith Gardner using a government credit card for personal purchases.

In a news release from his campaign, Rael said:

“The use of state resources by Keith Gardner for personal expenses is not a trivial matter. That the governor’s Chief of Staff either doesn’t know or doesn’t care that he can’t use public resources for private expenses is beyond comprehension. The governor’s top staff member shouldn’t get a pass when a subordinate would be subject to disciplinary measures, if not outright dismissal.

“The excuses provided by Gov. Martinez’s administration don’t match with the law. Keith Gardner’s actions should be fully investigated by the state auditor. Gov. Martinez promised ethical government but can’t even discipline her chief of ctaff on such an obvious misuse of taxpayer funds.”


Thom Cole of The Albuquerque Journal got the scoop, identifying more than $4,500 in personal purchases on Gardner's state card.

As Jerome Block, Jr. might say, that's a lot of chimichungas!  (Cheap shot: Unlike Block, Gardner reimbursed the state for his personal charges long before being forced to.)

Among the items purchased and later reimbursed: a necktie at a Williamsburg, Va., hotel, heartburn medication and iPhone accessories from Walmart, car fresheners from Best Buy, a copy of the magazine Popular Science from an airport gift shop, a coin display case from Michaels and a Southwest Airlines fee for Gardner’s wife.

Car fresheners from Best Buy?

Gardner told Cole his use of the government credit card didn't comply with state policy and was “poor practice and sloppy.” But the said the reimbursements were evidence he wasn't trying to rip off the taxpayers.

He got to keep the card and has faced no discipline for the matter. However, future charges on Garder's now have to be approved in advance.

Rael probably won't be the last  to comment on Gardner's credit card charges. He also was the first Dem candidate to blast Martinez over the behind-the-scenes recordings revealed in that Mother Jones story last week.

Meanwhile, here's a little flashback from Repo Man: