Democracy for New Mexico

(Updated) NM Legislature Convenes: Watch State of State Live

UPDATE: Click to read Gov. Richardson's prepared remarks or view KNME's archived video of his speech.
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You can watch a KNME live stream of Governor Bill Richardson's State of the State address to legislators starting at 1:00 PM today as the New Mexico Legislature convenes its 30-day "short session" at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe. It's expected to be a contentious one, with State Senators looking to exert more power over the process, and Richardson critic Sen. Tim Jennings (D-Roswell) replacing the late Sen. Ben Altamirano as the Senate's president pro-tem. Last year, the Senate was the stopper on a number of progressive bills and this year the situation maybe even worse, even though Democrats are in the majority. There are Democrats, and then there are DINOs.

In addition to the usual budget wrangling that's the main focus of 30-day sessions, Richardson has indicated he'll be pushing health care reform first and foremost, as well as ethics and campaign finance reform, energy conservation measures and a domestic partnership bill. He'll also control the type of additional initiatives that will be allowed onto the agenda, which he controls in short session years. According to an article in today's Santa Fe New Mexican:

Richardson said his speech will have a simple message for legislators: "Health care. Health care. Health care. It's going to be an address saying that we have a responsibility in this Legislature, with the governor, to produce universal health care for every New Mexican and to start it with a comprehensive bill — not piecemeal," Richardson said.

Expect battles over a proposal to amend the school funding formula, the budget for roads that must address a large shortfall in funding and a law passed last session that requires candidates to get 20% of the votes at Party pre-primary conventions to get on the primary ballot.

Senate leaders have already balked at one recommendation from the Governor's Ethics Task Force to institute voluntary public campaign financing for statewide races. Who needs that when our candidates can rely on "donations" from big-money interests? What fun would it be if candidates could run without promising the moon to deep pocket special interests? Democracy might start breaking out all over.

According to the Albuquerque Journal's Trip Jennings, Senate leaders including Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez (D-Belen) have "sent signals" to the Governor on ethics reform:

Proposals to cap campaign contributions, create an independent state ethics commission and give the Secretary of State's Office more than $170,000 to fix its campaign reporting system have the best shot at being heard.

Not on the to-do list was a Richardson priority of expanding the public financing of elections to statewide offices, including governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

... Some members of the group oppose parts of the ethics and campaign finance recommendations. They made it clear Monday that they weren't endorsing the legislation, but they said some of the proposals deserve a hearing.

... "This is not saying these bills will get through, or that I am supporting them," Sen. Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen.

Big man, isn't he?

You can read more about this year's ethics reform proposals in my previous post.

NM FBIHOP has a about this year's health reform battle, including the results of a poll sent to 5,000 of Sen. Dede Feldman's constituents that indicates health care is their number one issue this year.

You can read about how last year's domestic partnership bill was defeated by one vote in the Senate in this post. Four Democrats, including our new Senate president pro-tem Tim Jennings (D-Roswell), John Arthur Smith (D-Deming), Lidio Rainaldi (D-Gallup) and Carlos Cisneros (D-Questa). voted with Repubs to kill the measure. The bill had been passed three times on the House side, including once during an ill-fated Special Session called by the Governor.

ACTION ALERT: NM Campaign Finance Reform

Today's Albuquerque Journal features an op-ed about cleaning up campaign financing laws in New Mexico by Common Cause New Mexico's Executive Director, Steve Robert Allen. Governor Bill Richardson's Ethics Task Force has once again submitted their recommendations to the Legislature for action. As usual, it will be an uphill fight to get anything passed regarding ethics, despite incredibly strong support for reform on the part of citizens. Allen cites the enactment of public financing for statewide elections as the most important of the Task Force recommendations:

For citizens to regain faith in the fairness of New Mexico's political system, it is essential that we cut special interest dollars out of the equation entirely.

The system recommended by the task force would provide full public funding for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to only accept small contributions from individuals. We have seen this reform work for Public Regulation Commission campaigns. We saw it work on the municipal level during the last City Council race in Albuquerque.

During the 2007 session, the Legislature wisely voted to pass public campaign financing for statewide judicial races. It is time to extend this crucial reform to all statewide offices.

