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.
Political parties are working their get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts in the non-partisan Albuquerque municipal elections. As NMI has observed, the race between incumbent mayor Martin Chavez and former state Senate Pro Tem Richard Romero is looking increasingly like a Democratic primary while the conservative candidate, Richard “RJ” Berry, has been getting some help from the Republican Party.
In the final days, the candidates have been getting some indirect help from the two major parties in getting voters out to the polls tomorrow.
The Measure Finance Committee RPNM No New Taxes is pushing people out to vote against the transit tax. RPNM No New Taxes is funded by the Republican Party of New Mexico.
Blogger Joe Monahan wrote of the Republican Party of New Mexico’s efforts in the Albuquerque mayoral race:
So will the state GOP be going all in during these final, climatic days? Not really, responds GOP acting executive director Ryan Cangliosi. He says the party is mailing out a piece urging voters to reject renewing the quarter cent transit tax for another ten years, but nothing directly in favor of Berry. But voters prone to vote against the tax will also be prone to vote for Berry. This way the GOP avoids triggering the matching funds provision for Chavez and Romero by not directly spending money on RJ.
According to the city Web site, RPNM No New Taxes has spent $10,350.19, up to the October 5 reporting deadline, all on mailers and postage for the mailers.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico, meanwhile, is working the phones. Its “Vote Democratic 2009″ Measure Finance Committee has spent $8,583.63 on GOTV phone calls, using a company, the Winding Creek Group, that helped propel Democrats Senator Tom Udall and Congressman Harry Teague to victory in 2008.
Most of the money, $6,434.10, has been spent on live GOTV vote calls instead of robocalls.
In the Democratic Party of New Mexico’s State of the Party blog, it says:
Know that even in a non-partisan race, voters can turn to their Party for information, and we will provide any information relating to the election in order to help you make it to the polls.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico wants all Democratic voters to go to the polls tomorrow between 7am and 7pm and vote either for Martin Chavez or Richard Romero.
Last week, a post in the blog read, “Albuquerque is a Democratic City and your Party thinks it should stay that way.”
The two parties are out in force, trying to get their base out for this non-partisan race.
