For Pete's Sake: Transparency requires courage

Commentary
by Peter St. Cyr

As the debate in Santa Fe, and across the state, heats up over revoking driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, Governor Susana Martinez, who made the issue a first-year priority for her administration, is taking her appeal directly to the public with one-minute radio ads paid for with money left over from her 2010 campaign.



Using the bully pulpit

It's really not unusual for executives, like presidents, governors, and even mayors to use their bully pulpits to rally the public in support of their proposals. In fact, presidents often take to the national air waves and urge voters to call their senators and representatives -- especially before close votes. They even jump on Air Force One and jet to cities and appeal directly to their constituents. You and I have seen them employ this strategy after almost every State of the Union speech.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who coined the phrase, understood the Oval Office is a terrific platform to advocate an agenda. Every president since has come into our living rooms and spoken to us directly.

Now, Gov. Martinez is using the airwaves, her website, and news conferences to move her public policy proposals. But, she's getting mixed reactions to those tactics.

On Saturday, shortly after the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee tabled three measures dealing with immigrant licenses, the governor's staff sent out a news release which referenced a 2010 public opinion poll. It showed 72 percent of the state's voters are opposed to licenses for non-citizens.

Martinez also had staffers attend the HCPAC hearing and video tape the proceedings. Now, she’s posted those recording on her website. Surely, if the hearings were webcast, and archived, in the first place this would not have been necessary.

Going further, Martinez then launched the radio ad campaign and paid for it with leftover campaign money. While some bloggers and political analysts have criticized her for spending donated money on the ads the law clearly states it can be used for re-election activities. And frankly, getting her agenda passed, with the help of voters calling their lawmakers, seems like a good re-election strategy to us.

Appealing directly to the public

Clearly, elected officials use the media to deliver highly targeted messages to reporters (like me) who show up for their news conferences. They know it's a direct route to the public and the best way to urge support of their proposals.

Just today we received notice that Martinez would be holding a lunch hour news conference to ask the public to support her legislation, which will implement stricter penalties on public officials who are convicted of corruption. She's even invited a group of legislators backing her anti-corruption initiative.

We have to allow executives to push their agenda and appeal to the public directly.

We’re certain that Martinez has consulted attorneys and feels comfortable using money from her 2010 campaign to fund the radio ad broadcasts, and even more comfortable posting videos of legislative hearings on her website.

But, it appears committee chairs and legislators are worried that these videos will be used "against" them in future elections.

On Wednesday, the NM Senate voted 35-3 in favor of new rules (SR4) that require members of the public -- and media -- to request permission from each committee chair and ranking minority member before they photograph, videotape or otherwise record hearings. Certainly, judges have had that option for years, but it appears to us that C-SPAN has been broadcasting federal committee meetings and floor sessions for years.

But lawmakers worry those video tapes will be edited and that they will be taken out of context. The simple solution would be to start webcasting everything beginning now.

Keep in mind, these are public officials, conducting public meetings, in a public building, and as a fan of open government, it's way past time to utilize the technology that’s available. Everyone should have direct and remote access to government.

Spinning the message

After listening to the radio ads above we checked with local law enforcement officers and a few prosecutors. They said Martinez' ads are somewhat misleading.

Prosecutors said they were never able to confirm that the 2009 Denny's robbery-homicide suspects were actual members of the violent Mara Salvatrucha Gang (MS13), which was originally reported after one of the suspects was shown with the number 13 shaved into his haircut. But police quickly backed off of the gang connection after learning the men bragged about being members of the deadly gang simply to intimidate residents in their neighborhood.

Still, Martinez' award-winning ad man and 'top advisor' Jay McCleskey isn't completely wrong. He never directly mentions MS13 in his ad -- instead he writes "a gang from El Salvador", which could technically be true.

The group (being three or more people) was clearly a criminal organization, organized and operating for criminal purposes. By most common definitions, that is a gang. Since the state does not define a gang, that definition is usually sufficient for law enforcement to classify a group as a gang. At the end of the day, all three suspect's were in the country illegally and had state driver's licenses.

For Pete’s Sake

Legislators should be have strong principles before they head to Santa Fe. Once there, they need to listen to both sides of an issue, ask questions, and then courageously stand by their votes.
If they lose re-election based on their voting records so be it. At least we will remember them for the principled leadership.

Of course, government transparency is a two-way street. And one question remains unanswered.
Will the governor, who already has a much better track record complying with Inspection of Public Records' requests, allows legislators, or the public, to record her own cabinet meetings and executive briefings?

It's time for the sun to shine on government across New Mexico.

Now, I'll get off my own blog "bully" pulpit, open my notebook and record the stories that interest you. Let's hope we'll have unlimited access to government of the people.

FEMA Team: We're here to support New Mexico

An emergency disaster assessment team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Regional office in Denton, Texas began working in New Mexico on Friday afternoon.

“We’re here to support New Mexico,” FEMA's spokesman Brad Craine told reporters who toured several damaged buildings with the team in downtown Albuquerque.

"The whole reason of coming in and doing a preliminary damage assessment is to simply find out just how much damage was done to the infrastructure," Craine said.

They found heavy industrial heater fans still churning inside the Bernalillo County District Court seven days after water caused damage to walls and carpet.

Across the street at the District Attorney's office, the team heard stories from employees who used personal hair dryers to recover documents ahead of trials and hearings on Monday.

