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Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Hector Balderas Continuing His Run for State Auditor
Click for a PDF of the announcement released yesterday by State Rep. Hector Balderas (D-Wagon Mound) of his run for state auditor on the Democratic ticket. An announcement letter from Rep. Balderas to the State Central Committee will reportedly be arriving today or tomorrow in SCC member mailboxes. Rep. Balderas will continue to seek the Dem nomination for state auditor, after talking by phone and in person with many Democrats around the state.
Ken Sanchez has officially dropped out, but Daniel Ivey-Soto is still in the race. I haven't seen any additional info on what Jeff Armijo intends to do as the Saturday SCC meeting date nears. Clearly, the State Democratic Party intends to hold an SCC election to fill what they see as a vacancy in the state auditor race on the Democratic ticket. The office of the Secretary of State has stated the matter is now between Armijo and the Party.
September 6, 2006 at 05:42 PM in Candidates & Races, Democratic Party | Permalink
Comments
David & Coco need to go back to their friend Balderas and really give him a good talking to. The reality is this: Jeff is not giving up and is probably going to take it to court. The ruling will not be an overnight thing. The deadline to give up his spot as a Representative is fast approaching and when the dust settles he may not have a chance at any office at all. It sort of makes me sick to my stomach when people come out of the woodwork like vultures to get a free ride. Balderas has not had to hit the streets, knock on doors, get petitions signed, raise money, put up signs, take signs down, nonetheless has no platform. Sanchez did the honorable thing and knew after meeting with well schooled lawyers that there is no vacancy on the ballot. Hector, don't be stupid. Don't ruin your young political career.
Let the people decide Jeff's fate. Few last question for everyone: why isn't the poll for the Auditor's race in the paper along with all the other races? Who bought it from Sanderoff? Who does not want these results to be published?
Posted by: SCC MEMBER | Sep 6, 2006 8:26:47 PM
Armijo continues to prove is irresponsiblity, immaturity, and lack of qualifications. He's the poster child for political hacks.
Polls related to Armijo would have been pointless-He dropped out of the race before the polls were taken.
Hopefullly Balderas can give the Repug a good run. regardless, either one will be better qualified than Armijo.
Posted by: PlacitasRoy | Sep 6, 2006 9:26:34 PM
If Balderas did not remove himself from the race for state representative by the dead line that Jeff Armijo faced, then he is inelligible to run for any other office. If he did remove himself he can ask the SCC to place him in the race again. Unless he wants to try for state auditor. I too believe that there will be legal challenges from Jeff Armijo and from the Republican party and possibly from the Green party. It does not seem wise to step into this mess.
Terry Riley
Posted by: Terry Riley | Sep 6, 2006 9:43:49 PM
Armijo got very bad treatment from the governor, Wertheim and state officials. Part of it was brought on by himself because he agreed to withdraw and then said he wasn't. That didn't help. I know he worked very hard campaigning all over the state and working with the grassroots. I don't think we should be criticizing him so hard. He worked his heart out.
On the other hand we need to have a candidate. If we don't support Balderas and Armijo loses his court case, which is a good possibility because the law is so vague, we won't have a Dem candidate for auditor. So it is very important we get Balderas nominated Saturday.
As they say politics isn't a walk in the park. We have to deal with the realities and move forward. Everyone I talk to says Balderas has a reputation as honest, hardworking and with a knack for working with people. It was probably hard for him to step up and I think we should support him.
Posted by: Old Dem | Sep 7, 2006 8:52:28 AM
What a mess.
I have been a Armijo supporter however the thought that the Repubs could take advantage of this situation, and eventually challenge Armijo on the ticket due to the process and how it was handled - I beleive as an SCC member I must support Hector. The Armijo thing is too much of a mess, worst case would be there is not a Dem on the ticket come November. For that matter I think getting Hector in now is important.
Posted by: scc member | Sep 7, 2006 8:54:17 AM
Jeff Armijo should file a sexual descrimination suit against Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron. He should also immediately file a restraining order on the State Central Committee to prevent them from having their meeting and possibly committing a crime on September 9, 2006.
All Committee Members need to realize what the consequences of that meeting could include.
Posted by: Edge | Sep 7, 2006 9:57:55 AM
Today Joe Monahan reports Armijo may go to court today and try to get a ruling from the district court and then the supreme court if necessary before Saturday's meeting.
Posted by: JLC | Sep 7, 2006 10:17:49 AM
The mood was definitely split from the CCC meeting last night. Still a bunch of Jeff support. One word I did hear from some very intelligent SCC members was that they will move to motion to vote whether or not they should even be voting for a "new" candidate. This will generate a lot of debate. From those at the meeting, the results from Ken Sanchez calls to other SCC meetings & the very apparent loose laws I believe that motion definitely has steam. I would be willing to bet that a vote for a "new" candidate will not even happen.
Posted by: SCC MEMBER | Sep 7, 2006 10:32:28 AM
This is a very serious situation.
One wrong step and the whole debacle will end up on David Letterman's television show and perhaps the Nightly News.
A sick pattern of activity exists within the Democratic party. This situation was caused by Democrats who have made allegations which have not been proven.
The accusers have endangered the Democratic Party and the sanctity of laws which protect women.
Rebecca Vigil Giron's political career is over.
