6-2 Vesta Richardson and Sandra Day O'Conner

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Congratulations to yesterdays winners. To the losers, I offer the encouraging advice from former U.S. Rep. Joe Skeen, who often noted that he lost seven elections during his long political career.
That career was capped when he was named chairman of the House Appropriations' Subcommittee on Agriculture.
Being a subcommittee chairman may not sound impressive but the House Appropriations' subcommittee chairmen controlled all the money and were reverently referred to as Cardinals.
I can't tell you who won yesterday since this column wasn't written late last night. That honor goes to the reporters who write for the front page.
So what we'll do today and the next few days is catch up on recent items that were displaced by the exciting lead up to yesterday's primary election.
* * *
Coffee klatches around the Capital City were abuzz a week or so ago about a picture in the Santa Fe New Mexican of Gov. Bill Richardson with a nice looking blond on his arm. And it wasn't his wife Barbara.
It was the governor's sister Vesta Richardson, a medical doctor in Mexico. The two were headed into the state dinner held for Mexican President Felipe Calderon. It turns out Dr. Richardson also attended the last state dinner held for a Mexican president in 2006.
Our governor was clean shaven and wearing a fancy bolo tie with his tuxedo. The couple made the short list of dignitaries cited by several publications.
The meal was traditional Mexican, prepared by a guest chef flown in from Chicago. It included Oaxacan mole, a term that national broadcasters typically slaughtered. They usually pronounced mole the same as the little brown furry creature.
It didn't help that the following day one of those creatures scurried and stopped in front of the podium as President Obama was making an announcement. That led, of course, to suggestions that the mole was an escapee form the kitchen the night before.
Some wondered why the visiting Mexican dignitaries wouldn't be served American food while in America. We have plenty of food to be proud about.
The answer may be that this visit wasn't about American pride. It was about the status of Mexicans in our country. And one way to demonstrate our appreciation of Mexican culture is to serve gourmet food from their own country.
* * *
Almost-New Mexican Sandra Day O'Conner has retired from the U.S. Supreme Court but she still has opinions. One of her pet peeves is that Americans know far too little about how their government works.
She has recently developed a Web site called "Our Courts" aimed at teaching middle school students in a fun and challenging way. The site includes detailed lesson plans for teachers as well as four computer games students can play individually.
I played one and learned a great deal..
O'Conner grew up on a ranch straddling the Arizona state line about 25 miles northwest of Lordsburg. The ranch house was in Arizona but the family did all their business and shopping in Lordsburg.
Sandra would have gone to school in Lordsburg but her parents sent her to El Paso to spend the school year with her grandmother and attend Radford School for Girls.
They tried her at Lordsburg for a year but then sent her back to El Paso. My father was superintendent of schools in Lordsburg at the time so I'm sure it was a great school but something didn't work out. She touches on it in her book, "Lazy B" but doesn't say why.
O'Conner says we are getting progressively worse at civics and government. She blames it on the federal program, "No Child Left Behind," which is based on rewarding test scores in math and science.
The unintended result, she says, is that many schools have dropped civics or government as a requirement or have stopped teaching it altogether.
WED, 6-2-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

We're leaving this afternoon for a week in Fla. with kids and grandkids.  I'll have computer with me and cell: 505-699-9982. After surviving a tsunami and an earthquake this year, maybe I'll get triple lucky and add an oil spill to our adventures. So far my big travel problems have been confined to finding computer connections.

 

Jay

5-31 GOP Gov Candidates Wrap It Up

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- It appears fairly certain that New Mexico's next governor will be a woman.
The deciding factor evidently was state GOP Chairman Harvey Yates' announcement eight days ago that state Republican leaders determined Susana Martinez's political ads were factual and Allen Weh's weren't.
In the few days following that announcement, two independent polls found that the statistical tie between the two candidates two weeks ago turned into a double-digit lead for Martinez.
Blogger Joe Monahan's poll found Martinez with a 41-30 lead, while a Survey USA poll had Martinez over Weh by a 43-33 margin.
It certainly appears Martinez has the momentum to close the race with a victory tomorrow. Reports indicate Martinez is picking up numerous endorsements from individuals and groups that want to get on the good side of the winner.
Republican lawmakers appear to be coming to the Martinez side hoping she can save the day for them when it comes to redistricting state and national legislative seats next year. Without a Republican governor to stop them, a Democratic legislature can have its way with the redistricting process.
Republican leaders at the national level are very concerned with that possibility in the many states that have both a Democratic governor and legislature.
A possible pitfall Martinez may face if she wins the primary tomorrow is that lieutenant governor candidate John Sanchez is likely to win that race, thereby creating a Martinez-Sanchez ticket.
Election results clearly demonstrate the existence of ethnic politics in New Mexico. We don't know if it will make much difference in this race because neither party has ever had a ticket headed by two Hispanics.
Another piece of good news for Martinez is that the Survey USA poll paired certain Democratic nominee Diane Denish with each of the five GOP gubernatorial hopefuls and found Denish beats them all except Martinez who has a 49-43 lead at this point.
If Martinez wins tomorrow, we may not see any warm fuzzies between them about being New Mexico's first two female gubernatorial candidates. This is the first time we've even had one.
Martinez and Denish already are going after it, firing volleys back and forth. The general election campaign already has started.
Gov. Sarah Palin's endorsement of Martinez isn't going to hurt tomorrow either, She's had a good track record so far. But when Democrats and independents are added to the mix in November, the value of that endorsement may change.
On the other side of the political ledger, it will be interesting how the Hillary Clinton's endorsement of Lt. Gov. Denish is perceived in the light of Bill Clinton's split with Gov. Bill Richardson.
The 3rd Congressional District features a hotly contested Republican primary. Adam Kokesh got in the race early and has been running hard ever since, promoting his libertarian beliefs and his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I was assured in several emails that state GOP leaders would find an opponent for him because he would not be a good representative of the Republican Party.
Sure enough, Tom Mullins of Farmington got in the race several months later. And has criticized Kokesh's opposition to our wars. Kokesh has received some strong support from those who say two tours of duty in Iraq should qualify a person to oppose the war.
Kokesh's major problem will be whether enough of his defenders can vote in the GOP primary.
The one time the five Republican gubernatorial candidates faced off in public was televised by KOB-TV last Thursday night. All candidates did well for themselves. There were no embarrassing moments.
If that one debate were the only information New Mexicans were to have about the campaign, Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones would be the GOP nominee. She came across as strong, smart, witty and personable. Unfortunately she ran a low budget campaign so New Mexicans just didn't get to see enough of her.
MON, 5-31-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-28 Sparks Fly in State GOP Gov Contest

