Democracy for New Mexico

Sunday Bird Blogging: 2006 Primary Election Edition

(Click on photos for larger views.)

As you may recall, Bosco the peach-faced lovebird is a political junky. He likes to hang out with me when I check out the blogs, read the newspaper or watch Keith Olbermann or CSPAN. Bosco has taken his time picking candidates in the Democratic primary -- reading websites and brochures, watching candidate forums, following the endorsements. This morning he came to his final decisions, even though he doesn't have a Social Security number and can't register to vote. He's not even an official member of DFNM. Nevertheless, Bosco wanted me to tell you about his personal choices, which he insists are shared by all the avians in our home.

Bosco assembled a display of political paraphernalia for the Dems he supports in most of the big primary races (top), plus a few others. In the uncontested races Bosco is, of course, for Jeff Bingaman for NM Senator, Patricia Madrid for Congress in CD1, Al Kissling for Congress in CD2, Tom Udall for Congress in CD3, Bill Richardson for Governor, Diane Denish for Lt. Governor, James Lewis for Treasurer and Clay Campbell for District Judge.

In the contested races, Bosco revealed he's for Geno Zamora for Attorney General, although it was a tough choice. In the end, Bosco decided on Geno because he supports the establishment of an independent public integrity commission to be a watchdog over NM government. Bosco considers such reform as essential to cleaning up politics in NM. Common Cause NM backs an independent ethics commission too.

Bosco's also for Stephanie Gonzales for Secretary of State, Jim Baca for Land Commissioner, Jeff Armijo for State Auditor and Karen Montoya for Bernalillo County Assessor. And even though he's not in their districts, he really likes Shay Rose for State Rep. in District 28 and Moe Maestas for State Rep. in District 16.

One last thing. Bosco was vehement about getting the bumpersticker shown above into a photo. No explanation needed!

Results of the DFA-DFNM Unofficial Straw Poll

Here are the final results of our unofficial straw poll voting by members, which ran at the Albuquerque DFA-DFNM Meetup site. Polls were run for the major contested Democratic statewide primary races. Thanks to all who participated! (Winners shown in red.)

Attorney General
35%  Gary King 
12%  Lemuel Martinez 
43%  Geno Zamora 
07%  Undecided 

Secretary of State
76%  Stephanie Gonzales 
05%  Mary Herrera 
07%  Shirley Hooper 
07%  Letitia Montoya 
02%  Undecided 

State Land Commissioner
54%  Jim Baca
45%  Ray Powell

State Auditor
60%  Jeff Armijo
28%  Thomas Buckner
10%  Undecided

ALERT: Stephanie Gonzales Campaign Asks Your Help

Democrat STEPHANIE GONZALES for Secretary of State

GET OUT THE VOTE!! WE NEED YOU!! ALBUQUERQUE

Saturday June 3rd
10:30 AM – Canvassing (University Area)
2:30 PM – After Canvassing – relax with some refreshments and visit with Stephanie!!

Sunday, June 4
2:00 PM - Canvassing In Abq, we will meet at 107 Bryn Mawr Dr., SE (off Central - between Richmond and Wellesley)

Contact HQ @: (505) 989-1811. SIGN UP TODAY!  LET'S WIN BERNALILLO COUNTY FOR STEPHANIE!!

TONIGHT: AFSCME Thank You Party and Rally

From Carter Bundy of AFSCME:
AFSCME will host a party with free food and drinks for AFSCME members who have volunteered on AFSCME-endorsed candidates' races and for the campaigns of the candidates it has endorsed for the June 6 primary. All Democratic primary voters are welcome! Here's the info on the party:

Time:  5:30 - 8:00 PM
Date:  Friday, June 2
Place: 2836 Monument Dr. NW (Carter Bundy's house)

Directions: From I-40, take Unser North to 3rd light (Ouray/Lava Bluff). Go West (left if you're coming from I-40, right if you're coming from Montano) on Lava Bluff. 1st Left is Monument Drive.  2836 is the 6th house on the left.

Who:  AFSCME members supporting AFSCME-endorsed candidates, candidates, candidates' volunteers and staff, and Democratic primary voters who want to meet the candidates, mingle with other Democratic activists, and enjoy free food and drink!

