Guv unveils new Iraq video, makes fundraising push

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Gov. Bill Richardson is trying once again to set himself apart from the other Democratic presidential candidates on Iraq as he makes a push to raise $1 million this week, before the end of the third fundraising quarter of the year. In a new, 4.5-minute video released today on his Web site, Richardson highlights his plan to withdraw all troops, including residual troops, from Iraq, and explains how that differs from the plans of all other major Democratic candidates, who would leave residual forces in the war-torn nation. The ad is highly critical of frontrunners Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, and also chastises the mainstream media. Richardson appears to have been given a free pass from the media despite breaking his promise to not engage in negative campaigning against his Democratic opponents, something he’s only started doing in recent weeks. Ignoring that, and ignoring the fact that text that flashes across the screen during the video claims that Joe Biden wants to leave “20,0000” troops in Iraq (you read that right), the video effectively makes the case that Richardson’s Iraq plan is different and better than those of the other candidates. Continue Reading

Denish to meet with south-county activists

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Lt. Gov. Diane Denish plans to hold a meeting in Mesquite on Tuesday to learn more about concerns in the south county’s rural areas. I wrote last year about leaders emerging in the rural communities in the south county who are helping make the area more politically active. Getting the acting governor to come to their community and listen to their concerns is a huge step. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Mesquite volunteer fire station, 1 Fire House Road. A news release from Denish’s office said issues to be discussed will include recent problems with the Helena Chemical plant and a surface-water treatment facility. Continue Reading

Pearce nets $70K at Roswell fundraiser

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., raised $70,000 on Friday evening for his 2008 re-election bid, the Roswell Daily Record is reporting. The Roswell fundraiser was attended by about 100 people, the newspaper reported. The cash will provide a boost to Pearce’s campaign as the end of the third quarter approaches on Sept. 30. Candidates have to file finance reports for the quarter by Oct. Continue Reading

Las Cruces’ 2007 city election should be interesting

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The day before candidates have to file official declarations, the 2007 Las Cruces municipal election is already shaping up to be quite interesting. The city’s growth is the primary issue in the mayoral and council races. In the judicial race, a dispute between the judges and city attorneys and police is a key issue. The outcomes of all races, at this point, are difficult to predict. And on Tuesday, when candidates will officially jump into the race, we could learn of additional candidacies that further shake up the city’s political scene. Continue Reading

Miller-Byrnes is apparently seeking re-election

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The presiding judge of the Las Cruces Municipal Court is apparently seeking re-election on Nov. 6. Melissa Miller-Byrnes’ campaign signs began appearing around Las Cruces this weekend. Miller-Byrnes hasn’t responded to a recent voice mail left on her office phone asking whether she would seek re-election. An announcement of her candidacy hasn’t been submitted to this site or published in local newspapers. Continue Reading

Poll voters aren’t optimistic that guv will be president

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Though Gov. Bill Richardson sounds confident that he’s going to win the presidency, 95 percent of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site are not. Of 198 voters, 76, or 38 percent, said Richardson will still be governor at the conclusion of the 2008 election season, while 47, or 24 percent, said he’ll be secretary of state; 20, or 10 percent, said he’ll be a U.S. senator; 19, or 10 percent, said he’ll be vice president; and nine, or 5 percent, said he’ll be president. Twenty-seven, or 14 percent, said it’s too soon to say. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Pearce refuses to explain why group’s claim is false

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., is still refusing to explain why a watchdog group’s accusation that he failed to report a financial transaction he was required to disclose is false. Pearce spokesman Brian Phillips said Thursday the office was preparing a news release “with accompanying documents” in response to the allegations made earlier this week by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Today, Phillips put out the release, without any “accompanying documents.” The release accused CREW of being an “extreme leftist” group whose motive in publishing false allegations is “to tarnish Republicans and suppress the vote in 2008.” But the release failed to back up that claim or explain why CREW’s allegation is wrong. I made another request for an explanation after I read the release. Phillips refused. Continue Reading

Shackling controversy erupts before Robles’ interview

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Days before he is to interview for a spot on the New Mexico Supreme Court, Robert E. Robles, chief judge of the Third Judicial District Court in Doña Ana County, finds himself in the middle of a controversy over whether juveniles should be shackled in courtrooms. There’s a chance Robles will be asked to explain the situation to the committee that will interview him for a spot on the state’s high court on Monday. The current policy requires that juvenile detainees remain shackled. Earlier this week Robles issued a new order, effective Oct. 1, requiring that juveniles be unshackled in courtrooms unless prosecutors get approval from the judge to keep a detainee shackled during proceedings. A judge can only grant such an order if there are “specific, factual allegations sufficient to establish reasonable grounds to believe that the child, if not restrained, will pose a particular threat to the safety of himself or others in the courtroom,” according to Robles’ order. Continue Reading