“We literally walked across the street to District Court in some cases with wet, dripping papers that we needed to file” DA Spokesman Pat Davis said. No cases were affected by the flooding and resulting water damage according to Davis.

FEMA's team will focus primarily on publicly owned buildings and infrastructure in counties affected by the severe arctic weather that moved across the state last week causing water pipes to rupture and natural gas to stop flowing to thousands of customers. Craine said individuals and private businesses will have to prove significant losses before they can get relief from FEMA.

He encouraged them to work with their insurance companies and file expedited claims with the New Mexico Gas Company.

After their work on the ground, the team will file their findings with Gov. Susana Martinez, who can then request a declaration. Only then will recommendations for assistance be made to the White House, where President Obama will make the final determination on what financial aid will be given to the state.

On Saturday, the FEMA team will head north to Santa Fe, Espanola, Taos and Questa.

Insurance Companies Warned

New Mexico State Insurance Superintendent John Franchini has issued a directive to all insurance companies warning them not to cancel, refuse to renew, or raise customer policies.

Current statutes forbid them to make any changes following a natural disaster.

“We are advising all insurance companies that we do not expect policyholders to receive any type of premium increase due to claims filed as the result of the severe winter weather or natural gas outages,” Franchini said. “We will personally review any premium or rate increase a New Mexico policyholder sustains to ensure that the increase is fair, not based upon a natural disaster claim and conforms to current State regulations and guidelines.


Individual Claims

While the gas company is processing individual claims, state and federal agencies are still determining how to assist employees who lost wages and businesses who lost sales after having to temporarily shut down.

Many of the assistance programs previously in place, outside of the funds established by New Mexico Gas Company, are programs that have income or amount-of-loss thresholds.

For instance, State of New Mexico Human Services Department has LIHEAP, can often help with heating issues based on an income threshold. Information here.

The Small Business Administration has programs to assist merchants.

In order to qualify for FEMA assistance the team will have to determine more than $2.4 million in losses was incurred statewide before New Mexico can receive recovery reimbursements.

Some state funding has been allocated to the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) to help income-qualifying customers with these needed repairs on their natural gas-burning appliances, as well as with weatherization services. Assistance applications are available online.

Terry Brunner, USDA Representative, said grants and low interest housing and business loans may be available for home repair and upgrades, but will depend on income levels.

Water utilities assistance is available to repair broken water lines.

Grants are available to repair or upgrade community buildings or services.

The Rural Energy Program offers rebates for energy efficiency upgrades. USDA also offers assistance in cases of crop and livestock weather-related losses.

Frank Padilla, a Housing and Urban Development representative said a total of $200,000 has been made available for immediate assistance for emergency repairs, but must be distributed through local government. And, vouchers are available for residents of uninhabitable homes to stay at a motel for up to 3 weeks.

There is a home program for more extensive repairs through the Mortgage Finance Authority and the NM Energy Smart program can provide assessments and energy efficient upgrade rebates.

The Small Business Administration reported it is only offering its normal services, but continue to assess the situation in New Mexico.

New Mexico Gas Company claims can me made online here.

Martinez okays $750K for recovery

After receiving disaster declarations from 13 local governments, Governor Susana Martinez signed an executive order on Wednesday night releasing up to $750,000 in state emergency funds for costs incurred during the statewide natural gas crisis.

“In order to facilitate the quickest possible recovery and reimbursement process for local governments, we have been responding to their requests and working with FEMA from day one to evaluate damages and follow necessary steps to make state and federal funds available," Governor Martinez said in a news release.

With the gas restored to most residents and businesses, the governor said her team is now focused on providing aid to local communities and preventing future outages.

Damage assessment teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began arriving in New Mexico yesterday to conduct a detailed accounting of the uninsured costs incurred by state and local entities including the extent of business losses, infrastructure damages, deployment of response resources, and impact on critical facilities.

Those teams efforts will aid work already being done by another FEMA representative, who has been in place at the State Emergency Operation Center in Santa Fe since Monday.

The Martinez Administration said it has been in contact with FEMA since the first day of the natural gas crisis, and the Governor anticipates that damages will rise to the level of a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

At that point FEMA will be authorized to reimburse state and local entities for costs associated with uninsured damages and response efforts during the state of emergency.

The governor’s office Thursday morning that 50+ National Guard troops remain in each of the communities of Taos and Espanola to continue their work with technicians to restore heat to homes where owners have been repeatedly found not to be home; crews are also helping with recovery efforts and safety checks throughout Taos and Espanola neighborhoods.

At least five other local governments are expected to file additional declarations.

Individuals may file a claim directly with the New Mexico Natural Gas Company online. Officials with the company said they have set up an expedited claim process.

Skandera Announces PED Advisory Team

On Wednesday afternoon, New Mexico Public Education Secretary-designate Hanna Skandera announced she's selected a team of education experts to help her roll out new state policies and manage administrative issues.

Skandera says the team will bring a "wealth of education experience" and provide the state necessary cost savings during a hiring freeze.

Announcing the team in a news release, Skandera said the provides "an alternative to the immediate hiring of many of the Department’s exempt positions, resulting in a cost-savings to the State of New Mexico and more time to recruit exceptional full-time talent."

During the campaign, Gov. Susana Martinez made improving education in New Mexico a top priority and said she's committed to ensuring every student has access to quality schools and teachers. In her State of the State speech in Santa Fe last month, Martinez announced a "Kids First, New Mexico Wins plan."

