Javier Is Re-elected State Dem Chairman in Close Battle

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 1, 2011


In what turned out to be a much closer race than either of the top candidates had predicted, Javier Gonzales of Santa Fe held on to his job as state Democratic Party chairman, edging out challenger Sam Bregman.

In declaring victory at the meeting of the state Democratic Central Committee, Gonzales said the party was unified and ready to go forward to defeat Republicans in the 2012 elections.

“We’re coming together and moving forward,” Gonzales said as he called Bregman and his other opponent Letitia Montoya to the stage. They hugged and raised each others’ arms in a show of unity.

“Today marked the day we go forward as a unified party,” Gonzales told a reporter after the vote. “Today really showed the energy and commitment of the grassroots.”

Sam Bregman

“We lost fair and square,” Bregman told a reporter after the vote. “I congratulation the chairman and urge all my supporters to get behind Javier Gonzales and go out and kick some Republican tail.”

But only a couple of hours before, both Bregman and Montoya were harshly critical of Gonzales, saying he’d not done enough last year to help the Democratic ticket, which suffered major losses in the November election — and that Gonzales had not done enough to counter Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her supporters during this year’s legislative session.

“We have leadership who lost the election,” Bregman said during his speech to the Central committee. He said 2010 — in which Democrats lost the governor’s race, a seat in Congress, the Office of Secretary of State and eight seats in the state Legislature — was the worst defeat for New Mexico Democrats in 80 years.
Montoya in her speech said, “I think it’s time for a woman to take over to clean up the mess the men have made.”

Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, last year’s Democratic candidate for governor, defended Gonzales’ work in the 2010 election. “Javier did everything we asked him to,” Denish said in her speech nominating Gonzales for his new two-year term.

The four-month campaign for the chairmanship often became bitter and personal. Some of Gonzales’ supporters criticized Bregman, an Albuquerque lawyer, for representing several figures who have been central in corruption scandals in the past five years, including former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, who went to prison after being implicated in a kickback scheme.

But Bregman after the vote, downplayed the intensity of the battle, saying Democrats were a family that could fight but in the end unite for a common purpose.

Javier Gonzales

Out of 380 committee members voting, Gonzales won 191 votes — just over 50 percent. Bregman got 180, and Montoya got nine votes. Had Gonzales received one less vote, he would have faced a run-off with Bregman.

Gonzales, 44, is a business consultant, a former Santa Fe County Commissioner and son of former Santa Fe Mayor George Gonzales.

He also serves on the New Mexico State University board of regents. Before he decided to enter the race, Gonzales told The New Mexican that if he got named chairman of the NMSU regents there might be a conflict of interest if he stayed on as Democratic state chairman. He might be in a position of blasting the governor one day and asking for funds for NMSU the next, he said.

However last week in an interview he said he was not going to become chairman of the regents so he wasn’t worried about a conflict of interest.

The central committee meeting attracted most of the candidates and those considering running for U.S. House or Senate seats next year. Both U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich and state Auditor Hector Balderas — both of whom are running for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s seat — spoke at the event as votes were being counted, as did longshot contender Andres Valdez, an Albuquerque activist.

U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, who is seeking re-election in the northern 3rd Congressional District, said he hasn’t decided whether to endorse one of the Senate candidates. Both Heinrich and Balderas mentioned Lujan in their speeches.

Eric Griego decides whether to take this call

In the 1st Congressional District, state Sen. Eric Griego of Albuquerque made it official Saturday, saying he will run for the seat currently held by Heinrich. Griego is one of the most uncompromisingly liberal voices in the Legislature.

Two possible candidates in the southern 2nd Congressional District — currently held by Republican Steve Pearce — emerged Saturday. One was Martin Resendiz, the mayor of Sunland Park, who said he plans to run. Meanwhile, former state Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, told The New Mexican that he’s also considering the race. Cote lost his legislative seat to Republican Rick Little last year.

Check out my snapshots of the DEmocratic event today. CLICK HERE

It's On!

Later today the state Democratic Party's Central Committee will choose a chairman.

