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Richardson, Carville spar on Larry King Live

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Gov. Bill Richardson and Clintonista James Carville fought on CNN’s Larry King Live on Wednesday evening about the Democratic presidential primary. There wasn’t much sparring between the two about the spat that erupted when Richardson endorsed Barack Obama last month. At the time, Carville compared Richardson’s endorsement to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, and a nasty fight ensued. The most poignant moment in the show came when Richardson accused Hillary Clinton of “clinging to the throne” and trying to change the rules in the middle of the primary season because she believes she’s entitled to the presidency. “You know, we’re America, we’re not Monaco,” Richardson said. Continue Reading

County treasurer announces re-election bid

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Doña Ana County Treasurer Jim Schoonover, a Republican, has announced his re-election bid. Schoonover said he wants to continue providing professional services to the citizens of the county and cited “a number of successes” during his current term in a news release sent from his campaign. He pledged to accomplish more with another term. “Serving as a public official is an exciting challenge, and it is an honor to serve the citizens of Doña Ana County,” Schoonover said. “During my term I have dramatically changed the operations of the treasurer’s office, creating an effective and efficient, professional operation.” Schoonover claimed several accomplishments in the news release, including “investment income in the millions of dollars,” “increased staff effectiveness through professional training,” “developed and implemented a records-retention system,” “improved customer service,” “worked effectively with the New Mexico Legislature and other elected officials throughout the state,” “reduced bureaucracy,” “created an easy-to-use, effective Web site for county residents,” “enhanced department security,” and “improved property tax collections.” “I am totally energized about the successful changes which have taken place in the treasurer’s office over the past four years,” Schoonover said. Continue Reading

Off and running

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By Jim Scarantino Hello to Heath’s readers. I am excited about this opportunity to make a biweekly contribution to one of the finest state political sites you’ll find on the Web. I hope my participation might make it even better. You may have seen my work elsewhere. I write for Albuquerque’s Weekly Alibi. Continue Reading

Wilson says new Pearce ad attacks Domenici

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Republican Steve Pearce is up with a new TV ad identifying him as the only conservative in the U.S. Senate race, and GOP primary opponent Heather Wilson is attacking him for what she says is an insult to the retiring senator they’re both seeking to replace. Here’s Pearce’s new ad, which is running statewide: In it, he says he’s “the only New Mexico congressman to oppose a disastrous government-run socialized medicine scheme.” He also calls himself the only conservative in the race, saying he has worked to cut taxes, eliminate wasteful spending and defend “our traditional New Mexican values.” “It’s a fact. There’s only one conservative running for Senate – Republican Steve Pearce,” the narrator of the ad states. The Wilson campaign quickly responded when the ad began running on Tuesday with a news release accusing Pearce of attacking Wilson and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici. Wilson and Domenici joined New Mexico’s two Democratic members of Congress last year in supporting an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, while Pearce stood alone in the New Mexico delegation in opposing it. Continue Reading

Congressional candidates airing new radio, TV ads

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Second Congressional District Republican candidate Aubrey Dunn is running a new radio ad across the district that his campaign said is the first radio ad from any candidate in the race. The 60-second radio ad comes from the same interview used in a television commercial Dunn began airing around the district on Monday. Like the TV spot, the radio ad a simple ad designed to introduce Dunn to voters. It’s currently running on eight stations around the district, including KOBE-AM 1450 in Las Cruces. Click here to listen to the ad. Continue Reading

State’s new economy will require increased literacy

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New Mexico, led by Gov. Bill Richardson, has done a lot in the last few years to try to improve the state’s economic situation by creating new jobs in high-tech and film industries. There has been some success, most notably in the film industry. New Mexico has managed to attract major Hollywood companies to the Albuquerque area. In addition, the state has created a renewable energy transmission authority with the goal of developing new energy technology in the state and selling excess power it generates to other states. And the state is trying to construct the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport and transform the Las Cruces area into the worldwide center of the commercial space industry. Continue Reading

Meet this site’s newest columnist

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Meet Jim Scarantino, this site’s newest columnist.He has been recognized as one of the country’s best political columnists by the American Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. His work has been published in more than 50 newspapers. He has been a guest on the Oliver North and Alan Colmes radio shows and is a regular panelist on KNME-TV’s “In Focus.” Jim also writes a column, “The Real Side,” for Albuquerque’s alternative paper, The Weekly Alibi. With that résumé, I’m honored to have Jim join this site and expect that, through his columns, he will make strong contributions to the conversation about New Mexico. His column, “Off the Leash,” will run on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month beginning tomorrow. Continue Reading

Listen to The Morning Show podcast

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Today on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl, I talked about Sierra County’s spaceport-tax vote, the U.S. Senate and presidential races and some local political happenings. I also talked at length with Riehl about the newest activities of Gov. Bill Richardson – who isn’t Riehl’s favorite politician around. You can listen to the 42-minute podcast by clicking here. Continue Reading

