Michelle Lujan Grisham

Last year alone there were over 400 accidents in the Paseo del Norte interchange area in Albuquerque. Since 1995, it has been a priority in this community to rebuild this interchange and bring the needed upgrades to promote public safety and reduce congestion, accidents, air pollution and, last, but not least, driver frustration.

Thanks to cooperation from city, county and state governments, this important project may become reality at last.

In these times of tight budgets and political bickering at every level of government, people become justifiably skeptical of their public officials’ ability to get anything done. However, I believe that our progress on the Paseo project demonstrates that those of us in public service can accomplish great things when we set aside our differences and work together on what matters to the community.

The rebuilding of Paseo has long presented financial challenges, as the cost of Phase I of rebuilding the Paseo Interchange is estimated at $93 million. However, last week we saw the county, the city and state each find a way to help solve this problem and pledge significant funds to this effort.

Since the county commission supported my call to pledge bond money to fund this project on Jan. 24, we have seen enormous support and positive reaction to our efforts. Now, with $50 million from the city and $30 million from the state added to the $5 million committed by my colleagues and me on the county commission, we are on the way to accomplishing our common goal and making our community safer. I hope the federal government will also share this responsibility, as I-25 is part of the national interstate system.

Improving the Paseo del Norte interchange is a win-win situation for Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico. Not only will this address long-overdue traffic and safety issues, the re-design and construction of this interchange will have a broad, positive impact on our community. It will create many needed jobs during the design and construction phases.

Furthermore, after the necessary improvements, fewer accidents will lead to fewer injuries and fewer insurance claims. Law enforcement officers from the county and the City of Albuquerque will have more time and energy to attend to other duties.

We are so close. I salute my partners in this effort, Republicans and Democrats, at the state and local level. Without their commitment of funds, success would not be in our sights. Let’s all work together to get this across the finish line and make this happen.

Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, is a Bernalillo County commissioner and a candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House.

Steve Smothermon

The IRS prohibits nonprofits from participating in politics. Over the weekend, the Albuquerque Journal explored one megachurch pastor’s involvement in politics in that context.

The bottom line from Steve Smothermon, pastor at the nearly 20,000-member Legacy Church in Albuquerque: “The church is one thing, and I’m another thing.”

The pastor is heavily involved in politics. Check out this link to a web page for the radio program New Mexico News and Views in which Smothermon called for the resignations of Attorney General Gary King and then-Albuquerque Public Safety Director Darren White.

The Journal went in-depth into Smothermon’s disputes with Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and Albuquerque School Board Member Kathy Korte, and his support for politicians including former Albuquerque City Council candidate Greg Payne.

And though Smothermon said his support is different from the church’s, the Journal documented Smothermon talking with his congregation about politicians, including slamming Berry as someone who “won’t stand up for anything” and praising Payne as someone who “espouses our beliefs.”

Smothermon was quoted as saying he doesn’t seek out candidates. They come to him.

From the newspaper:

“In a Journal interview, Smothermon stressed that he is a pastor, not a politician, and that candidates approach him, not the other way around. He said he has ‘never solicited one candidate’ to show up at Legacy.

“Instead, ‘candidates constantly call me,’ he said.

“He will introduce them to the church, Democrats and Republicans alike. He reads a few bullet points, and the candidates don’t get to speak during the service. They can set up a table outside where churchgoers can question them.”

You can read the Journal’s in-depth article on Smothermon’s political involvement here, and a sidebar about Korte’s experience with Legacy Church here.

Eric Griego

Today, as we celebrate Labor Day, I express my sincere respect and admiration for the men and women of the labor movement who have worked tirelessly to protect all American workers’ dignity.

All workers in this country have benefited from efforts by unions to gain safe working conditions, fair treatment at work, a fair or at least minimum wage, and the right to collectively bargain. I stand proudly behind my record of fighting for workers and their families even when it got tough as a state senator, former Albuquerque city councilor and now as a Democratic candidate for Congress.

