The final campaign finance reports of the 2009 Las Cruces municipal election were filed earlier this week. The result? The candidates spent a combined $83,000 on the election.
Of course, there’s more. The Las Cruces Sun-News has the full story. The short of it? The controversial Jobs for Las [...]
“Soft landings” is how the Albuquerque Journal characterizes the contracts Gov. Bill Richardson’s administration gave to two members of his cabinet after they left those public jobs.
The contracts – which some might characterize as “thank-yous” – given to former Information Technology Secretary Roy Soto and former Workforce Solutions Secretary [...]
Govs. Bill Richardson and Arnold Schwarzenegger name SpaceShipTwo as the VSS Enterprise. (Photo by Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic)
So Virgin Galactic unveiled on Monday its long-awaited SpaceShipTwo – the craft it [...]
Hector Balderas
The 2010 election is in full swing, and the governor’s race has already degraded into the usual partisan, nasty mess. In contrast, some prominent Republicans have nothing but nice things to say about State Auditor Hector Balderas, a rising star in the Democratic [...]
Las Cruces became on Monday the sixth city in New Mexico to restrict the use of cell phones while driving.
The city council, on a unanimous vote, set steep penalties – a fine of up to $500 and/or 90 days in jail – for violating the new ordinance, which takes effect [...]
Photo by Sara Grajeda
The State Investment Council (SIC) says it can’t locate a subpoena and questionnaire that were missing from a group of public records released last month related to ongoing federal probes into the nationwide investment scandal.
Last month, in response to records [...]
It’s taken six months, but I’ve now profiled all four Republican candidates for governor.
I met with each when they made trips to Las Cruces and had time for an interview. The first interview, with Allen Weh, was in June. I met with Doug Turner in August, Janice Arnold-Jones in October [...]
Martinez, shown here outside her campaign office in Mesilla. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
In 2005, Doña Ana County was heading for a public-safety crisis. Callers to 911 suffered through long delays. Deputies, spread thin, feared being [...]
If Diane Denish doesn’t like being a victim of negative political attacks, she should stop attacking others, Republican gubernatorial candidate Janice Arnold-Jones says.
Denish, the likely Democratic nominee for governor, has been constantly under attack from the state Republican Party and two of Arnold-Jones’ opponents in the GOP primary [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has been trotting out a lot of endorsements from state legislators recently, but in the last few days, one of her opponents has unveiled a couple of significant endorsements of his own.
Doug Turner has announced the support of two former cabinet secretaries who [...]
The first television ad of the 2010 gubernatorial race is on the air today, and it comes from Republican Doug Turner.
Here’s the 60-second ad:
There are actually three similar ads. In addition to the 60-second spot that began running on television today, there’s another version shortened to 30 seconds [...]
State Auditor Hector Balderas plans to push legislation in January that would make it a crime to intentionally hinder an audit and would suspend state appropriations to government agencies that don’t complete required annual audits.
The auditor announced on Tuesday that he plans two bills in the legislative session that [...]
With another candidate withdrawing his name from consideration, regents at New Mexico State University have three candidates to choose from when they meet today to select the school’s next president.
But, considering that the regents held a closed-door meeting to deliberate on Tuesday and canceled a closed-door meeting scheduled for Wednesday, [...]
[...] While Gov. Bill Richardson puts forward a plan to furlough state workers for five days over the holidays and into next year, state Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons says his own smart fiscal decisions mean he doesn’t have to do the same thing in his office.
“(Richardson’s) plan won’t [...]
“I’m shocked to learn that a campaign flack would not tell me the truth,” The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Steve Terrell writes this morning. Can you taste the sarcasm dripping off that statement?
Terrell was writing about the revelation in a new book from Obama strategist David Plouffe that [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez picked up another endorsement today – this one from state Rep. William Gray, R-Artesia.
“Susana is an accomplished public servant who inspires confidence and hope,” Gray said in a news release from the Martinez campaign. “She is a strong conservative who has campaigned successfully in a county [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Gov. Bill Richardson may be asked to share, under oath, whether he knows anything about the scandal in the state’s housing authority system that culminated in 2006 with the default of $5 million [...]
