Wilson says she can work with Bingaman

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Earlier this week, I profiled the Republican U.S. Senate primary. Because Steve Pearce refused an interview, the article was largely about Heather Wilson. There was one topic discussed during my interview with Wilson that didn’t fit into the article but I wanted to write about. I asked Wilson to talk about things she liked and disliked about both current U.S. senators from New Mexico, Republican Pete Domenici and Democrat Jeff Bingaman. My question was designed to get a sense of her approach to government and also how she would work with Bingaman if the two were New Mexico’s U.S. senators beginning in January 2009. Continue Reading

GOP hits Herrera for delaying release of reports

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I wrote on Tuesday about the delay in the release of campaign finance reports for legislative and Public Regulation Commission races. Now, the state Republican Party is hitting the secretary of state because of the holdup. Though reports were originally due by Monday, problems led to a filing extension until Tuesday, and Secretary of State Mary Herrera doesn’t plan to make the reports available to the public on her office’s Web site until May 26. “We should demand more from our elected officials. It is highly unreasonable for Mary Herrera to shield public information from public examination for two weeks,” state GOP Executive Director Adam Feldman said in a news release. Continue Reading

County to hold meetings on spaceport tax district

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Doña Ana County will hold three public meetings next week to solicit input on whether it should enter into an agreement with Sierra County to form a regional spaceport taxing district. The district can be created now that both counties’ voters have agreed to raise the gross receipts tax to help fund the construction of Spaceport America. It must be created before the money, which is critical to the spaceport’s future, can be spent. Creating the taxing district requires approval by both counties’ commissions. The public meetings are as follows: • May 22 at 6 p.m. at the Hatch Valley Community Center, 835 Highway 187 in Hatch. Continue Reading

Wilson ad attacks Pearce’s special-interest support

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In response to conservative groups’ support of her primary opponent, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson unveiled a new radio ad today attacking Steve Pearce for selling out New Mexicans to get money from special-interest groups. “It’s a question of priorities: Vote to protect New Mexico and America or side with a New York City special-interest group to get their money,” the ad’s narrator states. “Steve Pearce voted against New Mexico. And now his special-interest friends are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking Heather Wilson.” I assume Wilson’s radio ad is referring to the Club for Growth, which has endorsed Pearce and is spending $200,000 to run television ads in New Mexico attacking Wilson. The radio ad’s narrator says Pearce “puts his interests ahead of New Mexico’s,” while Wilson has voted in New Mexico’s best interest “every time.” “Steve Pearce has shown that he will vote for special-interest scorecards over the people of New Mexico. Continue Reading

Sierra Club endorses McCamley in CD2

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The Sierra Club has endorsed Democrat Bill McCamley in the 2nd Congressional District race, citing his work to protect the environment. “We are confident that he will continue work to protect New Mexico’s environment for our families and for our future,” said Thomas Robey, political committee chair for the group’s Rio Grande Chapter, in a news release from the McCamley campaign. McCamley, a Doña Ana County commissioner, has successfully pushed resolutions to protect the Otero Mesa, Paleolithic Trackways in the western part of the county and the Rio Grande Valley, and has fought for permanent wilderness status for the Organ Mountains. According to the release, he has also worked to help establish a wind-energy project in Logan, and has “set an example for his fellow citizens by purchasing carbon credits to offset his emissions from driving.” “We are deeply grateful to Bill McCamley for his support for the protection of New Mexico’s special places,” Glenn Landers, chair of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter’s Southern New Mexico Group, said in the release. “He is a true environmental champion who has a great record on environmental issues, but also leads the fight to protect New Mexico’s clean air, clean water and special places.” The Sierra Club pledged to activate its membership to help McCamley get elected. Continue Reading

Problems with online finance reporting system linger

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Another election cycle, another secretary of state, another $70,000 spent, and New Mexicans still won’t have easy access to any information about how much money state legislative and Public Regulation Commission candidates are raising and spending until, at best, a little more than a week before the June 3 primary. That’s because, though finance reports were due Monday and most candidates filed them online, the Secretary of State’s arcane system hasn’t improved much under the administration of Mary Herrera, who took office in January 2007. “Sluggish” was the word used to describe the online system in a Santa Fe New Mexican article published today. In addition, about 30 candidates filed on paper instead of online, and each report has to be manually inputted into the system. And, because the system is hard to use, the office had to give candidates another day to file reports, so the new deadline to file is today. Continue Reading

Another lawmaker proves the need for ethics reform

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State Sen. Shannon Robinson, D-Albuquerque, is making headlines this week for the pumping of taxpayer money into a college sport club in which he is intimately involved and for failing to publicly disclose dozens of misdemeanor charges he has faced since 1988. It’s unfortunate behavior from a man who’s facing a potentially credible primary challenge from Tim Keller. Today’s edition of the Albuquerque Journal reveals that Robinson, when filling out a questionnaire for the newspaper that was published last week, failed to disclose 38 misdemeanor and minor violations since 1998. They were for traffic and parking tickets, failing to pay fines and failing to appear in court, according to the Journal. At least 27 of the charges were dismissed, the Journal reported. Continue Reading

