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John Dendahl sent a letter today to Bill Richardson regarding the governor’s refusal to debate. “I find it astonishing that a man of your experience – some 24 years in public office – apparently quakes in fear of debating a man who has never held elective office,” Dendahl writes. Click here to read the entire letter. Continue Reading
Gov. Bill Richardson’s refusal to agree to a live television debate with John Dendahl is a slap to the face of New Mexico voters. Richardson’s excuse is that Dendahl will go on the attack and that wouldn’t be good for the state. His people say Dendahl has no proposals, only criticisms, and that there could be no substantive debate. Richardson must have a really low opinion of New Mexico’s voters if he believes that, were Dendahl lacking ability to talk about issues, they wouldn’t see that. Democracy is about debate and compromise. Continue Reading
Officials with UP Aerospace are still working to recover the rocket launched from Spaceport America this week, but now say they are confident the problem that caused it to fall short of space won’t affect a scheduled launch in October. The Monday launch went smoothly for the first nine seconds, until the rocket reached an altitude of 24,000 feet, the company said in a news release today. “At that point, an anomaly occurred” that “caused a wobble in the vehicle’s flight trajectory,” the release states. Ultimately, the rocket reached 42,000 feet – about 8 miles – before returning to earth. That was well short of the approximately 70-mile goal of space. Continue Reading
U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., will be the keynote speaker at a breakfast next month at New Mexico State University. Salazar will speak at the Sixth Annual Danny Villanueva Scholarship Breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Oct. 19, according to a news release. The event is held at the ballrooms in Corbett Center on campus. Salazar has been a senator since 2004 and was his state’s attorney general before that. Continue Reading
Will former state Treasurer Robert Vigil escape conviction a second time? The jury in the case has begun deliberations. Meanwhile, one of the alternate jurors, dismissed from duty last night, told KOAT-TV in Albuquerque that the prosecution “didn’t have everything they needed” to prove the case. She said evidence was unconvincing, according to the TV station’s Web site. Asked about hidden video camera that recorded Vigil taking cash from an investment advisor, the alternate juror had this to say: “I seen all of that, and I think that was just a big setup,” according to KOAT. Continue Reading
After hanging out with Democrats and the national press on the East Coast this week, Gov. Bill Richardson continued his ducking of a debate with John Dendahl while he spent today in Michigan. Richardson was in Lansing to launch a “Latinos for Granholm” group to support Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, according to the Associated Press. While there, Richardson jumped into the discussion about why that state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate was happy to have a fundraiser with first lady Laura Bush but was nowhere to be found when the president and vice president came through Michigan. “We’re seeing (Republican) governor candidates around the country staying away because the president’s not a help,” Richardson told the news service. “I’m seeing that everywhere.” I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing a governor staying away from New Mexico because he doesn’t want to debate Dendahl. Continue Reading
For the second time, former state Treasurer Robert Vigil will present no defense in his public corruption trial. The prosecution in the case rested just before a lunch break today, according to the Albuquerque Tribune. After lunch, Vigil’s attorney, Sam Bregman, rested without presenting evidence or calling witnesses. He did the same during the first trial in the spring. Vigil is being tried on some 20 federal counts of extortion and racketeering. Continue Reading
Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera, the Democrat’s candidate for secretary of state, is under fire because two of her campaign workers also work in her clerk’s office. Vickie Perea, the Republican in the race, told KOAT-TV in Albuquerque that she is “very concerned” because two county clerk employees – Diane Brown and Daniel Gutierrez – also work for Herrera’s campaign. Perea said those employees have a stake – beyond getting an accurate count – in the results of the votes they’ll be tallying. Herrera countered in the news report that the employees don’t do campaign work on county time, but didn’t directly address the concern raised by Perea. The Bernalillo County code of ethics says employees should stay away from activity that affects the “independence of judgment or action in the performance of official duties,” according to KOAT. Continue Reading
If you aren’t paying attention to the Central New Mexico congressional race between Republican incumbent Heather Wilson and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, you should be. Political blogger Joe Monahan reports today that Democratic pollster Harry Pavlides has Madrid up one point over Wilson. An Albuquerque Journal poll done in August had Wilson ahead by three points. The Journal’s new poll will be released Sunday. The Hill reports this week that this is one of the most hotly contested House races in the nation – and perhaps the hottest. Continue Reading