Guv to meet with Venezuelan leader about hostages

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Gov. Bill Richardson will travel to Caracas, Venezuela on Friday to meet with President Hugo Chavez. The trip is part of the governor’s attempt to secure the release of three Americans who have been held hostage in Columbia since 2003. “The hostage-negotiation process will take time and will require a sustained dialogue with key parties,” Richardson said in a news release announcing the trip. “It is critically important that we do not lose sight of the plight of the hostages and their families. I believe President Chavez can play a positive role in the ultimate release of the hostages.” The Americans are being held hostage by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Continue Reading

Sierra tax approval moves spaceport closer to reality

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Voters in Sierra County have easily approved a tax increase that was critical to the future of Spaceport America. The unofficial results, with all precincts reporting, are 2,046 votes, or 66 percent, in favor of enacting the tax, and 1,066 votes, or 34 percent, opposed. “It is a good day in Sierra County, and all I have to say is, ‘Thank you, Sierra County,’” Steve Landeene, the spaceport’s executive director, said in an interview. “They have really made a statement, and that statement is that they want the spaceport and the opportunity for a brighter future for Sierra County and their children.” Today’s vote means the gross receipts tax in Sierra County will be raised by 1/4 of one percent, which will generate $2.3 million for construction of the spaceport. More importantly, it triggers the creation of a regional spaceport taxing district, which will allow the state to begin collecting a tax in Doña Ana County that will generate an estimated $49 million for the spaceport. Continue Reading

Sierra County appears poised to OK spaceport tax

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Voters in Sierra County appear on their way to easily approving a 1/4 percent increase in the gross receipts tax to help fund Spaceport America. Not all results are in, but the current count is 1,471 votes, or 68 percent, in favor of enacting the tax, and 643 votes, or 32 percent, opposed to enacting the tax. Those totals come from early and absentee voting and three of Sierra County’s 12 precincts. The votes that have been tallied add up to 2,163, or 29 percent of the 7,389 registered voters in Sierra County. Some 18.5 percent of registered voters cast their ballots early or absentee. Continue Reading

Clinton wins Pennsylvania Democratic primary

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Hillary Clinton has been declared the winner of today’s Pennsylvania Democratic primary, a big win for a candidate who needed it. Barack Obama, meanwhile, appears to have made this a close contest: With 7 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton leads him 53 percent to 47 percent. Pundits will debate for days the meaning of Clinton’s victory, but the likelihood is one that has remained constant for weeks (or longer): This race is probably going to come down to the decisions of superdelegates at the Democratic Party’s convention in August. In New Mexico, several superdelegates, including U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall and state Democratic Party Chair Brian Colón, remain uncommitted to either candidate. As this race drags on, the courting of them by both candidates is only going to increase. Continue Reading

Wilson hits Pearce over Border Patrol vote

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The fighting between the two GOP U.S. Senate candidates is continuing, with Heather Wilson attacking Steve Pearce for saying he supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents even though he voted in 2007 against such funding as a member of the U.S. House. It’s an issue on which Wilson has gone after Pearce in the past, but comments she made in an e-mail to supporters this weekend and that her campaign manager made in a Tuesday news release stepped up the rhetoric. “Congressman Pearce has given several different explanations for why he voted against funding the Border Patrol,” Wilson wrote in the e-mail. “But like his vote to mothball Cannon Air Force Base and his votes to cripple Department of Energy funding for Sandia and Los Alamos national labs, they don’t make much sense.” Her campaign manager, Chris Collins, echoed those words in the news release. “He’s talking out of both sides of his mouth,” Collins said. Continue Reading

Supreme Court to consider Vigil-Giron’s candidacy

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Three supporters of 1st Congressional District candidate Michelle Lujan-Grisham have appealed to the Supreme Court last week’s rejection of their challenge to the candidacy of Rebecca Vigil-Giron. A district judge in Santa Fe rejected the challenge to the signatures collected by Vigil-Giron, who like Lujan-Grisham is a Democrat. The supporters of Lujan-Grisham alleged that Vigil-Giron submitted more than 600 signatures that weren’t valid, which would have left her 100 short of the 1,214 to qualify for the ballot. Vigil-Giron said in an e-mail that “ego prevailed over logic” in commenting about the appeal to the Supreme Court. She said she doesn’t know whether the court will issue a ruling before early voting begins on May 6, but noted that ballots are already being printed and questioned who would have to pay for the cost of printing new ballots if the high court were to remove her from the ballot. Continue Reading

Tinsley to join Dunn on TV in CD2

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Ed Tinsley will become today the second Republican congressional candidate from Southern New Mexico to air television ads. Tinsley’s ad, a 30-second spot that introduces him to voters, will begin running after 5 p.m. today on the Roswell-based station KBIM, according to campaign spokesman Christopher Maloney. The ad will start a day after Aubrey Dunn became the first Republican Second Congressional District candidate to air television ads. Here’s Tinsley’s ad: The ad begins with Tinsley talking about growing a small business that owned a restaurant he ran with is wife into the K-BOB’S steakhouse chain of restaurants he owns today. Tinsley points out that he has 30 years of experience in small business and the oil and gas industry, and says he’s proud of that. Continue Reading