When the list of candidates running in the June primary is released tomorrow night, you’ll likely see the name of State Rep. William “Ed” Boykin, R-Las Cruces, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story of what’s happening on the Republican side in District 37. Boykin, who turns 74 later this year, had decided he wouldn’t seek reelection, sources tell me.
Boykin didn’t show up a few weeks ago when the governor was in town to sign a bill he sponsored that will help make the Southwest Regional Spaceport at Upham a reality.
But the Republican Party has searched in vain for someone to replace Boykin on the ballot, and Republicans are worried about losing his seat. Democrat Jeff Steinborn jumped into the 2004 race against Boykin at the last minute after Ray Storment withdrew his name, and he nearly beat the incumbent. Steinborn is running for the seat again.
Republicans have asked Boykin to stay in the game, at least for now, a source tells me. Boykin, a retired educator who was first elected in November 2000, was out last week gathering the required signatures to get on the ballot. My source said Boykin doesn’t know whether he’ll stay in the race, but getting on the ballot gives the party more time to search for a replacement. If Boykin drops out anytime before mid-September, the party can still replace him on the ballot.
Outgoing Doña Ana County Commissioner Kent Evans has been mentioned as a possible replacement. He’ll be declaring his candidacy Tuesday for the Public Regulation Commission seat currently held by Democrat E. Shirley Baca, but is expected to have two opponents in the Republican Primary. Perhaps, should he lose that race, Evans will be willing to take Boykin’s place on the ballot. He lives in Boykin’s district.
Stay tuned.
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The dismissal Friday of the racketeering case against the owners of the Welcome Inn bar in Las Cruces will likely become ammunition for opponents of District Attorney Susana Martinez next time she’s up for reelection in 2008. Many sources in the Democratic Party were quick to tell me the dismissal was proof the case was baseless, though the special prosecutor said that wasn’t the situation.
Miguel O. “Mike” Gonzales and his son, Michael Gonzales Jr., the bar’s owners, were accused of running a crime ring out of the business.
Martinez worked in the district attorney’s office with the Gonzaleses under then-District Attorney Greg Valdez in the mid-1990s, but Valdez fired Martinez. She sued for wrongful termination, won a settlement from the state worth more than $100,000, switched her political affiliation to Republican and used the money to beat Democrat Valdez in 1996.
Many Democrats have been bitter ever since, and claimed bad blood was behind the Oct. 17, 1999 arrests of the Gonzaleses. After years of appeals, the New Mexico Supreme Court disqualified Martinez and her office from prosecuting the case, saying that, regardless of whether there actually was bad blood, the prior relationships created at least a perceived conflict of interest. That led to the hiring of the special prosecutor.
Other actions by Martinez’s office have added to the frustration of Democrats. Then-County Clerk Ruben Ceballos, a Democrat, was forced from office a couple of years ago after being convicted of elections violations. Former Magistrate Judge Reuben Galvan, another Democrat, resigned last year after being charged with rape and bribery. After two hung juries, that case was dismissed.
State Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, listed those cases Friday while expressing her anger at Martinez, who the senator publicly berated in the Roundhouse during the 2005 legislative session because of her prosecution of the cases. Garcia is the sister-in-law of the elder Gonzales.
“I’ve always resented her for this,” Garcia said of Martinez.
Despite their anger at a person many view as a traitor, Democrats have been unsuccessful in two attempts to retake the district attorney’s office. Martinez beat Valdez in 2004, getting almost 60 percent of the vote. During the election, Valdez accused Martinez of playing politics with the law.
Some Democratic sources I spoke with said the dismissal of the Welcome Inn case proves that.
But the special prosecutor said the strength of the case was not the issue, though he would not elaborate, and said Martinez and her office did a good job. And one source close to the Gonzaleses shared with me the opinion that Martinez will remain district attorney as long as she wants the job, unless a Democrat with Gov. Bill Richardson’s stature challenges her. She’s popular because she is perceived as being tough on crime, and that makes her almost unbeatable, the source said.
The Republicans know it. State party members tried to get her to run for attorney general this year, but Martinez refused, opting to stay in Las Cruces where she can focus on criminal prosecution instead of the civil work required of the state office.
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Thanks for checking out my inaugural posting today. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll tell you more about politicos who won’t be seeking office this year.