Democracy for New Mexico

NM-01: Heinrich Talks About Issues Important to Working People

Martin Heinrich, NM-01's Dem candidate for Congress, talks about the Employee Free Choice Act, health care and his work with the labor movement in a video from the AFL-CIO posted on NM Labor 2008. Numerous labor unions have endorsed Heinrich. An article on the NM Labor 2008 site has this to say about Martin as part of a series called Meet Our Endorsed Candidates:

Martin’s past work with the labor movement includes leading the fight to raise the minimum wage in Albuquerque. Thanks to hard work from Martin, AFSCME, CWA, OPCM, UFCW, and the Building Trades unions, Albuquerque is one of only three cities in the U.S. in which the minimum wage is higher than both the federal and state minimum wages.

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NM-02: Sign Petition to Tell Tinsley to Support NM Families

Harry Teague, our Congressional candidate in NM-02, wants you to sign a petition urging his Republican opponent to wise up on what's important to New Mexico's hardworking families. Tinsley, hanging out at his high-priced digs in Santa Fe's exclusive Las Companas development or his prime real estate in Capitan, is clearly out of touch with the pressing needs of ordinary working people in Central and Southern New Mexico. Ed Tinsley doesn't get it. Harry Teague gets it.

From a campaign email: Recently the minimum wage increased to $6.55 an hour. But Santa Fe's own Ed Tinsley, our opponent and a Washington, DC lobbyist for the National Restaurant Association, thinks that workers deserve less than the minimum wage. In his words: "The people who want to raise the minimum wage must have never written a check to cover labor." [Testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 9/14/2000]

Harry Teague disagrees. Harry provides his employees with good wages, health care and free college tuition for their children. Southern New Mexico needs a Congressman who will stand up for working families, not look down on them. Will you stand with us and tell Ed Tinsley to support working families? Sign our petition here!

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(Updated) NM-01: Three First District Sheriffs Endorse Heinrich

Update: On his blog, Sheriff Greg Solano explains his support for Martin Heinrich -- and why he can't support Darren White -- with this powerful statement:

For me I feel just a little bad that I cannot support Sheriff White but he has always been a staunch Bush supporter and the Bush administration has decimated law enforcement in his last 7 years in office. The really bad part is I have never heard Sheriff White admonish the Bush administration or even lobby the Bush administration to stop the bleeding. Officers across this nation are going with out Bullet Proof Vests, without ammunition for training and with out funding to keep cops on the streets and in the schools. I would love to see a fellow Law Enforcement Officer in Congress, Darren White is just not that officer.

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The Martin Heinrich for Congress campaign informs us that three central New Mexico sheriffs publicly endorsed candidate Martin Heinrich this past weekend. According to the campaign, all three sheriffs cited Heinrich's crime-fighting record on the Albuquerque City Council as a main reason for supporting him in the race for Congress, and all expressed optimism for the future of New Mexican law enforcement with Heinrich acting on their behalf in Congress.

Valencia County Sheriff Rene Rivera appeared Saturday at a Valencia County welcoming event for Martin Heinrich. In his endorsement, Sheriff Rivera said, "I've been in law enforcement for over 19 years fighting against crime and drugs. Martin Heinrich was tough on crime on the Council, and I know he's the right partner in Congress to help keep our streets safe. That's why I'm endorsing him."

"We need Martin Heinrich in Congress," said Sandoval Sheriff John Paul Trujillo in his statement of endorsement. "This is the year to send the right representative to be our man in Congress, our voice for New Mexico law enforcement. Martin Heinrich will fight for critical legislation, like the COPS program. President Bush has succeeded in almost completely defunding COPS, but Martin will fight for the grants and funding law enforcement needs."

Santa Fe Sheriff Greg Solano endorsed Martin Heinrich earlier in the general election, but released an official statement of endorsement today. "This was not a hard decision – supporting Martin Heinrich and endorsing his candidacy," said Sheriff Solano. "I will always support my fellow sheriffs and members of law enforcement, but this year I know the best man to represent us in Congress is Martin Heinrich.

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Guest Blog by Alex Flores: Marty's At It Again

This is a guest post by Alex Flores, who blogs at Alex on Politics. Alex is from Corrales, NM and will start work on a Master's at Princeton this Fall.

I've only been in politics a short time but it hasn't taken long to start associating Martin Chavez with Joe Leiberman. Both are the type to disparage other Democratic candidates for personal gain. A few days ago, the always-excellent web reporter Heath Haussamen wrote a piece quoting Martin Chavez - here are my favorite excerpts:

1. "The real question in my mind is whether Senator Obama is going to be able to capture Hispanics by a significant margin," Chávez was quoted in the article as saying. "That's a big 'if,' because he's clearly an urbanite."
2. "(Obama) walked into the Flying Star and did an event with the latte crowd," the magazine quoted the mayor as saying. He added that Obama needs to "get outside Albuquerque."
3. He pointed out to the news magazine that, when Obama recently visited Albuquerque, he met at a coffeehouse with working women but didn't reach out to Hispanics. Chávez said Obama probably has the edge in New Mexico but has yet to make his case with Hispanics.