While legislators continue to debate the 2012 budget proposals, Martinez continues to push her plan, which she has said will put 65 cents of every budget dollar into the classroom. She says districts need to cut more administrative costs.

Martinez has told reporters that her plan will increase accountability and transparency in education, end social promotion, help districts allocate resources to key targets, and identify and reward effective educators and leaders.

New members of the Public Education Department Advisory team are Catherine Freeman, Christy Hovanetz, Jay Pfeiffer, David Saba, Jeff Sellers, John Bailey, Terrell Halaska, Kristy Campbell, and Chad Colby.

We posted their individual backgrounds here.

Martinez dispatches more guardsmen to assist gas company

Late Monday afternoon, ahead of an approaching storm, and with snow falling in parts of Northern New Mexico, Governor Susana Martinez announced that she is sending additional National Guard troops and police officers to the communities of Taos and Espanola to expedite the process of restoring natural gas and that the crews will work throughout the night in both communities.

She also announced that firefighters from Albuquerque are on stand-by and if necessary will be dispatched tomorrow morning.

These additional personnel will receive training in order to turn gas meters back on, as well as clear debris and other items from around meters and furnaces. They will be paired with a technician or plumber who is licensed to re-light appliances and heaters.

“Gas company officials personally assured me they would complete their work by Sunday night and repeatedly declined our offers to provide additional resources, such as National Guard troops,” Governor Martinez stated. “It is unacceptable that so many are still without power in Taos and Espanola and that’s why we are mobilizing additional personnel to expedite the process and ensure New Mexicans are not going without heat.

Martinez says she and her administration are prepared to "work around the clock until the job is done.”

“I’m very proud of local law enforcement and our National Guard, and I appreciate the willingness of the Albuquerque Police and Fire Departments to step up and assist their fellow New Mexicans,” added Martinez.

Crews will need the public’s cooperation in restraining pets and clearing space around appliances, meters, and furnaces. Residents in Taos and Espanola who have not yet had their natural gas restored are also encouraged to leave their porch light on throughout the night.

The additional National Guard troops, Emergency Response units, and State Police will be meeting throughout the afternoon and early evening at the National Guard Armory in Espanola.

The breakdown of additional personnel ordered to the area by Martinez is as follows:

• 300 National Guard soldiers and airmen, in addition to the 56 currently deployed
• 44 Albuquerque Police Department Emergency Response Unit Members
• 15 State Police officers

U.S. Rep. Lujan urges Martinez to request FEMA assistance

After last week's gas outages in New Mexico, U.S. Rep. Ben Lujan, Jr is urging Gov. Susana Martinez to quickly request assistance from FEMA's Region Six. He says federal money may be able to assist individuals and small businesses.

Lujan, who spent the weekend touring his hard hit congressional district, says he saw elderly people shivering in their homes -- in Northern Taos County -- without heat waiting for crews to relight their furnaces.

At a VFW Post in Questa, he talked to veterans about their concerns regarding frozen water pipes.

Lujan told us Martinez’ State of Emergency declaration doesn’t go far enough and he's urging her administration to ask for federal aid now.

He spent the morning in the New Mexico House Energy and Natural Resources committee listening to testimony from New Mexico and El Paso Corp. officials and Martinez’ Homeland Security Secretary designate Michael Duvall and Martinez Chief of Staff Keith Gardner.

Duvall says the state is still assessing whether it has met the monetary threshold needed to request FEMA assistance.

Gardner said the administration's first priority is getting every furnace relighted and getting the New Mexico National Guard into the field to assist technicians.

Gas utility officials told committee members they cut off service to portions of New Mexico last week because they feared of losing control over their distribution system and having uncontrolled outages across the state.

New Mexico Gas Co. Vice President Ken Oostman said customers in northern New Mexico and parts of southern New Mexico were cut off when the utility faced a rapid drop in gas pressure in its lines.

Without that, he told lawmakers, pressure would have continued to drop and uncontrolled outages would have happened in homes and businesses.

Shortly after the cutoff, Martinez declared Taos County, Santa Clara Indian Pueblo and Taos Pueblo have all officially declared a State of Emergency due to the disruption in natural gas service in Northern New Mexico that occurred on February 3, 2011.

Lujan, Jr., said FEMA can provide mobile telecommunications, operational support, life support, and power generation assets allowing on-site management of disaster and all-hazard activities.

New Mexico Gas company officials told state reps that they have pre-ordered enough gas for a new storm expected to hit the state on Tuesday and Wednesday and hope to have all remaining 21-Thousands homes without supply relight by late today or tomorrow.

They said crews have been authorized to relight substandard furnaces if they can get them to a minimum “safe state.”

Vice President and Chief Legal Council for the New Mexico Gas Company Thomas Domme told committee members that the company is setting up phone lines to expedite customer claims for damages they incurred after the supply shortage -- mostly for frozen pipes. He said he claim will have to be individually analyzed.

Domme said no serious injuries have been reported.

Visit this link for the gas relight schedule.

To file a damage claim check this link at the New Mexico Gas Company’s website.

Lujan, who extended his visit to New Mexico to attend this morning's hearing in the Roundhouse, returned to Washington, D.C. this afternoon.

