They're crossing their fingers, praying to icons, and rubbing their rabbits' feet. But other than that NM Republicans can only hope and wait to see if ABQ GOP NE Heights State Rep. Rory Ogle, caught up in an escalating political scandal, will spare them further grief and anguish by resigning as a candidate for re-election.

Here's the latest from a deep insider on the front lines of this latest GOP crisis:

"We are in a tight spot. The Bernalillo County Central committee has a scheduled meeting August 14th and it's at that meeting that most of us hope to be able to name a replacement for Rory. We fully expect him to resign by then, but if he doesn't, the chances of a write-in campaign being run against by him a fellow Republican will be very good. We must separate the party from him if he insists on dragging this thing on."

If Ogle does not resign by early September his name stays on the ballot. No Dem has filed in the heavy GOP House district so Ogle is unopposed for a second term in November.

Ogle, charged with domestic violence as the result of a July 16th wife-beating incident, has hung tough so far. Ogle, and the sensational charges against him, became know statewide when AG Madrid this week called for him to resign. D's are licking their chops saying if Ogle stays in he will continue to be the focus of partisan jibes over the domestic violence issue, a politically charged item that could seriously hurt the GOP with women voters.

"I think the real piling on will come if Ogle refuses to resign and it's clear his name will be on the ballot. Madrid has fired the opening volley. Now they wait." Said one veteran D operative.

THE WAITING GAME


Waiting is the game for both parties now. GOP Chair Allen Weh has his prestige and power on the line after calling for the resignation but so far being ignored. Ogle's fellow House R's, many of them seeking leadership positions in January, don't want to go public against him because if he defies the odds and stays he will vote on those leadership posts in party caucus. Yes, politics plays a role here.

But beyond Ogle, it's once again the image of our Land of Enchantment in the eyes of the nation. If Ogle is determined to drag the state into the national spotlight by running, he at least might consider strongly asserting his innocence. But he has not done that, instead saying he will get counseling in connection with his arrest.

Pride goeth before the fall. In this case the fall is an excruciatingly slow one for all New Mexicans.

NEW MEXICO'S LORENZO CHAVEZ

Lorenzo Chavez, former state legislator, noted attorney and father of ABQ Mayor Martin Chavez died in ABQ Thursday. He was 90. "He had a great long life, marriage and career, but that doesn't make it any easier," Mayor Chavez told me via cell phone as the family made preparations for the funeral.

Chavez was a graduate of Georgetown University and his son followed in that tradition. Lorenzo Chavez had close ties to the late, legendary U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez who was one of the first Hispanic New Mexicans to attend Georgetown.

Former NM Governor Dave Cargo said Lorenzo Chavez approached him in the 1960's and urged broader Hispanic representation on boards of regents throughout the state. "He was right. When he came to me we had only one Hispanic regent. Lorenzo helped change that.

Attorney Cargo said one of the highlights of the Chavez legal career was handling of the transition of the Atrisco Land Grant in ABQ to the Westland Development Corporation. "He really worked hard to help the heirs of that grant benefit economically." recalled Cargo.

Chavez served one term in the State House from Socorro in the 1950's, but chose not to seek re-election. Despite running unsuccessfully against Marty Chavez for ABQ Mayor in 1993, Cargo said he retained his friendship with his political rival's father. "He joked with me during that campaign not to tell anyone that he had given me money back when I ran for governor because people might think he was giving to me for the campaign I was then running against his son," cracked Cargo. "He was a friend, a man of his word and I was very fond of him."

A rosary will be recited at 6:30 p.m. today at St. Bernadette Church, 11401 Indian School NE. Mass is at 9 a.m. Saturday, with a private burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

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Here they come. Oh, so predictably. ABQ GOP NE Heights State Rep. Rory Ogle has delivered a big, fat slow-pitch to the Democrats and they are starting to swing. Attorney General Patricia Madrid took her bat out Wednesday and swung hard against Ogle, calling for him to resign and topping it off with a package of legislative proposals on domestic violence.

