Democracy for New Mexico

NM Dem Preprimary Convention Congressional Races

Click for Official Results (pdf) of voting at Saturday's Dem Preprimary Convention.

NM-01 (Albuquerque area):
Martin Heinrich was the only Congressional candidate in any of New Mexico's three Districts to get more than 50% of the delegate votes -- a very strong showing in a field of four. Also, his 28% margin of victory over the First District's second-place finisher Michelle Lujan Grisham -- at 56.41% to 28.29% -- was the largest of any winning candidate. Heinrich and Grisham were the only two candidates to reach the 20% level in NM-01, giving them automatic placement on the primary ballot in the number one and two slots, respectively.

Diego Arencón, Debbie O'Malley, Martin Heinrich

Heinrich was nominated and seconded by Albuquerque City Councilor Debbie O'Malley, who touted his leadership and hard work on issues like raising the minimum wage, water conservation and smart growth planning, and International Association of Fire Fighters' Local 224 President Diego Arencón, representing one of the many unions that have endorsed Heinrich's candidacy. Heinrich emphasized he has the skills necessary to lead in Washington and take on the special interests. He pushed ethics, renewable energy, ending the war, creating green-collar jobs, solving the health care dilemma and regaining and protecting our constitutional rights and civil liberties.

Rebecca Vigil-Giron (at 11.15%) and Robert Pidcock (at 4.16%) will have to submit more petition signatures if they want to get on the ballot. They both gave spirited speeches. Jessica Lynn Wolfe withdrew from the race before the voting began, and will run instead for State Senate in District 21 against conservative Repub incumbent Kent Cravens.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the event before Michelle Lujan Grisham gave her speech. I believe she had the tough role of being the last speaker of the day-long Convention. I've heard she was rousing nonetheless. Anyone out there hear her?

NM-02 (Southern NM):
Despite the deep pockets of wealthy oil business honcho Harry Teague and his friends in the Hobbs area oil patch funding Teague's candidacy, Dona Ana Commissioner Bill McCamley scored an impressive victory in the Second District with 48.71% of the delegate vote in the four-person race. Teague came in second with 36.47%, followed by Al Kissling (13.41%) and Frank McKinnon (1.41%).

Teague supporters fill the stage

McCamley's live-wire (and sometimes humorous) speech at the convention seemed to wow the delegates in all three Districts. He recounted how he had beaten big odds in his first campaign for Dona Ana County Commissioner, and trashed conventional wisdom in his fundraising and grassroots organizing in this campaign. Change is in the air and McCamley is working hard to bring fresh air and new ideas to Washington.

Former Lea County Commission Teague, however, won the unofficial wardrobe award in NM-02 with dozens of his supporters wearing blue campaign t-shirts and white hardhats as they marched to the stage in unison. He stressed his hard scrabble roots and his up by his bootstraps business successes as evidence of his hardworking nature and knowledge of the concerns of ordinary people.

McCamley (right) entered the contest back in April when incumbent Repub. Steve Pearce had yet to vacate the race to run for U.S. Senate, and by all accounts has waged a highly successful person-to-person grassroots campaign, traveling more than 45,000 miles to visit every county in the massive District -- some several times.

“We are so grateful for this overwhelming support for our campaign and the momentum it has given us,” McCamley said in a statement. “The message today was loud and clear: The people are hungry for someone who has the commitment to fight for change in Washington and results for southern New Mexico. Today was a victory for the people. Many political insiders said that we wouldn’t win today, because there is another candidate who has a lot of his own money to spend. We proved them wrong. We showed that hard work, commitment, and a compelling message are what really matters.”

McCamley has already raised about $300,000 for the race and his victory at the pre-primary has sparked a new campaign initiative to raise $30,000 more between now and Bill's 30th birthday on April 1st. The campaign is asking supporters to give Bill a "birthday gift" by March 31, which you can do right here at Act Blue.

