I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez hasn’t announced his (expected) bid for reelection yet, but he’s already gathered the $5 contributions he needs to qualify for public financing. He turned them in today — which is the first day to report contributions.
Mark Fleisher, unofficial campaign manager for Mayor Marty, told the Independent that Chavez turned in contributions from a little more than 5,000 people.
When asked how Chavez was able to collect so many contributions in such a short period of time, Fleisher said it’s evidence of a strong operation built over the many years Chavez has been in office. People know him, he said, so he has a lot of volunteers — making it possible to gather the contributions in two weeks.
Other candidates say they’re making good progress, but it requires a lot of legwork. In conversations with the Independent today, they all mentioned that because the public financing system is still new, gathering the contributions requires educating the public first. So it’s time-consuming. The primary methods are attending community meetings and gatherings, and relying on networks of friends and family.
Neri Holguin, campaign manager for ex-state Sen. Richard Romero, said the Romero for Mayor campaign turned in contributions from 1,200 people so far. They’re confident they’ll meet the deadline, she said.
City Councilor Michael Cadigan said his campaign would turn in contributions from a couple of hundred people today, but that his campaign has collected around 1,500 so far. They’ve asked their volunteers to turn in their booklets on the 15th, he said, so that’s an estimate. Cadigan said the process is taking a lot of legwork but that he feels good about the progress they’ve made.
And City Councilor Debbie O’Malley said her campaign turned in 35 books today, which works out to about 875 contributions. Plus, they have about 125 books out with volunteers. “We have a strategy,” O’Malley told the Independent. “I’m determined to meet the deadline — that’s my M.O.”
State Rep. Richard Berry — the only registered Republican in what is ostensibly a nonpartisan race — told the Independent he isn’t turning in anything today but that his campaign was moving forward, despite the late start. His campaign manager, Dana Feldman, said they had dozens of volunteers and are optimistic that they’ll meet the deadline.
The Independent wasn’t able to reach Donna Rowe or James Thomas, both of whom have announced they’ll run using public financing. We’ll update this blog if they turn in any contributions later today.