The following is a list of AFSCME's endorsed statewide candidates and candidates in contested races in Bernalillo County:

Governor--Bill Richardson
Lt. Governor--Diane Denish
Secretary of State--Letitia Montoya*
Attorney General--Geno Zamora*
Treasurer--James Lewis
Auditor--Tom Buckner*
Land Commissioner--Ray Powell*
County Commission District 1--Alan Armijo*
House Dist. 16--Antonio "Moe" Maestas*
House Dist. 18--Gail Chasey

*=contested primary

Please RSVP to carterbundy@yahoo.com if you think you can make it (include how many folks you will bring) so we can get enough food and drinks for everyone. 

Feel free to spread among your organizations, especially if you know anyone in Albuquerque (and the Westside in particular).

Carter Bundy
AFSCME International
Political Action Representative
New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Idaho
505-266-2177 (work)
505-463-8499 (cell)

Early Voting Ends Saturday for NM Primary Election

The New Mexico primary election is set for Tuesday, June 6. You need to be registered to vote as a Democrat to vote in the Democratic primary races. You can vote early through Saturday at your county clerk's office or at the additional satellite voting sites provided in many counties. Again, call your county clerk or access their website to find out where these locations are in your county. Click for early voting sites in Bernalillo County.

You can find the location of your county clerk's office here. You can also access general election and voting information at the Secretary of State's site. The League of Women Voters is another good source of voting and election information. The Democratic Party of NM website has statewide candidate listings and photos, as well as candidates for the legislature.

More information is provided in an earlier post. Here's a list of the statewide candidates running in the Democratic primary, and you can click on the candidate name to visit their campaign website:

U.S. Senator: Jeff Bingaman (unopposed)

Governor: Bill Richardson, plus Write-In Candidate: Anselmo A. Chavez

Lt. Governor: Diane Denish (unopposed)

Secretary of State: Stephanie Gonzales, Mary Herrera, Shirley Hooper, Letitia Montoya

State Treasurer: James B. Lewis (unopposed)

Attorney General: , Lemuel Martinez, Geno Zamora

Commissioner of Public Lands: Jim Baca, Ray Powell, Jr.

U.S. Representative (District 1): Patricia Madrid (unopposed)

U.S. Representative (District 2): Al Kissling (unopposed)

U.S. Representative (District 3): Tom Udall (unopposed)

Judges - Retention:
Justice of the Supreme Court: Edward L. Chavez
Judges of the Court of Appeals: Cynthia A. Fry, Lynn Pickard, Jim Wechsler

You can check the Secretary of State's website for a list of the statewide candidates, as well as the district candidates who are primary candidates.

NEEDED ASAP: Election Day Observers

From Dory Shonagon:
ELECTION DAY OBSERVER WORK, TUESDAY, JUNE 6, 2006: We need people willing to work on election day to be at the polls and observe what happens there. This is a VERY important job, because we can gather data about what the problems are with the voting machines and how voters are treated throughout the process of voting and solve some problems as they come up.

PLEASE CONTACT DORY SHONAGON IMMEDIATELY IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING ON ELECTION DAY, AT ONE OF THE POLLING PLACES. 

CALL DORY AT 480-1848. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP ON THIS. It is possible to work part of the day, although it would be good if you each could commit to a 4-hour shift.

Reel Time: Coming Attractions

Watch Mr. Lamont Goes to Washington courtesy of the NedHeads. Support progressive and antiwar Dem Ned Lamont's primary challenge to Joe Lieberman, Republican in Dem's clothing. You can spare five or ten bucks, can't you? We need to challenge the Republican-lites wherever they lurk!

NM Indy Media Show to Focus on Secretary of State Race and Ethics

On Friday, June 2nd, at 7:00 PM, Suzanne Prescott will host Albuquerque cable channel 27’s NM Indy Media “Live” show. She'll have interviews with NM Secretary of State candidates Shirley Hooper, Mary Herrera and Stephanie Gonzales. Matt Brix, Executive Director of Common Cause NM, will be the live guest and will talk about the three candidates in terms of their responses to a questionnaire distributed by his organization. He’ll also talk about the need for campaign finance reform and clean and fair elections. You're encouraged to call in live during the show.

You can also watch the show streamed live nationwide on Channel 27's website.

