NM Dems: Who Do You Want as Our Next State Party Chair?

Last week I discussed the probability that Brian Colón, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, would toss his hat in the already crowded ring to run for Lt. Governor. Now we know that it's for real. This morning, Colón held a conference call with the NM Dem County Chairs to inform them he's planning to enter the LG race. Brian will be making his formal announcement on Friday, which will be effective on Saturday.

As soon as Colón officially announces his run, the Party's Vice Chair, Annadelle Sanchez, will immediately step in as temporary Chair. She will then oversee an election of a new permanent chair that must, according to Party rules, take place at a State Central Committee meeting within 60 days. According to the DPNM, that meeting will coincide with the Party's regular Fall SCC meeting, in September of October.

Already several names are being floated as a replacement for Colón, who was first elected to head the State Party in 2007, replacing John Wertheim. Colón won re-election for another two-year term at this past April's SCC meeting -- by acclamation. I think it will be a difficult task to find someone to fill Colón's shoes, in so many ways.

Who's the People's Choice for Chair?
Recent leaks and rumors have focused on who the powers that be in the Party -- especially Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, and even Gov. Bill Richardon -- might prefer as the new State Party Chair. What I wanna know is, who do ordinary Dems on the SCC want in the post?

One of my major criteria in evaluating candidates is whether they strongly support and are willing to publicly advocate for equal rights for all -- including LGBT New Mexicans. We are smack dab in the middle of an era where domestic partnerships, civil unions and/or marriage equality are garnering increased support all over the nation, especially among young people. I think we need a State Party Chair who's willing to take on lingering forces of prejudice -- even within our own Party -- and fight hard for LGBT rights.

Many people know that Victor Raigoza, the current Vice Chair of the Bernalillo County Dems, has been seriously considering running for DPNM Chair. Unfortunately, I heard this morning that Victor has decided against a run based on certain legal considerations related to his job as an investment counselor. I think Raigoza would have made a wonderful Chair. Besides being a good fundraiser and grassroots advocate, Raigoza would no doubt have led the State Party to continue taking a strong position on civil rights for all under the law -- as outgoing Chair Brian Colón certainly has. Can you think of another possible candidate who supports a truly progressive agenda based on core Democratic values -- and who is in synch with grassroots, activist Dems? Someone who can represent the worker bees -- as well as the higher ups -- in the Party?

Who's Running Now

Certain powers that be seem to be pushing hard to get current Sandoval County Party Chair David Montoya established as a front runner to head the Democratic Party of New Mexico. The leaks often focus on the sort of "he's one of us" arguments used so forcefully by ousted Bernalillo County Ward Chair Robert Aragon to defend his public endorsement and nomination of Republican Jon Barela in the NM-01 Congessional race. Aragon recently got expelled as a Ward Chair by the Bernalillo County Party's Credentials and Rules Committee for doing so. Party rules state that Party officers cannot endorse or support candidates from any Party other than the Democratic Party. No brainer.

Now it looks like Aragon, who is still a State Central Committee member of the DPNM, may be behind leaks touting himself as a sort of kingmaker behind the candidacy of David Montoya for State Party Chair. According to a post by Peter St. Cyr at What's the Word:

... a source tells us Aragon, who retained his position on the state central committee, has a coalition of centrist/conservative democrats, which includes ABQ Mayor Martin Chavez supporters, who will throw their support behind Montoya.

But wait a minute. There's reportedly a backlash emerging against David Montoya's candidacy for Chair. It appears to be based, at least in part, on what I hear are complaints that Mayor Marty Chavez and Speaker Ben Lujan are pushing a little too hard to see that Montoya gets the job. It's also interesting to note that Montoya is a resident of Sandoval County, as is Lawrence Rael -- who just happens to be running, so far unofficially, for Lt. Governor. Rael might find it useful to have Montoya running the State Democratic Party, don't you think?