Allen goes on to explain how Gov. Richardson came out publicly and strongly for public financing of elections during his presidential run:

Richardson appears committed to this goal. He recently signed a Common Cause pledge to support congressional public financing. He also wrote a letter to Iowa voters explaining that his goal in New Mexico this year is to expand public financing to more statewide offices. Moreover, in the New Hampshire presidential debate Jan. 5, he expressed his belief that public financing, in the broader sense, is one of the key reforms necessary to begin to heal the deep political wounds of this country.

The Ethics Task Force also recommends creating an independent commission to investigate complaints against public officials and setting campaign contribution limits. It will be telling to see how strongly Richardson pushes for ethics reform this Session, and how legislators will respond in this election year when all members of the state House and Senate must face the voters and answer for their action (or inaction) on this critical issue. We'll be tracking the movement of ethics and campaign finance reform bills throughout the 30-day Legislative Session, which starts tomorrow at Noon.

Take Action Now
To start the ball rolling, please contact your legislators urging their support for public campaign financing. Common Cause New Mexico :

From Common Cause New Mexico:
As you know, an ever-widening stream of corporate and special interest money has corrupted New Mexico politics. Common Cause New Mexico will address this problem head-on during the upcoming legislative session by supporting a proposal for public campaign financing for all statewide races.

We will lobby hard for this crucial reform in the coming weeks, but we need your help. Because this year’s legislative session is only one month long, we need to make sure public campaign financing gets the strong and vocal support it deserves. The system recommended by Governor Richardson's Ethics Reform Task Force would provide public funding for qualified candidates who agree to strict spending limits and to accept only small contributions from individuals.

Thanks for your help in our ongoing effort to clean up New Mexico politics.

Sincerely,
Steven Robert Allen
Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico

Editor's Note: If you haven't already seen it, check out Common Cause New Mexico's report, , which analyzes how optional public campaign financing worked in Albuquerque's city election this past Fall.

You can also listen to an interview of Common Cause New Mexico's Director, Steve Robert Allen, about public campaign financing that was conducted by Jim West on KUNM News in December.

Environmental Alliance of NM Announces 2008 Legislative Agenda

Javier Benavidez of Conservation Voters New Mexico
speaks at press conference at Rio Grande bosque

From Conservation Voters New Mexico:
Representatives of over a dozen environmental organizations convened a news conference on Friday afternoon, January 11, 2008, in Albuquerque to announce a 2008 legislative package aimed at addressing the State of New Mexico’s environment, energy, water, and outdoor education policy. The Environmental Alliance of New Mexico, an informal coalition of environmental organizations facilitated by Conservation Voters New Mexico, announced four priority legislative measures. Though this year’s legislative session will be a short, 30-day session focusing on state budget matters, each of the alliance’s priority bills will be on the legislative agenda because they are germane to state budgeting or because they are anticipated to be on the “Governor’s call.” The bills include:

• the “Leave No Child Inside Act,” a bill seeking to generate revenue for an outdoor educational programming fund through a 1% excise tax (a “sin” tax) on the purchase of new televisions and video games

• the “Ratepayer Protection Act,” a bill requiring regulated electric utilities to meet 10% of their energy demand with energy efficiency by 2020 instead of building new power plants (which are more expensive than efficiency). The bill will also encourage the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission to allow energy efficiency programs to be as profitable to New Mexico utilities as power plants are.

• a “Smart Investments in Public Buildings” policy to ensure a 50% energy saving throughout the life of new and retrofitted public buildings through a 1-2% initial investment in the “sustainable” or “green” design of each public building

• a one-time funding request of $10 million for Statewide Ecosystem Restoration that will facilitate efforts to restore New Mexico’s fragile and iconic river ecosystems, including funding for water flows, technical studies and community outreach.

Gail Ryba, NMCCAE

"This alliance represents over 30,000 New Mexican voters who care about protecting our air, land, water, wildlife and communities,” said Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico and the Conservation Voters of New Mexico Education Fund.

The four priority bills of the Environmental Alliance of New Mexico (click for Fact Sheet) are the result of an annual “common agenda” process in which environmental organizations come together to develop a cohesive environmental policy agenda for consideration by the annual state legislative session. In addition to the measures mentioned above, Conservation Voters New Mexico will be monitoring any potential “environmental rollbacks” of policy gains made in previous years and will work to defend against such regressive measures.