Let's address these in order!

1. First of all - how is being an "urbanite" relevant to public policy and running for office? It's not. It has nothing to do with being President of the United States and it has no place in the ongoing discourse. But I'll play anyway: Mayor Chavez - he's an "urbanite" too! Here's what I found on his upbringing:

Born in Albuquerque and of Hispanic heritage, Chávez attended both parochial (St. Charles Borromeo and Holy Ghost) and public (Van Buren Junior High and Manzano High) schools. After graduating from Manzano High School, Chávez earned a Bachelor's Degree from the University of New Mexico and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, following in the footsteps of his father.

Well, the Mayor should know that Albuquerque isn't the smallest town in the west. In fact, we're a huge city! It wasn't always this big, due in some part to his leadership, but he's still not exactly a country bumpkin. Albuquerque currently ranks around 34th in US cities with about 520,000 people - making us bigger than Sacramento, Omaha, Miami, Oakland, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburg, Newark, and Orlando - just to name a few (data as of ). Wasn't it under Mayor Marty's leadership that Albuquerque was named to Forbes magazine's list as the number-one place to do business?

Mayor Chavez grew up here - and he governs here. He also spent a few years, like me, in Washington DC. So let's stop calling the kettle black and own up to our own identities. This attack angle just isn't going to work for him.

2. Obama needs to get outside Albuquerque? That's advice to someone about how to win a statewide election. But the history isn't really on the Mayor's side (we'll tie number 3 back into this one, too). In 1998, he ran against Gary Johnson to be Governor of the state and lost, 55-45. Recently, he considered running for Governor but decided he couldn't beat Lt. Governor Diane Denish. So he switched over to the Senate race, and before the Primary ever got under way - was already losing to Tom Udall - an undeclared candidate - by 30 points.

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More Details Revealed on Lawsuit by Defeated Dem Incumbents Robinson, Taylor & Silva

Even though it's Sunday, I thought I'd follow up on yesterday's post about a suit filed in state district court by Shannon Robinson, Dan Silva and James G. Taylor that alleges campaign finance fraud in connection with the victories of three Dem challengers to long-time incumbents in the June 3, 2008 Dem primary. Today's Albuquerque Journal includes an article by Sean Olson that reveals more details about the suit, which was filed late Friday afternoon.

According to the article,

The lawsuit names the Center for Civic Policy and its director Eli Lee; Conservation Voters New Mexico, its director Javier Benavidez and its president Ned Farquhar; the SouthWest Organizing Project and its director Albert Ozawa Bineshi; and New Energy Economy Inc., its president John Fogarty and director Keegan King as the nonprofits allegedly working with the winning Democrats in the campaign.

The three incumbent losers and their backers must be miffed indeed by their defeats to go after some of the most respected nonprofits and issue advocates in New Mexico.

"Our organizations have a long and proud history of working for ethics reform, good government, health care and a clean environment," Lee said in an e-mail Saturday. "As nonpartisan, not-for-profit organizations, it is our responsibility to educate the public about the votes and contributions of our elected officials."

Then again, it's not usual for the forces that defend business-as-usual practices in Santa Fe to harbor resentments against those seeking reform and progressive solutions to our problems. They like things just the way they are. The last of the good ol' boy machine clings to its power base.

Olson describes the suit as "alleging a conspiracy among [the defeated lawmakers'] opponents and local nonprofits to defraud voters and skirt campaign finance laws." More:

Sens. Shannon Robinson and James Taylor and Rep. Dan Silva all seek to have the primary election annulled in the state District Court lawsuit. The lawmakers, all Democrats, allege in the lawsuit a "secret campaign" among opponents Eric Griego, Tim Keller and Eleanor Chavez to distribute literature, make phone calls to voters and funnel at least $180,000 of undisclosed campaign funds using local nonprofits.

The three incumbents would not have lost the election without the alleged fraudulent activity, the lawsuit states. "You can't create a scheme to violate campaign finance laws. ... It's fraud," Robinson said Saturday.

The Challengers Won by Large Margins
Is it just me, or do you find it hilarious (if sad) that the three primary losers are asserting that they would have won if certain nonprofits had not revealed their voting records and positions on the important issues like health care, a raise in the minimum wage and ethics and campaign finance reform? After all, the incumbents were beaten by large margins in their primaries.

In SD 14, Eric Griego beat James G. Taylor, a Senator since 2004 and before that a State Rep, by 62%-38%. In SD 17, Tim Keller defeated Shannon Robinson, who's been in the Senate since 1989, by 66%-34%. Eleanor Chavez beat Dan Silva, who served in the House since 1987, by 54%-46%. Not exactly squeakers.

