Rail Runner tax snafu could hamper spaceport funding

Posted 9/28/2007 11:54:00 AM

The newest snafu over whether to raise local taxes to pay for operation of the Rail Runner could harm the state’s ability to secure approval in Sierra and Otero counties for a similar tax to help fund Spaceport America.

In addition, the question of how to come up with millions each year to operate the commuter train when federal money runs out in 2009 threatens to further strain the state’s finances as it tries to complete the two massive projects and come up with some $500 million for needed road construction and maintenance.

State Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught publicly proposed earlier this week implementation of a local gross receipts tax in Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Sandoval and Valencia counties to come up with $25 million a year to pay for the train’s operating costs. The state has provided some $400 million for acquisition and construction of tracks and trains, but the federal government agreed to pay for the first three years of operations.

In this election season, the presidential candidate and Gov. Bill Richardson quickly put out a news release saying there will be no tax increase.

“Gov. Richardson is not interested in a tax increase,” said spokesman Gilbert Gallegos. “The… expansion will move forward as planned, and the governor expects to consider different options, other than a tax increase, to pay for its operations in the future.”

“Different options” appears to be code for additional state money for a project that is never projected to be solvent. The discussion of how to pay for operations comes as the state is extending the line, which already runs from Belen to Bernalillo, into Santa Fe, which will increase operating costs.

If not for the train, why a local tax down south?

The funding plan for the spaceport includes local buy-in through a gross receipts tax. Voters in Doña Ana County narrowly approved a 1/4 increase in April, but county commissions in Sierra and Otero counties haven’t even scheduled elections. Though the majority of the local funding was to come from the more populated Doña Ana County, that money can’t be spent until a tax district is created – and that requires approval of a tax increase in at least one of the other counties.

Commissioners in Sierra and Otero counties have stated their intentions to hold elections, but there’s a political reality to face: The more liberal Doña Ana County barely approved the tax. It’s going to be an even tougher sell in those counties.

Many spaceport tax opponents have questioned why, since the spaceport is a state project, officials didn’t seek a statewide tax increase. The state has been quick to counter that it has pitched in well over $100 million through legislative appropriations.

There is also a local buy-in for the Rail Runner. Communities have to build their own train stations. But that didn’t require increased tax burden on residents of those counties.

The governor’s unwillingness to agree to a tax for a Northern New Mexico project when he supported a similar tax for one in Southern New Mexico is certain to be used by opponents as an argument against the proposed increases in Otero and Sierra counties, making the campaign to secure the final piece of funding for the spaceport even more difficult. Southern New Mexico has always felt – for the most part, justifiably – that it gets the shaft from Santa Fe.

Many will wonder why they have to pay increased taxes for the spaceport when those who benefit from the commuter rail don’t have to pay increased taxes for it. That argument was used by opponents during Doña Ana County’s tax election, but the governor’s renewed opposition to a local Rail Runner tax will provide additional fuel.

To top off that frustration, the state is spending on the commuter rail more than three times what it has committed to the spaceport.

Bigger problems

But there’s a larger reality here. Both projects were driven by a governor who swept into the Roundhouse in 2003 looking to build a platform for a presidential run. Richardson cited the state’s economic growth in this week’s presidential debate when he said he could make social security solvent through economic development alone.

As Richardson attempts to leave the state, one has to wonder whether the political will remains to see the projects through to fruition. Many question whether that determination even should exist.

The train’s funding is stretched. In rejecting the tax plan, the governor provided no alternatives for coming up with the annual $25 million. In addition, two recent fatal accidents south of Albuquerque highlight another reality the Richardson Administration didn’t plan for – increased use of the tracks necessitates upgrades of aging crossings.

How many upgrades? How will those projects be funded?

Lawmakers are going to be asked for more money for the spaceport as well. They’ve already been told the Spaceport Authority will need more than $3 million next year to operate as it expands and begins construction. State officials also want another $15 million they sought but didn’t get for a road to the spaceport earlier this year.

And what if the taxes in Sierra and Otero counties aren’t approved? That’s another $10 million the state will have to find to meet the spaceport’s cost estimate of just under $200 million. If construction is further delayed, that cost estimate could rise.

Looming over all of that is the fact that lawmakers don’t know how they’re going to come up with the $500 million they need for road construction and maintenance, and an increasing worry that the state budget has grown beyond its britches in recent years.