When Javier Gonzales was named chairman of the state Democratic Party in September, I reported that he worked for Santa Fe Studios. Several of you e-mailed me at the time to ask what that was.
The Albuquerque Journal answered that question this weekend. It’s a taxpayer-funded project to build a [...]
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White has endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez.
White, a Republican who will resign his job at the end of the month to become Albuquerque’s public safety director, made the endorsement in a letter that was sent out this weekend.
“This is a woman who has made [...]
Bruce and Alice King
Former Gov. Bruce King – often called the “cowboy governor” – died this morning. He was 85.
“Bruce King would be the first one to tell us all that death is just another phase in the cycle of life and [...]
Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales named Scott Forrester as the party’s next executive director on Thursday. Forrester will replace current director Josh Geise on Dec. 1, Gonzales announced in a news release.
“I look forward to working with Scott and continuing the fight for change New Mexicans voted [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson today smacked down an attempt by lawmakers to force 7.6-percent cuts on state agencies under his control and cut the salaries and benefits of some of his political appointees.
In doing so, he announced his own plans to cut at least 84 of his political appointees, recommend [...]
Richard Herman, a finalist for the job of president of New Mexico State University, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Herman recently resigned from his job as chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after it was revealed that politically connected applicants for admission were given preference over better-qualified applicants. [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson, left, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (Photos by Heath Haussamen)
Three 2004 news releases put out by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish’s government office had everything to do with politics and nothing to [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez today announced she has the endorsements of three elected officials from Otero County.
Martinez said in a news release that the endorsements from three Republicans — state Sen. Dianna Duran, County Treasurer Grace Gonzalez and County Commissioner Ronny Rardin — show that her campaign [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson signed today legislation that cuts $110 million from various state funds to help plug this year’s budget shortfall, but he vetoed a provision that would have taken more money from the state auditor.
“Without the money, the auditor would not have been able to conduct effective [...]
The Albuquerque Journal had a stellar, two-part report this weekend about a top manager at the state Department of Transportation. (Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.)
To get you interested, here are the first few paragraphs of Part 1 of the report:
“Lawrence Barreras is supervising 150 employees, [...]
Brian Colón, shown during a recent interview in Las Cruces (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Brian Colón says his strength is making connections and bringing people together. It’s what has made him successful in life, [...]
There’s been much ado this week following a report from a new Web site about the way Lt. Gov. Diane Denish spent federal stimulus funds she was given in 2003 by Gov. Bill Richardson.
I’ve been investigating the situation for two days and, frankly, I [...]
The secretary of state has appointed Doña Ana County’s new elections supervisor to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
Secretary of State Mary Herrera made the announcement today that she’s picked Bob Bartelsmeyer to serve with her on the national commission, which is charged with helping states comply [...]
Attorney General Gary King had surgery Wednesdsay to “replace discs and fuse vertebrae in his neck to alleviate longstanding pain and immobility in the area,” and is in stable condition at an undisclosed Albuquerque hospital, the release states. It adds that the AG’s office “is asking for privacy for [...]
With her re-election victory over Jim Harbison, Thomas, right, is one of five progressive-backed candidates elected to the six-member city council. [...]
Pedroza, right, with the incumbent she defeated tonight, Dolores Archuleta. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Olga Pedroza has defeated Councilor Dolores C. Archuleta in the District 3 Las Cruces City Council race.
With results from one [...]
Thomas, right, shown here with Jim Harbison, who she defeated tonight. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
District 6 Las Cruces City Councilor Sharon K. Thomas was re-elected today.
Thomas won with 1,444 votes, or 55 percent, [...]
The polls have now closed in the Las Cruces municipal election. Check back here throughout the evening for updates as the results come in.
You can also view election results on the city’s Web site.
And jump on the New Mexico Independent’s live blog and take part in the discussion [...]
House Minority Whip Keith Gardner, R-Roswell, put his support behind Susana Martinez’s campaign for governor Tuesday afternoon.
“I believe it’s important that Republicans support the one candidate who not only shares our conservative values, but can also defeat Diane Denish,” Gardner said in a news release. “That person is [...]
After facing what amounted to a funding cut of 14 percent earlier this year, state Auditor Hector Balderas’ office says it may not be able to do its job if it loses additional funds the Legislature voted to take in the recent special session.
