Democracy for New Mexico

Armijo to File Suit Today to Stay on Ballot, Cancel SCC Meeting

An Albuquerque Tribune article reports that embattled State Auditor candidate Jeff Armijo plans to file suit today in state court against the decision to take him off the ballot, and also to stop the NM Democratic Party from holding its State Central Committee meeting Saturday to choose a replacement. Some of his supporters may also file a suit in U.S. District Court:

Democratic state auditor candidate Jeff Armijo plans to pursue his spot on this fall's ballot in state court, according to an announcement sent to The Tribune this afternoon by his attorney.

Attorney Paul Kienzle said Armijo supporters also are considering a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to contest what they say is disenfranchisement.

"The federal district court may have the final word on the matter," the release says.

... "Until this past Tuesday, the withdrawal rule was that a candidate had to provide a signed, written statement," Kienzle said. "Those laws, rules and customs now mean nothing. Political expediency and political power brokers determine who is on the general election ballot."

The Secretary of State's Office says there is nothing in state election code outlining the steps a candidate must take. Nothing is in law requiring a letter be sent to the office when a candidate withdraws, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, a Democrat, said Wednesday.

Albuquerque's KRQE News 13 reported this on the story yesterday:

We're very confident that we're going to be able to successfully challenge the decision that the secretary of state made so I can stay on the ballot as the Democratic candidate for state auditor,” [Jeff ]Armijo told KRQE News 13.

Armijo insisted he still is the Democratic and said he plans to march in the New Mexico State Fair Parade promoting his campaign on Saturday.

Visit their website for more, including video of yesterday's newscast coverage of the story.

Another Auditor Candidate in the Mix?

According to a Kate Nash article in today's Albuquerque Tribune, Vince Baca will be tossing his hat in the ring to run for State Auditor on the Dem ticket. He joins Hector Balderas, Daniel Ivey-Soto and, perhaps, Jeff Armijo. As noted in previous posts, Jeff claims he's still on the ballot and he may or may not put his name before the Dem State Central Committee again, depending on whether he gets a court ruling and what the court decides. Excerpt regarding Saturday's SCC meeting:

"It's going to be interesting," said Vince Baca, one of at least three Democrats who are expected to present themselves as candidates at the meeting.

If Armijo attends - which Baca expects - he would be the fourth candidate. Committee members will select one as their official candidate for auditor.

Baca, a 44-year-old president of a strategic planning and resource development company, is looking forward to introducing himself to committee members Saturday.

So is Daniel Ivey-Soto, a 39-year-old Albuquerque lawyer and former chief counsel for the Democratic Party who wants the job.

Add state Rep. Hector Balderas, a Democrat from Wagon Mound, to the list.

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.

Latest on Armijo Ballot Battle

This afternoon's Albuquerque Tribune has a story on Jeff Armijo's claim that he's still on the general election ballot as the Democratic candidate for state auditor. It mostly rehashes info that's already out there. However, the story does reveal that Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who was testing the waters for a run at replacing Armijo on the ballot, has decided to stop his efforts because of legal considerations:

Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, who spent Labor Day weekend working to line up votes for Saturday's meeting, said his understanding is that he cannot run.

"Based on what I've heard, (Armijo) is officially on the ballot, so I can't run against him. He won the Democratic primary, and I don't think I would have any legal standing." +

Meanwhile, Hector Balderas, the much-liked progressive Dem who is the state rep from Wagon Mound, has said he's continuing his quest to replace Armijo on the ballot, at least for now:

At least one of several Democrats who aimed for the auditor's job after Armijo announced his withdrawal, state Rep. Hector Balderas, said he's still interested in running.

"I'm still planning on participating in the convention unless a greater authority tells me that's no longer the case," said Balderas, a Democrat from Wagon Mound.

"His representation was that he was withdrawing."

Here's the latest take on the legalities of the situation from the NM Attorney General's office, again quoting the Tribune story:

But Sam Thompson, public information officer with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, said the law doesn't state that Armijo's announcement counts as a withdrawal.

Nor does the law require a written notice of withdrawal for a candidate to be removed from a ballot, she explained.