The secretary of state’s office issued a statement this morning in response to the Republican Party’s lawsuit filed Wednesday. “Secretary Vigil-Giron believes the Republican Party’s lawsuit is without merit,” it states. “The ballot for the upcoming November General Election has been certified, and she believes very strongly it will withstand any court challenge.” Here’s a copy of the lawsuit filed by the Republican Party: STATE OF NEW MEXICO COUNTY OF SANTA FE FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT BARBARA V. JOHNSON ROGER GONZALES, and THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF NEW MEXICO, Plaintiffs, vs. REBECCA VIGIL-GIRON, New Mexico Secretary of State, And PATRICIA MADRID, State Attorney General, Defendants. PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS Plaintiffs, Barbara V. Johnson, Roger Gonzales, and The Republican Party of New Mexico, by and through their counsel CARPENTER LAW, PC (Joshua Carpenter), hereby state: The Republican Party of New Mexico is a major political party in New Mexico, as defined in §1-1-9 NMSA 1978. Continue Reading
The Republican Party of New Mexico has sued the secretary of state and attorney general, alleging that two Republican candidates were unfairly denied spots on the Nov. 7 general election ballot and that the Democrats illegally placed a candidate on the ballot. At issue is the secretary of state allowing Democrats to place Hector Balderas on the ballot for state auditor and denying Republican attempts to place Roger Gonzales of Mora on the ballot for Balderas’ House seat and Barbara V. Johnson of Albuquerque on the ballot for a district judgeship in Albuquerque. The two joined the party in filing the suit Wednesday against Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Attorney General Patricia Madrid. Since ballots are already being printed, they requested an emergency hearing and will ask a judge in Santa Fe to order that their candidates’ names be placed on the ballot, and Balderas’ name be removed. Continue Reading
The campaign of the Democrat seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., is showing signs of life. Al Kissling’s campaign recently unveiled several radio advertisements attacking Pearce and Republicans on a host of allegations, including increasing the federal deficit, breaking promises to veterans, failing to get troops out of Iraq, voting for bills that benefit pharmaceutical companies instead of seniors, cutting federal student aid and cutting overtime protection for workers. The ads, which are running on radio stations across the 2nd Congressional District, accuse Pearce of campaigning on “rosy rhetoric” and dodging questions about his record, which, according to the ads, proves he isn’t independent from corporations or the Republican Party. Pearce’s campaign, which is targeting moderate Democrats, claims he has a record of independence. In addition to the radio ads, Kissling has increased the number of public appearances he is making and news releases his campaign is sending out. Continue Reading
Former New Mexico Economic Development Department spokeswoman Katie Roberts left her job last week and moved to South Carolina, where she started work Monday with the South Carolina Democrats. The question is whether she’s there to work for candidates in that state or lay the groundwork there for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s 2008 presidential run. Richardson says that’s not the case but, according to the Albuquerque Journal, the South Carolina Democratic Party says otherwise. That state party’s spokesman, Patrick Norton, told the Journal that Roberts’ presence “helps us this election cycle – and it helps the presidential candidate in 2008.” He said it would be valuable for potential presidential contenders to have someone who “knows the lay of the land” in that state. South Carolina became more important in presidential elections when the Democrats’ national party voted last month to move up the date of the state’s presidential primary, which will be held a week after New Hampshire’s. Continue Reading
Doña Ana County’s interim elections supervisor says he has already implemented many changes suggested in the report released Tuesday by the election task force, and morale and operations of the office have improved. The task force found that, in recent years, the office has suffered form high turnover, low morale and a lack of organizational cohesion, which has resulted in a myriad of problems. The report recommends the hiring of a qualified elections supervisor, revision of the office’s organizational structure and the creation of training programs to ensure compliance with state statutes and consistent training of poll workers. Lynn Ellins said in the few weeks he has been elections supervisor, much of that has been done. Some staff reorganization has already taken place. He is conducting employee evaluations, which has not been done in at least a year. Continue Reading
It isn’t just Gov. Bill Richardson who is ducking debates. As reported in the Albuquerque Journal today, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., has accused Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid of avoiding televised debates – which Madrid has done – but Wilson has also declined two non-televised debates with Madrid. Though U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., participated in one, mid-day debate with Democratic challenger Al Kissling, he has declined any other debates, including an upcoming offer from an Albuquerque television station. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has agreed to one upcoming televised debate and not yet responded to a challenge from Republican Allen McCulloch for several more. Bingaman has never been one to shy away from debates. Continue Reading