Democracy for New Mexico

Last Day for Early Voting in APS Board Election

This is the last day for early in-person for the Albuquerque Public Schools board election. The election is set for February 6, 2007 with consolidated polling places around the city. Today you can voted at any of the four early voting locations in Albuquerque that will be open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM:

Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office
6th Floor, Room 6011
One Civic Plaza

APS City Centre
6400 Uptown Blvd NE

Plaza Ladera
5300 Sequoia NW Suite G

Paradise Hills Community Center
5901 Paradise Blvd NW
Note: Early Voting is in the West Annex building

Today is also the last day to request an absentee ballot and all such completed ballots must be received at the Bernalillo County Clerk's office by 7:00 PM Tuesday.

If you have any questions you can call the office of the Bernalillo County Clerk at 468-1290 or email them at clerk@bernco.gov.

Check our previous post for more information on the election and the candidates. To determine which APS district you reside in, click here and enter your address.

The Albuquerque Tribune online has video interviews with board candidates.

More Opportunities to See APS Board Candidates

According to an item in the Albuquerque Journal, a tape of the 1/24/07 forum with Albuquerque Public School Board candidates will be televised on TalNet, Cable Channel 96, at 4:00 PM this Saturday. One of our readers who attended the forum reports that, "The room was packed for the forum last night, and people were sitting in the hall. They even had a simultaneous Spanish translator! The event was very efficiently run, but there were too many questions submitted by the audience to cover them all. Fortunately, I found out that we will have another chance -- there is another candidate forum next week."  Here's the info:

From the Highland High School Calendar, https://www.highlandhornets.com/ (scroll down for calendar):
SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES FORUM
January 31, 2007 6:30-8:30 PM
Highland High LECTURE HALL
(South of Main Building, Connected to Band Building)
4700 Coal Avenue SE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
(505) 265-3711  (Phone)
(505) 348-8503  (Fax)

Parking: On Jefferson, or in the staff parking lot North of the main building (S. of Coal) and walk around

The APS Board Election will be held February 6, 2007. Early and absentee ballot voting is taking place right now.

Mayor Marty: Big Plans for NM 10-50 Years Down the Road

According to an Albuquerque Journal article today, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez is already setting things in motion for a possible run for NM Governor in 2010. That's right, 2010, three years hence. We presume he'll be running as a Democrat, although he's been making nice with many Repubs during his last two mayoral campaigns. On Friday he formed a committee called 'Marty Chavez for New Mexico' to raise campaign bucks. Next week, ex-Ambassador to Spain Ed Romero, a powerful local Dem, is hosting a $2000 a person "exploratory kickoff event," although he's claiming he's not taking sides yet.

I guess Mayor Chavez is feeling threatened (or movitated) by current Lt. Governor Diane Denish's frequent announcements that she'll be running for guv in '08, as well as her accumulated $1 million campaign fund as of the end of '06. Denish, who's already well known and liked all over the state and is a past Chair of the Democratic Party of NM, will also have the advantage of increased media coverage when she''s in charge of running the store during Gov. Richardson's out of state trips to campaign for the presidency. Chavez had this say about his plans:

"It's pretty hard to deny I would like to be governor," he said, "and I've got very, very strong ideas about where I'd like to see New Mexico 10 years, 50 years down the road. But it's premature for those right now. I've got the biggest city in the state to run and that's my number one priority."

I don't know, isn't it customary for candidates to want to represent their CONSTITUENTS' ideas and viewpoints more than their own when expressing a desire to run for office? Not in this case. Then again, the Mayor has a habit of suggesting citizens take his way or the highway with issues like APS Board appointments, minimum wage raises for the city, roads through the Petroglyph National Monument, Downtown event centers and bars that offer fenced off areas for underage music fans. I can only imagine what he's hatching for New Mexico 10-50 years down the line. One thing we can be sure of is that the plans will almost certainly match the desires of big donor developers, some of his biggest contributors.

Recently, Mayor Chavez has also expressed an interest in running for Pete Domenici's Senate seat, but only if Domenici chooses not to run for another term in 2008. Of late, Sen. Domenici has been emphasizing he will, indeed, run again.

So far, Chavez hasn't had any success with running for statewide office. In 1998 he ran for governor, with Denish running for Lt Governor, but lost to Repub incumbent Gov. Gary Johnson by a margin of 54% to $46%, or 34,000 votes. Denish was also defeated, by Repub incumbent Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley.