NM-03 (Northern NM):
Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan was the top vote-getter at 40.21% of the delegate votes, with political newcomer and green developer Don Wiviott making a strong showing at 29.67%. The two will be on the primary ballot in the one and two slots, respectively.

Jason Marks at podium nominating Lujan (left)

Lujan's supporters, clad in bright yellow and red t-shirts, marched through the crowd and onto the stage tooting kazoos and raising a ruckus to music. Lujan was nominated by fellow PRC Commissioner Jason Marks, who cited Ben Ray's environmental achievements, work ethic and fairness. Lujan gave a powerhouse speech amidst much cheering from supporters, and stressed his New Mexican roots and dedication to environmental and energy issues.

Jason Marks (left), Ben Ray Lujan (right)

Commenting on his first-place finish in a six-candidate race, Luján said in a statement, "I am grateful and honored by the support delegates have shown for our campaign. Saturday's victory and Friday's endorsement by the League of Conservation Voters puts momentum on our side, and we will work 1 percent at a time to secure victory in June."

"This is a great showing, and along with the LCV endorsement, we clearly have the momentum going forward," said campaign manager Carlos Trujillo. "We will keep working to let voters know about Commissioner Luján's record of leadership on renewable energy, of holding insurance companies and big corporations accountable and of standing up for New Mexico consumers."

Don Wiviott was escorted toward the stage by a large contingent of supporters while the Beatles song "Revolution" filled the hall. In a surprise move, Wiviott was nominated by former Ambassador Joe Wilson (right), who relocated to Santa Fe last year with his family after Scooter Libby was found guilty in the scandal involving the outing of Valerie Plame-Wilson's CIA status by the Bush administration. He remarked that traditional political experience is highly overrated given the current state of affairs in DC and beyond, and that we need more citizen members of Congress like Wiviott to set things right.

Wiviott stressed that he's dedicated to bringing change to Washington and won't take a cent from special interest lobbyists or PACs in this campaign. He hopes to bring real-life experience at problem-solving and a strong dedication to greening the economy and ending the war to Washington.

In response to Don Wiviott's capturing almost 30% of the delegates, campaign spokesperson Caroline Buerkle said in a statement, “It is remarkable how far this campaign has come. Don started out with no name ID, no political network and none of the advantages of a political insider. Just a few months later, he shocked the establishment by not only getting on the ballot, but by running neck-and-neck with those who started with far more in their favor. Don’s strong showing is a testament to his progressive vision and voters’ desire for change.” 

Buerkle said Saturday that Don is looking forward to a spirited primary campaign. “Now that he’s on the ballot, Don’s going to keep on doing what got him here today -- working hard, meeting with voters and talking about his commitment to fight for change in Washington, DC. Today’s showing made clear that Don’s message is resonating with voters. They are tired of politics and politicians. They want leaders who will focus on their issues and fight for them.”

Jemez Pueblo member and former NM Secretary of Indian Affairs Benny Shendo Jr., garnered a somewhat surprising 16.47%. That didn't earn an automatic slot on the ballot for the electoral politics newcomer, but it did show he has substantial support in the District. Shendo is expected to seek a place on the ballot via the petition route, and he reportedly already has enough signatures to qualify. Many in the crowd were impressed by Shendo's heartfelt and progressive speech, and many commented on how refreshing it was to have a Native American candidate in the running. Here, here.

Trailing the field in NM-03 were Harry Montoya (10.98%), Jon Adams (2.37%) and Rudy Martin (0.30%).

Also see my previous posts on the Dem Nominating Convention here and here. You can check out our entire set of Convention photos at Flickr. All photos by M.E. Broderick except where noted.

2008 NM Dem Preprimary Convention: More Photos, Video

Rep. Tom Udall, Dem candidate for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, speaks out against torture at DPNM Preprimary Convention Saturday

First off, watch the video above and then head over to UdallForUsAll.com to add your name to the list of Americans who won't stand for torture.