Richardson had the vision – or, depending on who you talk with, the foolishness – to sell these two projects, but he doesn’t plan to stay in the state long enough to see them through to fruition. If he wins the presidency or decides to leave the governor’s office for another job, and as the spaceport and commuter-rail funding questions become increasingly difficult, what’s going to happen?

Though it’s still expanding, the Rail Runner is already operational and will be difficult to shut down. For that reason, and because the other project is hidden away in the desert hundreds of miles from Santa Fe, if lawmakers think a project has to die, they may be more likely to kill the spaceport.

Journal reports on allegations in ABQ council races

Posted 9/28/2007 11:18:00 AM

The Albuquerque Journal today examined involvement by that city’s mayor, Martin Chávez, and his staffers in city council races. That included reporting on the situation I disclosed earlier this week related to a committee that attacked two councilors earlier this summer.

Check it out by clicking here.

Affordable housing committee to meet in Las Cruces

Posted 9/28/2007 09:27:00 AM

The legislative committee that oversees the state’s affordable housing system will meet Monday in Las Cruces.

The Legislative Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee will hear updates from the two regional housing authorities still operating after the rest of the system crumbled amid scandal last year, and will also learn about and tour affordable housing projects in Doña Ana County, according to the agenda.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the Barbara Hubbard Room at the Pan American Center on the New Mexico State University campus. It is open to the public.

“During this meeting we will be continuing our review of the challenges and opportunities our state faces in the area of affordable housing, and this includes a review of the performance of our regional housing authorities,” said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe and chair of the committee.

Republican Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson is the only member of the committee from Doña Ana County.

Most of the state’s affordable housing system collapsed last year when the Albuquerque-based Region III authority defaulted on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. Those bonds were to be spent on affordable housing projects, but almost $900,000 instead went to the former director as salary, benefits and a questionable loan, and some $700,000 was loaned to the Las Cruces-based Region VII authority for administrative costs.

The state auditor is currently conducting a review to try to determine the extent of the problems, and the attorney general is investigating.

Saluting the boys of World War II

Posted 9/28/2007 07:47:00 AM

© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D.

Among the really great moments of our nation stands Dec. 8, 1941. On that Monday more young men volunteered to serve in our military than any other date. Each looked within and found a need to put country before self, even to the point of giving their lives. We remember Dec. 7, a day that will live in infamy. We really should celebrate the next day.

I am reminded of that while watching “The War” by Ken Burns. We see the boys of war when they were still boys and the men they became, if they survived the war. The men are old but that is what is fascinating about them. We see with their eyes the days of their youth lost and the battle that never ends until these gentlemen die.

Marine William Manchester wrote in 1979, “To this day I could, if called upon, pull the pin on an Mk. II grenade, release the safety lever, giving me four seconds before it will explode, count, ‘One Mississippi, two Mississippi,’ and then hurl it and hit the deck.”

Manchester’s book, “Goodbye, Darkness: A memoir of the Pacific War” is a must read for anyone wanting to get the flavor of something that is rarely even talked about today: the personal and human side of war.

These were citizen soldiers, like in all wars, who gave their last full measure and died, for the most part anonymously.

Relatives got the dreaded telegram, “The secretary of war desires me to express his deepest regret that your husband…” All that was left were thoughts for a lifetime of what did not happen and what might have been. Their loved ones marched away as the band played, and did not return alive.

Burns gives us some of those painful details. While it sounds impossible to humanize war, that is exactly what he does. He shows not just those who went to war; we also see their lovers and parents and children and friends. For some, the loss was only a separation of several years. For others, the body returned but the person did not. Still others left a hole in the hearts of their loved ones when they died in a far-away place.

We should all have gratitude

At halftime during one New Mexico State football game, former NMSU president Gerald Thomas, a WWII flyer, was honored on the field. One student was impatient and hollered, “Get those old farts off the field so we can get back to the game.”

Everyone around him tried to hiss him into silence. He protested, “I was not even alive, so I do not owe him any thanks for what he did.”

Those seated near him gave him an earful. I wonder, do those who were not alive 60 years ago owe any debts to these men and their families? I believe they do.

In our everyday lives we see wrinkled old men, not the young men that they once were. One of my friends fought in the Pacific. He had a tattoo that read, “Tojo is a dwarf.” When I first met him I asked him what that meant. He said it meant that while in combat with the Japs, he was never going to surrender. Few men in the Pacific, on either side, did.