In a phone call from her Santa Fe office, the feisty AG told me she makes no bones about putting the heat on the embattled, but still unwilling to call-it-quits Ogle. His presence "casts a shadow" on the state and he needs to resign." She opined.

Ogle, charged with hitting his wife with a bed headboard and a mop while drunk, has been called on to get out by his own party chair, Allen Weh, but has refused. That refusal is opening anew the wounds of the state GOP.

ABQ Republican lawmaker Janice Arnold-Jones broke ranks with Weh in a cell phone call to me in which she said she "expects" Rory to resign, but she will not call on him to quit. "I'm struggling with this. I don't know where the line is, but there is no pattern of abuse here," she explained. She indicated unless Ogle is found guilty she thinks he deserves to stay.

TAKING SIDES

Janice joins House Minority Leader Ted Hobbs in breaking with Weh over Ogle's future. Some speculators who disagree with Hobbs are saying he is counting on Rory's vote for his re-election as Minority Leader in what could turn out to be a heated multi-man race when the Legislature meets in January. Ogle is unopposed on the November ballot.

Furthering the party split, State Rep. Ron Godbey sided with the anti-Ogle forces. In an e-mail to "NM Politics with Joe Monahan," Ogle's fellow ABQ NE Heights lawmaker writes:

"Ogle is a retired army officer. Had this happened while on active duty, he would have been court martialed. "Godbey then took a swipe at Leader Hobbs: "So, Rep. Ogle, do the right thing...resign...now, today. But then, perhaps our Republican leadership may wish to "decriminalize" wife-beating, making it all OK."

IS THIS BIZARRO WORLD?
The whole Ogle episode took a bizarre turn when sources reported that Ogle was in court Wednesday concerning the restraining order his soon to be ex-wife, Anita, has on him. At the hearing Ogle was represented by none other than State House Minority Whip Joe Thompson who decided against a re-election bid this year after being busted for DWI!

Folks, we don't make this stuff up. New Mexico politics writes its own story. We just humbly report these true but fantastic tales.

FOLLOWING THE MONEY

Patsy Madrid dropped a bit more news Wednesday when she told me she would not be hooking up with Kerry and Edwards when they make their weekend train trip through Northern New Mexico because, among other things, she will be raising money for her new political action committee. "It's a committee to help Hispanic and women candidates," Patsy informed. She joins big Bill in forming her very own PAC, an event that we don't think is a coincidence.

Meanwhile, Big Bill's herculean money raising the past couple of years is starting to awaken the scribes at the state's largest newspaper which has switched tone and started aggressively reporting the links between those who give money to Big Bill and those who get jobs and contracts.

This week the ABQ Journal ran a foot-long editorial (pay site) commenting on their findings. Although the opinion ended on a mild note, the beef in the earlier money reports has got to be worrying the Guv. His press people are getting a lot of practice saying there is no connection between the money givers and the state jobs and contracts. But how long can that line hold up as the reports continue to fall showing the jobs and contracts being doled out?

THE BOTTOM LINE

Why the sudden change of tone in the money reporting? Simple. Every time a big donor gets a job or contract, someone else did not get it. In politics, it's those who do not get who blow the whistle. The goody tray has been going around for two years. Those who picked it clean are happy. Those greeted with an empty dish have an unsatisfied appetite for payback.

Veteran NM Republican Bruce Donisthorpe has been gnashing his teeth for years over money coverage in NM politics. "It's the most uncovered story of them all," he complains. Donisthorpe likes the coverage of late. Trouble is his own GOP has been so torn asunder it’s hard-pressed to take advantage of the gift horse being presented.

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ABQ South Valley Alligators are yelling "nepotism" and even stronger words of derision in the direction of Bernalillo County Commissioner Steve Gallegos who they say is engineering a fast-moving drive to have his brother, Diego "Dickie" Gallegos, named to the State House seat vacated by James Taylor. The 38 year old Taylor was appointed to the State Senate seat vacated by Manny Aragon when Manny took over the presidency of NM Highlands University.

