Thursday, July 21, 2022MLG Caps A Good Campaign Week Sharing Smiles With Mayor Keller, But The Week Wasn't Letter Perfect
She worked to keep the good times rolling with Dem teammate and ABQ Mayor Tim Keller by announcing $10 million from the state for the ABQ Rail Trail, an urban redevelopment project that plans to link downtown and riverside destinations. Nothing like a cost-free and feel-good photo op. But in an election year the boo birds of social media were not about to stay quiet over the Mayoral-Guv lovefest that included Keller and other mayors endorsing MLG for a second term. Opined Brett Kokinadis: Yes, He's done such a fine job in Albuquerque. How's the crime, homeless problems, drugs, murders, and feces issues coming along, Mayor? Are businesses paying for your special police protection? Why would anyone listen to the officials that let others destroy businesses and property in protest? I guess the politicians and destructive protesters are one and the same. Conservative Dem City Councilor Louie Sanchez is also on the Mayor's back this week with that op-ed claiming that he convinced the Mayor to make important changes like getting a new CAO (Lawrence Rael) and a new city attorney. That led to this retort from the Mayors' office: Louie has met once with the Mayor, in December, at the Mayor’s request. Louie’s asks at that meeting were for the Mayor to fire the City Clerk and to fire the Police Chief, neither of which has happened. Louie and his assertions are laughable. PARTY BRAKES Back on MLG, her job now is to show up and not mess up, but her operatives had to put the brakes on the party as yet another campaign misstep bit her backside, this one dealing with the beleaguered CYFD. Ronchetti can't hit the target when it comes to abortion but this one was easy: KOAT fact-checked Michelle Lujan Grisham’s claims that she supported strengthening an independent CYFD watchdog group and found that her statement was false. Instead of strengthening CYFD oversight, Lujan Grisham vetoed legislation in 2021 that would have given the Substitute Care Advisory Council (SCAC) stronger oversight over the troubled child welfare agency. Not earth-shaking but why? And this on the heels of a nurse being highlighted in a MLG TV spot who was made to appear to work at a hospital when she actually works for a county jail. Well, nothing can take Pastor Steve out of the spotlight but that doesn't mean 90 percent is good enough. TRACKING BEDONIE By the way, Kokinadas is an officer with the Santa Fe County GOP and is director of the Stop MLG PAC. That PAC filed an ethics complaint with the State Ethics Commission this week against Libertarian Party candidate Karen Bedonie. The complaint alleges that a group of private citizens paying for a billboard for Bedonie in Torrance County has not reported their activity--as required--to the Sec. of State and have coordinated their advertising with Bedonie's campaign which third party groups are prohibited from doing. Why the GOP interest in the Lib candidate? Well, it's a good bet that the limited government platform of Bedonie will attract the attention of some Republican voters who could peel away from GOP nominee Ronchetti. Bedonie's campaign slogan is "Bedonie Tough" so don't expect her to crack under the campaign pressure. BULLET DODGED This was a possible election year bullet Democrats are glad to be dodging: The Attorney General's Office continues to build a criminal case against Sheryl Williams Stapleton in preparation for a racketeering and money-laundering trial that could come early next year--at least 18 months after agents began investigating the former state lawmaker.
The delay, court records show, is due in part to a request from defense attorneys and prosecutors for more time to examine a trove of documents in the case. . .An evidence hearing is scheduled in late January 2023 for the longtime powerful House Democrat, who is accused of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from Albuquerque Public Schools, where she worked for years as an administrator, and using her legislative position for personal benefit. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2022 |
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