Democracy for New Mexico

Gov. Richardson Already Backing Homans to Run Against Heather?

I sure hope not. After all, a Democratic Party convention and a primary are supposed to be the vehicles for selecting Party candidates -- not elected-official fiat. But Heath Haussamen is reporting that an unnamed source is leaking that Gov. Bill Richardson has "pledged his support" to the primary candidacy of current Economic Development Secretary, Rick Homans (left), to take on Rep. Heather Wilson in New Mexico's First Congressional District in 2008.

If true, I predict that Democrats all over CD1 will be raising their voices in protest. We want to select our candidates -- not have them forced down our throats by Party bigwigs, ala what was seen by many as a blatant push for Richard Romero over Miles Nelson by Richardson in the 2002 CD1 Dem primary. In fact, that's one reason why so many relative newbies have been running for (and winning) Party office at both the county and state levels of the Democratic Party, and getting involved in nuts and bolts activism. We're tired of all the Party's power being in the hands of a few elected officials and power brokers. As DNC Chair Howard Dean has said many times, we want the Party to be built from the bottom up, not the other way around.

Other names are being discussed as Dem possibilities to run against Heather, including former City Councilor Eric Griego and current NM Rep. Jerry Ortiz y Pino. And Haussamen reports today that current Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich (right) is also "seriously leaning" towards a bid to win a chance to take on Heather Wilson in CD1. Haussamen quotes Heinrich directly on this. Believe me, if Heinrich were to enter the race he'd have massive support from rank and file Dems in the District. Homans, on the other hand, doesn't even live in the District and would have to move here to be a candidate in CD1. Would that be seen by local Dems as carpetbagging and manipulation of the race by Santa Fe powers that be? You betcha.

Besides his active role in pushing the proposed Spaceport America near To or C, Homans is perhaps best known for successfully suing the City of Albuquerque to get rid the city's campaign donation limits while running for Mayor in 2001. Rah -- here's the guy who worked hard to bring MORE MONEY into the political process, while most every other Dem was working to get big donations out of elections. The results of his suit? One big one was that Mayor Marty Chavez raised and spent record-breaking amounts of money to win his mayoral races. He did it by heavily courting monied interests, including the sprawl development bunch, with no holds barred. You can experience the consequences all over the city.

Also consider Homans' past experience as Vice Chair of the pro-sprawl, anti-labor Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. He's also the former publisher of the New Mexico Business Weekly, as former chairman and CEO of Starlight Media Group.

THIS is who Gov. Richardson is allegedly backing at this early date in the process? Tell me this can't be right. Then again, recall that Homans was one of Richardson's main issues honchos when he ran for Governor in 2002, and he's reportedly very close with Rick, who's a long-time champion of cutting taxes for the biz community and generally offering generous accommodations to that sector.

For all I know, Homans might make a formidable candidate in NM-01, but I urge the Governor to refrain from leaking his opinions on a favored candidate until the proper Dem Party processes play out. We want a primary race, not another annointing from above. If Homans is the right person for the job, let him earn it by succeeding in the Dem Party convention and primary contests. We don't want or need a thumb on the scale, at this early point in the race or beyond.

Many of us have been encouraged by Gov. Richardson's initiatives of late, as well as what he's been saying and doing on the presidential campaign trail, so it's especially disappointing to learn of this leak about his alledged pledge to support Homans. Let's hope he pledges instead to let DEMOCRATS select a candidate for CD1 without interference from above. And DCCC, beware.

DCCC Launches 'Heather Wilson Watch'

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) today launched a new website, Heather Wilson Watch, chronicling the role played by Rep Heather Wilson (R-NM1)i n the firing of former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias. There are serious and unresolved differences between Wilson’s political statement and Mr. Iglesias’ testimony under oath:

“I received a call from Heather Wilson. She said ‘what can you tell me about sealed indictments.’ The second she said any questions about sealed indictments, red flags went up in my head, because as you know, we cannot talk about indictments until they’re made public. In general, we specifically cannot talk about a sealed indictment.” -- David Iglesias

“A federal prosecutor was fired only after he refused to bend to Heather Wilson’s political pressure,” said Jennifer Crider, Communications Director at the DCCC. “Heather Wilson needs to quit playing games and tell the truth about her role in the U.S. Attorney scandal. The website Heather Wilson Watch will hold Wilson accountable for her refusal to come clean about why she tried to interfere in a federal investigation and her role in getting Iglesias fired.”

Pressure is expected to continue to get Wilson, Sen. Domenici and others to tell the truth on the record about their roles in the scandal. An article in The Hill reports:

Kyle Sampson’s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week suggests that congressional pressure may have played a significant role in the firing of a New Mexico prosecutor.

