Eichenberg Reaffirms Support for Denish

Sen. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, in a statement e-mailed to me and several other political bloggers, spoke about his recent prediction that Lt. Gov. Diane Denish would lose in her race for governor because of what he called her “complacency or complicity with the ‘pay-to-play’” atmosphere in the Richardson administration.

But notice he's not retracting his remarks nor is he challenging the accuracy of the initial report by photographer/blogger Mark Bralley.

Here's what the senator said:

I find it unfortunate that my comments were used to create division among Democrats and the Democratic Party, I will continue to support both! I realize my comments have stirred emotions on both side of the aisle but I hope they will provoke continued discussions on ethics reform, transparency and accountability.

"As Lt Gov Diane Denish continues the fight to bring meaningful ethics reform to Santa Fe, I will proudly vote for her proposals to make government more transparent and accountable to the taxpayers. She can lead New Mexico into the future and there is no doubt in my mind who I will vote for in November.

Martinez First With Eichenberg Quote

Yesterday Matt at NM FBIHOP predicted that Sen. Tim Eichenberg's statement that Diane Denish will lose the governor's race would be the subject of Republican press releases for the next few days.

That's coming true. GOP governor candidate Susana Martinez was the first to issue a "They Said It!" press release.

One thing you have to give Team Martinez: They've got the best rapid-response effort of any of the candidates. Martinez almost always is the first to comment on such developments.

Eichenberg Says Denish Can't Win

Photographer/Blogger Mark Bralley got a nice scoop involving the governor's race.

State Sen. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, who had been considering a race for lieutenant governor, showed up at a coffee held by state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones , R-Albuquerque -- who is running for governor -- and said Lt. Governor Diane Denish "can't win."

From Bralley's blog What's Wrong With This Picture:

He talked with current Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who is the only declared gubernatorial Democratic Party candidate, telling her that because of her “complacency or complicity with the ‘pay-to-play’” atmosphere surrounding the administration of Governor Bill Richardson, and standing quietly behind him, Eichenberg was unwilling to invest a half million dollars in a losing campaign.

"I looked her square in the eye when I said that,” Eichenberg said. “I told her I didn’t think she was going to win.”

Pretty strong words from a fellow Democrat!

As I blogged here a couple of weeks ago, I talked with Eichenberg at the outset of the special session and he told me he wouldn't be running. At that time, however, he didn't mention pay-to-play or spending a half-million dollars on a losing race.

Eichenberg told me that he "doesn't compliment the ticket." As I said at the time, I assumed he was talking about ethnicity. He would have been the only Anglo among six Hispanic candidates. Denish also is Anglo.

Why was he at an event sponsored by a Republican lawmaker/gubernatorial candidate? Bralley explained Eichenberg's district overlaps with Arnold-Jones' and it's billed as a "Saturday morning constituent meeting" that's "open and nonpartisan."