Democracy for New Mexico

Friday: Campaign Kick Off for Don Wiviott for Senate

Please Join Us for the Campaign Kick Off Event
for
Don Wiviott
Democratic Candidate
for
United States Senate
New MexicoFriday, September 7th
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Ventana Fine Art
400 Canyon Road, Santa Fe
RSVP@donfornewmexico.com
505.820.2008Patron $250     Curator $100     Artist $50

“New Mexicans, no matter what your political views are, we agree that we need a change in Washington. It’s time for a fresh start.  Let’s get our troops out of Iraq, balance the federal budget, and increase our nation’s energy independence through a focus on renewable energy and sustainable building.”

Meet Don Wiviott
Don Wiviott, 51, is a community leader and small businessman who builds environmentally-friendly live/work spaces here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  With a vision of creating diverse, sustainable and green communities where people can both live and work, Don’s award-winning THE LOFTS ™ and the Lofts at Marquez Place are home to over 150 businesses and residents, including numerous artists and technology companies.

Don serves on the Governor’s “Our Communities, Our Future” Task Force and is Chairman of the Mayor’s Economic Development Review Committee in Santa Fe. He is an active member of the Santa Fe Area Chamber of Commerce, Build Green New Mexico and the Santa Fe Alliance.  Don and his wife, Kelley Owen Wiviott, a prominent realtor, support more than 25 state and local charities, including 1000 Friends of New Mexico, Art Smart, Santa Fe Aids Walk, LENSIC, Warehouse 21, Santa Fe Design Week, Theatre Grottesco and other education, disability, youth, arts and environmental organizations.

Don worked as a union laborer while earning his B.A. from Dartmouth College and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard. Don and Kelley share their lives with two adult children: Jonathan and Hillary, as well as their dog Scooter.

Rove Paid Homage to Domenici on Bush Visit to NM

Turns out Karl Rove was on a stealth mission with The Decider when Bush zoomed into Albuquerque on August 27th to attend a big dollar fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici at the home of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque Mayor Larry Abraham. According to a report by Jeff Jones in today's Albuquerque Journal (which I can't find online), Abraham told him he rode back to Kirtland Air Foce Base in the presidential limo with both Bush and Rove after the luncheon fundraiser.

There had been no previous mention of Rove's presence in New Mexico with Bush, probably with good reason. Testimony and emails have linked Rove with the U.S. Attorney firing scandal in no uncertain terms. And Domenici and NM GOP operatives were clearly enmeshed with Rove in the unethical political maneuvering that unsuccessfully pressured New Mexico's former U.S. Attorney, David Iglesias, to file bogus "voter fraud" cases and rush indictments in the Albuquerque courthouse case before the November 2006 election. Domenici and other New Mexican Repubs, you may recall, reportedly urged Rove and others to see that Iglesias was fired when he didn't buckle under their pressure.

Iglesias was back in the news recently when Alberto Gonzales finally resigned in disgrace. He's quoted in an article in the Albuquerque Tribune:

"Alberto Gonzales is not solely responsible for my illicit firing. People like (Sen.) Pete Domenici also were responsible," Iglesias told The Tribune.

Iglesias said he believes Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff, "cooked up" the plan to fire the U.S. attorneys with the aid of people such as Domenici, the Albuquerque Republican who today hosted President Bush at a fund-raiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque

Since Rove's last day on the job was August 31st, one of his last acts while on the White House payroll was to jet here to see his old cronies in the New Mexico GOP. Rove apparently thought it important to touch base with Domenici, helping him raise cash while undoubtedly urging him to continue his support for Bush's miserably misbegotten Iraq occupation. I'm sure Karl also made a point of hugging Pat Rogers, Mickey Barnett and Repub Party Chair Allen Weh, who were so instrumental in attempting to execute Rove's long running battleground state "voter fraud" strategy to disenfranchise and discourage Dem voters. The three, along with Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson, were also heavily involved in the process that led to former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias getting fired.

To refresh your memory, Domenici and Weh reportedly urged Rove to pass along the word to Bush and Alberto Gonzales that they wanted Iglesias fired for refusing to make the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Mexico an arm of the GOP political operation. Soon afterwards, Iglesias was gone.

Check out the discussion about the involvement of Rogers and Barnett in our post from May of this year. Also be sure to revisit the excellent piece by James Scarantino from the May 24-30, 2007 edition of the alibi that details the shady dealings of Pat Rogers, Pete Domenici and Rove related to the "voter fraud" campaign and Iglesias' firing.