The Legislature and governor reduced the [...]
“Vincent ‘Smiley’ Gallegos, who ran a state housing agency out of an office next to a used-car lot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, should have known better when he borrowed $27.7 million, the Internal Revenue Service said.”
So begins the second of two articles published today that are the result of [...]
There’s still be a question about whether a controversial Las Cruces political committee should have filed a campaign finance report with the city on Oct. 22, but there’s apparently no question that it will have to do so following Tuesday’s municipal election.
Jobs for Las Cruces Political Action Committee ran two [...]
In an article that ran Sunday, the Las Cruces Sun-News incorrectly identified Gil Jones, the Las Cruces District 5 city councilor, as a Republican.
Jones is up for re-election in Tuesday’s contest, which is non-partisan in that the party affiliations of each candidate do not appear on the ballot. But [...]
CDR Financial Products, the company that was at the center of the scandal that cost Gov. Bill Richardson the U.S. commerce secretary post, was indicted along with some of its employees Thursday as part of a national probe into bid rigging in the municipal bond [...]
Democrats were quick to spin today’s news that Republican Heather Wilson won’t enter the gubernatorial race, saying it leaves the GOP field with nothing more than second-tier candidates. Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez, on the other hand, was quick say she’s now the only GOP candidate who has [...]
[...] 
Turner, shown here during today’s formal announcement in Las Cruces. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The economy, education and ethics were among the primary issues Doug Turner spoke about as he formally announced his entrance [...]
On Friday afternoon, the state Senate voted to uphold Sen. Eric Griego’s amendment to add a requirement that staff compile a list of at least $150 million in potentially cutable capital outlay projects to a bill that would make widespread reductions in state government. But [...]
House Bill 17, which would implement some $220 million in cuts to most state agencies, public education and Medicaid, contains an interesting provision related to the state’s district attorneys.
The bill requires the district attorneys and the administrative office of the district attorneys to cut a little more than [...]
Former State Investment Officer Gary Bland’s Wednesday resignation came after a private law firm hired by the State Investment Council (SIC) found that he had “pressured investment firms doing business with the state to hire certain third-party marketing or placement agents,” The Associated Press is reporting.
The AP was [...]
The state’s top investment officer has resigned amid a pay-to-play scandal that’s the subject of federal and state criminal investigations. Gary Bland resigned Wednesday in a letter to Gov. Bill Richardson.
The spokesman for the State Investment Council (SIC), Charles Wollmann, said he had no comment. Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos [...]
During a discussion on the Senate floor Wednesday about whether lawmakers should voluntarily reduce their per diem as the Legislature addresses a massive budget shortfall, Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Española, spoke out heatedly about colleagues who he said abuse the system.
Martinez didn’t name names, though he threatened to release to [...]
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish plans to meet with school superintendents on Thursday to urge them to cut energy use in their districts.
“I’m challenging each school district to cut its energy use by 10 percent because, during these tough economic times, we all need to think outside the box to [...]
“Denial.”
State Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, says that’s the theme of the 2009 special session of the Legislature thus far.
“Few here are willing to discuss, much less confront, the fact that we now have recurring expenditures which are exceeding recurring revenues by about $1 billion,” he wrote in an e-mail. [...]
I neglected to write about this last week, but here’s a bit of good news for New Mexico in the midst of all the not-so-good news.
New Mexico is now officially not one of the 10 states with the highest rates of drunken driving fatalities, Gov. Bill Richardson announced Friday.
According [...]
Jim Harbison, shown here at a recent city council candidate forum. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Some activists who support Las Cruces City Councilor Sharon Thomas’ re-election bid are calling her opponent a right-wing [...]
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Bottom line: Diane Denish is still a giant. Heather Wilson’s indecision on whether to run for governor has sidelined some money but not enough to sink others’ [...]
Tom Mullins, an engineer in Farmington, announced today that he’s running as a Republican for the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Democrat Ben Ray Luján. Mullins will face the Ron Paul-backed Adam Kokesh in a primary. Kokesh had set a goal of raising $100,000 to “clear the [...]
Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya formally announced his entrance into the Democratic primary for state land commissioner late Wednesday. “I believe it is time for a change in the New Mexico Land Office. I want to provide quality representation to the people of New Mexico,” he said in a [...]