Incumbent Javier Gonales has been facing a stiff challenge from lawyer Sam Bregman. Letitia Montoay also is in the race. My story about the contest is in today's New Mexican.

I'll be there. I probably won't live-blog it, but follow my tweets from The New Mexican's feed. (And I might make a couple of stray wisecracks on my own Twitter feed.

Javier's Campaign Says He's Doing Fine in Poll

When I asked Sam Bregman yesterday about Sen. Jeff Bingaman's endorsement of Javier Gonzales in the state chairman's race, Bregman said Gonzales was publicizing the endorsement to counteract a recent poll Gonzales commissioned of state Democratic Central Committee members showing Bregman winning the contest.

"They're losing," Bregman said. "The train has left the station."

But today, Gonzales' spokesman shot me an e-mail saying that there indeed was a poll, but it showed Gonzales doing better than 54 percent. Bregman was pulling just over 37 percent, while Letitia Montoya had about 8.5 percent.

According to spokesman Matt Ross the call, which went out to all 400-plus Central Committee members, went as follows:

"Hello, tonight we are conducting a short survey on the upcoming State Democratic Party Chair's race. If the election were held today, who would you vote for:
Press 1 for Javier Gonzales
Press 2 for Sam Bregman
Press 3 for Letitia Montoya
Thank you for your time this evening."

But before Gonzales supporters start popping the champagne corks, a look at the poll shows that only 101 people responded. That's just under a fourth of the number of total members. So nobody really knows yet how the other 75 percent are going to vote.

The actual voting will take place on April 30.

Roundhouse Roundup: Bingaman Endorse Javier

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 14, 2011

Javier Gonzales' effort to win another term as state Democratic Party chairman received a huge boost Wednesday when he was endorsed by retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

"I will cast my vote for Javier Gonzales for state party chair," Bingaman said in a statement emailed by a spokesman. "Javier has the state party on the right track, laying the groundwork for candidate recruitment, fundraising and party building to make sure New Mexico helps re-elect President Obama, elects great Democratic candidates in both open U.S. Senate and House seats, and equally capable Democrats up and down the ballot in 2012."

Gonzales, a former Santa Fe County commissioner, is seeking a second term despite huge Democratic losses in last year's general election. He's facing an aggressive challenge from lawyer and former Albuquerque City Councilor Sam Bregman. Letitia Montoya of Santa Fe also is running for the position.

Endorsements don't always mean a whole lot in political races, but this one's a big deal.

The low-key Bingaman probably is the most respected Democratic leader in the state. When he announced earlier this year that he wouldn't be seeking a sixth term, Democrats from all factions showered him with praise.

Not surprisingly, Gonzales was ecstatic about the endorsement.

"Jeff Bingaman set the bar high for public service in New Mexico with more than 30 years of dignified, honorable and ethical leadership," Gonzales said in a statement. "Working with him to build a stronger Democratic Party has been a privilege and I am honored to have his support. With Sen. Bingaman's wise counsel, I remain focused on Democratic victory across New Mexico in 2012 and on taking the fight to Governor Martinez and her anti-working-families agenda."

Bregman, in a telephone interview Wednesday, admitted he was disappointed in not getting Bingaman's support. "I certainly respect the senator," he said. "But I'm more excited about the 406 state Central Committee members," he said.

The challenger said he's known for some time that Bingaman is supporting Gonzales. "What's interesting is the timing," he said. According to Bregman, Gonzales recently conducted a "robo poll" of Central Committee members. "They're losing. The train has left the station."

Bregman has won the endorsements of a couple of unions: the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, as well as the International Association of Firefighters and Paramedics. "I think more will be coming," he said.

The green chile revolution: That's what some Rio Arriba County Democrats are calling the big win of the Democrats for Progress faction of the county Democratic Party last week in electing its officers. As a result of the elections, the old guard associated with the late political jefe Emilio Naranjo is out and a new crew is in.

Lucia Sanchez, who works in the Rio Arriba County Planning Department, was elected county Democratic chairwoman. She replaces state Sen. Richard Martinez, who didn't run for another term. Martinez, who considered Naranjo a mentor, was first elected to the party post in 2009, succeeding his ex-wife Theresa Martinez.

