RNC chairman says GOP is optimistic about N.M.

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The Republican National Committee is confident that the GOP can successfully defend three seats in Congress from New Mexico this year without incumbents and that John McCain can win the state’s five electoral votes in the presidential race. That was the message delivered today by Mike Duncan, the RNC chairman, in an exclusive interview. “I think we’re very well lined up this fall,” Duncan said, speaking by phone from the 2008 state chairmen’s meeting being held this week in Northern New Mexico. “We have to work for it. Obviously, New Mexico is competitive, but we’ve got the candidates and we’ve got the issues.” This is the first time Republican state party chairs from around the nation have come to New Mexico for the annual meeting. Continue Reading

LCPS mil levy vote is today

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Many people don’t even know there’s a Las Cruces Public Schools mil levy election today. That’s probably going to lead to incredibly low voter turnout. But the election is important. What the schools are asking is that voters approve the refinancing and restructuring of the district’s debt to generate $35 million over the next five years to help with construction of new schools and renovations at existing schools. Property taxes won’t go up or down either way. Continue Reading

Keeping education reform in perspective

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“We are shut up in schools and classrooms for 10 or 15 years, and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “Education is a method by which one acquires a higher grade of prejudices.” – Laurence J. Peter By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek Our formal education system, many believe, is in need of “reform.” That includes primary, secondary and higher education. Cited as evidence, among other factors, is the dropout rate from schools and colleges. Depending on which of the numerous studies you want to believe, the drop out rate from the nation’s high schools is somewhere between 20 and 50 percent, with urban schools having the biggest problem retaining students. At the college level, statistics indicate that only 54 percent of students have a degree after six years. There is a lot of finger pointing going on. Continue Reading

Magistrate candidate’s petition signatures challenged

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A Democratic voter has filed a challenge in district court to the petition signatures filed last week by Frank Rivera, a candidate for Doña Ana County magistrate judge. Nancy Abeyta is seeking to disqualify Rivera, a Democrat, from the race on the grounds that he didn’t submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, her attorney Greg Valdez said. Valdez filed the request in district court in Las Cruces on Friday. A hearing has not been scheduled. Valdez said there are three problems with Rivera’s signatures. Continue Reading

Newman unveils lengthy video on Web site

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Second Congressional District Republican candidate Monty Newman has unveiled a new, lengthy video on his Web site that is designed to give voters a deep understanding of the candidate. The 14-minute video – an unusually long production – begins with a 40-second narrative about trees to paint the picture of Newman as a strong man with integrity. “Strong, powerful, constant. The strongest trees have roots that reach deep down,” the narrator states. “… Deep roots. Continue Reading

Rep. Garcia to challenge Gwaltney for DNC position

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State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces, is challenging Mary Gail Gwaltney later this month for the position of Democratic national committeewoman for New Mexico. Garcia said this may be the first time Gwaltney has had a challenger in her 13 years as the state’s committeewoman. She said Gwaltney hasn’t done a good job of communicating with local and state Democrats about what’s happening on the national level or of taking New Mexico’s issues to the Democratic National Committee. “I’ve always like challenges. I just feel that with leadership you involve people. Continue Reading

Fundraising quarter ends today for federal candidates

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Today marks the end of the first fundraising quarter of the year in federal races, and there are a lot of interesting questions that will be answered by finance reports that are released in the next two weeks. In the U.S. Senate race, for example, Democrat Tom Udall raised more than Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson combined in the fourth quarter of 2007. Can he do it again, or will one or both of them keep up with Udall? In addition, Wilson began the first quarter of 2008 with more money in the bank than Pearce. Can he catch her? Continue Reading

Articles give insight into lobbying and the Legislature

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Over the last couple of months, the Albuquerque Journal has focused on the top lobbyist for the University of New Mexico, who is also the son of a powerful state lawmaker. That has produced a couple of interesting articles that give some insight into the way things work in Santa Fe. A Feb. 10 article focused on Marc Saavedra’s $45,000 salary boost from March 2007 to February 2008. That was a 50 percent increase, from $90,000 to almost $135,000. Continue Reading

