Democracy for New Mexico

Next Election Reform Task Force Meeting Set for October 13-14

From Verified Voting NM:
Election reform activists are urged to attend and report back on the 4th meeting of the Legislative Election Reform Task Force, set for THURSDAY-FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13-14 in Room 307 of the Roundhouse. There will be a demonstration of voting machines, a presentation by Steve Fettig of VVNM on voting machine considerations, and time set aside for public comment. If you can possibly make it, please go. For the lastest information on this interim task force, visit the NM Legislature website.

Herewith the agenda:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13

10 AM – Call to Order, Approval of Minutes: Rep. Ed Sandoval and Sen. Linda Lopez, Co-Chairs

10:15 AM – Voting Machine Demonstrations

12:30 PM – Lunch

1:30 PM – Voting Machine Considerations, Stephen Fettig for VVNM (invited)

2 PM – Types of Voting Machines Available that will Comply with HAVA and State Law: Costs of Converting Voting Systems to Voter Verifiable Paper Ballot System: Ernie Marquez, Director, NM Bureau of Elections

3 PM – Rules for Handling Provisional ballots and Canvass Observer Issues: Ernie Marquez and Denise Lamb, Chief Deputy Clerk, SF County

4 PM – Public Comment

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14

9 AM – Call to Order

9:15 AM – Review of Laws 2005, Chapter 70, Suggested Fixes: Ernie Marquez and Denise Lamb

11 AM – Precinct-Level Reporting Fix

12 Noon – Public Comment

Party Sunday: Placitas Dems and Friends

From Jerry and Janice Saxton and Placitas Democrats and Friends:

BIG PARTY
PLEASE JOIN US
FOR A GATHERING OF PLACITAS DEMOCRATS AND FRIENDS

Sunday, October 2, 2005, 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Placitas Elementary School, 5 Calle del Carbon, Placitas

Everyone is welcome to attend. We wish to express our appreciation of this wonderful community we all share and to celebrate our many common interests and goals.

Free hotdogs, finger foods, drinks and helium balloons
Music by the Placitas Mountain Band
Visit exhibitors for info
Get acquainted with neighbors and candidates
No speeches just mix & mingle

See you there! Directions:

Directions to Placitas Elementary School: From exit 242 on I25 travel east approximately 7 miles to Placitas village. Go through the village past the Mini-Mart and the post office on the right. The elementary school is on the left after you pass the post office. If you reach Camino de las Huertas or Tecolote you have gone too far east.

Calling all REFORM Democrats

Joe Monahan discusses the potential fallout from the arrest and indictment of State Treasurer Robert Vigil and his predecessor in that office, Michael Montoya, both Democrats, for extortion to the tune of $650,000. As Monahan says:

Why was an alleged ten year kickback scheme not uncovered sooner? Where was the Legislative oversight, the state auditor, the state police, the attorney general, the press? All of whom had inklings of a problem. What about the State Investment Council? Where were those guys? The ugly mess points to an obvious need for much more scrutiny of state investment dollars.

We have a Governor, State Auditor and Attorney General who are Dems, and a Dem-dominated Legislature in NM. None of these people knew about this alleged graft or were prepared to do anything about it? I do note that the biggest contributor to Dem Domingo Martinez's successful 2004 campaign for State Auditor was a Richard Montoya. Any relation? I don't know.

Emily Esterson at New West also weighs in on this mess and the long history of kickbacks in NM politics.

Right on the heels of this story, we hear that Democratic Mayor Chavez's pick for City Council District 3, Diana Dorn-Jones, lied about her previous bankruptcy and tax lien when responding to questions by the Albuquerque Journal. And that in line with the Journal's support for Chavez and his deep pocket developer campaign base, the Journal accepted Dorn-Jones' lame excuses at face value.

And of course we have the ABQPAC and police evidence room scandals of Dem Mayor Marty Chavez himself. Note that Dem Attorney General Patricia Madrid found nothing to prosecute in the evidence room scandal, despite the Albuquerque police chief having to resign and more.

I ask you: Isn't it high time for every prominent (and rank and file) Democrat to step up and loudly condemn the crooks in the Party, whether they hold public office or hold sway within Party ranks? And to conduct a full-scale cleansing to remove those who operate in the shadows to bring ruin and shame to everything they touch? I'm not talking lip service here, but a real pursuit of corrupt, on the take Dems at all levels of the Party.