Factoids: Marty, Mary, Pete, Dems

Mayor Marty and Mary Herrera: When you're thinking about who to vote for in the Democratic primary for Secretary of State, think about this fact: Republican-lite Mayor Marty Chavez hosts a downtown luncheon fundraiser for Mary Herrera. Yes, the Mary who battled the adoption of a paper ballot voting system during the last Legislative Session. She even dutifully recited Republican talking points at committee hearings. Now she has the backing of Albuquerque's most Republican-leaning Dem -- the man who scrounged more big donations from real estate, financial and development interests that any Republican in his last mayoral race. Follow the money (and the anti-paper ballot attitude) on this one.

Mayor Marty and Pete Domenici: I also recommend contemplating that Mayor Marty recently revealed that he's backing Republican Senator Pete Domenici when he runs for another term in 2008. Quite a Dem, ain't he? Personally I think the Democratic Party should "encourage" Marty to officially become a Republican instead of allowing him to continue his masquerade as a Dem. I can't imagine any real Democrat endorsing a Republican candidate like Domenici, who has fought tooth and nail to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, among Pete's many other dastardly deeds in direct conflict with the core beliefs of Democrats. Then again, Mary probably gets "campaign contributions" from many of the same big spenders as Domenici. Birds of afeather flock together.

Democratic Party Poopers: Then again, I don't think our weak, underfunded, nonresponsive, dismissive and inactive State Party leaders are capable of doing much these days outside of ignoring emails and phone calls from Dem Party members. And sending out pleas for donations while refusing to provide any degree of transparancy in how they operate, what kind of outreach or other activities they are pursuing or how the money gets spent.

You may recall that the Party's State Central Committee overwhelmingly passed motions at its March meeting to require a regular audit of the Party's books, as well as the appointment of members to a new budget oversight committee and a renewed affirmative action/reachout committee. There have also been many unanswered suggestions for creating a strong platform to replace the jumbled mess that was passed by using parliamentary procedure to stop proposed changes.

Not one peep about any progress on these initiatives has been heard since they were passed this Spring. I hear that messages left for Party Chair John Wertheim from members about matters like the affirmative action - outreach commiteee have been ignored. I can't imagine what would cause a Party leader to refuse to answer calls from members wanting to initiate actions to help build the Party, can you?

Sound Off: Gonzales Campaign for Secretary of State Reaches Out

The following was originally posted as a comment to a previous post that announced the endorsement of Stephanie Gonzales for Secretary of State by election reform groups United Voters NM and Verified Voting NM. These comments were submitted by William H. Mee. I transferred it here so that it can attract more readership as our June 6 primary election nears.

Dear All,
Let me make a disclaimer up front. I am a volunteer for the Stephanie Gonzales campaign, and I want to thank you for the your kind words. Also, I want to make an urgent appeal to you for your active support of Stephanie Gonzales for Secretary of State.

If you are concerned about the 2008 Presidential Election, the best thing you can do is ensure that we have the most competent Democratic candidate in this Primary Election on June 6th. I believe that is Stephanie Gonzales.

The other three women in the race are wonderful women who would make fine secretaries of state for New Mexico at any time in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But since the millennium the stakes have gotten higher and it takes a very competent and strong leader to administer that elective office.  You know that New Mexico will again be a battleground state, and the pressure will be on. Stephanie is clearly the most qualified and energized candidate to do this. She was the last one to enter the race and the first one with a formal plan on how to improve the office. Click to read The Eight Point Plan posted on her website.

We have a Statewide Primary to win and we need your help. Of course we need money for the campaign for visibility, but it may be too late unless you act quickly. More importantly --- we need feet, hands and minds. Feet to go door-to-door and to stand out on Election Day with a sign. Hands to do mailouts and put bumper stickers on. Minds to do letters to the editor, e-mailing and blogging, and give speeches at community events, plus to do Election Day observation. This is real grassroots democracy. Vote early to free up your time on Election Day (besides at many County Clerks offices it is on paper). If you really believe then call us in Santa Fe at 989-1811 or 989-1875; visit the internet at:

www.NewMexicansForStephanie.com

or send us an email at:

contact@newmexicansforstephanie.com

Thanks for your time.

Editor's Note: Sound Off is a regular feature of this website. It provides an opportunity for readers, candidates, officeholders and others to submit posts to be published on any and all topics. If you'd like to submit a post, please send it to me by clicking on the 'Email Me' link on the upper left-hand side of the main page of this website.