The commission has the power to name a replacement and sources reported Tuesday that the commission is talking about doing just that at its meeting next Tuesday. But the word that Dickie Gallegos, a superintendent with the Albuquerque Public Schools, was being set up for the post by his brother had the alligators in an uproar.

The Gallegos name is no surprise. We broke the story about him wanting the seat back in June,(see July 13 in the archives) but now that he actually may get the coveted post, generations-old rivalries only fully understood deep in the birthplace of La Politica have come to the fore.

"I don't think the commission should fill the seat. Why not let it stay vacant and let the Democratic Party Central Committee name a replacement for Taylor. That would be fair to everyone. The way it's going it looks like a rush job and a wire job," splashed one gator whose family has three hundred year ties to the fabled Valley political scene.

INSIDE THE MOVIDA

But Steve Gallegos may have the three commission votes necessary to engineer this movida. However, naming Dickie to the State House doesn't guarantee the 34 central committee members from the Valley House District will name him as the candidate for the two year term up for grabs on the November ballot.

"We could have Gallegos getting the nod from the commission to finish out Taylor's term, which runs until the end of the year, but a different candidate named by the central committee for the two year term," another deep Valley insider told me.

STEVE
NM educator Ralph Sigala and longtime Valley politicos Ernest Chavez and Art De La Cruz are the two other contenders mentioned to fill Taylor's shoes. A labor union candidate could also be added to the mix, sources say. Chavez told me point-blank Tuesday that he has commitments from a majority of the Dem committee members. Supporters of Sigala are also saying their man has a good shot with the party panel.

Where is Big Bill on all of this? Hard to gauge. Some speculated that Steve Gallegos has already talked with the Guv and the deal is done. But others are hoping that that is not the case and are now working overtime to put pressure on Steve and his chief commission ally, Alan Armijo, to back-off on pushing Gallegos' brother forward.

The alligators also brought out the long knives against Dickie as they try to stop his head of steam. "He is not popular in the Valley. He ran for the county commission seat down here and got beat bad. Also, Steve should not be allowed to vote on the issue if his brother is the candidate. Its nepotism and a conflict of interest," said one gator close to the action.

Nepotism in the South Valley! Spare my virgin ears!

Valley powerhouse Orlando Vigil is said to be supporting Sigala so if the commission goes ahead and names Dickie Gallegos the sparks could fly. Meanwhile, Taylor, safely appointed to the Senate, is staying out of the fray directly, although friends of his say he has a fondness for Sigala.

The Dem central committee is expected to meet at mid-month, well past next Tuesday's county commission meeting; a meeting which will now be watched across the plains of La Politica as the ancient and mysterious art of South Valley political power playing surfaces yet again in yet another century.

A NEW NM PREZ PLAYER

Ralph Nader isn't the only third party candidate the big parties have to worry about. The Libertarian Party Prez contender, Michael Badnarik, hit the New Mexico airwaves Tuesday night with $65,000 in ads slamming both the Prez and Senator Kerry.

"George Bush is determined to keep the war going," a narrator's voice intones over images of flag-draped coffins. The narrator continues with, "Even more frightening, John Kerry wants to send more troops to Iraq."

Badnarik, 50, a computer software engineer from Austin, is already on the NM ballot, unlike Nader whose supporters just started gathering petition signatures.

Badnarik's campaign says as many as 20% of Republicans nationally, according to their polling, could be swayed to vote against the Prez because of the Iraq war. The $65 grand might not be a big buy in other states, but it is enough to garner major attention in NM where TV time is much cheaper than elsewhere. In fact, the Libertarian Prez ad is only running in our state.

Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details.

