Vigil taken off House Education Committee

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Rep. Richard Vigil, whose wife is facing criminal charges related in part to allegations that she misspent money he helped secure, is being removed, at his own request, from the House Education Committee. Vigil’s wife Roberta and three others are facing felony charges related, in part, to allegations that they misspent the money on an annual, invitation-only party that was billed as training for employees of the West Las Vegas School District’s bilingual education program his wife used to run. Whether the Democratic lawmaker from Ribera is a target of the investigation is unknown. Speaker of the House Ben Lujan announced the change in a news release. “I very much appreciate Representative Vigil’s request to be reassigned in light of the pending case involving his wife,” Lujan said in the release. Continue Reading

Richardson raises $7 million during second quarter

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Gov. Bill Richardson raised a respectable $7 million during the second quarter of 2007, placing him solidly in fourth place among Democratic presidential candidates and $2 million behind John Edwards. The Associated Press said Richardson was “at Edwards’ heels” during the second quarter, but also pointed out that the governor’s six-month total was more than $13 million, while Edwards raised about $23 million. Richardson received contributions from more than 24,000 individual donors during the quarter, which began on April 1 and ended Saturday. More than 38,000 have contributed to his campaign since he entered the race in January, said spokesman Pahl Shipley. That’s far short of the number of individual contributors to the top three candidates. Continue Reading

Many still looking for another Domenici challenger

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The majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site don’t think any of the declared Democratic challengers to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici will take him on next year. Of 99 voters, 68, or 69 percent, said someone else will win the right to take on Domenici next year. Eighteen, or 18 percent, said Don Wiviott will win the primary. Seven, or 7 percent, said Jim Hannan will win it, and six, or 6 percent, said Leland Lehrman will win it. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Las Cruces visit is crucial to guv’s fundraising goal

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With the second-quarter fundraising deadline a little more than 24 hours away, Gov. Bill Richardson is in Las Cruces and El Paso this afternoon and evening attending several fundraisers. As of the time of this posting, the governor has raised just under $1.3 million toward his goal of raising $2 million in the week before tomorrow’s midnight deadline. Las Cruces and El Paso will be crucial to Richardson meeting that goal. But the campaign is also relying on a great deal of support through the Internet in the next day. “Governor Richardson’s poll numbers are skyrocketing,” Richardson Deputy Campaign Manager Amanda Cooper wrote today in an e-mail to supporters. Continue Reading

Heinrich, McCamley are hot on fundraising Web site

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Martin Heinrich and Bill McCamley are two of the top 20 fundraisers, at least in contributions given through the liberal Web site ActBlue, among Democratic House candidates across the nation. It’s another sign that they’re two Democratic candidates to keep your eyes on. The national liberal blog Swing State Project compiled and published the list Thursday. Heinrich, the only announced challenger to U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., was 15th among Democratic House candidates in ActBlue fundraising, having collected $23,044 through the site as of Wednesday evening. McCamley, one of two announced Democrats vying for the right to take on U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., next year, was 19th on the list, having raised $11,580 as of Wednesday. Continue Reading

Udall shows public his project-funding requests

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Earlier this month, I wrote about Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives failing to meet one of the new requirements regarding disclosure of earmarks they approved when they took office in January. They approved a rule requiring that requests by lawmakers for project funding – an important source of cash for many communities but also a pork barrel for some lawmakers – be included in spending bills in time to be debated on their merits. Earlier this month, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis. and chair of the powerful appropriations committee, announced that the earmarks won’t be added to the spending bills until the fall, when it’s too late to thoroughly debate them. He said that was because committee members and staffers haven’t had time to fully review the 36,000 requests that have come in. Continue Reading

Richardson survives another presidential debate

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Gov. Bill Richardson’s first debate performance was a nightmare. His second was better, but he was still dogged by a penchant for sticking to talking points even when that meant not answering questions, which was just awkward. He improved again in Thursday’s PBS debate on issues affecting black America at Howard University, which you can watch by clicking here. Richardson still, however, failed to rise to the top of the pack. And other candidates, most notably Barack Obama, have shown more rapid improvement than Richardson. Continue Reading

