There's another Big Bill on the New Mexico political playing field. He's Big Bill Davis, who has been on the sidelines since an unsuccessful run for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 2000. But now he's coming back to take on fellow Republican Tim Cummins for the ABQ NE Heights Bernalillo County Commission seat. And Davis has come back in a fighting mood. He charges incumbent Cummins with failing to hold the line on property tax increases and for not holding contractors feet to the fire for big cost overruns at the new city-county jail and new courthouse."I will be tight-fisted with taxpayers money. Tim simply hasn't done the job," Davis told me in a talk from his ABQ law office.
Cummins is going to have his hands full with this Republican Big Bill. He took another jab at the commissioner for endorsing Democrat Marty Chavez when the ABQ mayor ran for Guv in 98.' Davis says if he gets on the commission Republicans will get the "real thing."
Davis is for real, too real for some in the GOP who rejected him when he ran for the U.S. House in 98' and U.S. Senate in 2000. Prior to that he served two separate four year terms in the state senate where he was a master of the filibuster and took on Senator Manny a time or two. But Davis' conservative approach and hard-line anti-abortion position raised hackles in his swing district and he was ousted from the seat in 92' by liberal Democrat Ann Riley. (He came back for another term in 97'.)
But Davis isn't worried about past defeats. "I don't look at it as a win-loss record. I look at it as doing service for the community." Serving on the commission would certainly be that for Davis. He has a highly successful law practice and is not in need of a job. He also has appeal to military families in the Heights. He was a combat pilot in Vietnam and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He still lives a bit on the wild side, taking to the open roads on occasion on his big Harley.
Cummins has played ball with the Democrats and has paid the price. He was ousted from the ABQ city council when then State GOP Party Chair John Dendahl targeted him because of his Chavez endorsement and support of a tax increase. But Cummins, like Davis, has shown a lot of spunk in the political arena, making this campaign for county commission a race to watch.
PEARCE ASKS FOR TWO MORE
NM freshman Republican Congressman Steve Pearce made the rounds this week asking voters in his southern NM district to make him a sophomore. Pearce will be unopposed in the GOP primary. Two Democrats Gary king and Jeff Steinborn will vie for the Dem nomination to face-off with Pearce of Hobbs in November. The Ruidoso News has our Pearce report
LET'S TALK POLITICS--ON THE RADIO and TV
There will be more New Mexico politics for you this weekend when you turn to 770 KKOB-AM Radio in ABQ from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. as I sit in with host Greg Payne and top NM lobbyist Scott Scanland to talk about the upcoming legislative session and all the many other happenings we have been talking about here on "New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan." The broadcast is two hours so there's plenty of time to call in. Please join us. Also, at 5 p.m. on KKOB presidential contender Howard Dean is scheduled to be interviewed live by Richard Eeds. Brings back memories. My first presidential interview was back in 1975 when I interviewed Jimmy Carter for half an hour for KUNM-FM at UNM. I conducted the interview at a hotel near the airport. Carter was more than generous with this time. It was months before the Iowa caucuses and he was no where in the running. But the rest, as they say, is history. Monday, the day of the Iowa caucuses, I will talk politics with veteran anchorman and political junkie Dick Knipfing on KRQE-TV, channel 13 at 4: 20 p.m. We'll discuss the very latest from Iowa plus the local scene as well, so be sure to join us.
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