Paper Ballots Solved Nothing

In 2006, we made the change from clean and simple electronic voting back to an antiquated paper ballot system. I thought the move to paper ballots was ludicrous at the time, and I still do.

There are so many alternative solutions that make more sense. But, who are we kidding? It wouldn't be New Mexico if there wasn't institutionalized election fraud with unreasonable delays election after election. Not too mention, it is in the best interests of those who don't really want to see an increase in voter turnout to make the voting process as painful as humanly possible.

The point of this whole rant... Well, it looks like paper ballots have done absolutely nothing to increase voter confidence. After all, it's kind of hard to be confident in a system in which ballots are still being mysteriously "lost" (subscription):

Attorney General Gary King's office is investigating what happened to 182 ballots that are missing from the June primary election.

Phil Sisneros, a spokesman for the attorney general, said Monday there was an investigation but he could not provide any details. Previously, the Attorney General's Office would only say the matter was under review.

Two election reform groups — Verified Voting New Mexico and United Voters of New Mexico — called Monday for a thorough investigation into the missing ballots. They said that was necessary to maintain voter confidence in the fairness of elections, particularly with the state preparing for a general election in November in which New Mexico is likely to be critical in the outcome of the presidential race.

The paper ballots are missing from two precincts in Cibola County and local elections officials have no explanation for what happened.

The ballots were counted by a voting machine tabulator on Election Day, and there's an electronic record of the votes because of the tabulator's memory card, which was used in a recount in a state Senate race.

Hmm, funny how that worked out... We know that there was fraud, or at the very least incompetence, because of the electronic record of the votes. Kind of makes you sit up and question the logic behind moving away from electronic records, doesn't it?

Eye on New Mexico

You can catch me this Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. on KOB's Eye on New Mexico program discussing Tuesday's primary election with Nicole Brady and Dennis Domrzalski and what it means for November.

Get Out and Vote in Today's Primary

It looks like they're predicting a "high turnout" for today's Primary Election (subscription):

In the state's 2006 primary election, fewer than 181,000 Republicans and Democrats voted in the top-tier contests— a figure that represented less than 21 percent of eligible voters.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera predicted Monday that the four open congressional seats this year will help drive a record turnout today.

"Voter turnout should be in the high 30s," Herrera said, referring to the percentage of registered voters expected to cast ballots today. "I'm expecting the highest turnout in history for a primary."

It's kind of sad, when a turnout in the "high 30s" will qualify as the "highest turnout in history for a primary." Voting really is one of our most important civic duties. The fact that 70% of eligible voters won't vote is more than a little disturbing.

The internet makes it so easy to find information on the various candidates. And, when you consider the average American works more than four months every year just to pay for government, you'd think more people would take an interest. Unfortunately, you'd probably find that most people spend more time researching movie and music reviews than researching the candidates running for office.

Well, this year there really are some important choices to make in the primary, so get out and vote. And, encourage everyone else you know to do the same.

Please Unseat this Judge

Pretend you're a Judge. Now, pretend this predator ends up in your court (subscription):

An Albuquerque man agreed to plead guilty to a dozen child pornography charges, provided that he be allowed to perform his civic duty and vote.

Patrick O'Hara, 66, had been facing 180 years in prison if convicted of the 70 charges of sexual exploitation of children he was indicted on in November.

His son, Timothy O'Hara, 42, was also indicted on 20 similar charges.

If he asked you to let him vote in the upcoming election, would you? Me Neither. Unfortunately, we're not sitting on the bench. However, District Judge Charles Brown is, and here is how he ruled:

Before accepting the plea, O'Hara had a question for state District Judge Charles Brown.

"Prior to your sentencing, can I vote in the June election?" he asked, referring to the June 3 primary election.

O'Hara added that he is "working on" obtaining an absentee ballot.

Brown approved the request, partly because O'Hara is not set to be sentenced until July 16.