Waded Cruzado was named the next president of Montana State University late Wednesday afternoon. Cruzado, currently executive vice president and provost of New Mexico State University, said in a news release announcing her hiring that she is “honored to be the next president of such a superb institution.”
“MSU is [...]
I reported Tuesday on some of the fundraising numbers for Democratic lieutenant governor candidates. Here are the rest.
• Gerald Ortiz y Pino raised $22,032, spent $10,621.79 and had $11,410.21 on hand at the end of the reporting period that lasted from May to October, according to his report.
• [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Janice Arnold-Jones reported raising just under $21,000 during the last reporting period. Arnold-Jones, according to her campaign finance report , had almost $2,200 in in-kind contributions from May to October in addition to the almost $21,000 she raised in individual contributions.
She spent a little less than [...]
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Brian Colón raised a whopping $277,034 since entering the race in August.
That includes $12,831 in in-kind contributions, but the rest is straight up cash. And Colón spent only about $13,000, so he has $251,049 in on-hand cash.
The fundraising total is impressive enough that most analysts [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez reported today that she has raised $141,265 in individual contributions since entering the race on July 17.
Martinez also had $2,412 in in-kind contributions. She spent $10,607 and ended the period with $130,658 in on-hand cash, according to a news release from her campaign.
“Since July [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Turner said in July that he was spending “considerable” personal money as he prepared to run for governor. Today, his finance report proved that’s exactly what he’s done.
Turner raised just under $342,000 during the last reporting period, with the bulk of it – about [...]
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Lawrence Rael raised more than $147,000 from May to October, his campaign announced today.
That total includes almost $113,000 in individual contributions and $19,500 in in-kind contributions. He also loaned his campaign $15,000, according to a finance report you can view by clicking here.
“This is [...]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh raised almost $560,000 in the last reporting period, with almost half of that coming in the form of a personal loan from Weh and his wife to the campaign.
Weh made the announcement about his May-October fundraising in a news release, but he didn’t say [...]
There’s lots going on in the blogosphere today, but much of it has to do with Albuquerque Mayor-elect Richard Berry and the fallout from him resigning his legislative seat days before the special session begins.
Here’s a sampling:
• Ched Macquigg comments on why he thinks the Bernalillo County Commission “might [...]
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Diane Denish raised just over $1 million in the last reporting period, and she has nearly $2.2 million on hand going forward, her campaign announced today.
Denish, the lieutenant governor, reported spending just under $433,000 during the reporting period from May to October. A news release from [...]
Las Cruces City Council candidates will participate in another forum this evening. The forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Munson Senior Center, 975 S. Mesquite Street in Las Cruces. All six council candidates are expected to attend. They’ll be asked [...]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is bringing a lawsuit against Clayton Ranch Market, a grocery store owned by Republican lieutenant governor candidate Brian Moore and his wife Linda, according to the Quay County Sun. The lawsuit claims the store didn’t hire Robert Harris in April 2008 to be a [...]
Former Sunland Park Municipal Judge Horacio Favela was sentenced to 18 months on probation Thursday for fraudulently voting and registering as a candidate for judge, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.
Favela was convicted in August of falsely declaring himself a resident of Sunland Park in 2008 so he could [...]
Arnold-Jones, shown here webcasting a committee meeting earlier this year. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Many conservatives like to say government should be run like a business. Republican gubernatorial candidate Janice Arnold-Jones, however, says that’s [...]
There’s a lot of talk about alleged voter fraud, but it isn’t often that you see someone get convicted of trying to vote fraudulently in someone else’s name. But that’s exactly why a Santa Fe realtor is on probation, The Santa Fe New Mexican is reporting.
Teresa Monahan, according to the [...]
Former Doña Ana County Commissioner D. Kent Evans announced on Wednesday that he is running for the Public Regulation Commission seat being vacated by Sandy Jones.
“We need to get back to the basics of regulatory policies that level the playing field for consumers and providers,” Evans said in a [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson announced today his support for on a bill that would protect more than 350,000 acres of land in Doña Ana County, including the Organ Mountains.
The Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, which is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, [...]
It’s been less than a week since 2010 candidates for state offices began collecting the signatures necessary to run, and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish announced today that she’s already collected three times the number required.