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- The Republican gubernatorial contest is getting really serious. It's so serious, in fact, that the state GOP chairman has jumped into the fray.
Chairman Harvey Yates, of Artesia, created a three person committee, including himself, to review the negative ads flying back and forth between frontrunners Allen Weh and Susana Martinez.
The committee concluded that Martinez's negative ads were based on fact but that Weh's weren't. Then they made their findings public. Had the negativity really gotten to the point that required party intervention? It didn't seem like it to this viewer.
The ads from the last presidential election were far worse. The New Mexico ads seemed fairly low octane and about equally misleading. But they were enough to capture the attention of the state GOP chairman and produce a scolding of Weh.
It is a highly unusual situation when a party chairman sides with a particular candidate in a party primary election. From everything I have read about the situation, it has never happened before but that is not quite true.
Back in the '90s, state GOP chairman John Dendahl scolded Greg Sowards of Las Cruces for challenging U.S. Rep. Joe Skeen in the Republican primary. .
Democrats often challenge members of their own party. But with Republicans it doesn't happen often. As I recall Sowards was treated roughly by the party for doing the unthinkable.
In both major parties, county party officials are not supposed to take sides in primary elections either.
But I remember traveling through Espanola and Las Vegas during primary election campaigns and seeing signs listing a slate of the Democratic county chairman's preferred candidates and down the road a sign listing the candidates preferred by the wannabe Democratic county chairman.
Why would a state party chairman want to put himself in a position in which he would appear to be taking sides?
Weh has been accused of being a divisive state party chairman. He may have been but he was elected to that office in a time of great division within the party.
What can be said now about the divisiveness of Yates as a state party chairman? Some already have noticed that Yates is from Artesia, which also happens to be the source of some very large oil and gas donations to Martinez.
And what of the other three candidates in the GOP gubernatorial race? They can't be too happy about the state party chairman apparently taking a side.
One of those candidates, Doug Turner, told blogger Joe Monahan "If Susana Martinez can go after drug lords and child molesters, she can handle her own campaign." He continued that the state party has given him no help.
Martinez produced a news report from 2007, when President George W. Bush was unsuccessfully pushing an immigration reform bill through Congress and Weh was the state GOP chairman
The report contained some positive words from Weh about the bill. One of those words was "amnesty," which is now a four-letter word in conservative parlance.
Weh insists he is not for amnesty and never has been. He says he was for a guest worker program, which our economy needed. Critics contend that is amnesty.
So how did "Weh and "amnesty" get in print in the same sentence? Retired immigration officer Mario Salinas of Carlsbad says we in the media often get confused about amnesty. It may be a matter of semantics.
Or maybe Weh was trying to be a good trooper as a state party chairman supporting his president. And maybe Weh didn't anticipate running for governor in three years and having to defend a process as emotionally charged as amnesty has become.
Whatever happened, Weh got dinged by the three top officials in the state GOP and his chief opponent was exonerated.
The big question now is what this will do to Weh's campaign and what it will do to the state Republican Party in the future.
FRI, 5-28-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-26 Are Lieutenant Governors Necessary?

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Are lieutenant governors really necessary? State Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, a Democratic candidate for the position, notes that the job description isn't very interesting.
Preside over the Senate, break tie votes and stand in when the governor is out of state, the senator says, adding that one should not dare do anything serious. Just stay ceremonial, he says.
Ortiz y Pino, 67, says for himself, it would be the capstone of his career, which he would use to advocate for New Mexico's families. "I'm not running for governor in eight years," he says.
His implication is that the other seven Republican and Democrat candidates are doing just that. He's likely not far from wrong and may be spot on.
So why else would anyone want to run for lieutenant governor? Contrary to what we hear the candidates say, they aren't going to be part of a team helping achieve the governor's goals.
Newspaper endorsements of lieutenant governor candidates use the same kind of language, assuming there is something the lieutenant governor can do.
Actually the lieutenant governor was never intended to do anything other than the constitutional duties that Ortiz y Pino enumerated. It isn't difficult to preside over the Senate. Just follow the Senate rules of order.
Presiding over the Senate doesn't confer the same powers as speaker of the House, who appoints committees and decides where bills get referred. Senate leadership does that itself.
As far as taking over for the governor when he is gone, that is technically correct but it really is the governor's top staff who perform that duty. Sometimes Gov. Bill Richardson or his staff have neglected to tell Lt. Gov. Diane Denish when he is going to be out of town.
It made the papers in a big way when a major problem occurred while former Gov. Bruce King was out of town. Lt. Gov. Casey Luna called the governor's staff to tell them how he wanted it handled and was told they already had taken care of it.
So why does the lieutenant governor have no duties? It was never intended. Forty years ago a lieutenant governor needed a job so he convinced the Legislature and governor to make the office full time on an optional basis.
And it has been a problem ever since. Governors have a large staff and dozens of departments and agencies to handle every aspect of state government. There is nothing left for a lieutenant governor to do.
And who would a governor want handling an important job, a trusted assistant he has hired and can fire at any time or a lieutenant governor with his/her own political aspirations?
That essentially means that the lieutenant governor will never be a part of the inner circle. Those spots belong to people hand picked by the governor who owe their jobs to him.
Examples abound of lieutenant governors not taking actions designed to help the governor accomplish his goals. In the 2009 Legislature, Lt. Gov. Denish signed a bill in the absence of the governor which she knew he would have vetoed. She was within her right to do it but the governor was furious.
In 1990, the Senate rigged a tie vote on the appropriation bill so Lt. Gov. Jack Stahl would have to break a tie. Gov. Garrey Carruthers had pushed the bill hard. Stahl made a statement saying he knew senators wanted to put him in an awkward position but he took pleasure in voting no.
It was the final minutes of the legislative session so the action immediately necessitated a special session because the one item a legislature must pass is the general appropriations act.
Few governor-lieutenant governor tandems have gone well. In 1994, Gov. Bruce King had to run against both of the lieutenant governors who had served him.
The best two relationships occurred when Lt. Govs. Bob Ferguson and Jack Stahl stayed home to run their businesses.
WED, 5-26-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-24 collumn CORRECTION