APS Mill Levy and Board Election Set for 2.06.07

The Albuquerque Public Schools will hold a two-mill levy election to pay for school maintenance and repairs on February 6, 2007. Info is available at the APS website. The APS Board will also elect members in Districts 1, 2 and 4 that day:

District 1: Southwest
Incumbent: Miguel Acosta, who is not seeking re-election
Candidates: Richard Ray Sanchez; Cecilia M. C. De Baca; and Dolores A. Griego

District 2: West/Northwest
Incumbent: Robert D. Lucero
Candidates: Robert D. Lucero; Cynthia L. Jones

District 4: Downtown, Albuquerque High, Highland High neighborhoods
Incumbent: Leonard DeLayo, not seeking re-election
Candidates: John Brannan Edward; Vanessa Alarid; Albuquerque attorney Marty Esquivel; businesswoman Pauline Nunez and Charles MacQuigg, a retired shop teacher

To determine your district and find your election day polling place, visit the website of the Bernalillo County Clerk and enter your address. A complete list of election day polling places is available here.

Early Absentee In-Person Voting for the election has begun at four convenient locations:

County Clerk’s Office
6th Floor, Room 6011
One Civic Plaza

APS City Centre
6400 Uptown Blvd NE

Plaza Ladera
5300 Sequoia NW Suite G

Paradise Hills Community Center
5901 Paradise Blvd NW
Note: Early Voting is in the West Annex building

The locations will be open between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM through February 2, 200. Voters can also request an Absentee Ballot by calling 468-1291.

The APS/CNM Election will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2007 with consolidated polling locations open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Call 468-1291 for more information.

APS to Hold School Board Candidate Forum 1/24/07

From Albuquerque Public Schools:
Albuquerque Public Schools will hold a forum for candidates for the APS Board of Education at 7 PM, Wednesday, January 24, at the APS Building, located at 6400 Uptown Blvd. NE. The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters.

“This is a great opportunity for the community to hear the views and opinions of those running for the Albuquerque Public Schools’ Board of Education,” said Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Everitt. “Each candidate will be given time for an opening statement, they will then answer questions from the community, and then will give a closing statement.”

According to the Bernalillo County Clerk, currently there are three candidates in District 1, located in the south valley of Albuquerque. They are: Cecilia C de Baca, Dolores Griego, and Richard Sanchez.

There are two candidates in District 2, located in Albuquerque’s west side. They are: Cynthia Jones and Robert Lucero, who is an incumbent.

There are five candidates in District 4, located in the downtown and University area of Albuquerque. They are: Vanessa Alarid, John Edward, Martin Esquivel, Charles MacQuigg, and Pauline Nuñez.

“We encourage the citizens of Albuquerque to attend this very important and informative meeting,” added Everitt.

Every child has a right to a quality public education and APS is committed to providing that education. For more information about Albuquerque Public Schools visit www.aps.edu.

Maggie Toulouse Named Bernalillo County Clerk

Congratulations to Maggie Toulouse, who was appointed Bernalillo County Clerk to fill the rest of the term vacated by Mary Hererra, our new Secretary of State. Toulouse was chosen by the Bernalillo County Commission from among a dozen candidates. Toulouse was recently the Southwest campaign manager for the League of Conservation Voters. She was sworn in on January 2nd. You can read more about Toulouse in her recent guest blog on DFNM. KRQE News has some video and photos.

According to an Albuquerque Journal article,

Bernalillo County commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of her appointment. Favoring Toulouse were Deanna Archuleta, who made the nomination, as well as Teresa Córdova and Michael Brasher. Alan Armijo and Tim Cummins voted for Assistant City Clerk Kelli Fulgenzi for the job.

Toulouse said she intends to seek election as clerk in 2008. In the meantime, she said, she would run the clerk's office with "integrity, honesty and fairness."

Today in Local News

On the radar screen today:

Rep. Ben Lujan (D-Nambe) won the secret vote to retain his role as NM House Speaker over challenger, Rep. Ken Martinez (D-Grants), at yesterday's closed door caucus of House Dems. Martinez will keep his Majority Leader post. Both candidates for Speaker had claimed they would have enough votes to win, and the margin between them was reportedly tight. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-ABQ) was re-elected as whip and Rep. John Heaton (D-Carlsbad) will again serve as caucus chair.

In a 5-4 vote, the Albuquerque City Council rejected the adoption of interim design rules for big box stores, a measure introduced by City Council President Debbie O'Malley. However, her permanent rules for big box development will be sent to the Environmental Planning Commission. Their recommendations to the Council on the proposal will be due in about four months. The decision is a loss for the folks trying to stop the "super" Wal-Mart at Osuna and Vista del Norte, but offers some hope for future improvements in the ugly big boxes springing up all over town. Voting to reject the temporary rules were Sally Mayer, Ken Sanchez, Brad Winter, Craig Loy and Don Harris. Ike Benton, Michael Cadigan and Martin Heinrich voted for approval.

