THE BLOG
(This on-going political commentary, written by Eric Maddy, will be updated as events warrant.)
The Domino Theory
in State Politics
For the past several weeks a piece of movie dialogue keeps running through my mind.
In the classic "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," Spencer Tracy starts his closing dialogue recounting the day's events which began when his daughter came home announcing her intention to marry a black man (Sidney Portier). It was pretty heady stuff for 1968, and thank goodness it doesn't seem so shocking today.
Anyway, Tracy came home that afternoon to find the maid, played by Isabel Sanford (better known to later TV viewers as Mrs. Jefferson), who offered this comment: "All hell's done broke lose."
So it is with politics in New Mexico these days. Pete Domenici announces he's going to retire at the end of his term, and all hell's done broke lose.
It appears four out of five positions in the state's delegation will have new faces. Congressional Republicans Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson have already announced they are running for Domenici's seat, and Tom Udall is set to follow any day. Everybody knows that he is running: At the Sandoval County Democratic Club meeting last week, potential candidates for Udell's seat were tripping all over themselves to say they were not going to announce anything now, but as soon as Udall made it official they'd be back in full force.
That means only Sen. Jeff Bingaman will be in the same office come January 2009. What that means for New Mexico's clout in the senority-driven Congress remains to be seen.
On the Republican side, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has announced he will run for Wilson's spot. State Sen. Joe Carraro, who represents part of Rio Rancho, may join the race as well. If he does, State Rep. Tom Anderson, who also has part of Rio Rancho in his district, is poised to make a run for Carraro's seat. And if Anderson moves up, David T. Pyne, vice president of the mountain/west region of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, has expressed an interest in seeking elected office. Another name being mentined is Storm T. Field, who was defeated in his bid for the state senate in District 16 in 2006.
Ronald Reagan had his trickle down economics; New Mexico now has trickle up politics. Eventually there will be an opening for some assistant dogcatcher somewhere that isn't going to be filled by some political appointment or electin.
Until then, sit back and enjory the ride. It could be wild.
At least we know what Bill Richardson is running for -- for now. Udall has said that the governor has promised him that he will not run for the Senate if his presidential dreams fade away.
Of course, this is the same Bill Richardson who promised this reporter in 2004 that he had no interest in any job but governor.11.08.07
Chasing Candidates:
A Day in the Life
I spent 24 hours last week chasing two candidates and one central story: The U.S. Senate race for the seat being vacated by Pete Domenici. I came away a little battered and burned, but that's what happens when you play with the big boys, I guess.
It all started earlier in the week when Sandoval County GOP Chairman Richard Gibbs called and said that Steve Pearce was going to make Rio Rancho a stop on a whirlwind tour announcing his candidacy on Friday. That's still big news here, because even though Rio Rancho is the state's third-largest city, it is still often treated like Albuquerque's stepchild. If a candidate were to make a stop here, it would be a sign that the City of Vision has finally made some inroads in gaining some respect in the state political arena.
As noted below in the first entry in this blog, repeated inquiries to Pearce's three offices were ignored until an e-mail came in Thursday night, more than 48 hours after my initial inquiries began. By then I knew what I needed to know -- Rio Rancho was being stiffed again.
The suprise came Thursday afternoon when I caught up with the caravan taking Lt. Gov. Diane Denish to lunch, three different business tours and an economic development forum in the space of five hours. I asked some prefunctory questions, including one about water and how would New Mexico del with the loss of power and influence in Washington after Domenici retires and takes 36 years of senority with him. I saw Denish smile when I mentioned Domenici's name, because she thought she knew what was coming next, the question everyone else has been asking for weeks: Would she run for the Senate?
I decided to take a different tact. "I know you're not going to tell a little dinky start-up like me if you are going to run. You're going to go for the big headlines," I said. "I don't want to know what you've decided; I just want to know when you are going to announce it."
She never missed a beat.
"Tomorrow," she said.
"Really?" I asked. "Are you kidding?"
"No, I'm not kidding. I'm going to announce it tomorrow," she said.
I've got to admit it, I was momentarily stunned And I couldn't help myself.
"The hell with the when, how about the what?" I asked.
"If you give me your business card, I'll give you first crack at it tomorrow," she said. Then, turning to an aide, she said, "Remind me about this in the morning."
