Republican CD2 race gets ugly

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The interaction between the most well-funded GOP candidates in the race to replace Steve Pearce in Congress – Aubrey Dunn and Ed Tinsley – has become increasingly contentious in recent weeks, and both men are blaming the other. The harshest attacks have come from the Dunn campaign, which is accusing Tinsley of being a liberal who supports amnesty and spends much of his time living in Santa Fe. The Tinsley campaign has been quick to point out Dunn’s party registration changes and accused him of negative campaigning that is “right out of the Democrat’s campaign playbook.” The hostilities come as candidates are battling for delegates in advance of Saturday’s preprimary nominating convention. Tinsley is regarded by many as the frontrunner in the primary race, but strong organization has many expecting that Dunn will win the convention and get a momentum boost. Dunn’s campaign cites a Feb. Continue Reading

New alcohol-fatality rankings may reveal cultural shift

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New Mexico, led by Gov. Bill Richardson, has made a concerted, multifaceted effort in recent years to combat drunken driving, a scourge that has always afflicted the state. Last week, the state received its first real confirmation that its efforts are paying off. In 2006, for the first time, New Mexico wasn’t among the 10 worst states in drunken-driving and other alcohol-related deaths on its roads, according to rankings released last week by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. New Mexico had the 17th-highest rate of drunken-driving deaths in 2006 – deaths involving people with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher – and ranked 14th in overall alcohol-related fatalities on its roads. New Mexico had the highest rate of alcohol-related fatalities in the nation in 1982 and has competed for that distinction every year since. Continue Reading

Preprimary nominating conventions are this weekend

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Democrats and Republicans from around the state will gather on Saturday at separate locations in the Albuquerque area for preprimary nominating conventions that are the first real test for candidates for federal offices and statewide judicial races. Democrats will gather at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. Republicans will gather at the Marriott Uptown Hotel in Albuquerque. Both events are open to the public, but only elected delegates from county conventions and their alternates may participate. The delegates will vote on the order that candidates will appear on the ballot in June and, in some instances, may even reduce the number of candidates running. Continue Reading

Torres running again, says health isn’t a concern

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Despite lingering concerns about her health, Doña Ana County Clerk Rita Torres plans to run for re-election this year. “I am going to run,” the democrat confirmed in a recent interview. A number of politicos and other sources have expressed concerns about that to me, but none have been willing to speak for the record. Concerns include whether Torres is fit to serve another four-year term and whether her health will become the focus of a brutal campaign this year. Torres said, when asked about health problems, that “there are none.” She also said no one has shared concerns about her health with her. Continue Reading

DA drops charges against former auditor candidate

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The Bernalillo County district attorney dropped in December criminal charges against Jeff Armijo, who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for state auditor in 2006 until he was pressured to quit the race because of allegations that eventually led to the charges. In dismissing a felony charge of false imprisonment and three misdemeanor battery charges, the district attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to proceed, according to the New Mexico courts Web site. I’m reporting on this now because I just discovered it. To my knowledge, it has not been reported elsewhere. Armijo was indicted almost a year ago and faced a maximum of three years in prison if convicted. Continue Reading

Sowards has a grand vision for changing America

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This is the tenth and final article in a series based on conversations with the Second Congressional District candidates. Links to the other profiles can be found at the end of this article. Greg Sowards has an ambitious plan for reforming government in America. It begins with limiting the role of the federal government. Instead of doing business with the federal government, citizens should interact with their local communities and their state government, the Republican Second Congressional District candidate said in an interview. Continue Reading

Hope is a good thing

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By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek “Hope is a good thing… maybe the best of things… and no good thing ever dies.” – “Andy” from The Shawshank Redemption At a local restaurant the other day, I asked the young college student waiter if he was following the presidential race. He responded, “You bet. I’m for Obama!” I asked why. He said, “He gives me something to hope for.” My son JJ (age 49, and living in Colorado) recently wrote me, explaining his perspective on the presidential election. I’ve asked him if I could share his views with you, the readers of this blog. Continue Reading

