State Treasurer Savoring "Obama-time"

Months before New Mexico State Treasurer James Lewis was re-elected president of the Western State Treasurers Association he stood on the steps of the state capitol in Santa Fe and told a crowd gathered there that he was going to endorse Barack Obama.

In March and April, Lewis campaigned and was elected as an Obama delegate to the DNC in Denver this August.

On Tuesday night, Lewis could be seen cherishing the historic 2008 election while watching network newscasters declare Obama had captured the 270 electoral votes needed to be elected.

Lewis told the crowd of about 2500 people at the ABQ Convention Center that he had a premonition about Obama. He said, "I knew he was a special person." Lewis believes the 47-year old president-elect has the fortitude and the vision to lead the country though some of the most pressing issues, including the economy.

We had a chance to talk to Lewis on Friday.




Lewis tells us he's looking at the election of the 44th President of the United States in its historical perspective. He says the country has come along way since the Jim Crow laws, used to block African Americans from voting. Lewis even reminded us that before the 1965 Voting Rights Act his relatives were prevented from voting because they didn't know how many "bubbles were in a bar of soap."

"This is a proud moment for me," said Lewis. "It's a sense of achievement."

Lewis says any young person who goes out and gets a good education and has a strong work ethic can acheieve anything they want.

"He's getting the last laugh," said Lewis about Obama's election on Tuesday.

Lewis said, "Obama had a history of pulling people together. We need someone like him during these tough economic times."

"He'll surround himself with competent people and will listen to his advisors," said Lewis who has not yet heard if he'll be appointed to a transition team. In 1993 Lewis was picked by the President-Elect Clinton and worked with four or five other people developing a transition report for the export/import bank.

For now he's preparing for the legislature and and projected revenue shortfalls.

Lewis also took a few minutes analyzing what the New Mexican Republican Party might consider doing to re-establish itself after stunning defeats in all three congressional districts.

Our colleagues at Democracy for New Mexico captured Lewis on stage election night in this video. And the ABQJOURNAL covered the state's African American community exuberant reaction to Obama's election here.

You can also listen to our interview with Mr. Lewis in Denver during the DNC in our audio archives.

President-Elect Obama Delivers 1st Radio Address

If you're like me you took the weekend off of politics, expect maybe to watch Meet the Press on NBC, like we do every Sunday morning, or to check out the post election show on KNME where I appeared as a guest panelist on New Mexico In Focus: The Line.

If you caught up on chores and spent leisure time visiting with friends, and family, after a long campaign season, then you might have missed President-Elect Barack Obama's first national radio address since being elected last Tuesday.

You definitely want to listen to it here.



I found the transcript on the DNC's website here.

Stay tuned, on Monday we'll post our exclusive interview with State Treasurer James B. Lewis. He's savoring Obama's victory and thinking about how far African American's have come since the civil right's movement.

NM Treasurer James Lewis Working With Banks to Open Credit Lines.

James Lewis

On Friday, the New Mexico Business Weekly's Kevin Robinson-Avila reported New Mexico's permanent funds and pensions have been battered by the meltdown on Wall Street, but aggressive action by fund managers has helped mitigate the impact:

In the July-through-September quarter, the funds managed by the State Investment Council (SIC) and the pensions managed by both the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) and the Education Retirement Board (ERB) declined by a total of $3.21 billion.

We decided to talk to State Treasurer James Lewis. He gave us the early word: Investors and consumers need to be reassured that the economic rescue plan will inject liquidity into the markets and that banks doing business in the state still need to open lines of credit, before investor and consumer confidence is restored.



Lewis also said he wants those accountable for the crisis to face justice, including indictments and prison sentences.

Lewis, has been on at least one teleconference, with other state treasurers and the U.S. Treasurer, said the State's Investment Council Oversight Committee will meet this week to review how well fund managers have mitigated the impact of the financial meltdown here.

Lewis said the state has taken a defensive posture and is working with economists at UNM to navigate this financial crisis.

Photo Credit: MG Bralley

State Treasurer Shares Values with Obama!

The Democrats are preparing to make history in Denver. Democrats opened their presidential nominating convention Monday with testimonials to Barack Obama as a husband, a father, a brother and, above all, a leader able to transcend the nation's long divide across racial and gender lines.

Monday’s show was a parade of the past and future, with Sr. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy vouching for Obama and Michelle Obama telling the crowd her husband symbolizes “America's potential and its promise.”

The big question here is not whether or not Barack Obama is ready to be president, but whether or not the Clinton’s are ready for Barack Obama ?

NM Treasurer James Lewis says he’s supporting Obama because of his the Illinois Senator's willingness and to think outside the box. He believes Obama has the leadership abilities to move the country forward.



Photo: MG Bralley