My values in public life come from my own experience as a poor kid growing up in a tough neighborhood and raised by a single parent. Because FDR, LBJ and other Democrats pushed for programs like Head Start, universal public education, civil rights, Pell Grants, and decent wages, I was able to succeed despite my humble beginnings.

To realize the American Dream, hard work is important, but not enough. Every kid and every family, not just the richest and the most powerful few, need to have the opportunity to succeed. That is why I am running for Congress and why I support the labor movement.

Fighting for workers

In 2004-05, I worked closely with then-City Councilor Martin Heinrich and other pro-worker members of the Albuquerque City Council to increase the minimum wage so that the city would become a better place to work and make a living. Unfortunately, Republicans and corporate lobbyists opposed the increase, and ultimately we had to settle for a much smaller increase that was not indexed to inflation.

In 2002, I led the fight in the Albuquerque City Council against efforts to solve a short-term budget crisis by firing nearly 400 employees. I stood shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with our workers and the public employee unions to save most of the jobs, fend off an aggressive push to fire workers, cut their benefits and freeze their wages.

In the State Senate, I led efforts to protect collective bargaining for workers involved in public projects and to make sure prevailing wage laws were not undermined. I was also one of only a few state senators who fought the governor, Republicans, and sadly, even some of our own Democratic members, when they pushed numerous proposals that would have reduced and undermined public pensions that exist to provide retirement with dignity for our public servants.

And I stood in solidarity with AFSCME, AFT, IAFF and others during the legislative session to fight to protect our teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public employees from Republican and conservative Democratic efforts to cut their jobs, wages and benefits.

I am proud to be endorsed locally and nationally by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and by most of the strongest pro-worker elected officials in the state, including Sens. Jerry Ortiz Y Pino and Cisco McSorley, Reps. Miguel Garcia and Eleanor Chavez (the chair and vice-chair of the House Labor Committee), and City Councilors Ike Benton and Rey Garduno.

I’ll keep doing what I’ve always done

Unfortunately, too many Democrats cannot be trusted to support our middle class and working families, let alone to be on the frontlines leading the vanguard when the fighting gets tough, to protect workers and jobs against powerful anti-worker forces and cynical conservatives. There are huge corporate and political interests working to preserve power and money for the rich.

When I’m in Congress, I will take on the elites to pass an economic plan and create jobs for the middle class, not the corporate few. I’ll win these fights just as I have in Albuquerque and also work hard to pass the Employee Free Choice Act.

I will keep doing what I have always done: fight for those who made our country great – the working men and women of America.

Griego, a Democrat, is a candidate for New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District seat in Congress.

Diane Denish (left, photo by Heath Haussamen) and Martin Chávez (right, courtesy photo)

Former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez is running for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich; meanwhile, former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has decided against running.

Chávez, a Democrat, declared his candidacy late Tuesday in an Albuquerque Journal article. The newspaper also referred to a video it said was posted on Chávez’s website, but as of the publication of this article, the video and any announcement of his congressional campaign had not been posted.

From the Journal:

“Chávez said Tuesday that as a House member, he would seek to balance the federal budget while supporting programs such as Medicare and Social Security to protect society’s ‘most vulnerable.’

“‘It really is about the economy and how perilous it is,’ he said. ‘And you can’t have a strong economy unless you balance the budget.’”

Chávez served three terms as Albuquerque’s mayor before losing a three-way race to Richard Berry in 2009. Since then, he’s worked as the director of a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C. He was quoted as saying that work has shown him how the federal government operates.

“I have watched the way the federal government works, and, frankly, it doesn’t work,” the Journal quoted Chávez as saying. “This is one of the most dysfunctional places I’ve ever seen.”

Denish: Skills best suited for an executive position

Meanwhile, Denish told NMPolitics.net on Tuesday evening that she’s decided against running for the Albuquerque-area congressional seat.

“I’ve gotten lots of encouragement from people both inside and outside the district,” the Democrat said. “I’ve given it a lot of through and reflection.”