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Is being a Reagan Republican an advantage or disadvantage in the GOP primaries of today? Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh is about to find out.
In one of Weh's latest ads, he proudly states he is a Reagan Republican which he says means he has the can-do spirit that is needed to guide this state out of its current troubles.
But in an ad by chief opponent Susana Martinez, he is attacked for supporting amnesty because he backed the proposed immigration reform advocated by former President George W. Bush.
Weh says he opposes amnesty and always has. He supported President Bush's immigration reform plan because it provided for a guest worker program that was crucial to our economy.
The Bush proposal did not contain an amnesty provision. It involved a pathway to citizenship that contained many steps. The term amnesty was applied to the package only by the many Republican opponents who succeeded in killing the bill.
The term amnesty came from a 1986 law passed by Congress, with the approval of President Reagan. With the passage of that legislation, some six million illegals became citizens.
Because of that stand by Reagan and several others, some analysts believe Reagan could not win a Republican primary today because of not being conservative enough.
For a further indication of how far the GOP has moved to the right, compare John McCain's positions during his 2000 run for president with his positions in the 2008 presidential election and his even farther right positions now that he is seeking reelection to the Senate from Arizona.
Sen. McCain was a prime sponsor of President Bush's comprehensive immigration reform bill three years ago and fellow Sen. Jon Kyl supported it. Today, they both are staunch opponents of any comprehensive immigration reform.
Another factor that likely enters in is that three years ago Weh was chairman of the state Republican Party and, as such, was expected to support national Republican initiatives, such as the immigration bill.
Recently I wrote about reasons why the state Democratic Party does not want to face Susana Martinez in the general election. I noted that she would take some women's vote, Hispanic vote and anti-Albuquerque vote from Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.
I've come up with a fourth reason why Democrat leaders may not want to face Martinez in the general election. They've likely never thought of it and neither has anyone else in the state.
Martinez is from Las Cruces. Why should that make a bit of difference? During the past 50 years, candidates from Las Cruces have won the governor's office more often than candidates from anywhere else in the state.
And that includes Albuquerque. Las Cruces has given us three governors: Republican Ed Mechem in the '50s, Democrat Jerry Apodaca in the '70s and Republican Garrey Carruthers in the '80s.
Only Republican Dave Cargo in the '60s and Republican Gary Johnson have been from Albuquerque.
I know you are curious about where all the other governors came from during that half century. Well, there was Bruce King from Stanley who was governor for a great many of those years.
Otherwise, Democrat John Burroughs of Portales was governor in 1960. Republican Tom Bolack of Farmington was governor for a month in 1963.
We also had Democrat Jack Campbell from Roswell in the '60s. Democrat Toney Anaya from Moriarty was governor in the '80s. And Democrat Bill Richardson always had a house in Santa Fe even when he was in Washington, New York or elsewhere.
So you tell me why another candidate from Las Cruces shouldn't be feared by Democratic leaders.
Meanwhile the vicious attacks continue daily, turning this race from a snoozer into something people in my business dream about.
And Lt. Gov. Denish must also be thrilled that none of the Republican candidates seem to be giving a thought to attacking her.
MON, 5-24-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-24 Is Reagan Republicanism Still OK?

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Is being a Reagan Republican an advantage or disadvantage in the GOP primaries of today? Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh is about to find out.
In one of Weh's latest ads, he proudly states he is a Reagan Republican which he says means he has the can-do spirit that is needed to guide this state out of its current troubles.
But in an ad by chief opponent Susana Martinez, he is attacked for supporting amnesty because he backed the proposed immigration reform advocated by former President George W. Bush.
Weh says he opposes amnesty and always has. He supported President Bush's immigration reform plan because it provided for a guest worker program that was crucial to our economy.
The Bush proposal did not contain an amnesty provision. It involved a pathway to citizenship that contained many steps. The term amnesty was applied to the package only by the many Republican opponents who succeeded in killing the bill.
The term amnesty came from a 1986 law passed by Congress, with the approval of President Reagan. With the passage of that legislation, some six million illegals became citizens.
Because of that stand by Reagan and several others, some analysts believe Reagan could not win a Republican primary today because of not being conservative enough.
For a further indication of how far the GOP has moved to the right, compare John McCain's positions during his 2000 run for president with his positions in the 2008 presidential election and his even farther right positions now that he is seeking reelection to the Senate from Arizona.
Sen. McCain was a prime sponsor of President Bush's comprehensive immigration reform bill three years ago and fellow Sen. Jon Kyl supported it. Today, they both are staunch opponents of any comprehensive immigration reform.
Another factor that likely enters in is that three years ago Weh was chairman of the state Republican Party and, as such, was expected to support national Republican initiatives, such as the immigration bill.
Recently I wrote about reasons why the state Democratic Party does not want to face Susana Martinez in the general election. I noted that she would take some women's vote, Hispanic vote and anti-Albuquerque vote from Lt. Gov. Diane Denish.
I've come up with a fourth reason why Democrat leaders may not want to face Denish in the general election. They've likely never thought of it and neither has anyone else in the state.
Martinez is from Las Cruces. Why should that make a bit of difference? During the past 50 years, candidates from Las Cruces have won the governor's office more often than candidates from anywhere else in the state.
And that includes Albuquerque. Las Cruces has given us three governors: Republican Ed Mechem in the '50s, Democrat Jerry Apodaca in the '70s and Republican Garrey Carruthers in the '80s.
Only Republican Dave Cargo in the '60s and Republican Gary Johnson have been from Albuquerque.
I know you are curious about where all the other governors came from during that half century. Well, there was Bruce King from Stanley who was governor for a great many of those years.
Otherwise, Democrat John Burroughs of Portales was governor in 1960. Republican Tom Bolack of Farmington was governor for a month in 1963.
We also had Democrat Jack Campbell from Roswell in the '60s. Democrat Toney Anaya from Moriarty was governor in the '80s. And Democrat Bill Richardson always had a house in Santa Fe even when he was in Washington, New York or elsewhere.
So you tell me why another candidate from Las Cruces shouldn't be feared by Democratic leaders.
Meanwhile the vicious attacks continue daily, turning this race from a snoozer into something people in my business dream about.
And Lt. Gov. Denish must also be thrilled that none of the Republican candidates seem to be giving a thought to attacking her.
MON, 5-24-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

