Gary King
Hey Al, you can call me Gary. That's the message from Gary King who lets loose with word that he's seriously entertaining a bid for the Dem nomination for NM attorney general next June, a contest which Dem ABQ State Rep. Al Park and a bevy of others already have in their sights.

In a recent conversation on the 17th floor of a downtown ABQ office tower where lawyer King occasionally holds forth, we tossed around the political footbal. When it was over, it was clear that the goal post Gary was going for was marked AG. And why not? With a ton of hard-to-earn name ID from his unsuccessful bid last year for the southern NM congressional seat, King, who has a fatal attraction for politics, has all the reason he needs to take the plunge. But he gave me a few others just to round things off.

"I think I would be a strong candidate in the Southern and Eastern parts of the state. So far, all the candidates are form the North. I think I would also run well there because of my family's long involvement in the state," declared Gary, son of former Guv Bruce King.

And Al Park's recent vote in favor of abolishing the death penalty is also on King's radar as he indicated he is ready to carry the conservative Dem flag in the race. Also eyeing the prize are Big Bill legal counsel Geno Zamora, soon to leave the Guv to launch his campaign, Lemuel Martinez, a central NM district attorney and ABQ attorney Eric Sedillo-Jeffries.

What about the GOP? Some political pros think AG is one slot in which the conservative R's just might have a shot in 06'. But they need a candidate. Dona Ana County District Attorney Susanna Martinez is being touted by insider R's and may be ready to go. With the top of the ticket races so far inducing snoring, the battle for AG could be the one that keeps the siestas short for the sunning Alligators.

WHO'S THE GREATEST?...CONTINUED

Our "Who's The Greatest NM U.S Senator" debate turned out to be one of the more popular features since we started writing here in late 03.' I offered up Sen. Dennis Chavez as the greatest, drawing stacks of email with other choices and even critics of Chavez who accused him of everything from payroll padding to stealing his elections.

Now, "Inside the Capital" syndicated columnist Jay Miller, has brought our contest to his statewide readers and comes to Chavez's rescue as he cast his vote for in our little debate. Here's an excerpt.

"My vote goes to Dennis Chavez. Through sheer guts, perseverance and raw political talent Chavez fought discrimination against himself, his people, women and laborers and still is a model for all those who start from humble beginnings.

He is probably most remembered for the day he took the Senate floor during the McCarthy hearings and delivered one of the bitterest attacks in Senate history against McCarthy’s star witness Louis Budenz, who claimed to be an ex-communist and born-again Catholic. It was a time of national hysteria, when no one dared speak out, but Chavez did and it quickly emboldened others to take a stand. It was classic Dennis Chavez – a fighter against anything he saw that was wrong," penned Jay, who is stationed in Santa Fe.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005
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Posted by: Joe Monahan / Tuesday, April 12, 2005