Statements from Sampson, who served as chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before resigning last month, to the Judiciary Committee last Thursday are placing additional pressure on New Mexico GOP Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, as well as Gonzales, White House political adviser Karl Rove and ex-White House counsel Harriet Miers, to explain what roles, if any, they played in the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, according to legal experts.

... Justice Department e-mails and Sampson’s testimony also show that sometime between Oct. 17 and Election Day, Iglesias’s name was added to the list along with three names that were redacted in the e-mails.

Domenici and Wilson, who was running in a tight reelection race, called Iglesias just a few weeks prior to the Nov. 7 election.

Earlier this week, protestors showed up outside Rep. Wilson's "state of the district" appearance before the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce to urge her to come clean on her role in the scandal. So far, Wilson has stuck to her story that her call to Iglesias just prior to the November 2006 election was "entirely appropriate." Well, only if you go by the politically poisoned standards of the Bush administration and its cronies.

The Senate Ethics Committee has opened an investigation into Domenici's role in Iglesias' firing.  Members of the House ethics panel won't comment on whether they’ve launched a probe.

To update yourselves on the facts of this scandal, check out the DCCC's timeline covering Wilson's involvement.

New Mexico Becoming Key Battleground for 2008?

Read the Election Insider by the National Committee for an Effective Congress that makes a case for the competitiveness of New Mexico's 2008 races. You can discuss this topic in our comments section and/or use this as an Open Thread. Type away.

Taos Mayor Bobby Duran and Others to be Investigated for Alleged Dem Party Election Improprieties

This item was emailed from someone in Taos and is being published as received: The Taos County Democratic Party's precinct elections were held last week in several locations in Northern New Mexico. Unfortunately, it's being alleged that serious problems with the elections arose in several precincts, and complaint affidavits will reportedly be filed at the County Party's Credentials Committee Meeting set for this Tuesday. The allegations include possible improprieties on the part of Taos Mayor Bobby Duran (photo above left) and several other prominent Taos County Democrats:

Precinct No. 21 - Talpa, NM. This precinct is chaired by Thomas Tafoya's father, Tommy Tafoya. Affidavits being collected for Tuesday's Credential's committee meeting deal with what are being termed the most serious of the election allegations. The affidavits will claim that votes were physically changed to reflect different candidate names. The Credentials person has the ballots in their possession, and indicates that numerous ballots had the selected candidate names crossed out and different names entered. More details will be forthcoming in the legal affidavits. Complainants will be asking for a new election and removal of Tommy Tafoya from the County Central Committee per Party rule 12-7 A.1. Petitions will be presented per 12-7 A.1, 2.

Precinct No. 35 - Cruz Alta. This precinct is chaired by current Taos mayor Bobby Duran. Affidavits are being collected for Tuesday's Credentials committee meeting that allege a number of election improprieties. Complainants will ask for a new election under Party rule 12-13, and removal of Bobby Duran from the State Central Committee per rule 12-7 A.1. Petitions will be presented per 12-7 A.1, 2.

Precinct No. 14 - Ranchitos. This precinct is chaired by Thomas Trujillo (Skitt's brother). Again, affidavits are being collected for Tuesday's Credentials committee meeting alleging several election improprieties, and a new election will be requested under Party rule 12-13.

More information should be available after the County Party's Credentials committee meets.

Precinct elections are being held around the state by County Democratic Parties. County Central Committee meetings will follow for the election of State Central Committee (SCC) members, who will attend the Democratic Party of New Mexico's SCC Meeting set for April 28th in Las Cruces.

Editor's Note: I posted this as received in an email from someone from Taos who seemed to have good credibility. DFNM neither supports nor refutes this information. We are passing it along as we got it. Please judge it accordingly.

NM Program that Trains Women to Run for Office Now Taking Applications

EmergeNewMexico's Deadline is March 15th
EmergeNewMexico, a statewide organization co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, is currently accepting applications for its specialized training program for Democratic women who want to run for public office.

Democratic women in all parts of the state who are interested in seeking public office are encouraged to apply for this one-Saturday-a-month, seven month, rigorous and comprehensive training program that will teach participants the skills necessary for a successful campaign. The curriculum includes information about organizing a campaign, creating a message and fundraising.

Applications are available now at www.emergenm.org and must be postmarked by March 15, 2007. For more information about applying, contact Julie Koob at (505) 920-6002 or emergenm@yahoo.com. 

“When women run for office, women win office,” said EmergeNew Mexico Board Co-Chair Giovanna Rossi. “EmergeNew Mexico was created to give Democratic women the tools they’ll need to get started and to succeed. From the school board to the U.S. Senate, New Mexico women must have a voice.”

Nationally, Emerge training programs have demonstrated enormous success, with 60 percent of graduates going on to win their first race after completing the program.For more than a decade, more than half of all college graduates have been women, yet women hold only 14 percent of the seats in the U.S. Senate and 15.3 percent in the U.S. House of Representatives.

