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State senator questioned by FBI in ongoing probe

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A federal probe that has included the questioning of state Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, is the talk of politicos in Santa Fe. At this point, Rodriguez is not accused of any wrongdoing, but she has been questioned by the FBI in connection with a probe related to the Pojoaque Pueblo’s political dealings. Several members of the pueblo have been subpoenaed to appear before a federal grand jury next week, the Santa Fe New Mexican and Albuquerque Journal are reporting, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has demanded the pueblo’s financial records related to political donations for the last 11 years. Rodriguez told The New Mexican for an article published Friday that she hadn’t been served a subpoena and didn’t know what the FBI agents who recently visited her home wanted. She has apparently worked as a consultant for the pueblo since 1993, and is paid about $45,000 per year, she told the newspaper. Continue Reading

Cervantes appears headed toward congressional run

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Though he isn’t confirming it, state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, appears to be headed toward a congressional run. Since news leaked two weeks ago that U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., would vacate his seat to run for U.S. Senate, Cervantes has been actively considering whether to run for the open seat. He told me last week that he would announce his decision before Sunday. That has changed. Cervantes told me today that he will make the decision shortly after the Las Cruces municipal election being held a week from today. Continue Reading

Guv defends Clinton as his poll numbers drop

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The bad news continues for Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign. I wrote on Monday about his decline in the polls. Today, three new polls further confirm his sinking support. To top it off, the National Journal has moved Richardson from fourth in its rankings among Democratic presidential contenders to sixth. In addition to being behind Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards, he’s now also ranked by the publication behind Chris Dodd and Joe Biden. Continue Reading

Frietze is trying to divert attention, accuser says

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The woman who has filed an ethics complaint against Las Cruces City Councilor Jose Frietze says she does not believe she had to keep it confidential, despite Frietze’s claim to the contrary, and said he’s trying to deflect attention from his own actions by accusing her of having political motives. Jackye Meinecke said she hesitates to “add to the fire” by saying much more because Frietze has “increased the decibel level of this complaint” with talk of a deposition and his own accusations. Meinecke filed the complaint on Oct. 17 alleging that Frietze violated the city ethics code by failing to disclose land transactions between his non-profit and Las Cruces developer Philip Philippou during council meetings at which he voted to approve Philippou’s projects. On Friday, Frietze’s attorney filed a motion seeking the immediate dismissal of the complaint or, in the alternative, that the city require an immediate deposition, under oath, for Meinecke, and order that she preserve all documents, phone records and electronic communications related to the complaint. Continue Reading

It’s crunch time: With debate tonight, guv airs new ad

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It’s crunch time, and the first Democratic presidential candidate debate of the home stretch – the final weeks before the primary contests begin – will be held tonight. For Gov. Bill Richardson, it’s a chance to stand out while the frontrunners, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, bombard voters in Iowa and New Hampshire with advertising. The official Democratic National Committee debate will be broadcast on MSNBC beginning at 7 p.m. MST. Meanwhile, Richardson will begin running a new television advertisement in Iowa today that will air in tandem with an ad about his rescue of American hostages from Iraq that I wrote about last week. The new ad appears to be the culmination of the brilliant ad campaign Richardson’s firm has put together – some ads poking fun at the governor, others highlighting his experience. Continue Reading

Women’s equality activist to speak at NMSU

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An activist in the woman’s equality movement who is an adviser to the presidential campaign of Gov. Bill Richardson will speak on Tuesday at New Mexico State University about being in the media spotlight. As the woman who led a protest at the 2003 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga., Martha Burk knows all about being in the media spotlight. Her talk is part of a speaker series accompanying a course on women and the media being co-taught by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. The talk will begin at 7 p.m. in the Creative Media Institute’s Digital Media Theatre in Milton Hall. It is open to the public. Continue Reading

Cope joined Chávez team after campaign made claim

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Hobbs oilman Johnny Cope will serve on the finance committee for the U.S. Senate campaign of Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, but said he did not agree to do so until after Chávez listed him among the committee’s members last week. “There was a little mix-up there, but the answer is I’m going to raise money for Marty, and if he wants me on his committee, I’m fine doing it,” Cope said today. Cope’s statement reveals further uncertainty about Chávez’s Thursday announcement of the members of his committee. The confusion comes at a time when many Democrats, unsatisfied with their candidates who are vying for the right to take on either US. Rep. Steve Pearce or Heather Wilson in the Senate race next year, are pushing for Gov. Bill Richardson, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish or U.S. Rep. Tom Udall to enter the race. Continue Reading

Polls indicate that guv’s presidential bid is in trouble

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With no more than 66 days until the first presidential nominating contest, Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign appears to be in trouble, at least if poll numbers are any indication. In recent weeks, Richardson’s support in polls in the critical states of Iowa and New Hampshire and in national surveys has dropped. The dip has coincided with major advertising blitzes by frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but also with a rise in the polls by some other second-tier Democratic candidates. At this point, Richardson’s frequently cited status as the leader of the second tier of Democratic presidential candidates isn’t certain. Consider these facts: • On Oct. Continue Reading