Wiviott gains on Luján in new CD3 poll

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A new poll of likely Democratic voters in the Third Congressional District has Don Wiviott gaining ground on Ben R. Luján. The poll, conducted for Wiviott’s campaign by Lake Research Partners, has Luján up seven points, 23 percent to 16 percent. It places Jon Adams, Harry Montoya and Benny Shendo Jr. each at 4 percent, and Rudy Martin at 2 percent. Some 48 percent said they are undecided. That’s much different than the results of a poll conducted at the end of January by the Luján campaign. Continue Reading

New Mexicans are the first to see new McCain TV ad

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John McCain began running today what his campaign is calling the first television ad of the general-election season, and he picked New Mexicans to be the first voters to see it. The decision to air the ad first in New Mexico further highlights the importance of the swing-state to the 2008 election and indicates that New Mexico is set to gain a lot more national attention in the coming months. The ad is coinciding with the GOP presidential nominee’s “Service to America” tour, in which he will travel the nation next week to give a series of speeches that are designed to help the American public get to know him. McCain’s schedule includes stops in Mississippi, Virginia, Maryland, Florida and Arizona. Though McCain isn’t scheduled to visit New Mexico next week, as I reported on Thursday, his campaign manager, Rick Davis, will speak a week from today at the Republican National Committee’s 2008 state chairmen’s meeting at the Santa Ana Pueblo near Bernalillo. Continue Reading

Talk of a possible Obama/Richardson ticket increases

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Chatter about the possibility of Bill Richardson becoming the Democrats’ vice presidential nominee is increasing now that he has endorsed Barack Obama’s candidacy. For example, the Washington Post’s blog The Fix listed Richardson today as one of its five bets on a potential running mate for Obama. “Richardson’s decision to weigh in for Obama even as the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright bubbled threw the Illinois senator a lifeline when he badly needed one,” Chris Cillizza wrote in a posting earlier today on The Fix. “The New Mexico governor has an extremely deep résumé that would nicely complement Obama’s strengths. A Richardson pick could also serve as a symbolic olive branch to the Hispanic community, which has gone heavily against Obama in the primaries, and add to the historic nature of the ticket.” Rightpundits.com calls Richardson “the leading candidate” to be Obama’s running mate, pointing out that Richardson helps Obama out West and in an important swing state, in the areas of foreign-policy and executive experience, and among Hispanics. Continue Reading

Wilson says Pearce trying to rewrite Cannon history

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Republican Senate candidate Heather Wilson accused primary opponent Steve Pearce today of attempting to rewrite history while defending his vote to OK the mothballing of Cannon Air Force Base. Wilson has often pointed out Pearce’s vote to support placing Cannon in “enclave” status. He was the only member of the New Mexico delegation to support the base realignment and closure plan that originally would have done that. But Pearce said today in an interview with 770-KKOB AM radio in Albuquerque that, shortly after Cannon appeared on the closure list, “all five of us, including Heather, signed a letter saying, ‘please let us mothball it.’” “And then she’s saying Steve voted to mothball. That’s misrepresenting your position. Continue Reading

Ellins’ disclosure is an example others should follow

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Transparency is always the best policy. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised on Tuesday to get a call from Lynn Ellins, Doña Ana County’s elections supervisor, to tell me about his November 2006 drunken-driving arrest and ask me to write about it. He’s running for county clerk and said he wants his candidacy to be transparent. Way to get ahead of the situation so it doesn’t become a scandal. It’s similar to what New York’s new governor, David Patterson, has done in the last several days by disclosing past adultery and drug use. Continue Reading

Homans replaces Goodwin at Tax and Revenue

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Former Economic Development Secretary and Spaceport Authority Director Rick Homans returned to state government today when Gov. Bill Richardson appointed him to lead the Taxation and Revenue Department. The move comes a day after Jan Goodwin, the previous secretary of the department, was named executive director of the New Mexico Educational Retirement Board. “I want to welcome Rick Homans back to state government, where I will count on his expertise at the Taxation and Revenue Department,” Richardson said in a news release. “Jan Goodwin did a great job of making the Taxation and Revenue Department more efficient and responsive to taxpayers, and I look forward to continuing that progress under Rick Homans’ leadership.” Homans was economic development secretary from 2003 to 2007. His primary focus became Spaceport America, and he left the secretary position in May to run the spaceport. Continue Reading