More Would-Be Dem Lt. Govs.

Marie Q. Julienne

Yesterday I blogged that Debra Haaland was the only Democrat so far was the only Democrat running for lieutenant governor.

Apparently, I was wrong.

A local Dem official this morning directed me to the county party's website, where down in the right-hand corner, two other candidates are listed. (You have to scroll down a little.)

These are Marie Q Julienne and Peter Zollinger. Like Haaland, neither Julienne nor Zollinger have contacted me or, as far as I know, other political reporters.

Except for his listing on the party website, I can't find any internet traces of a Zollinger candidacy. Julienne however, has a Facebook page called Marie Q. Julienne for Lt Governor 2014. It says she's "officially announced."

According to the page, she's:

an institutional researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the University of New Mexico. Her research interests include the critical examination of public education institutional structures, processes, and policies that impact educational pathways for underrepresented groups. Topics concerning tribal education and the social and political implications of technology are also of special interest. 

A graduate of the Emerge 2013 class, Marie is a strong, intelligent and accomplished single mother of two daughters (Sa'angna "Ana," 12, and Jasmine Uchme, 13) with strong ties to the Native American community. She lives in Albuquerque's EDO (East Downtown) and is a marathon runner who enjoys morning runs on the Bosque trail.

I probably should mention that Santa Fe candymaker Chuck Higgins, who in January announced he was running for the lieutenant governor's job as a Democrat, has since decided not to run.

Lucky Wants Just Two More Years

State Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe just told me that he's seeking re-election -- which he had said several months ago, but added and said this would be his final term.

"I've been there 28 years," he said. "Serving 30 years would be good."

Assuming he wins, it would be his 15th term in the House representing District 48.

It could be an important term for Varela. He's currently the deputy chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the current current, Rep. Henry "Kiki" Saavedra, D-Albuquerque isn't seeking re-election. The speaker of the House makes all committee appointments in that chamber.

So far no opponent in either the primary or the general election have emerged.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Candidate to Announce

Debra Haaland, a longtime activist in the state Democratic Party who currently serves as chairwoman of the state party's Native American Caucus, is running for lieutenant governor. And she's already touting a bunch of endorsements.

An email to potential supporters as well as a campaign Facebook page quotes Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez saying he and his wife are supporting her:

“Lynn and I are pleased to pledge our support for Democrat Debra Haaland for Lt. Governor of New Mexico. Debra has worked hard for the people of New Mexico, the Democratic Party, and will be an asset in the 2014 gubernatorial race. As a Native American, she will bring a fresh, new perspective to the office of Lt. Governor.”

Her Facebook page also lists former U.S. Sen. Fred Harris as well as state senators Tim Keller and Jacob Candelaria as supporters.

Haaland is the only Democratic candidate so far for the position. Incumbent Lt. Gov. John Sanchez has said he'll seek reelection. 

According to a bio sent to Democrats, Haaland, an enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo, is chairwoman of Laguna Development Corp. She's also worked as tribal administrator for San Felipe Pueblo. She also worked as Native American vote director for the Obama campaign last year.

Haaland will formally announce her intention to seek the Democratic Nomination on Tuesday, December 10th at the Pueblo of Laguna. The campaign will host a press conference and reception at Route 66 Casino starting at 6 PM.

Corwin Writes About Campaign Investigations for Trade Publication

Michael Corwin, the private investigator who has worked as an investigator for several state Democrats, including former Gov. Bill Richardson, hasn't been in the news much since his Independent Source PAC went inactive a few months ago.

But one thing that's kept him busy for at least part of that time is writing an article for a national magazine. No, not True Detective. Corwin just published in Professional Investigator, a trade publication for his profession.

His story, "Creating a Specialty: Investigating for Political Candidates" talks about the often misunderstood role of private investigators in campaigns. "The reality is that the leaders of some campaigns worry about what their opponents will do when they learn that a private investigator is performing their research," he writes."

But, Corwin says, "I have yet to lose a single race that I worked on where the opponent tried to make an issue out of the hiring of a professional investigator."