CORRECTED 5-21 column

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- And the race is on. As predicted here a few days ago, narrowing the Republican gubernatorial race to two candidates has meant they're pulling out all the stops.
Both Allen Weh and Susana Martinez surely had been doing internal polling to determine approximately how their campaigns were faring,
But a poll by Brian Sanderoff, the dean of New Mexico pollsters can be trusted to present information second only to the actual election. Every state's voters have their unique characteristics. Sanderhoff polls are designed to control for all those variables.
So when the Sanderoff poll showed Martinez and Weh in a statistical tie and miles ahead of the other three competitors, the war was on between the two leaders.
It took a long time. Some observers called it the longest truce ever. That is almost true. Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson was known for running the cleanest campaigns ever.
Those who can remember back to the Ronald Reagan years probably recall his 11th commandment about never speaking ill of a Republican opponent. Consider that out the window now.
Both Weh and Martinez have invested too much effort and resources into getting where they are now. Both were holding fire until they could claim the other one started it.
As it turned out both kept edging toward the line with increasingly provocative tactics. Until it reached the point that both can claim the other one started it.
This may be the first time a political party has become involved in the opposing party's primary election. For weeks rumors had floated that the state Democratic Party was taking sides in the GOP gubernatorial race.
The reason for taking sides was that Martinez would be the toughest of the five Republican candidates to beat. First, she would steal some of the women's vote from Denish.
Secondly, Martinez would eat into the Hispanic vote that normally goes to Democratic candidates. Democrats are sure to have an Hispanic lieutenant governor candidate.
Two of the three Republican lieutenant governor candidates are Anglo. Democrats would like to see the Republican gubernatorial candidate be Anglo also.
Thirdly, Denish is from Albuquerque. A third of the votes come from there but the other two-thirds of the state doesn't care much for the big city.
It is likely the Democrats' lieutenant governor candidate will be from Albuquerque. All-Albuquerque tickets don't sell well in the rest of the state.
Denish, however, always talks about herself as being from Hobbs. That's where she grew up and lived until she finished high school over 40 years ago. And she's never lost that Eastside drawl.
It is a clever political move. After mentioning last week that she is from Albuquerque, I was told I was wrong. She's from Hobbs. If that is the impression of people from outside the Duke City, Denish has achieved her goal of being a country girl.
For these three reasons, Democrats feel Martinez would be tougher to beat than Weh. So three Democratic sheriffs, Greg Solano of Santa Fe County, Rene Rivera of Valencia County and Joe Mascarenas of Rio Arriba County, issued a news release alleging Martinez has broken her promise to always prosecute felony drunk driving cases.
Felony DWI consists of three or more instances. The Martinez camp quickly responded with a slew of statistics defending her prosecutorial record.
At the same time, the Weh camp came at Martinez with accusations of misspending public funds. So the Martinez campaign is having to fight off both Democrats and fellow Republicans.
Both may be a daily occurrence. It sounds like a big job for the Martinez campaign but might there be a silver lining?
Shouldn't Martinez be able to convince Republican voters they should nominate her because Democrats know she will be the toughest candidate to defeat in November?
Hold onto your seats. We'll soon find out.
FRI, 5-21-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-21 Martinez Fighting Off Republicans and Democrats

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- And the race is on. As predicted here a few days ago, narrowing the Republican gubernatorial race to two candidates has meant they're pulling out all the stops.
Both Allen Weh and Susana Martinez surely had been doing internal polling to determine approximately how their campaigns were faring,
But a poll by Brian Sanderhoff, the dean of New Mexico pollsters can be trusted to present information second only to the actual election. Every state's voters have their unique characteristics. Sanderhoff polls are designed to control for all those variables.
So when the Sanderhoff poll showed Martinez and Weh in a statistical tie and miles ahead of the other three competitors, the war was on between the two leaders.
It took a long time. Some observers called it the longest truce ever. That is almost true. Former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson was known for running the cleanest campaigns ever.
Those who can remember back to the Ronald Reagan years probably recall his 11th commandment about never speaking ill of a Republican opponent. Consider that out the window now.
Both Weh and Martinez have invested too much effort and resources into getting where they are now. Both were holding fire until they could claim the other one started it.
As it turned out both kept edging toward the line with increasingly provocative tactics. Until it reached the point that both can claim the other one started it.
This may be the first time a political party has become involved in the opposing party's primary election. For weeks rumors had floated that the state Democratic Party was taking sides in the GOP gubernatorial race.
The reason for taking sides was that Martinez would be the toughest of the five Republican candidates to beat. First, she would steal some of the women's vote from Denish.
Secondly, Martinez would eat into the Hispanic vote that normally goes to Democratic candidates. Democrats are sure to have an Hispanic lieutenant governor candidate.
Two of the three Republican lieutenant governor candidates are Anglo. Democrats would like to see the Republican gubernatorial candidate be Anglo also.
Thirdly, Denish is from Albuquerque. A third of the votes come from there but the other two-thirds of the state doesn't care much for the big city.
It is likely the Democrats' lieutenant governor candidate will be from Albuquerque. All-Albuquerque tickets don't sell well in the rest of the state.
Denish, however, always talks about herself as being from Hobbs. That's where she grew up and lived until she finished high school over 40 years ago. And she's never lost that Eastside drawl.
It is a clever political move. After mentioning last week that she is from Albuquerque, I was told I was wrong. She's from Hobbs. If that is the impression of people from outside the Duke City, Denish has achieved her goal of being a country girl.
For these three reasons, Democrats feel Martinez would be tougher to beat than Weh. So two Democratic sheriffs, Greg Solano of Santa Fe County and Joe Mascarenas of Rio Arriba County, issued a news release alleging Martinez has broken her promise to always prosecute felony drunk driving cases.
Felony DWI consists of three or more instances. The Martinez camp quickly responded with a slew of statistics defending her prosecutorial record.
At the same time, the Weh camp came at Martinez with accusations of misspending public funds. So the Martinez campaign is having to fight off both Democrats and fellow Republicans.
Both may be a daily occurrence. It sounds like a big job for the Martinez campaign but might there be a silver lining?
Shouldn't Martinez be able to convince Republican voters they should nominate her because Democrats know she will be the toughest candidate to defeat in November?
Hold onto your seats. We'll soon find out.
FRI, 5-21-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-19 It's a Two-Way Race for GOP

