Ronchetti Roughed Up Over Latest Crime Ad And That's Not His Only Problem, Plus: More On Positioning For Top UNM Lobby Job, And: The Up and Downs Of Mayor Tim

One scribe refers to the race for Governor as "fiercely competitive" but it's more like "fiercely contested." The competitive edge seems tilted toward the incumbent as GOP Guv nominee Mark Ronchetti comes off a rough summer and faces more problems this month. For example. . .

The polling shows him seven points behind MLG, he made a major misstep on the critical abortion issue, he is being taken to task over the accuracy of his latest crime commercial and today, according to sources, he will find himself facing a mountain of opposition cash when MLG and other candidates file fund-raising reports for the months of July and August. 

In the last report Ronchetti out raised MLG in the month of June when the bloom was fully on his rose following his landslide win in the primary--$2.1 million to her $750,000. But MLG today is expected to report over $2.5 million in cash raised in July and August. That will likely further her cash on hand advantage over the challenger and that's not including millions in TV ads coming in from out of state interests. 

Ronchetti needs to run a near picture perfect campaign--as would any challenger--to oust an incumbent Democrat in a Dem state but that's easier said than done. On his #1 issue of crime he is taking a stiff hit as the fact checkers examine his new spot (here and here) that features Ronchetti's wife describing a supposed home invasion incident at the couples ABQ home. The incident, in which a police report was never filed, happened in 2012, long before MLG took office.

That's a double hit on the former TV weather forecaster because he has been scoring with a PAC spot that calls out MLG for an ad in which she erroneously accuses him of advocating for defunding the police.

Political pros say Ronchetti has about a month to tighten the race up. The late October TV debates are important but usually not game-changers. The cement starts to settle when the  Balloon Fiesta ends which this year is October 9.

UNM LOBBYING INTRIGUE

We told you about Democratic discontent over former ABQ GOP state Rep. Conrad James rising to the top of the finalist list for the plum post of top lobbyist for the University of New Mexico. Now our Alligators report that Michael Puelle, chief of staff to Dem ABQ Mayor Tim Keller, is James' chief rival for the position which will be decided by UNM President Garnett Stokes. 

Puelle handled government affairs for the Associated General Contractors before joining Keller in 2020. Prior to that he was co-founder of the Setter Group, a major Santa Fe lobbying firm. 

The UNM gig is highly coveted and pays north of $200,000.  In our Sept 1 blog we noted how behind the scenes some Dems have been hoping to block James' appointment, calling him a Susana Martinez Republican and questioning how effective he would be with a Dem dominated legislature. 

Now the question is whether Puelle has the pull to take James out. The Gators report there are also a couple of other finalists for the post, including a DC lobbyist and an analyst with the Legislative Finance Committee in Santa Fe. The job is expected to be filled prior to the start of the 2023 legislative session. 

We get further analysis on the Stokes-James connection from a former UNM higher-up:

Joe, this President is on her way out. Her contract ends next March and has already been renewed once. We have not had a President with two contract renewals since President Richard Peck. If Conrad James gets the lobbying job, he will have his buddy Republican UNM Regent Jack Fortner to thank. The President needs the Regents to give her a gold star to secure her bonuses before she leaves the state and the best way to earn a gold star is to hire the Regent's friends to high paying positions. 

FOURTH FLOOR STAFFING

Kerster

Meanwhile, Gov. Lujan Grisham, not known for hanging on to her personnel for any lengthy periods of time, announces that one staffer, Courtney Kerster, who has hung in there will now be her interim chief of staff. She has been MLG's director of federal affairs. Her working relationship with her goes back to MLG's congressional days where Kerster, about 36 and a University of Virginia graduate, served as legislative director and deputy chief of staff. Previously she worked as a US Senate staffer. 

The chief of staff job will become vacant when Matt Garcia leaves at the end of the month. He has been nominated for a federal judgeship, a lifetime appointment. Garcia had been chief counsel to the Governor when he was named chief of staff to fill a vacancy. 

The chief of staff position under this Governor has not been a powerhouse. She is known for running her own ship--for better or worse. The first to hold the job was John Bingaman, the son of former Sen. Jeff Bingaman, but he saw the handwriting on the wall and would soon depart. 

There is a former gubernatorial chief of staff who has a role with MLG. That would be David Contarino, former chief of staff to Gov. Richardson. Contarino has served as an advisor and TV strategist for MLG and is doing so again for this campaign from his headquarters in Kentucky where he now resides.

TIM'S UPS AND DOWNS

Mayor Keller 

Mayor Tim had a big win at the city council last Wednesday when encampments for the homeless (safe spaces) were allowed to go forward only to get the air knocked out of him this weekend when it was revealed he's been busy creating lots and lots of "unclassified positions," many of which pay well over $100K a year and could be argued are meant to advance his political interests more than the city's. 

Most glaring is the rehiring of former city councilor and city attorney Bob White at $170,000 a year. White is one of the most affable guys you'll meet, but the seventy something lawyer was already on government retirement before getting rehired and the diehard Dylan fan is old enough to remember when Bob went electric. White's new position of "associate chief administrative officer" is newly created and as ambiguous as it sounds. Longtime Keller critic and ABQ real estate investor Doug Petersen came with the takedown:

Mayor Keller has literally been inventing $100,000+ jobs for friends & political allies while APD is way below the number of needed officers & citizens wait on hold for 20+ minutes when they call the cops. These cushy positions include “266 jobs added since Keller took office less than five years ago such as performance and innovation managers, chief impact officer and civic engagement coordinator. As Councilor Davis politely puts it, “these (unclassified) positions more serve the agenda of the mayor than the day-to-day work of the city and you see them in places like marketing and not out in the street engaging directly with (the public).

Keller's against the grain veto that he managed to prevent the council from overriding was the kind of leadership with backbone the city has been yearning for, but then the second term curse arises again and washes ashore the detritus from his first four years. 

We'd like to say it won't happen again, but if we did our Alligators would hang us in effigy in Old Town Plaza with photos of Bob White dancing on their noses. But Good luck, Tim. Or something. . . 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2022