Ultimately, Denish said two things made her decision.

“I’ve always said that I wanted to stay home and work hard in New Mexico, and that’s still true,” she said. “I think my skills are best suited to another kind of position, more of an executive, either an executive in the private sector or in the public sector.”

Denish said she would continue to look for such opportunities in Albuquerque or around New Mexico.

Denish said Chávez called her last week to tell her he was running. His decision to enter the race didn’t influence her decision, she said.

“I feel very confident about my ability to have won a primary and to go on and have faced a very tough general, but ultimately, it’s just not the right time for me,” Denish said.

The status of the race

Chávez joins State Sen. Eric Griego, a former Albuquerque city councilor, in the Democratic primary. Terry Brunner, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s former state director who now heads USDA Rural Development in New Mexico, has told NMPolitics.net that he is also considering running.

The Journal identified Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham, former Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano, and state Treasurer James Lewis as other Democrats who are considering running.

On the Republican side, Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis is the only declared candidate. Former State Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Janice Arnold-Jones has formed an exploratory committee, and Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2010, is considering joining the race.

Diane Denish (left, photo by Heath Haussamen) and Martin Chávez (right, courtesy photo)

Former Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and former Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez are considering running for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by Martin Heinrich, NMPolitics.net has learned.

Denish and Chávez, both former gubernatorial nominees, are the best-known Democrats to publicly surface as potential candidates thus far.

Chávez is meeting this week with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the fundraising arm of Democrats in the U.S. House, to talk about the possibility of running, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed.

Another source said Denish “has been getting a lot of encouragement from inside the district, and with solid name ID and a strong base there, she has time to test the waters.”

Denish had been considering running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jeff Bingaman. Whether she is still considering the Senate race isn’t clear.

Heinrich is the best-known Democrat to have entered the Senate race. His departure from the U.S. House has led many to consider running for the seat.

No Democrats have formally entered the race to replace Heinrich, but state Sen. Eric Griego of Albuquerque has formed an exploratory committee. In addition, state Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas of Albuquerque and Terry Brunner, Bingaman’s former state director who now heads USDA Rural Development in New Mexico, say they are seriously considering running.

On the Republican side, Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis has entered the race, and former gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones of Albuquerque has formed an exploratory committee.

Denish and Chávez both lost their last elections. Chávez was booted from office by voters in 2009, and Denish lost the governor’s race last year to Republican Susana Martinez.

They’re also former running mates. When Chávez unsuccessfully challenged then-Gov. Gary Johnson in 1998, Denish was the Democratic Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor.

Both have strong bases and the ability to raise money, and could be formidable candidates. But sources say there might also be room in the Democratic primary for a rising star.

Dan Lewis

As expected, Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis formally entered the race to replace Martin Heinrich in the U.S. House on Sunday.

The Republican vowed to help “stop the insanity of rampant government spending” and
“protect and promote job-creating small businesses” in Congress, according to a news release.

He described his main priorities as creating jobs and assisting small businesses, confronting the looming national debt, and strengthening national security.

Lewis is the first candidate to enter the race. One other Republican, former gubernatorial candidate and state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, has formed a congressional exploratory committee.

On the Democratic side, State Sen. Eric Griego has formed an exploratory committee as he considers the race. In addition, State Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, announced that he is seriously considering running for the seat. So is Terry Brunner, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s former state director who now heads USDA Rural Development in New Mexico.

Heinrich, a Democrat, is vacating the Albuquerque-area 1st Congressional District seat to run for the Senate seat that is open next year because of Bingaman’s retirement.

Update, 9:05 a.m.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales had this to say about Lewis:

“This is more of the same from yet another out-of-touch Republican who has decided to run for Congress. Instead of focusing on New Mexico’s working families Dan Lewis has decided to openly support the same failed economic policies that led to the historic recession that has put so many thousands of New Mexicans out of work, blindly cutting commonsense safeguards meant to keep Wall Street in line without pausing to consider the consequences is what caused the great recession and cost us millions of jobs.”

