Bingaman, Udall have busy first day in the majority

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Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall had a busy first day in the new session of Congress that began Thursday with the election of the first woman to the position of speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Like all others who won in November the right to keep (or hold for the first time) their offices, Bingaman and Udall were sworn in Thursday at the start of the 110th Congress. As Democrats took control of the Senate, New Mexico’s Bingaman took the chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but pledged cooperation with the man he replaced, Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, and all Republicans. “The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has a strong tradition of bipartisan accomplishment that I plan on continuing in this new Congress,” Bingaman said in a speech on the Senate floor, according to a news release. “I look forward to working with my colleague, Senator Pete Domenici, and all the members of the committee as we forge an effective path forward to promote our energy and energy-related environmental security.” In the release, Bingaman said his priorities for the new Congress will be energy independence, affordable health care, America’s competition in the global marketplace and bringing American troops home from Iraq. Continue Reading

Richardson travels to Sudan to intervene in crisis

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Gov. Bill Richardson will travel back to Sudan this weekend to urge the country to allow U.N. peacekeeping troops to enter the war-torn Darfur region. The governor is making the trip at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, which asked for Richardson’s help last month. At least 400,000 people have been killed and another 2 million forced to flee their homes in the last three years in Darfur while Sudanese forces have fought two rebel groups. President Bush has recognized assaults on civilians of a particular ethnic group associated with the rebels as acts of genocide by the Sudanese government and its allied militias. The Sudanese government has allowed African Union troops to enter the region but refused U.N. peacekeeping troops despite a U.N. resolution calling for a force to intervene. Continue Reading

Democrats’ PAC impacted key House races in 2006

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This is the first in an occasional series examining political action committees and their effect on New Mexico politics. A political action committee controlled primarily by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan had a major impact on several high-profile House races across the state last year. In three hotly contested races in Doña Ana County, the New Mexico Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee made the difference, at least financially. Andy Nuñez, Jeff Steinborn and Nate Cote, with sizable gifts from the DLCC, outspent their opponents. All three won – two of them by narrow margins. Continue Reading

Some Democrats think Richardson won’t run

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A national political columnist is reporting that some Democratic Party strategists think Gov. Bill Richardson will be the next 2008 hopeful to give up hope. Chuck Todd of the National Journal reported Wednesday that “there’s some chatter that the next candidate to follow Warner’s and Bayh’s stares into the ’08 abyss and pull the ripcord is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. At the end of the day, these folks claim, he’s a pragmatist. His résumé is gold, but the novelty factor (he’d be the first Hispanic) is getting eclipsed by Clinton and Obama.” “He does seem intent on giving this a try,” Todd wrote. “Let’s see what the money reports show in the spring.” Despite his comments, Todd ranked Richardson as the fifth most likely candidate to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination. Continue Reading

Herrera wants audit of 2006 election expenses

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New Secretary of State Mary Herrera wants an audit of how millions of federal dollars were spent by her predecessor on the 2006 election. New Mexico used most of the $9 million from the Help America Vote Act on new equipment, according to the Albuquerque Journal, but also spent money on a myriad of television advertisements featuring former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. Before leaving office last month, Vigil-Giron asked for $800,000 in state money to pay for some of the equipment expenses because her office ran out of federal money, the Journal reported. Vigil-Giron has been criticized since then for spending money on television commercials featuring her own face instead of on the equipment. Though the two women have been fighting publicly for months, a spokesman for Herrera told the Journal that the request that the state auditor examine the situation is not an attack on her predecessor. Continue Reading

Richardson backers await announcement

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Many Democratic Party activists who want Gov. Bill Richardson to run for president are anxiously awaiting an expected announcement that should come sometime in the next 12 days. Others from around the nation are already organizing with the expectation that Richardson will seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Richardson has said he’ll announce his decision before the Legislature convenes on Jan. 16. The blogger A Rational Animal wrote Wednesday that he asked Richardson whether he would run for president at the inaugural party in Santa Fe earlier this week. Continue Reading

Group will promote approval of spaceport tax

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A number of local government, community and business leaders have formed a group that will push for voter approval in Doña Ana County of a gross receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America. The group, called People for Aerospace, launched its Web site today. It can be found at http://www.peopleforaerospace.com. The group has three co-chairs: Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley; Steinborn, Inc. CEO and partner John Hummer; and Delano Lewis, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and retired CEO of National Public Radio. Though a final, formal vote by the county commission is still required, the commission has set the stage for a public vote on April 3 on whether to increase the gross receipts tax 1/4 percent in Doña Ana County to help fund the spaceport. Continue Reading