There is good news here. District Judge Charles Brown is up for re-election on June 3rd:

State District Judge Charles Brown, also appointed in August, will oppose longtime Albuquerque attorney Gail Prosser in the criminal division.

New judges must stand for the first partisan election following their appointments. After that, they are subject to retention races every six years.

As a Republican, I can't vote against District Judge Charles Brown, but many of you reading can. I don't know anything about Gail Prosser, but if she doesn't think its a good idea to grant special requests to child predators, I'd say she HAS to be better than District Judge Charles Brown.

The Vote-Buying Scandal that Never Was

I've never been much on writing about rumors and innuendo. This blog is a political opinion blog. After something hits the news or a piece of legislation is published, I put in my two cents. There have been a few comments left asking why I haven't posted on the vote-buying scandal that was circulating. The simple reason is: there was no scandal.

Heath Haussamen put a great post up about the investigative reporting he did which found little credence to the claims, and Eye on Albuquerque has a great follow up to that post. All I have to add is this...

I've attended numerous county conventions in the first and second congressional district this cycle including my own in Bernalillo County. There was record turnout at every county convention. This had nothing to do with anyone being paid, and everything to do with the fact that there are eight solid Republican candidates running and a lot of interest from the Republican base in ensuring that the right man or woman is our nominee to take on the Democrats in November. [Note: I'm not addressing the CD3 only because I hadn't attended any of their conventions, but I'm sure the same is true up there.]

In my ward in Bernalillo County, there were 38 active Republicans who showed up to vote at the county convention. The most I had ever seen before was 12, but the norm was usually closer to five. I knew almost everyone who showed up at the ward meeting. They are all active Republicans in one way or another.

You Tell Me Which Party is More Open

Not that long ago, I taped an episode of KNME's The Line with former Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim (Episode 119, Chapter 3). Unfortunately, the day we were taping also happened to be the day that Governor Bill Richardson announced he was pulling out of the Presidential race, so our on air time was greatly reduced with the majority of the show being webcasted.

During a portion of that webcast, John thought he had a pretty good zinger (evident by the smile on his face) about the Democratic Party process being more open and involving than the Republican Party process. I couldn't disagree more, and I think this recent article about the Chaves County Pre-Primary Convention makes my point:

The Democratic Party of Chaves County nominated 32 delegates Wednesday evening, who are to attend the Democratic Party of New Mexico Pre-Primary Nominating Convention to be held March 15 in Rio Rancho, N.M.

A total of 40 delegates from Chaves County in Congressional District 2 are required to attend the convention and help determine which candidates will appear on New Mexico's June 3 primary ballot. Delegates will also consider a platform during the convention, which requires 60 percent of a non-secret vote to be adopted.

Eight of the 40 delegates who are members of the State Central Committee, are automatic delegates.

This means that 20% of the delegate slots are already taken by the party hierarchy. Compare that to the Republican Party in New Mexico where everyone, regardless of their position, has to run to be a delegate, and it is evident, at least in New Mexico, which party is more open to change by grassroot activists.

Standing Room Only at GOP Conventions

I spent the weekend at various Republican Party pre-primary county conventions around the state. There was record, standing room only turnout in several counties. This clearly indicates that the Republican base is energized and involved in the process. Yet, there doesn't seem to be a single story in any of the newspapers.

Seems a little inequitable, don't you think?

Some People Just Shouldn't Talk

So, Patricia Madrid has decided to jump in the fray and attack the Democratic Party volunteers for a poorly run caucus. Mind you, this was the sitting attorney general that lost a Democratic leaning district during a year when Republicans across the country got the boot from Congress.

Call me crazy, but I'm thinking this is the last person in the world who should be taking a whack at anyone's ability to organize volunteers and achieve results. Then, to add insult to injury, she throws in this classic Madridism:

In addition, a party-run caucus puts a critical vote in the hands of volunteers instead of paid, trained election workers.

“It (the caucus system) doesn’t have all the checks and balances and the years of experience of a proper election,” Madrid said.