There's been an ongoing battle within the Dem Party between "progressive" Dems and "centrist" or "DLC" Dems, but isn't the REAL battle for the Party's soul pitting those who tolerate and even encourage crooks, kickbacks and shady big donors and those who want to REFORM the Party and rebuild it as a the Party of the People?

Of course there's corruption abundantly evident in both Parties. Certainly Bush's Republican neocons have exhibited massive levels of corruption and cronyism. Somehow, that's to be expected in a Party dedicated to maximizing the wealth of the few. But too many in today's Democratic Party seem more than willing to abandon the working and middle classes in order to build up personal political warchests, PACs and kickback kingdoms. As a life-long Dem, I find this especially craven and disgusting.

Perhaps it's time for a new Reform Party along the lines of Teddy Roosevelt's old Bull Moose Party or Robert La Follett's Progressive Party -- devoted to getting the big money corruption and crony capitalism out on both sides of the aisle and reshaping the government to serve ordinary people. Or maybe it's just time for honest Dems who believe in the Party's traditional core values to step up and demand ethics reform at every level of the Democratic Party -- no ifs, ands or buts allowed. Enough is enough.

UPDATE on the continuing fallout from the state treasurer scandal at Joe Monahan.

Voter Action Update

From Voter Action:

United Voters of New Mexico State Fair Booth Opened to Much Success and Interest
The State Fair opened Friday and with it the United Voters of New Mexico booth which has brochures and information regarding our work at Voter Action.Thanks to all the fabulous volunteers and in particular Laura Stokes and Sonja Elison for organizing all of this and making it happen. There are still many shifts available to fill!  Contact Laura at stokescorrales@comcast.net , subject line “state fair volunteer."  Provide your contact info, and you’ll receive an email with available shifts. Alternately, please call 505 328 1767. The more people who help the more successful it will be!

Depositions Allowed to Proceed
The deposition with Director of Elections Marquez was allowed to proceed and discovery has commenced. Additional depositions are scheduled the week of September 19, 2005. This is an important piece to understanding what needs to happen to improve the accuracy of the vote counting process. Stay tuned!

September 16, 2005 Voter Action Meeting in Albuquerque
Mark Rudd will be leading a discussion in Albuquerque at 2:00 – 3:30 PM Friday, September 16 at the Flying Star in downtown ABQ(8th and Silver SW) to encourage greater understanding about the issues and problems regarding the vote count of 2004 and think through ways to bring this information to the greater public. Space is limited so please RSVP if you would like to attend to info@voteraction.org , subject line “RSVP”.

Voter Action is a project of the International Humanities Center: www.voteraction.org

Donate for Radio Ads for Albuquerque's 9/24 End the War March & Rally

From Stop the War Machine:

The text below is a 30 second spot to be aired 20 times on Air America Radio AM, 1350 Progressive Talk Radio, here in the Albuquerque listening area. Background music: America the Beautiful sung by Ray Charles! Spots will run from 9/19 - 9/23. Your financial committment is needed by Wednesday, 9/15.  Make checks  to Albuquerque Peace and Justice Center/radiospots.

Please contact me, Dan Gips, at 867-4801 or  dangips@aol.com.  Thirty second spots are $17 each and we are hoping to buy about 20. I would also appreciate any additional names to contact for raising these funds.

30-Second Ad:

HAD ENOUGH OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION YET?

JOIN A NATION-WIDE MARCH THIS SATURDAY RIGHT HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE VICTIMS OF RACISM AND NEGLECT IN NEW ORLEANS AND THE GULF COAST.

STAND WITH CINDY SHEEHAN AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER MILITARY FAMILIES WHO DEMAND THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING KILLED IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.

GET THE  RECRUITERS OUT OF THE SCHOOLS AND REBUILD OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM, OUR HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM, AND THE CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE.

VOTE WITH YOUR FEET, AND TOGETHER OUR VOICES WILL BE HEARD BECAUSE WE ARE THE VOICES OF TOLERANCE, TRUTH, AND DEMOCRACY.

REMEMBER: THIS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH. THE MARCH BEGINS AT 11 AM AT GIBSON AND TRUMAN SE, FOLLOWED BY A RALLY BEHIND HIGHLAND HIGHS CHOOL ON JACKSON STREET.  PLEASE!  YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU.

CONTACT ALBUQUERQUE PEACE AND JUSTICE AT 268-9557 ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP.