Responding to all the action within the Montoya faction, there's reportedly a growing push from certain quarters on behalf of Javier Gonzales (bio), who has long expressed interest in a possible run for State Party Chair, as well as other offices. A young and ambitious politico, Gonzales is a former Santa Fe County Commissioner. He was also the youngest President of the National Association of Counties as well as the first Hispanic to serve in that post. Gonzales previously chaired the Board of Regents of New Mexico Highlands University, and now serves as a Vice Chair on the New Mexico State University Board of Regents.

Gonzales was a cofounder in the early 90s of La Voz Broadcasting, New Mexico’s largest privately-owned Spanish language radio station. He founded IronStone Consulting in 2003 to help companies work with local governments. He now works for Santa Fe Studios. His father, George Gonzales, also served as a Santa Fe County Commissioner and later was elected mayor of the City of Santa Fe in the 1960s.

More on David Montoya
Not much is being discussed about David Montoya's experience and credentials. The emphasis has been on the fact he's Hispanic, and that he could be helpful to gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish because he resides and does business in NM-03, which encompasses the Northern third of the state. Well, Sandoval County IS in the 3rd Congressional district, but it's not really a part of Northern New Mexico.

Who is David Montoya when he's not acting as Sandoval County Chair of the Dems? He's CEO of a business called Manzano Strategies, Inc. Here's his bio from the company's website:

Manzano Strategies specializes in Engineering, Information Technology and Research and analysis in the Defense, Homeland Security and Intelligence Community Sector. Before launching Manzano Strategies, David served as Chief of Staff of Los Alamos National Laboratory's (LANL) Nuclear Weapons Program where he was responsible for the day to day support operations of the Nuclear Weapons Directorate [emphasis mine]. The Nuclear Weapons Directorate was programmatically responsible for 4,600 LANL employees and an annual budget of 1.2 billion dollars.

Prior to returning home to New Mexico, David served as a senior policy advisor to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). In this capacity, he was responsible for the Senator's defense, homeland security, intelligence community, Latino affairs, veterans' affairs and New Mexico economic development issues. He routinely advised Senator Bingaman on national and homeland security matters during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as managed and provide guidance on nearly 125 million dollars in New Mexico-specific defense appropriation earmarks.

You should go read the rest, which includes info on Montoya's years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Airforce and more.

Manzano Strategies' Senior Vice President for Government Relations, i.e. their senior lobbyist, is Bruce Donisthorpe, a powerful Republican operative who was a top aid to former GOP Rep. Joe Skeen:

As Rep. Skeen's closest advisor, Bruce was responsible for all appropriations and legislative work related to defense, energy, homeland security, tax and technology. He was responsible for over 100 million dollars in federal appropriations annually.

In the early 80s, Bruce served as Press Secretary for former New Mexico Governor Garrey Carruthers. Since then, Bruce has been a key player and informal advisor to dozens of public servants on political strategy and public opinion. Bruce is praised for his straight talk, no nonsense style and above all, confidentiality.

According to Open Secrets, Manzano Strategies has received $30,000 to lobby on behalf of EMCORE Corporation. EMCORE previously retained the notorious mega-lobbying firm PMA Group to lobby on their behalf. PMA "closed its doors earlier this year under FBI scrutiny."

EMCORE is based in Albuquerque and recently signed an solar power agreement with PNM:

EMCORE Corporation (NASDAQ: EMKR), a leading provider of compound semiconductor-based components and systems for the fiber optic and solar power markets, today announced a formal agreement with PNM of New Mexico to participate in PNM's large distributed generation (DG) solar power program. This 20-year agreement with EMCORE consists of 114 kilowatts of solar power produced onsite at EMCORE's corporate headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M.

Is it just me, or is someone who's been heavily involved in military contracting, corporate and energy lobbying and nuke weapons a very questionable choice to head the Democratic Party of New Mexico?

Any Other Candidates Out There?
For all I know Javier Gonzales could be an excellent choice for Chair, or David Montoya could be better for the job than it appears to me at this moment. I have to admit, however, that I'm hoping for someone with a better connection to the Dem grassroots to enter the race ASAP. Someone dedicated to traditional Dem values as well as progressive reform and change. Anyone out there willing to give it a try? Know anyone else who might be encouraged to run? What are your thoughts?