Candidates for council, mayor square off at forum

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Tuesday’s forum involving candidates for Las Cruces mayor and three seats on the city council was a mostly civil, efficient event that gave quick snapshots of those seeking the offices. Mayor Bill Mattiace did take an apparent shot at his opponent, District 6 Councilor Ken Miyagishima. Candidates seeking to replace the outgoing Steve Trowbridge as District 4 councilor also sought to set themselves apart with statements that, in a couple of instances, elicited chuckles from some in attendance at the forum, which was sponsored by the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. Mattiace, speaking about whether he would continue to support development policies that have led to economic growth and a drop in the unemployment rate, opened by saying, “Don’t pander to special interests.” “We need a mayor that doesn’t pander to groups,” Mattiace said. He then pointed out that, on the May vote on a massive annexation on the East Mesa, five councilors voted for approval and one – Miyagishima – voted against the project. Continue Reading

ActBlue gives hints about third-quarter fundraising

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Candidates running for federal offices in New Mexico haven’t yet filed third-quarter fundraising reports but, as was the case at the end of the second quarter of the year, some information about the Democrats can be gleaned from the fundraising site ActBlue. Reports for the quarter that ended Sunday must be filed and will be available to the public by Oct. 15. Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, one of two Democrats officially attempting to unseat U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., next year, tops New Mexico Dems in fundraising through the site with $71,954 from 385 individual donors. He raised about $30,000 of that during the second quarter of the year, so he took in about $40,000 during the third quarter through the site. Continue Reading

Mercurio disqualified from mayor’s race

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Jon. J Mercurio didn’t file enough signatures to qualify to run for mayor of Las Cruces, so his name won’t appear on the ballot for the Nov. 6 election. That leaves District 6 City Councilor Ken Miyagishima as the only challenger to Mayor Bill Mattiace. Mercurio needed 150 signatures of registered voters who live in Las Cruces to qualify to appear on the ballot, city spokesman Udell Vigil said. Continue Reading

Balderas named one of 100 most influential Hispanics

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State Auditor Hector Balderas has been named one of the nation’s 100 most influential Hispanics by Hispanic Business Magazine. Balderas was prominently featured among those who made this year’s list. “Mr. Balderas was elected to his current post in November, becoming the youngest Hispanic statewide elected official in the nation at age 33,” his profile in the publication states. “A former criminal prosecutor in Albuquerque, at age 30 he ran for and won a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives. He recently traveled to Pakistan as a delegate for the American Council of Young Political Leaders.” Now 34, Balderas said he is “proud to be included in Hispanic Business Magazine’s prestigious list of esteemed professionals.” “As an elected official, I’m always searching for innovative methods to improve government practices and increase productivity,” he said. Continue Reading

Whistleblower urges prosecution in housing scandal

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The Las Cruces woman who blew the whistle last year on the malfunctioning state housing authority system urged prosecution of those responsible for the loss of millions of dollars during a legislative meeting in Las Cruces on Monday. Meanwhile, a state official told lawmakers they may be asked to appropriate additional money for a full-scale audit of the system. Frances Williams, a board member of the defunct Las Cruces-based Region VII Housing Authority, made the comments during the meeting of the Legislative Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee, according to a copy of the statement she provided. “Millions of dollars have been stolen from funding intended for affordable housing because there has been no oversight, no structure and no ethics laws which could have avoided what we experienced with housing funding,” Williams said. “…These bonds proved to be a piggy bank for unscrupulous individuals who plundered it at will, with no one looking over their shoulder.” Most of the state’s affordable housing system collapsed last year when the Albuquerque-based Region III authority defaulted on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. Continue Reading

City election candidate forum to be held Tuesday

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The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce will hold a forum on Tuesday for candidates running in the Las Cruces municipal election. The forum will be held at the offices of the Las Cruces Homebuilders Association, 2825 N. Main St., beginning at 6:30 p.m. If you can’t attend this forum, the League of Women Voters of Greater Las Cruces will hold a televised forum on Oct. 9 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall. It will be broadcast live on Comcast cable channel 20, the city’s government access channel, and on the Internet. Video and audio will be broadcast at www.clctv.com, while an audio-only feed will be available at www.las-cruces.org. Continue Reading

