Frietze asks for dismissal of ethics complaint

By |

Las Cruces City Councilor Jose Frietze filed a motion today asking for the dismissal of an ethics complaint against him, alleging that “it raises unfounded, unsubstantiated and frivolous charges” that amount to “willful misuse of the entire process for publicity and political gain.” It’s not immediately clear how the motion will be handled. The city’s code of ethics requires that complaints remain confidential unless there’s a determination that something improper was done, but this complaint was made public soon after it was filed. That’s part of the reason the complaint must be dismissed, Frietze’s attorney, Joseph Holmes of Las Cruces, wrote in his motion. “The code of ethics specifically states that the purpose of the code and the complaint procedures is to protect ‘against the raising of unfounded, unsubstantiated or frivolous charges on unethical behavior,’” Holmes’ motion states. “… The failure to dismiss the complaint immediately will facilitate and encourage the filing of future frivolous charges or lead to other instances of ‘dirty pool’ politics.” Las Crucen Jackye Meinecke filed the complaint on Oct. Continue Reading

Confusion surrounds Chávez’s finance committee as governor tells supporters to ‘keep your powder dry’

By |

Some of Gov. Bill Richardson’s closest supporters have quietly told a handful of his biggest financial backers considering who they should support in the U.S. Senate race to “keep your powder dry for awhile.” What that means is debatable, but it’s causing problems for Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez’s Senate campaign. A Thursday news release from the campaign listed Paul Blanchard, who serves on Richardson’s national finance committee, and Javier Gonzales, a well-connected Democrat who is a former Santa Fe County commissioner, as members of Chávez’s finance committee. Though his name wasn’t included in the news release, Chávez told me during a Thursday interview that Hobbs oilman Johnny Cope, a big supporter of Richardson, is also a member of his finance committee. Since the names were published on Thursday, accusations have surfaced on the Internet and within Democratic circles that Chávez may have exaggerated or lied about their involvement in his campaign. Not so, Chávez said today. Continue Reading

Rural activists ask NMSU to stay out of politics

By |

A group of rural activists from around Doña Ana County have sent a letter to the members of the New Mexico State University Board of Regents asking them to pledge that the university will stay out of local political issues in the future. The group – eight residents of Anthony, Mesquite and Vado in the south valley and one resident of Radium Springs, located north of Las Cruces – stated in the Oct. 3 letter that they believe an e-mail sent to all NMSU employees in advance of the April 3 spaceport tax election in Doña Ana County was inappropriate. That e-mail, sent on March 30 by Ben Woods, a senior vice president at the university who is also a member of the state Spaceport Authority, did not state that employees should vote for the tax. But it did urge university employees to research the issues and vote. Continue Reading

Pearce to make Senate run official Nov. 2 in Hobbs

By |

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., will formally announce his candidacy for Senate on Nov. 2 in Hobbs, his hometown. After that, Pearce said in a news release that it is his “intent to visit as many cities as possible in the first few days.” “Hobbs was a natural choice for me to start the campaign tour because it is where I learned my conservative New Mexico values of hard work, determination and integrity given to me by my parents,” Pearce said. “This campaign will be about ideas. This campaign will be about the future of our country. Continue Reading

Mattiace wants to finish major infrastructure projects

By |

This article is part of a series running this week profiling the candidates in the Nov. 6 Las Cruces municipal election. By Vicki Nisbett Las Cruces Mayor William “Bill” Mattiace said he decided to seek another term as the city’s leader because he wants to see some projects finished that were started under his watch. Those projects include swimming pools, an aquatic center, a convention center, the new city hall and downtown revitalization. Announcing his re-election bid on the steps of city hall on Sept. Continue Reading

Miyagishima wants slower growth, better planning

By |

This article is part of a series running this week profiling the candidates in the Nov. 6 Las Cruces municipal election. By Vicki Nisbett Though he’s run unsuccessfully for mayor twice before, Ken Miyagishima said the public knows Mayor Bill Mattiace better than when Miyagishima ran against him in 2003. Because of that Miyagishima, 44, said the Nov. 6 race will be different. Continue Reading

Madrid decides against another congressional run

By |

Former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid has decided against running for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Heather Wilson, R-N.M. Madrid notified the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other groups today that she won’t run. “I think that this is a Democratic year and I would have been the strongest person in the race, but this is just not the year for me,” Madrid said in a telephone interview. That’s largely due to the fact that her father, who lives in Las Cruces, is not well. “I’ve spent quite a number of years away from my family, particularly in my last year in office, and they need me and I need them,” she said. Madrid also spoke about her job as a consultant for a powerhouse Washington law firm, and said she’s truly enjoying it. Continue Reading

