Fried Wontons
If money is the mother's milk of politics there was a white river gushing through the middle of Santa Fe last night. In what may have been the highest priced political ticket in state history, Big Bill hosted a quiet gathering of corporate and political heavyweights at the Gerald Peters Art Gallery near the Capitol for the over-the-top price of $10,000 a pop. Our fat cat at the gathering reports that the 10 grand got you some free booze and fried wontons and not much else. But what that money will get Big Bill is the real story.

The funds raised, and our source says perhaps 40 of those there may have paid the 10k, will go to Bill's "Moving America Forward" political action committee that was set up to increase Hispanic political participation. But the Big Guy told the art gallery crowd the money raised last night will go to support NM Democratic legislative candidates. Wow! If that's true, you are looking at perhaps hundreds of thousands of bucks. Are the Republicans listening?

State House Speaker Lujan, Senate President Pro Tem and Congressional candidate Richard Romero and Light Guv Diane Denish were all on hand to glad-hand the big money players. Among those was John Badal of Qwest and, according to our source, "corporate and lawyer types who you don't normally see." Well, there's a lot of things we aren't used to seeing on the NM political landscape that we have been seeing under Big Bill. Not only did he come to play, but if the R's aren't careful, he's going to take over the whole court.

GREEN IS FOR STOP

While Big Bill is a player at the top of his game, turmoil and rancor continue unabated in the state GOP. The R's got more bad news Tuesday as Democratic Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron ruled that the Green Party's Congressional candidates, Abe Gutmann and Jeremy Brown, will not appear on the November election ballot because Green Party co-chair Carol Miller failed to file on time the proper certification of the party's pre-primary convention results. And Rebecca added, the candidates will not be allowed to get extra petition signatures to make the ballot as is customary when contenders fail to get the pre-primary designation. It seems she is saying because the party missed the deadline, the Green Party convention never actually took place. Miller, who takes the blame for missing the deadline, disagrees and the Congressional hopefuls plan on filing petition signatures anyway. If Rebecca stands firm the matter will probably head to the courts,.

A sidebar to this one is Miller's recent appointment by Big Bill to the State Higher Education Commission. Surely, the conspiracy theories will be in full bloom now.

GREEN PASTURES FOR RICHARD?
Romero
All this is good news for probable ABQ Dem congressional nominee Richard Romero. The Dems think it will be much easier beating Heather Wilson without having a Green on the ballot to draw liberal Dem votes way from Richard. But the Green Party's Steve Cabiedes, who thinks Rebecca could be overruled, says if the decision stands and Romero goes on to lose "it will settle once and for all the argument that the Green's hurt the Democratic Party." He has a point. Green David Bacon did not make a dent in Big Bill's victory over John Sanchez in 02.' And, Romero lost by 10 points to Heather in 02' with no Green candidate on the ballot.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
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