So what do we say to those who went to war and those who lost so much? Do we watch these pictures and say, “Sorry, guess it sucks for you?” Or, do we hold in our hearts their sacrifice even though we really cannot understand? Hopefully, each of us can find in our heart a real gratitude for the boys of 1941 who had a tough job to do and did it.

The whole nation was at war. Women participated in many ways, but were most injured by the loss of their men folks. They lived the rest of their lives with that loss.

My father was a combat photographer in WWII, making landings in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Anzio. Consider one more thing about the Burns documentary. In the middle of the battles, with bullets flying, my father and his fellow photographers were documenting what was happening. Without my father’s original work and the fine work of Burns, we would not have any chance to understand WWII. That would have been our loss.

Stephen Ambrose summed up: “Then I think about those who didn’t make it, especially all those junior officers and NCOs who got killed in such appalling number. These men were natural leaders… What life was cut off here? A genius? It is impossible to imagine what he might have invented; we do know that his loss was our loss. A budding politician? Where might he have led us? A builder? A teacher? A scholar? A novelist? A musician? I sometimes think the biggest price we pay for war is what might have been.”

I am grateful to those who did their duty and those who also paid the price of duty. I salute the boys – and their families – of World War II and all our other wars.

Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.

A look at the Richardson/Edwards contest

Posted 9/27/2007 03:39:00 PM

Gov. Bill Richardson ended the second quarter of the year statistically tied with John Edwards in New Hampshire polls and having raised $7 million to Edwards’ $9 million.

Three months later, there are signs that some things have changed. Edwards has climbed a bit in the polls, but there are signs that the governor might raise more money during the fundraising quarter that ends Sunday.

While both candidates were averaging about 9 percent in New Hampshire polls at the end of June, the newest poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire for CNN, had Richardson at 6 percent and Edwards at 12 percent. For Richardson, that’s a drop of five points from the UNH July poll. For Edwards, it’s a gain of three points. Hillary Clinton remained in the lead in the newest poll with 43 percent, and Barack Obama had 20 percent.

The survey of 508 adults was conducted Sept. 17-24 and has a margin of error of 4.5 percent.

The averages of recent New Hampshire polls on Real Clear Politics place Richardson at 9 percent and Edwards at 13.5 percent.

That’s bad news for Richardson. But there’s also good news.

Edwards began on Friday an attempt to raise $1 million in the 10 days before Sunday. Richardson began on Monday the goal of raising $1 million in the week before the end of the quarter.

The fact that the governor’s campaign appeared more confident in its ability to raise the cash in a shorter time period was a sign that Richardson might have a stronger financial base than Edwards. But the way the fundraising has played out this week is an even stronger indicator.

On Monday, Richardson began three days and almost $300,000 behind Edwards in the race to reach $1 million. Richardson passed Edwards this afternoon. As of 3:20 p.m., according to his Web site, Edwards has raised $673,291 toward his goal of $1 million in 10 days. At the same time, according to his Web site, Richardson had raised $695,160 toward his goal of $1 million in a week.

Richardson has said he expects to raise somewhere in the vicinity of $6 million this quarter, which included the summer months when fundraising is most difficult. Considering that Clinton and Obama are expected to raise millions less than they did during the second quarter – perhaps a drop of as much as 50 percent – a drop of only $1 million for Richardson would be impressive.

There’s speculation that Richardson might even raise more than Edwards this quarter. Then again, the same speculation existed last quarter and turned out to be wrong.

We’ll know more next week. The bottom line: Richardson has lost some ground against Edwards in New Hampshire, but there’s still a chance he’s kept pace with or even surpassed Edwards in the ability to raise money.

Update, 3:45 p.m.

I just came across this Associated Press article reporting that Edwards has agreed to accept public funds for his campaign – another sign that he’s unable to raise the money he needs to compete with Clinton and Obama.

Court wants to suspend judge tied to housing scandal

Posted 9/27/2007 02:35:00 PM

The New Mexico Supreme Court has rejected a petition for discipline of a judge tied to the state housing authority scandal because the requested punishment wasn’t harsh enough.

In an order issued today, the high court rejected the Judicial Standards Commission’s petition for discipline, which sought a reprimand for Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge Theresa Gomez and a requirement that she pay $17,000 in back rent to the Albuquerque-based Region III Housing Authority. The court suggested that Gomez be required to pay the back rent and be suspended for two weeks, but sent the matter to the commission for further consideration.