Heath Haussamen

A union president in Albuquerque is apparently the latest public employee who needs to be scolded for improperly using public resources to campaign.

Regular readers of this site know I call out public officials all the time for doing this sort of thing. The newest example involves Diego Arencon, Albuquerque’s fire union president, and it comes from a report in the Albuquerque Journal.

From the newspaper:

“(An affidavit filed in court) says a series of e-mails, including the request for $6,000 to aid the campaign of then-Mayor Martin Chávez, was sent through the city’s electronic mail box.

“According to the… affidavit, Arencon also ordered 110 T-shirts in support of Alan Armijo’s City Council campaign; ordered four 5- by 3-foot banners for the Chávez campaign and engaged in other political communications.

“The city contends in its filing that Arencon has ‘run afoul of virtually every applicable written rule regarding political activities on city time.’”

The city has e-mails to back up its allegations. Its court filing, which was obtained by NMPolitics.net, states that Arencon was “actively campaigning, seeking contributions and involved in other illegal political activities… using city time and resources.”

The court filing is the city’s attempt to get a judge to void a ruling that lets Arencon do union work while on city time. But the point needs to be stated – even if Arencon is allowed to do union work, campaigning on city time is never OK.

There’s no excuse for such actions

The situation makes me wonder if Arencon was campaigning for any other candidates on the city’s dime. It also raises all sorts of other questions about compliance with the city’s public financing law and what Chávez and Armijo knew about what was going on, but for now I’ll focus on Arencon.Assuming the city’s allegations are accurate, there’s simply no excuse for Arencon’s actions. His response to the Journal, when asked about the allegations, is entirely disappointing:

“I find it unusual that the administration takes this action for issues in 2008 as we enter into negotiations this year. We need to work together in preserving a contract that facilitates and preserves public safety and protects the citizens of Albuquerque.”

That’s called dodging the question.

So let me put it bluntly, Mr. Arencon: If you’re not guilty of the actions alleged by the city, immediately show proof. But if you used public resources to campaign, you should be ashamed of yourself. There’s no excuse for doing that, ever.

Conduct like this is at the core of the public’s mistrust of its government. If the city’s allegations are accurate, you are a big part of the problem. In fact, instead of helping your union, in the end what do is give unions a bad name.

In the words of the city’s affidavit: “Public tax dollars were misused to support certain candidacies before the electors made their choice. The public was paying a union president to work against the public right to freely elect public officials.”

Disgraceful. Inexcusable. Absolutely infuriating.

Haussamen bio │ Commentary archives │ Feed

McCleskey with Gov. Susana Martinez on election night last year. (Photo by Enrique Knell)

Some love him, others loathe him, but there’s no doubt that political operative Jay McCleskey has a record that’s impressive

Some would call Jay McCleskey brilliant – the Karl Rove of New Mexico, perhaps – while others would say he is notorious and lucky. Whatever the case, he’s currently the most successful political operative in New Mexico, and hugely influential.

He was the mastermind behind the election of Gov. Susana Martinez, the first Hispanic woman to be elected governor of any state in the nation. She describes him as her “top adviser.”

In 2009, he also helped Richard Berry become the first GOP mayor of Albuquerque in more than two decades.

McCleskey is loved by some, loathed by others. But he works behind the scenes, so the average New Mexican has probably never heard of him. McCleskey deserves scrutiny because of his influence within the GOP and beyond. That influence starts at the top, with the governor.

“I could not have won this election without Jay being my political consultant,” Martinez said. “I knew what I wanted to do as governor, but I didn’t know how to get that message out statewide. He did.”

That’s what McCleskey does. He’s a political strategist who gets a candidate’s message out to voters. His firm does things like produce television ads and mailers. He also works with Martinez on a regular basis to help her shape messages and deliver them publicly.

(Disclosure: McCleskey and his wife, Nicole Fink McCleskey, donated money to NMPolitics.net last year.)

