Tuesday, October 04, 2022Underdog Calls On Bigger Dogs: Gary Johnson And Virginia Guv Hop Aboard Ronchetti Train, Plus: Linda And Mimi In The Senate; It's Complicated, And: Republican Take On Ivey-Soto Saga
Ronchetti announced that former GOP Governor Gary Johnson, now a Libertarian and who was that party's presidential candidate in 2016, is backing his candidacy. He called it an example of "support from prominent figures outside of the New Mexico Republican Party." Johnson, who served two terms (1994-2002), came with this: I’m voting for Mark Ronchetti. . .I think crime, education, and the economy will benefit from a fresh look at the issues New Mexico faces. . .Arguably, New Mexico had the most restrictive pandemic shutdown of all 50 states (that) will adversely affect our economy for many years to come. Not exactly a call to arms against MLG but Ronchetti supporters are concerned about Libertarian Guv candidate Karen Bedonie taking needed conservative votes away from Ronchetti. They hope Johnson can keep them at Ronchetti's side. The quirky Johnson had crossover appeal back in his day, especially because of his pro-drug legalization stance. He also was not a dyed in red Republican. A businessman without a political background in 1994, he used the party as a vehicle to become Governor and shed it after that, leaving the R's scratching their heads. Johnson scored nearly 11 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential election in the metro counties of Bernalillo, Sandoval and Valencia where Ronchetti must close the polling gap to be competitive. Johnson's performance in most other counties was mainly in the single digits as Hillary Clinton beat Trump to win the state. YOUNGKIN MEETS NM Ronchetti has been campaigning as an "outsider" but his credentials on that score are a bit tattered as he brings in another GOP insider to further his cause. As we previously reported, rising national GOP star and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will join the trail with Ronchetti. That will happen tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. at ABQ's Napoli Coffee and at 5:15 p.m. at La Posta restaurant in Mesilla in Dona Ana County. The NM stop is part of a western tour by Youngkin who is often mentioned as a possible national candidate. Youngkin ignored the Trump factor when he was elected in swing state Virginia in 2020 and Ronchetti is following the same playbook. He previously brought in Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida for a Carlsbad rally and also hung out with Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey. The Florida Governor has a strained relationship with Trump because he is a potential rival for the 2024 presidential nomination. Ducey and Trump had a falling out when Trump attacked the integrity of the Arizona election system. HELLO, LINDA
Stewart, who has much to say about committee assignments, had this "Hello, Linda" comment when asked about the new committee chair: I’m just looking for the best person. I’m not going to be bound by seniority. Sen. Lopez, who once chaired Rules, is now the Senior Dem on Rules and ran and lost against Stewart for the pro term post when Stewart last month was again chosen by the Senate Dem caucus. The full senate is expected to make it official in January. If Stewart is not going to be bound by the tried and true seniority system, that could bring freshman Dem Sen. Leo Jaramillo, the vice-chair of the committee, back into the mix. But others will also surely be playing in that pond now that Stewart has thrown a wet blanket on Linda. As for ABQ Sen. Michael Padilla, the new comeback kid of the senate who was chosen by his fellow caucus Dems as the new majority whip to replace Lopez, he's probably not going to continue in his position on the powerful Senate Finance Committee. One of our Gators thought otherwise last week. The full Senate would have to approve such a move, we're informed, and that hasn't happened since days of yore. That shouldn't get under Padilla's skin too much. After all, he's still celebrating his political resurrection as majority whip which his colleagues removed him from in 2017 over sex harassment charges. ALLIGATOR JIM Self-described "Alligtor Jim" writes: I've been watching and doing politics since 1964 in both parties. Ronchetti is being beaten up on his position on Roe but nothing he can do will change access to abortion in New Mexico. It can only be changed by legislation and the heavily Democratic legislature control is not going to change. So Gov MLG gets a free ride on this one, perhaps unfairly, but that's politics. IVEY-SOTO SAGA
Hey Joe, I appreciate you bringing the issue of the voting reform bill and Sen. Padilla's election as Majority Whip into the light as key nuances to this very messy and complex scandal.
That said, if the progressive special interest groups used Ivey-Soto's own behavior as leverage, that still doesn't excuse the behavior. Heaven forbid that women should actually play hardball politics! The Roundhouse is the people's house. Schoolchildren page there. Citizens go there to talk about issues that are important to them. They should feel safe doing so. The ten additional instances of harassment described in the leaked investigation report demonstrate a disturbing pattern of behavior toward women that should not be tolerated in any workplace. And victims should never be judged for the timing of their complaints; they don't get to pick the timing of their abuse.
The secretive procedures for the ethics committee's proceedings and obvious shortfalls in managing gridlocked subcommittees only introduces additional murk. Agreed. Well, with most of it. The victims should not be judged for their timing but the interest groups can and should be. After all they were all abuzz internally about the Ivey-Soto allegations in 2020 when he won re-election. They did not have to name names, just alert the voting public to the potential problem. But that didn't happen--until the voting reform bill was killed this year and which the groups blamed on Ivey-Soto. That smacks of political motivation--not just concern over the alleged victims--and needs to be called out. THE BOTTOM LINES Former ABQ City Councilor Angela Robbins has died. The progressive Democrat advocated for managed growth and substance abuse programs during her one term on the council from 1993-97. Robbins was 70. 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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