Next, go check out some additional photos I added at Flickr from yesterday's Democratic Preprimary Convention held at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Also see my previous post on the Convention (and a later one here on the Congressional race results).

Warning: I learned that Flickr has been having a problem for two weeks with visitors who use Internet Explorer 6 as their browser. Usually the photos show up fine but the slideshow feature doesn't load and/or work properly. They're still trying to come up with a fix.

2008 NM Dem Pre-Primary Winners: Martin Heinrich, Bill McCamley, Ben Ray Lujan (with Photos)

Campaign signs line the way to Santa Ana Star Center

UPDATE: Also see my later post for a link to more photos from the event.
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Click for Official Results (pdf) of the pre-primary delegate voting for Congressional races, U.S. Senate and NM Supreme Court Justice.

Amanda Cooper, Jill Cooper-Udall, our next Senator: Rep. Tom Udall, former Ambassador Joe Wilson

I'm beat from spending most of the day at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho at the Dem Pre-Primary Convention but I wanted to post the Congressional results and some photos.

Rep. Tom Udall and wife Jill Cooper-Udall, who gave his nomination speech

Dems were out in force, campaign supporters were enthusiastic and vocal, the speeches were rousing (well, mostly) and competition for delegates was fierce.

2000+ Dems at Santa Ana Star Center

We had everything from a mariachi band strumming up support for Michelle Lujan Grisham to a Native American invocation, to former Ambassador Joe Wilson, now a Santa Fe resident, giving the nominating speech for Don Wiviott. I admit it -- I love waving campaign signs, being plastered with candidate stickers and schmoozing in an arena packed with Democrats. I can't help myself.

NM-02 candidate Bill McCamley with his mom


NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich at podium with Albuquerque City Councilor Debbie O'Malley to his left, who gave his nomination speech
Martin Heinrich booth

Check in tomorrow for more on the Convention, additional photos and some videos too.

NM-03 candidate Don Wiviott


NM-03 candidate Ben Ray Lujan

P.S. Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican live blogged the entire Convention. Now THAT's dedication!

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

Also see my later posts on the Convention here and here.

Gov. Richardson Skips Out on Dem Pre-Primary Convention

According to an AP article, Gov. Bill Richardson will be vacationing with his wife, Barbara, at an undisclosed location in the Caribbean this Saturday when the Democratic Party of New Mexico holds its day-long Pre-Primary Convention at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. I guess he doesn't need anything from NM's Dems at the moment -- so he doesn't feel compelled to attend the year's largest Party event or help energize the delegates for what will be one of our most important election seasons in decades.

Who are the delegates to the Convention? They're more than 1,900 Dems who've been elected at county conventions all over the state. They're State Central Committee members, county, ward and precinct chairs. They're elected officials, grassroots workers and donors. They're folks who canvass and make phone calls and do the grunt work of the Party, candidate campaigns and the election process. The delegates are a diverse cross section of active Dems who'll be pivotal this November when getting out the vote will be the top priority. Many of them toiled for untold hours before, during and after last month's presidential caucuses -- under often trying circumstances. They'll travel to the event from near and far at a time of incredibly high gas prices, pay for their own accommodations and meals and dedicate another weekend to the Democratic cause.

2008: Make or Break Year
This year, our three Congressional seats are up for grabs, there's a hotly contested, nationally spotlighted U.S. Senate race, elections in every State Senate and House district, judicial contests and more. Doesn't it seem odd that the titular head of our Party has apparently decided he has better things to do than mingle with the Party's rank and file to thank them for their time, efforts and donations and help inspire them for the battles to come?

Many NM Dems donated significant amounts of money and volunteered many hours of time to support Richardson's presidential campaign bid. Many even traveled to Iowa or NH in the dead of winter and paid for it out of their own pockets to help out his campaign. Now, when Dems from all over the state are gathering to hear our candidates speak, approve a platform, build momentum and renew acquaintances, Gov. Richardson will be hanging out in the tropics.

