ABQ updates lobbyist site for first time in three years

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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

Could the stars align against Pearce next year?

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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 to attend fundraiser in ABQ

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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

Will guv’s personality win over or turn off voters?

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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

Robert Vigil again makes the case for ethics reform

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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

Verbatim minutes of meetings is only the first step toward making government more accessible

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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

Commission backs Otero Mesa drilling moratorium

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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

Democrats slam Domenici for Gonzales vote

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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

Commission delays vote on film-program funding

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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

Domenici votes against no-confidence resolution

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U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici rejected calls for his recusal and voted today against a resolution of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. 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, the Democratic Party of New Mexico called Friday for him to recuse himself from today’s vote. That controversy, which includes the firing of former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico, was the primary reason Democrats sought passage of the resolution that would have increased pressure for Gonzales’ ouster. Continue Reading

Richardson releases clever TV advertisement, stays at 10 percent in New Hampshire, campaigns out west

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Gov. Bill Richardson began airing today the follow-up to two humorous television advertisements that are likely the primary cause of his recent climb in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire. After Richardson began airing the first two so-called “job-interview” ads several weeks ago, he climbed from below the margin of error to between 8 and 10 percent in several polls in both early primary states. The humorous ads, which poke fun at Richardson while highlighting his résumé, have become one of the hot topics of the presidential campaign. Today, Richardson began airing the third ad in the series, a 30-second spot that begins with Richardson talking about his assertion that New Mexico is the clean energy state and has done more than any other to fight global warming. The interviewer looks increasingly frustrated as Richardson touts his record, and finally cuts in to say, “But what I asked you was, “if you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?’” Richardson shakes head at interviewer and looks disappointed. Continue Reading

UNM, NMSU to help pay cabinet secretary and deputy

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The state’s Higher Education Department is in the process of getting a new secretary and deputy secretary. Both will be paid in part by the universities they’re leaving. The premise is simple: University executives are paid more than cabinet secretaries, so to get the top educators to run the department, Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration has to come up with some extra cash. Higher Education Department spokeswoman Laura Mulry said the department will be paying a portion of the salaries for new Higher Education Secretary Reed Dasenbrock and Deputy Secretary Bill Flores, but the University of New Mexico will also help pay Dasenbrock and New Mexico State University will help pay Flores. When the transition is complete, both will work full time for the department, and spend none of their time working for the universities from which they came, she said. Continue Reading

Is Richardson the Hispanic candidate or not?

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Is Bill Richardson running as a Hispanic or as an American who’s proud to be Hispanic? There’s a fine line between the two, but the New Mexico governor, until recently, repeatedly insisted the latter is the case. “I’m not running as a Hispanic,” Richardson told FOX News in December. “I’m running as an American who’s proud to be a Hispanic.” That’s not what he said during a campaign stop in Colorado on Friday. “I am the Latino candidate,” the Pueblo Chieftain quoted Richardson as saying during a news conference in that city on Friday. Continue Reading

Bernalillo sheriff to chair Giuliani campaign in N.M.

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Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White will be the chairman of GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani’s campaign in New Mexico. White chaired President Bush’s 2004 campaign in New Mexico. He is one of the brightest stars among New Mexico Republicans, and is on a short list of people party insiders are mentioning as potential gubernatorial candidates in 2010. He’s popular in Bernalillo County and has star power that could easily spread around the state. Bringing him onboard is a plus for Giuliani’s New Mexico campaign. Continue Reading

Domenici pressured to skip AG no-confidence vote

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Democrats in the U.S. Senate have scheduled later today a vote of no confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, forcing their GOP colleagues into a tough position – perhaps none more difficult than that of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico. With a number of GOP congressmen already calling for Gonzales’ resignation, do Republicans vote for the resolution, or do they side with the president? Should Domenici even cast a vote? Brian Colón, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, called late Friday for Domenici to recuse himself from the vote. In a news release, the party cited “Domenici’s central role in the U.S. attorney scandal that has sparked calls for the resignation of” Gonzales. Continue Reading