NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/author/heath-haussamen/page/491/?wpmp_switcher=mobile)
Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Las Cruces on June 29 to raise money for his presidential campaign. He’ll be attending two or three fundraisers in the afternoon and evening, but details are still being worked out. I’ll have an update when his schedule is finalized. Continue Reading
The City of Las Cruces has created an updated map that shows its boundaries and indicates what land was annexed each decade going back to 1948. For those concerned about the city’s current, rapid growth, the map provides some interesting historical context. You can view or download the map by clicking here. In addition, the city has created a new page on its Web site that details pending development applications. Check it out by clicking here. Continue Reading
A statewide ban on cockfighting and dog fighting is one of a number of laws that take effect on Friday. Attorney General Gary King wants the public to know violators will be prosecuted. “We are putting people on notice. If you violate animal protection laws, you will be prosecuted,” King said Wednesday in announcing the formation of a new, statewide animal cruelty task force. King is chairman of the task force, which is made up of representatives from government, law enforcement, animal care groups and others. Continue Reading
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is expected to name El Camino Real National Historic Trail to the list of America’s 11 most endangered places at a news conference on Thursday. A well-preserved portion of the trail runs very close to the spot that is to become Spaceport America. The announcement will likely be accompanied by a request that the Federal Aviation Administration, in considering a license for the spaceport, analyze whether it should be located further from the trail or at another site altogether. Securing the FAA license is the last major hurdle the spaceport faces. State officials say moving the spaceport further from the trail or locating at another site isn’t logistically possible. Continue Reading
Before today, the City of Albuquerque had not been updating its lobbyist database on its Web site for three years, in violation of a city ordinance that required such action. As of today, the list is updated and will be kept current, Mayor Martin Chávez said. After receiving a tip, I spoke with Chávez on Tuesday to inquire about whether the Web site had to be updated and to tell him it hadn’t been updated since 2004. He said he didn’t know what was required, and put me on the phone with the assistant city clerk, who told me there was no requirement to keep the information current on the Web site. She also told me the clerk’s office was in the process of updating the Web site, and hoped to have current lobbyist registration information on it by the end of the week. Continue Reading
Albuquerque pollster Brian Sanderoff says the stars would have to align for a Democrat to defeat U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce next year. The GOP congressman’s recent fundraising letter makes it appear that he thinks there’s a chance that will happen. The ideal candidate to take on Pearce, Sanderoff told me in April, would be a strong, moderate Democrat from Las Cruces who can regionalize the race and win GOP votes on the district’s west side. In addition, Pearce would have to face a scandal that challenges his credibility, and the national wave that favored Democrats in 2006 would have to continue. Sanderoff predicted the second will happen. Continue Reading
Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, will be in Albuquerque next week to raise money for her husband’s campaign. She’ll be at a home in the Duke City on June 22 at 6 p.m. Tickets range from $250 to $2,300. Those who are interested in attending can contact Amanda Scott, Edwards’ southwest regional finance director, at (505) 224-8089 or ascott@johnedwards.com. Elizabeth Edwards’ battle with cancer has been highly publicized. She’s currently battling a relapse doctors say has spread to her bone and isn’t curable. Continue Reading
Following a new poll that shows him only two points behind John Edwards in New Hampshire, Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign is declaring him a top-tier candidate. The poll, which I wrote about on Monday, has Richardson at 10 percent and Edwards at 12 percent, with Hillary Clinton leading the pack at 36 percent and Barack Obama at 22 percent. I wrote at the time that Edwards and Richardson now make up their own second-tier in New Hampshire. But Richardson Campaign Manager Dave Contarino told The Hill it means the governor is in the top tier, saying recent polls placing Richardson at about 10 percent in Iowa and New Hampshire represent a “clear trend.” “A few months ago, people didn’t even know who Bill Richardson was,” Contarino told the publication. The article was one of several in national publications to come out this week. Continue Reading
Yeah, we know it stinks to do this just two weeks after she started her regular column on this site, but the Wednesday Morning Quarterback won’t be running today because Whitney Cheshire is out of town. She promises to return next week, and that this won’t happen too often. But we all need an occasional break… – Heath Haussamen Continue Reading
Former state Treasurer Robert Vigil continued to spend leftover campaign money even while he was in the process of being convicted of attempted extortion last year – a conviction that, unless overturned, prevents him from running for office again. As if this state needed another reason to approve campaign finance reform, the Associated Press is reporting today that Vigil spent more than $37,000 from his campaign account on cellular telephone, car and other expenses in the last year. The situation shows that vague state laws governing how campaign funds can be spent need to be reworked. Reporting requirements need to be tightened. Vigil resigned in October 2005 to avoid being impeached by lawmakers. Continue Reading
The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners was scheduled to vote today on whether to hire outside help to transcribe verbatim minutes of its meetings. Commissioners delayed the vote to give staff time to figure out how to pay for it, but four of five commissioners said they support the idea. It’s a good plan that has history in county government, which I rehashed last week, so I won’t go into details again here. Some comments from today’s meeting made me decide to share a vision for how the county and other governments can increase accessibility and citizen participation in the information age. The county currently records audio of meetings and keeps minutes that meet the literal requirements of the New Mexico Open Meetings Act – they include the substance of proposals and records of how each commissioner voted. Continue Reading
The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners voted today to support a moratorium on drilling on the Otero Mesa to allow completion of a study of the water underneath. Commissioners voted 5-0 in support of the resolution. Before its passage, they tacked on a resolution requiring the body to revisit its support of the moratorium upon completion of the study or after three years, whichever comes first. Commissioner Bill McCamley, who presented the resolution, spoke about the region’s drought and growth, saying the area will need more water in the future. A recent study estimated that there could be 57 million acre-feet of groundwater – 15 million of them potable – under the Otero Mesa, which is recharged by surface water runoff that some fear could be polluted by drilling. Continue Reading
As expected, the Democratic Party of New Mexico slammed U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici for voting on Monday against a resolution of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Domenici’s vote wasn’t critical, as the resolution failed when a motion to end debate and proceed to a vote received 53 votes, with 38 against it. It needed 60 to pass. Citing Domenici’s involvement in the ongoing U.S. attorney controversy, Democrats had called for him to recuse himself. After the vote, Domenici said he voted against the resolution because there was no precedent for a no-confidence vote and he “is anxious to work on the pressing issues begging the Senate’s time and consideration” instead of “meaningless partisan political endeavors.” The Democratic Party fired back. Continue Reading
The Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners voted today to delay an agreement with the Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University designed to help draw films to the area. The Las Cruces City Council has already approved an agreement to provide $25,000 this year to NMSU to help pay an employee whose job will be attracting films to the area. The commission voted to put off approval of similar funding for two weeks to give staff time to determine how they’ll come up with the money. The fiscal year ends at the end of the month, and the county has a tight budget. Assistant County Manager Sue Padilla said it’s possible there will be a surplus at the end of the month that could be used, but it’s more likely that, instead, something else will have to be cut or the county will have to draw from reserve funds the commission doesn’t want to touch. Continue Reading
By Dr. James “Jim” Kadlecek “Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries sheWith silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” – The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus Can anyone fail to be inspired by those words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty? As we debate the issue of immigration, will we be reminded of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, “Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionaries?” Yet the loudest noise lately comes from radicals such as U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, who cries out that our nation is at peril because of immigration. He proposes a ban on immigration despite his own family roots, and displays an attitude which is at the very least selfish and stems from being a fear-mongering political opportunist. Continue Reading