Candidates file for U.S. House, Senate races

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Three New Mexicans who had previously announced their candidacies for federal offices didn’t file to run on Tuesday, putting an end to their short-lived campaigns. Democrat Lehland Lehrman and Republican Tom Benavides, who had announced their candidacies for U.S. Senate, failed to file and gave no indication of why they hadn’t collected the signatures to get on the ballot. Republican Bob Cornelius, who had announced his candidacy for the Second Congressional District House seat, announced shortly before Tuesday’s 5 p.m. filing deadline that he was ending his campaign. In dropping out, Cornelius endorsed Terry Marquardt, one of 28 Democrats and Republicans who did file on Tuesday to run this year for one of New Mexico’s four open seats in Congress – one in the Senate and three in the House. There were no other surprises on filing day. Continue Reading

McCamley shines at CD2 forum in Anthony

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Bill McCamley presented the most articulate, intelligent and passionate plea for support of any of the Democratic candidates running for the Second Congressional District seat being vacated by Steve Pearce at a forum in Anthony on Monday. McCamley effectively answered criticisms of his tenure as a Doña Ana County commissioner. He spoke with authority about the need to reform the educational system and trade agreements to help Americans compete for jobs that are going overseas and talked about increasing cooperation among local governments to grow the economy and ensure some of those jobs come to the Second Congressional District. He also made two attempts at speaking Spanish during the forum, which impressed several I spoke with afterward. As I’ve disclosed many times, I’m friends with McCamley (read about that by clicking here), which is why I solicited the opinions of several others before I wrote this article. Continue Reading

Canvass changes Democratic caucus results slightly

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Hillary Clinton’s lead in New Mexico’s Feb. 5 caucus decreased slightly today when the Democratic Party announced canvassed results of the regular and absentee votes. The new and final results for the regular and absentee ballots are 68,084 votes for Clinton and 67,010 votes for Barack Obama, giving Clinton a 1,074-vote lead. That doesn’t include the more than 17,000 provisional ballots that are still being considered. The party has qualified about 7,000 of those ballots, but is still sorting through the rest. Continue Reading

Garcia urges approval of ethics commission

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State Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Las Cruces, says her bill that would create a state ethics commission will likely pass the House today, and she’s urging the Senate to give it honest consideration before the session ends at noon on Thursday. House Bill 309 was approved unanimously by members of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee on Monday, but not before a two-hour debate that resulted in its funding being cut from $500,000 to $250,000. Garcia said the bill will pass the House, most likely today. If she’s right, the bill would have moved further this year than it did in 2007, when it passed the House but without any funding to implement it. Garcia said Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, has tried to stop the bill, and she urged him and other senators to read the bill and consider reality before they refuse to hear it or vote against it. Continue Reading

AG says Denish’s acceptance of funding bills was valid

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Attorney General Gary King said late Monday that the lieutenant governor’s Saturday acceptance of funding bills on behalf of the governor was valid and did start the clock on the time the governor has to act on them. King was responding to a request for an opinion from Paula Tackett, director of the Legislative Council Service. “My attorneys have been working on this question and have found nothing in state law or these circumstances that would prohibit the lieutenant governor from accepting legislation on behalf of the governor and starting the clock on the time that the governor has to consider it,” King said in a news release. You can read the AG’s letter, written by Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Glenn, by clicking here. Gov. Bill Richardson’s office did not immediately respond to an after-hours request for comment. Continue Reading

Sen. Papen announces re-election bid

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State Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, has announced that she is running for re-election this year. Papen, who represents District 38, has served in the Senate since 2000. In a news release, she said she has championed mental health, affordable housing reform, water rights adjudication and education. Papen serves on the interim Water and Natural Resources Committee, the interim Health and Human Services Committee and was recently selected to serve on the Senate Finance Committee. “The people of Senate District 38 deserve a conscientious advocate and a strong voice in Santa Fe. Continue Reading

Who’s right in dispute over aquatic center funding?

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There’s quite a dispute brewing over how much money Gov. Bill Richardson promised in 2006 to help fund the planned aquatic and recreation center in Las Cruces. Las Cruces City Manager Terrence Moore wrote in his Friday information letter to city councilors that, despite “seemingly universal understanding by all involved, including state legislators, city administration and (city) lobbyist Ray Davenport” that the governor would give the city $10 million for the project, Richardson’s office now says he is only going to give $5 million. The governor’s office says Richardson gave $5 million from his own capital outlay in 2006 and pledged to help the city secure another $5 million in the form of a low-interest loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority. Here’s what I know, starting from the beginning: This was a project initiated by state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, not the city or the governor. Cervantes worked hard to get legislators and the governor on board, and they jointly announced, publicly, on Jan. Continue Reading