Organizations involved in the Environmental Alliance of New Mexico include: 1000 Friends of New Mexico, Animal Protection Voters, Amigos Bravos, Audubon New Mexico, Conservation Voters New Mexico, Defenders of Wildlife, Dooda Desert Rock, Environment New Mexico, New Mexico Coalition for Clean Affordable Energy, New Mexico Environmental Law Center, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, New Mexico Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, The Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Wildlife Fund.

For more information, please contact Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico, at 270-5743.

Click for contact information for your legislators.

Calling Gov. Richardson and All Legislators: Required Reading

As we head towards another New Mexico Legislative Session, the repetitive message we hear coming from our Governor and most of our Legislators is that they can't support universal healthcare coverage under the Health Security Act because (fill in your own answer). I want every single one of them to read this letter. Read it carefully. Read it with an open mind and heart. Try to connect with the human being behind the letter, rather than perceiving her as another lifeless, abstract statistic. Try to remember her when you are tempted once again to concoct a getaway plan you can use to avoid the truth, the facts, the real suffering, the deaths and the poverty you are causing by failing to act in a meaningful way to solve this problem.

I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how upset insurance industry profitmakers will get. I don't care what political price you think you will pay. You know in your heart it is necessary, moral and compassionate to act now to achieve universal coverage the only way it is possible and affordable -- via a co-op plan like the Health Security Act or some kind of single-payer plan. If you don't do it, I KNOW you will all pay a political price because I KNOW voters will set out to unseat every single one of you who refuses to do the right thing. This Session. Now. There are lives in the balance and they're in your hands.

Howie Morales Appointed State Senator in District 28

Governor Bill Richardson today appointed Howie Morales, Ph.D. to represent state Senate District 28. Morales will fill the vacancy left by the passing of Senate Pro-Tem Ben Altamirano, who held the District 28 seat for more than thirty years. Morales has served as Grant County Clerk since 2005 and teaches leadership and government courses at Western New Mexico University. Morales earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters degree in Bilingual Special Education from Western New Mexico University and a Doctorate in Philosophy from New Mexico State University. Read more of the Governor's statement.

Socorro's El Defensor Chieftain has on Morales and Socorro County's recommendation. According to the newspaper,

Morales was personally recommended by the Altamirano family to fill Ben Altamirano's term. Santillanes said Altamirano's wife, Nina, had considered putting her name in for the position, but decided against it. Instead, the family is supporting Morales who is a distant relative.

In addition, former majority floor leader of the Legislature, Michael Olguin, was recommended by Bennie Berreras in Socorro County to fill the vacancy. However, Michael Olguin's name was eventually withdrawn by Commissioner Phillip Anaya based on the Altamirano family's wishes.

(Updated: Richardson to Leave Race?) What Will Richardson Do?

UPDATE: Nedra Pickler at the AP reports, based on two anonymous sources close to the Governor, that Bill Richardson will announce tomorrow that he'll end his bid to be the Democratic presidential nominee. The decision allegedly was reached after a meeting with his top advisers Wednesday in New Mexico. However, MSNBC reports that Katie Roberts, deputy communications director for the Richardson campaign, denied the report.
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Despite garnering only 5% in New Hampshire and finishing a distant fourth there, Gov. Bill Richardson is still insisting he will continue on to Nevada's caucus on January 19th. You can see his concession speech on the CSPAN site. The Governor has said he believes he has more support in the West than has been evident back East. We'll see.

Richardson's campaign is reportedly running out of money and bought no ad time in New Hampshire during the week before the primary. In addition, New Mexico's 30-day Legislative Session begins on January 15th and Richardson must put at least some energy into pushing his agenda there. He's supposed to give his State of the State speech at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe on 1/15, and there's a Dem debate that night in Nevada.

Richardson is back in New Mexico today and will be involved in appointing a successor to Sen. Ben Altamirano who passed way recently. After that, it's anyone's guess. The most recent polling numbers on Nevada, from early December, show him in single digits. I'm sure he and his advisers are pondering whether they can stay in until New Mexico's Dem caucus on February 5th, and whether doing so would decrease his power to achieve his legislative agenda in New Mexico. It's a tough call.

VP Slot
How about Richardson's chances of being named the VP candidate if Hillary wins? Even that's looking like a long shot these days. The Clinton camp is reportedly angry about rumors that Richardson's campaign urged supporters in nonviable precincts in Iowa to move to Obama's corner. The Richardson campaign continues to deny the allegation, but it seems to have legs. In this video, Richardson complains he's being blamed in part for Clinton's loss in Iowa:

... it's a lot of the Clinton people that are putting this out and I really resent it. It's wrong. I believe very strongly that this was a big vote for Obama because he brought a lot of new people in. That's why he won and those people should stop trying to get scapegoats.

