{"id":10150,"date":"2009-12-10T14:50:20","date_gmt":"2009-12-10T21:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=10150"},"modified":"2009-12-11T08:00:57","modified_gmt":"2009-12-11T15:00:57","slug":"gilbert-apodaca-%e2%80%98likely%e2%80%99-to-run-for-prc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/12\/gilbert-apodaca-%e2%80%98likely%e2%80%99-to-run-for-prc\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilbert Apodaca \u2018likely\u2019 to run for PRC next year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gilbert

Gilbert Apodaca<\/p><\/div>\n

Gilbert Apodaca, one of Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s most notorious politicians in recent times, says he\u2019s \u201clikely\u201d to run for a seat on the state\u2019s Public Regulation Commission<\/a> next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s correct,\u201d the Democrat and former Do\u00f1a Ana County commissioner said when asked if he is considering running. He added that he hasn\u2019t yet made a final decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s likely to happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When I was a reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News, I wrote this in a 2004 article<\/a> taking a look back at Apodaca\u2019s tenure on the county commission:<\/p>\n

\u201cLove him or hate him, most who have worked with Apodaca agree on one thing: He knows how to get what he wants,\u201d the article states. \u201cThe word notorious doesn\u2019t begin to describe the powerful, controversial man who has dominated county government for most of his eight years on the commission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apodaca, as I wrote at the time, \u201chas been investigated for allegations of bribery, abuse of public funds and conducting the public\u2019s business in secret. He has never been charged.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome say that proves he is clean. Others say he\u2019s smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a bit more:<\/p>\n

\u201cApodaca\u2026 portrays himself as a country boy from Garfield who tries to do the right thing and lives a simple life. He speaks slowly and deliberately.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not paying close attention, his speech perpetuates the homey persona.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut behind the simplicity is a genius some respect and others fear. His knowledge about public policy issues is extensive. He is a skilled debater. He has an uncanny ability to know when to give in to other commissioners on matters that aren\u2019t important to him, as a way to earn favor when he needs it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd he has a temper, though it\u2019s rarely seen publicly. Many who have worked with him say that, during closed sessions or private meetings, he is often a bully. Occasionally, that nastiness has boiled over during public meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets what he wants, though at times he has to burn allies along the way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ll add this: Apodaca is so controversial that, when Gov. Bill Richardson appointed him to the New Mexico Border Authority<\/a> in 2005, many lawmakers from Do\u00f1a Ana County \u2013 most of them members of his own party — lobbied heavily against Apodaca\u2019s selection. Apodaca ended up withdrawing his name from consideration, but said opposition from lawmakers had nothing to do with his decision.<\/p>\n

If Apodaca, an insurance agent, enters the PRC race, he\u2019ll be running in the primary against the Democrat who replaced him on the county commission at the start of 2005, Bill McCamley<\/a>. McCamley is also no longer a county commissioner, having opted to run for Congress in 2008 instead of seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

On the Republican side, another former Do\u00f1a Ana County commissioner, Kent Evans, has declared his candidacy<\/a> for the PRC seat, which is being vacated by Democrat Sandy Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This is going to make things interesting\u2026<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve disclosed in the past, I\u2019m friends with McCamley. Click <\/em>here<\/em><\/a> to read more about that.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gilbert Apodaca, one of Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s most notorious politicians in recent times, says he\u2019s \u201clikely\u201d to run for a seat on the state\u2019s Public Regulation Commission next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,115,107],"class_list":["post-10150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-dona-ana-county","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10150\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}