The Council also approved special tax increment development districts for Mesa Del Sol. However, they delayed until January 10th any decision on the percentage of future district tax revenues the developer will be allowed borrow against to pay for infrastructure. For the financing plan to work for developer Forest City Covington, they'll have to get the city to sign off on all the details, then get the approval of Bernalillo County and the legislature. See my earlier post for more on this issue.

Albuquerque's Mayor Chavez announced a $10 million, two year plan to landscape 100 acres of land around the Big I. Five thousand dollars will come from the city's coffers and an equal amount from the state. Chavez bragged that the addition of thousands of trees, shrubs, cactuses and grasses would transform Albuquerque. "It's got a lot of 'wow' factor in it," he said. Wow, wow, wow. The new plantings, to be bid in phases, will eventually enhance the area along I-25 and I-40 from Menaul to Indian School and Edith to Universtiy.

Our current U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, a Republican who lost the Attorney General race in 1998 to Patricia Madrid, announced he'll be leaving his post two years early. It's rumored the FBI and other DC bigwigs are displeased with his handling of the state treasurer scandal and, perhaps, the brewing case related to possible corruption in the construction of the Metro and District courthouses in Albuquerque. Hey, maybe Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff can offer him a job at the sprawling agency that provides refuge for hordes of pompously incompetent operatives like Brownie.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley visited the campsite of about 50 tribal members who are protesting the construction of the coal-fired Desert Rock Power Plant on Navajo land in the Four Corners. See our earlier post for background on this issue.

Terry Riley Guest Blog: Support Maggie Toulouse for Bernalillo County Clerk

From guest blogger Terry Riley:
On January 1st Mary Herrera will tender her resignation as county clerk and be sworn in as Secretary of State of New Mexico. At that point Bernalillo County commissioners will have to meet to appoint a new County Clerk.

I attended a meeting of Democracy for New Mexico last week where Maggie Toulouse spoke. She told a bit about herself and she asked for suggestions for priorities for change in the county election process. She recognized that she was speaking with people who had participated in this year's election process. The input from the group was varied and her responses appeared thoughtful.

Ms. Toulouse asked for support for the nomination. She indicated that she would submit a summary of her qualifications to the Democracy for New Mexico web site. (Editor's Note: She did submit this info, which can be found in this post.) From a little experience that I have had working with her and very heavily from her presentation at DFNM I feel that she is a very good candidate for replacing Mary Herrera. 

If you are a Bernalillo County resident and you want to recommend Maggie Toulouse for Bernalillo County Clerk I ask that you contact your commissioner and indicate your support. You can also have an effect if you contact the other commissioners, be sure to indicate whose district you reside in.  The contact information for the Bernalillo County Commissioners is:

Alan B. Armijo, 505-768-4027, msalazar@bernco.gov

Teresa L. Cordova, PhD, 505-768-4448, bmiera@bernco.gov

Deanna A. Archuleta, 505-768-4108, sdanciger@bernco.gov

Tim Cummins, 505-768-4001, emckinley@bernco.gov

Michael Brasher, 505-768-4002, rdoucette@bernco.gov

Address: One Civic Plaza NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
They are located on the 10th floor. 

Please take action.  New Mexico needs the most qualified people in county clerk positions, especially Bernalillo County.

Editor's Note: This opinion piece is a guest blog submitted by Terry Riley. If you would like to submit a post for possible publication as a guest blog here, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the main blog page.

Congrats to Our New U.S House Appropriations Committee Member Rep. Tom Udall!

Congressman Tom Udall (R), his wife Jill Cooper Udall (L), and Tom's father former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall (C) voting by paper ballot on election day

Big round of applause! New Mexico's popular and progressive Dem congressman from Northern New Mexico's 3rd congressional district, Rep. Tom Udall, just got appointed to the powerful U.S. House Appropriations Committee. Apparently the move is part of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's strategy to empower younger Dems who may have less seniority but who possess the spirit, energy and ethics needed to reinvigorate Dem initiatives in the House. This appointment will allow Udall to finally show his stuff. Until now, his time in the House has been dogged by tight Republican rule that made effective Dem participation almost impossible.

An Albuquerque Journal article quoted Rep. Udall, who just won his fifth 2-year term in the U.S. House with 75% of the vote, on his new clout:

This is a powerful, exclusive committee, and I have a much better opportunity to do good things in the state ... Udall said he will push for more money for veterans, health care, affordable education and protection of natural resources in his new role.