I don't begrudge the Governor some rest and relaxation after a long and grueling presidential run and a combative legislative session. But as they say, timing is everything.

Party On, Dems
I'm sure the Convention will go on just fine without Richardson. We've got an abundance of excellent candidates and enthusiastic delegates. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and State Chair Brian Colón will no doubt do a great job rallying the troops. Rep. Tom Udall will welcome delegates to a festive breakfast event. The Young Dems are hosting a gathering Friday evening. There'll be barn-burner speeches by candidates and treat-filled booths lining the hall. Dems in each Congressional District will vote for their favorite Congressional candidate -- determining who gets on the ballot without having to gather more petition signatures, as well as the order of names on the June primary ballot.

There'll be lots of NM Dems hugging and clapping and meeting and greeting. But I find it sad that Bill Richardson won't be among us, cheering us on and thanking us for our activism.

NM-01: Photos & Video, Dem Congressional Candidate Debate

AG Gary King, Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Robert Pidcock, Rebecca Vigil-Giron


Part of the crowd at UNM Law School lecture hall

Saturday's NM-01 Dem Congressional candidate forum hosted by the Democratic Women of Bernalillo County and moderated by AG Gary King was well-attended and smoothly run. Candidates who participated were Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock. Each got to respond to questions submitted by Democratic Women on issues like health care, Iraq and Afghanistan, civil liberties, water issues, the economy, education, the environment and renewable energy and give a short closing statement. Attendees I spoke with said all of the candidates did well, but most added that they thought Martin Heinrich's answers were generally head and shoulders above those offered by his rivals in terms of his grasp of the issues.

Closing statement by Martin Heinrich


Heinrich campaign displays some of its many endorsements

The event provided an opportunity for the four main candidates to answer questions and delineate positions before next Saturday's DPNM Pre-Primary Convention to be held at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. Delegates to the State Convention will vote on Congressional candidates in their District. To get an automatic place on the ballot, a candidate must receive at least 20% of the delegate vote in their District. If they don't, they must obtain additional petition signatures. The vote will also determine the order in which candidate names will appear on the June 3rd primary ballot, in addition to providing a gauge of the candidates' strength within the Party.

Closing statement by Michelle Lujan Grisham


Entry to UNM Law School with campaign signs


Volunteers at the Tom Udall for Senate table

You should also check out Bread for the World's blog. The local blogger had a chance to ask the candidates about increasing poverty-focused development assistance, the and the U.N. Millennium Development Goals after the forum. Nice photos too. Also, A Female New Mexican's Point of View covered the candidate forum, as well as the recent NM GOP vote-buying scandal.

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

To read previous coverage of the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.

NM-01 Dem Congressional Candidate Forum This Saturday

The Democratic Women of Bernalilllo County are hosting a forum for the Democratic candidates for U.S. House in CD1 on Saturday, March 8, at 3:00 PM at Room 2401 at the UNM Law School at 1117 Stanford NE in Albuquerque. Click for a map. The forum will be moderated by NM Attorney General Gary King. All are welcome to attend and learn more about Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock.

Large Turnout at Pre-Primary Convention of Bernalillo County Dems

State Party Chair Brian Colón revs the crowd

Note: I'll post some video clips and more photos later from Saturday's DPBC Convention. Here's my first installment.

As you may have noticed, Democrats are supercharged these days, turning out in droves at primaries, caucuses, campaign offices and party meetings all over the country. Bernalillo County Dems are no exception. The meeting room was packed at Saturday's DPBC Pre-Primary Convention at the Cibola High School Performing Arts Center on Albquerque's West Side.

Rep. Tom Udall urges Dems not to take anything for granted

With 646 delegates apportioned to the County, this was New Mexico's largest county party gathering among the confabs being held in counties around the state to elect delegates to the State Pre-Primary Convention. A total of 459 credentialed delegates (including the alternate replacements) were present at the DPBC Convention. Attendees filled the seats, lined the back of the room and formed delegate knots conferring in the hallways and at the tables of the candidates.