A successful career

McCleskey got his start in politics while a student at New Mexico State University. In 1996, he took a government class with professor Jose Z. Garcia (now Martinez’s higher education secretary) and was tasked with doing voter targeting for a legislative campaign.

He worked for Republican Bill Payne, who was running in a three-way primary for an open Senate seat. Payne, who is now the Senate minority whip, won by a coin toss after a tie vote.

Early in his career, McCleskey worked for the state GOP and as a legislative and Department of Finance analyst.

In 2000, he managed the campaign of John Sanchez, who was elected to the House by beating 30-year incumbent Raymond Sanchez, the longest-serving speaker in state history. John Sanchez is now lieutenant governor.

McCleskey managed Sanchez’s unsuccessful run for governor in 2002, then ran the Republican National Committee’s New Mexico victory campaign in 2004. That year, New Mexico was one of two states to flip from blue to red in the presidential race.

For several years McCleskey was the RNC’s regional political director. He was responsible for a number of states including New Mexico through elections in 2006 and 2008 – a year that was a disaster for Republicans. Then he joined Lincoln Strategy Group and worked on Berry’s campaign.

Berry said McCleskey is good at what he does because he doesn’t try to tell candidates who they should be – he takes who they are and sells it to voters.

“Jay took what I wanted to put out there and made it a very genuine message that really came from me, not something that was crafted, not sugar-coated,” Berry said. “I think he was really important to the campaign.”

In addition to working for Martinez in 2010, McCleskey did media for Dianna Duran, the first Republican elected to be secretary of state in decades, and several legislative candidates.

Last month, McCleskey left Lincoln Strategy to start his own firm.

‘I’ve always enjoyed arguing and debating’

McCleskey said he’s always had an interest in public policy and campaigns.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always enjoyed arguing and debating, and that’s essentially what a campaign is,” he said.

He loves pouring over data and studying how messaging moves numbers.

Jay McCleskey (Photo by Enrique Knell)

“Jay is tenacious, he is decisive, and most importantly he’s incredibly smart,” said Justine Fox-Young, a former state lawmaker McCleskey helped elect in 2004. At 24, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the state Legislature.

She described McCleskey as fiercely loyal, and said that, combined with his smarts, makes him formidable.

“He can anticipate the moves people are going to make, and it makes some people very uncomfortable,” Fox-Young said. “Jay is unflappable. There is nothing he can’t work his way out of.”

Critics view his competitive nature a different way.

“He has a history of not knowing when to say when. … Some of the negative attacks in the campaigns were unnecessary,” said one Republican who is active in the party and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “There has to be a line drawn somewhere.”

The source mentioned Sanchez’s assault on Walter Bradley in the 2002 GOP gubernatorial primary – an attack that still leaves a bitter taste in some Republicans’ mouths.

Another Republican, who used to work with McCleskey and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said McCleskey has been a “very divisive” force within the Republican Party.

“He will do anything to win, no matter what it takes,” the source said. “He will destroy you as an opponent.”

McCleskey doesn’t apologize for negative attacks.

“My job is to help a candidate make their case to the voters, not to be loved by our opponents, and I don’t believe in ever running the campaign equivalent of a ‘prevent defense,’” he said. “Leads can evaporate very quickly in modern campaigns; just ask Congresswoman Madrid or Governor Denish.”

Fox-Young said McCleskey is “incredibly warm and incredibly loyal. And yeah, he can be as cutthroat as anybody. … But he never breaks a promise and he’ll never let you down.”

No lobbying or government relations work

Political operatives are often controversial. In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer has been under scrutiny because of work done by her political advisers. One is a lobbyist for the largest private prison company in the nation. Two others were hired by the payday loan industry to push for legislation that might end up in front of the governor.

Other operatives, such as Rove, work to avoid such potential conflicts. In his book Courage and Consequence, Rove wrote about his relationship with George W. Bush when Bush was Texas governor:

“Texas law requires a governor’s political activity to be run through a private committee and Bush asked me about heading up his. … Bush’s offer came with limitations. I couldn’t cash in, he told me… no lobbying or associating with a lobbying firm.”