The commission made the request earlier this month because Gomez lived rent-free, for 20 months, in a home owned by the housing authority, an organization whose mission is providing housing for low-income people. At the time, Gomez was making $93,000 per year.

Gomez also dismissed traffic citations and cancelled an arrest warrant for Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos, the man who ran Region III at the time.

As part of an agreement with the commission, Gomez admitted that her actions violated the ethical requirements of her job and agreed to the reprimand and to pay the back rent. But the high court asked why the recommended discipline wasn’t worse and asked the commission to justify its request.

Commission Director Jim Noel responded in writing that the “primary mitigating circumstance that affected this case from the outset is an absence of substantial documentary evidence. There is no evidence demonstrating any additional or more serious impropriety.” That’s because, an accompanying affidavit from the new director of Region III states, someone destroyed or took records from the public agency.

In today’s order, the Supreme Court said there was enough evidence to justify a suspension. Gomez admitted to ex parte communications with Gallegos before she dismissed his citations and cancelled the warrant. Though the other misconduct was a factor, the ex parte communication was “of particular concern,” the court wrote in its order, adding that it warrants “a period of suspension.”

The court stated that if the judge and commission agreed to a two-week suspension and the requirement that Gomez pay the $17,000 in back rent, it would issue such an order.

The state’s affordable housing system collapsed last year when the Region III authority defaulted on $5 million in bonds it owed the state. Those bonds were to be spent on affordable housing projects, but almost $900,000 went to Gallegos as salary, benefits and a questionable loan, and some $700,000 was loaned to the Las Cruces authority for administrative costs.

The state auditor is currently conducting a review to try to determine the extent of the problems, and the attorney general is investigating.

Listen to The Morning Show podcast

Posted 9/27/2007 11:27:00 AM

Today on The Morning Show with Alan Riehl, I discussed Gov. Bill Richardson’s performance at Wednesday’s debate, the upcoming Las Cruces municipal election, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s falling poll numbers and the allegations against U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce.

You can listen to the 38-minute podcast by clicking here.

Mayor's office violated ethics, ABQ councilors say

Posted 9/27/2007 11:17:00 AM

The Albuquerque Tribune published an article today about my Wednesday column that reported on e-mails and cell phone records suggesting the chief of staff to the Albuquerque mayor and others were involved in an assault in May on two city councilors.

The column’s publication on this site and in the Trib marked the first time the documents were revealed publicly.

In today’s article, the two councilors who were the primary targets of the May campaign accused Mayor Martin Chávez’s administration of violating ethics rules in orchestrating the attack.

Read the article by clicking here.

Activist to run against Sen. Grubesic in June primary

Posted 9/27/2007 10:57:00 AM

An activist for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community has announced her candidacy for the New Mexico Senate seat currently held by Democrat John Grubesic of Santa Fe.

Mekah Gordon, a Democrat, will be running against the senator in the June 2008 primary.

Gordon wrote in a recent e-mail to supporters that, as the District 25 senator, she wants to work toward the establishment of a “harassment free, diverse and humanistic educational school system” and will also push for visual and performing arts education in all schools, civil rights and equality, low- and middle-income tax breaks and better health care for the elderly and veterans.

“I have consistently maintained a well documented platform of sensitivity, diversity understanding, civil rights, compassion and mutual respect,” she wrote. “Believing in and supporting my candidacy for New Mexico state senator will reestablish honesty and truth in a political arena seemingly void of such characteristics.”

Gordon is an artist who designs and crafts jewelry and is also a photographer and sculptor. She said she grew up in New York City and has lived in Santa Fe for seven years, moving here after retiring from teaching.

She’s the Santa Fe regional editor for The Normal Heart, a Las Cruces-based LGBT newspaper distributed in New Mexico and West Texas, and is an activist for the LGBT community.

Edwards, Obama call guv's claims dishonest at debate

Posted 9/27/2007 07:00:00 AM

Gov. Bill Richardson’s performance at Wednesday’s Democratic presidential candidate debate was overshadowed by the assertions of others that some of his claims were unrealistic and disingenuous.

To top it off, it was John Edwards, not Richardson, who most convincingly set himself apart from the frontrunners on the issue of troop withdrawal from Iraq.

The night started off well for Richardson because the moderator of the MSNBC debate, Tim Russert, asked the frontrunners whether they would promise that, if they were elected, there would be no American troops in Iraq by the end of their first term in January 2013.

