Democracy for New Mexico

NM-01: UNM Environmental Groups Host Heinrich Event

Join the UNM Wilderness Alliance and the Environmental Law Society for an afternoon with Martin Heinrich, candidate for Congress:

Wednesday, April 16, 12:00-1:00 PM
SUB, Upper Level, Lobo Room
** snacks and coffee provided **
Click for Flyer - Pass It On

In the first congressional district race, Martin Heinrich is the clear choice for green voters. He has been endorsed by Conservation Voters New Mexico, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Sierra Club. Some of his accomplishments include:

Building a Clean Energy Future
As an Albuquerque City Councilor, Martin spearheaded initiatives to make New Mexico a leader in
energy efficiency and alternative energy like wind and solar power.

Saving Wild Places
Martin has been instrumental in protecting New Mexico’s wild lands, including the Valle Vidal, Ojito
Wilderness, and hundreds of acres of open space in the Sandia Mountains and Rio Grande Bosque.

Protecting Our Community
As Natural Resources Trustee for the State of New Mexico, Martin worked with the Governor to
clean up contaminated land and protect our natural environment.

Technorati Tags:Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque, New Mexico, NM-01, University of New Mexico

Cillizza Rates NM-01 Race #9 in Competitive Ranking

Washington Post blogger Chris Cillizza of The Fix regularly rates U.S. House races for competitiveness, and the contest in New Mexico's First Congressional District is consistently in his top ten. Today Cilizza had this to say:

9. New Mexico's 1st (OPEN, GOP-held): Democrats are headed to a competitive June primary in this Albuquerque-area district that Rep. Heather Wilson (R) is vacating to run for the Senate. Former Albuquerque City Councilman Martin Heinrich won the top spot on the primary ballot by taking 56 percent of the delegate votes cast at the state's pre-primary convention last month. Heinrich even managed to get a positive review from Stu Rothenberg -- the toughest grader in the business. Awaiting the eventual Democratic nominee is Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, one of a handful of Republican recruitment successes this cycle.

Fame
By the way, the Heinrich campaign is recruiting supporters to appear in their new TV ad and direct mail campaign, which will feature photo and video shoots all day on Saturday, April 20 at a number of parks across Albuquerque:

We're looking for a big, diverse crowd of people. We need people of all ages from all across the district. We're looking for families and singles, blue collar and white collar workers. We need men and women, children and seniors. In other words - we need you and your family! We don't need you the whole day - if you're even tentatively available, please, let us know.

If you may be interested, sign up here.

Technorati Tags:Martin Heinrich, NM-01, Democrats, New Mexico, Chris Cillizza, Washington Post

NM-01: 2008 1Q Totals for Heinrich and White

Heinrich's getting lots of attention from the netroots

Summary first quarter fundraising totals for two candidates in the NM-01 Congressional race have now been released ahead of the April 15th reporting deadline. Dem Martin Heinrich raised $200,000 this quarter, again matching the campaign's fundraising goal. That brings his total to an impressive $665,000 this election cycle in a primary race featuring three other candidates, in a state where all three Congressional seats and one Senate seat are open and filled with competitors chasing dollars.

Even better, Heinrich reportedly has nearly $350,000 in cash on hand, having run a fiscally prudent operation since he entered the race in August of last year. The campaign has emphasized grassroots outreach instead of expensive polling and consulting expenditures. As a result, a significant portion of Heinrich's financial support has come from small donors. He's received campaign contributions from more than 2,000 individuals to date.

In a statement Heinrich said, "I'm proud and humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve received from folks across this district. For months, we have focused on building both the grassroots and fundraising infrastructure that we will need to win in June and in November – and our huge successes at the convention and in this most recent fundraising period are proof that this campaign has what it takes to succeed."

Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the GOP leadership's annointed candidate in the race, reportedly raised $233,000 in the first quarter of the year, bringing his total in the election cycle to about $447,000. He says he has approximately $300,000 in cash on hand, about $50,000 less than Heinrich even though White has only one nominal Repub primary competitor in Joe Carraro. Both the State Repub Party and the RNC have come out in support of White -- a rarity in a primary battle.

White's totals have to be disappointing to his campaign and the GOP alike. With little to no competition for donation dollars in the NM-01 Repub primary, you'd think White would be pretty much rolling in dough by now. Of course the Repubs have been lagging way behind Dem fundraising at all levels this election cycle. GOP donors have been mighty tight-fisted from the presidential race on down, reflecting a widespread lack of enthusiasm for both their candidates and their chances at a time when Repub positions on everything from the Iraq occupation to the economy are highly unpopular with the majority of voters.

Heinrich has consistently outraised all of his Democratic opponents, and is the clear frontrunner on the Dem side having garnered 56% of the delegate vote at the Dem's preprimary convention in March, double that of Michelle Lujan Grisham, his closest opponent. There's been no word yet on the first quarter fundraising totals from the other Dems in the primary race.