Richard Martinez has hardly lost all his political power. Earlier this year, he became chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Rio Grande Sun pointed out this week that Democrats for Progress has controlled major positions in Rio Arriba County for the last couple of decades, though the faction has stayed out of county party contests.

Bregman Reacts to "Stop Sam"

Last week I promised Sam Bregman's spokesman that I would be happy to print his response to the anonymous "Stop Sam" attack site.

Bregman sent a letter to the state Democratic Party Central Committee, in which he addresses that site. Nothing astounding here, but here's what he said about it.

Some of you may have seen the anonymous, cowardly attacks that have recently been used against me by letter, a website and a blast e-mail. These attacks, straight from the playbook of the Republican Party, are attempts to vilify me for being a lawyer and for doing my job. I have spent my life helping individuals professionally and in the political arena that need assistance. Let me be clear and to the point: no ugly, smear attacks from anonymous individuals will change the philosophy that has guided me during the course of my life. We cannot let our party be distracted from working on the issues that are so important to New Mexicans.

Roundhouse Roundup: Javier Seeks Re-election as NM Dem Chairman

It seems like only yesterday — actually it was just a week ago — that current state Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales was raising doubts about whether he'd seek another term.

Gonzales, who has been state chairman since 2009, told me last week he was trying to decide whether he'd rather stay on as party chairman or keep his position as a regent at New Mexico State University. He is slated this year to become chairman of the Board of Regents.

"It would be difficult to continue wearing both hats," he said.

Speculation about his plans came to an end Wednesday morning. Like who knows how many other political junkies in the state, I first learned about Gonzales' decision via his Twitter feed.

"Proud 2 announce for re-election as DPNM Chair," the chairman tweeted. "It's been an honor to serve; we have a bright future ahead!"

Who knew that old Prince album liner notes would one day be the standard grammar for political communications? But shouldn't he have said, "It's been an honor 2 serve?"

Gonzales faces at least one officially announced opponent for the chairmanship — Albuquerque lawyer Sam Bregman.

In an e-mailed statement, Bregman took a not-so-subtle swipe at the incumbent.

"We welcome Javier Gonzales into the race for a new Democratic State Party Chairman that will lead us into the future," Bregman said. "I look forward to debating Javier about what we are going to do to change the dismal results of the last election and how to come back strong in 2012."

In his news release, Gonzales argued that 2010 wasn't so bad for the Dems.

He boasted that in a Republican "wave" year, Democrats held on to two out of three Congressional seats and took several state offices, including attorney general, state land commissioner, auditor and treasurer.

"When the Republican wave could have spelled disaster, and did spell disaster in most states, Democrats in New Mexico held on to our majority in the (state) House," he said.

All true. But he didn't mention that Democrats lost eight House seats in the election, giving Republicans a closer margin than they've had in decades. And they lost the secretary of state's office. And the governor's race.

So it's going to be a tough battle. Bregman will be bringing up the losses of 2010, and I suspect Gonzales, or at least some of his supporters, will be talking a lot about the parade of Democrats implicated in scandals who have hired Bregman to represent them.

There's already an anonymous Stop Sam website and companion Facebook page bringing up Bregman clients like former Treasurer Robert Vigil and third-party marketer Marc Correra.

Bregman has yet to publicly comment on these sites. Maybe he's not worried. When I checked Wednesday, only 15 people had declared they "like" the Facebook page. Among them are former Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya and Michael Segura, whose wife, Letitia Montoya, also has been campaigning for state Democratic Party chairman.

So which hat? Will Gonzales now resign from the NMSU board? He answered through a spokesman: "I'm committed to fighting for the Democratic value of strong, accessible education for all of New Mexico's children, whether I do it as a Regent at a great university like New Mexico State or as the Democratic Party Chairman fighting back against the harmful policies of (Gov.) Susana Martinez."

OK. Does that mean he'll quit the regents if he wins the chairmanship and stay on if he loses? His spokesman didn't give a yes or no answer. "Javier is running for chair, and he is fully committed to serving as chair if he is re-elected," he said. I didn't get an answer to my follow-up.

