Archuleta Will Be "Fully Engaged" But Won't Be at Session

The House Democrats just issued a statement saying that Rep. Phillip Archuleta, D-Las Cruces, won't be able to travel to Santa Fe for the Legislature, but he'll be able to follow the session on his laptop.

However, I don't think Archuleta, who is recovering from hip surgery, be able to vote by laptop.

As I reported today, Archuleta is one of two House Democrats who might be sidelined because of health issues. The other is Rep. Ernest Chavez, D-Albuquerque.

If both Archuleta and Chavez are absent, the political makeup in the House would be  35 Democrats, 33 Republicans. And, as I said in the paper, "That is uncomfortable for Democrats considering that Rep. Sandra Jeff, D-Crownpoint, and Rep. Donna Irwin, D-Deming, have been known to break with their party on several issues ..."

Here's the statement from House Dems:

SANTA FE, NM – Representative Phillip Archuleta (D-36, Doña Ana) will be fully engaged in the 2014 Legislative Session and plans to address the issues important to the citizens of Doña Ana County even as he recovers from major surgery.  Rep. Archuleta says he has already been involved in the introduction of legislation and requests of capital outlay on behalf of his constituents.  He has a laptop computer and will monitor the session online.  Rep. Archuleta will receive daily reports from the House staff and his legislative secretary.  He looks forward to hearing from his constituents by email at phillip.archuleta@nmlegis.gov . 

“Rep. Archuleta is determined to be a part of the process and to make sure his constituents have a voice,” says Speaker of the House, W. Ken Martinez.  “We wish him a speedy recovery and will keep him and his family in our good thoughts and prayers.” 

Rep. Archuleta is recovering after major hip surgery due to a fall he took while attending an interim committee meeting.  While he will not be able to travel to Santa Fe, his family will be representing him on Opening Day.  Rep. Archuleta looks forward to a complete recovery so he can continue working on behalf of the good people of Doña Ana County.

30 Fun-Filled Days in Santa Fe About to Start

In case anyone hasn't heard, the New Mexico state Legislature will convene this Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the old Roundhouse.

You can follow it at The New Mexican's Legislature Page.

There are a bunch of stories about the session in today's New Mexican.

I did one on nine lawmakers who almost certainly will be in the news during the session. You can find that HERE.

There also is my annual piece with tips for civilians on how to follow the Legislature. That's HERE.

Milan Simonich did a story on a couple of major legislative battles. You can read that HERE.

Speaking of pending battles, Robert Nott wrote a profile of Public Education Secretray-designate Hanna Skandera, which is HERE

Yesterday I covered a workshop for potential citizen lobbyists at Santa Fe Public Schools conducted by school lobbyists. That's HERE.

Finally, my Roundhouse Roundup column this week is a look at former state Sen. Dede Feldman's new book, Inside the New Mexico Senate: Boots, Suits and Citizens, which should be required reading for anyone trying to follow New Mexico politics. You can find my column HERE.

Corruption No Problem at All in NM, 5 Percent Say

In reporting on corruption in New Mexico, so many of us look on the bad side. Same with polls. People get so negative.

So with this new Common Cause New Mexico poll, conducted by Research & Polling of Albuquerque, I'm not going to concentrate on all the negative perceptions. I'm going to see the glass as half full. Or, in this case, five percent full.

Five percent believe corruption is not a problem here. (Only 79 percent think it's a serious, or somewhat serious problem.)

Four percent say the influence of big money on politicians is not a problem. (Only 80 percent say it's a serious, or somewhat serious problem.)

Four percent think the impact of money on elections is no problem at all. (Only 77 percent believe it's a serious, or somewhat serious problem.)

One question the poll doesn't answer: Who are these people who say all this isn't a serious problem?

The poll is below:

Common Cause NM Corruption Survey 2014 Survey by Steve Terrell

Update 1:20 pm I just fixed a dropped word in one of the paragraphs above. It was an important one: "not." Thanks reader Mona for alerting me.

Richardson on KNME Sunday

Richardson

Former Gov. Bill Richardson will appear on KNME’s Report from Santa Fe on Sunday to talk about his new book and his political career with host Lorene Mills

Richardson’s book, released late last year, is called How to Sweet Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories from a Master Negotiator. It deals with his experiences as a high-profile hostage negotiator as well as his dealings with President Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton, who hired Richardson for two cabinet positions.

Richardson was governor of New Mexico from 2003 through 2010.

The show airs 8 am Sunday, January 19 on KNME-TV, Ch. 5.1.

New Legislative Team at New Mexican

Terrell, Simonich, Malone
Photo by Clyde Mueller, The New Mexican

I'm about to witness my 14th regular session of the New Mexico Legislature as a Capitol reporter for The New Mexican. But this year the paper is beefing up its legislative coverage.

I'll be joined this by two veteran reporters who will be working out of the Roundhouse media room.

Milan Simonich and I have been office-mates at the Capitol for about two years. He was the Roundhouse reporter for the Texas-New Mexico Newspapers chain during that time, but now he's working for us. He's started a new blog called Ringside Seat, which I recommend you follow.

Also joining us here is Patrick Malone, who has covered the Colorado state Legislature for several years before coming to The New Mexican.

We'll also have other New Mexican reporters at the Capitol, including Robert Nott, covering educational issues (rumor has it this will be a major area of concern during the session) and Staci Matlock covering environmental issues.

Speaking of blogs, The New Mexican has a whole lot of those now. You can find those HERE)

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: The Treasurer Candidates Spat

It must be frustrating for candidates in down-ballot races to draw attention to their races.

Take the office of state treasurer for instance. Though handling the state’s money is an extremely important job, usually the treasurer campaign is pretty sedate. However, a couple of treasurer candidates, Democrats John Wertheim and Tim Eichenberg, actually caught my eye last week with a bitter email spat.

The third Democratic treasurer contender, former Bernalillo County Treasurer Patrick Padilla, didn’t get drawn into this scuffle.

In a fundraising email, Wertheim, a former state Democratic Party chairman, started with a question:

“Ever heard of Harold Morgan?”

For the rest, see the full version in The Santa Fe New Mexican.

Weh Makes It Official

As his campaign promised, former state Republican Party Chairman Allen Weh made it official just moments ago and announced he's running for U.S. Senate for the seat now held by Democrat Se. Tom Udall.

He made his announcement in a short -- about 5 minute -- speech videocast live on the Internet. (It's still HERE last I looked.)

Weh didn't directly attack Udal (or even mention his name) but said there seems to be a lack of common sense in the Senate. Speaking of the polarization in Washington, Weh promised, if elected, to be willing to be willing to negotiate and "treat everyone with respect."

He said he will work for "economic improvement" for New Mexico, to "fix the Obamacare train wreck," balance the budget, eliminate the deficit and work for a strong defense.

He didn't directly address the blistering attack he received yesterday from primary opponent David Clements. I wrote about that in today's New Mexican.