Howie Morales to Replace Sen. Ben Altamirano?
By the way, former Silver City resident Avelino at NM FBIHOP says it looks like Grant County Clerk Howie Morales has a great chance to be appointed to Sen. Altamirano's State Senate seat after being selected by both Grant and Socorro Counties. I understand that Richardson must appoint someone from the names submitted by the County Commissions of the three counties with territory inside Senate District 28. We don't yet know who the conservative Catron County Commission will recommend when it meets tonight.

Sunday Bird Blogging: Domestic Partnership Edition

Sunny the sun conure is excited about the 30-day NM Legislative Session that begins at Noon on January 15, 2008. As you can see above, he's a strong supporter of GLBT rights and equal rights under the law for all -- birds included. It's understandable given his rainbow coloring, isn't it? This morning he was reminding us how important it is to work with Equality New Mexico and the legislators to get the Domestic Partnership Act passed this time.

Last year's effort was foiled at the last minute by one vote when a certain Northern New Mexico legislator changed his mind and voted against the bill. I guess he doesn't care about giving our state's GLBT citizens (and others who prefer domestic partnerships) some of the basic contract rights that married people take for granted. Sunny wants to feel secure about the partnership of the humans he entertains daily in his extended flock, and he can't see why the idea of granting them rights to a civil partnership is a threat to anyone. He's no bird brain!

If you agree, it's time to sign up as a supporter of Equality New Mexico, maybe donate a few bucks to the cause, perhaps volunteer some time and start contacting your legislators to urge them to support this year's Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act (HB28). The EQNM webiste makes it easy to sign a petition in support of the Act and have it sent automatically to your state senator and representative.

The bill (pdf), sponsored once again by the always terrific Rep. Mimi Stewart, has been pre-filed with the Legislative Council Service so advocates can hit the ground running when the Session begins. I'll be following the progress of the bill closely, so stay tuned. Sunny's looking forward to a big celebration when this year's Legislative Session comes to a close. We can do it this year!

NM Senate Leaders Pre-File Bill to Restore Petition Signature Option for Candidates

The pre-filing of a bill to restore the petition signature option for statewide and federal candidates to get on the ballot if they don't get 20% of the vote at party pre-primary conventions was just announced in the press release below. Don Wiviott, a Democratic candidate for Congress in NM-03, filed a lawsuit yesterday asking the Santa Fe District Court to determine whether the 20% requirement, passed unanimously into law last legislative session as part of a larger bill, is constitutional.

Press Release: Santa Fe, NM – Senate Majority Leader Michael S. Sanchez (D-Valencia County) announced that on December 17, 2007 he and Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle pre-filed Senate Bill 1, Primary Ballot Access for Certain Candidates. The bill allows candidates for statewide offices to be placed on primary ballots by petition of signatures. During last year’s legislative session that provision was removed in House Bill 1156 thereby requiring candidates to receive at least 20% of preprimary convention delegates before their names could be placed on the ballot.

Senate Bill 1 restores the language that was deleted in last year’s bill. “It’s important that candidates continue to be allowed other avenues for getting on the ballot. The system we have had for many years was working well. Restoring the original language is the right thing to do because giving voters choices is what it’s all about,” said Sen. Sanchez.

Pursuant to Senate Rule 11-12-1, amended during last year’s legislative session, senators may pre-file legislation from December 15 through the Friday before the regular session. This year senators may pre-file bills from December 17, 2007 through January 11, 2008. Pre-filed legislation will be introduced and referred to committee on the first day of the regular session which begins on January 15, 2008.

Senate Bill 1 and all other pre-filed bills are posted at the New Mexico Legislature’s website. A link to the website is available on the Senate Democrats’ website www.nmsenate.com.

NM-03: Wiviott Files Suit Challenging Ballot Access Law; Asks Dem Field to Join Him

The Don Wiviott for Congress campaign issued the following statement today:

Santa Fe, NM – With speculation mounting that a new ballot access law will prevent New Mexico from having full and fair elections this November, Don Wiviott Thursday called on the entire field of Democratic candidates to join him in fighting for a more open political process this primary season.  Home builder Wiviott is a Democratic candidate for CD-03, the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Tom Udall.