The party's central committee will choose its new chairman in late April.

Stop Sam?

An antonymous Democrat -- at least he or she claims to be a Democrat -- has started a web site and Facebook page aimed at derailing Albuquerque lawyer Sam Bregman's bid for the chairmanship of the state Democratic Party.

I believe electing Sam Bregman as Democratic Chair is a mistake. Though he says he shares our values, he has been an on-record and public face defending corrupt officials and those implicated in pay-to-play scandals; corruption in not one of our values.
One only needs to take a quick look at the Bregman record to see the opportunity we’d be handing Republicans ... Everytime Sam attacks Susana and the GOP all they will have to say in return is," that's funny coming from the King of pay to play, the guy who has represented every corrupt official in New Mexico; Sam Bregman"

The site then lists the names of Robert Vigil, Marc Correra and other controversial clients, most of which I sited in my column a few weeks ago. Also included is state Rep. Sandra Jeff, (mistakenly listed as a "former" lawmaker, who indeed was involved in an altercation with Rep. Patty Lundstrom in late 2009, though no charges ever resulted.

The "Stop Sam" Facebook page only has 10 people who "like" it. Among them are former Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya and Michael Segura, whose wife Letitia Montoya also is running for state Democratic Party chairman.

At least these folks aren't anonymous. If anyone indeed is going to "stop Sam," it won't be done anonymously. Even if Javier Gonzales doesn't seek re-election, as he indicated last week, I think this is an early indication of how nasty is contest is going to get.

It should be noted that one of my photos -- the above one with Bregman and Marc Correra is included on the Website. I have my FLICKR political photos copyrighted with a Creative Commons license, which means people can use them as long as they give me credit. I do that so bloggers, etc. can use shots they might need. (I "borrow" photos from others occasionally, though I give credit when possible.)   Needless to say, I had nothing to do with this site (nor any others who have used my pix, including the Club For Growth attack ad on Tom Udall a couple of years ago, which used a photo of mine without giving me credit, or anything)

Sam Officially in State Dem Race, Javier Might Not Run

While lawyer Sam Bregman, a former Albuquerque city councilor, announced Wednesday that he is running for chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party, incumbent Chairman Javier Gonzales said he hasn’t decided whether he’ll run again.

Gonzales said he’s trying to decide whether he’d rather stay on as party chairman or keep his position as a regent at New Mexico State University. He is slated this year to become chairman of the Board of Regents.

“It would be difficult to continue wearing both hats,” Gonzales said. He said he’ll make his decision soon. The party’s central committee will chose its new chairman in late April.

Gonzales, a former Santa Fe county commissioner who has been chairman since 2009.

In a news release sent to reporters Wednesday, Bregman said, “Enough is enough,” apparently referring to the loss of the governorship and eight legislative races by Democrats in November’s election. “We need to rebuild our party, from the bottom up and regain strong majorities in both the State House and Senate. ... Every day, as State Chairman, I will stand up and speak out for our core Democratic values.”

 Bregman began his political career as a precinct chair when he was 18. He’s also worked as a prosecutor with the district attorney in Albuquerque. He was on the City Council from 1995 to 1999. Bregman worked as a deputy state auditor. In 2000 he ran in the Democratic primary for Congress. In 2004, Bregman was vice chairman of the state Democrats.

Letitia Montoya of Santa Fe also has been campaigning for the party position.

Roundhouse Roundup: Lawyers Doing Their Jobs

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 13, 2011

Albuquerque lawyer Sam Bregman, who is challenging incumbent Javier Gonzales for the chairmanship of the state Democratic Party, has been in the news a lot in recent years.

Bregman, a former Albuquerque City Councilor, has been something of a go-to lawyer for Democrats in trouble. While I haven’t seen any public statements about this from Gonzales or the other candidate, Letitia Montoya, behind the scenes some Democrats are saying some of his controversial clients are baggage for Bregman.

I couldn’t get Bregman on the phone Wednesday. But in a recent video interview with Albuquerque blogger/journalist Peter St. Cyr, Bregman said, “I’m a lawyer doing my job. For someone to be that shortsighted is really silly.”