DPBC Parliamentarian Tim Keller, DPBC Chair Ana Canales

Unlike other counties where Dems elect their state delegates at their pre-primaries, Bernalillo County's elections of state delegates and alternates took place previously at ward/precinct meetings. The delegates to the State Convention were confirmed at the DPBC Pre-Primary. The State Convention is set for March 15, 2008 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

The DPBC Pre-Primary agenda also included discussing and passing resolutions to be forwarded to the state level, hearing from 2008 candidates and generally touching base to gear up for our June primary and the general election in November. Not to mention gossiping, hugging, sharing Repub jokes and downing all those little treats provided by campaigns.

Discussion and debate on more than 50 county party resolutions filled the first part of the meeting after a motion passed to move the Platform and Resolutions Committee report to the front of the agenda. County Platform and Resolutions Committee Chair Mel O'Reilly (right) led the delegates in a lively back and forth on timely issues like the death penalty, superdelegates, nuclear energy, the caucus process and the Iraq occupation. I should have a list of the resolutions passed sometime this week.

Rep. Tom Udall happened to sit down next to me during the resolutions debate and he said he was excited that so many Dems were passionately involved in the issues and showing up to join in the dialogue. He got thunderous applause and a standing ovation when he took the stage to speak to the delegates about turning New Mexico Blue in November 2008, when George Bush will NOT be on the ballot.

Rep. Udall, who's running to replace Pete Domenici as U.S. Senator, stressed that it's up to us if he's to be victorious in his Senate quest. He urged the crowd not to take anything for granted and reminded everyone that the Republicans will undoubtedly be dedicating significant funds and energy to keeping the seat in GOP hands. He said he's giving up a safe seat in Congress to seek the Senate seat at the urging of New Mexico's Democrats, and that we need to pull together and work hard to make victory a reality.

Martin Heinrich, NM-01 candidate

Delegates also heard short speeches from DPNM Chair Brian Colon, DPBC Chair Ana Canales, State Treasurer James B. Lewis, Secretary of State Mary Herrera and Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver. Candidates addressing the crowd and asking for support included all four primary contenders for Congress in CD1: Martin Heinrich, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron and Robert Pidcock. Others reaching out to the crowd included Tim Keller, running for State Senate in District 17; Eric Griego, a State Senate candidate in District 14; Jason Call, running for State Senate in District 20; District 11 State Senate candidate Michael Padilla and a group of District and Appeals Court judges.

Click on images for larger versions. All photos by M.E.Broderick.

If You're Not Part of the Solution, You're Part of the Problem

From the Democratic Party of New Mexico:
The Democratic Party of New Mexico is recruiting Neighborhood Leaders across the Land of Enchantment. The job of a Neighborhood Leader is simple and easy. You agree to take responsibility for contacting your friends and neighbors in your immediate area and talking to them about our Democratic nominees and the issues that matter most. If you are interested in becoming a Neighborhood Leader please contact Northern Field Organizer, Crystal Romero, or Southern Field Organizer, Miriam Diemer, by telephone at (505) 830-3650 or crystal@nmdemocrats.org and miriam@nmdemocrats.org.

We also need volunteers in our office to assist with data entry and reception duties. If you are interested in volunteering at the Albuquerque office please contact DPNM’s Volunteer Coordinator, Buck Glanz, at 505-830-3650 or buck@nmdemocrats.org. We have three hour shifts throughout the day and we need your help. Please specify your availability. 

DNC Trainings in New Mexico
There will be a series of trainings taking place next from Sunday, March 2nd thru Thursday, March 6th all across New Mexico focused on the Neighborhood Leader Program. Parag Mehta, Democratic National Committee Training Director will be heading up the curriculum for each of the events. Find a training near you and make a difference in your community:

To RSVP for any of the following trainings contact Crystal Romero at (505) 830-3650 or crystal@nmdemocrats.org. 