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- It's Allen Weh and Susana Martinez running neck and neck down the home stretch for the June 1 GOP gubernatorial primary, according to Sunday's Albuquerque Journal poll.
The two have been far out in the lead since the preprimary nominating convention in March. They were the only two to make the ballot. No one else got close
The newspaper's report used words such as surging, emerging and breaking away to describe the leads of Weh and Martinez but the truth is that they always have been in the lead.
Between them, they carried 73 percent of the delegate votes at the GOP preprimary nominating convention, leaving the other three to fight over the remaining 27 percent.
Yet all three submitted the extra signatures necessary to get on the ballot, including Pete Domenici, Jr. who garnered less than 5 percent of the delegate vote.
The performance of the candidates can be determined by the amount of money going into their campaigns and consequently the amount of TV time the candidates could buy. Domenici managed to pull himself up to 10 percent in this week's poll
Doug Turner fell from nine percent to six percent, possibly because he hasn't yet spent most of the big bucks he loaned his campaign. Janice Arnold-Jones slipped badly because of her inability to raise funds and he lack of personal resources to put into the campaign.
Arnold-Jones performance at the preprimary nominating convention equaled the combined total of Domenici and Turner. Delegates evidently saw potential in the state representative but the campaign donations never came rolling in.
The Journal poll showed 20 percent of the respondents still undecided. If any of the bottom tier of candidates were to miraculously pick up every one of those votes, it still would not be enough to win.
So what now? Do the three bottom candidates fold up their tents and save the rest of their money? Or has it already been committed? Do they pull out and endorse one of the top two candidates? That might get them a nice job in the next administration if they endorse the winner. But all three of them already have top jobs.
And therein lies one of the keys to winning this GOP primary. Weh has been traveling the state since last summer. When I interviewed him last September, he already had visited every county in the state but two. The others are more tied to their businesses or jobs.
It is a big advantage to the Weh, 67, who still lists himself as CEO of his company but who obviously doesn't have to stick to his desk. That advantage and the $1 million his has been able to loan his campaign may give him the ability to pull away from Martinez.
The Journal poll shows Weh at 31 percent of those polled to Martinez's 30 percent. Considering the 4.4 percent margin of error, it's a statistical tie.
It is an advancement for Weh, who scored 26 percent of the convention vote and a decline for Martinez, who carried 47 percent of the convention vote.
Surprisingly, the poll showed no gender gap in the Weh-Martinez race. Among male voters and female voters, the two remained statistically tied. Political analysts saw Weh as somewhat vulnerable among female voters because of his tough-talking style.
Campaign advisers for both candidates have done a good job by softening Weh's demeanor somewhat on television while Martinez has been portrayed as tough on crime and corruption.
An ethnic gap did appear, however. Anglo voters preferred Weh by a margin of three percent while Hispanic voters preferred Martinez by a margin of 13 percent.
It appears Weh has been gaining on Martinez. That could continue. But could an appearance and endorsement by GOP superstar Sarah Palin change that? Expect some excitement in the next two weeks.










WED, 5-19-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-17 correction

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- How does a political party go about putting together a winning ticket for governor and lieutenant governor? The answer is: it doesn't. At least not in New Mexico.
Under our present system, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in party primaries. The winners then run together as a ticket in the general election.
It is not a process designed to produce dream tickets. At the federal level, presidential primary elections end on the first Tuesday in June. The winning candidates then have nearly three months to pick a vice presidential running mate before the national conventions in late August.
That allows ample time to balance a ticket with someone who can draw votes from constituencies with which the presidential candidate is weak.
There's no such luck in New Mexico. Voters choose separately who they think would be the best governor and lieutenant governor. If they happen to be two white guys from Albuquerque, who live next door to each other, go to the same church and are both in the state Legislature, that's the breaks.
Political parties try to get the word out about advantageous pairings but it doesn't do much good since parties have policies about not taking sides in primary elections.
For a nicely balanced GOP ticket a pairing of Allen Weh with Kent Cravens wouldn't be considered as desirable as a pairing with John Sanchez or Brian Moore of Clayton. There are some worries about how New Mexicans would accept a Susana Martinez-John Sanchez ticket.
On the Democratic side of the ballot, it is likely no accident that all five lieutenant governor candidates are Hispanic. At least two Anglo candidates talked about getting in the race. When both chose not to enter, rumors flew about deals involving nice positions for them in a Denish administration.
The Democratic situation this year is unusual. Seldom has there been a lone Democrat or Republican in an open gubernatorial primary. This has led to talk from all five candidates about how much they could help Denish by being on the ballot with her.
The candidate with the most difficult claim of a good fit is state Sen. Linda Lopez. A team of two women from Albuquerque might be a difficult sale.
The candidate with the best ticket-balancing argument is Rep. Jose Campos of Santa Rosa. Denish likes to talk about her Hobbs roots but a running mate who has spent his life in rural New Mexico would be a help to her.
Campos has another advantage. He is not close to Gov. Bill Richardson. The Republican ticket's heaviest ammunition is going to be directed at tying the Democratic ticket as tightly to Richardson as possible.
Denish has been working hard at distancing herself from Richardson ever since the grand jury investigation kept the governor from going to Washington. And that is when GOP leaders started referring to the Richardson-Denish administration.
Actually governors and their lieutenant governors never are close. It always is a forced marriage. The situation worked reasonably well as long as lieutenant governors stayed home.
When the Legislature allowed the option of a full time lieutenant governor in 1971, it didn't specify any duties. Governors have come up with a handful of busywork items but never has a lieutenant governor really been a part of the governor's team.
Or as Denish puts it, "I've never been one of the good 'ol boys." But that doesn't matter, the GOP has been combing through everything it can find to join the two at the hip.
With pay to play such a major issue, contribution records of Richardson and Denish will be compared for donors to both campaigns.
If former state Democratic Chairman Brian Colon or RailRunner honcho Lawrence Rael runs with Denish, that will be another tie-in to the Richardson administration.
MON, 5-17-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

I incorrectly identified Kent Cravens as Lamar Cravens.