No wonder Rove accompanied the president to New Mexico last month. He wanted to link up once again with the New Mexico Repubs who were such important cogs in the machine Rove created to politicize the U.S. Department of Justice and make the federal government just another element of his grand plan for GOP dominance at the polls. Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Rove reunited with his New Mexico GOP hit team to reminisce and plot one last time before he left his post at the White House to pursue who knows what. I'm sure Rove wanted to remind his cronies to stick with the party line in any future proceedings in DC about the attorney firings. After all, neither Domenici nor Wilson have yet to be cleared of wrongdoing in their admitted calls to Iglesias before the 2006 election. Silence is golden, and loose lips sink ships -- even ships of state.

For a collection of our previous posts on the firing of David Iglesias and the U.S. Attorney scandal, visit our archive.

ABQ Council May Use Blight-Fighting Tool to Spread Urban Sprawl

From the New Mexico News Connection:
A financial tool meant for local governments to help revitalize run-down neighborhoods and blighted inner cities could be used instead to increase Albuquerque's urban sprawl. Developers have proposed using "tax-increment financing" to subsidize new developments on empty land near the edge of the city -- at the huge new Mesa Del Sol development near the Sunport and at an even bigger development on the West Mesa. The Albuquerque City Council will be taking final action on a related measure tomorrow (Wednesday).

The developers say their plans will boost the city's economy -- but Gabriel Nims with says they will take public funding away from where it's needed most. He said, "We should be focusing on re-investing in our core community. We've identified a over 1.7 billion dollar backlog in infrastructure costs or needs. Why should we be throwing the bank at further development on the fringe? "

The new developments could increase Albuquerque's population by over twenty percent. Nims says there needs to be more study of the impacts of such large developments on the local economy.

Eric Schmeider from the Southwest Organizing Project says the subsidies actually take money out of the state's general fund and away from more needy rural communities. He said, "Taxpayers from Clayton to Carlsbad are subsidizing development in the Albuquerque - Rio Grande corridor."

Click to get for your Albuquerque City Councilor.

Visuals: Iraq Summer 'Take a Stand' in Albuquerque

I haven't had a chance to report on the moving and well-attended Take a Stand Town Hall organized in Albuquerque by the Iraq Summer campaign and others. The August 28th event at the UNM Continuing Education Auditorium attracted more than 300 people to hear Albuquerque City Counselor Martin Heinrich; ex-Marine Bruce Clark (videos above), the parent of two sons in the military, one of whom is stationed north of Baghdad right now; Major General Mel Montano, US Air National Guard, Retired, and former Adjunct General of New Mexico; Judy Pratt, activist, former NM State Senator and 1984 U.S. Senate candidate against Pete Domenici; and Greg Richardson of the Iraq Summer campaign.

Both Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson were invited to participate, but refused the invitation to speak with their constituents about what they plan to do to end the carnage in Iraq.

I've compiled images from the Albuquerque event in this photo album for you to check out.

City Councilor Martin Heinrich speaks to crowd

The videos at the top of this post are excerpts of Bruce Clark's extremely emotional and passionate speech. They're of rather poor quality, taken with our little digital camera, but I hope you'll listen to Bruce's words about the real intent of Bush, his cronies and his supporters like Domenici and Wilson. If everyone in New Mexico could hear Bruce speak, I know that most of them would have a clear picture of what's truly at stake here. The other speakers were also excellent, and I'll cover more of what they had to say later. For now, please listen to Mr. Clark and do what you can to convince Domenici and Wilson to do what's right for the country, not what's right for the GOP or the Bush administration.

The event was moderated by Carter Bundy of AFSCME, who did a bang up job, and began with what seemed like an eternity of total silence as we watched a slideshow with the faces and names of members of the military from New Mexico who have died in the war. Lives are at stake. Time is of the essence. And still Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson won't vote to stop the deadly and damaging occupation.

By the way, Iraq Summer, MoveOn, True Majority and others helped organize similar events in many other states around the nation that day. Click to see a slide show of photos from other states.

Help Elect Replacements for Wilson and Domenici
The Beat Back Bush New Mexico page was created at Act Blue to counteract Bush's recent visit to Albuquerque to raise money for Pete Domenici. It's designed to raise donations from New Mexico's progressive netroots-grassroots for candidates who will run against the Republicans here. If you haven't donated yet, there's still time. Contrbute a few bucks to Martin Heinrich and Don Wiviot -- candidates who want to get rid of Heather Wilson and Pete Domenici once and for all in November 2008.

Click to read our previous posts about Beat Back Bush New Mexico.

(Updated) ABQ City Councilor Benton Introduces Bill to End Iraq War

UPDATE 9/4/07: The City Council Finance & Government Operations Committee WILL NOT hear R293 on Monday, 9/10. Instead it will be heard during the regular Council meeting on Monday, 9/17. Council meetings begin at 5 PM
***************.