Early voting is underway in Doña Ana County

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Early voting is underway and lasts through May 31 in Doña Ana County and around the state for the June 3 primary. The main early voting site – the county Bureau of Elections – is located in the Doña Ana County Government Center at 845 N. Motel Blvd. in Las Cruces. The elections bureau is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the exception of the Memorial Day holiday on May 26. In accordance with state law, the Bureau of Elections will offer additional early voting from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 31. Continue Reading

Domenici endorses in 3rd District, not Senate primary

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said on Friday that he won’t endorse either GOP candidate seeking to replace him, but he has endorsed Republican Marco Gonzales in the 3rd Congressional District race. Domenici’s decision to stay out of the Senate primary between Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce is a blow to Wilson, long considered Domenici’s protégé and someone he was grooming to take his place. Domenici said he will work hard to ensure the primary winner is victorious in November. “I can guarantee you that, not only will I endorse the winner, but I will work very, very hard,” the Albuquerque Journal quoted the retiring senator as saying. Meanwhile, Domenici’s endorsement of Gonzales was announced in a postcard mailed to Republican across the 3rd District. Continue Reading

Poll gives Teague a 22-point lead over McCamley

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Harry Teague has a 22-point lead over Bill McCamley in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary, according to a poll released by Teague’s campaign today. Teague’s automated phone survey, conducted by Winning Connections, had him up 36 percent to 14 percent, with 50 percent still undecided. That’s in contrast to a March poll the McCamley campaign released that gave him a 21-point lead over Teague. Since then, Teague has infused his campaign with his own cash and flooded the 2nd District airwaves with television ads, while McCamley has run none. McCamley’s survey had 35 percent undecided. Continue Reading

N.M. a focus as McCain, Obama prepare for November

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As presidential candidates John McCain and even Barack Obama map out their general-election strategies, both are planning to focus a great deal of attention on Hispanics and independents and one state that has a lot of both – New Mexico. That’s according to a weekend article in the New York Times. Both campaigns are beginning to assemble teams in key battleground states, according to the article, even as Obama is at least technically still in a Democratic primary battle with Hillary Clinton. The article mentions New Mexico as one of three Western states, along with Colorado and Nevada, where both men plan to focus resources as they seek to win over Hispanic voters. The GOP’s McCain has already run his first television ad of the general election season in New Mexico. Continue Reading

Domenici honored by GOP, gives TV interview

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici was honored this weekend by Republicans in Albuquerque, and he also gave his first in-depth TV interview since announcing his coming retirement in October. You can read about the GOP event from the Associated Press by clicking here. You can listen to remarks made at the event by Domenici and his friend, former N.Y. Sen. Alfonse Demato, from KKOB-AM’s Peter St. Cyr by clicking here. Here’s the entire television interview Domenici gave to KNME-TV’s New Mexico In Focus: Continue Reading

Endorsements continue for Pearce, Wilson

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Republican U.S. Senate candidates Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson split newspaper endorsements over the weekend, while Wilson also picked up the backing of several elected officials. The Albuquerque Journal on Sunday endorsed Wilson, saying the fact that she’s “a thoughtful representative, not a lock-step partisan,” is important. Pearce, meanwhile, earned on Friday the endorsement of the Los Alamos Monitor, saying he “stands on principles and beliefs – even if it might hurt some in his district. If no one in government is willing to stand up and say no to this project or that project, nothing will ever be cut and the federal deficit will continue to grow and grow and our debt will be worse and worse.” Meanwhile, the public officials endorsing Wilson in the last few days include state Sens. Mark Boitano and H. Diane Snyder and Reps. Continue Reading

Can a ‘commonsense conservative’ beat an ideologue?

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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Heather Wilson calls herself a “commonsense conservative” on the campaign trail, while her primary opponent, Steve Pearce, has labeled her a liberal. Meanwhile, both appear to agree that Pearce is the ideologue in the race, though they disagree on whether that’s good. Wilson has criticized Pearce for putting a “narrow, ideological agenda” above the needs of the state, while Pearce touts a consistent voting record that has earned him the backing of many right-wing lobbyist groups. What does Wilson mean when she calls herself a “commonsense conservative?” She said in an interview that conservative principles guide her – she trusts people more than government and believes in a strong national defense and strong families. But she said she is also “a pragmatist focused on problem solving” and figuring out “what’s the best thing for New Mexico.” As a member of the U.S. House, Wilson has often parted ways with leaders of her party. Continue Reading

McCamley wins non-scientific CD2 Dem poll

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Bill McCamley will win the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. Of 442 voters, 283, or 64 percent, said McCamley will win, while 159, or 36 percent, picked his opponent, Harry Teague. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. As I’ve disclosed in the past, I’m friends with McCamley. Click here to read about that. Continue Reading