Democrats respond to GOP candidate recruitment

Yesterday, we were the first to report that former DEA agent Errol Chavez had been recruited out of the Republican primary race for commissioner of public land, by party Chairman Harvey Yates, and into the race for state auditor.

Today, the Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales sent me an email, bolstered by some top Republicans supporting incumbent Auditor Hector Balderas, and called Errol's announcement "an unfortunate example of the Republican Party recruiting candidates who abandon races as soon as they start them."

“This is the kind of insider maneuvering that New Mexicans are sick of,” Gonzales said. “While Yates and Chavez sit around behind closed doors deciding which job they want next, our current State Auditor, Hector Balderas, has been working hard for the people of New Mexico, fighting government fraud, waste and abuse.

“By instituting the state's first fraud hotline and measures so all governments are annually held accountable for their spending, Balderas has proven that he will find innovative ways to protect New Mexicans," Gonzales continued. "New Mexicans deserve principled leaders who want to serve the public, not politicians who want to serve political insiders.”

Barbara Wold at Democracy for New Mexico reports Chairman Gonzales noted the irony in the fact that several prominent members of the Republican Party recently praised Auditor Balderas on the political blog, NMPolitics.net. Republican political blogger, Mario Burgos, was quoted as saying, “(Balderas) ... is leading the fight to get criminals behind bars. He seems to be doing his job well and with little concern whether the elected criminals have an R or D attached to their name.”

In addition, Republican House Minority Whip, Keith Gardner (R-Roswell), also applauded Balderas’ work, saying, “I may be partisan, but I’m more than willing to put politics aside when someone is doing a great job. Keep it up Mr. Auditor.” Now that's some mighty big praise, especially coming from the R side of the aisle.

In fact, Chavez was recently quoted in the NM Independent, explaining that “he considered running for Congress, but ultimately decided that his executive experience in law enforcement made land commissioner a better fit.”

“With the challenges New Mexicans face today and down the road, we need the proven leadership and experience that Hector Balderas has brought to the State Auditor's Office,” Gonzales said. “This office is too important to be decided by a game of musical chairs. State Auditor Balderas' campaign to aggressively fight government fraud and corruption deserves the support of all New Mexicans -- and that includes Yates and Chavez.”

The Republicans have not announced whether or not they will field statewide candidates for three offices, attorney general, secretary of state, or state treasurer.

Eichenberg 'stirred up emotions'

Sen. Tim Eichenberg
Freshman Sen. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, is admitting that remarks he made about Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s chances of winning the governor’s race in 2010 “stirred up emotions on both side(s) of the aisle.”

On Saturday he reportedly told a political conversation group, hosted by Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones (a Republican candidate for governor herself) , that Denish’s ‘complacency or complicity’ with the ‘pay-to-play’ activities involving the Richardson administration would cost her New Mexico’s 2010 gubernatorial election.

On Monday night, Eichenberg released a written statement. While he does not question the accuracy of the report by blogger Mark Bralley or retract his earlier comments, he did say he thinks his comments will provoke continued discussions on “ethics reform, transparency and accountability.”

“I find it unfortunate that my comments were used to create division among Democrats and the Democratic Party, I will continue to support both,” Eichenberg said in the statement. “I will proudly vote for (Denish’s) proposals to make government more transparent and accountable to the taxpayers. She can lead New Mexico into the future and there is no doubt in my mind who I will vote for in November.”

Other's quickly jump on senator's remarks

Denish's campaign manager Oren Shur did not respond to our request for a comment on Eichenberg’s remarks, but he did talk to the ABQ Journal. He told Sean Olson that the comments attributed to Eichenberg were "the same, wrong-headed attempts to tarnish Denish's reputation."

Shur told Olson that Denish has led the way for Democrats by proposing ethics reform legislation.

"We're not putting much stock into comments that were caught by a blogger at a Republican candidate's event, but Lt. Gov. Denish has a record that speaks for itself, and she's the only candidate in this race who has outlined a meaningful ethics reform agenda," Shur said.

