PRC chairman qualifies for public financing

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Public Regulation Commission Chairman Jason Marks is the first candidate to qualify for public financing this year. Marks, a Democrat from Albuquerque, filed notice of more than 400 $5 contributions with the Secretary of State’s Office last week, according to a news release from his campaign. That allows him to receive public financing under the voluntary system. “Public financing of elections is the best way yet devised to remove the undue influence money on has our democratic system,” Marks said in the release. “Right now, qualifying for public financing means that our PRC re-election campaign can continue to focus on the concerns of voters and not the dash for cash.” We’ll see how the system works this year. Continue Reading

Wiviott ups the ante in congressional race

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Third Congressional District candidate Don Wiviott, who had already given $325,000 to jumpstart his campaign, has pitched in another $250,000, giving him a huge amount of money and triggering a federal rule that triples contribution limits for all candidates in the race. It doesn’t make him the frontrunner in the race – that position is held by Ben Ray Luján – but it does indicate that Wiviott’s campaign believes he has a serious shot at being Northern New Mexico’s next congressman if he can improve his name recognition and craft a positive image among voters. Wiviott spokeswoman Caroline Buerkle confirmed the new contribution Wednesday evening. “The support Don has received these last few months has only emboldened his belief that New Mexico voters want change,” she said. “As the only outsider in the race, Don intends to make sure change is on the ballot by mounting a primary campaign that has all the resources it will need.” Candidates can give up to $350,000 without triggering the so-called Millionaires’ Amendment. Continue Reading

Guv criticized for vetoing veterans museum bill

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Gov. Bill Richardson drew criticism today when he vetoed a bill that would have created a state veterans museum in Doña Ana County. In vetoing Senate Bill 349, Richardson said he will convene a task force to “fully consider the most appropriate location for a state veterans museum.” “I strongly support building a museum to honor New Mexico’s veterans and rich military history,” Richardson said. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the bill to do it, because it discounts the input of our veterans statewide by designating a specific county as the location for the museum.” The two lawmakers who most actively pushed the bill – Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, and Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces – have said Richardson promised to sign the bill. In addition, two of his cabinet secretaries testified in support of the bill during the session. So the veto prompted harsh criticism from Rawson, who sponsored SB349. Continue Reading

Spread of vote-buying rumors on Internet is shameful

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For days, rumors have been spreading across the Internet about an alleged vote-buying scheme at the recent Bernalillo County GOP convention. I’ve been asked repeatedly why I haven’t written about the allegations. The answer: I haven’t found a story worth writing about. Until now. The rumors – and, at least at this point, that’s all they are – that the campaigns of Heather Wilson and Darren White paid people to attend the convention and vote for their delegates, and that doing so is a felony violation of the state election code, have gained traction to the point that they are appearing on national liberal blogs and have become the subject of a news release sent out today by the Democratic Party of New Mexico. Continue Reading

Sunland voters elect judge charged with voter fraud

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A Sunland Park municipal judge candidate who is charged with voter fraud won election on Tuesday, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting. With final results in, the newspaper is reporting, Horacio Favela defeated Maria Laura Estrada by 180 votes. It’s not clear at this point whether he will be allowed to be sworn in later this week or if the Judicial Standards Commission will ask the state Supreme Court to delay that action until the resolution of his criminal case. If you don’t know what this posting is about, click here. Continue Reading

NMSU settled discrimination lawsuit for $165K

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New Mexico State University agreed last year to pay $165,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that head football coach Hal Mumme discriminated against four former players because they were Muslim. Because of a clause that kept the agreement confidential for six months, the settlement amount wasn’t reported when NMSU settled the lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued on behalf of the former players, in June 2007. The documents are now public. Under the agreement, NMSU agreed to pay Mu’Ammar Ali, Anthony Thompson, Vincent Thompson and Jacob Wallace a combined $165,000. In exchange, the former football players agreed to forever release Mumme and the state from further liability. Continue Reading

Judicial hopeful charged with voter fraud might win

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A Sunland Park judicial candidate facing a fourth-degree felony charge of voter fraud might actually be on his way to being elected. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll take office. Though all votes haven’t yet been counted, if Horacio Favela prevails, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Judicial Standards Commission asks the state Supreme Court to act. With early, absentee and mail-in totals reported, Favela has 291 votes to Maria Laura Estrada’s 154 votes, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. Final results from two polling places, City Hall and Riverside Elementary, weren’t available. Continue Reading

Marquardt touts 12 years of experience as a legislator

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This is the eighth 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. Terry Marquardt is quick to point out that he has more legislative experience than any other candidate in the race to replace Steve Pearce in Congress. The Republican was a state legislator from Alamogordo for 12 years, including a stint as the House minority whip. “Southern New Mexico has the opportunity to elect a congressman with 12 years of training and experience,” Marquardt said, adding that he has voted against giving drivers licenses and lottery scholarships to undocumented immigrants and sponsored tax-cut and pro-life legislation. Continue Reading