Excuse me??? Ms. Madrid, have you actually been paying attention to how elections are run in New Mexico? I can't remember the last time an important election in New Mexico was actually decided on, or for that matter somewhere near, Election Day. As I recall, by the time you were ready to admit defeat in 2006, the Christmas shopping season was well under way.

As to "paid, trained election workers," it has obviously been a LONG time since you were down in the trenches. Let me recommend that you take a walk down memory lane and revisit just how well that paid election worker system is operating in New Mexico. Or maybe, instead of Monday morning quarterbacking, you could have offered to help raise the money, or volunteer your time, so that your party could do its caucus right.

Personally, I find it amusing that New Mexico's Democratic Caucus has suffered from the same inability as the state's paid Democratic machine to count ballots in a timely manner, or to have enough ballots at an election site. But, that aside, I just find it offensive that folks like Governor Bill Richardson or Patricia Madrid refused to get involved in the process, and then spend the days after pointing fingers at volunteers... VOLUNTEERS.

We really do need new leadership in New Mexico.

A Little Break and Reflection

Ok, I hadn't planned on taking a blogging break, but I'm glad I did. Like State Representative Joseph Cervantes, I spent some quality time with my family and reflected on what's important. This upcoming year is undoubtedly going to be busy on the political scene, and there is no question that balancing politics and kids can be a difficult task.

But, at the same time, I strongly believe that giving our kids an introduction into politics at an early age is a good thing. Too many adults are apathetic when it comes to politics. They just don't take an active role. Maybe they believe that their vote just doesn't matter, or maybe they just believe that the system will be just fine without their involvement.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Take the upcoming elections for the open Congressional seats. Because of a change in the law, those voting in their party's pre-primary convention will be the first and last word who gets on the ballot for the primary election (although that might change). In the 2nd Congressional race on the GOP side, that would be less than 200 people.

Still think your vote doesn't count? When you make your New Year's Resolutions this year, I hope you'll consider including a commitment to take an active role in what is sure to be a historic political year.

Republicans Have a Shot at Udall's Seat

Well, normally we wouldn't. Hey, I'm nothing if not pragmatic. The reality is that the numbers in that Northern Congressional seat make it just short of impossible.

However, Steve Terrell is painting a picture that should make more than a few northern elephants stand up and take notice:

House Bill 1156, which won unanimous approval of both legislative chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Bill Richardson, makes it tougher for candidates to get on the primary ballot.

Before the new law, candidates won a place on the ballot if they received at least 20 percent of the delegate votes at their party’s preprimary convention. Those who got less than that magic figure still could get on the ballot by submitting additional petitions with signatures of registered voters to the secretary of state.

The new law got rid of the petition option. Those who get less than 20 percent are out of luck.

Only trouble is, the large number of Democratic candidates in District 3 could increase the chances no candidate reaches the 20 percent mark at the preprimary convention. And, under the law that passed, there is no provision to get anyone on the ballot with less than 20 percent.

Here’s a little nightmare for Democrats: No candidate gets enough delegates to secure a place on the ballot. The GOP runs one candidate who automatically wins a Congressional seat in a heavily Democratic district.

Gotta love technicalities.

The Making of a Political Animal

After reading a post over at Duke City Fix about Joanie Griffin, I was ready to write Ms. Griffin off as a viable candidate:

Joanie Griffin failed to disclose. She fibbed to the Albuquerque Journal -- exactly what's she's been attacking her opponent for doing. Welcome to Council District 6.

On Griffin's Journal questionnaire published September 19, she answered "No" to the question: "Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?" The answer should have been "Yes." In 1994 Griffin and her husband were issued a state tax lien for $1,057.67.

After reading that, how can you feel anything but disgust? Then, I decided to read the Journal article Coco sourced (subscription), and I found that Coco was not entirely forthcoming with the facts:

The lien lists the Social Security number of Griffin's ex-husband, Charles Griffin. The unpaid taxes date to 1987— two years before Charles and Joanie Griffin were married [empahsis added].