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Robinson, Taylor, Silva: Fallen Dem Incumbents File Sour Grapes Lawsuit Alleging Campaign Finance Fraud

Note: Also see my later post on this, published on Sunday, 8/3/08.
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Ah, now I get it. I posted the other day about the melodramatic whining and harumphing coming from certain blogs about the operations of certain local nonprofits and those who manage and donate to the organizations. The nonprofits have been circulating facts about legislative voting records and promoting a number of mainstream issues like expanded health care and ethics reform. Oh, horrors, not that!

Now I see that the alligators and eyes on Albuquerque were likely serving as mouthpieces for a concerted effort to create a useful reservoir of talking points. It appears they were preparing the way for the forces of business-as-usual to take action in court to try and get things back to the way they used to be. Back to when folks paid less attention to what their legislators were doing up there at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe and information sources were few.

New Mexico FBIHOP made the catch on a KRQE report that three long-time Dem incumbents who lost their June 3rd primary elections to reform Dems -- Shannon Robinson, James Taylor and Dan Silva -- filed a joint lawsuit late Friday. Among other things, the suit alleges that campaign finance fraud on the part of certain nonprofits cost the plaintiffs their seats. Get this: three legislators known for their antipathy towards campaign finance and ethics reform -- and often accused of being in cahoots with special interests -- are now claiming progressive reform candidates beat them soundly by employing unethical means. Do you hear the hypocrisy sensors going off all over Albuquerque? Woooo-woooo!

According to KRQE:

The lawsuit, filed minutes before court closed for the weekend, named the winning candidate, several nonprofit organizations and their managers and alleged illegal campaign tactics warrant voiding the election.

... It's a void election," Robinson told KRQE News 13. "When fraud so permeates the election as this, and it is done intentionally, it has to be voided."

Robinson filed the election contest on behalf of himself and the other two. Their chief claim alleges $180,000 from two nonprofit organizations was transferred to six other organizations to pay for attack ads. Shuffling the money that way was done to let the winning candidates avoid reporting the source of contributions to the secretary of state, the suit claimed.

Griego, Chavez, Keller: Incumbent Topplers

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Bernalillo County Dems to Host Fundraiser for Convention Delegates

The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County is hosting a
Unity Lasagna Dinner for all Bernalillo County Delegates
To help with their expenses for the upcoming
Democratic Convention in Denver
Door Prizes-Raffle-Music-Fun-Food!!

Saturday, August 9, 5:00-7:00 PM
Plumbers and Steamfitters Hall-510 San Pedro SE
Tickets are $20.00 each
Call Terri Holland at 604-3589 or Richard Cooley at 268-2439

Saturday: Grand Openings & Phone Banking Set for 16 New Obama Offices in NM

The Obama Campaign for Change in New Mexico announced that grand openings at 16 new offices across the state will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2008. See below the break for a complete listing of Obama campaign offices that will open tomorrow. Has another presidential campaign ever had this many campaign offices in the Land of Enchantment? I don't think so. The McCain campaign will be hard pressed to compete with this effort.

Following this weekend the Obama campaign will have a total of 17 offices across the state. In a statement, they said they'll work to harness the enthusiasm of Obama's grassroots-level supporters and organize them in communities across New Mexico -- neighbor to neighbor, friend to friend and colleague to colleague -- working for the benefit of Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. 

Those wishing to attend should visit this page for more details about the grand opening celebrations and/or participating in phone banking on Saturday.

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Tonight: IndyMedia TV Tackles Big Oil Issues

From Allan Cooper of the IndyMedia Collective: Watch IndyMedia TV tonight on Comcast Cable's Channel 27 in Albuquerque at 7:00 PM. We're on the web too at https://quote-unquote.org/ in real time.

Shrayas Jatkar from the Sierra Club will be talking with us about the fallacy of 'Peak Oil' and how the big oil companies are raking in billions off the lie. Also, Senators Pierce and Mc Cain are recipients of millions for their upcoming campaigns. Last quarter the so-called big four oil companies made over 35 billions dollars in profits! That's 'our' money sisters and brothers ... Capitol X, political Hip-Hop artist will join us by phone to give us an ear full (and eye full). Plus, Armon from Burque will update us on the resistance building to stop the next war/attack on Iran. We all need to stand up and speak up NOW, please, for the children. Our call-in phone is 505-346-1633. Info? Call 505-304-3144.

Comcast Sucks

I've been without my cable connection since this morning. Even now, I have very slow, intermittent service. I spent a lot of time on the phone with a Comcast service person today, unplugging and replugging equipment, rebooting everything, etc., to no avail. Now, hours later, I have some service, but it's very shaky. I did nothing to the system since I got off the phone with Comcast, yet my cable modem's lights suddenly starting working, at least somewhat. So my guess is that the problem is with them, as usual.

Comcast, however, told me the problem was at my end and that they'd have to send a repair person. Of course that repair person couldn't make it out until tomorrow afternoon sometime, if then. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'll try to go check my email despite the fact my connection is slower than dial-up at the moment and it keeps going on and off at odd intervals. Bear with me. I'm not neglecting the blog today. I just have my hands (and keyboard) tied up by Comcast. Somehow I don't think this kind of thing happens in Europe or Japan. Do you?