GOP Chairman Harvey Yates is also taking advantage of Eichenberg's comments to criticize Denish's leadership in the Richardson administration.

“Recent comments attributed to Senator Eichenberg are not surprising,” Yates said. “Ms. Denish has had the opportunity to stand up for New Mexicans for the last six-and-a-half years and has failed to do so. Now that she is on the campaign trail, Denish is posturing herself as a champion of reform. Unfortunately, the current economic condition and tarnished reputation of this state reveal that there is very little substantive evidence to back up this claim.”

On Monday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez made sure her supporters knew about Eichenberg’s comments in an e-mail headlined “They Said It,” referring to Democrats talking about fellow Democrats.

One man who does think Denish will win, and wants to be on the ticket with her next fall, is former Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Brian Colón. On Sunday, he said Eichenberg is entitled to his opinion.

“But I have been traveling the state non-stop for several weeks and have a much different perspective,” Colón said. “Democrats from each of our 33 counties are excited about Lt. Gov. Denish being on the top of the ticket and I would be honored to be on that winning ticket with her. New Mexicans are ready for Diane Denish’s leadership and agenda, which includes ethics reform and a continued emphasis on education and our economy.”

Last week, Eichenberg confirmed that he had decided against campaigning for the No. 2 spot on the ticket that will likely be led be Denish next year. Denish, the current lieutenant governor, is the only Democrat campaigning for governor.

Republicans Respond to Corruption Indictments

770KKOB is still trying to determine Rebecca Vigil-Giron's employment status with the state's Workforce Solution's Department following her indictment on 50 Felony counts involving the accounting of $6 million in Help America Voter Act [HAVA] award money.

I spoke to Vigil-Giron on her cell phone just before lunch about her employment status. She told me she had just left her attorney's office and was directed not to talk to the press. She did ask us "to pray" for her.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the state's Republican Party, Harvey Yates Jr., isn't wasting any time responding to a state grand jury's indictment of former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron:

Unfortunately, yesterday's indictment of a Richardson-Denish administration political appointee and former elected Democrat official, along with more mainstays of the Democrat political machine, is this month’s reminder that this state is headed in the wrong direction.

Chairman Yates said political corruption in the state needs to be stopped:

The pattern of corrupt behavior and inept management exhibited by prominent Democrat public servants, while becoming routine, has got to stop. I congratulate the attorney general for joining the fight against corruption; it is not easy to take on one’s own party.

Vigil-Giron’s indictment is one of several scandals currently plaguing Democrat politicians. In addition to Manny Aragon’s departure to prison (June) and the indictments of PRC Commissioners Jerome Block Jr. and Jerome Block Sr. (April), other notable scandals including the indictment of Vincent "Smiley" Gallegos, a former lawmaker and regional housing director, and the convictions of former State Senate President Pro-tem Manny Aragon, Joe Ruiz, a Deputy Insurance Superintendent, and State Treasurers Michael Montoya and Robert Vigil.

Of course the state Republicans are running for cover with legal battles of their own. Democrats want to know if former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather Wilson interfered with or obstructed justice before the White House firing of Assistant U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and eight other prosecutors.

Chairman Yates statement concludes with:

Along with New Mexicans statewide, we look forward to the Democrats’ account of ‘every last nickel that was spent’ of voter education funding entrusted to the former secretary of state.

NM GOP Candidate for Governor, Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez, also responded to the fraud, embezzlement and money laundering indictments:

[This is] a sad reminder that for too long public officials in New Mexico have used elected office to serve themselves as opposed to serving the public who entrusted them to lead our state. Corruption and misuse of taxpayer dollars and public funds are simply inexcusable and those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. As we move forward in examining the records of candidates seeking our state’s highest-elected office, it is critically important voters match rhetoric with action, and support someone who has a track record of identifying fraud and corruption and rooting it out. New Mexicans deserve to have faith and confidence that elected officials in state government are conducting themselves with integrity and honesty.

Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, who is also running for Governor, has not issued a public statement, although she did talk to our blogging colleague Heath Haussamen.