The lien, however, was filed after the two were married and jointly owned property in Albuquerque. It was filed in January 1994 and repaid by March 1994, according to county records.

Now, it can be argued that Coco is "technically" correct, and Ms. Griffin's answer should have been "Yes" to the Journal question. But, the fact remains that Ms. Griffin never did anything to cause a state or federal lien against herself, which I'm sure is the intent of the question. Moreover, I believe it is entirely plausible that she may not have been aware of the lien against her husband for his tax issues, especially a lien he paid off within three months of it being filed.

So, where does this leave us?

Well, Coco is obviously upset (probably an understatement) by the recent push polls and campaign literature coming out of the Griffin campaign against her own favored candidate for the City Council seat, Rey Garduno. So, in an effort to "hit back," Coco is trying to equate the actions of Mr. Garduno's attempt to hide his conviction of shoplifting at 45 years old (subscription) with the failure to disclose a three month state tax lien against Ms. Griffin's deceased ex-husband, which happened before she married the man.

Sorry, but that's just not going to fly.

Worse, this really is an example of Coco becoming politically intoxicated in the late hours of a campaign and transforming into the type of political animal she is going to hate to see when she looks in the mirror on the morning after the election.

The Eye's Got It

Ok, this is becoming a habit, but I'm going to link to Eye on Albuquerque again. I sure could have used the Eye in my ear this morning when I was on the KUNM call-in show discussing the affordable housing bond:

The tricky part [of the affordable housing bond] is the last part, that says "this program maintains affordability by limiting the amount of equity that accrues to owners and keeping the sales price below the market level for subsequent buyers." The ordinance creating this affordable housing "opportunity" is O-06-8 and was passed just a little over a year ago. The Ordinance explains it this way:

"In a neighborhood with increasing housing prices the goal is to preserve a mixed income environment and avoid the dislocation of low income residents by creating a reserve of permanent workforce housing protected from price increases and danger of converting to market rate housing, allowing renters to own their housing, and otherwise financially insulating low income residents from financial burdens of gentrification while accruing its benefits."

What that means is that the city will use our tax dollars to help "low to moderate" income families buy homes that are "protected" from the market, making them "permanently" affordable. In other words, these "owners" will be paying a mortgage on a property that they don't truly own because they won't be getting the equity that is naturally created through time and the free market increase in property value. In short, their financial position will be only slightly better than renters because most of the equity they receive would be the equity that they put directly into the property through their payments.

Yeah, that's what I meant to say this morning. So, I'm beginning to wonder... can we draft the Eye to run for office - maybe as a publicly funded candidate. I'm sure Eye readers would be happy to donate $5.

The Facts Are on His Side

You may not like what Palast has to say but the facts are on his side.

This was in a comment by David Jacobs left yesterday. Now, Mr. Jacobs is a frequent commentator on this blog, and I sincerely appreciate the dialogue. But, to argue that Mr. Palast has facts on his side is a bit of a stretch. Granted, Mr. Palast can spin the facts with the best of them, and like our own Joe Monahan, he pretends to be reporting the facts in an unbiased investigative manner, but nothing could be further from the truth.

It may surprise some people to know that I actually own one of Mr. Palast's book, The Best Money Democracy Can Buy. However, it was a New York Times best seller on politics, and I am always curious what the other side is putting out there.

Here is what I discovered... If you are removed from the facts (i.e. don't have first hand knowledge), then Mr. Palast's "investigative reporting" is very believable. However, if you are living what he is reporting, then it quickly becomes clear for what it is... Democratic Spin.

Case in point can be found in this exchange from the David Iglesias segment on Democracy NOW:

AMY GOODMAN: And Healther Wilson, of course, also called, and Heather Wilson at the time in an extremely close race for her political life as a congress member from New Mexico.

GREG PALAST: Well, in fact, from my investigation, she didn't win. There was voter fraud, and that the majority of the votes went to the Democrats.