From the office of Ike Benton:
Last week City Councilman Ike Benton introduced a bill to end the war in Iraq by calling on Congress to withdraw the authorization for war. R-07-293 will go to the Finance & Government Operations committee on Monday, September 10 (5 PM in the Council Committee Room, 9th floor of
City Hall). It may come back to the full Council for a final vote on either September 17, or October 1.

If you have any questions or comments about the legislation, or want to be kept informed of its progress, contact: Kara Shair-Rosenfield, Policy Analyst - City Councilor Isaac Benton, District 3, Albuquerque City Council, tel: 505.768.3186, fax: 505.768.3227, email: karasr@cabq.gov. Contact info for Albuquerque City Councilors can be found .

Young Voters: Get on the Bus for Change

From the The League of Young Voters-Albuquerque:
The League of Young Voters is embarking on a new journey to educate, empower and inspire young people. We are reclaiming Democracy for our generation!

Introducing the Bus for Change! Starting August 18th we've been going to go into the community on a grassroots level to begin knocking on the door's of young voters to talk to them about the War, Climate Change and Ethics. So why is this so important?? Because a young educated voter base is a force to be reckoned with! The Bus for Change is the vehicle, literally and figuratively for taking back power in our communities. And we're doing all this because what's more sexy than politics? Only a bus full of young people flexing on the powers that be. That's what! So if you're down for the cause - Get on the Bus for Change!

Bus for Change Clean Connection Campaign! For years big land developers have been contributing thousands of dollars to elect politicians who support sprawl developments. This haphazard development has not only increased traffic in our city but also contributed tons of carbon emissions into our atmosphere.

The Bus for Change kicked off our Clean Connection Campaign August 18, to educate other young people on this link between climate change and the local policies that have global repercussions like uncontrolled sprawl. Together we can send a message that sprawl growth is unnacceptable for our city and for the health of the planet. And that young people are tired of developers running things at the expense of our communities.

Help us Make the Clean Connection with other young people. We need you to volunteer your time to make a difference for our city and our planet. Click for a schedule of volunteer events.

For more info: 505/242.4036, busforchange@gmail.com

Reminder: Iraq Summer Take a Stand Events Tonight

Take a Stand Day events coordinated by the Americans Against Escalation in Iraq's Iraq Summer campaign, MoveOn, TrueMajority Action, Working Assets and others are going around the nation today. Click to find one near you or set up your own. In New Mexico there are events set for Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Lunas.

In Albuquerque, you're urged to gather at the 'Iraq Summer' Campaign Take a Stand Townhall:

WHAT: Hundreds of Domenici and Wilson constituents to attend ‘Take A Stand’ Town Hall Meeting to pressure the Senator and Congresswoman to break with Bush and vote to begin responsible redeployment of U.S. troops out of harm’s way in Iraq

WHEN: Tuesday, August 28th, from 7:00 – 8:00 PM

WHERE: UNM Continuing Education Auditorium, 1634 University Blvd, NE, Albuquerque, NM

SPEAKERS: Moderator will be Claudia Iglesias – Iraq Summer Campaign

• Major General Mel Montano (USANG, Ret.) – Former Adjunct General of New Mexico
• Martin Heinrich – Albuquerque City Councilor (Dist. 6)
• Bruce Clark – Marine veteran and father of two active duty soldiers, one currently serving in Iraq
• Judy Pratt – Activist, former State Senator and 1984 U.S. Senate Candidate against Pete Domenici

The New Mexico 'Iraq Summer' Campaign has been turning up the heat on Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Heather Wilson all summer to start representing their constituents by voting for a safe and responsible end to the Iraq war. The campaign will come to a crescendo on Tuesday, August 28th: 'Take a Stand Day' –- when the campaign will host a public town hall meeting on Iraq in Albuquerque featuring veterans, military families, and community leaders.

Invitations to the TAS town hall, which is already expected to draw hundreds of constituents, were ignored by Senator Domenici’s office and flatly rejected by Congresswoman Wilson’s. In response, the Iraq Summer Campaign will provide an empty chair for both Wilson and Domenici to highlight their disappointing lack of courage to face their constituents and explain their continued support for the President's costly and irresponsible policy of endless war in Iraq. With U.S. forces stretched the breaking point policing a religious civil war that has no end in sight, New Mexicans deserve answers from their representatives in Congress.