ABQ mayor stumps for Clinton in El Paso

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Like Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez has spent the last two days campaigning for Hillary Clinton in El Paso. Chávez endorsed Clinton before she won New Mexico’s Feb. 5 caucus. He said today that he has spent the last two days doing radio interviews and working phone banks in El Paso. “I think it’s going well. Continue Reading

Loss of Starchaser a blow, but not fatal, for spaceport

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New Mexico’s fledgling spaceport took another hit last week when Starchaser Industries decided to scrap plans for a theme park in Las Cruces and look instead to the United Kingdom and Florida for operations. But as long as Virgin Galactic is still on board with Spaceport America, and if Sierra County voters approve a gross receipts tax increase next month, the project is a go. Starchaser told the Albuquerque Journal last week that the state’s Spaceport Authority was too focused on Virgin Galactic and didn’t keep its promise to consult the company on spaceport planning. The company also complained about what the Journal paraphrased as “repeated run-ins with local bureaucracies in Las Cruces, including zoning problems and a city land deal that failed after city officials requested more company financial information.” The situation in Las Cruces came up in 2006 when the city was trying to give land at the East Mesa Industrial Park to Starchaser. The city asked for financial information that Starchaser refused to provide, saying it had already provided it. Continue Reading

Obama, Clinton in Texas, Ohio showdowns tonight

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The battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could come to an end this evening if Obama sweeps four states where Democrats are voting today. But if recent polls are any indication, Clinton may be regaining some momentum in the nick of time. Voters in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island and Vermont will pick their candidates today. Obama has 11 straight wins. Even Clinton’s husband has said she must win the delegate-rich states of Texas and Ohio to continue. Continue Reading

Developer needs to be a good corporate citizen

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Corporations that partner with taxpayers through their governments have a responsibility to be good corporate citizens. That’s why the El Paso-based Verde Group needs to step up to the plate and, at the very least, denounce alleged human-rights abuses across the border in Lomas del Poleo. Residents and a wealthy businessman both claim ownership of the almost 800 acres of land south of Sunland Park and across the border. The issue is in court, but businessman Pedro Zaragosa has, in the meantime, surrounded the land with a barbed-wire fence and built a compound for armed men. Residents can only reach their homes through a guarded entrance. Continue Reading

Denish to campaign for Clinton in El Paso

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After spending the weekend campaigning in Wyoming for Hillary Clinton, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is headed to El Paso today to campaign for the senator in advance of Tuesday’s critical vote in Texas. Clinton has been losing momentum in recent weeks and is locked in tight contests in Texas and Ohio that most analysts say she has to win to stay competitive against Barack Obama. “This is a historic election, and I am happy to do whatever I can for Hillary Clinton,” Denish said in a release. “I have known her for years and am convinced she has the strength, substance and record to take on the critical issues facing our nation. I’m going to El Paso with my sleeves rolled up to do nitty-gritty campaign work – going to caucus sites, talking to voters and helping Senator Clinton become our next president.” Denish will return to New Mexico on Wednesday. Continue Reading

Judicial candidate faces voter-fraud charge

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To be a judge, a person has to have a keen ability to avoid even the remotest appearance of impropriety. One of two candidates for municipal judge in Sunland Park has failed that test miserably. Horacio Favela was charged by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department on Friday with a fourth-degree felony count of voter fraud after he allegedly voted in 2004 both in El Paso County, Texas and in Doña Ana County. You can read more from the Las Cruces Sun-News. Favela could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted. Continue Reading

Philippou lawyer disputes AG opinion; King talks tough

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An attorney for developer Philip Philippou is joining the state land commissioner in disputing the attorney general’s legal opinion that finds fault with a controversial Las Cruces land deal. Just as important, attorney Ben Silva said, is that the AG opinion doesn’t allege any wrongdoing by Philippou. Meanwhile, Attorney General Gary King is beginning to talk tough after first indicating that his office doesn’t plan to try to enforce the opinion in court. In response to Land Commissioner Pat Lyons’ Friday comments disputing the opinion, King said Saturday that his office will “wait to see what happens next and then decide our next course of action.” “Again, if the land commissioner chooses not to take our advice on this matter, he does so at his own risk,” King said in a statement released by his office. The formal opinion states that the issue of whether the agreement between the land office and Philippou’s Solo Investments is enforceable would have to be decided by the courts, and King’s spokesman said previously that another party that might have legal standing, such as the City of Las Cruces, could file suit. Continue Reading