New Katies Law proposal faces uphill battle

During her State of the State address Gov. Susana Martinez asked lawmakers to strengthen Katies Law by requiring law enforcement agencies to take DNA swabs from all suspects arrested on felony charges. But, lawmakers' reaction to the proposal is mixed.

Many, like Sen. Trip Jennings, D-Roswell, worry those swabs are an invasion of privacy and worry about having records expunged if a suspect is later acquitted.

But the mother of Katie Sepich, a 22-year-old graduate student at New Mexico State University, who was brutally raped, strangled, and whose body was eventually abandoned at a dump site in 2003, says legislator’s concerns are unfounded.

Jayann Sepich, who was invited to sit next to First Gentleman Chuck Franco on Tuesday, says since the law was originally adopted in March 2006 only 12 people have asked for their records to be expunged.

Since January 2007 authorities have gathered 7000 swabs from violent offenders, sex offenders, and burglars. And the results have been overwhelming successful.

Sepich said investigators have solved 173 crimes using the DNA records. Now 24 other states have adopted some version of Katies Law and half of those require swabs from all felony arrests, not just from violent offenders.

In our video interview Sepich told us the DNA samples include no genetic information and when they are entered into a computer do not list suspect's name nor social security number. She says the DNA information only surfaces when a match is made. Only after that do investigators received a name of a potential suspect.



Sepich said DNA can easily and quickly be expunged, while fingerprints, which are taken after every misdemeanor arrest, become part of a permanent file. She says scientists picked 13 points in the DNA strand to use as markers and those points contain no genetic information, which should alleviate privacy concerns.

Traveling around the country, Sepich said she’s heartbroken every time she hears about homicides that could have been prevented. One of those cases is Brianna Denison who was killed in Reno two years ago.

Sepich says her murder could have been prevented if James Michael Biela’s DNA had been collected after an earlier domestic violence arrest.

She also thinks the new proposal can help exonerate innocent people up front. She hopes lawmakers approve it and will be in Santa Fe trying to persuade them that "collecting DNA upon felony arrest will not only solve crimes, but prevent crimes, and save lives."

This year’s bill is being carried by Sen. Vernon Azbill , R-Carlsbad and Rep. William Rheem, R-Albuquerque, a retired police officer himself.

Cargo urges Martinez to visit Hollywood

As lawmakers prepare to consider what do to with the state’s film incentives, the man who started the first governor's film commission in the world, former Gov. David Cargo, is weighing in on the debate.

He’s urging Gov. Susana Martinez to be more empathic toward the state’s film industry.

Cargo suggests her decision to lower incentives from 25 percent to 15 percent is an “attack” on the industry, and he suggested the new governor plan a trip to Hollywood.

“She needs to go out there and talk to the people in the industry and reassure them that they can film in New Mexico and make a profit,” said Cargo.

He said Hollywood executives want assurances the state is open for business and not political attacks on their industry.

“She ought to be talking about the advantages that the motion picture industry brings to New Mexico, how affirmative it is, how much we gain out of it, all of the wonderful things they’ve really done it. It’s a way of assuring them," said Cargo.

He recommends Martinez learn how to approach movie and television producers.

“She’s explaining this in a campaign mode," said Cargo. "You’re not running against the motion picture companies. You’re running a state, and you’ve got to be involved, not in politics, but in government,” said Cargo.

He disagrees with those making the argument that producers will take their business to states that offer the highest incentives.

“They go were they can film and do it most effectively and they’ve got the most cooperation and they’re welcomed. You see it’s the welcome mat that brings them in," said Cargo. "You bring in more people by empathizing with them and understanding what their problems are and working with them.”

During a news conference a day before Martinez' State of the State address Martinez outlined her legislative priorities and told reporters she plans on sticking with her budget plan which includes the incentive reduction.

She contends the incentive amount needs to be reduced to help balance the budget deficit. Martinez has said her priority is to make sure money is not taken away families and children in the state.

Meanwhile, Cargo gave former Gov. Bill Richardson a B grade for his work luring films to New Mexico, but criticized that administrations heavy reliance on subsidies.

Cargo, who never asked then California Gov. Ronald Reagan to send films to New Mexico, believes Martinez will be more successful going straight to the heart of the industry in Los Angeles.

That’s where Cargo spent his time. In fact, in 1971 he made a cameo appearance in Bunny O'Hare, which starred Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine, as well as parts in 11 other films.

A dedicated promoter of the New Mexico film industry, Cargo, a Republican, was beloved by liberal Democrats in Hollywood, actually becoming personal friends with those behind the camera as well as the stars facing it.

“I had a vision for what we were going to do in filmed entertainment,” said Cargo. “I had a plan. I had a way of working it out. And it worked out rather well -- extraordinarily well.”

Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish had high praise for Cargo's vision for the film industry.

"Dave Cargo was a visionary governor," said Denish. "He was one of the first New Mexico governors to see the value of the film and television industry to our state's economy."

After his term as governor Cargo shared that vision with his successor Gov. Bruce King. Later he took King, and First Lady Alice King, to visit with some of the producers and studio executives he had already established relationship with in Southern California.

During the trip, they visited Lawrence Welk’s studio During taping of a show, King danced with Albuquerque native Cissy King, while Mr. Welk danced with Alice.

Time to govern

Cargo, who was only 37 when he was elected governor in 1967, also told us he was disappointed in Martinez’ first State of the State speech, calling it "too political."