The question appeared to be driven by Richardson’s recent attacks on the frontrunners for rejecting his plan for the withdrawal of all American troops, including residual troops, in a matter of months. Richardson has repeatedly said Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton aren’t being honest with the American people when they say they would end the war but also plan to leave some troops in Iraq.

All three refused to make the promise. That could have provided an opportunity for Richardson but, even before the governor had a chance to speak, Edwards stole his thunder. The former senator said he would leave only 3,500 to 5,000 non-combat soldiers in Iraq to protect the embassy and American humanitarian workers. He attacked Clinton, saying the “fundamental difference” between their plans is that she would leave some combat troops, and he would not. Edwards argued that leaving combat troops was continuing the war.

When Richardson got the chance to speak, he gave the same answer he’s pushed for weeks – that the frontrunners, in leaving even residual troops, would be continuing the war, and that his plan has a “fundamental difference.” He made his point, but Edwards had already set himself apart.

Things got better for Edwards and worse for Richardson. Obama was suffering from a cold and had an off night, and Clinton had a hard time clearly answering questions. Edwards plainly answered each question that was asked, appearing straight-forward and sharp.

A botched answer

Russert asked tough questions of several of the candidates. He pointed out the security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory while Richardson was energy secretary and the governor’s recent misstatements on the campaign trail, which included mistakenly saying that homosexuality is a choice. Russert asked, “Based on those kinds of comments and that record of performance or questionable activities, how can you tell people you have the experience to be president?”

Richardson said he does make mistakes, but he admits them. He said the real issue, however, is whether he delivers, and that’s when his answer went downhill. He pointed to his experience in meeting with foreign dictators and said he negotiated a ceasefire in Darfur earlier this year. The reality is that, despite his trip, a ceasefire never happened.

He also said New Mexico has a balanced budget, implying that he gets credit for that. The reality is that the state Constitution requires it. It’s not an option.

Then Richardson repeated the line that earned him a great deal of positive attention after a recent debate in Iowa, saying Clinton may be the candidate of experience, and Obama may be the candidate of change, but with him, voters get both. The campaign has milked the clever line for all its worth in recent weeks, and this time it came across as cheap.

What goes around…

Then Edwards and Obama got back at Richardson for his recent and relentless assertion that they’re not being honest with the American people about their plans for Iraq.

Candidates were asked if they would ensure the solvency of social security by lifting the cap on the tax that kicks in at an income of $97,500. Richardson said he would not, but would ensure the continuance of the program by growing the nation’s economy. When Russert pointed out that estimates indicate the number of people on social security is going to double, and suggested that Richardson’s assertion that economic development alone could pay for the increased costs was outrageous, the governor refused to waver.

Edwards seized the moment, saying the only way to run for president “is to be honest.”

“You cannot solve this problem just by growing the economy,” Edwards said before adding that “there has been so much doubletalk on this issue.”

No other candidate agreed with Richardson on the social security question, just as no other candidate – except Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel – believes Richardson’s timetable for Iraq withdrawal is realistic or logistically possible. When Richardson turned another question back to Iraq moments later, Obama took the opportunity to point that out.

Richardson was asked if, given the group’s stance on homosexuality, he would accept the position of honorary chairman of the Boy Scouts of America – a title usually given to the president – if he was elected. Richardson said he would not. He then somehow got back on the subject of Iraq and again attacked the frontrunners. Obama cut in.

“You know, I’m happy to have this discussion again, Bill,” Obama said. “I think it is important to tell the American people the truth.”

He said generals don’t believe it’s logistically possible to safely withdraw American soldiers as quickly as Richardson proposes, and said Richardson’s plan is not realistic.

“It’s the same pretense with social security that somehow we can do this magically. We can’t,” Obama said.

Though candidates were allowed some back-and-forth and Richardson likely could have challenged Edwards and Obama, he did not. Richardson pointed out during a post debate interview that Obama “challenged me” and “got irritated with me,” but even then, he didn’t really respond.

All that added up to a fairly unmemorable performance by a candidate who appeared to be marginalized by Russert’s tough questions and the challenges from Edwards and Obama.

You can watch the debate by clicking here.

Richardson insists he won't run against Domenici

Posted 9/26/2007 02:51:00 PM

The day after a new poll showed U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici’s approval rating falling to 41 percent, Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign made its strongest statement yet that the governor isn’t interested in running against the state’s senior senator next year.