Around the NM Blogs

Burning of Zozobra, 9/8/05, Santa FePhoto by: Karl Stolleis

Cocoposts discusses the mayoral race and money. Be sure to click on their link to a column in the Alibi by Jim Scarantino that includes an intriguing account of how Mayor Marty is raising all that money.

Marston Moore at Duke City Fix has the skinny on Eric Griego's comedy gig at Gorilla Tango to benefit the Albuquerque Living Wage Campaign, including Eric's hilarious take on David Byrnes' tune, "Once in a Lifetime."

Greg Burton's Albuquerque Blog displays the strange combo of counties that were included in Bush's first two emergency declarations for Lousiana.

Julia Goldberg's Blog takes on the significance of Santa Fe's burning of Zozobra last night (photo above), in terms of Katrina, while provides an obituary for Santa Fe's Burning Man.

Ex-Mayor Jim Baca's Only in New Mexico comments on Bush's declaration of a national prayer day, as well as Mexico's skirting of the minutemen patrols on the border to bring aid to Louisiana.

Soy Blue reports on Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-CO) demand that aid to Louisiana be stopped, as well as the tanking approval ratings for Republican members of Congress.

There's a good rundown on editorials from Louisiana newspapers and others that point the finger at Bush and FEMA atTruth, New Mexico.

m-pyre has alot of excellent stuff on Katrina, including a report on a recent phone call from a Red Cross volunteer in New Orleans.

It's so good to see an expanding and quality blogosphere developing here. Visit their sites often by clicking on the links on the left-hand sidebar on this page under NM Blogs. And be sure to check out the always compelling photos generously provided by Taos' FarrFeed in the top right-hand corner above. Click on the FotoFeed of the day to see previous shots. Some respite from the storm...

ABQ Public Access Channel to Air Highlights of Election Reform Event

From Suzanne Prescott, Community Producer, Channel 27 - Albuquerque:

Greg Palast, Lowell Finley and John Boyd are featured in an hour show this Sunday, September 11, from 6-7 PM. The show will be on channel 27, the public access channel on Comcast cable in Albuquerque. This program will be repeated on Monday, September 19, from 6:30-7:30 PM.

The hour show includes only a fraction of the great information from the event [cosponsored by NM Democratic Friends and DFNM to benefit Voter Action NM] that May evening at the IBEW hall, but does include the major presentations by Greg Palast, Lowell Finley and John Boyd in their entirety.

My apologies in advance for the poor equipment, editing and not including more of the great information from that evening.  If you want to hear Greg Palast say as clearly as anyone has that this election was stolen, this is your chance.

Editor's Note: For background, click for related DFNM posts on the May 2005 events in NM with Greg Palast here, here and here. To learn more about the ongoing lawsuit by NM voters against NM Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron and a number of county clerks, visit the Voter Action website.

For reports about discrepancies in 2004 vote tallies in New Mexico, click here, here, here and here or scroll down and click on the links under the heading NM Election Reports on the left-hand sidebar on this page.

Fundraiser to Support Campaign to Bring Clean Elections to Albuquerque

YOU ARE INVITED TO: A Party with Chellie Pingree, National President of Common Cause In Support of the Campaign to Bring Clean Elections to Albuquerque

Hosted by: Lt. Governor Diane Denish, former US Senator Fred Harris and former NM Senator Richard Romero at the home of Senator Dede Feldman, 1821 Meadowview, NW Albuquerque, NM 87104

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, 5:30- 7:30 p.m.
Wine ... hors d’oeuvres
Suggested donation: $100 per person to Albuquerque Clean Elections

Please RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 6 to 323-6399

Directions:  From I-40 and Rio Grande Blvd., north on Rio Grande; right (east) at Indian School Rd.; first left onto Meadowview Drive.  Dede’s house is the second on the left.

Sound Off: Madrid's Madness by Peter Bafangazi

Editor's Note: This Sound Off was submitted by Peter Bafangazi. Sound Off is a sometimes feature of this blog designed to give our readers a chance to post their own personal views. If you'd like to submit a Sound Off of your own, use the email link near the top of the right-hand sidebar on this page.