In the article, Corwin -- without actually naming the candidates -- writes about his work for Ben Ray Lujan's first Congressional race, in which Lujan's main primary opponent was Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott. In that contest, Corwin turned up some old dirt on the opposition, which Corwin said helped turn the race for his candidate. Though Wiviott criticized Lujan for hiring a private eye, according to Corwin, the Wiviott campaign paid an out-of-state "opposition research" company that cost  several times what Corwin charged Lujan.

You can read the article below:

Investigating for Political Candidates

Roundhouse Roundup: Ironic That Abortion Issue Sunk Janice Arnold-Jones

Republican Janice Arnold-Jones lost a close Albuquerque City Council race Tuesday. And one of the major reasons for that defeat — the abortion issue — strikes me as ironic. During her years in the Roundhouse, she never really was known as a social conservative.

Arnold-Jones in her outlaw webcasting days

Jones served eight years in the state House of Representatives. And she was highly regarded by the Capitol press corps. She’s smart and accessible. She had a real independent streak. She once voted against her own GOP floor leader for House speaker. She was one of a handful of Republicans to vote to repeal the death penalty.

And, on the government transparency front, she became known for an outright act of rebellion — using her own laptop computer to live-stream meetings of committees on which she served and doing so without seeking official permission. This helped open the floodgates. Four years later, we all take for granted legislative webcasting and the fact people no longer have to travel to the Capitol to watch their elected officials make laws.

But webcasting at the Roundhouse probably wasn't on the minds of Albuquerque voters last week. ...

For the rest of this column go to The New Mexican's website

Dendahl Memorial Service Set

Dendahl in 2006

A memorial service for former state Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl have been scheduled for Friday Nov. 29.

Debra Hadley, one of Dendahl's daughters, said the service would be at 2 p.m at The Great Hall at Peterson Student Center at St. John's College.

Dendahl, a Santa Fe native who had been living near Denver for several years, died Nov. 9 from complications from treatments for leukemia. He was 75.

He was GOP chairman for about 10 years beginning in 1994. He was the Republican nominee for governor in 2006.

National Journal Looks at "The Fifth Floor"

McCleskey

The one story that's going to be dominating political conversations in New Mexico for the next few days is the National Journal's profile of Gov. Susana Martinez's political consultant Jay McCleskey.

The headline of the lengthy piece is direct: The Man Who Discovered Susana Martinez Could Also Be Her Downfall.

In the article, writer Daniel Libit writes about several state controversies involving McCleskey -- the Downs at Albuquerque deal, complaints by former state GOP Chairman Harvey Yates, the divisive 2012 GOP state Senate race in Clovis, and in general, McCleskey's influential role in the administration.

It's one of the only national stories concerning Martinez that has been  anything less than flattering. After cataloguing some of the praise Martinez has received in the national press, Libit writes:

But back home, some of her key allies were finding that courage in short supply. They had begun to see Martinez not as a fresh-faced technocrat, but as a callow figure who had placed far too much trust in a single political aide, the 39-year-old McCleskey, whom many here view as the "Karl Rove of New Mexico." Yes, he discovered her and transformed her from a county district attorney into a national force. But these Martinez allies say that his mercenary, dog-eat-dog style of politics now superseded the act of governing, and that he had effectively walled off any other voices from pricking the governor's eardrums, let alone her conscience. 

McCleskey responds in the story:

"As is the job of any political consultant, my role is not to be loved, but rather to be effective at winning campaigns and garnering support for the policies pursued by those who have been elected," McCleskey says. "I am proud of that record of success, and the petty whining, sniping, and resentment of malcontents doesn't bother me. ... Any leader who breaks the mold and challenges the status quo, like Governor Martinez does, will face criticism, even from within her own party."

One Martinez loyalist already has trashed Libit as a "liberal columnist" who merely reprinted Martinez critic Joe Monahan's "tired blog material."

But libertarian Republican Aaron Henry Diaz tweeted a link to the article saying, "Think you know New Mexico politics? So it begins... the rest of the story."