“She’s got to make the transition from being in campaign mode to being governor. She had a lot of things that were good. But, she’s talking about things that are exciting partisan feelings and that’s not going to get her through the legislature,” said Cargo. “She’s got to get after things that she can agree with them on. She’s got to work with them. She can’t antagonize them.”

Cargo, who celebrated his 82nd birthday last week, wrote an autobiography titled Lonesome Dave several years ago.

Bregman Advocates Democrats' Core Values

Albuquerque businessman and attorney Sam Bregman, who announced his candidacy for chairman of the state Democratic Party this week, sat down with us on Friday afternoon for an exclusive video interview.

Bregman talked about the party’s platform and core values, political fundraising, his ability to attract strong candidates, and about his plans to recapture eight house seats lost in 2010.

Holding no punches, Bregman said new Gov. Susana Martinez “scares” him and he plans to hold her feet to the fire especially when she “assaults the middle class.”

“We now have a Republican who I think is going to assault the middle class time and time again,” Bregman said near the end of our interview. “We’ve already seen her dismantle environmental regulations. Shame on her for that. There are so many different levels that the state chair needs to hold this Republican governor’s feet to the fire when it comes to her rhetoric and when it comes to her actions.”

As Martinez ramps up her new administration, Bregman said his party will have to develop a coordinated strategy to help Sen. Jeff Bingman win re-election in two years, regain the executive branch in four years and win back those eight new republican house seats in 2012.

While Bregman didn’t blame election defeats in 2010 completely on current Chairman Javier Gonzales he did say he thinks the party's leadership needs to change before the next election.

“If we do the same thing, with the same state chair over the next two years, we’re going to get the same results,” Bregman said. “ We’ve got to come back a lot stronger in 2012. That’s something I plan on doing by working with folks in these contested races.”

Bregman said the Dems are prepared to stand up for the middle class and he’s prepare to carry that mission forward.

“We have to stand up for the working class when it comes to education, when it comes to jobs, when it comes to protecting social security and medicare,” Bregman said.

In fact, Bregman says he supports the party’s platform in it’s entirety.

“That’s the job of the state chair,” Bregman said. “The rank and file determine what the platform is going to be. It’s the job of the chairman to advocate for it -- to give it a voice.”

Bregman said both of the state U.S. Senators are his friends, but doesn’t think the men will get involved in the campaign for chairman in New Mexico.

“I’m really looking for the rank and file Democrats,” Bregman said. “If I have their support I know we’ll get our story out, and we’re going to have some effective, strong leadership.”

Bregman said the Democrats can make gains if they’re successful talking about what direction the state and country are going.

“The Democrats are right on every issue just about when it comes to the general public. Unfortunately we haven’t been getting our story out,” Bregman said. “In 2012 we need to come back stronger than ever. If I get the chance as state chairman I’m going to make sure that story is heard.”

A muddy campaign

Chairman Javier Gonzales
Chairman Gonzales, who replaced Brian Colon after he announced his candidacy for Lieutenant Governor on our blog in August 2009, told the Albuquerque Journal he wants the campaign to be positive, and urged other candidates not to "throw stones."

But, we received a copy of an email sent out by a DPNM staffer on Monday that could be perceived by some as a negative campaign tactic.

Director of Party Affair’s John Dyrcz urged supporters, in that email, to write letters critical of Bregman to political gossip columnist Joe Monahan.

I am sure you are aware of the Monahan article mentioning Sam Bregmen as a possible challenger to Javier. We're working on getting some folks to write in to Joe questioning Mr. Bregmen's qualifications.

The email included a link to a story in the New Mexico Independent that included a picture of Bregman defending Meyner and Company executive Bruce Mallot in a State Investment Council whistleblower lawsuit.

One day later Monahan published several of the critical comments from Gonzales’ staff and supporters.

I have a major concern with his candidacy in that (Bregman) represented former State Treasurer Robert Vigil. While I understand everyone is entitled to fair representation, I don't want the Republicans using his representation of Robert Vigil on corruption charges and others to say that it is the same old story in the Democratic Party with the leader of the Party defending those in pay-to-play scandals. I believe that every time he would speak on behalf of the Party that the Republicans would raise that issue. It is time Democrats put those stories to rest and we move forward and work on ensuring that the new Administration does not dismantle programs that are important to working families....

And Monahan reader Scott Tillman "piled on" Bregman with this:

Didn't Bregman represent Marc Correra, the guy that made millions off state investments in the form of finder's fees, and is under investigation with all the pay to play allegations? It just seems that with Sam as chair of the Democratic Party, the Richardson scandals that plagued Denish would hang over the Party even longer. The party needs to move forward, and not backward, in this humble dems opinion.

Bregman calls those criticisms “silly”.

“I’m a lawyer doing my job,” Bregman said.”For someone to be that shortsighted is really silly.”

But Gonzales isn’t the only one going negative.

Bregman said he's heard that Gonzales has taken stipends and insists he would never take a $3 thousand dollar a month stipend. Instead, he said he’d make sure the $36 thousand was used in competitive races across the state.

State party officials told us this afternoon that Chairman Gonzales never received any stipends. And, Federal Election Commission and Secretary of state reports confirmed their statement.

Other’s have been vocal and criticized Gonzales’ leadership as an NMSU regent and for his involvement in a proposed Santa Fe movie studio.