5-17 Balancing a Ticket

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- How does a political party go about putting together a winning ticket for governor and lieutenant governor? The answer is: it doesn't. At least not in New Mexico.
Under our present system, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in party primaries. The winners then run together as a ticket in the general election.
It is not a process designed to produce dream tickets. At the federal level, presidential primary elections end on the first Tuesday in June. The winning candidates then have nearly three months to pick a vice presidential running mate before the national conventions in late August.
That allows ample time to balance a ticket with someone who can draw votes from constituencies with which the presidential candidate is weak.
There's no such luck in New Mexico. Voters choose separately who they think would be the best governor and lieutenant governor. If they happen to be two white guys from Albuquerque, who live next door to each other, go to the same church and are both in the state Legislature, that's the breaks.
Political parties try to get the word out about advantageous pairings but it doesn't do much good since parties have policies about not taking sides in primary elections.
For a nicely balanced GOP ticket a pairing of Allen Weh with Lamar Cravens wouldn't be considered as desirable as a pairing with John Sanchez or Brian Moore of Clayton. There are some worries about how New Mexicans would accept a Susana Martinez-John Sanchez ticket.
On the Democratic side of the ballot, it is likely no accident that all five lieutenant governor candidates are Hispanic. At least two Anglo candidates talked about getting in the race. When both chose not to enter, rumors flew about deals involving nice positions for them in a Denish administration.
The Democratic situation this year is unusual. Seldom has there been a lone Democrat or Republican in an open gubernatorial primary. This has led to talk from all five candidates about how much they could help Denish by being on the ballot with her.
The candidate with the most difficult claim of a good fit is state Sen. Linda Lopez. A team of two women from Albuquerque might be a difficult sale.
The candidate with the best ticket-balancing argument is Rep. Jose Campos of Santa Rosa. Denish likes to talk about her Hobbs roots but a running mate who has spent his life in rural New Mexico would be a help to her.
Campos has another advantage. He is not close to Gov. Bill Richardson. The Republican ticket's heaviest ammunition is going to be directed at tying the Democratic ticket as tightly to Richardson as possible.
Denish has been working hard at distancing herself from Richardson ever since the grand jury investigation kept the governor from going to Washington. And that is when GOP leaders started referring to the Richardson-Denish administration.
Actually governors and their lieutenant governors never are close. It always is a forced marriage. The situation worked reasonably well as long as lieutenant governors stayed home.
When the Legislature allowed the option of a full time lieutenant governor in 1971, it didn't specify any duties. Governors have come up with a handful of busywork items but never has a lieutenant governor really been a part of the governor's team.
Or as Denish puts it, "I've never been one of the good 'ol boys." But that doesn't matter, the GOP has been combing through everything it can find to join the two at the hip.
With pay to play such a major issue, contribution records of Richardson and Denish will be compared for donors to both campaigns.
If former state Democratic Chairman Brian Colon or RailRunner honcho Lawrence Rael runs with Denish, that will be another tie-in to the Richardson administration.
MON, 5-17-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-14 Hard-Nosed to Laid Back

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- What sort of governor should New Mexicans try next? If you are a Republican, you have a very wide range of choices available on your June ballot
When it comes to how each of the five GOP candidates would run state government, the differences couldn't be more extreme.
Former GOP state chairman Allen Weh seems to be the front runner. He has now sunk $1 million of his own money into the campaign, most of it for a very large TV buy.
Weh says he'll take a no-nonsense, hard-nosed approach to running state government. He vows to take a baseball bat to Santa Fe to clean up governmental inefficiency and corruption. Not much doubt about how he'd run things, is there?
Dona Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez says her 13 successful years running that office qualifies her to run state government. The word is that she is a tough boss. Some say even mean.
Despite Weh being the immediate past state GOP chairman, Martinez is reported to be the favorite of Republican officials. The fascination with Martinez goes all the way back to John Dendahl, state GOP chairman in the late '90s.
When Martinez was first elected district attorney. Dendahl began efforts to convince her to run for attorney general in 1998. The party has been encouraging her ever since. Martinez is the leading GOP candidate in raising money from outside her own pocketbook.
Doug Turner, owner of a successful Albuquerque public relations firm, played a major role in former Gov. Gary Johnson's 1994 and 1998 victories. At 41, Turner is the same age as Johnson when he was elected.
Like Johnson, Turner has strong libertarian tendencies and might be expected to run government much like Johnson -- likely with fewer vetoes, however. Johnson has not endorsed any candidate in the race but says Turner would make a fine governor.
Albuquerque lawyer Pete Domenici, Jr. says he will take a hands- off approach to running state government. He favors appointing knowledgeable, honest people to run agencies and then staying out of their way. He says his appointees would be held accountable but not micro-managed.
Domenici says that approach keeps decisions out of the governor's office and keeps lobbyists out of the governor's office and allows people to do business with the state at the appropriate level.
State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones manages the Albuquerque office of a nuclear energy consulting company. She has been a leader in technology legislation and almost single-handedly brought transparency to the state Legislature by Webcasting committee meetings against the wishes of the House leadership.
Arnold-Jones says moving a bureaucracy like state government requires a great amount of know-how. Bureaucracies defend themselves against change, she says,. You have to kind of sneak up on them to move them forward.
So there you have it. All the way from a baseball bat to hands-off management. Hard-nosed to treading softly and sneaking up. Which do you think will be best for New Mexico? They are all good candidates and all will stay close to the GOP platform. The difference will be in style.
The winner will go up against Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. And there we will see another contrast in style. Lieutenant governors don't really have an opportunity to display their management styles. It is a difficult office from which to advance because there isn't much to which one can point.
Lieutenant governors don't have any duties other than to preside over the Senate and be ready to take over from the governor. Had Gov. Bill Richardson moved on to other things during the past year, Denish would have had an opportunity to show voters what she can do.
As it is, she only can point to the businesslike manner in which she has run the Senate in the past eight years and the plans she has if elected governor.
FRI, 5-14-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-12 A Presidential Bid For Gary Johnson?