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What does Rory Ogle know that we don't? Is the GOP ABQ NE Heights State Rep thinking the electorate will just forget about the wife-beating charges he faces? That the Dems will just say "aw shucks, Rory's a nice guy, let's leave him alone?" Just what is it that gets into some guys once they get a few votes and make their way to Santa Fe? And what is it in the New Mexico body politic that makes outrage such a precious commodity?

Say what you will about ABQ State Rep. Joe Thompson, but when he was busted for DWI after yelling from the rafters about the need for tougher DWI laws he did the right thing and announced he would not seek re-election. Ditto for disgraced District Court Judge John Brennan, busted for coke-snorting.

But apparently Rory doesn't understand that when you hit your wife with a bed headboard and you are in a drunker stupor while doing it, you are not suitable for public office!

A friend of Ogle's reports he is "hanging tough" and right now doesn't plan on resigning. That same friend tells me Anita Ogle is still “hopping mad and hurting” and there is no forgiveness from her around the corner for Rory. She plans on divorcing him.

If Ogle gets to stay, just what is the standard of behavior for our elected officials? Show up and breathe? Come on, Rory. Do the right thing. Already you are causing grief for GOP Chair Allen Weh who called on you to resign and cited the epidemic of domestic violence in the state as one of the reasons.

WAITING FOR THE WOMEN
Ogle
Now, with each passing day, the drumbeat is going to grow louder. State Senator and Dem congressional contender Richard Romero has already stated: "If he remains in office, Mr. Ogle will bring shame to the State Legislature." Next, we need to hear from Congresswoman Wilson, First Lady and leading anti-domestic violence advocate Barbara Richardson and female lawmakers, especially Ogle's fellow Republicans.

The usually level-headed State GOP House leader Ted Hobbs is saying of Ogle's escapade: "Everyone makes a mistake." Right, Ted. "Sorry I got wasted honey and slammed you with a headboard, but don't worry, it won't happen again and oh, by the way, I think I would make a great legislator. Can I count on your support?" Earth to Ted: If this 'mistake" is allowed to stand it's a libel on all of you at the Roundhouse.

Ogle is unopposed for re-election. Only a write-in candidate can get on the ballot at this point and would have to declare by the end of the month. Dont be surprised if one does if Ogle continues his down-in-the-bunker act. Ogle must resign by August 31st to get his name off the ballot in time. The Bernalillo County GOP Central Committee would name his replacement. If he resigns after the November election, the Democratic-controlled Bernalillo County Commission would fill the Ogle vacancy.

When it comes to public officials why should we give a darn about their "personal tragedies," their family dysfunctions or their emotional imbalances? Did we hire them so we could give them group therapy, or to handle our hard-earned tax dollars and uphold the laws they pass?

Bad enough that Anita Ogle got slammed with a bed headboard. Now, New Mexico is being given a national black eye by a legislator who claims "he is thinking of his family" and not the public. Rory, think about your family all you want, just don't do it on public time or on the public dime. Get out while the getting is good.

HASH WITH HEATHER

Having over a million bucks in your re-election kitty gives you time to indulge in those little luxuries of life. Besides being able to stay in nice hotels, you can help out your political friends. That's what Congresswoman Heather Wilson is doing as she hosts a $125 a pop Friday lunch for ABQ NE Heights legislative hopeful Greg Payne. The kicker is that Payne may not even need the 10 grand or so he will raise at the Albuquerque Country Club affair. So far, he is unopposed for the seat being vacated by the GOP's Joe Thompson.

But Bernalillo County Dem Party Chair Linda Lopez has said she is hunting for a Dem to replace the one who quit shortly after winning the primary election. Meanwhile, populist Payne is taking no chances and will hang with the country club Republicans as long as he needs to, and he will spend the money on his campaign, opposed or unopposed.

DEFINITELY QUIRKY

Not many weblogs about Albuquerque and New Mexico seem to hang around very long, but the twenty-somethings and the adventurous are still being ably serviced by Quirky Burque, a weblog that takes a walk on the wild side quite regularly. Adults only please.

Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details.