The race will be decided on April 30 in Albuquerque. The party has not picked a venue for their two-day state central meeting, but said it’s reviewing bids from three casinos, Isleta, Sandia, and Santa Ana, and one from the Albuquerque Convention Center.

UPDATE:

Heath Haussamen reported on NMPolitics.net that Letitia Montoya, who most recently worked on the losing campaign of former Secretary of State Mary Herrera, is also seeking the chair position.

We plan to interview both Gonzales and Montoya and post the video here in the next few weeks.

Disclosure:
Bregman represented us when we were a plaintiff in a civil case several years ago in Bernalillo County.

Poll: Denish leads GOP field in 2010 election

Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish leads all five Republican gubernatorial candidates in a new poll released by Public Policy Polling -- although it appears Pete Domenici Jr is within striking distance.

Denish leads Domenici by five percentage points, 45-40, but holds much wider margins against the rest of the Republican field.

“Even in this hostile political climate, Diane Denish holds a lead against all of her potential opponents," Denish campaign Communications Director Chris Cervini said in a news release. "That’s because New Mexicans view her as an independent voice and a champion for middle-class families and their jobs."

But, considering the poll's 3.1 percent margin of error a possible Denish-Domenici race is essentially a dead heat. Of course that race isn't even finalized. While Denish is running unchallenged, Domenici still needs to collect a minimum of 20 percent of his party's pre-primary delegates and win the June 1st primary.

Denish polls 18 percentage points higher than Allen Weh, 48-30 percent, and by 14 percentage points over state Rep. Janice Arnold Jones, 47-33. She also holds a 14 percentage point lead over Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez, 46-32 percent, and the a similar 14 percentage point leader over Albuquerque Public Relations agency owner Doug Turner, 46-32 percent.

“Diane has developed a unique relationship with the people of New Mexico, and as Governor she’ll bring about a new way of doing business to Santa Fe. New Mexicans are looking forward – not backward – and Diane has the new ideas that will get our economy moving and help families make ends meet,” Cervini said.

Denish’s advantage comes in spite of significantly reduced popularity for Governor Bill Richardson. Only 28 percent of voters in the state approve of the job he’s doing with 63 percent disapproving. His 22 percent approval with independents and 7 percent with Republicans is not unusual for a Democratic official these days, but he’s even in negative territory within hisown party at a 42/47 spread.

"Given Obama and Richardson’s low levels of popularity Diane Denish is doing pretty well,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But a contest with Domenici certainly looks like it could be competitive.”

Denish is easily the best known of the Gubernatorial candidates with 75 percent of voters holding an opinion about her. They break down positively by a 41/34 margin. A plurality of voters has no opinion about each of the Republicans. Domenici is viewed favorably by 27 percent, followed by 17 percent for Martinez, 12 percent for Weh and Turner, and 8 percent for Arnold-Jones.Although Barack Obama’s approval has slipped into negative territory at 45/48, both of the state’s Democratic Senators have solid 48/36 approval spreads.

PPP, a Democratic polling firm, surveyed 990 New Mexico voters from February 18th to 20th. The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.1 percent. Other factors, such as refusal to be interviewed and weighting, may introduce additional error that is more difficult to quantify.

Poll: Domenici Jr leads GOP field

While Democrat Lt. Governor Diane Denish cruises toward her party’s nomination for governor in 2010 unchallenged, the five-person Republican primary is beginning to heat up, and Pete Domenici Jr, who entered the race last, already has a huge double-digit lead in both name recognition and early voting preferences according to a public opinion poll conducted by 28 NMSU students enrolled in a Political Research Skills course instructed by Dr. Jose Z. Garcia.

The telephone survey, which calculated the responses of 444 registered Republicans statewide, from February 9-13, reports 36.3 percent of participants named Domenici without prompting and 29.3 percent of them said they were leaning toward voting for him — a nearly 18 percent lead over second place finisher Susana Martinez.

“That’s a substantial poll,” Domenici Jr told the Las Cruces Sun-News. “We’re pleased to see those results. We didn’t expect to be this far ahead this soon.”

In fact, Domenici’s likely voter support exceeded the combined voter preference totals for Martinez (11.5%,) Allen Weh (7.4%), Doug Turner (6.8%), and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones(2.5%). A little more than 42 percent said they are still undecided.

Room for any one of the candidates to surge ahead'

Among likely Republican voters who were able to name, unprompted, at least one candidate in the race, 36 percent were able to name Domenici Jr. That was followed by former state Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh (22 percent), Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez (18 percent), Albuquerque public relations firm owner Doug Turner (17 percent) and State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque (8 percent).

Still, 46 percent of respondents — 203 people — weren’t able to identify a single candidate.

In his analysis of the results, which have an error rate of plus or minus 5 percent, Prof. Garcia looked at the question of whether Domenici’s lead was primarily due to high name recognition because of his father, retired six-term U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici.

To test it, Garcia looked at respondents who recognized both the names of Domenici and Martinez, who came in second in the poll, and found that 25 percent of those people preferred Domenici, while 40 percent preferred Martinez, 12 percent preferred another candidate and 12 percent were undecided.

“That, coupled with other factors, could mean this primary race could come down to Domenici and Martinez,” Garica predicted.

“The low sample size does not permit definitive conclusions, but this reduction, when combined with the relatively low performance of Weh in the preference question despite his relatively high name recognition … and the relatively low performance of Turner and Arnold, suggests—other things being equal—this is likely to become a two-person race in the next few weeks between Domenici and Martinez,” Garcia’s poll memo states.