"The law does not state a requirement for how this process needs to be done," Thompson said. "The issue appears to be between the candidate and his party."

If there's a quorum at Saturday's scheduled State Central Committee meeting, the proceedings should be compelling indeed.

Join Elizabeth Edwards at Fundraiser for Madrid Campaign

Please Join Special Guest Elizabeth Edwards
For a fundraising dinner in honor of
Attorney General Patricia Madrid - Candidate for CongressTuesday, September 12th
7:00 – 9:00 PM
At the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town
800 Rio Grande BLVD NW, Albuquerque, NMPlease RSVP to Amanda at (505) 242-6000 or
amanda.scott@madridforcongress.com

Armijo Announces He'll Stay in Race: Others Say He's Already Off the Ballot

UPDATE: KRQE News online has video of Armijo's press conference as well as their story about the reactions of Democratic Party Chair John Wertheim and Governor Bill Richardson.
*******************
In a late afternoon news conference, Jeff Armijo announced he's staying in the race as the Democratic candidate for State Auditor. According to an article on the Albuquerque Journal website:

Armijo said Tuesday he decided to stay in the race to keep his promise to his supporters. he said he'd received hundreds of e-mails and phone calls urging him to stay in the race.

"If that makes a select few politicians nervous, so be it,'' he said. He said the accusations from the women are false.

"I am the victim of a horrible political scheme,'' he said.

Armijo supposedly had until 5:00 PM today to formally withdraw his name from the ballot. Previously, he had issued a press release saying he'd withdraw but reportedly hadn't filed any legal paperwork. According to the Journal article, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron is claiming Armijo's press release served as his formal withdrawal from the race:

Vigil-Giron, in a telephone interview, said she considered Armijo's Aug. 29 written news release as his official notice of withdrawal as a candidate.

"I accepted that withdrawal and the Democratic Party central committee has already been notified they will be meeting to select a candidate,'' said Vigil-Giron. "He is not on the ballot.''

Reportedly, a written copy of the news release was provided by Gov. Richardson's office to Vigil-Giron's office at their request earlier today, and Richardson agrees with State Party Chair John Wertheim statement that Armijo already officially withdrew:

Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim contends that no matter what Armijo said Tuesday, "he already officially withdrew his name from the general election ballot for state auditor a week ago. ... His actions on that day created a vacancy.''

I certainly have no idea what would legally constitute a withdrawal of a candidate from a statewide election. But I think we'll all become familiar with New Mexico law in this regard if Armijo continues to fight to stay on the ballot.

Jeff Armijo Press Conference Set for 4:45 Today

I just got word that Jeff Armijo is holding a press conference at 4:45 PM today at Bataan Park near Lomas and Carlisle. If Jeff is going to officially remove himself from the ballot as the Democratic candidate for State Auditor, he must do so by 5:00 PM today. Joe Monahan reported this morning that Armijo may be having second thoughts about withdrawing from race. Given the timing of the press conference, I guess it could go either way. The plot thickens.

Democratic State Central Committee members were getting phone calls over the long holiday weekend from Dems trying to garner support for replacing Armijo on the ballot, including popular progressive Rep. Hector Balderas, Albuquerque attorney and County Party Vice Chair Daniel Ivey-Soto and Mayor Chavez's buddy on the Albuquerque City Council, Ken Sanchez. It was assumed Armijo was quitting the race when he made a statement to that effect after meeting with Governor Richardson last week. At the moment, however, nothing is certain and Armijo hasn't yet removed his name from the ballot officially. More to come.

King, Baca Hold Polling Leads

This morning's Albuquerque Journal reports on the results of two more races in its statewide polling. Excerpts:

NM Land Commissioner race: likely voters, M.O.E. 3.7 points
Democratic challenger Jim Baca: 41%
Republican incumbent Pat Lyons: 36%
Undecided: 26%

Voters were divided along party lines with 61 percent of Democrats in the Baca camp and 16 percent favoring Lyons. Lyons had the support of 63 percent of Republicans, while 18 percent said they'd vote for Baca.