This historic forum comes on the heels of a startling pronouncement this month from Lt. Gen. Doug Lute –- a three-star general and President Bush's "War Czar" –- that a military draft is "on the table." This bombshell announcement followed recent statements by General David Petraeus -– the President's top military commander in Iraq -- that U.S. forces should stay in Iraq for another 9 or 10 years. In response, 'Take A Stand' participants will publicly ask Domenici, Wilson: Since you support Bush's endless war in Iraq, do you also support the draft needed to sustain it?

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE
If you'd like to do more to help defeat Domenici and Wilson in the 2008 election, consider making a small donation at the BEAT BACK BUSH NEW MEXICO Act Blue page, a joint effort of the Democracy for New Mexico and blogs designed to counteract the fundraising machinery of Bush and the Republican right wing. Click to see previous posts on the effort.

Scenes from Demonstration at Today's Domenici-Bush Lovefest in Los Ranchos NM

Demonstrators were on both sides of Rio Grande NW

Mounted police blocked the road to the site of the fundraiser

The photos above were taken by Terry Riley at the demonstration on Rio Grande NW in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque on August 27, 2007. Click for more photos from Terry. Bush flew into Albuquerque for a few hours and attended an expensive private fundraiser for Sen. Pete Domenici at the home of Los Ranchos' "Independent" Mayor Larry Abraham. The Albuquerque Journal and demonstrated estimated the crowd at more than 100 at its peak -- in the hot summer sun of New Mexico at mid-day. Albuquerque Code Pink was much in evidence. Although the demonstrators didn't get to see Bush arrive, they did manage to "greet" GOP bigwigs arriving in their vehicles. (Click on images for larger versions.)

According to the Albuquerque Journal the event raised more than $430,000 for Domenici and the state GOP, and that close to 200 people attended. The minimum donation was $1000 and photos with Bush went for $5000. One protester had this to say:

Air Force veteran George Boersig, 67, said he believes the war is about oil and money. Boersig, a member of the local Veterans for Peace group, carried a sign with a picture of Bush and the words, "Impeach Me: Clueless but Evil.'' "The only way to stop (the war) is to cut the funding. That's what we did in Vietnam and we need to do the same thing in Iraq and Afghanistan,'' Boersig said.

To counter Domenici's windfall from Bush's fundraiser, visit BEAT BACK BUSH NEW MEXICO and donate a few bucks to the cause.

Watch your tax dollars go down the drain in this Albuquerque Tribune raw video as Bush's motorcade full of "security" heads to the fundraiser for Domenici on a cleared Rio Grande Boulevard this morning. As the host of the fundraiser -- Los Ranchos' "Independent" Mayor Larry Abraham -- has said, the village of Los Ranchos won't pay a penny for the extra cops and other security -- residents of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County and other places will, by providing the extra details.

Here are videos of the protests and more from KRQE News 13 and KOAT 7 News.

Tragedy in the Motorcade
Very sadly, one Rio Rancho police officer riding a motorcycle in Bush's motorcade paid with his life. He crashed into a tree near I-26 as Bush was on the way back to the Sunport. Germaine F. Casey, 40, left a wife and two children behind with his passing.

More from demonstration and Bush visit to Albuquerque:

• Story and photos of Terry Riley and Bruce Barnaby from the Albuquerque Tribune
• Reuters photos here and here
• Yahoo News Photos
• Albuquerque Code Pink photos:

If anyone else has photos or videos from the day, I'd be happy to post or link to them.

To counter Domenici's windfall from Bush's fundraiser, visit BEAT BACK BUSH NEW MEXICO and donate a few bucks to the cause.

Dem Senate Candidate Wiviott Weighs In On Domenici's Embrace of Bush

Don Wiviott (center front) next to popular netroots WA-08 candiate Darcy Burner (right front) at the YearlyKos netroots candidate celebration earlier this month

There was an article in this morning's Albuquerque Journal about Bush's visit to Albuquerque today to raise money for Sen. Pete Domenici. Unfortunately, they quoted Domenici on his purported views on Iraq but failed to talk to the top Dem contender for the New Mexico seat, Don Wiviott. So I was glad to learn what Don has to say about Domenici still embracing Bush and dodging opportunities to change course on the war. Domenici may make some mild criticisms of the Bush strategy (or lack thereof), but he continues to vote with Bush 100% on the war.

Albuquerque - On the day that President George W. Bush came to New Mexico to raise money for Senator Pete Domenici, the Don Wiviott for U.S. Senate campaign criticized the Washington incumbent for failing to vote to get the United States out of the Iraq War, despite his stated intentions to do so earlier this year.