Sunday, March 2nd, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
Western New Mexico University
MECHA Building
1000 W. College St., Silver City, NM

Monday, March 3rd, 7:00PM – 9:00PM
New Mexico State University
Hardman Hall Room 104
University Ave., Las Cruces, NM

Tuesday, March 4th, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
TBD
Las Vegas, NM

Wednesday, March 5th, 1:00PM - 2:00PM
UNM School of Law
Room 2401, 1117 Stanford NE
Albuquerque, NM

Wednesday, March 5th, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
UNM Student Union Bldg. Ballroom C
Central & Stanford
Albuquerque, NM

Thursday, March 6th, 12:00PM – 1:00PM
UNM Valencia Campus
Academics Room 101, 2800 La Entrada
Los Lunas, NM

Thursday, March 6th, 6:00PM – 8:00PM
New Mexico Tech
Cramer Hall, room 101
801 Leroy Place
Socorro, NM 87801

We look forward to working with you to make New Mexico a Blue State in 2008!

Accuracy of NM Secretary of State's Voter List Questioned

Heather Clark of the Associated Press has written a thoughtful and comprehensive article discussing problems encountered with the voter lists used at caucus sites during New Mexico's February 5th Democratic presidential caucus. New Mexico's Secretary of State's office, along with those of many other states, contracts with ES&S, a Nebraska-based corporation, to maintain its master list of registered voters.

The Democratic Party of New Mexico used the Secretary of State's list to generate the list used at the caucus sites. According to the Party, the only changes made to the master list were the result of a merge operation conducted by TrueBallot, which added in late additions sent by three counties. The Party contracted with TrueBallot to produce the list used at the caucus sites.

As quoted in the article, reports from caucus volunteers, long-time registered voters who weren't on the caucus site list, the Mora County Clerk and others seem to point to the Secretary of State's list as a likely source of data problems. Excerpts:

In interviews with The Associated Press, several voters and volunteer poll workers pinpointed problems with the voter lists at polling places—and raised the possibility that the trouble may have originated not with the party but with the voter lists Democratic organizers were provided by the Secretary of State's office and county clerks.

In Mora County, for example, where half the voters cast provisional ballots, about 1,000 Democrats were stripped of their party affiliation in the Secretary of State's databank and so were never given to the Democratic Party for the caucus list, County Clerk Charlotte Duran said.

In one Bernalillo County polling place, last names beginning with the letter "A" were missing, said Lynn Jacobs, a volunteer poll worker at the site. In San Miguel County, voters on an entire street did not appear on the list, said Pat Leahan, director of the Las Vegas Peace and Justice Center who observed the caucus. And Caucus Director Beth Adams said caucus workers have noticed the names of some people whose addresses were rural routes or post office boxes were not included on the lists.

The names of state Auditor Hector Balderas and state District Judge William Lang—both longtime Democrats and voters—were omitted from the voter lists that were relied on during the Super Tuesday caucus, the two officials said.

A half dozen poll workers said they saw other longtime Democrats try to vote on Super Tuesday only to find their names were not on the lists.

"I had person after person, who had voted in every election, they hadn't moved in years, and were not on the lists," Jacobs said.

Since the lists were provided by Secretary of State Mary Herrera's office, any problems during the caucus could be repeated for the June primary and general election in November.

The question is: Were the problems inherent in the original lists provided by Herrera's office or did the Democrats change the data and inadvertently knock off voters' names?

... Anne Kass, a retired district judge and regular party volunteer, said nearly half those who voted by provisional ballot at the Albuquerque polling place where she worked were regular Democratic voters, who carried their voter ID cards that showed they were in the correct polling place.

"They would say, 'My spouse's name is here. My kids' names are here.' It was bizarre," Kass said.

