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BREAKING NEWS: Reps. Cervantes, Garcia lose influential committee positions, Nuñez gains

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After supporting House Majority Leader Ken Martinez’s failed bid for speaker last month, reps. Joseph Cervantes and Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces have lost influential committee positions. Garcia learned late today that Speaker of the House Ben Lujan had replaced her with Rep. Joni Gutierrez of Las Cruces on the Appropriations and Finance Committee. Cervantes, who had been chair of the Judiciary Committee, will now serve as vice chair. Al Park of Albuquerque, the previous vice chair, will now be chair, Lujan decided. Continue Reading

Stage set for fight over ethics reform

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On the opening day of the 2007 Legislature, comments by the governor and speaker of the House may reveal the fight to come over ethics reform. Richardson has proposed a comprehensive package of reform proposals that include the creation of a powerful state ethics commission, limits on gifts and campaign contributions, more frequent and detailed campaign finance reporting and public financing for judicial races. Richardson pointed out that some legislators sat on the task force that made recommendations to the governor that served as the framework for his proposal. House Majority Leader Ken Martinez of Grants was among those who endorsed the task force recommendations after sitting on the committee for months. “These recommendations are now before the Legislature,” Richardson said in today’s state of the state address. Continue Reading

Richardson sounds presidential in speech

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Though he only made one reference to a potential White House run in his state of the state address, Gov. Bill Richardson sounded like a man campaigning for president. His announced agenda for the session, reiterated during the speech, included many topics that are hot on a national level, including raising the minimum wage, cutting taxes, combating global warming, increasing use of renewable energy, raising teacher salaries, repairing aging schools, improving health care and raising ethical standards of government officials. He pledged to work hard to sell his agenda to lawmakers. “Regardless of any future political plans that I may have, my priority will be a successful legislative session,” Richardson said – his one reference to an expected announcement later this month that he’s running for president. Richardson, who has been working for months on honing his policy stances and physical appearance, looked fit, trim, confident and knowledgeable during the speech. Continue Reading

Text of Richardson’s state of state address

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Here is the text of Gov. Bill Richardson’s state of the state address: Lt. Governor Denish, Senate Pro-tem Ben Altamirano, and Speaker Ben Lujan; Native American and spiritual leaders; Chief Justices and members of the Judiciary; Democratic and Republican leaders, members of our state House of Representatives and Senate; former Governors, distinguished guests, and our First Lady, my partner, Barbara, Bienvenidos and Welcome. To the people of New Mexico – thank you. I am deeply honored to stand before you once more. To the new citizen legislators in our ranks – welcome. And to our senior legislators – welcome back. Continue Reading

Ben Lujan re-elected speaker of the House

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Rep. Ben Lujan of Santa Fe has just been chosen by House members to continue as their leader. On a vote of 43-27, House members voted to keep Lujan as speaker. The other votes went to House Minority Leader Tom Taylor of Farmington, a Republican. “I am deeply honored and humbled to continue to serve as your speaker of the House,” Lujan said shortly after being sworn in. The vote was expected. Continue Reading

Obama takes first step to ’08 run, further crowding race before Richardson announces whether he’s in

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Illinois Sen. Barack Obama took the first step in a presidential bid today by filing papers creating an exploratory committee, further crowding the presidential field before New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has even announced whether he’ll run. “I certainly didn’t expect to find myself in this position a year ago,” Obama said in a message posted on his Web site. “… I’ve been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics, so I’ve spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need.” Meanwhile, Richardson was in South Carolina at a dinner honoring former Democratic governors of that state this weekend, and gave a speech during which he said he favors a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq this year. His speech is on YouTube in four parts. Continue Reading

Darfur ceasefire may be over before it starts

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The fragile ceasefire Gov. Bill Richardson claimed to have brokered between the Sudanese government and rebel groups last week may never happen. It turns out that Richardson had a pledge from some rebel groups in the war-torn Darfur region, but the rebels are fractured and some of the groups say they never agreed to and aren’t on board with the ceasefire. Reuters quoted some rebel groups as pledging to uphold the ceasefire, and others as saying they have not agreed to a ceasefire. Those who made a pledge to Richardson are vowing to uphold it, but there are more than a dozen rebel groups in Darfur, the news service reported. The United Nations said Monday that up to 51 people have been killed in clashes in the past week, so the fighting is continuing. Continue Reading