Spaceport authority supports delay in collection of tax

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The New Mexico Spaceport Authority is backing up Doña Ana County’s assertion that collection of a 1/4 percent gross receipts tax to help fund construction of Spaceport America should be delayed until at least July because voters in Sierra and Otero counties haven’t yet decided whether to implement the tax. County commissioners voted earlier this month to delay the tax until at least July because, though commissioners in Sierra and Otero counties have said they plan to schedule elections on possible gross receipts tax increases to help fund the spaceport, neither has done it. Approval from another county is critical because no tax money can be spent, under state law, until at least two governments approve an increase and form a tax district. But the state’s Taxation and Revenue Department says Doña Ana County’s vote to delay the tax isn’t valid because it can only be delayed by amending or repealing the ordinance that allowed the April tax election. There’s not time to do that before the tax takes effect on Jan. Continue Reading

Mattiace outraises Miyagishima, has more on hand

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Mayor Bill Mattiace has raised significantly more than his challenger, District 6 Councilor Ken Miyagishima, for the Nov. 6 municipal election, but he hasn’t spent as much, leaving him with a lot of cash to spend in the final days of the campaign. According to the reports due Thursday, Mattiace had raised $45,000 to Miyagishima’s $31,000, but Miyagishima had spent more – $28,000 – than Mattiace’s $24,000. That leaves him with about $21,000 on hand to Miyagishima’s $3,000. Most of Mattiace’s large contributions came from family members, including one $10,000 gift from a brother-in-law in Florida. Continue Reading

Voters in poll say Chavez will win District 4 race

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Almost half of those who voted in last week’s non-scientific poll on this site said Isaac Chavez will win the open District 4 Las Cruces City Council seat being vacated by Steve Trowbridge. Of 356 voters, 167, or 47 percent, said Chavez will win the race, while 123, or 35 percent, said Steve Montaño will win and 66, or 19 percent, said Nathan Small will win. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Frietze asks for dismissal of ethics complaint

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Las Cruces City Councilor Jose Frietze filed a motion today asking for the dismissal of an ethics complaint against him, alleging that “it raises unfounded, unsubstantiated and frivolous charges” that amount to “willful misuse of the entire process for publicity and political gain.” It’s not immediately clear how the motion will be handled. The city’s code of ethics requires that complaints remain confidential unless there’s a determination that something improper was done, but this complaint was made public soon after it was filed. That’s part of the reason the complaint must be dismissed, Frietze’s attorney, Joseph Holmes of Las Cruces, wrote in his motion. “The code of ethics specifically states that the purpose of the code and the complaint procedures is to protect ‘against the raising of unfounded, unsubstantiated or frivolous charges on unethical behavior,’” Holmes’ motion states. “… The failure to dismiss the complaint immediately will facilitate and encourage the filing of future frivolous charges or lead to other instances of ‘dirty pool’ politics.” Las Crucen Jackye Meinecke filed the complaint on Oct. Continue Reading

Confusion surrounds Chávez’s finance committee as governor tells supporters to ‘keep your powder dry’

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Some of Gov. Bill Richardson’s closest supporters have quietly told a handful of his biggest financial backers considering who they should support in the U.S. Senate race to “keep your powder dry for awhile.” What that means is debatable, but it’s causing problems for Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez’s Senate campaign. A Thursday news release from the campaign listed Paul Blanchard, who serves on Richardson’s national finance committee, and Javier Gonzales, a well-connected Democrat who is a former Santa Fe County commissioner, as members of Chávez’s finance committee. Though his name wasn’t included in the news release, Chávez told me during a Thursday interview that Hobbs oilman Johnny Cope, a big supporter of Richardson, is also a member of his finance committee. Since the names were published on Thursday, accusations have surfaced on the Internet and within Democratic circles that Chávez may have exaggerated or lied about their involvement in his campaign. Not so, Chávez said today. Continue Reading

Rural activists ask NMSU to stay out of politics

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A group of rural activists from around Doña Ana County have sent a letter to the members of the New Mexico State University Board of Regents asking them to pledge that the university will stay out of local political issues in the future. The group – eight residents of Anthony, Mesquite and Vado in the south valley and one resident of Radium Springs, located north of Las Cruces – stated in the Oct. 3 letter that they believe an e-mail sent to all NMSU employees in advance of the April 3 spaceport tax election in Doña Ana County was inappropriate. That e-mail, sent on March 30 by Ben Woods, a senior vice president at the university who is also a member of the state Spaceport Authority, did not state that employees should vote for the tax. But it did urge university employees to research the issues and vote. Continue Reading

A better way to change bad driving

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© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. Some say the hardest job is being a funeral director. It is hard to look glum at an expensive funeral while calling the wife on a cell phone and saying, “Go ahead and buy that new Lexus.” Likewise, city councilors all over our nation have a hard time looking glum at the millions of dollars of new revenue coming in from red light cameras. They should be glum because their solution to the problem of red light runners does not work. In fact, all it does is invest the city council in being happy when people break the law. If the penalty did work, the revenues would dwindle and at some point the revenues would not pay for the program. Continue Reading