{"id":2436,"date":"2007-10-26T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-26T22:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/confusion-surrounds-chavezs-finance-committee-as-governor-tells-supporters-to-keep-your-powder-dry\/"},"modified":"2007-10-26T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2007-10-26T22:22:00","slug":"confusion-surrounds-chavezs-finance-committee-as-governor-tells-supporters-to-keep-your-powder-dry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/confusion-surrounds-chavezs-finance-committee-as-governor-tells-supporters-to-keep-your-powder-dry\/","title":{"rendered":"Confusion surrounds Ch\u00e1vez’s finance committee as governor tells supporters to ‘keep your powder dry’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Some of Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s<\/a> closest supporters have quietly told a handful of his biggest financial backers considering who they should support in the U.S. Senate race to \u201ckeep your powder dry for awhile.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What that means is debatable, but it\u2019s causing problems for Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s<\/a> Senate campaign. A Thursday news release from the campaign listed Paul Blanchard, who serves on Richardson<\/st1:city>\u2019s national finance committee, and Javier Gonzales, a well-connected Democrat who is a former Santa Fe<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> commissioner, as members of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s finance committee.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Though his name wasn\u2019t included in the news release, Ch\u00e1vez told me during a Thursday interview that Hobbs<\/st1:city> oilman Johnny Cope, a big supporter of Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, is also a member of his finance committee.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Since the names were published on Thursday, accusations have surfaced on the Internet and within Democratic circles that Ch\u00e1vez may have exaggerated or lied about their involvement in his campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Not so, Ch\u00e1vez said today.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all on,\u201d he said of Blanchard, Cope and Gonzales. \u201cI talked to them yesterday. They\u2019re all on.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But Blanchard, when I reached him today by telephone, refused to talk about whether he\u2019s a member of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s finance committee \u2013 a clear indicator that something unusual is afoot.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, I don\u2019t want to comment on anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And Gonzales said today that he is not a member of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s committee.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a member of his committee. I notified his campaign staff of that yesterday afternoon but also notified them that I would continue to help the mayor raise money,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 What I have agreed to do is raise Marty money, as I have agreed to raise money for other Democrats, including contributions I\u2019ve given to Don Wiviott<\/a> (one of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s opponents in the Senate Democratic primary).\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cope has not returned a phone call seeking comment.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Jamie Koch, a finance co-chairman of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish\u2019s<\/a> 2010 gubernatorial campaign committee and the finance chair for Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s 2002 gubernatorial bid, confirmed that he is a member of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s finance team.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m vice chairman of his committee,\u201d he said today. \u201cI\u2019m on the committee, and, yes, I\u2019m proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s words<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>But the uncertainty about who is on Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s finance committee also raises questions about Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s assertion that he has already secured $560,000 in financial pledges for his campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A knowledgeable source confirmed today that the governor\u2019s closest supporters have let big financial backers know recently that, as far as the U.S. Senate race is concerned, they should \u201ckeep your powder dry for awhile,\u201d which is being interpreted as Richardson telling them to not get heavily involved, at this point, in any Senate campaign. Those words are at least partly responsible for the situation surrounding Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s finance committee.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s campaign has not responded to a request for comment on why the governor wants supporters hold off on getting involved in the Senate race. Though no Democrat would speak for the record about the governor\u2019s words, sources are speculating on three scenarios:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, though he has repeatedly insisted publicly that he isn\u2019t going to run for Senate even if he loses the presidential race, may be quietly leaving the door open.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> doesn\u2019t want his supporters giving their money or time to a Senate candidate at this crucial stage in the presidential election, when he needs their help.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2022 Richardson doesn\u2019t want them backing Ch\u00e1vez, the only top-tier Democrat in the Senate race, at a time when Denish is considering the race and Washington insiders and grassroots supporters in New Mexico are trying to get U.S. Rep. Tom Udall<\/a> to enter the race.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

What\u2019s true? What does it all mean? Now you know what I know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s closest supporters have quietly told a handful of his biggest financial backers considering who they should support in the U.S. Senate race to \u201ckeep your powder dry for awhile.\u201d What that means is debatable, but it\u2019s causing problems for Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s Senate campaign. A Thursday news release from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","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=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}