Also in the running are former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, who entered the race right before the filing deadline, and attorney Robert Pidcock, a political newcomer. Both of them submitted additional petition signatures to get on the ballot after they failed to get the needed 20% of delegate votes for an automatic place on the ballot. Meanwhile, 600 of Vigil-Giron's petition signatures are being challenged by supporters of Lujan Grisham. If successful, the suit would keep Vigil-Giron off the ballot.

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

Technorati Tags:Martin Heinrich, Darren White, NM-01, campaign fundraising, New Mexico, Joe Carraro, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Rebecca Vigil-Giron, Robert Pidcock

Mark Your Calendars: NM-01 Candidate Forum on Health Care

The League of Women Voters Albuquerque-Bernalillo County and Health Action New Mexico are cosponsoring a health care forum with the candidates for the First Congressional District seat. All candidates have confirmed their participation:

Thursday, May 8th, 2008, 7 to 8:30 PM
First Unitarian Church
3701 Carlisle Boulevard NE, Albuquerque

Interested in health care issues such as: Medicare; SCHIP; cost of pharmaceuticals; cost of health care; expanding health care coverage and other federal health care issues? Come hear the candidates from the Republican and Democratic Parties discuss their positions on these and other important health care issues. The candidates will take written questions from the audience. The public is encouraged to attend.

For more information call 505-884-8441 or 505-867-1095 or visit the following websites: www.healthactionnm.org or www.lwvabc.org.

Candidates for the NM-01 Congressional seat are:

Democrats:

• Rebecca Vigil-Giron
• Michelle Lujan Grisham
• Martin Heinrich
• Robert Pidcock

Republicans:

• Joe Carraro
• Darren White

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

NM-0-1: Vigil-Giron to Hold 9 AM Press Conference on Petition Signature Lawsuit

From Vigil-Giron for Congress:
Rebecca Vigil-Giron will be hosting a press conference at campaign headquarters located at 416 Yale Blvd., Albuquerque, NM 87106 on Wednesday, April 9, 2008 at 9:00 AM to address the public and the press regarding the lawsuit brought forth by Michelle Grisham and her followers in an attempt to remove Rebecca off the ballot for Congressional US House Of Representatives District I.

See my previous post about the filing of the lawsuit last Friday challenging signatures on Vigil-Giron's petitions.

House Repub "ROMP" Initiative Targets NM-01 Race

Here's another indication that the GOP will be sending big money from Washington into New Mexico's First Congressional District race. According to a new CQ Politics report:

Its not uncommon for congressional leaders to steer fundraising assistance to party candidates who are in difficult races and in need of extra campaign cash. One such effort is the House Republicans’ “ROMP,” an acronym for Regain Our Majority Program, which has released its latest list of Republican candidates who will benefit from additional aid because they are politically vulnerable and/or have been targeted by the Democrats for defeat.

“ROMP 2008,” presently overseen by the political operation of House Minority Leader John A. Boehner of Ohio, was recently established in papers filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). These records identify the 10 newest recipients of the program’s assistance.

Included in the first group of candidates targeted this year for special financial support is Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. Rest assured that the Dems in D.C. will also be pouring money and support into the NM-01 race as never before. Apparently there'll be no holding back on the part of either party, although Dems are expected to have a distinct advantage because Repubs will be forced to defend so many of their seats this cycle and they're raising donations at a much slower clip than Dems.

At this point, the CQ rates the NM-01 contest as No Clear Favorite.

(Updated) Three Women Represented by John Wertheim Challenge Vigil-Giron's Signatures

UPDATE: A later story by The New Mexican's Steve Terrell identifies the women filing the lawsuit on Friday and links the research done on the suit to volunteers for Michelle Lujan-Grisham:

The suit was filed by former Rep. Harriet Ruiz, Albuquerque lawyer Whitney Buchanan and Albuquerque resident Rosemary Sanchez. But John Wertheim, the attorney for the women, said the research for the suit was done by volunteers for one of Vigil-Giron's primary rivals, Michelle Lujan-Grisham, a former state health secretary.

*************
According to this AP story, three so far unnamed women represented by attorney and former NM State Party Chair John Wertheim are challenging more than 600 petition signatures submitted by Dem Rebecca Vigil-Giron in her effort to get on the primary ballot in the Congressional race in NM-01. Vigil-Giron failed to get the votes of 20% of the delegates at last month's Dem preprimary convention to automatically qualify for the ballot. The story reports:

That would leave her 100 names short of the required 1,214 signatures of registered Democrats in the district. The women's attorney, John Wertheim, says his clients feel the election is very important and it's important to play by the rules.

John Wertheim is known to be a strong supporter of another candidate in the First District primary race, Michelle Lujan-Grisham. Martin Heinrich is the clear frontrunner in the race, having gotten more than 56% of the votes in the four-way balloting at the Dem preprimary, and having raised the most campaign funds by far to date. He also has a slew of endorsements. The other candidate in the race is attorney Robert Pidcock, a newcomer to electoral politics.