McCleskey said he left Lincoln Strategy after Martinez was elected because the firm lobbies. But critics still see a potential conflict of interest. The anonymous Republican who has worked with McCleskey noted that he not only has access to the governor, but also to many of her staffers because they used to work for him.

That Republican asked, what happens if a corporation calls McCleskey and asks for help or wants a message passed on to the governor?

“My business does not lobby or do government relations,” McCleskey said. “People contact us all the time looking for government relations help, and we don’t do that. We decline.”

Martinez: ‘I’m not a figurehead’

The Republican who worked with McCleskey described him as controlling, and said McCleskey disciples working in the administration might be influenced by him. Several Republicans contacted for this article said they fear that McCleskey, not Martinez, is calling the shots in state government – though none would speak for the record.

McCleskey and Martinez both said that isn’t true.

Susana Martinez

“When I make a decision, it’s because I’m informed,” Martinez said. “I try to get both sides of the issues. I don’t surround myself with ‘yes’ people. I’m very independent. I’m not a figurehead.”

“He’s never, ever, told me what to believe in,” Martinez said. “He understands where I stand on the issues. That’s why he is a top adviser for me, and that’s why I trust him.”

McCleskey and Martinez got to know each other in 2001 when he was the state party’s executive director. On the agenda for one meeting was the election of a chairman, and McCleskey’s boss at the time, John Dendahl, was under fire from some for supporting then-Gov. Gary Johnson’s controversial stance on decriminalizing drugs.

McCleskey asked Martinez, then Doña Ana County’s district attorney, to give a speech about attracting Hispanic voters. She told the group that the way to do that was to focus on issues – and took a pointed shot by saying changing drug laws would alienate Hispanics.

“She did it in a way that got a standing ovation and almost got me fired for inviting her to attack my boss,” McCleskey recalled. “…She was just very dynamic. It was just very clear that she had the ability to connect with people.”

After that, McCleskey talked with Martinez about running for higher office “every time there was an election.” She rejected requests to consider running for other offices, including attorney general and Congress.

When it came time to enter the governor’s race in July 2009, Martinez brought McCleskey on board first.

“We’d known each other for about 10 years, and he knew where I stood on the issues,” she said. “He didn’t try to take me down a path that wasn’t me or try to get me to accept any policies that I wouldn’t be able to fight for and stand for.”

“That was real important to me. I didn’t want someone who would try to change who I was,” she said.

McCleskey: Martinez can be ‘a transformational leader’

Asked to describe his day-to-day interaction with the governor, McCleskey pointed out that he runs her political committee. He said he also advises her on political and other issues, including messaging.

Some in the party say McCleskey and his wife Nicole, a national GOP pollster, are all about money, and that he uses his influence with clients like Martinez to get more work.

McCleskey said such an assertion is laughable, pointing out that he chose to work for Martinez in last-year’s primary instead of Allen Weh.

“If I was driven by trying to make money, I would not have chosen to work for Susana Martinez, who at the time she got in the race had never raised money, had no personal money, and was looking at a five-way primary that included a self-funding businessman from Albuquerque who was going to spend over $1 million of his own money,” he said.

He added that he donated some of his services to Martinez. Finance reports include in-kind contributions from Lincoln Strategy to the campaign.

McCleskey said he chose to work for Martinez not only because he believed she could win, but also because “I truly believe that she can be a transformational leader for the state.” He said her intelligence, sincerity and courage make Martinez “exceptionally persuasive with both the public at large, as well as in one-on-one meetings.”

That, McCleskey said, gives Martinez “the ability to drive a positive agenda and not just be a ‘no’ governor.”

“In doing campaigns all over the country, I’ve found that it’s extremely rare to find all of those qualities in a public official, and that’s why it was well worth taking the risk in doing what many saw as a long-shot campaign,” he said.