Garcia, others targeted by cockfighting supporters

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Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, D-Doña Ana and the Senate majority whip, is one of three women being targeted by those seeking to kill a proposed state ban on cockfighting. Garcia was identified last week in Gamefowl News as one of three women long involved in the fight against cockfighting. They are being targeted by cockfighting supporters as part of a campaign to defeat a proposed cockfighting ban in this year’s legislative session. The group wants to dig up dirt about the women in order to discredit or silence them. The other women are Elisabeth Jennings, executive director of Animal Protection Voters and Danielle Bays, a former Humane Society worker who is now with Animal Protection Voters. Continue Reading

There’s lots of news about Spaceport America

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There was a lot of news over the weekend about Spaceport America. Most was good news for those who support the project. The cause of a failed launch from the spaceport last year has been identified; most commissioners from the three counties considering raising the gross receipts tax to help fund the project appear to be on board; and another company working in Las Cruces has received an important contract that gives it a financial boost. Here’s a rundown: UP Aerospace identifies problem with rocket On Friday, UP Aerospace announced that it has identified the cause of its failed launch last fall as a tailfin that wasn’t designed to hold up at speeds reached during launch, according to the Las Cruces Sun-News. The company says that, now that it has identified the problem, it will be easy to fix. Continue Reading

State of state speech to be shown live on Internet

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The New Mexico Legislature convenes today at noon for a 60-day session. Gov. Bill Richardson will give his state of the state address starting at about 12:30-1 p.m., after lawmakers take care of initial business. Richardson’s speech will be broadcast live on the Internet. You can watch it by visiting his Web site, http://www.governor.state.nm.us, and clicking on the link to the speech. For those who can’t watch at that time, audio and video will be available later on the governor’s site. Continue Reading

School board candidate worried about election after being inadvertently left off sample ballot

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Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education candidate David Morgan arrived to vote late Friday only to find that his name was not on the sample ballot. The omission was a mistake, Doña Ana County Elections Supervisor Lynn Ellins said, adding that he does not believe it had a negative effect because Morgan was the only person to cast a vote in the District 5 race on Friday, the first day of early voting. Still, Morgan wasn’t happy. “Mr. Ellins apologized, and I know mistakes happen,” Morgan said in a news release. “But this is more than forgetting a dot and an ‘I.’ Oversights like this are part of the reason why he has been hired by Doña Ana County to oversee the local election process in the first place. Continue Reading

Poll reveals division over spaceport tax

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Last week’s non-scientific poll on this site revealed the division over whether local counties should increase the gross receipts tax to help fund Spaceport America. Of 209 voters, 106, or 51 percent, said they oppose a 1/4 percent GRT increase to help fund the project, while 103 voters, or 49 percent, said they support it. Don’t forget to vote in this week’s poll, located at the top of the right column on this page. Continue Reading

Commissioners prepare to discuss spaceport

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Based on common questions members of the public have asked and tough questions from commissioners from three counties, New Mexico Economic Development Department Secretary Rick Homans will try to sell Spaceport America during a meeting Monday in Las Cruces. The meeting of the Doña Ana, Otero and Sierra county commissions begins at 10 a.m. in the commission chambers at the Doña Ana County Government Center, located at 845 North Motel Boulevard in Las Cruces. You can view the agenda by clicking here. Homans’ presentation is expected to last about an hour. During the presentation, he is expected to present, for the first time publicly, preliminary architect drawings of Virgin Galactic’s planned facility at the spaceport. Continue Reading

McKenzie speaks publicly about brutal attack

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Paige McKenzie, the woman who was John Dendahl’s spokeswoman until she was brutally attacked during the 2006 campaign in Bernalillo, has made an amazing recovery and spoke with reporters Thursday about her ordeal for the first time. McKenzie, who is still having some problems with one eye and needs dental work, will begin work next week as a Republican analyst at the Legislature, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. She recalled the story of what happened that night in October, which you can read in the New Mexican or the Albuquerque Tribune. McKenzie said the attack strengthened her faith. “All things work for good for those who love the Lord,” the New Mexican quoted her as saying. Continue Reading

Though a rookie, Steinborn sounds like a veteran

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Though it wasn’t until November that he won his first election, Jeff Steinborn comes across as a seasoned politician. A look at his résumé reveals that Steinborn, the newly elected District 37 state representative and a Democrat, has about as much experience as is possible without holding elected office. Steinborn has worked in many areas in politics – as a congressional aide, a campaign worker, an activist and lobbyist, and as chair of the Doña Ana County Democratic Party. Steinborn is one of several freshman House members who will start their first legislative session on Tuesday. Steinborn, whose father is former Las Cruces Mayor David Steinborn, said he first got involved in politics while a student at the University of Texas at Austin. Continue Reading