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Weh
State GOP Chair Allen Weh is pushing Rory Ogle but he may have to shove the ABQ NE Heights State Rep in order to get rid of him. In an e-mail to top NM Republicans, Weh reveals that he has asked Ogle to resign in the wake of wife-beating charges leveled against the freshman lawmaker.

"I will ask Representative Rory Ogle to resign from his legislative office and withdraw from the ballot. While this is a very tragic situation, and I regret his circumstances, as Chairman of our Party I am compelled to act in the best interests of all Republicans and all our candidates." Weh wrote.

Ogle received the resignation request but has yet to comply and friends say he is mulling it over. "I expect him to quit, but Rory is still thinking about finishing out his term," one of those friends told me.

DEMS OGLING OGLE

Weh needs Ogle gone because of the explosive nature of the charges against him. He allegedly used a bed headboard to beat his wife and police say he was drunk when they came to his house to investigate.

State Dem Party Chair Wertheim e-mailed from Boston saying he expects the criminal justice system to take its course in the Ogle affair and held off shooting the big guns. But Weh is warning the R's that the Dems will be unloading on them soon if Ogle does not go.

"I believe this situation reflects on all of us, especially his fellow legislators. Rory must step down to allow the Party to move forward and concentrate on winning some seats in this very tough election year." Weh warned.

Ogle's stubbornness could be a problem if it is not resolved. Women's rights groups and other have a nice big target in the Ogle case.

CHENEY'S AMATEUR HOUR

Many NM Republicans hit the ceiling when they learned of the loyalty pledge being required from those wanting to attend the weekend visit of Vice-president Dick Cheney at Rio Rancho. "Idiocy" declared one GOP veteran. "Shooting themselves in the foot," weighed in another.

The political misstep overshadowed Cheney's visit and no doubt left a sour taste with many swing voters. Even John Sanchez of the NM Bush-Cheney committee ran away from the controversy saying the visit was not sponsored by his outfit. Requiring an attendee to pledge support to a public official to attend a public rally is obviously ridiculous. But remember, this is a president who lost the popular vote in 2000. His vaunted political machine is capable of the big mistake as they showed us this weekend.

FOLEY'S FOLLY

And what was Roswell GOP State Rep. Dan Foley doing all over the media defending the GOP crowd-censoring methods? Foley is a friend of GOP consultant Jay McCleskey who is a regional coordinator for the Bush "Victory" committee which was the official sponsor of the visit. McCleskey is the consultant who ran the negative campaign against ABQ city council candidates last year and lost.

Foley is seeking to replace Joe Thompson as State House Minority Whip, after Thompson announced he is quitting after being busted for DWI. GOP insiders tell me Foley was out front because McCleskey, outgoing GOP National Committeeman Mickey Barnett and others are boosting him for the House post which will be decided by his fellow GOP legislators.

Foley is an ally of Roswell State Sen. "Lightning" Rod Adair who serves on the Veterans for Bush Committee in NM and who, like Foley, had his share of presidential ticket controversy this year when he publicly accused the two major ABQ newspapers of racism.

All this is music to the ears of the NM Dems who have a fat lead in the Prez race here and know they will keep it if the GOP antics keep coming.

NADER INVASION

The Naderites have arrived. Sources in Las Cruces tell me the first wave of Nader supporters from out-of-state have begun gathering petition signatures to get the consumer advocate on the NM Prez ballot. They need over 14,000 signatures of registered voters by early September. Nader could have a couple of hundred volunteers working here by the end of August, according to Nader supporter Carol Miller. Some Dems say their party should put out literature telling Dems not to sign the petitions because Nader would hurt Kerry in November. The Dems are poised to mount legal challenges to the signatures, but have not yet sent any lit out condemning Ralph.

Make our site, WWW.JOEMONAHAN.COM, one of your favorites and e-mail a link to interested friends. Interested in advertising to NM's large political community? E-mail me from the top right of this page, or call 505-243-4059 for details.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
Not for reproduction without permission of the author