EmergeNew Mexico believes the solution to the problem is teaching women to think of themselves as political leaders.  Specifically, the organization’s mission is to identify, educate, and inspire Democratic women who want to pursue a career in politics at the local and state level in New Mexico.  Emerge is dedicated to making a long-term investment in these future leaders by developing their political and media skills; expanding their knowledge of local issues; and connecting them with mentors.

Patricia Madrid Weighs in on Iglesias Firing

Las Cruces blogger Heath Haussamen has an exclusive interview about the David Iglesias firing with former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, who was Rep. Heather Wilson's Democratic opponent in the November 2006 election in NM-01. Just go read it. Quite the scoop. Former reporter Haussamen is doing some stellar work these days ....

(Updated) New Mexico Democrats: Move Now to Capture Domenici's Senate Seat

UPDATE: Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo reports that many reporters are staking out Sen. Domenici and Rep. Wilson today, trying to get a response to the Iglesias story. Nothing yet.
*******************

On the heels of the unfolding scandal about what looks to be the very improper firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and seven others, Jonathan Singer at MyDD echoes the calls I'm hearing from many Democrats in New Mexico. Democrats should go after Pete Domenici's Senate seat in a serious, organized way. Recommended start? How about Rep. Tom Udall, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Mayor Marty Chavez, or other A-list candidates rethinking a challenge against Domenici? And how about some spending on tv and/or radio ads calling Domenici (and Rep. Heather Wilson) out on alleged conduct unbecoming in the firing of U.S. Attorney David Iglesias? Singer says:

I have written for some time that New Mexico's aging Republican Senator, Pete Domenici, should be among the Democrats' top targets in 2008, not only because his conservative views are way outside of the mainstream -- particularly for a state as balanced politically as New Mexico -- but also because his Jim Bunning-like actions (walking around the Senate in pajama bottoms) raise real questions about his competence to serve another six years. But new questions surrounding the possibility that Domenici abused his office for partisan political reasons should further enlarge the target on the Senator's back.

...  the headline remains that Domenici potentially used his office for partisan political gain, a big no-no, as it were. And given the possibility that Domenici just might not be up to a heated campaign that not only questions his fitness to serve but also his intentions and trustworthiness, it's incumbent upon the Democrats, both inside New Mexico and those trying to extend the party's majority in the U.S. Senate, to begin to put pressure on Domenici to retire rather than stand for reelection, as he has indicated an intention to do.

If this means an investment of $50,000 of $100,000 today for television and newspaper ads throughout New Mexico calling Domenici out for his alleged actions I think it would certainly be worth it.

Additionally the Democrats also need to ramp up their recruitment drive in the state. A number of potential Democratic heavyweights -- Rep. Tom Udall and Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez, to take two examples -- have stated an unwillingness to run for the Senate in 2008 if Domenici were to run for reelection. Yet if they, or other candidates of their potential strength, were to flirt with a run today, they might, along with an ad buy by the DSCC or the Democratic Party of New Mexico, be able to sufficiently scare Domenici so that he decides against seeking another term. There is little potential downside to such a move but great potential upside, and as such there seems to be little reason to me why such a combined effort should not be undertaken at this point. [emphasis mine]

Come on folks. Imagine what would be going on if a Democratic Senator and Representative were being implicated in a rapidly expanding political scandal like this one. And yet, the Democratic Party of New Mexico has yet (to my knowledge) even issued a press release on this story or provided a quote to the media. Wake up out there!

The worst thing that could happen would be for NM Dems to sit on their hands while Repubs set up a plan to make excuses for Domenici's and Wilson's alleged outrageous conduct. Imagine a scenario where they manage to save enough of Wilson's reputation to insert her into the race for Senate at the last moment, with Domenici withdrawing. I could go on with possible scenarios, but the key point is that in politics, you have to strike when the iron is hot. Like now.

Political Fragging: Fired U.S. Attorney Iglesias Drops Bombshell on NM Repubs

In a story that continues to explode on the national scene, New Mexico's U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, who was recently fired by the federal Justice Department and accused of bad performance, held a news conference on his last day in office yesterday to defend his record as a federal prosecutor and blame politics for his firing. Even more damning, he told McClatchy Newspapers that he was called by two members of the NM Congressional delegation about a month prior to the 2006 election and asked pointedly about when he would announce indictments in a case involving possible criminal counts related to two state courthouse projects, as well as queried about details in the case.

In response to Iglesias' revelations, both a U.S. House Justice subcommitee and the U.S. Senate Justice Committee are considering issuing subpoenas to Iglesias and several other U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush administration under similar circumstances. The subpoenas would compel the attorneys to testify about their firings before the Congressional committees, and Iglesias has said he would comply with the orders if issued. In recent weeks, it was announced that six U.S. attorneys around the country, including Iglesias, would be removed from office and replaced by the Bush administration due to alleged "performance issues." Two others are also being replaced for unstated reasons. Many are asking questions about the real reasons behind the firings.

