Lt. Guv Denish
NM Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish is a dyed in the wool Democrat so it was a shocker to a petition worker in ABQ recently when Diane agreed to sign a petition to get GOP ABQ City Councilor Brad Winter on the October 4 ballot. What made it even more surprising is that Diane ran as the running mate of Dem Mayor Marty when he unsuccessfully sought to unseat GOP Governor Johnson in 98.' Winter, of course, is now trying to unseat Marty. But not to worry D's. Di says she has not switched parties or is endorsing Battling Brad or carries a grudge against Marty. "She said she signed because she believes in ballot access for candidates," explained the worker who snagged the Light Guv's Jane Doe.

JUDY, JUDY, JUDY

Meanwhile, mayoral contender Judy Espinosa hit the tube last night announcing she was going to sue the ABQ city clerk to prevent from being denied a place on the ballot for failing to file enough petition signatures. Why Judy is blaming the city clerk for doing her job is a riddle. The Espinosa campaign has raised over $50,000, but insiders say she refused to pay, like other candidates did, to get enough signatures. Espinosa filed about 7,600. She needs 5,811 valid ones. It's unlikely she has them. Judy is a bright, capable public servant, but someone needs to tell her that La Politica is hardball at its hardest. If you don't step up and play the Alligators attack.

Blog reader Alan Schwartz and I agree that the proposed ABQ legislation that would ban people from getting paid to collect petition signatures for candidates or causes is a bummer and likely unconstitutional. His latest update is that this issue is now being litigated in federal court in Ohio where last year voters passed a measure that allows candidates or organizations to hire help, but bars them from getting paid based on the number of signatures collected. The Ohio Sec of State says the ban is unconstitutional.

JEFF & PETE, PART II

It's not that he was upset with GOP Senator Pete Domenici or had a personal axe to grind, says a Senator Jeff Bingaman insider in reaction to our Monday posting of a newspaper piece saying Jeff was put out when an attempt surfaced to name the energy bill after Pete, a bill they had worked on together. "Jeff felt the energy bill should be nonpartisan. It was nothing personal with Domenici.

The move to name the bill originated in the House. Pete did not even know about," the insider asserted. The reporter and editor for Roll Call who wrote the piece citing jeff's irritation, John Bresnahan, defended it from D.C. "We're not changing anything in that story." The bill was finally named the Energy Independence Act of 2005, avoiding any further real or imagined clashes of the ego in the worlds most exclusive club.

CLIPPINGS FROM MY NEWSROOM FLOOR

Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and possible 08' GOP Prez candidate was spotted in New Mexico recently. The conservative Georgian was collecting a check for speaking at a corporate retreat dealing with medical issues at the tony Hyatt Tamaya Resort.

The pro-choicers want equal time in this space with the pro-lifers. This after we interviewed anti-abortion advocate Dauneen Dolce on a recent poll. Giovanna Rossi heads up the pro-choice group in NM and urges readers to check it out.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2005
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