Audio Post: Weh Announces Exploratory Committee

On a warm spring afternoon in Albuquerque the 2010 NM Gubernatorial campaign heated up.

Former GOP Party Chairman Allen Weh told reporters he's seriously thinking about running and has formed an exploratory committee.

On Tuesday, at his CSI Aviation company offices in the North Valley, Weh was joined by his wife and daughters, local business leaders and former elected officials including former Secretary of the Interior and 10-term Congressman Manual Lujan.

This will be Weh's first run for public office. Weh was elected to lead New Mexico Republicans in 2004 but chose not to seek another four-year term last fall.

Republican Greg Zanetti, a Brigadier General in the New Mexico National Guard, also has an exploratory committee, a campaign website and a You-Tube video channel, but has not declared officially that he's running. Former U.S. Representative Heather Wilson, who lost to Steve Pearce in the U.S. Senator Primary to former Rep. Steve Pearce, has also been considering a run for governor in 2010.

In 2006, former Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl ran against incumbent Governor Bill Richardson and lost handily.

Weh says he has the business experience necessary to become the state's next governor. He promised to run a non-partisan race and told us he'll even reach out to democrats, that he said are "fed up" with fiscal irresponsibility by politicians on both sides of the aisle.

A freshly printed campaign sign, mounted on Weh's podium, promoted the theme of his campaign "Think Different." Weh says he understands the republicans will have a lot of ground to make up after losing statewide in 2008.

The only republican to hold a state office is Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and he is term-limited out of office in 2010.

Listen to Weh's news conference remarks here.



Weh says he won't adopt political campaign contribution limits passed by lawmakers in Santa Fe this winter and signed by the governor. They do not take effect until 2011. Lt. Governor Diane Denish (who is running for governor) already has already collected more than $2-million dollars, but democrat Senator Michael Sanchez told me in April that if he jumps into the democratic primary he's considering adopting them for the 2010 race.

Weh says he's planning to tour the state and determine the level of support he'll have if he jumps into the race. Weh told the crowd he hopes to know in about two months.

Blogger NMFBIHop LP got Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon's reaction to Weh's entry. Read it here.

UPDATED 12:21AM

After our original blog post we received this news release from Weh's campaign which includes quotes from the news conference and some biographical background.

Photos: MG Bralley

White Will Shun County GOP Party!

Congressional Candidate Darren White, who's first congressional district covers all of Bernalillo County, says he won't have anything to do with the Bernalillo County Republican Party until Chairman Fernando C. de Baca either quits or is removed from office because of remarks the 70-year-old republican made to two BBC reporters goes against "the grain" of everything he believes.

White was reacting to a decision earlier in the day by the Bernco GOP's Executive Board to give C. de Baca an unanimous vote of confidence, and a the posting of a KSFR-FM Radio report. In the report C. de Baca is heard stating:

I feel strongly that Hispanics will not support, in my generation and the generation around my age, are not going to support the Democratic candidate for president primarily because there is a strong feeling that African Americans during the civil rights movement took advantage, full advantage, of all the benefits and programs that the government offered, that were supposed to be offered to all minorities. But we were left behind, we were left sucking air, and we resented that ever since the 60s, and I don’t see how a black president is going to change that.

"His words spoke loud and clear," White said. "He [C. de Baca] injected race into this campaign, and his words were hurtful and igorant, and they can't be tolerated by anyone. I'm sure he'd put them back if he could, but it's too late."

White told The Word he realized it's possible that his decision might cost him votes, but said, "I've taken on the Governor [Gary Johnson] before, because I disagreed with his stance on the legalization of drugs. I will take on my party chairman if I feel that he's wrong."

White believes, "the only way this can end is if C. de Baca steps down and puts his selfishness and pride aside.

Listen to the complete interview with White here.



Meanwhile State Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh told reporters at a 4pm news conference, "this has become a side show."

Weh says C. de Baca's refusal to resign has become a distraction from important election issues. He also told reporters that the Bernalillo County Republican Party's Executive Board was only an advisory committe and doesn't have the authority to elect or remove a county chairman. Weh said that power belongs to the the county central committee, which is not scheduled to meet before the election.

"In the interim," Weh said, "C. de Baca does not speak for, nor does he have any official role or any capacity with any major campaigns underway in this state."

Weh told reporters he had hoped common sense would prevail in the matter, but following the Bernco Executive Board meeting that he has put together a small delegation of top officials to meet with the embattled chairman, and asked them to try to persuade him to resign.

On Saturday, C. de Baca told The Word that he would step aside if it was the right thing to do because he felt it was more important to keep the campaign moving forward, centered on the issues. But after deliberating his position with family, friends and other county republicans decided to speak privately with his boar d at Ladera this morning where he received their unanimous support.

Weh also told reporters he may have the authority to remove C. de Baca under "special circumstances," but was unclear what rule authorized that move.


Weh was joined at the new conference by the party's 1st Vice Chairman Jon Barela, Vickie Perea, Nina Martinez and GOP NM 2nd Vice Chair Chris Saucedo

Listen to Weh's news conference remarks here:




Photo Credit: MG Bralley