Garica’s analysis also broke down the support by gender and ethnicity of respondents, and found that Domenici had the support of at least as many men and women as all the other candidates combined, and the support of roughly twice as many as Hispanic voters.

“Pete’s conservative positions are being well received by those now following the race,” Domenici’s campaign manager Doug Antoon wrote in a news release Sunday morning.

Garcia said he recognized the high number of undecided and believes there is still “a great deal of room for anyone of the candidates to surge ahead.”

In fact, the poll was taken before Domenici admitted to using drugs in the 70’s and 80’s and a mixed statement about his chances of winning the general election in 2010.

Poll results challenged

At least one campaign has questioned the reliability of the poll, calling Garcia a “staunch supporter” of Martinez. Another campaign manager told the Las Cruces Sun-News that the poll does not match their own internal polling.

“We disagree with the results, as Susana Martinez’s results appear inflated,” Allen Weh spokesman Chris Sanchez told the Las Cruces newspaper. “It appears there was a huge conflict of interest. We question who paid for the poll.”

But, Garcia has been upfront on the issue. He said that he purchased the survey list from Albuquerque-based Research and Polling with his own money, said that he's "not backing any of the candidates," nor consulting for any campaign.

The professor said his comments about Martinez being "a game changer," made to NMPolitics.net blogger Heath Haussamen last July, shortly after Martinez' announcement, was not an endorsement.

“I’m a registered Democrat,” Garica said. “My classes have been conducting polls like this for years.”

“It was not an endorsement at all,” he said. “I think I spoke factually, and if she ends up being a viable candidate in the Republican Party, I was right.”

Some pundits have said the poll signals problems for the Weh campaign.

He had the second highest name identification, but only place third in voter preference. So voters who know him may not have a favorable opinion of him.

Steve Kush, who moved to New Mexico from New Jersey, shortly after aiding Chris Christie’s successful campaign, told the Sun-News the polls numbers are “out-of-line with our internal numbers and appear to be regional in nature.”

“The only poll that matters is the one taken by the voters on Election Day, and I am confident the voters will respond to Representative Arnold-Jones’ message,” Kush told the Sun-News.

Turner told the newspaper he was “pleased that his name recognition numbers were as high as they were in the poll.” He said he started out the campaign at “2 percent or less,” because he’s new to the political arena.

The candidates first test will come in mid-March at the Republican Party Pre-Primary nominating convention in Albuquerque. Candidates there will need to muster at least 20 percent of the delegate vote for an automatic primary ballot position. No candidate who has not garnered that minimum has ever gone on to win the primary.

Pete Domenici Jr considering run for governor

Pete Domenici Jr. — the 50- year-old son of retired U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici — is seriously considering running for governor, the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.

Domenici, who like his father is a Republican, has been “contemplating a run since before the holiday season,” the Journal article states.

“I’m looking very seriously at it,” the Journal quoted him as saying. “I’m going to make my decision in a few days.”

Domenici Jr., an environmental and natural resources lawyer in Albuquerque, would become the fifth Republican in the 2010 race.

The paper reports Domenici Jr, who has not run for political office before, does not have a campaign exploratory committe and has not rasied any money for the possible race.

If he decides to run he'll face Albuquerque business owners Allen Weh and Doug Turner, state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, and Doña Ana CountyDistrict Attorney Susana Martinez.

The state GOP pre-primary nominating convention is scheduled for March 13th, at the Albuquerque Hilton. Candidate's have get 20 percent of the delegates vote for an automatic ballot position.

Democrat Lt. Governor Diane Denish is running unopposed in her party's primary.

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.

Eichenberg says Denish 'can't win' in 2010

Did freshman State Sen. Tim Eichenberg, D-Albuquerque, commit 'political harakiri' this weekend when he told a group that incumbent Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish can't win the 2010 gubernatorial race in New Mexico?

Last week he opted out of running for Lieutenant Governor in the 2010 Democratic primary. On Saturday, he told a bi-partisan group why he decided not to campaign for the 2nd spot on the ticket that will likely be led be Denish next year.

Photojournalist and blogger Mark Bralley attended a "Conspiracy Brews" meeting hosted on Saturday mornings by a Republican candidate for governor State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones.

This morning, Bralley posted a shocking report on his blog, What's Wrong with This Picture?

He wrote that Eichenberg told the crowd at the Southwest Learning Center in Albuquerque that due to Denish's "complacency or complicity" with the ‘pay-to-play’ atmosphere surrounding the administration of Governor Bill Richardson, and standing quietly behind him," that he was unwilling to invest a half million dollars in a 'losing campaign.'

Bralley writes Eichenberg said, "I looked her square in the eye when I said that. I told her I didn’t think she was going to win.”

Eichenberg may have made his own calculations on Denish's chances in 2010, but his statements will clearly get a harsh response from fellow Democrats.

Perhaps Eichenberg is considering changing to the Republican party after a long history of success and support in the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

He did not immediately return our call to clairfy his weekend remarks.

He may have overlooked an ethics plan that Denish unveiled this summer. She wants the legislature to consider ethics reform in January. But, Denish has recently relented it may not get attention during a 30-day session which will be focusing on a nearly 1 billion dollar budget deficit.

In July, when Denish introduced her ethics plan, said she believed “the people of New Mexico deserve a state government that is as open and honest as the people of this state.”