Biden attacks Richardson’s experience at forum

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Gov. Bill Richardson and four other Democratic presidential candidates all promoted similar plans for universal health care during a forum in Iowa on Thursday, but Joe Biden stood out, most notably for an assault on Richardson. It was Biden who first pointed out that all the candidates’ plans are similar. “It’s not the plan,” the New York Times quoted him as saying. “It’s the man or the woman pushing the plan.” Richardson focused on his plan’s call for cutting costs through preventative health care and reducing bureaucracy, the Times and Associated Press reported. Richardson said he had the best knowledge and experience to deal with the situation because, as a governor, he was “the only one up here who has actually had to deal with health care.” Biden told the governor that improving health care in a state of 2 million people and believing that qualifies you to fix the national system is similar to playing halfback in high school and believing it qualifies you to play professional football. Continue Reading

Pearce preparing response to group’s allegations

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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., is preparing a response to allegations that he failed to report a financial transaction he was required to disclose and may have advocated for drilling on the Otero Mesa in exchange for campaign contributions from those with ties to oil companies. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington made the allegations Tuesday when it included Pearce on its list of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress. You can read the details about the allegations against Pearce by clicking here. A Pearce spokesman has called the allegations “lies” but refused, to this point, to elaborate. I’ve been pushing since Tuesday for the opportunity to interview a Pearce staffer about the situation. Continue Reading

Judge’s case might reveal future of housing scandal

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The case the Judicial Standards Commission has built – or has been unable to build – against Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Theresa Gomez may be an indication of what’s to come in the larger scandal involving the state’s housing authorities. Earlier this month, the commission asked the state Supreme Court to reprimand Gomez and require her to pay $17,000 in back rent to the state. That’s because Gomez lived rent-free, for 20 months, in a home owned by the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority, an organization whose goal was to provide housing for low-income people. At the time, Gomez was making $93,000 per year. She also dismissed traffic citations and cancelled an arrest warrant for Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, the man who ran Region III at the time. Continue Reading

Democratic strategist to speak on women in politics

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A nationally known political strategist will be the next guest speaker in a series at New Mexico State University. Mary Hughes, co-founder and president of Staton Hughes, a San Francisco-based strategic communications and political consulting firm for Democratic candidates, will speak at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in the Creative Media Institute’s Digital Media Theatre in Milton Hall. Her talk, “Women in the ’08 Elections: Perception vs. Progress,” is open to the public. Hughes has directed campaigns and advised several elected officials, including: • Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to lead her party in Congress. Continue Reading

Ethics probe, guv’s future keep Senate race uncertain

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The dynamics of the 2008 race for the Senate seat held by GOP giant Pete Domenici remain uncertain as an ethics probe heats up and Gov. Bill Richardson’s comments don’t entirely rule out his entrance into the race. The Senate ethics committee has stepped up its probe of Domenici’s involvement in the U.S. attorney scandal, Truthout.org is reporting. In the past two weeks, the committee has interviewed potential witnesses, including staffers from the U.S. attorney’s office in New Mexico, about Domenici’s October 2006 call to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. Iglesias alleges Domenici pressured him to speed indictments in a case involving high-ranking Democrats to sway voters in the November 2006 election. Iglesias was fired weeks later, he claims as a result of refusing the pressure. Continue Reading

Richardson to participate in televised forum tonight

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Gov. Bill Richardson and four other Democratic presidential candidates will take part tonight in a forum on health care and financial security that will be televised in New Mexico. The AARP/Iowa Public Television forum will be shown on New Mexico’s public television stations from 7-8:30 p.m. In Las Cruces, it will be on KRWG-TV, which is Comcast cable channel 2. In the Albuquerque television market, it will be shown on KNME-TV channel 5. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden will also attend, according to AARP. Continue Reading

Group stands by allegation even as Pearce disputes it

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is standing by its assertion that U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., failed to report a financial transaction he was required to disclose even as Pearce’s spokesman says the claim is bogus. The allegation, made Tuesday when CREW released its list of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress, is that Pearce failed to report on a public financial disclosure form the fact that he sold the assets of Lea Fishing Tools, Inc. to Key Energy Services for more than 540,000 shares of stock in 2003. The group says Pearce was required to report the sale and his failure to do so likely violated the Ethics in Government Act. Though a Pearce campaign staffer told me this morning that a spokesman from Pearce’s government office would call to discuss the situation with me, it has not yet happened. The last official word I received from Pearce’s office is that it would make no comments to me until after Pearce’s response was published in the Albuquerque Journal. Continue Reading