Wiviott specifically took aim at House Bill 1156, which was signed into law last year. The bill severely limits the number of candidates that political parties can place on their primary ballots. Under the new law, parties can only place on their ballots those candidates that receive at least 20 percent of delegates at a pre-primary convention.  Under prior law, candidates were able to obtain access to the ballot by submitting additional nominating petitions from registered voters.

“This law runs contrary to the values of New Mexico and the Democratic party,” said Wiviott.  “Instead of giving primary voters the opportunity to hear and select from the full chorus of voices in the Democratic party, it seeks to limit access to the ballot to a well-connected few. There is no reason for such severe limits. Elections ought to be a contest of ideas, and open and fair to everyone.  We shouldn’t seek to restrict debate or cut some out of the process.”

As Wiviott noted, the new 20 percent threshold may have unintended consequences for the Democratic Party this Fall.  In races like the 3rd Congressional district where multiple candidates have announced their intention to run, a 20 percent threshold may be impossible for anyone to meet.  With so many candidates in the race, Democrats face the very real possibility that the delegate vote will be split so many ways that no candidate receives 20 percent.  Should that happen, the law has no provisions for review or appeal. Democrats would simply be left without a candidate on the primary and general election ballots in November.

“Without serious revisions in the law, we might see a scenario where Congressman Udall’s seat is simply handed to Republicans in November,” said Wiviott.  “We need a member of Congress who will fight for affordable health care and to end the War in Iraq , but under that scenario, New Mexico would lose its progressive voice in Washington.”

Wiviott continued, “This is really a civil rights issue.  Minorities -- especially Native Americans -- will find it tougher to get on the ballot throughout New Mexico under this new system.  That’s unacceptable.  New Mexico is about fostering diversity and this new ballot system will limit diversity and make it harder for some minorities to get on the ballot.  That doesn’t reflect our values.”

Wiviott added, “As I’ve met with the Democrats who will decide who gets on the ballot under this new system, I’ve been getting a very positive reaction so I expect to get on the ballot if this lawsuit fails.  But I got involved in this race to promote certain ideals, such as diversity and civil rights.  I’m filing this lawsuit because this new voting system fails those ideals.”

In order to open up the political process to everyone and ensure New Mexico voters have a choice this November, Wiviott said Thursday he has filed a suit in the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe to challenge HB 1156 and the restrictions it places on ballot access and on voter choice.  Wiviott said he hoped the entire field of Democratic candidates would join him in fighting the law.

“If there is one thing all Democratic candidates can agree on, it is that the Democratic primary should be open and fair,” said Wiviott. “Anyone who wants to participate should be able to compete.”

Wiviott said Thursday he has retained an attorney to oversee the suit and is awaiting word from other candidates about whether or not they will join his effort.

To see our previous coverage of the 2008 NM-03 Congressional race, visit our archive.

Guest Blog: Reminiscence on the Passing of Senate President Ben Altamirano

This is a guest blog by Stephen Fox, founder of New Millennium Fine Art in Santa Fe. He is working towards a ban on aspartame and the establishment of a New Mexico Nutrition Council, with powers to question and even challenge the FDA. He is presently the Managing Editor of the weekly Santa Fe Sun News.

A Truly Great Statesman
For two years, he endorsed and volunteered to sponsor the bill to create a powerful new Nutrition Council for New Mexico, of which I was the author, and he saw the need to have express powers to challenge the FDA when it was wrong. He spoke of the need to have viejos and comadres serving on the council, if it was really going to help the people improve their health, not just industry apparatchiks. He told me many times that although he didn’t have a lot of confidence in the accuracy of newspapers, he had never gotten such good press nor such positive feedback from constituents in his entire legislative career than he had gotten from taking on the Nutrition Council legislation and its related issues.

Then the corporate lobbyists who had nothing to gain and everything to lose if the Nutrition Council ever were passed by the Legislature, turned on him and forced the bill's evisceration in a couple of Senate Committees.

He always had time to talk and always saw deeply into matters of ordinary people and the problems deriving from poverty, stemming from his own experiences growing up somewhat poor in Grant County. He was no "hack" like some of the very powerful in the Roundhouse; I think the main reason he rose to power was his even handedness as Senate Finance Chairman for 18 years, disbursing the state's money even handedly, fairly, judiciously, and without the faintest hint of scandal or dishonesty!