‘If you don’t have enemies, then you’re no good at the job’

Is McCleskey really as good as some think he is? One of the two GOP sources – the active Republican – said there’s another way to look at things.

“Anyone who is in his field will have wins and losses, and sometimes having a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt either,” the Republican said. “I think the Albuquerque mayoral race had more to do with how great a candidate Mayor Richard Berry was than it did anyone doing his campaign literature. Having two Democrats in the race didn’t hurt either.”

Still, the Republican said, “That was a big win for McCleskey, either real or perceived. I think the same thing can be said for the 2010 gubernatorial race. Was it the growth of candidate, the campaign management of Ryan Cangiolosi, McCleskey’s mail and commercials, or the horrible race Diane Denish ran? I guess that depends on who you ask.”
Steve Kush, who ran Janice Arnold-Jones’ unsuccessful primary for governor last year, said he’s never met McCleskey, but the fact that McCleskey has enemies in the GOP proves that he’s good at what he does.

“Having done this for as many years as I have, I know for a fact that if you don’t have enemies, then you’re no good at the job,” Kush said.

He said Martinez’s victory is huge for McCleskey.

“Having worked for (N.J.) Governor (Chris) Christie, I do know how hard it is to win in what is perceived to be a blue state,” Kush said. “He did, and he certainly deserves kudos for that. It was a hard-fought win.”

Ched MacQuigg

I promise to tell you the truth about the public interests and about my public service.

Or I will resign.

Honesty in government could not possibly be more fundamental.

How can you have government of the people, by the people and for the people if the government is not honest with the people? The truth about how our power and resources are spent belongs to us.

If there is any confusion at all about where the line is between the truth we should be told and the truth that we should not be told, that confusion must end now.

However transparent government will ever be is how transparent government should be right now. However accountable to the people politicians and public servants will ever be is how accountable they should be right now. However high the standards of conduct and competence will ever be is how high they should be right now.

Why make one more decision, why spend one more dime, before government is made as open and accountable as it will ever be?

However meaningful the participation of teachers and parents in the decision-making process is how meaningful their participation should be right now.

There is no one of us more qualified to fix our schools than all of us. In particular, the 100,000 years of teaching experience in the APS have a right to a seat at the table where decisions are made. The people have a seat at that table as well.

Voters in APS District 4 have a rather unique opportunity to regain control over power and resources that are fundamentally their own. All they have to do is demand the truth.

When the question is whether you will tell the truth, any answer except “yes” means “no.”

Demand that candidates look you in the eye, raise their right arms and promise to tell the truth about the public interests and about their public service.

I offer my public service, everything that I can do, to carry these issues the table. There will be open and honest public discussions of standards and accountability, transparency and role modeling. We will decide as a community whether or not character counts.

If you can manage to elect me to your seat on the APS Board of Education in District 4.

MacQuigg is a retired teacher, having spent 25 years teaching in the APS. He is running for the board to institutionalize high standards, honest accountability, transparency limited only by the law, and a seat for teachers at the table where decisions are made.

Dan Lewis

Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis, a Republican, has formed an exploratory committee as he considers challenging U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., next year.

Lewis made the announcement Sunday as he unveiled his exploratory committee’s website.

“I’ve heard from many people who believe we are not well represented in Congress. They want and we need a better choice than what we have right now,” Lewis said in a news release published on the site.

“We need someone who understands the people who live, work, raise families, and go to school in our district,” he said. “We need a Congressman who’s focused on the unique challenges facing the people of central New Mexico.”

Lewis criticized Heinrich for voting against President Barack Obama’s tax compromise with Republicans last month, saying Heinrich “voted against extending critical tax cuts for New Mexican workers.”

“That is someone who is out of sync and out of touch with the people he is supposed to be representing and fighting for,” Lewis said.

He said Americans want representatives who will advocate for “fiscal restraint, less spending, and lower taxes,” and said he would support policies that help create jobs.

No one has formally entered the 2012 race against Heinrich.