Do you hear that sound? It is the sound of the last of Mr. Palast's credibility going down the drain. Anyone who is going to go on record stating that Republicans are in a position to steal an election in the NM's 1st CD is either a fool or the ultimate spinmeister. Since I don't think fools can write a NYT best seller, I'm going to acknowledge Mr. Palast's tremendous spin abilities.

One of my very first posts as a political blogger pointed out the absurdity of claims that Republicans could steal elections in New Mexico, and in the 2006 elections in the Land of Enchantment the same reality existed as in 2004. The same powerful Democrats were in all of the same election controlling positions, so the absurdity of the premise remains the same.

Encouraging Competition is One Thing

I'm the first one to encourage competition when it comes to elections. I ran in a Republican primary against two others for a State House legislative seat, and just a month ago, I lost in a race against the incumbent Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party. I don't believe that if one Republican holds a position, every other Republican should just back off and wait until that person steps down or dies.

I also believe that people who are running for something should, well, should run. That means making a decision and putting yourself out there to answer the tough questions. Which is why this little tidbit from yesterday's Albuquerque Journal is so troubling (subscription):

Greer, the Sierra County GOP chairman for nearly five years, plans to formally announce his candidacy for the state chairmanship on Thursday. He said he had been talking with other county GOP leaders and encouraged to run.

"We want to take the party back to the grass roots, back to the counties, back to the Republicans that do the work and actually do the voting,'' Greer said in a telephone interview.

He is a real estate broker and rancher from Truth or Consequences, and ran unsuccessfully last year for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission.

Weh, who became GOP chairman in 2004, said he can provide continuity in the party organization.

"A lot of people convinced me that it was important that an experienced chairman continue at this point and take it through the presidential election,'' said Weh.

I've met Earl Greer. We recently spent an evening sitting together at the same table at the State GOP Lincoln Dinner. I like him. But, if we were sitting together tonight for dinner, I'd have to say:

Earl, what the heck are you thinking? Who announces a candidacy three days before an election and expects to be taken seriously? C'mon Earl, you know better than that.

Part of the reason, I am so shocked by this approach is that it's not like this is the first time he has run for office. In 2002 he ran for NM's 2nd Congressional District (CD) seat. According to PoliticalMoneyLine.com, he only raised $37,039. Not nearly enough to run an effective campaign, and it showed. Of the five gentleman running for the seat, Mr. Greer placed 5th in the GOP primary.

The next year, Mr. Greer decided to run for the State Party 2nd CD Vice Chairman position and that time, he placed 4th in a four-way race. Then just last year, he lost the Public Regulatory Commission race. Now, I'm strong believer that when it comes to politics, you can learn a lot by your failures. I know I have. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Mr. Greer has.

As a member of State Central Committee, I've received nearly a dozen letters and more than a few phone calls from, or in support of, Chairman Allen Weh's. The only notification I've had that anyone else was running was that little blurb embedded in the Albuquerque Journal article referenced above. And, it doesn't even say Mr. Greer wants to run. All it says is that others encouraged him to run. That's no way to run a race.

Moreover, what's this nonsense about taking "the party back to the grass roots, back to the counties, back to the Republicans that do the work and actually do the voting." Everyone knows that politics is local. You can't take something back to something it already is. This really makes no sense to me.

Not to mention, that if your "campaign" - and with only three days to go, I use that term loosely - is based on getting back to the "Republicans that do the work," don't you think the State Central Committee members, those folks elected at the Ward level, deserve a little more communication - you know, a personal letter or two, a phone call, something that let's us know someone is running.

The bottom line here is that the only way Mr. Greer's run could be successful is if back room deals have been made. The fact that Mr. Greer thinks he can win the election without reaching out to the Republicans that do the work at the local level is very troubling.

He's Officially Lost It

It's official, Joe Monahan has lost it. Once upon a time, Mr. Monahan was the must read of New Mexico political blogs - of course, it didn't hurt that he was the only NM political blog. However, as the blogosphere has continued to grow at an unprecedented pace, so has the number of NM blogs covering politics.