NM Alliance for Retired Americans Hosts NM-01 Candidate Issue Forums

The New Mexico Alliance for Retired Americans has scheduled a series of educational Issue Forums for the candidates for the US House of Representatives, New Mexico Congressional District 1. Find out their views on important issues like  Health Care and Medicare Plus:

Friday, April 4, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM; Issue: Prescription Drugs
   Barelas Senior Center
   714 Seventh Street SW
   Albuquerque, NM
   505-764-6436

Saturday, April 19, 12:30-1:30 PM; Issue: Retiree Health Care
   Los Volcanes Senior Center
   6500 Los Volcanes NW
   Albuquerque, NM 87121
   505-836-8745

Light refreshments will be available at each forum. Sponsored by: New Mexico Alliance for Retired Americans; Emil Shaw, President; 1608 Truman SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108; 505-892-3480 or 505-321-4603.

Thursday Reading: Courting the Low Information Voter, One Lama at a Time

La O-Bamba

Another great post over at What Do I Know? by Democrat Abroad Kathy Flake, this one about the swirling myths surrounding a certain Dem prez candidate. Many of us know (and miss) Kathy and her nonstop activism that used to be a fixture in the progressive Dem community here in Albuquerque back in the Deaniac-Miles Nelsoniac era. She's been living outside London for -- how many years is it now? Too many. At least from our point of view. But we do have her wide-ranging, enlightening and often very funny blogging from overseas to hold us over.

Like me, she's a big fan of Obama and Martin Heinrich. The Dean People of yore have a tendency to be attracted to the same candidates, for similar reasons. Kathy posted a fab piece on Martin last week. If you get a chance, go read Solar Cars, Homegrown Broccoli, and Martin Heinrich.

And Kathy -- the DNC Convention bunch has yet to receive an application from Democrats Abroad to be the group's credentialed blogger at the August convention in Denver. You know what to do.

National Politicos Converging on New Mexico

Hillary Clinton will be jetting in and out of Albuquerque on Sunday for a big-ticket fundraiser organized by former Ambassador to Spain, Ed Romero:

At Clinton's fundraiser, invitees will pay $2,300 to be "sponsors," while "friends" pay $1,000 for the catered event of Spanish tapas, wine and sherry. Romero declined to say how much Clinton hopes to raise.

The guest list will include Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, former state Democratic Party chairman John Wertheim and former Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, who says she was outed as a CIA operative after her husband criticized the Bush administration's handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Payback for Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama? I wouldn't be surprised. What I am surprised about is that the hosts are seeking funds for Clinton's lagging prez campaign at a time when local cash donations are in high demand here. With all three U.S. House seats and Domenici's U.S. Senate seat up for grabs, Dem candidates in New Mexico are scrambling hard for contributions, especially after so many resources went to support Gov. Richardson's prez run. Reports are abundant that the Clinton campaign is running out of cash and delaying payments to vendors, as pressure builds from many quarters for her to withdraw from an increasingly unwinnable race and Obama continues to snag endorsements from prominent superdelegates.

GOP Tamaya Huddle
Meanwhile, out at Santa Ana Pueblo's Hyatt Regency Tamaya near Bernalillo we've got a big meeting going on this week of the GOP State Party Chairs from all over the nation, led by Republican National Committee Chair Mike Duncan (right). Duncan has made it clear that the Repubs will be targeting New Mexico with everything they've got in the 2008 election cycle:

"New Mexico is a battleground target state for us," Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan told The Associated Press. "We recognize it's going to be an important state for us."

Darren White: GOP Beltway Fave
Besides touting the prez campaign of John McCain, the RNC is also taking sides early and rallying around the Congressional candidacy of Darren White in NM-01 -- to the detriment of the Party's other primary candidate, State Sen. Joe Carraro.

It's unusual for the national or state party to openly take sides in a contested primary race, but Duncan said party rules allow that when requested by a state's RNC members. New Mexico's three RNC members, who include state chairman Allen Weh, submitted a letter to the national party asking it to treat White as the presumptive nominee. The letter was sent after White received 85 percent of the vote of delegates at the party's preprimary nominating convention in mid-March.

Of course the RNC will be pushing hard for Darren White -- he was the Bush campaign's chair in Bernalillo County in 2004. Repub bigwigs know that Darren's loyalty will always be given first and foremost to the Beltway rightwing establishment. If elected (heaven forbid), he'll be a dependable supporter of the insider Repub agenda whether it benefits New Mexicans or not. White has always answered to the demands of the GOP extremists in DC. What's worse is that he seems to sincerely believe in the policies that have brought us a quagmire in Iraq, an economic tsunami at home, a compromised Constitution, a broken health care system and a dearth of good-paying jobs.