Speaker to make statement on Rep. Vigil situation

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Speaker of the House Ben Lujan plans to make a statement soon on the situation involving Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Ribera, and indictments that were recently issued against his wife and three others in Las Vegas. Vigil’s wife Roberta and three others are facing felony charges related, in part, to allegations that they misspent public money secured with the help of Richard Vigil on an annual, invitation-only party that was billed as training for employees of the West Las Vegas School District’s bilingual education program that his wife used to run. Vigil is currently vice chair of the House Education Committee, and some have questioned whether he should continue serving in that capacity while the attorney general continues to investigate the situation. Whether Vigil is a target of the investigation is unknown. I asked the speaker whether he believes the situation hampers Vigil’s ability to be an effective representative or a leader on the education committee, and he told me he is preparing a news release on that topic that will be issued soon. Continue Reading

Census confirms Las Cruces’ rapid growth

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Las Cruces’ rate of growth increased between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, according to the Census estimate released today. The city’s population on July 1, 2006, was 86,268, according to the new estimate. That represented growth of 12,001 people, or 16.2 percent, since the 2000 Census. The city grew by about 3,600 residents during that one-year span. The prior year, it grew by 2,600 residents. Continue Reading

Here’s how Conservation Voters scores lawmakers

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Since writing Tuesday about the Conversation Voters of New Mexico’s Legislative 2007 Scorecard, I’ve been asked by several people how the group arrives at its scores. First off: It’s somewhat subjective, which is, of course, the prerogative of any lobbyist group. This year, the group picked a number of bills in which it had an interest and scored lawmakers based on whether they voted the way the group wanted. But not all bills are equal. Some counted twice in the scoring, while others counted once. Continue Reading

Richardson claims top-tier status as deadline looms

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Days before the second-quarter fundraising deadline, Gov. Bill Richardson is arguing that he’s become a top-tier candidate. In a news release that was headlined “Governor Bill Richardson officially breaks into top tier,” Richardson’s campaign pointed out late Wednesday that Pollster.com added him to the list of the top Democratic presidential candidates. Pollster.com explained the change by stating that Richardson is the only Democratic candidate making a substantial gain, and even though it’s concentrated for now in Iowa and New Hampshire, those are early, important primary states. “… his is the only trajectory that is clearly moving up,” the site states. Also Thursday, WHDH-TV in Boston and Suffolk University released a poll showing that Richardson and John Edwards are tied at 9 percent in New Hampshire. Continue Reading

Senate blocks immigration overhaul proposal

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The Senate today killed a proposal to reform the nation’s immigration system, which will likely delay any chance of an overhaul until after the 2008 election. Only 46 senators voted today to limit debate and schedule a final vote on the bill. They needed 60 votes for that to happen. Fifty-three senators, including Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, voted against the motion to schedule a final vote. The resulting stalemate likely kills the bill. Continue Reading

Ethics task force agrees to some recommendations

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During its meeting on Wednesday, the state ethics task force agreed on some proposals to recommend to the governor. The group agreed to recommend the creation of a state ethics commission with subpoena power, campaign contribution limits based on the federal standard, public financing for races for statewide offices, legislative salaries and other compensation, and greater limitations on the use of campaign funds. The task force ran out of time to discuss other proposals, including the creation of a state elections commission and the opening of legislative conference committees, and will discuss them at the next meeting. Some task force members groaned at the idea of holding a meeting in the second largest city in the state, Las Cruces, so members agreed to meet halfway and hold their next meeting in Socorro on July 23, beginning at 9:30 a.m. It will probably be held on the campus of New Mexico Tech. Continue Reading

In fundraising, Guv keeping up with Edwards this week

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As the second quarter of 2007 nears an end, presidential candidates are scrambling to raise a lot of cash, and, as I’ve reported, there’s speculation that Gov. Bill Richardson will surpass John Edwards in fundraising. Richardson’s campaign doesn’t release overall fundraising totals except when it files reports with the Federal Election Commission, which will happen for the second quarter sometime between July 1 and 15. But the Washington Post has reported that Richardson is telling other Democrats he expects to beat Edwards. That would be a huge boost to Richardson’s campaign – one that would vault him, in the eyes of many, into the top tier of candidates. Today, Richardson’ campaign put a feature on his Web site indicating that he has a goal of raising $2 million this week, before Saturday’s fundraising deadline. Continue Reading

Police account of arrest differs from Foley’s

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The police account of House Minority Whip Dan Foley’s arrest differs sharply from what the GOP representative says happened. Regardless of who’s telling the truth, police reports and Foley’s booking mug are sure to come back to haunt him in future elections. Foley pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Roswell to petty misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and resisting arrest. According to police, Foley was arrested while rushing the court and shouting profanities after a fight broke out at his son’s Gus Macker basketball tournament game. He also spit chewing tobacco at an officer before he was arrested, according to the report. Continue Reading