There are blogs on the left, blogs on the right, blogs written by real reporters and blogs which really report. Blogs that editorialize and blogs that criticize.

However, there is only one blog that has failed time and time again in recent months to analyze politics in a meaningful and coherent manner - New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan. Now, don't get me wrong, Mr. Monahan is still a good source for insider political gossip. But, internet gossip, like all gossip, must be taken with a grain of salt. And, therein lies the problem.

You see, Mr. Monahan takes this gossip as gospel truth. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, he proceeds to dissect the gossip and arrive at political conclusions that he presents as in-depth analysis. Think about that. It's the equivalent of a NASA scientist reading the National Enquirer to determine the future of space travel.

But hey, don't take my word for it. Just take a look at this gem from yesterday morning:

What does the political future of southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce have to do with Sunday's re-election of Bernalillo county GOP chairman Fernando C de Baca? Quite a bit say my Republican Alligators. They, and I, wondered why Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson were so public in their opposition to the re-election of C de Baca when the county GOP central committee re-elected him.

Whoa, hold the presses. Did I miss something? Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson "were so public in their opposition" to Chairman C'deBaca? Well, that's kind of a strange thing to say. I know Mr. C'deBaca's opponent from this last election pretty well. In fact, I know him so well, it's like we're the same person. Oh wait, we we are the same person.

So, without any alligators needed, I can tell you that neither the Senator or the Congresswoman came out in opposition to Fernando C'deBaca. It would have been great for me if they had opposed the Chairman, because let's face it, I'd now be Chairman. But, that's not the way it works, and more importantly, that's not the way it worked.

But get this, this is even more bizarre. Somehow, Mr. Monahan has turned this into a power struggle between Congresswoman Heather Wilson and Congressman Steve Pearce. Folks, there were only 210 votes cast (of the 219 present) in this past election for Bernalillo County Chairman. Only 210 votes cast even though there were 247 potential delegates to the Bernalillo County Central Committee (including ex-officio).

So, let me ask you, what do you think? Before you answer, I realize you may not feel qualified to provide in -depth political analysis. After all, you don't have Mr. Monahan's years of experience in the trenches of "La Politica" with the "alligators." But, I'm going to take a chance here and ask you anyway.

If this was a battle between our two Republican congressional representatives for control of Bernalillo County, don't you think every seat in the place would have been taken? Don't you think there would have been an overflow crowd with people fighting for every available open slot as opposed to most people who bothered showing up in a ward getting automatically elected to the county central committee? Isn't just a little strange that in this "epic battle" depicted by Mr. Monahan more than 10% of the seats remained empty.

C'mon folks look at the numbers. Pearce and Wilson have machines that between them turn out hundreds of thousands of votes every election cycle. If they were in some sort of competition, we would have seen the streets filled with volunteers vying for an opportunity to cast their vote in favor of their favorite candidate.

No, the truth is just not as entertaining as Mr. Monahan has portrayed. The truth is two candidates were involved in a campaign for county chairman. The candidate with a forty year history of political involvement in New Mexico, Chairman C'deBaca, was able to turn out more votes than the candidate with six and a half years of involvement, yours truly. So, Mr. C'deBaca won.

I know it's not titillating reading, but it's the truth, which brings us back full circle. Mr. Monahan has lost it. He's moved from the alligator swamp to the padded room. Either that, or he's got a reason to try and create a rift in the Republican Party where none exists. Go ahead, you decide.

Final Count: 92 to 118

Well, it looks like it's time for me to go back to making money. I lost my campaign to become the Chairman of the Bernalillo County Republican Party. The good news is that we got a lot of folks not usually involved in these things to show up for the convention. The bad news is that we didn't get enough. Although, if all of those in absentia self-nomination forms, proxies and dues we collected could have been used, the results may have been different. But, alas that was not the case.