Transportation commissioners tied to tainted projects

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The number of suspicious circumstances surrounding two Department of Transportation building projects keeps growing. The Albuquerque Journal reported this weekend on another tie between one of the defendants in the Bernalillo County Metro Court scandal and the DOT projects – this one involving two governor appointees to the state Transportation Commission. Apparently, two commissioners – Johnny Cope of Hobbs and Jim Franken of Las Vegas – had the department call in a consultant to work on the redevelopment of its statewide headquarters in Santa Fe and another project, the redevelopment of a district office also located in Santa Fe. That consultant was Michael Murphy, one of five defendants in the Metro Court case. Murphy acted as a right-hand man for former Court Administrator Toby Martinez, prosecutors allege. Continue Reading

Guv raises $5.2 million in third quarter

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Gov. Bill Richardson raised $5.2 million for his presidential campaign during the fundraising quarter that ended Sunday – a drop from the $7 million he raised from April to June, but an amount that keeps him on the heels of John Edwards. The Washington Post reported that Edwards was expected to raise about $7 million, but the campaign did not release a fundraising total on Sunday. Richardson’s was the only campaign in either party to release a fundraising total. Richardson and Edwards were locked in a battle last week over who would raise $1 million in the final days of the fundraising quarter. Both campaigns said this morning they had reached the goal – but it took Edwards 10 days to do it while Richardson did it in seven. Continue Reading

Voters in poll say treasurer would not win re-election

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site think Doña Ana County Treasurer Jim Schoonover has a tough re-election battle ahead, should he choose to run again. Schoonover, a Republican, has not announced whether he will seek re-election next year, but former county Auditor Jill Johnson, a Democrat, is running for his seat. Of 101 voters in last week’s poll, 66, or 65 percent, said Johnson would win a race between the two, while 35, or 35 percent, said Schoonover would win. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Rail Runner tax snafu could hamper spaceport funding

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The newest snafu over whether to raise local taxes to pay for operation of the Rail Runner could harm the state’s ability to secure approval in Sierra and Otero counties for a similar tax to help fund Spaceport America. In addition, the question of how to come up with millions each year to operate the commuter train when federal money runs out in 2009 threatens to further strain the state’s finances as it tries to complete the two massive projects and come up with some $500 million for needed road construction and maintenance. State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught publicly proposed earlier this week implementation of a local gross receipts tax in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Valencia counties to come up with $25 million a year to pay for the train’s operating costs. The state has provided some $400 million for acquisition and construction of tracks and trains, but the federal government agreed to pay for the first three years of operations. In this election season, the presidential candidate and Gov. Bill Richardson quickly put out a news release saying there will be no tax increase. Continue Reading

Affordable housing committee to meet in Las Cruces

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The legislative committee that oversees the state’s affordable housing system will meet Monday in Las Cruces. The Legislative Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee will hear updates from the two regional housing authorities still operating after the rest of the system crumbled amid scandal last year, and will also learn about and tour affordable housing projects in Doña Ana County, according to the agenda. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the Barbara Hubbard Room at the Pan American Center on the New Mexico State University campus. It is open to the public. “During this meeting we will be continuing our review of the challenges and opportunities our state faces in the area of affordable housing, and this includes a review of the performance of our regional housing authorities,” said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe and chair of the committee. Continue Reading

A look at the Richardson/Edwards contest

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Gov. Bill Richardson ended the second quarter of the year statistically tied with John Edwards in New Hampshire polls and having raised $7 million to Edwards’ $9 million. Three months later, there are signs that some things have changed. Edwards has climbed a bit in the polls, but there are signs that the governor might raise more money during the fundraising quarter that ends Sunday. While both candidates were averaging about 9 percent in New Hampshire polls at the end of June, the newest poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire for CNN, had Richardson at 6 percent and Edwards at 12 percent. For Richardson, that’s a drop of five points from the UNH July poll. Continue Reading

Court wants to suspend judge tied to housing scandal

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The New Mexico Supreme Court has rejected a petition for discipline of a judge tied to the state housing authority scandal because the requested punishment wasn’t harsh enough. In an order issued today, the high court rejected the Judicial Standards Commission’s petition for discipline, which sought a reprimand for Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Theresa Gomez and a requirement that she pay $17,000 in back rent to the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority. The court suggested that Gomez be required to pay the back rent and be suspended for two weeks, but sent the matter to the commission for further consideration. The commission made the request earlier this month because Gomez lived rent-free, for 20 months, in a home owned by the housing authority, an organization whose mission is providing housing for low-income people. At the time, Gomez was making $93,000 per year. Continue Reading

Listen to The Morning Show podcast

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Today on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl, I discussed Gov. Bill Richardson’s performance at Wednesday’s debate, the upcoming Las Cruces municipal election, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s falling poll numbers and the allegations against U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce. You can listen to the 38-minute podcast by clicking here. Continue Reading