Kass said the problems on caucus day make her worry about whether they will be repeated in later elections this year.

"I'm concerned about June and November. I'm concerned about the accuracy of elections and have been for some time now," she said.

The Response of the Secretary of State
Unfortunately, NM Secretary of State Mary Herrera and others in her office seem uninterested in determining if there are problems with the state's master list, as produced by ES&S:

A spokesman for Herrera said her office has no immediate plans to investigate reports of missing voter names and is waiting to hear from the Democratic Party about any inadequacies with the lists.

"If there are any discrepancies, it would have been after it would have been received by the Democratic Party. Let them investigate it. Let's find out what really happened," spokesman James Flores said.

The article goes on to debunk this view in regard to at least some of the errors encountered:

But Mora County's missing voter names happened before they handed over their lists to the Democrats, Duran said.

Clerks there discovered after the caucus that about 1,000 Democrats and about 100 Republican voters had been stripped of their party affiliation in the databank. So the Democrats' names were never passed to the party to be included in the caucus lists.

Duran said she contacted Election Systems & Software, which contracts with the state to manage the software, but was unable to get a guarantee that the problem would not crop up again.

"They couldn't answer me or they didn't want to," she said.

... Since 2000, the Nebraska-based company has provided the state with software, which was last updated in December, Flores said. County clerks offices are responsible for updating voter information, which, in turn, automatically updates the Secretary of State's list, he said.

"Everything that the software was supposed to have done before we handed over the list to the Democrats, we're satisfied with," Flores said.

Dem Party Investigation
Meanwhile, the Dem Party has said they will be studying how the caucus was conducted and looking further into complaints about the voter list:

The Democrats say they plan to investigate complaints about voter lists they received. Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colon and Gov. Bill Richardson have scheduled an April 25 summit in Albuquerque to discuss the caucus, and Colon and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish are talking about forming a committee to review the caucus.

"We're going to take a long-term look both at whatever happened at the caucus and whether we're going to hold a caucus and that's going to take a long time," said Josh Geise, the party's interim executive director, who started working for the party about two weeks after the caucus.

... Geise said three counties—San Juan, Santa Fe and Eddy—had late registrants that did not show up on the Secretary of State's Office lists, but were later forwarded to the party as soon as they were available.

The party then turned the lists over to TrueBallot, which it hired to help administer the caucus.

Response by TrueBallot
TrueBallot denies that anything they did in handling the master list would have created the kinds of errors found with the list at caucus sites:

The company's chief information officer, Nick Koumoutseas, said his company merged the initial Secretary of State list with the late registrants from the three counties and managed the databank.

But Koumoutseas said he does not think names were dropped from the Democrats' list during his company's management of them.

"I've been doing this for 13 years and I generally err on the side of having too many instances of voters. I would have the same name in there twice" in cases were addresses were vague or names showed different spellings, he said.

Speculation on DNC VoteBuilder Merge
The article also addresses questions as to whether there was a merge of the State's list with the DNC's VoteBuilder list that might have caused the problems:

Some poll workers and election watchdog groups have speculated that some of the problems may have come up when the state Democratic Party merged the Secretary of State's list with a VoteBuilder list of Democratic voters, which was prepared by the Democratic National Committee.

Adams said the VoteBuilder list was only used after the caucus to help validate voters who cast provisional ballots and was never merged with the Secretary of State's voter list.

Actions Needed
So what should come next? Obviously every effort should be made to determine the source of the list problems so that errors and omissions can be corrected before we vote again at our June primary and the general election in November. Furthermore, we must learn what kind of system or human errors produced the inaccuracies so that additional inaccuracies aren't produced in the coming months. And if we're to trust our election process, any investigation of the problems must be done out in the open, not behind closed doors. We can't allow any examination into the source of the flawed data to end up as just another political blame game full of deceptions and spin -- while the problems fester uncorrected.