I say "we" because I had a group of volunteers helping me out that really impressed me with their energy and commitment. These people are the Party's future - at 37, I was the old guy - and at some point we are going to have to change the rules of the game if we want them to continue playing. They'll turn out their vote, but they are not going to sit for three to four hours in a hot room just for the sake of going through the process. It's just not going to happen, but you can still get them to vote. I'm sure there is a lesson there... somewhere.

I do want to thank those volunteers and the 92 people who came out and supported me, as well as the other folks who gave up their Sunday to show their support to the candidates in general. I also want to publicly acknowledge the newly re-elected Chairman Fernando C'deBaca for being gracious in his win.

Tomorrow some folks will receive a mail piece that somehow didn't end up in mailboxes when it should have. There are three points made in the mail piece, and I stand by them:

1. Republican activists, especially those holding party positions, must not endorse Democrat candidates, even ones in "non-partisan" offices. I, like most New Mexicans, have Democratic friends, even a few who have run for elected office. However, I will not endorse them, nor support them financially. Because let's face it, those same officials will, at some point down the line, act in a partisan manner and go after our Republican officials in a very partisan way. It's just the nature of the beast.
   
   
2. Bernalillo County Republicans did not turn out the vote to win the First Congressional District for the first time in 2006. This must NEVER happen again. And, if we don't want a repeat in 2008, we need to start working on it... Yesterday.
   
   
3. We're not raising the money we need to run an effective organization. It's not enough to keep the lights on and a paid member on staff. We need to raise significantly more. There are very few places left in America that are not gerrymandered to benefit one party or the other. Bernalillo County is one of these truly competitive areas. So, Republicans no matter where they may be, can truly further the cause by supporting the Bernalillo County Republican Party. And that support should go to building a strong volunteer structure all the way down to the precinct level.

With that said, we've elected a Chairman, so let's get to work.

BCRP Convention Tomorrow

Don't forget, tomorrow is the Bernalillo County Republican Party Convention.

Albuquerque Fraternal Order of Police Lodge
Sunday March 18, 2007
2:00pm-5:00pm
5900 Jefferson St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109

I encourage all Bernalillo County Republicans to show up and cast your vote. Unfortunately, it is not widely known, but this process is open to EVERY registered Republican in Bernalillo County. You do not already have to have be on the County Central Committee to attend and vote. We'll be electing a new County Central Committee.

If you can't make it, there is still time to turn in your self-nomination form and proxy, so that your vote can be counted.

Call me at 401-2010 if you need more information.

Dissatisfied with the Last Election?

It looks like the new Bernalillo County Clerk, Maggie Toulouse, is trying to get input to improve elections in our county. Admitting you have a problem, A BIG PROBLEM, is a great first step. I would strongly encourage anyone who was involved this last go around to attend at least one of these sessions.

You can read about my take on some of the last election cycle's biggest fiascos here, here and here. Oh, and let's not forget about the, oh so convenient, "There were no ballots to be issued" press conference. In case you forgot the details, you can take a trip down memory lane here. Oh, and you really ought to read this right here.

The Bloggers Are Coming

It looks like there is a public forum coming up on January 24th for those who would like to be elected to the APS School Board. And guess what? Two of the candidates are bloggers:

Candidates for the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education will participate in a public forum on Jan. 24.

The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters and will give members of the public an opportunity to hear the opinions and views of the candidates.

There are three candidates, Cecilia C De Baca, Dolores Griego and Richard Sanchez, who want to represent District I, the district that encompasses the South Valley of Albuquerque.

In District 2, on Albuquerque's west side, the candidates are Cynthia Jones and incumbent Robert Lucero.

The five candidates from District 4, the Downtown and University area of Albuquerque, are Vanessa Alarid, John Edward, Martin Esquivel, Charles MacQuigg and Pauline Nunez.

The forum will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the APS administrative building located at 6400 Uptown Boulevard NE.

Now that should make for an interesting night.