“Instead of standing up to George Bush, Pete Domenici has continued to vote with him 100% in support of the war and it is no surprise the President is now rewarding him with a million dollar fundraiser.” said Democrat Don Wiviott.  “Saying one thing and doing another is apparently a hard habit to break in Washington, DC.  I’m running to change all that.”

“I doubt the families of the 31 New Mexicans who have given their lives will understand why Pete Domenici is raising money with this President right now,” said Wiviott.  “Is Pete willing to explain to the members of the National Guard from New Mexico, who are stuck in the middle of another country’s civil war, why he continues to publically celebrate his relationship with a President who has mismanaged this war so abysmally.”

This year, Domenici has started talking about pulling our troops out of Iraq but has yet to start voting to do so:

On July 18, 2007, Senator Domenici voted against ending debate on the Levin-Reed amendment, which called for a phased reduction of U.S. troops and a transfer of authority to Iraqi state forces.  (Roll Call 252, 2007)

On July 11, 2007, Senator Domenici voted against a Republican amendment that called for limiting the number of troops available for deployment in order to increase the amount of time troops had between missions.  (Roll Call 243, 2007)

Wiviott highlighted a report that 50% of the New Mexico National Guard will be deployed to Iraq by 2010, if there are no changes in policy or reduction of troops. (Free New Mexican, Aug. 11, 2007)

“Leaving our National Guard in Iraq indefinitely is leaving New Mexico vulnerable to disaster,” noted Wiviott.  “Bring ‘em home.”

Note: If you agree with what Don Wiviott is saying, please contribute to his campaign TODAY to help counteract the Bush fundraising for Domenici. Support the local netroots' BEAT BACK BUSH NEW MEXICO campaign with a donation of any amount. We can't let Domenici be the only candidate getting campaign contributions on the day Alberto Gonzales resigned! Learn more about the BEAT BACK BUSH NEW MEXICO campaign in my previous post.

Photo Credit: M.E.Broderick

Beat Back Bush New Mexico!

George Bush will be at a campaign fundraiser in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque today raising lots of money from Republican elites for "Pajama Pete" Domenici's reelection campaign. Last year Bush came to New Mexico and raised $375,000 for Rep. Heather Wilson the same way. Why? Domenici and Wilson have been among Bush's most loyal and obedient supporters, putting the neocon political agenda of Bush-Rove-Gonzales ahead of the real needs of New Mexicans, our troops, our Constitution, our environment, our health care system and our nation. Visits from Bush to raise big bucks for their campaigns are their reward, and a down payment on the continuation of his failed policies for years to come.

Over the next couple days, members and supporters of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, AFSCME, Democracy for New Mexico, the Iraq Summer campaign, Albuquerque Code Pink, the Sierra Club and Stop the War Machine, as well as ordinary citizens and grassroots-netroots activists, will be staging protests, honking horns and attending rallies and vigils to remind Bush, Domenici and incumbent Repub Rep. Heather Wilson where New Mexicans stand on the Iraq occupation and other Bush failures. We need to end the Bush-era horrors. To do that, we need to elect Democrats to office who will address the critical problems we face with fresh strategies based on honest analysis -- and with genuine integrity and energy.

On this historic day when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has finally resigned in disgrace and Bush is in New Mexico to thank Domenici for services rendered, we can start the ball rolling by joining the Beat Back New Mexico grassroots surge, sponsored by the Democracy for New Mexico and New Mexico FBIHOP netroots communities. To win, our candidates need the means to compete against Domenici, Wilson and the Bush-crony fundraising machine. We can help them do just that by raising thousands of small donations from the progressive netroots here in New Mexico and across the nation to fund change in America from the ground up.

Donate $5, $10, $20 or more right now at the Beat Back Bush New Mexico page at Act Blue and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Every single dollar counts when you donate to the campaigns of Martin Heinrich (above), who's running to take on Heather Wilson in New Mexico's first congressional district, and Don Wiviott (below), who's stepped forward to run against "Pajama Pete" Domenici.

It's important to demonstrate and rally against the negative forces of Bush's disastrous presidency, but unless we do more to elect replacements for Bush rubberstamps like Domenici and Wilson, not much will change. Support Martin Heinrich and Don Wiviott NOW. Our ambitious goal is to raise $50,000 this week for each of their campaigns from thousands of activists dedicated to turning every state in the nation as BLUE as it can be.

While Bush is in Albuquerque's North Valley today collecting $1000 and $5000 donations from the few, and Alberto Gonzales is holding his resignation press conference, you can be an integral part of the New Mexico netroots effort to show the power of small donations from the many. Be a part of Beat Back Bush New Mexico. Click away.

NOTE: Also visit New Mexico FBIHOP for more on Beat Back Bush New Mexico.