The former Governor in question is 83 year old Jerry Apodaca who served from 1975-79 and whose son, Jeff Apodaca, lost a bitter primary '18 battle for the Dem nod for Governor to Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham.

A post-primary meeting between Jeff and Michelle is said to have gone badly, with Apodaca's supporters claiming he was dissed by the nominee in the short session. And in his op-ed endorsing Pearce, the senior Apodaca notes he was also jilted by her:

. . . Friends recently suggested I sit down with both gubernatorial candidates to discuss the concerns I outlined above. . . I never heard from Congresswoman Lujan-Grisham. I did receive a call from Congressman Pearce. I was surprised how open he was and how we agreed on about 80% of the issues that plague New Mexico. I found him to be straightforward and an honest man. In fact, he reminded me of the moderate Democrats and Republicans of the past I worked with for the betterment of New Mexico. 

In TV ads Pearce has recently presented himself as the moderate Apodaca says he found him to be. But Pearce's conservative credentials are what have always made him stand out. He is a member the House Freedom Caucus, described on Wikpedia as "sympathetic to the Tea Party movement. The Freedom Caucus is considered the farthest-right grouping within the House Republican Conference."

The left wing of the Democratic Party can be seen as forsaking Apodaca, who described himself as a "JFK Democrat" in endorsing Pearce. Say what? That's like saying McGovern would endorse Nixon. Alligators asked if Jerry wrote this stuff or was it Jeff?

However, Lujan Grisham has separated herself--some say would say startlingly so--from that left wing. For example, she has denounced calls to abolish ICE and even condemned the Medicare for all proposal. On top of that, she described herself in an interview as a "fiscal conservative."

So while the Bernie Sanders wing may have left Jerry in the dust, Lujan Grisham appears to be right in his "moderate" wheelhouse--and to the chagrin of liberal Dems.

And then there is Jeff Apodaca's run for Governor. Wasn't he the candidate who decried Lujan Grisham as a member of the "establishment" and who eagerly assumed the mantle of the "progressive" in the race?

The confusing logic used by the former Governor in endorsing Pearce reflects the campaign run by his son who started as a moderate businessman but morphed into a  progressive and whose mixed message ultimately doomed his campaign.

Now in another turnabout Jeff Apodaca is back to hugging conservatives or at least hanging out with them. He is doing a weekly broadcast to discuss the views of the Governor candidates on conservative radio talker KKOB radio.

Governor Apodaca had plenty of reason not to endorse Lujan Grisham after the alleged shabby behavior she showed his son while basking in her victory. He could have stuck to that reasoning for ditching her, rather than muddling his legacy by asserting the conservative candidate for Governor isn't actually conservative and abandoning the party he supported for a lifetime and which sent him to the highest levels of political power.

PACKMAN PACKS

Packman

This is a corrected version on the hiring of political consultant Alan Packman by the administration of Mayor Keller. The first said he would be working in constituent services in the Mayor's office under Alan Armijo. 

High profile Dem political consultant Alan Packman, who served as Mayor Keller's campaign manager, is packing up and moving into new digs. Packman, the city confirms, will be working in the Department of Technology and Innovation which oversees the 311 service. That's the centralized call center for all non-emergency inquiries and services. His official title will be Integration Specialist at a salary of $75,000. It's a perch from which he can be expected to deal with constituent issues that impact Keller's political standing.

Keller, Packman and his Rio Strategies firm came under fire during Keller's mayoral campaign over financial improprieties. Packman solicited $30,000 in cash donations but listed them as "in-kind" services to the Keller campaign. The city ethics board ruled the Keller campaign had violated the ethics code but did not mean to and did not fine or reprimand him.

Packman's star was dimmed after he ran into the ethics buzzsaw. Rio Strategies had been charging clients as much as $10,000 a month for consulting services. His last campaign was for Garrett VeneKlasen who lost the Dem nomination for state land commissioner in the June primary.

Insiders point out that Mayor Berry also hired his campaign manager. Her starting salary they say was $109,000.

THE BOTTOM LINES

In a headline last week we used the term "unphased" and several readers pointed out it should read "unfazed.". . . Heather Nordquist is the write-in candidate in the state House race in Santa Fe County running against Democrat Andrea Trujillo. There is no Republican running. Nordquist is a Democrat.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018