Supreme Court has yet to act in case of Sunland judge

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The New Mexico Supreme Court hasn’t yet acted on the Judicial Standards Commission’s request for action in the case of Sunland Park’s new municipal judge, who is facing a felony charge of voter fraud. Horacio Favela was sworn in Friday evening despite the outstanding felony charge and other questions about his Tuesday election. The commission sent two petitions to the high court late Friday. The first seeks the invalidation of Favela’s election. The second was sealed by the court, so its contents aren’t known publicly, but the court regularly seals petitions for temporary suspension pending the outcome of commission investigations, so this could have been such a petition. Continue Reading

DA Martinez announces re-election bid

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Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez has announced that she’s seeking re-election this year. Martinez was first elected district attorney in 1996. During her tenure, according to a news release announcing her re-election bid, she has implemented a successful victim assistance program in the state. She has also been recognized as a strong advocate for the elderly in implementing the Communities Against Senior Exploitation program, which attempts to protect the elderly from predators and scam artists. She’s also been recognized as a strong advocate in animal-abuse cases. Continue Reading

Rep. Cote announces re-election bid

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State Rep. Nathan “Nate” Cote, D-Las Cruces, has announced that he will seek re-election this year. The District 53 representative cited his success as a freshman legislator and the opportunity to serve the people of his district as the prime factors in his decision to seek re-election. “I have worked very hard here in the district and in Santa Fe to get things done,” Cote said in a news release. “It’s gratifying to see the results in people’s daily lives.” In his first session in 2007, Cote successfully sponsored legislation that eliminated the requirement that active-duty military members pay state income tax, in addition to legislation that provided a tax exemption for locomotive diesel fuel as an incentive for Union Pacific to move its railway depot from El Paso to Santa Teresa. The second will result in 300 new jobs in southern New Mexico and long-term industrial investment in the state, Cote said. Continue Reading

Wiviott survives petition challenge from Adams

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Don Wiviott has survived a legal challenge to the signatures he gathered to run for Congress. A district court judge on Friday tossed out a challenge filed by fellow Third Congressional District Democratic candidate Jon Adams. Adams challenged more than half of Wiviott’s signatures, and his allegations would have put Wiviott below the 959 signatures needed to run, but a judge found that Adams failed to specify specific reasons for challenging the signatures. “I’m not surprised by today’s outcome,” Wiviott said in a Friday news release. “I have been a champion of ballot access for candidates so that voters have a choice at the polls.” Adams could appeal the ruling. Continue Reading

Greer wins straw poll in Alamogordo

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C. Earl Greer, one of six Republicans vying for the right to replace Steve Pearce in Congress, won a straw poll that followed a forum last week in Alamogordo. Of 53 votes cast, Greer received 23, or 43 percent. Aubrey Dunn received eight votes, Terry Marquardt and Ed Tinsley each received seven, Monty Newman received four and Greg Sowards received three. One attendee left comments but didn’t vote. Continue Reading

Education and health appropriations are priorities

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By David Abbey A recent opinion piece by two Senate committee chairs, published on this Web site on March 3, was headlined, “Education, health care took back seat in state budget.” The writers raised concerns about underfunding Medicaid, failing to pass a new public school funding formula bill and not scheduling hearings on key health and school measures. In fact, the Legislative Finance Committee (which includes six of the 10 members on the Senate Finance Committee) had a hearing on universal health care on Oct. 4, and most of the Dec. 4 budget hearing for the Human Services Department was devoted to universal health care. On Dec. Continue Reading

Voters in poll say Dems shouldn’t continue caucus

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The vast majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said New Mexico Democrats should not continue to hold a party-run presidential caucus every four years. Of 166 voters, 122, or 73 percent, said the party should not hold a caucus, while 44, or 27 percent, said it should. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

McKinnon says he’s not just the ‘anti-nuke candidate’

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This is the ninth in an occasional series of articles based on conversations with the Second Congressional District candidates. Articles on each candidate who agrees to an interview will run before the parties’ preprimary nominating conventions on March 15. Frank McKinnon says he’s not just the “anti-nuke candidate” in the race to replace Steve Pearce in Congress, but he talks about combating the spread of the nuclear industry in New Mexico and changing the nation’s energy policy more than any other issues. “If I don’t succeed at doing that then the rest of this stuff’s not going to matter a whole lot,” McKinnon said of many other issues that he said are also important. McKinnon, in an interview, said he first entered the race to bring attention to the spread of the nuclear industry in New Mexico. Continue Reading