The Secretary of State's office needs to stop the finger pointing and begin working with the Democratic Party to produce an honest assessment of what happened with the voter list and what can be done to assure it doesn't happen again in the future. The DPNM needs to reach out to the Secretary of State and begin working with them to get it done, and get it done out in the open so ALL the problems and their causes are exposed.

Paul Stokes, coordinator of United Voters of New Mexico, an electoral watchdog, said he thinks the Democrats should investigate the problems in conjunction with the Secretary of State's office.

"Clearly this needs to be investigated in a transparent way so the public can know what's going on," he said.

P.S. The reason I quoted so much of the article as published in the Las Cruces Sun-News is that the Albuquerque Journal omitted some of the most important passages when it published a version of this story today. Specifically, the Journal's truncated version omitted some of the quotes by caucus site volunteers and did not include the explanation by TrueBallot of their handling of the list and how it was merged with updates from three counties.

DPNM: Back to the Future

The next time you want local mainstream media to pay attention to your event, send out an anonymous and roughly written "press release" promising mayhem and claiming widespread support. Works like a charm.

I don't know who sent out the release the day before Saturday's Democratic Party of New Mexico's special State Central Committee meeting in Albuquerque on resolutions and platform announcing there'd be an attempt to oust DPNM Chair Brian Colón. The statement claimed strong support for a recall from SCC members, candidates and current and former Dem officeholders, but didn't name any names. KRQE-News was apparently so taken with the prospect of a brouhaha aimed at Colón that they covered the press release challenge on their Friday evening broadcast -- despite there being no way to check out its veracity. New TV-News Rule: No fact checking necessary on political stories about possible Democratic Party turmoil.

So what happened at Saturday's SCC meeting? Several standing ovations for Brian Colón (right) and everybody else involved in the Dem Caucus for hanging in there and performing the incredibly tough jobs of responding to record voter turnout and painstakingly qualifying and counting 17,000+ provisional ballots. Most attendees wore pro-Colon stickers.

"Evidently, the rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated" said Colón. "I sit before you humbled by the support I have received from the 33 county chairs. They believe in Brian Colón." Here's an AP story, an Albuquerque Journal article and a column by the Journal's Gene Grant about the meeting.

Colón announced that the Party would pursue a two-pronged plan to study the strengths and weaknesses of the Caucus process: 1) forming a committee headed by himself and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish to study what happened, including problems with the voter lists, and consider alternatives for future caucuses or primaries; 2) organizing a town hall Caucus Summit to be headed by Gov. Bill Richardson, tentatively set for April 25, to hear feedback and suggestions from Party members and voters about the issue. 

Colón reminded the crowd that vote counting is still going on in California and New York, places where state government ran the primaries with larger budgets and many more workers. He also mentioned there'd be no real need for a Democratic presidential caucus in 2012 if we win the presidency -- our incumbent prez would presumably be running for a second term. Talk about a positive thought.

Most of the conversations among revved-up crowd members from all over the state focused on a willingness to work hard to turn New Mexico completely blue at the Congressional level and take back the White House. There was a palpable sense of excitement in the crowd about our November prospects, along with amazement at the Caucus turnout.

After buzzing around among the candidate tables outside the meeting room at CNM's Smith-Brasher hall and cheering for speakers that included NM Federation of Labor- AFL-CIO President Christine Trujillo, State Treasurer James Lewis and State Auditor Hector Balderas, the SCC members set about conducting the Party's business.

What followed were hours of often tedious work to get through more than 100 resolutions that had emerged from the ward and county levels to the State Resolutions & Platform Committee, and then to the SCC for approval. Those gaining passage, along with previously approved resolutions, will form the backbone of the State Party's 2008 platform, which will be voted on at the Democratic Pre-Primary Convention at the Santa Ana Star Casino in Rio Rancho on March 15, 2008.

Not a peep was heard during the meeting about any resolution or motion to recall the Chair.

Click on images for larger versions. All photos by M.E. Broderick.