County GOP chair steps down, cites personal reasons

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After three years at the helm, Sid Goddard resigned Saturday from the position of chair of The Republican Party of Doña Ana County, citing personal reasons. The party’s vice chair, Mark Van Dyke, has been named interim chair, and hopes to have the “interim” stripped from his title when the party elects a new chair at its March 8 meeting. Goddard, who had a year left on his second, two-year term as party chair, notified Republicans of his resignation during the party’s Saturday meeting. “My reasons are personal and beyond that I will say nothing to anyone,” Goddard said in an interview. “It did not have anything to do with being disgruntled or upset or anything like that.” During Goddard’s tenure, the party became more visible and active in the community, becoming a member of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces, updating its Web site and moving to a new office on Wyatt Drive. Continue Reading

GOP CD2 candidates to attend forum in Socorro

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Most of the declared Republican candidates for the Second Congressional District seat being vacated by Steve Pearce will attend a candidate forum tonight in Socorro. The forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the K-BOB’s restaurant. Terry Marquardt and Greg Sowards will be unable to attend, and Monty Newman has indicated that he will try to attend but isn’t certain he’ll make it. The other candidates have confirmed their attendance. Continue Reading

Hillary Clinton to campaign in El Paso

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Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be in El Paso on Tuesday for a public rally and a private fundraiser in advance of Texas’ March 4 primary, according to the El Paso Times. The public rally begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Don Haskins Center on the UTEP campus. Doors open at 5 p.m. That event will be followed by a $1,000-a-plate fundraiser at a private residence. Clinton plans to make other stops in Texas this week. Her husband and daughter may also visit El Paso, the newspaper reported. Continue Reading

Voters in poll say Garcia will narrowly win primary

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A narrow majority of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Senate Majority Whip Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana, will hold off a June primary challenge from Doña Ana County Commissioner Oscar Vásquez Butler. Of 190 voters, 99, or 52 percent, said Garcia will win the primary, while 91, or 48 percent, said Butler will win. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Denish’s acceptance of funding bills leads to face-off

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Gov. Bill Richardson appears headed toward a showdown with lawmakers over whether the lieutenant governor had the authority to accept the junior budget and capital outlay bills on Saturday and start the clock on the time the governor has to act on them. One powerful senator said the dispute will end up in court if the governor doesn’t back down. Lawmakers on Saturday gave final approval to House Bill 43, the capital outlay bill, and Senate Bill 165, the junior budget bill. The House apparently approved them after senators threatened to quit working and go home unless that happened. The New Mexico Constitution gives Richardson three days, excluding Sundays, to act on any bill sent to him before the third-to-last day of the session. Continue Reading

Things aren’t looking good for ethics reform

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The three major ethics-reform proposals of the 2008 legislative session are having a hard time moving toward approval. I wrote more than a week ago that the reform bills weren’t picking up much momentum. That’s still true. Here’s a rundown: Campaign contribution limits • The good news is that Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez’s apparently worthless campaign contribution limits bill, Senate Bill 387 (click here for an explanation of the problem with the bill), was amended and improved by the Senate Rules Committee. Now, instead of having a loophole that made the limits apply to almost no one, the bill would place real limits on contributions to individuals, political action committees and political parties. Continue Reading

Domenici staffer decides he won’t run for Congress

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Clint Chandler, a Las Cruces staffer for U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, has decided he won’t seek the Congressional seat being vacated by Steve Pearce. “I have concluded the time demands required to conduct an effective campaign would place too many strains on my family,” he said. “My children are aged six and nine, and I prefer to invest in them the time I would otherwise spend chasing dollars around the state.” Chandler said the decision was difficult because “several current officeholders” he did not name “had committed to endorse me, and many other electeds and party activists and strongly encouraged me to make the run.” “Their confidence has been humbling and very much appreciated. I’ll long remember the kindness and generosity I encountered while I traveled to various parts of the district late last year,” he said. “I believe public service is a high calling, and perhaps I will pursue a similar course in the future. Continue Reading

Dem CD2 hopefuls to attend forum in Anthony

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Most of the Democratic candidates seeking to replace Steve Pearce in Congress will participate in a forum in Anthony on Monday. Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley, Roswell businessman and retired teacher Frank McKinnon and former Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague have all confirmed their attendance at the forum, which will be held at the Women’s Intercultural Center, located at 203 Lincoln Street in Anthony. The fourth Democratic candidate in the race, retired Presbyterian pastor Al Kissling, will not participate. The public is invited to attend. For more information, call (575) 621-0268 or (575) 882-5039. Continue Reading