He’s right. He is a lawyer doing his job, and it’s unfair to judge a lawyer by his clients. All defendants, whether an accused murderer, or, say, a state treasurer accused of seeking bribes, deserve a good defender.

However, Bregman apparently didn’t feel that way when he was running for mayor of Albuquerque in 1997.
At the time, he was a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office. One of his opponents was former Gov. David Cargo, also a lawyer.

In August 1997, according to articles in The Albuquerque Tribune, Bregman said, “Going on four years now, I’ve gone into the courthouse trying to seek justice for victims and their families and trying to put criminals behind bars.

“Dave Cargo has spent that same time walking into the courthouse trying to keep criminals on the street. Dave Cargo has stood up for people who peddle drugs to our children, people who abuse our children, people who assault our police officers.”

To his credit, a couple of days after the controversy broke over his remarks, Bregman walked back a little, telling The Tribune, “Perhaps my comments were not in the appropriate context and perhaps the rhetoric was a little strong. ... I do not for one minute want to imply that defense attorneys do not have a very valuable place in our criminal justice system. I am certainly very supportive of a person’s right to have an attorney.”

Neither Bregman nor Cargo won that race. Jim Baca did.

Among Bregman’s most high-profile clients in recent years:

* Former state Treasurer Robert Vigil was facing multiple federal charges related to a kickback scheme involving state contractors. After two trials, Vigil was convicted of one count of attempted extortion but acquitted by a jury of 23 other extortion and racketeering charges. Vigil served 32 months in federal prison.

* Roberta Vigil, a former West Las Vegas school administrator — and related by marriage to the former treasurer — was convicted on state charges of fraud and conspiracy. She received three years of probation and was ordered to repay $13,856 in bilingual education funds to the school district.

* Marc Correra has not been charged with any crimes, but he was at the center of a state investment scandal. Between 2003 and 2008, Correra — whose father was close to then-Gov. Bill Richardson — shared in nearly $22 million in fees as a third-party placement agent to help money-management firms win investments with the State Investment Council and a state educational pension fund. Bregman represented Correra before the state Gaming Control Board when the broker was part of a team trying to start a race track and casino in Raton.

* Bruce Malott, the former chairman of New Mexico’s Educational Retirement Board, resigned in September over a questionable $350,000 loan from Anthony Correra (Marc Correra’s father). Malott has not been charged with any crime but has been named in civil suits, including those filed by Frank Foy, former cheif investment officer of the ERB.

* Alfred Lovato, a former state police guard of Richardson, was in the car driven by politically-connected lawyer Carlos Fierro when Fierro struck and killed pedestrian William Tenorio in Nov. 2008. Lovato initially was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. But Bregman persuaded state District Judge Michael Vigil to drop the charges.

UPDATE 9:15 a.m.: The initial version of this column listed the wrong position for Frank Foy. That has been corrected.

Bregman vs. Gonzales

Covering a new governor and preparing for the upcoming Legislature, I haven't paid much attention to Sam Bregman's challenge to state Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales.


Below is a video interview Peter St. Cyr did with Bregman last week.

Peter asked him about what some see as political baggage -- that in recent years he's become best known as the lawyer who has defended Democrats involved in scandals -- former state Treasurer Robert Vigil, former Educational Retirement Board chairman Bruce Mallot, third-party marketer Marc Correra, etc.

(Bregman is the man sitting at the left in this photo. Correra is in the middle. This was at a 2009 meeting of the state Gaming Control Board.)

Bregman calls this criticism "silly, saying "I’m a lawyer doing my job. For someone to be that shortsighted is really silly."

Here's the video



Though I don't believe she's officially announced, as I reported last month, former SOS Mary Herrera ally Letita Montoya also has been campaigning for the state chairman job.

UPDATE 12 noon: I should clarify that neither Correra nor Mallot have been charged with any crimes. Mallot has been named in civil suits, including Frank Foy's whistleblower suit claiming there was political pressure on the ERB to make certain investments.

Corrected: 10-11 - I corrected my reference to the ERB. Got my alphabet soup mixed up.