Consider the following:

You're the first female ever elected Attorney General in the State's history, the first Hispanic female elected Attorney General of any state in the nation.  The State's past AG's have gone on to hold federal office -- Jeff Bingaman becoming Senator, Tom Udall becoming Representative of the 3rd CD -- and now it's your turn to move on, but where to?  You've done a pretty good job as AG: fighting against such things as ID theft and child predators on the internet and scored political points on a  bunch of issues. You look in the mirror, and think, "gosh darnit, I'm good enough and people like me. Heck, they need me...but in what office?"

The Governor of the State is running for reelection even though he will probably only serve two years of his next term before running for President. The Lt. Governor is running for reelection and will most likely become Governor when Big Bill makes his move. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, with a 70+ approval rating, is running for reelection and there's no chance of beating him in a primary. Sen. Pete Domenici isn't up for election until 2008 and will probably retire, in which case, word on the street is that Heather is the heir apparent, even if Steve Pearce has something to say about it. So Senate is out of the question, at least till 2008, and then even if you made it out of a primary, you'd still have to face a tough Republican in the general. No guarantee of winning there.  Hmm... what to run for? Hmmm.....

2002 was going to be your year to run for Governor, but Big Bill nixed that. In 2004 you got your own little piece of the limelight courtesy of John Edwards, but that didn't last too long.  The question is, what do you want to do? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Governor? (maybe) Lt. Governor? No, not good enough. Congress? Mmm, maybe you'd prefer Senate? Senate wouldn't be bad. President? No, not likely. Vice President? What?

Yeah, Vice President. Hmm. Like the sound of that don't you? After all, John Edwards is running again, you were a prominent part of his campaign and he was just in Albuquerque with you for that living wage rally. Vice President ! Hell, what would be a better way to stick it to Bill in 2008 then by becoming the Vice Presidential pick for the candidate that inevitably beats Big Bill?! Ok, so what do we do between 2006 and 2008 to increase your profile, your value on the market?

Well, lets consider the political landscape:

Disapproval of the President and his policies is hovering around 56%, 64% of Americans rate Republican job performance in Congress as only fair / poor (highest levels of disastisfaction with the direction of the country since  the 1997 shutdown of the federal government by Newt).

In polling of likely voters conducted as recently as July 19-25 by Greenberg Quinlan Rossner Research, 48% of respondents said they would vote for the Democrat compared to the 41% who said they would vote for the Republican in upcoming congressional elections.

In polling for ABC News/Wall Street Journal conducted July 8-11, 1009 adults were asked "In the next election for U.S. Congress, do you feel that your representative deserves to be reelected, or do you think it is time to give a new person a chance?" 46% said it was time to give a new person a chance, 41% said their current rep deserves to reelected and 13% said they were unsure. 

a) Run for Congress against Heather Wilson, a champion of the very policies that have led this nation in a decidedly wrong direction. Challenge Heather to defend her defense of bad policies backed by bad intelligence backed by bad actors. Help put America on the right course by taking one of the Republican party's rising stars out of office. Become a leader in Congress.

b) Run for Land Commissioner. Heck it's statewide office. You could beat Pat Lyons (maybe). The job deals with the environment and you like the environment. Plus, it's an untraditional career choice that might gain you some good PR -- you can say you did it because you love the environment: birds, trees, land, etc.

c) Challenge the incumbent Lt. Governor and fellow Democrat Diane Denish. This isn't like any race for Lt. Governor we've had before, it's a race to replace Bill when he runs for President in 2008. Figure he's going to have to step down from office sometime after the 2007 legislative session --figure late March 07' -- and then the Lt. Governor becomes Governor. You win, and you can position yourself for 2008. No one shows interest in having you run on their ticket so, what, you could be Governor for almost 11 years -- finish up Bill's remaining three plus eight years of your own. 

d) none of the above.
e) all of the above.
f) some and none of all of the above.

Well, if you're Patricia Madrid, evidently you call your favorite celebrity gossip columnist, Joe Monahan and contemplate the sun, the moon and the stars of your political career before all New Mexico. Indeed, that's what Patricia did last week when, according to Monahan, Madrid "did everything but take a Heather challenge off the table when she phoned in Monday to comment about the blog and La Politica." Madrid, term limited as AG, actually stated that she was considering a challenge to Lt. Governor Diane Denish, as well as a run for Land Commissioner, in which case she would likely square off against Albuquerque City Councilor and rising star, Martin Heinrich, in the primary.

This revelation raises worrisome questions about the priorities of the State's Democratic elected officials and the ability of the State Party's current administration to capitalize on the changing tide in the nation against Republican dominance of government. 