Posted by: Edge | Sep 7, 2006 10:39:09 AM
Where was Jeff Armijo after he withdrew from the race on August 29? Was he campaigning? No. He took off and went to Las Vegas, NV for some fun and relaxation.
Does a person who believes he is still running for State Auditor take a week off of his campaign for good times in Vegas? No. He took off because he believed he had withdrawn from the race. Think about it.
Who thought Jeff Armijo had resigned?
The media? Yes, the media received the press release Jeff's campaign sent out announcing his withdrawal and they reported his withdrawal to the public.
Jeff Armijo? Yes, Jeff announced his withdrawal and took off on a vacation.
Ken Sanchez? Yes, Ken spent the weekend campaigning.
Hector Balderas? Yes, he's still campaigning for State Auditor.
Daniel Ivey-Soto? Yes, he's still campaigning for State Auditor.
The Dem. State Party? Yes, they organized a SCC meeting to pick the replacement.
The public? Yes, they took Jeff at his word that in the best interest of his family he was withdrawing.
NM law says that a candidate must withdraw without stating how that withdrawal must happen. This grey area is unfortunate because it's leading to the current problem. But, we have to be able to rely on a man's word.
Posted by: | Sep 7, 2006 11:16:56 AM
I have known Hector Balders since his first year as a legislator. He helped me and my family pass legislation reagarding child abuse laws which New Mexico was lacking. My son, Mario was burned by a child care provider (see www.NewMexicokids.com) Hector is the type of legislator that does not ignore the issues and literally takes the bull by the horns. I am an auditor by trade and I believe Hector will be an excellent state auditor because he will surround himself with competent personnel and he has strong debating and negotiating skills, which a state auditor should have. More importantly, I do not know of any young legislator other than Hector who has accomplished so much for New Mexico in such a short time.
Posted by: Ron Archuleta | Sep 7, 2006 11:23:17 AM
From everything I know Ron's comment above is correct. Hector gets nothing but praise from everyone I've talked to and when I spoke with him by phone he was impressive and sincere.
With all the problems going on with this situation I have compassion for Armijo's position but I must support Baldaras for the good of the party and our future. I strongly recommend others to do the same.
Posted by: Another SCC member | Sep 7, 2006 11:47:11 AM
That is all the more reason why Hector should remain a legislator, we need him there. If he wants to run for Auditor he should wait until 2010. I am glad to see that his family had enough sense to get him our of this state and get his mind right. He was alone in a room with the most powerful (or perceived to be) man in New Mexico who coerced a response based on uglies. He came back, with clear mind & judgement and made his decision (at a press conference) after talking to the Secretary of State's office twice that afternoon, and the press conference was before 5 pm. If they accepted a press release for the withdrawal, why would they not accept a press release to retract a withdrawal? Hmmmmmm
Posted by: SCC MEMBER | Sep 7, 2006 11:53:55 AM
If Jeff is the real leader he claims to be then why didn't he have the leadership or courage to stand by his convictions when talking to the Governor?
Does this mean he'd stand by his convictions as State Auditor unless he had to deal with someone he thought was more powerful? Would he just cave to whatever the more powerful person wanted?
It's not fair for Jeff to play the Hokey Pokey with this race. What happens if he decides again to withdraw?
(Sing along...) You put your campaign in, you pull your campaign out, you put your campaign in and you shake it all about, you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around, that's what Jeff's all about....
Posted by: | Sep 7, 2006 12:20:11 PM
If Jeff is the real leader he claims to be then why didn't he have the leadership or courage to stand by his convictions when talking to the Governor? How do you know if Mr Armijo stood by his convictions when talking to the Governor or not? You don't, unless you were there, only the Governor and Mr Armijo knows what was decided and why, making assumptions and posting rumor, gossip and opinion without benefit of personal knowledge of what was said during that meeting is not helpful. All the conjecture being posted here contributes NOTHING positive to the discussion. Let those directly involved work this out!
Posted by: VP | Sep 7, 2006 12:57:07 PM
A few years ago Hector Balderas went out of his way to help me prosecute and convict a man who was proven guilty of fraud and embezzlement. Balderas' legal skills and integrity were impeccable all the time we worked together. It took the State 6 years to find the criminal because he fled to Texas. Once Hector was appointed by the State to specifically try this case, he went out of his way to follow everything meticulously and step by step. He stayed with me all of the way and never became discouraged. He also was available at any time I had a question, and most of the time returned my call before I could hang up the phone. He was so very different from most attorneys and judges in the court system. While I was and am president of an art foundation, Hector knew that white collar crime affects people from all walks of life. I know from personal experience that Hector will be the finest State Auditor which New Mexico has ever had and encourage him in his endeavor. Let us all support Hector Balderas as State Auditor.
Posted by: Sandra McKenzie | Sep 8, 2006 8:56:51 PM
Hector is not at all the man he portrays himself to be. I am a local attorney and he has repeatedly reneged on numerous agreements with me and numerous other people. I find it ludicrous that he is now claiming, "Independence and integrity" as his campaign motto, because these terms are in stark contrast to the real Hector. If I were he I would change my political motto to "disillusioned fraud." Hector is probably too ignorant to realize that he is severely lacking in many virtues. This blissful ignorance of his will only get him so far...it’s difficult to make a career of deceiving people, isn’t it Hector?
Posted by: Ben | Oct 17, 2006 12:25:51 AM