NM Attorney General race: likely voters, M.O.E. 3.7 points
Democrat Gary King: 47%
Republican Jim Bibb: 27%

The Journal poll found King leading Bibb in all regions of the state, including New Mexico's conservative east side, where he had a 42 percent to 27 percent advantage. In the metro area, 43 percent of voters favored King, while 28 percent chose Bibb. Statewide, 25 percent of Republicans sided with King, while only 7 percent of Democrats favored Bibb.

Bowsers for Baca!

Please join Animal Protection Voters PAC for Bowsers for Baca. It is the perfect opportunity for you and your four legged friends to show your support for future State Land commissioner Jim Baca. Come join us for yummy goodies and meet Jim in person!

Wednesday, Sept. 13th
5:00 to 6:30 PM
Three Dog Bakery
9821 Montgomery Blvd. NE
Suite #C, Albuquerque

Read all about this very special event in this PDF flyer! (Right: The Bacas with Beagle and Athena.)

ABQ Journal Poll: Madrid-Wilson Squeaker (Plus Other Results)

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription required) released the results of its poll yesterday on the NM-01 congressional race between Republican incumbent Heather Wilson and Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid. With results similar to the latest internal polling from the Madrid campaign, this race is clearly still a toss-up. With the Journal poll's margin of error at 4.8 points, this race is still a statistical dead heat and voter turnout could be a major factor in who takes the seat. According to the Journal:

Democrat Patricia Madrid is running a close race against incumbent Rep. Heather Wilson in the midst of an already heavy advertising war in the 1st Congressional District.

A Journal poll of 410 registered District 1 voters found Wilson, a Republican seeking her fifth full term, with the support of 45 percent of respondents. Madrid, the second-term state attorney general, had 42 percent.

Ten percent of the registered voters, who said they are likely to vote in the general election on Nov. 7, were undecided. The rest said they didn't intend to vote for either.

The margin of error for the Aug. 25-31 survey by Research & Polling Inc. is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

"It is, absolutely, anybody's race," said longtime state political watcher and University of New Mexico political science professor emeritus F. Chris Garcia. "It has major national implications. It was billed early on as one of the races to watch— and it is living up to its billing.

"When a challenger . . is within a few percentage points, that is seen as very encouraging to the challenger's camp," Garcia said.

... Wilson, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has been a longtime backer of the U.S. military involvement in Iraq while Madrid has called for a quick-turnaround exit plan. And Sanderoff said what takes place in Iraq in the coming two months— along with the rise or fall of Bush's approval ratings— could have a big impact on the outcome of the Wilson-Madrid contest.

"The mood of the nation is an important barometer in influencing the outcome of congressional races," Sanderoff said.

"What we're looking at here is more than just Heather Wilson and Patricia Madrid," he said.

Clearly, IF we can achieve a strong turnout of Dem voters on November 7th, we can get Patricia Madrid elected. With unmotivated Repubs bummed over Bush's failures and diving poll numbers, and with Dem Bill Richardson shaping up to swamp Repub challenger John Dendahl, I'm guessing their turnout will well be weak. The question is, are Democrats sufficiently motivated to come out and vote in large numbers in New Mexico's first district? Is the Madrid campaign's GOTV effort up to the challenge of getting a big turnout of Dems?

This seat could well spell the difference between a continuation of Repub rule in the House of Reps and a Dem takeover, with Nancy Pelosi slated to take over as the first female Speaker of the House. Are you motivated yet? Then show it: https://madridforcongress.org/

Journal Polling on Other Races

Congress NM-02:
Steve Pearce (R-Incumbent): 54%
Al Kissling (D): 29%

Congress NM-03:
Tom Udall (D-Incumbent): 71%
Ron Dolin (R): 18%

NM Senate:
Jeff Bingaman (D-Incumbent): 62%
Allen McCulloch (R): 23%

From a Monday Journal article:

NM Governor:
Bill Richardson (D-Incumbent): 57%
John Dendahl (R): 28%

From another Monday Journal article:

NM Treasurer (open seat):
James B. Lewis (D): 40%
Demesia Padilla (R): 26%