“The governor is running to be the next president of the U.S.,” spokesman Pahl Shipley wrote today in an e-mail. “With Congress, been there, done that. Not interested.”

Richardson spent 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Shipley’s comments come the day after the new SurveyUSA poll had the GOP senator’s support dropping 11 points since August and below 50 percent for the first time in the history of the poll that began in May 2005.

The news excited Washington Democratic insiders, as many in the nation’s capitol already had Domenici on the list of those most likely to lose their seats next year. But Domenici has yet to draw a well-known Democratic challenger.

The ongoing U.S. attorney scandal and attacks from the left for failing to support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and new renewable energy standards have caused Domenici’s support in the poll to drop 27 points in the last 10 months, and the news could get worse: The newest poll was conducted just before Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington listed Domenici as one of the 22 most corrupt members of Congress for his role in the U.S. attorney scandal.

The governor recently told the Associated Press that the idea he might get out of the presidential race and in to the Senate race was “wishful thinking.”

But the rumors persist, and many Democrats in Washington and New Mexico, believing Richardson has no chance at the presidency, are pushing hard for him to consider the Senate race. Many speculate that he could transfer money to a Senate campaign from his presidential campaign in February, if he loses the early primaries.

Richardson has said he’ll remain governor of New Mexico if he loses the presidential race, but Shipley’s comments are the strongest yet that the governor isn’t interested in a race against Domenici.

Domenici’s opponents aren’t surprised by drop

The three Democrats who are vying for the right to take on Domenici next year said they aren’t surprised by the newest drop in his approval rating.

“Folks are upset because Pete Domenici has been saying one thing in New Mexico but voting another way in Washington,” said Don Wiviott, a Santa Fe developer who has pledged $400,000 of his own money for the race. “But the number that really matters is that Pete has voted 99 percent of the time in support of George Bush. It’s time for new leadership and it’s time to listen to New Mexicans and end this war.”

Jim Hannan, another Democrat who wants Domenici’s seat, has been running newspaper advertisements in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe for months highlighting Domenici’s voting record.

“For the first time in many years, the Pete Domenici voting record has been presented to the citizens of New Mexico. It’s clear that my campaign is having an effect,” Hannan said. “… Since (approval for) George W. Bush is at about 25 percent, and Pete has supported Bush on everything, it’s clear that his numbers will continue to decline.”

Leland Lehrman, the third Democrat in the race, said he “can’t celebrate the collapse of a senator’s reputation,” but said Domenici’s falling approval rating reflects “a hopeful trend” in the United States and world.

“The senator’s serial advocacy of war, nuclear weapons, nuclear energy and corrupt partisan politics have earned him these dismal approval ratings as well as the inclusion on the 22 most corrupt senators list,” he said. “At last, the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to grow stronger.”

Guv could make Supreme Court pick by mid-October

Posted 9/26/2007 01:53:00 PM

Gov. Bill Richardson could make an appointment to the New Mexico Supreme Court as early as mid-October, a spokesman said today.

By law, the governor has to make the appointment within 30 days of being notified of the recommendations of the judicial nominating commission that met Monday. The notification was probably not made until Tuesday, which would give the governor until Oct. 24 to make the appointment.

“The governor will be carefully considering all the nominees and has 30 days to make the appointment per the Constitution,” spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said, adding that the appointment could come in mid-October.

The commission recommended three judges and four attorneys, including Robert E. Robles, chief judge of the Third Judicial District Court in Doña Ana County. The others are Albuquerque criminal defense attorney Charles W. Daniels, state General Services Secretary Arturo L. Jaramillo, Albuquerque lawyer Edward R. Ricco, Albuquerque lawyer Maureen A. Sanders, Judge Linda M. Vanzi of the Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County and Court of Appeals Judge Michael E. Vigil.

The candidates must be interviewed before the governor can make an appointment. Richardson won’t be back in New Mexico until Sunday as he wraps up the third quarter of the year with a strong fundraising push. He plans to spend Monday and part of Tuesday in New Mexico before leaving the state for the rest of the week.

Richardson will be in New Mexico for part of the second week of October, sources confirmed.

The Las Cruces Sun-News explored today the possibility that Lt. Gov. Diane Denish will aid Richardson in the selection process. Denish told the newspaper that, while the governor is still making appointments, she has conducted some of the interviews with recent applicants for state positions in Richardson’s absence.

If the governor doesn’t like his choices, he can ask the commission to reconvene – once – to consider whether to forward the names of any of the other eight applicants for his consideration.