Three counties to hold joint meeting on spaceport

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The Doña Ana, Otero and Sierra county commissions will hold a joint session in Las Cruces later this month to discuss support for Spaceport America. The meeting will be held Jan. 15 at 10 a.m. in the commission chambers at the Doña Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces. New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans will give a presentation on the project to members of the commissions at the meeting. Officials from the X Prize will also be on hand to answer questions. Continue Reading

Housing authority probe a priority for AG King

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Those who were worried that an investigation of the scandal that toppled the state’s regional housing authorities last year would fall through the cracks with a change in leadership at the attorney general’s office have nothing to fear, the office’s new spokesman says. The investigation is one of the top priorities for Attorney General Gary King, said spokesman Phil Sisneros. “This case, as I understand it, is in the top tier of cases for the attorney general right now,” Sisneros said. “It’s on the front burner.” Sisneros didn’t have many details, including an update on the investigation. King took office earlier this week and is still settling in, but Sisneros said King brought up the investigation Tuesday as one he wants to be a top priority. Continue Reading

New officials making changes to Web sites

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Most of New Mexico’s new statewide elected officials have already made changes to agency Web sites to include their own information and messages. Attorney General Gary King essentially took former AG Patricia Madrid’s Web page and replaced her photo and text with his own, though parts of the site are still under construction. You can check it out by clicking here. You can view the site for the office of Treasurer James B. Lewis by clicking here. Auditor Hector Balderas’ site looks like it still needs some work, but his photo is up. Continue Reading

Weh issues statement on staff departures

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Though state Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh didn’t call me back yesterday, the party sent out a news release containing these comments from him on the departures of former Executive Director Marta Kramer and outgoing Communications Director Jonah Cohen: “Marta has done a tremendous job for (the state Republican Party) under difficult circumstances, and she’s earned a break. For those who share my admiration for her tireless efforts, I fully expect you will see her return to a responsible political position in the 2008 election cycle,” he said. “Jonah Cohen also has done an exceptional job for us, but with a PhD and an aspiration for academia I knew he wouldn’t be with us forever. We’re grateful we had him, and thoroughly enjoyed his creative writing. Both of these dedicated people will be missed and we wish them all the best.” Continue Reading

Check out profile of Richardson’s career

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There are several articles in state newspapers today about Gov. Bill Richardson’s past and future, but Kate Nash of the Albuquerque Tribune has the most interesting look at Richardson’s rise in politics beginning with his time as a staffer on Capitol Hill in the 1970s. It’s worth a read if you get a chance. You can read it by clicking here. Continue Reading

Virgin Galactic denies report that it plans to build a spaceport in the Middle East

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Virgin Galactic is denying published reports that it plans to build a spaceport in the Middle East. A company spokeswoman told TradeArabia that a newspaper report to the contrary was false. The report said a spaceport would be built in Bahrain beginning in February. The company also denied reports that have spread across the Internet for months that it has plans to build a spaceport in Dubai, located in the United Arab Emirates. “Right now, we are concentrating on the spaceport, Spaceport America, which is to be based in New Mexico,” a Virgin Galactic spokeswoman was quoted as saying. Continue Reading

GOP official confirms staff changes

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Staff changes at the Republican Party of New Mexico have been confirmed by outgoing Communications Director Jonah Cohen. Cohen said former Executive Director Marta Kramer resigned “to spend more time with her family in California and Texas” and will be replaced by Chris Atencio, the state party’s political director. Storm Field, the party’s former field director, is now working for House Republicans and will be replaced by Matt Stackpole, who was the Victory 2006 72-hour director, Cohen said. Cohen said he is also leaving later this week to take a job as chair of a history department at a private high school in Las Vegas, Nev. “All of these changes were amicable and we’ve all remained good friends with Chairman Allen Wen,” Cohen said in an e-mail. Continue Reading

Details sketchy about apparent GOP staff shakeup

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Two weeks before the start of the 2007 Legislative session, there has been a major shakeup in the staff of the state Republican Party, but details are sketchy. Whitney Cheshire, a party activist who runs the blog The Wednesday Morning Quarterback, reported last week that state Party Director Marta Kramer and Communications Director Jonah Cohen are leaving and that former Field Director Storm Field resigned weeks ago. She reported that Political Director Chris Atencio is rumored to be filling in until a replacement for Kramer is found. I’ve been unable to reach any state party officials for comment, but House Minority Whip Dan Foley, R-Roswell, and Doña Ana County Republican Party Chair Sid Goddard both confirmed that something has happened. Neither knew enough to relay most of the details. Continue Reading