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist

SANTA FE -- Former Gov. Gary Johnson is confounding national political leaders and pundits just as he did in New Mexico for a decade.
Since leaving office in 2002, Johnson evidently has had enough adventures climbing mountains, skiing and hang gliding to want to try another political adventure. This time, he's behaving very much like a presidential candidate.
For several months, Johnson has been traveling the nation, attending political events, making speeches and doing interviews. Instead of forming an exploratory committee, he is the honorary chairman of Our America Initiative, a Web site that publicizes his views.
The group's tax status is such that Johnson cannot declare his candidacy. That very likely is intentional. His campaign is extremely fluid right now. This allows him to duck the candidacy question while playing around with all his alternatives.
Johnson says he is running as a Republican but most of his libertarian views are poison to current Republican philosophy. He says he doesn't see it that way.
In a recent interview with Salon.com Johnson argues that the GOP is a broader coalition than it is commonly portrayed. "I haven't found the Republican Party to be exclusive as much as inclusive," he says.
Johnson had better check with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas about that. Rep. Paul is the leading libertarian voice in the nation. He wins reelection as a Republican every two years in Texas but when he ran for president two years ago, the GOP shut him out.
Paul raised more money than some other Republican candidates for the presidential nomination and he won more votes than Rudy Giuliani. But he was forced to hold his own alternative convention down the street from the Republican National Convention. Johnson spoke at Paul's convention.
The problem both Rep. Paul and former Gov. Johnson have is that candidates can't become president except under the banner of a major party but it just isn't possible for either of them to win the GOP nomination because of their libertarian positions.
Johnson has been offered the nomination of the national Libertarian Party. If he were to accept it, he would be on the general election ballot and would fare better than he would in a GOP primary. But he's not going to get enough votes as a minor party candidate to win the presidency.
That's why Johnson ran for governor of New Mexico as a Republican. He admitted he had never been active in the Republican Party and that he was a card carrying member of Ross Perot's Reform Party.
So he invested enough personal money to buy the TV time necessary to win the primary and general elections. But that won't work in a presidential election.
The Libertarian Party is really Johnson's only hope to gain any visibility at the national level. If Rep. Paul would give him help on the fundraising, Johnson could represent the party well. Johnson says he is for a little more government than pure Libertarian philosophy would dictate but Libertarians really aren't into dictating.
Johnson is more pleasant than Paul. He is getting better all the time at interviews. At a Sean Hannity interview on Fox last weekend he handled the right wing criticisms very effectively.
He has been attending Tea Party events and says their views on the economy, spending and taxes are right down the line with his. It is too early to tell what sort of effect Tea Partiers will have on the political scene this year but Johnson seems to be making himself available just in case.
He says he's available anywhere, any time. He's already been to New Hampshire for a speech. He says except for exercise, eating and sleeping, all he's doing now is trying to spark a new debate. On his Web site, he calls it a revolution. That should interest the Tea Party crowd.
New Mexico pollster and political analyst Brian Sanderhoff says if ever there was a time for someone like Gary Johnson, it's now. Maybe he's right.
WED, 5-12-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-10 The Forgotten Races

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- It's time to give some coverage to the few down-ballot races for which we'll be voting on June 1.
No one is challenging any of the Democratic incumbents for secretary of state, attorney general, auditor or treasurer. Republicans managed to come up with general election challengers for each of those offices but none of them have any competition either.
The one exception in the down-ballot statewide races is the commissioner of public lands. Republican Patrick Lyons has held that the last two terms so can't run again.
The land office deals mainly with ranchers and with the oil and gas industry. It is a popular office for Republicans because they have been able to win it occasionally. As a result, we have spirited races on both sides of the ballot.
Several candidates filed for land commissioner. Farmer and rancher Matt Rush, who got into the race after the other candidates, surprisingly shut out the rest of the field at the GOP state pre-primary nominating convention.
Bob Cornelius, a state Public Regulation Commission employee, filed the necessary additional signatures to get on the ballot. The remaining hopefuls dropped out.
On the Democratic side, former state Land Commissioner Ray Powell also shut out the field. State Public Regulation Commissioner Sandy Jones and Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya colleted the additional signatures necessary to get on the ballot.
The Public Regulation Commission is a state agency but its five commissioners represent separate districts. Consequently they are not considered statewide officials and, therefore, do not contend for ballot position at the state pre-primary nominating conventions.
The PRC is a combination of the former elected state Corporation Commission and the governor-appointed Public Service Commission. Both commissions handled public utilities and the public often became confused which handled which.
In addition, the corporation commissioners, who ran statewide, always seemed to be getting in trouble. Lawmakers who wanted to reform the group, felt that if they represented districts, they might be more accountable to their constituents.
Consequently the Legislature combined the two bodies and had them run from districts. There was some sentiment for making it a department with a secretary appointed by the governor.
But the restructuring had to be approved by voters as a constitutional amendment and lawmakers knew New Mexicans like to vote on as many offices as possible.
The solution was to impose special provisions on public regulation commissioners concerning the acceptance of gifts and campaign donations. Candidates also were given the option of public financing.
The results haven't been outstanding. Some commissioners and the insurance division have been embroiled in controversies. A former employee is serving time and other employees and commissioners have been investigated.
But there is always hope. Three of the commission seats are open this year and do not have incumbents running.
District 2, encompassing the heavily-Republican East side of the state, features a GOP primary between present state Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons and former legislator and magistrate judge Bob Corn.
District 4, in heavily Democratic Indian country, has a four-candidate field, including former state lawmaker George Galanis.
District 5, in Southwest New Mexico, can go either Republican or Democratic. Four Republicans are seeking that spot, along with one Democrat. Republican candidate Ben Hall of Lincoln County is a former state legislator.
Nine of the 13 candidates for the three positions filed for public financing. Seven of them fulfilled the qualifications to receive it.
Normally there aren't many contested primary elections for the state Supreme Court or the state Court of Appeals. This year, there is one such race and it has been very heated.
That race is between Linda Vanzi and Dennis Montoya. Vanzi was appointed to the position by Gov. Bill Richardson. Court appointees have to win partisan election at the end of their first term.
They usually win but in this race Montoya is running hard as a result of tangles the two got into when Vanzi was a district court judge. The case resulted in several ethics charges against Montoya.
MON, 5-10-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-7 Immigration and Major League Baseball