So the conversation ended, and I went away with dreams of scooping the world and putting my publication on the map.
Alas, it was not to be.
I started to post the fact that Denish would be making her announcement the next mornign, but decided against it figuring someone might pick up on the story and actually find out what the decision was. It turns out that happened anyway, as the morning daily had a big headline announcing that Tom Udall was considering an entry into the race and that Denish would not run.
I can't say for sure what happened. I did get a news release by e-mail a couple of hours ahead of the rest of the list, but that was well after the paper hit the doorstep. I'm not sure if I was betrayed or just out-worked by reporters with better contacts. Either way, I wasn't too happy.
That left me in a grouchy mood as I prepared to go see Pearce. I had full intentions of mouthing off to somebody about how this outsider was coming north to seek our votes but he couldn't even get his staff to return phone calls.
But I didn't, mainly because I found myself quite impressed with the man himself. I was the only non-TV reporter there, so the "press availabilty" turned out to be me asking three or four questions that I will write about later.
But what got me is that the man gives you a firm handshake, looks you in the eye and says what's on his mind. I mentioned that Rio Rancho neded help with infrastructure, and he bluntly said there wasn't going to be much money around. That may not be the kind of thing that you say when you're trying to win votes, but Pearce left me with the impression that his integrity was much more important to him than what any elector might say or do.
In this day and age in politics, that's saying something.
As for my former entry, it was pointed out that Pearce actually distched the state's second biggest city, making a stop in La Mesilla instead of Las Cruces.
Thus ended my 24-hour adventure in the big time. An e-mail saying Udall would be speaking in Albuquerque on Saturday at the state Democratic Convention came too late for me to attend, but by all accounts he sounds like a man ready to throw his hat into the ring. 10.31.07 Pearce not off
And the circus begins.
to a good start
Congressman Steve Pearce will be announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Friday with stops in his hometown of Hobbs, Santa Fe and Albuquerque. The last stop will be at the new Embassy Suites off Interstate 25 and Lomas Blvd. at 4 p.m.
Pearce will battle Rep. Heather Wilson for the GOP nomination for the seat being given up by retiring legend Pete Domenici.
We were told earlier this week that Pearce was planning a stop in Rio Rancho. In fact, county GOP chairman Richard Gibbs said today Pearce had been set to appear at Don Chalmers Ford.
That woudl be a major signal in that Chalmers sits at the adult table when it comes to party finances. But for whatever reason the stop was canceled.
In an attempt to confirm the specific location and time of Pearce's visit, several calls were placed to the congressman's offices in Hobbs, Las Cruces and Washington, D.C. None of those calls have yet been returned
Pearce will have a tough enough time carrying Sandoval County considering part of Wilson's congressional district is the Rivers Edge subdivision in Rio Rancho. And while Sandoval County is still a Democratic stronghold, there is a growing conservative bloc in Rio Rancho.
To use the language of the street, Pearce ain't be needin' to be dissin' Rio Rancho out of the gate.
Here is a list of the members of the House of Reresentatives and Senate who represent Sandoval County, with their announced opponents (D=Democrat, R=Republican, I=Incumbent):
N.M. Senate
District 9 – Steve Komadina (R, I) vs. John Sapien (D)
District 10 – John Ryan (R, I) vs. Victor P. Raigoza
District 19 – Sue Wilson-Beffert (R, I)
District 21 – Kent Cravens (R, I)
District 22 – Linda M.Lovejoy (D, I)
District 23 – David T. Pyne (R)*
District 39 – Phil Griego (D, I)
N.M. House of Representatives
District 22 – Kathy McCoy (R, I)
District 23 – Eric Youngberg (R, I)
District 29 – Tom Anderson (R, I)
District 41 – Debbie Rodella (D, I)
District 43 – Jeanette Wallace (R, I)
District 44 – Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R, I)
District 60 – Tom Swisstack (D, I)** vs. Paula Papponi (R).
District 65 – John Roger Madelena (D, I)
* Incumbent Sen. Joe Carraro (R) has announced he is running for U.S. House of Representatives, District 1, and will not seek to retain his N.M. Senate seat.
** Incumbent Tom Swisstack is seeking to become mayor of Rio Rancho and is required by city charter to resign his House seat if elected mayor. Until he resigns his seat, unless he publicly states otherwise, he is considered a candidate for the House seat.
