Concerns elsewhere aren’t stopping local town halls

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Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are holding a number of town hall meetings on health-care reform despite the unruliness, shouting and occasional scuffles that have characterized similar meetings in some other states. Rep. Ben Ray Luján held a town hall meeting on health-care reform in Santa Fe on Monday. Sen. Jeff Bingaman is holding one today in Clovis. Rep. Harry Teague will hold a “Harry in Your Hometown” event in Las Cruces on Wednesday that could turn into a town hall or individual meetings with constituents, depending on the desires of those who attend. Rep. Martin Heinrich is holding a town hall in Albuquerque on Saturday. Continue Reading

Energy secretary to headline conference at NMSU

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U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu will be the keynote speaker later this month at New Mexico State University’s “Re-Energize America” conference on moving toward a clean-energy economy. Chu’s scheduled Aug. 31 speech was announced in a news release from U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., who is honorary chairman of the conference. “Having Secretary Chu join us in Las Cruces for this important conference clearly shows that this administration sees New Mexico as a key player in our nation’s energy future,” Teague said in the release. “New Mexico’s unique combination of traditional source reserves and the right climate and geography for capitalizing on emerging renewable technologies has positioned us as a true energy leader.” The two-day conference is designed to give participants opportunities to discuss how they can start or grow their own energy ventures. Continue Reading

Richardson coming to Las Cruces on Thursday

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Gov. Bill Richardson will make three public appearances in Las Cruces on Thursday. The first is a news conference at which Richardson will announce a “new college-readiness program” for students in Doña Ana County, according to a news release from his office. That event will be held at 10 a.m. in the atrium in O’Donnell Hall on the New Mexico State University campus. While at NMSU, Richardson will deliver a speech on the new G.I. Bill. That event will be held at 11 a.m. at the Foreman Engineering Complex on campus. Continue Reading

Susana Martinez hires ‘GOP’s Ambassador of Ill Will’

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has hired one of the most well-known GOP public relations professionals in the business to run her campaign’s communications operation, a source close to the campaign confirmed. Danny Diaz was communications director for the Republican National Committee last year. Before that, he served as deputy communications director for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. Diaz spent a lot of time in New Mexico in 2003 and 2004 as the southwest regional press secretary for the Bush/Cheney 2004 re-election campaign. He was once dubbed by TIME Magazine as the “GOP’s Ambassador of Ill Will.” In its December 21, 2007 article, the magazine wrote that Diaz described his job as an “ongoing and daily effort to ensure that both sides of the story are told.” From the article: “When it’s pointed out that at least 99% of the e-mails he sends to reporters are highlighting stories unflattering to Democrats, he laughs and says, with mock solicitousness: ‘I can certainly package and send you information we put on the web about the President’s speeches.’ It is the job of the RNC communications team, he admits, to ‘provide information to further a story line that is detrimental to our opposition.’ Of course, the Democratic National Committee has someone doing the exact same thing; what distinguishes Diaz is the obvious pleasure he takes in a job that is largely about spreading ill will. Continue Reading