Rep. Udall's on a roll these days, with President Bush yesterday signing his bill protecting Northern New Mexico's Valle Vidal from oil and gas drilling. Like other members of his illustrious political family, Tom Udall has been a mighty supporter of all things environmental during his entire career in public service.

The House Appropriations Committee has been a controversial and often unethical "pork" producer in recent years. Vastly increased numbers of often secretive and questionable earmarks were passed out like candy by Repubs in order to bolster the lock-step Party discipline imposed by ex-Rep. Tom DeLay in his role as Majority Leader. However, Rep. Udall says the Dem-dominated 110th Congress will be different. According to an Albuquerque Tribune article:

Udall said he supports the decision of the new House Democratic leadership to leave earmarks - special projects included by lawmakers - off 2007 spending bills while they come up with a way to reform the out-of-control process of earmarking.

"It was a disaster the way the Republicans handled this. It's going to be difficult for everybody, but it's a new day, and we're moving in a new direction," said Udall. "This is going to be viewed very positively. We're reformers."

House rules require that Udall relinquish his Committee memberships on Veterans' Affairs and Small Business and Resources (where he was scheduled to chair a subcommittee) in order to serve on Appropriations. Again quoting the Tribune article:

I think I can do more for New Mexico and the state on the Appropriations Committee. I'm going to continue to fight for priorities I've been fighting for," Udall said. One of those is the national parks system, which has never received the money to eliminate a backlog of maintenance that the Bush administration promised, said Udall.

After Dem victories in November, Udall was also named to the Steering and Outreach Committee of the Democratic Caucus, which deals with committee assignments and other Party business. Looks like it may have given him a well-deserved leg up.

Pelosi's other appointments to Appropriations include Rep.-elect Ciro Rodriguez (Texas) who just won a runoff against Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), Reps. Ben Chandler (Ky.), Michael Honda (Calif.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Betty McCollum (Minn.), Tim Ryan (Ohio), C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger (Md.), Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.).  The Committee will be chaired by Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin).

New Mexico's one and only member of the potent House Appropriations Committee was the late Joe Skeen, a Repub who represented NM-02 from 1981 through 2003, when he passed away. On the Senate side, Repub Sen. Pete Domenici has long been a powerhouse on the Senate Appropriations Committee, although with Dems taking over he'll lose his chairmanship of the Committee's Energy & Water Development Subcommittee.

Guest Blog: Maggie Toulouse, Candidate for Bernalillo County Clerk

Editor's Note: When Maggie Toulouse spoke at our DFA-DFNM Meetup last week she promised to send us more information about her qualifications and goals related to her campaign for the position of Bernalillo County Clerk. The Bernalillo County Commission will appoint a candidate on January 1, 2007 to fill the vacancy created by Mary Herrera's election as NM Secretary of State. Here's what Maggie sent:

Maggie Toulouse is the only candidate for Bernalillo County Clerk who has the academic and hands-on experience to improve our electoral system and has a clear agenda to make our elections more transparent, efficient and accessible. 

As the State Director for the non-partisan League of Conservation voters, Maggie led public education campaigns that registered thousands of voters and mobilized hundreds of volunteers to turn out the vote on Election Day.  She has successfully managed several statewide conventions with elections, including the 1996 Democratic Pre-Primary Convention.  As an appointee of the Bernalillo County Commission to the Board of Voter Registration, Maggie pushed for improvements to the voter registration process.

A UNM Phi Beta Kappa with a Masters in Political Science, Ms. Toulouse is a recognized academic having published in the Critique Journal of Politics on New Mexico voting behavior.  She serves as faculty at the UNM Political Science Department and teaches Political Science 200: Introduction to American Politics.

Maggie is running on an agenda for improving our elections process.  As Bernalillo county clerk she will:

• Create new efficiencies and streamline the process of absentee and hand-tallied ballot counting for future elections to ensure reliable results in a time-sensitive manner.

• Implement an election worker retention program and expanded election worker training in order to ensure that Bernalillo County has the best-trained and experienced election team in the nation.

• Work to ensure safeguards against voter fraud and voter intimidation and further protect the privacy of the paper ballot system.

She currently serves as a consultant to Common Cause New Mexico.  Maggie is the proud mother of Christian Toulouse, age 9.

If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Maggie Toulouse at magtoulouse@hotmail.com or 505-833-2023. Click for a Word document version of this resume, should you want to share it with others.

Editor's Notes: If you'd like to contact your Bernalillo County Commissioner to express your views on the candidate they should appoint as Bernalillo County Clerk, . To determine which Commission district you reside in click here and enter your street address.

This post was submitted by guest blogger Maggie Toulouse. If you'd like to submit a post for possible publication here as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of our main page.