Michael Sanchez noted in his personal eulogy that Ben got the Pro Tem job after he asked the Democrat Caucus after Richard Romero resigned to run for Congress if anyone objected to his being Pro Tem, because he wanted it to be unanimous, and of course, no one objected and he got the job. I was in his office a day or two later and he was beaming with happiness and saying “By golly, President Pro Tem of the New Mexico Senate: it sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?”

All of New Mexico will miss him profoundly. House Speaker Luján noted that legislation sponsored this year by Altamirano took effect on New Year's Day, to increase minimum wage benefiting the lowest-paid workers in New Mexico. "He was a gentleman in a place that does not always treat gentlemen kindly. He was a statesman in a place that too frequently rewards those with more narrow concerns," said Luján. "He brought a calm, reasonable voice to a place that needs more calm and more reason."

What Killed Benny Altamirano?
At the Memorial Service in the Rotunda, his son Paul briefly touched on the “negative” aspects of what 36 years of public service in the New Mexico Senate really means: the 4:00 A.M. calls asking him to come to Santa Fe, the very long trip starting with the tortuous winding road over the Black Range, the 1 and 2:00 A.M. sessions in Senate Finance, the stress, the cumulative fatigue (all of which led his doctors to recommend that he “cut back and slow down.” Not Benny . . . no one was as driven as he was by a love of public service and legislating.

After visiting him in his office, I noticed several perpetual cans of diet Coke in his office refrigerator. I was horrified for his health: the sweetener Aspartame is metabolized as methanol and formaldehyde, obviously two horrible effects on anyone, particularly someone recovering from cardiac surgery and on a later occasion, from a severe bout with bronchial pneumonia. I gave him dozens of bottles of Organic Apricot Nectar from the Italian firm, BioNaturae, but he kept drinking the Diet beverages. His physicians were right to be alarmed. Anyone would suffer from the grinding schedule of New Mexico’s Senate President.

In retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have gone to Santa Fe in the later years, and shouldn’t have carried on those 100 hour weeks. Someone suffering from cardiac impairments and later a total knee replacement, the last of his surgeries, should have retired and told stories of his accomplishments to his eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren. But not Ben Altamirano ...

It was almost as if he believed his personal powers of civility and persuasion would allow him to prevail over the Grim Reaper himself. After all, he had conquered a divisive and even embittered Legislature and six different Governors with his civility, decency, and wit. Alas, that was not to be. My own theory is that a disproportionately large number of aged and ill people die after our gluttonous holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, much as Halloween is bad for all of the children goring on sugar, candy, and junk food and much as hundreds die in auto wrecks after imbibing on New Year’s Eve.

Ben and his family no doubt welcomed the lighter load as Pro Tem, compared to the 18 years of physical draining as Senate Finance Chairman. Having grown up in the Depression in New Mexico made him glad to accept the travel and perks offered the Pro Tem, like a trip to the Netherlands to examine nuclear fuel reprocessing, and international legislative conferences in China and in California. I even warned him several times about the impact of such travel on his health.

Altamirano’s Service to New Mexico
His service to New Mexico was profound and ongoing. I won’t baste his memory with any more honorifics than those already accorded to him by his sincere and grief-stricken colleagues speaking in the Rotunda, except to say that his enduring gift of Collegial Civility will almost be everlasting, and I hope Governor Richardson will find some buildings in both Santa Fe and Silver City to name after him. Richardson prefers to bestow such honorifics on the living, when the person is still alive, and we all know that Ben Altamirano deserves this as much or more than some of those already deemed to be so worthy. He touched every single area of state government. There is housing named after him at New Mexico universities, and there is the Altamirano Leadership Conference at Luna Community College, which might be developed at all of the New Mexico state universities, in the Political Science Department or at UNM Law School. Ben would have liked that ...

Corporate Lobbyists’ Stranglehold on Legislation
I am still angry about the way that the corporations involved and their lobbyists robbed New Mexico of the powerful new Nutrition Council sponsored by Ben in 2005 and in 2006. Actually, on the strength of his great personality and power, the bill made it all the way through in 2005 passing resoundingly in both Houses, but died on the last day as a result of a long and destructive filibuster by Roswell Republican Dan Foley which in fact killed about six bills and five memorials. Throughout both years, the lobbyists leaned on Ben about this bill: he even shared with me in 2006 that particularly Coca Cola was upset with him for sponsoring such pro- consumer legislation, reminding him that they had donated many thousands of dollars to his slate of Senators for reelection, in golf tournaments and in outright direct contributions.

