'08 Election
‘Our vote was our voice,’ Richardson says to Latinos en Español at Chicago press conference
Gov. Bill Richardson demonstrated one of his many skills Wednesday during a short speech after President-elect Barack Obama had nominated him as U.S. Commerce Secretary: that of bilingualism.
Richardson is perfectly bilingual in English and in Spanish, which likely will come in handy in his dealings as commerce secretary with the many countries of Latin America.
Party like it’s 4:59 a.m.!! D.C. votes to let bars stay open late for inauguration week
From today’s Washington Times:
Hoping to tap in to an inaugural bonanza, the D.C. Council Tuesday night voted 12-1 to push back last call to 5 a.m. and allow bars and restaurants to serve food around the clock during inauguration week.
Millions of visitors are expected to descend on the city to celebrate Barack Obama’s presidential swearing-in [...]
Subpoenas issued in U.S. attorney firings
It is something that Republicans, including a number of those in New Mexico, wish would just go away. According to Public Record writer Jason Leopold, a grand jury has issued subpoenas in a probe into the firing of U.S. attorneys.
In late September, the U.S. Attorney General appointed Nora Dannehy as a special prosecutor looking into [...]
TODAY’S TOP STORIES: Richardson to be nominated to president-elect’s cabinet this morning
Gov. Bill Richardson (whom Wonkette calls “stately, plump”) is expected to be formally nominated Secretary of Commerce at 9:40 am MST and the Journal has worked itself into a predictable froth of slideshows etc. Richardson will be the first Hispanic chosen for Obama’s cabinet.
Saxby Chambliss, Republican Senator of Georgia, was reelected yesterday after beating Democrat [...]
A new GOP guv in Arizona could limit abortion; Napolitano has acted as firewall
When Bill Richardson leaves the New Mexico governor’s mansion to become U.S. secretary of commerce, his Democratic lieutenant governor, Diane Denish, will take over where he left off. Although the two certainly have different governing styles, their policy views do not diverge wildly.
This is not the case in Arizona, where there is no lieutenant governor [...]
Rail Runner: On to Santa Fe by mid-December
The Rail Runner Express commuter train appears to be on schedule to make its historic first run from Albuquerque into downtown Santa Fe next month, and officials say they expect a bumper crop of riders. “We’re bracing ourselves for a huge ridership level,” said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments, which manages the train.
N.M.’s judge evaluation program leaves voters in the dark
New Mexico is one of a handful of states with a commission that evaluates judges’ performance and then recommends to voters on which to retain. But while other states provide pages of data on each judge, New Mexico voters get only a single paragraph, and sometimes “no opinion.”
Guv responds with knowing smile to questions about that rumored job in Washington
A fusillade of questions hit Gov. Bill Richardson as he strode the short distance between his Cabinet room and his state Capitol office Tuesday. Two reporters who had staked out space near his door pointed digital recorders in his direction and unleashed a torrent of curiosity in the name of the public’s right to know.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES: The Jerome Block Jr. saga continues, another state task force is born, and don’t break out your snowboards quite yet!
In national news today, President-elect Barack Obama says he plans to keep Bush’s current defense secretary, Robert Gates — at least for the time being. Nobody wants to spend any money, but food stamp usage is nearing an all-time high.
Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, Jerome Block Jr. isn’t out of the woods yet, even though he [...]
Rising rapidly, Balderas could be state’s next No. 2
Hector Balderas said he’s trying to keep in the proper perspective the fact that he’s been named as a strong contender to become the state’s next lieutenant governor.