Not everyone wants to see Dem State Senator John Pinto celebrate his 100th birthday in office. We pointed out recently that if the Senator from Indian Country runs and is re-elected next year he would celebrate his centennial in December of 2024, just days before his term expired.

A Roundhouse Wall-leaner says he wishes no ill will toward the legendary Pinto, one of the few living Navajo code talkers from WWII still alive, but clearly it's time for him to make room for a younger Native American:

Joe, As noble as it seems to root for a Roundhouse 100th birthday party for Senator Pinto there is also something to be said for stepping down and aging gracefully in the shadows. Sadly, for those of us with a front row seat at the legislature, we are witnessing Senator Pinto age past his usefulness. It truly is painful to witness him continually lose his place in the mountains of legislation in committee or to stumble through his many unintelligible words on the floor. I sincerely hope that his family will urge him to get out of the game while he's still able to remember that he's on top.

Pinto has not yet announced his re-election plans.

IKE PLUS TWO?

The newspaper comes with the news that BernCo has had a total of 114 shootings in 112 days. 

Meanwhile, City Councilor Ike Benton, seeking re-election this year, says he and his assistant are so overwhelmed by their work load they think getting two new city councilors on the nine member panel is an urgent matter. To that former City Councilor Greg Payne says "Say what?"

Unlike the Legislature, the City Council meets year round (except for their July vacation). They have full-time assistants. They have a full-time staff. Why do we need two more City Hall politicians? What the city really needs is two hundred additional cops on the street. And if Councilor Benton is overwhelmed by the job, maybe he should do the city a favor and step aside and let someone new and who isn’t overwhelmed have a go at getting the job done. BernCo Commissioners (5 of them) represent approximately 135,000 constituents. The nine ABQ councilors? Approximately 62,000.

Oh my, Ike, it looks as if your complaining about your work load has given your main Dem rival in the November election, 29 year old Zach Quintero, the right to challenge you to a jogging contest or something. And by the way, adding two new councilors is DOA. That makes it the 115th shooting of the year in BernCo.

SENATE CHASE

The race for the Democratic nomination for the state's open US Senate seat in 2020 won't exactly be in hibernation over the next several months, but neither will be it be very high profile. Now that Rep. Ben Ray Lujan and Sec. of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver have made their official announcements they will be busy organizing their campaigns and most of all raising money.

The fund-raising is already in high gear. Let's take a look. Lujan is going to lean on high profile national Democrats to help him finance the race. One of the first coming for him is Rep. Adam Schiff of California, well-known to cable news viewers as chairman of the House intelligence Committee. His dispatch to Dems goes like this:

. . . You helped us flip the House, but we have more work to do.  If we want to truly make progress, we can’t let Mitch McConnell and the GOP control the Senate. We have to flip the Senate in 2020.  That’s why I am asking you to help my dear friend Ben Ray Luján win his critical Senate race and bring the Blue Wave to the Senate. Will you chip in $10 before his very first End of Month Deadline in 96 hours? I watched Ben Ray lead the charge to reclaim the House for Democrats, and without him, we wouldn’t be back in the Majority today. I wouldn’t be leading the House Intelligence Committee. And we’d be completely powerless to hold this President accountable.  Believe me when I say electing Ben Ray to the Senate, taking down Mitch McConnell, and flipping the Senate is downright critical to making progress and defending our democracy. 

In contrast to BRL, MTO is working to get grass roots donors to match his big name list. Here's one of her first efforts:

I’m running because New Mexico needs a strong, progressive Democrat as our next Senator. We need someone who’s ready to fundamentally change the dynamic in this country--who’s ready to say no to dirty corporate PAC money and return the power to the people. We can do this. We can build a team ready to take on the big money and messages of hate and division on the other side--but we can only do it together. On Wednesday, I set a goal of raising $20,000 online from grassroots donors like you giving what you can -- $5, $10, or $25 at a time. Right now, we’re $7,113.78 short of meeting that goal. So I’m coming to you to ask: Will you rush a contribution to my campaign now to help us get off the ground strong? We cannot build this team without you.

Hey, if you ever feel left out or that people don't like you, just get your name on the fund-raising lists of the Senate candidates. You'll have someone hanging on for your responses at least twice a day. 

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. 

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019