Like many parents with large families, he wanted all in his Legislative family to be happy, even the lobbyists, although I told him many times that if you are going to do real consumer protection to benefit the families, the poor, and the minorities of New Mexico, you are going to make some corporation angry, perhaps even several.

Ultimately, he caved into the demands of these unscrupulous lobbyists, because they too were his long time friends. The same corporations hired “friends” of Bill Richardson to be their lobbyists one year, which resulted in a 15-day delay in putting the bill on the Governor’s “call,” and in a 30-day session, a fifteen-day delay is a death knell for even the most profoundly needed legislation.

It is a bathetic and a pathetic ghastly situation in which corporate lobbyists from Ajinomoto, a Japanese company making aspartame and monosodium glutamate, can purchase their stranglehold on government, as they do in Santa Fe, in Washington, and in every international capitol, a condition that will go on and on, even as human bodies pile up from Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, Sudden Cardiac Death from Aspartame in Diet Cokes (please take the time to read Neurosurgeon Blaylock’s alarming article on this), mesoepithelioma cancers from asbestos, brain damage from lead paint, autism from mercury in flu shots and infants’ vaccines–the list goes on and on. Not a pretty picture, is it?

Genius of Finance and Civility That He Was ...
Altamirano couldn’t remedy all of the above, but for two years, at least he tried to establish a Nutrition Council, to advise the schools, and even occasionally challenge the FDA when it was obviously dead wrong. Ben once told me he how he passed a bill in 30 minutes for the Secretary of State on the last day of one session to pay for some voting machines the legislature had previously voted to require, but had forgot to secure funding for. He personally walked the bill through the Senate Committees then over to the House, which voted on it and passed it with three minutes to spare before noon.

Altamirano’s Last Joke
His son Paul at the Memorial Service told a joke that Benny would have liked to share with his fellow legislators: a fellow was extolling the virtues of his new hearing aid to his neighbor. “I can even hear a bird chirping across the street.” “Well, that is some hearing aid.” “Yes, I can even hear a butterfly flapping its wings on the next block.” “Great! What an amazing hearing aid. What kind is it?” The fellow looked at his watch and said: “2:15.”

What a legacy Altamirano leaves. As Lt. Gov. Denish said: "Of all the people that I thought made the Senate kind of balanced, warm and welcoming, it was Ben. He was such an even-handed, upbeat, optimistic person. Someone will be appointed, but no one will ever replace him.”

What comes next in the New Mexico Senate?
Insiders as well several un-named members of the Senate speculate that what is likely to happen next is that an Interim (or "caretaker") Pro Tem President will be chosen, and later a formal election will be conducted next November. Many speculate that if the decision were based entirely on Seniority, as occurs in Senates all over the world, John Pinto (Navajo of Tohatchi) will get the job, and it would be the first time for any Native American in the state legislatures of our nation. Others wonder if Roswell's Tim Jennings, Finance Co-Chair, will press hardest for the job, yet might not because of the time it would require away from his wife, Patty, who is being treated for cancer.

Majority Leader Michael Sanchez might also be interested, although he is quite happy with the power inherent in the Majority Leader's position. Appropriately, Sanchez declined to speak of such questions of ambition after the New Year's Eve Altamirano Memorial Service in the Rotunda concluded. Still others surmise that Deming's John Arthur Smith, Finance Co-Chair, would be a likely candidate who would be acceptable to Conservative Democrats and to the Republicans, and that more might actually get accomplished with a strong conserative in the position.

We encourage all of them, particularly one of our favorite Senators, Cisco Mc Sorley of Albuquerque, Judiciary Chairman; Linda Lopez, Rules Chair; and Dede Feldman, Public Affairs Chair, all of whom are liberals and would do the job very commendably. In due course, may the best person win, and above all, may the entire 2008 Legislature refresh the unforgettable civility of Ben Altamirano!

This is a guest blog by Stephen Fox of Santa Fe. Guest blogs provide readers with an opportunity to express their views on issues relevant to DFNM and may or many not reflect our views. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.