Soon after Iglesias' statements about calls from members of Congress were made public, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM2) said he wasn't one of those who called Iglesias. Rep.Tom Udall (D-NM2) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) also denied they were the callers. That leaves just two possible culprits -- Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM1) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) -- and so far their offices have refused comment to the media. It has long been rumored that Wilson and Domenici may have been pressuring Iglesias to bring the courthouse case indictments before the election in November 2006 in order to help Rep. Wilson's reelection prospects against Dem challenger Patricia Madrid. In a tight race, Wilson ultimately beat out Madrid by a razor thin margin of less than 900 votes.

A post yesterday on The Carpetbagger Report by Steve Benen, the lead editor of Salon.com's Daou Report, had this to say, citing stories published by TPMmuckraker.com and McClatchy Newspapers:

Yesterday, David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, described his firing as “political fragging.” Iglesias added, “I’m OK with being asked to move on for political reasons, I’m NOT OK with the Department of Justice wrongfully testifying under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee that I had performance issues.”

Today, Iglesias started airing the dirty laundry.

The U.S. attorney from New Mexico who was recently fired by the Bush administration said Wednesday that he believes he was forced out because he refused to rush an indictment in an ongoing probe of local Democrats a month before November’s Congressional elections.

David Iglesias said two members of Congress separately called in mid October to inquire about the timing of an ongoing probe of a kickback scheme and appeared eager for an indictment to be issued on the eve of the elections in order to benefit the Republicans. He refused to name the members of Congress because he said he feared retaliation.

Two months later, on Dec. 7, Iglesias became one of six U.S. attorneys ordered to step down for what administration officials have termed “performance-related issues.” Two other U.S. attorneys also have been asked to resign.

Iglesias, whose performance reviews included no criticisms, said, “I believe that because I didn’t play ball, so to speak, I was asked to resign.”

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) responded by noting that Iglesias’ allegations are “extremely serious and very troubling allegations coming from a man of great integrity. They call into question every other firing.”

... now that we know partisan prosecutions played a role in the purge, it should renew interest in the administration’s decision to fire San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam during her Duke Cunningham investigation.

The McClatchy Newspaper story also reported:

Iglesias acknowledged that he had no proof that the pressure from the members of Congress prompted his forced resignation. But he said the contact violated one of the most important tenets of a U.S. attorney's office: Don't mix politics with prosecutions.

"I was appalled by the inappropriateness of those contacts," Iglesias said of the calls.

... Iglesias said the two members of Congress not only contacted him directly, but also tried to wrest details of the case from him.

An article in today's Albuquerque Journal adds more to this story,

There has been grumbling for months within the state Republican Party and legal community that the investigation into possible contract padding in state courthouse construction projects has been conducted at a snail's pace. The original allegations— involving contractors, public officials and millions of dollars— were brought to the U.S. attorney and the FBI more than 18 months ago.

... And Iglesias told the Journal after the news conference that he began losing the support of important state Republican Party leaders after the 2004 election when he didn't prosecute anyone for voter fraud.

Also check out this post on Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo that cites information first published by the New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan blog. Monahan's coverage of the story continues today, including speculation about the possible political fallout that may damage the political futures of Rep. Wilson and Sen. Domenici (above right) due to the unethical nature of the accusations. More will be revealed.

EmergeNewMexico is Accepting Applications for Its 2007 Class

From EmergeNewMexico:
EmergeNewMexico, an affiliate to EmergeAmerica, is a non-profit political training program for talented and diverse Democratic women who want to pursue elective office at the local, state and national levels.

Proven success: 60% of emerge graduates have gone on to serve in public office. This unique comprehensive, seven month (1 day/month) training program provides in depth skills on all aspects of running for office. EmergeNewMexico also provides the ongoing support of a strong network of Democrat women leaders already in public office or working on campaigns.

APPLY TODAY! Click for and more information. APPLICATIONS MUST BE POST MARKED or e-mailed to emergenm@yahoo.com BY March 15, 2007. For more information call Julie Koob at (505) 920-6002 or emergenm@yahoo.com 

2007 APS Board Election Results

Yesterday's Albuquerque Public School Board election results as reported in this Albuquerque Tribune article:

District 1, South Valley:
Dolores Griego 698
Richard Ray Sanchez 493
Cecilia M. C De Baca 319

District 2, West Side:
Robert Lucero 1,418
Cynthia L. Jones 1,020

District 4, Downtown, Mid-Heights:
Marty Esquivel 1,639
John B. Edward 1,156
Pauline Nuñez 900
Vanessa Alarid 384
Charles MacQuigg 149

The $157 million mil levy for school improvements passed with 60% of the vote.