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate has collected more than 6,300 signatures, including signatures from every county [...]
There’s lots of coverage of today’s Albuquerque municipal election floating around on the Internet. Here are some of the other things that are going on today on the blogosphere.
• Capital Report New Mexico has an interesting piece about a Wall Street Journal attack on PNM and other companies who [...]
It’s been five years since SpaceShipOne won the first Ansari X Prize and proved that commercial vehicles have a future in outer space. But the move to actually commercialize space hasn’t been as quick as those trying to make it happen predicted.
The Associated Press takes a look at that [...]
Gov. Bill Richardson announced today that the special session to deal with the state’s budget shortfall will begin at noon on Oct. 17.
“After meeting with education leaders, I am more convinced than ever that we must fight against attempts to cut school spending. The superintendents reiterated their strong opposition [...]
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., will hold a hearing this week on a bill that would protect more than 350,000 acres of land in Doña Ana County, including the Organ Mountains.
The Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks Wilderness Act, which is sponsored by Bingaman and Sen. Tom Udall, [...]
Rael, shown during last week’s interview in Las Cruces (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Historically, the lieutenant governor hasn’t been too involved in managing state government. Lawrence Rael thinks that should change.
The Democratic lieutenant governor candidate [...]
Attorney General Gary King has referred to the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Santa Fe a case involving his cousin, “to avoid any potential conflicts,” the Albuquerque Journal is reporting.
The case involves a request from the Public Regulation Commission’s top attorney to determine whether the sale of [...]
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack heard complaints on Wednesday from dairy farmers about the need for changes in the system, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.
Sharon Lombardi, director of the Diary Producers of New Mexico, told Vilsack during a community meeting in Las Cruces that the industry needs [...]
Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, discusses the creation of a state ethics commission Wednesday in Las Cruces. In the background is Rep. Mimi [...]
The Gadsden Independent School District and City of Española are among the 82 government agencies in New Mexico that haven’t submitted annual and compliance audits to the state as required by law.
Because those dozens of agencies are late, State Auditor Hector Balderas has deemed them “at risk.” He announced [...]
I’ve already reported that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Mesilla on Wednesday to attend a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M. While he’s in the area, Vilsack will also hold a rural community forum in Las Cruces.
The forum will be held at the Southern [...]
New Mexico’s state tax revenue fell more than any other state except Alaska between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
New Mexico, whose leaders are currently working to plug a budget deficit of several hundred million dollars, saw a 31 percent drop [...]
A move to “grow” energy is afoot, and Insight New Mexico blogs today about one energy company’s use of algae in Southern New Mexico. That’s just one of the few things going on in the blogosphere today.
Among the others:
• Scot Key explains why he despises the Albuquerque Balloon [...]
I wrote on Wednesday that not all Republicans are waiting for Heather Wilson to decide whether she’s going to run for governor before they pledge support to other candidates. Today, Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh backed that up by trotting out the endorsement of his candidacy by former [...]
Teague, shown here during a recent town hall meeting in Las Cruces. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., was instrumental in a deal with small refiners that helped controversial [...]
Public Regulation Commission Chairman Sandy Jones released late Wednesday the details of two news conferences he’ll hold Friday to announce that he’s running for land commissioner.
The Democrat’s first stop will be at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, where he’ll announce his candidacy at 12:15 p.m. in the rotunda. [...]
On Tuesday, eight candidates filed to run for three city council seats and a municipal judgeship in the Nov. 3 Las Cruces municipal election.
In the District 3 city council race, Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores C. Archuleta is being challenged by Olga Pedroza.
Martinez, shown here announcing her candidacy in July. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez has secured a high-profile endorsement from University of New Mexico Regent Jack Fortner, a sign that not all [...]
Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, a Democrat, says he is thinking about running for land commissioner. Montoya, who ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd Congressional District seat last year, confirmed in an e-mail his interest in the race, and said he’s looking at making an announcement later this month or [...]
Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Brian Colón is off to a quick start, having already raised more than $100,000. Colón announced the fundraising number in an e-mail he sent to supporters early today. “In less than one month we passed the magical $100,000 mark in our fundraising efforts,” the e-mail states.
That includes [...]
