Some polls open late when workers don’t show up

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A number of polling places in Doña Ana County opened late this morning because workers didn’t show up. That happened despite that fact that elections bureau staff confirmed with poll workers as recently as Monday that they would work today, said county spokesman Jess Williams. County staffers were sent to open some polling places, and some election challengers from the Democratic and Republican parties were recruited at the last minute to be poll workers. All polling places were open fairly quickly after problems were identified, Williams said. “We’re up and running,” he said. County Republican Party Chair Sid Goddard wasn’t pleased. Continue Reading

Garza to learn fate on Wednesday

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Suspended Doña Ana County Magistrate Judge Carlos Garza will likely find out in less than two days whether he gets to keep his job. His hearing before the New Mexico Supreme Court is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Wednesday. (I won’t be able to attend because I’ll be covering the election from Doña Ana County.)Following the hearing, justices will deliberate and will likely make a decision within an hour about whether to permanently remove Garza from the bench. After not being allowed to speak at his last hearing before the high court, Garza has ditched his attorney and will represent himself this time, so he has a chance to plead his case. “I will not make the mistake of having an attorney there that can keep me from saying what I think is important,” Garza said. Continue Reading

Athletics controversy may color school board election; listen to superintendent’s interview

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Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Sonia Diaz has gone on the offensive against rumors that she is an anti-athletics administrator. Rumors have abounded on the Internet and throughout the athletics community that Diaz, who has only been in Las Cruces for four months, plans to end the program that grants class credit to students in some high school sports and other traditionally extracurricular activities for taking part in those activities. Jim Spence, who is the primary announcer for the high-school BTK Radio Network, recently wrote a column published in the Las Cruces Sun-News that accused the school district’s administration of making secret plans “that will push the highly accomplished music and athletic programs at LCPS back into the stone ages.” Diaz began her offensive with a column published Friday in the Las Cruces Bulletin stating that arts and athletics are important parts of a well-rounded curriculum. She wrote that her goal is to “enhance what has worked for students while at the same time, to address deficiencies in the areas of literature and numeracy.” Diaz continued her offensive this morning on The Morning Show with Michael Swickard. She and Spence were on the program together. Continue Reading

My plans for Election Day

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Obviously, things will be a little different tomorrow, so here are my plans: I won’t likely have any early-morning posts like I normally do. I’m going to sleep in a bit in preparation for the possibility that we’re going to be up very late. Around mid-morning, I plan to start visiting polling sites. In addition, I’ll keep up with the news from around the state and nation. I’ll bring you periodic updates throughout the day. Continue Reading

Richardson mailer sent to wrong address

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In my mailbox on Saturday was a flyer from the campaign of Gov. Bill Richardson urging me to “send George Bush and the Washington Republicans a message: We need change.” Though the mailer had our address on it, it wasn’t sent to my wife or me. It was addressed to someone named Vanessa Gonzales. As far as I know, no one by that name has ever lived at this house, even before we owned it, and there is certainly not currently anyone with that name who is registered to vote at this location. The mailer also has a section that is supposed to help Vanessa find her polling place. It says her voting location is Riverside Elementary School in Sunland Park, almost 50 miles from my home. Continue Reading

Dems win non-scientific county commission polls

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Democratic candidates came out on top in last week’s non-scientific polls on this site about who would win two seats on the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners. In the District 1 race, Democratic incumbent Oscar Vasquez Butler received 110 of 168 votes cast, or 65 percent. Republican challenger John Zimmerman received 58 votes, or 35 percent. In the District 3 race, Democrat Karen Perez received 105 of 159 votes cast, or 66 percent. Republican Mack Haley received 54 votes, or 34 percent. Continue Reading

An analysis of area House races

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Here’s my analysis of the races for the four House seats whose districts are partially or all in Doña Ana County: House District 53 In this race, Democrat Nate Cote is trying to knock off 12-year incumbent Republican Terry Marquardt, the House minority whip. That might seem like an unlikely task, but redistricting several years ago shifted this district’s center from Otero County to Doña Ana County. Two of 10 precincts, including Marquardt’s, are in Otero County, but the rest are in the Las Cruces area. It’s still conservative, and this district may eventually become a stronghold for a Republican from Las Cruces. Absent that, we’ve got a close race between an Alamogordo Republican and a Las Cruces Democrat. Continue Reading