Chávez secures big-name support, raises $560K

By |

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., is lining up some prominent supporters despite unease among some Democrats about his campaign. In the wake of attempts by some to find another top-tier Democrat to enter the race, Chávez has put together a strong team. His campaign will be run by Mark Fleisher, a top operative among state Democrats. Nationally-known firms will handle media, fundraising, polling and other issues. He also said today, during an interview in Las Cruces, that those who have signed on to his campaign include Ed Romero, the former ambassador to Spain and a close friend of Gov. Bill Richardson, and Jamie Koch and Johnny Cope, giants in the state Democratic Party who are close to Richardson and involved with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Continue Reading

Judge tied to housing scandal suspended without pay

By |

Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Theresa Gomez will be suspended without pay for her role in the state housing authority scandal. In an order issued Wednesday, the New Mexico Supreme Court accepted a petition from the state’s Judicial Standards Commission and suspended Gomez for two weeks without pay. In addition, Gomez will have to pay $17,000 in back rent to the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority. The order comes about a month after the high court rejected the commission’s petition to reprimand Gomez and require her to pay the back rent. The court’s members said at the time that they wanted to suspend the judge and asked the commission to come back with a new petition. Continue Reading

Listen to The Morning Show podcast

By |

Today on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl, I discussed – again – the fallout from Sen. Pete Domenici’s retirement and the 2008 election. We also talked about the upcoming Las Cruces municipal election, Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential run, the controversy dogging Mesilla Mayor Michael Cadena and whether state Rep. Joseph Cervantes will run for Congress. You can listen to the 44-minute podcast by clicking here. Continue Reading

Longstanding dispute colors municipal judge race

By |

The race for Las Cruces Municipal Court presiding judge in some ways comes down to a longstanding fight between the current judges and the city’s police and prosecutors. The incumbent, Melissa Miller-Byrnes, is being challenged by Conrad F. Perea, a private-practice attorney who was a police officer in Las Cruces for 20 years. With the exception of the District 4 city council contest, which has no incumbent, this is the only race in the Nov. 6 election where the city’s unions – including police and firefighter groups – didn’t endorse the incumbent, opting instead to put their weight behind Perea’s candidacy. The dispute exploded in 2004 when the court’s other judge, James T. Locatelli, wrote a letter to the Las Cruces Sun-News alleging incompetence by police and prosecutors. Continue Reading

Grassroots, Richardson-backing Web site goes AWOL

By |

A grassroots Web site formed to help promote the presidential campaign of Gov. Bill Richardson is down because of technical problems. America for Richardson, which has earned some national attention and been a visible promoter of Richardson, has gone offline at a bad time for the governor, just as the frontrunners for the Democratic Party’s nomination are beginning huge advertising pushes that will continue until the first contests in December or early January. Other than Richardson’s official Web site, America for Richardson is the primary source of information about his campaign on the Internet. The site has already been down for several days. “America for Richardson is offline due to technical difficulties with the site’s hosting company,” said Ken Camp, a Richardson supporter who helps run the site. “The bloggers at America for Richardson are working to get the site back online as quickly as possible.” Continue Reading

County leads way on increasing public involvement

By |

It was the Las Cruces City Council that found itself embroiled in controversy earlier this year over whether to approve a 6,000-acre development on Las Cruces’ East Mesa despite some residents’ cries that there wasn’t enough public input in the process. But it’s the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners that is taking the lead on ensuring public involvement in future development. The commission, on a vote of 5-0, approved an ordinance change on Tuesday that requires developers asking for subdivision approval or zoning changes involving 100 acres or 100 lots or more to first hold a town-hall meeting with area residents. Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley, who proposed the change, said it stemmed from the controversy over Philip Philippou’s East Mesa project, The Vistas at Presidio. “I thought the people who were calling for more public input had a point,” he said at Tuesday’s commission meeting, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. Continue Reading

2008 will reshape New Mexico’s political landscape

By |

For those who are interested in politics, there won’t be a more interesting place to be in 2008 than New Mexico. For starters, it’s a presidential election year, and New Mexico is a swing state. And for the first time, a New Mexican – Gov. Bill Richardson – is a serious presidential contender. To top it off, Sen. Pete Domenici’s retirement has just about every politician in the state looking for a way to move up. Three of New Mexico’s five seats in Washington – all solidly in Republican hands before Domenici changed everything – are up for grabs. Continue Reading

Rawson won’t run for Congress, will seek re-election

By |

State Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, has decided to forgo the “rare opportunity” of running for the congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., because of family considerations. Rawson made the announcement in an e-mail this morning. “Moira and I have the rare privilege of having all of our family and extended family living in Doña Ana County. The present joy of having three sons living at home, two sons working full-time in our family business (Rawson Builders Supply), and one son getting married in January cannot be sacrificed or replaced. These are precious times with our parents and our sons, along with their growing families,” Rawson said. Continue Reading