Her proposals are to create an independent state ethics commission and strengthen lobbyist and campaign reporting requirements. The lieutenant governor also proposed the creation of a new “sunshine portal” -- a one-stop shop on the Internet for access to government spending data and other information.

“I am committed to making the changes necessary to ensure that New Mexico’s government and elected officials enjoy the trust of New Mexico’s people,” said Denish.

The Richardson-Denish administration has been under attack by the NM State Republican Party Chairman Harvey Yates, and by all four candidates running for the 2010 GOP nomination for governor, including former party chairman Allen Weh, State Rep. Arnold-Jones, Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez, and Albuquerque public relations firm owner Doug Turner.

Denish, the current lieutenant governor, is the only Democrat campaigning for Governor.

Denish photo: Mark Bralley

Update 915p

Former Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Brian Colon, who is running to be on the ticket with Denish, is speaking out on the senator's comments.

"Sen. Eichenberg is entitled to his opinion, but I have been traveling the state non-stop for several weeks and have a much different perspective," Colon 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."

Weh Pledges to Pick a Bipartisan Team

Updated: 7:30pm

The former Chairman of the New Mexico Republican Party Allen Weh officially jumped into the 2010 Race for Governor today at noon. About 100 supporters, including former U.S. Representative and Interior Secretary Manual Lujan, joined Weh inside the University of New Mexico's Student Union Building.

At the end of his announcement Weh told supporters: I’ll assert leadership, I’ll act on my commitments,I’ll use common sense and the good advice of a bi-partisan team I intend to bring with me….and I won’t let you down.

Weh, who's been exploring the run and touring the state since May 5th, when he announced his exploratory committee, pledged to pick a bipartisan team to work in his office in Santa Fe if elected.

He said whoever becomes governor next year will be inheriting a mess. He told me that there's plenty of waste in the state's budget and he'll cut it out. He said he's against any tax increases. "In a recession we're trying to stimulate the economy, not stifle it."

Weh said he decided to run because he cares about the state and the country:

My business experience has taught me the importance of talented employees, of balancing budgets, of superior customer service, and of accountability. If you can’t handle those things, you go out of business very quickly. State government needs to be managed with similar considerations and State resources directed to the common sense priorities the majority of New Mexicans want done. It isn’t that complicated!

He also pledged not to run for any other office [hinting at Governor Bill Richardson's Presidential campaign in 2007/2008] while he's serving as Governor. He also said if he hasn't drastically improved education by the end of his first term he will not seek re-election, but did not state specifically what benchmarks he will use as a measure. He did say he would push for legislation that would allow for school choice and focus on reducing the number of dropouts in New Mexico.

Unlike the Richardson-Denish administration which campaigned in 2002 as THE Education team, and then watched our education system degrade during their almost 7 years in office, I’ll tell you now….If I’m your next governor and I can’t show improvement in the first term, I won’t insult you by asking for re-election.

Weh also reminded people in the crowd about the astonishing number of criminal indictments of elected leaders and and their accomplices in New Mexico.

There is a troubling history of cronyism and overpaid political appointees in the state, including executives at the University of New Mexico, and practices like public employee double dipping that’s eroded public confidence in our government, and drained taxpayer money that should’ve been put to good use elsewhere. It’s not like we don’t have common sense priorities in this State that have overwhelming bi-partisan support…. we do!

Weh also talked about his experience as a businessman and the advantage that will give him in revitalizing the state's economy.

I’ll show measured improvement in our economy during my first term in office and we’ll start by assisting our existing businesses to grow and add jobs…Economic development begins at home…. not adding another reservation call center for companies whose headquarters and high paying jobs are all in other states!

Weh faces State Representative Janice Arnold-Jones, Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez, and likely candidate Doug Turner in the Republican primary.

Martinez, who was the first Republican to announce her gubernatorial campaign, sent a statement to reporters welcoming Weh to race, but wrote that while she respects Weh's military service, she said the party needs to nominate a different kind of candidate.

As the step-mother of a current serviceman, we all owe a debt of gratitude to those who serve our country and I respect Allen Weh’s military service.

Allen Weh has political experience as Republican party chairman for the last 4 years, but I believe we must nominate a different kind of candidate with a proven record of taking on corruption if we are going to beat Diane Denish next fall.

Weh was introduced by the President of UNM's College Republicans Heather Hall and by former Albuquerque City Council President and Secretary of State Candidate Vickie Perea, who told us she will not be running again. So far, no Republicans have announced their candidacy to unseat incumbent Democrat Mary Herrera.

This was Weh's second visit to UNM in as many weeks. He welcomed students back to campus last month at the beginning of the fall term.

A handful of former Ron Paul delegates made their way inside Weh's announcement with signs and chants. They handpainted messages read "No Weh in 2010." The group were led by Patrick Marron who released this statement (in all caps) over the weekend.

Marron, who is also a former Marine, was a State delegate from Albuquerque, and a candidate for the National Convention delegation because of his support of Ron Paul for President. Marron said he was ejected, by Weh, for asking why he couldn’t videotape the proceedings.

Meanwhile, JR Damaron, who was the original Republican nominee for Governor in 2006, before quitting the race, entered the race for Lieutenant Governor in Santa Fe today. Veteran political reporter Kash Nash, at the SF New Mexican, posted the details on her Green Chile Chatter blog earlier today.