Why would Patricia Madrid, a Democrat who has been heavily courted by party leaders at the national level to run against Heather, instead wish to challenge fellow Dem, Lt. Governor Denish in a primary, potentially splitting the party?

One answer that comes to mind is that Patricia Madrid has gone bonkers and actually thinks she could defeat Diane Denish on the issues. Wait, what issues? Denish arguably has more experience running New Mexico than any other Lt. Gov in recent history, filling in for Bill Richardson every time he leaves the state. And Denish has deftly governed the State Senate through three of the  busiest and most contentious legislative sessions in history, all while championing the welfare, education and health of New Mexico's children. All in all, it's hard to find a Democrat who thinks Denish isn't doing a bang-up job as Lt. Governor.

A more likely, but purely speculative answer, is two fold: family and money.

Patsy wouldn't float the trial balloon of running against Denish if she didn't think she had a shot at actually pulling it off, meaning that there are actually some people out there are probably encouraging Madrid to jump in the ring against Denish. And if you've ever attended an event with the State Party Chair and the AG, then undoubtedly you will recall one or the other mentioning that they're cousins.

The Wertheim link may be convoluted, but nonetheless an important one to consider. Think of Miles Nelson, a guy who got no help from the party establishment when running for Congress, who got beat and (rightfully) got angry and (not rightfully) split. Wertheim ran twice, 1996 and 2000, and got no help from the Party establishment either time. Who was the Party Chair in 1996? Diane Denish.

(This is the Rumsfeldian portion of the article where I ask myself rhetorical questions and then give answers anyway.) Is it possible Wertheim has a beef with the Lt. Gov? Yes. He's human. Could it be that Wertheim is tired of his failures as Chair being compared to Denish's successes as Chair? Don't know, but you've got to think he's compensating for something more than just his height.

Regardless, the Wertheim / Denish and Denish / Madrid splits are as well known in some political circles as the Madrid / Governor split is by the general news-reading public. It's a political reality, meaning that if Madrid is serious about running for Lt. Governor and if blood is thicker than water, then Wertheim sides with Cousin Patsy. So what does this mean? Nothing, except that if Patsy goes ahead with challenging Diane, she would most likely have some backing from some Party elites.

On the money front, running for Congress isn't cheap and would require a lot of cash, which Madrid doesn't seem to have much difficulty raising for her 527 PAC, Justice for America Inc., which according to May 2005 filings with the Secretary of State's office had over $126,000 in contributions. However, Madrid can't use a penny of that money in a run for federal office, meaning she could only use it in a statewide race, hence Lt. Governor or Land Commissioner.

Another factor to consider is that Patricia doesn't think she could actually beat Heather Wilson if she were to challenge her for the first CD, so the AG is just stirring the political pot to see what rises to the top.

This sort of political behavior is what gives politicians a bad rap; self-interested instead of selfless. The cavalier manner in which the AG tossed out the idea of challenging Denish or jumping into the the Land Commissioner's race, where she would ulimately have more cash than Heinrich, is the type of behavior that makes even friends cringe. New Mexico needs people who can and will put New Mexico first, instead of their own political careers, and we need them badly.

Teamsters Endorse Eric Griego for Mayor

The Albuquerque Local Union No. 492 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Monday announced its endorsement of City Councilor Eric Griego in the upcoming mayoral election.

“We need a mayor that will support the working class,” said Robert D. Younger, Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Local 492. “A mayor who will not forget who elected him and why he was elected. We need a change and we need to elect a mayor for the people. This is why the Teamsters’ Executive Board unanimously endorses Eric Griego.”

Griego, who is himself a union member, has a history of working with labor unions and of fighting for workers rights.

“My family instilled in me the value of a hard day’s work,” Griego said. “I have always stood with working people because I myself am a worker. It’s an honor now for me to have my brothers and sisters in the Teamsters stand with me as I fight to return good labor practices to our city.”

The Teamsters endorsement added to the list of organizations officially supporting Griego’s candidacy. They include: AFSCME, UFCW, Democracy for New Mexico, Sierra Club, Conservation Voters New Mexico and ACORN.

“I’ve always said that you can tell a lot about people by who they stand with,” Griego said. “I am proud to stand with working families, conservation groups, and other core Democratic constituencies who, like me, believe that a living wage, a well-planned city and a strong education system will move our city forward.”

For more info visit Griego's campaign website.