The vacancy was created last month by the death of Justice Pamela B. Minzner.

The moderate Wilson sticks her neck out once again

Posted 9/26/2007 11:08:00 AM

By Whitney Cheshire

The debate over children’s health insurance shows us that Heather Wilson is still very much Heather Wilson.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would greatly improve access to health insurance for our country’s poorest kids. It was the latest vote on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and it went down as most people expected – sort of.

The SCHIP debate

The program to provide health insurance for low-income kids was instituted nationally in 1996 by Republicans. At the time, Wilson, who is now the GOP representative from Albuquerque, was cabinet secretary for the state’s Children, Youth, and Families Department. She helped implement the new program – called Newmexikids – from the ground up.

The federal funding went a long way in providing health care for low-income children who previously had gone without, and Wilson has stood in support of the program ever since.

In July, according to some, House Democrats tried to use SCHIP as a launching pad for a bigger, more nationalized health-care system. Wilson opposed the Democrats’ attempt to raid the Medicare Advantage program for funding, saying 57,000 seniors in New Mexico were in danger of losing their health plans because of it.

At the same time, the Senate passed its own SCHIP bill, which, among other things, refused expanding coverage (in the federal program) and protected coverage for seniors.

Last Friday, Senate and House negotiators took the Senate bill and added in mental health and dental provisions. The result was a bi-partisan bill drafted in part by U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and strongly supported by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

The compromise SCHIP bill is what passed the House Tuesday. It now heads back to the Senate before being sent to the president.

Here’s what makes this interesting: President Bush has said he’ll veto the legislation. He doesn’t like the bill. Wilson likes it so much that she’s not only voted for it, she’s been a critical part of the debate and an instrumental force in gaining moderate Republican support for it.

Wilson has written letters to her colleagues, lobbied them one-on-one and spoken out publicly in favor of the legislation. She’s publicly called on Bush to support the bill, showing one more time that she’s not afraid to turn up the political fires on the president when she believes she’s right.

As I said above, the debate shows us that Heather is still very much… Heather.

The result of her work?

Wilson was introduced to speak on the bill by the tough-nosed Democratic chairman of the House Energy Committee, U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan. While having someone from the opposing party introduce a speaker isn’t unprecedented, it is certainly significant.

Wilson spoke on the Democrats’ clock, another unusual circumstance for the rancorous Hill. She urged her Republican colleagues to support the bill, and her efforts resulted in the only real surprise of the day – 44 Republicans joined her in voting for the bill, a number far larger than anyone would have guessed earlier in the week.

The SCHIP vote was undoubtedly a political victory for the New Mexico Republican who has fought for better health care for low-income children for a decade.

But will Republicans praise her victory?

Anytime legislators break with their president on policy, they put themselves in a sticky spot. It’s even worse when that legislator goes beyond the vote and actively lobbies and makes gains on a bill opposed by the White House.

Bush and conservative Republicans like U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., are opposed to the SCHIP bill in part because it will raise the tobacco tax and can be seen as another step up the slippery-slope of nationalized health care. But Wilson is on the record for liking the bill because it allows for state flexibility in implementing the federal program. She also says she doesn’t mind the tobacco tax. Like many others, Wilson believes raising the tax might reduce the number of people who smoke and could have the added benefit of lowering health-care costs across the board.

So be it.

Agree or disagree, nobody can argue the fact that Heather Wilson has once again stuck out her neck on an issue in which she believes and is once again standing in direct opposition to President Bush.

I have to admit that I cringed a bit when she made the fight over SCHIP so public, supporting a bill that the president clearly said he would veto. But then I took a deep breath and remembered things like wiretapping, policy differences in Iraq, stem cell research and the atrocities in Abu Ghraib prison.

And I reminded myself that this Republican president, by now, must be used to the moderate congresswoman from New Mexico. Honestly, he probably expected her point of view and opposition long before the debate erupted in the national press.

But I wonder whether the president expected Wilson to be this effective in pulling votes on the SCHIP bill. And for that, without wiretapping of my own, I’ll probably never get an answer.

Cheshire, AKA the Wednesday Morning Quarterback, is a media relations and campaign consultant in Albuquerque. Her column runs every Wednesday. You can learn more about her by clicking here. Contact her at wednesdaymorningqb@comcast.net.

Shareholders of the world, unite

Posted 9/26/2007 09:51:00 AM