Final Journal polls have Madrid, Lyons ahead

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The Albuquerque Journal ran its final poll results today. You can read about the congressional races by clicking here and the statewide races by clicking here. Here’s the quick summary: In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid is leading Republican incumbent Heather Wilson 49-45 percent. In the 2nd Congressional District, Republican incumbent Steve Pearce is leading Democratic challenger Al Kissling 59-33 percent. In the 3rd Congressional District, Democratic incumbent Tom Udall is leading Republican challenger Ron Dolin 71-20 percent. Continue Reading

Democrats cast out E. Shirley Baca

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A mailer E. Shirley Baca sent to some 10,000 Democrats last week urging them to vote against the Public Regulation Commission candidate who beat her in the primary appears to have cost her a future relationship with the Democratic Party. The mailer urged a vote against Sandy Jones, the Democrat’s District 5 candidate, because he used negative campaigning to beat her in the primary. Click here to see the front of Baca’s mailer, and here to see the back. Those I spoke with said it was almost unheard of for a primary loser to toss such a retaliatory, negative attack at the winner. Apparently, the Democratic Party of New Mexico agrees. Continue Reading

An analysis of county government races

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Here’s my analysis of the races for the four Doña Ana County offices that are up for grabs on Tuesday: County Commission District 1 Democratic incumbent Oscar Vasquez Butler is facing Republican challenger John Zimmerman in this race. Voters have a choice between two obviously different candidates. Butler is an outspoken critic of what he calls “uncontrolled growth.” He opposes more development on the mesas and mountains, saying there is enough land in the valley, but at the same time cautions that those who choose to live in the Mesilla Valley must be aware that water is limited and farms must be preserved. Zimmerman talks about the need for more growth and development to better the lives of residents of the county, though he says that development needs to be better regulated. He favors development on the mesas. Continue Reading

Early voting wraps up

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Hundreds of people showed up at five early voting sites throughout Doña Ana County today. Early voting ends at 6 p.m. today, and the total number of votes cast early is expected to top 9,000 – about 10 percent of the county’s registered voters. At the Doña Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces – the primary early voting site – there were more than 50 people in line at 10:30 a.m., a half hour after the polling place opened. More than 800 people voted at that site on Friday. I then went to Anthony, the site where poll workers accused activists of coaching voters and activists accused poll workers of intimidating voters last weekend, leading to the police being called out. Continue Reading

An analysis of area PRC races

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Here’s my analysis of the two Public Regulation Commission races whose districts include parts of Doña Ana County. PRC District 5 In this race, Democrat Sandy Jones faces Republican Earl Greer. Jones knocked off incumbent E. Shirley Baca in the primary. Both candidates are from Sierra County, bucking the conventional wisdom that the commissioner from this 11-county district would most likely be from Las Cruces, the population center. Both have run active campaigns and raised a lot of money. Continue Reading

We have November surprises aplenty

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Many have been waiting to see whether a November surprise would turn the nation’s mood back to Republicans to the point that they would keep control of the House and Senate in Tuesday’s elections. It looks like we have two November surprises. A verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial is expected on Sunday. The former Iraqi dictator will likely find out on that day whether he’ll hang, according to Reuters. Saddam’s chief lawyer said the timing of the verdict was designed to boost President Bush’s popularity in advance of Tuesday’s election, and urged a delay. Continue Reading

Huge GOP donor plays in N.M. races

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Many are wondering about Republican donor Bob Perry of Texas, who has inserted himself into New Mexico politics in a big way this year by giving tens of thousands of dollars to Republican statewide candidates in the Land of Enchantment. He also gave $20,000 to Isaac Chavez, the Republican seeking to knock off State Rep. Andy Nuñez, D-Hatch. As I’ve reported, Perry was the head financial backer of the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. According to Bloomberg.com, he’s the biggest donor in U.S. politics this election cycle. Click here to read more about him. Continue Reading