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Arizona's immigration law will likely have much the same effect on Major League Baseball as its rejection of Martin Luther King Day had on pro football.
Here's the history. When the St. Louis Cardinals relocated to Arizona, in 1988, the National Football League wanted to hold a Super Bowl in Phoenix as soon as possible.
In 1989, the Arizona Legislature approved the state's participation in the Martin Luther King federal holiday. But opponents of the holiday collected signatures to put the matter on the 1990 Arizona ballot.
In early 1990, NFL owners met to decide on the location of the 1993 Super Bowl. Arizona was the odds-on favorite but NFL players, a large portion of whom were black, became edgy about that referendum.
So a delegation of state leaders, including Sen. John McCain, flew to the meeting to inform the site selection committee that it would do all it could to win that election.
Arizona was awarded the 1993 Super Bowl. But several months later Arizona voters rejected the King holiday. NFL owners met again and moved the game to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.
A citizens committee was formed to work toward another referendum for a King holiday during the 1992 election. That effort, plus the loss of $350 million in convention business and a Super Bowl, resulted in a referendum victory.
A few months later, the NFL awarded the 1996 Super Bowl to Arizona.
Back to the present. The 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game has been awarded to Phoenix. Demonstrations in major league cities have demanded that the all-star game be moved and teams that hold spring training in Phoenix move to Florida.
It is a case of very unfortunate timing once again. Just as Arizona got its tail in a crack with the black community 20 years ago, a black dominated sport decided to move its premier game. Now the same thing happens with an Hispanic dominated sport.
In the long run, Arizona spring training may be hurt worse than losing the all-star game. As of this year, Arizona has now lured exactly half the major league teams to its state. Arizona's Cactus League and Florida's Grapefruit League both have 15 teams.
As of next year, all Cactus League teams will train in the Phoenix area. But by 2012, Phoenix could lose at least one team to Florida. The Chicago Cubs, baseball's highest-drawing spring training team, want a new stadium in Mesa.
Mesa offered to renovate Hohokam Park but the Cubs want a new facility like so many other clubs enjoy. And of course, they want taxpayers to build it.
Other communities, including Indian reservations, in the Phoenix area are interested but Mesa talked them into holding off and working together to get the money out of the state Legislature.
Arizona's budget deficit makes New Mexico's look like small change. Its Legislature adjourned two weeks ago with no action on a ball park and no desire for a special session.
The Cubs agreed to wait until July 12 before talking to other cities. Naples, Florida is reported to be anxiously awaiting. Meanwhile pressure from the Hispanic community is building to move the team out of Arizona.
Ironically, the Cactus League got started in the late '40s because of racism in Florida. Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck moved his spring training to Tucson and convinced the San Francisco Giants to hold spring training in Scottsdale. The Cubs followed soon after. Veeck also had a ranch near Tucson.
I have long wondered if Veeck might have had an additional motivation. Also in the late '40s, the Cleveland and Chicago mafias were looking fondly at New Mexico and Arizona to build Las Vegas-style casinos.
And what could have made the mob feel more at home than to have their hometown teams playing in Arizona? It didn't work out. The mob nervously departed after the 1949 Cricket Coogler murder in Las Cruces.
But during the 45 years Cleveland trained in Tucson, the Indians gained many fans in southwestern New Mexico.
FRI, 5-07-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com

 

5-5 Races Heating Up

By JAY MILLER
Syndicated Columnist
SANTA FE -- Finally, with a month left before the June primary elections, a few political races are starting to heat up on the airwaves.
The absence of any competition for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish in the Democratic gubernatorial primary has put a complete damper on any passion in that often hot contest.
Denish played her political cards perfectly in order to scare out any competition. She made it known when she took office eight years ago that she would be running for governor in 2010.
Soon after Denish won reelection four years ago, she began her gubernatorial campaign in earnest. Raising a quick million dollars sent a very loud message among fellow Democrats that any idle talk about possibly getting in the race was futile.
It was either get started immediately or convince oneself that running for lieutenant governor in 2010 was better than nothing. Then Denish raised another million and she became the presumed nominee three years before the Democratic primary.
On the GOP side, the situation was reversed. It was a wait and see game. Two former members of Congress were available after the 2008 elections to take on Denish.
Eventually neither accepted the challenge and Republicans were left with a state representative, a district attorney and three other candidates who never have run for office.
The long wait caused fundraising problems. Some candidates have lent their campaigns large amounts of money. Former state GOP chairman Allen Weh has used his deep pockets to finance a series of well-done, hard-hitting TV ads that make him appear to be the front-runner.
The lack of any independent polling in the race still has people guessing. The biggest surprise of the race has been a rousing 47 percent showing by Susana Martinez at the state Republican nominating convention.
Martinez does not have the personal money of some of the other candidates but her domination of the pre-primary convention has brought her six-figure donations from the oil and gas industry that have enabled her to buy significant TV time.
The other big surprise in the GOP contest was the entry of Pete Domenici, Jr. His name alone brought him much notice but his performance thus far has not lit any fires.
Domenici's only eye-catching moves to date have been his decision to shave his beard prior to announcing for office, followed by a return of the growth for his TV ad..
What does it mean? Has he given up? Has he decided he looks better or bolder? Personally I think he looks better. The partially graying moustache and goatee make him look more mature.
On television ads, former Dallas running back Emmitt Smith is warned that graybeards can't pick up chicks but Domenici, Jr. may have decided they can pick up votes.
But that reasoning runs counter to established philosophy. Abraham Lincoln made beards popular for Republican presidents in 1860. The style lasted for the rest of the century.
Teddy Roosevelt and Howard Taft had bushy moustaches in the early 1900s but they disappeared among Republican candidates until 1944 and 1948 when Tom Dewey sported a pencil-thin moustache. He thought it made him look dapper. Voters decided "shady" was a better term.
Although Weh appears to be the GOP front runner, none of his four opponents has gone after him. But that hasn't stopped Weh from going after Susana Martinez for having been a Democrat at one time and for never having a real job.
Republican voters will be left to decide whether being a district attorney is a real job. Defenders of law and order usually do well in GOP primaries.
Weh also has decided to go after Lt. Gov. Denish in his latest TV ads. The message seems to be that he is a sure bet to win the primary. Might Denish be strategizing whether to return the fire to Weh at this early date?
WED, 5-05-10

JAY MILLER, 3 La Tusa, Santa Fe, NM 87505
(ph) 982-2723, (fax) 984-0982, (e-mail) insidethecapitol@hotmail.com