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.
Voters in Tuesday’s Albuquerque municipal elections decided to keep two incumbent city councilors in office but rejected one of Mayor Richard Berry’s top initiatives. A long-standing red-light photo-camera bill was also rebuked.
Four candidates for city council in Albuquerque qualified for public financing according to the city’s website. The deadline for qualifying for public financing was May 31.
A report released Wednesday by the Center for Governmental Studies said the 2007 and 2009 publicly funded municipal campaigns in Albuquerque were a success, resulting in less money spent in the election and more focus on the issues.
Research and Polling, the New Mexico firm headed up by analyst Brian Sanderoff, recently posted an analysis of Albuquerque’s 2009 municipal election on its Web site. The analysis, a series of charts, shows that overall turnout was 25 percent…
In October 2009, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry won the mayoral race with just a few more Republican votes than were cast in 2005. But part of his success may be due to the fact that thousands of Democrats who voted in 2005 stayed home.
Gov. Bill Richardson
As 2009 staggers into the history books, exhausted and a bit lighter in the pockets than when it first appeared on the scene, let’s acknowledge this: the year gave us plenty to write about.
Accusations of pay-to-play, former elected officials getting indicted, electoral surprises and an occasional David toppling a Goliath — 2009 produced it all, giving the year a healthy luster of newsworthiness despite its threadbare look.
The year showed incredible stamina, in fact, with a steady drumbeat of scoops, gotchas and revelations, exhausting many a political junkie and news professional. And 2009 didn’t take long to demonstrate its capacity to shock.
On the fourth day of 2009, an announcement in Washington landed in New Mexico with all the percussive power of a bombshell: Gov. Bill Richardson was withdrawing as President Obama’s commerce secretary, citing a federal corruption investigation into how his administration conducted business.
And the news kept coming.
Some 360 later, the year is ending the way it began — scrutiny, including from federal prosecutors, on how the state invested its money over the past half decade.
In between those two bookends, the state of New Mexico also came to the disturbing realization that it was broke, Albuquerque’s longtime mayor fell short of winning a third four-year term — knocked off by a long-shot two-term GOP state lawmaker — and two former elected officials found themselves on the business end of a criminal indictment.
It’s unclear whether what transpired this year will change the political dynamic here in New Mexico, or lead to more government transparency. But before The New Mexico Independent gets back into the daily grind, let’s take a deep breath and reflect on the busy year that was.
Former City Treasurer Lou Hoffman was a vocal supporter of Richard Romero during Albuquerque’s mayoral campaign, but he’ll be the city’s new Director of Finance and Administration when mayor-elect R.J. Berry takes office Dec. 1.
Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White is resigning his position effective November 30. White was appointed Albuquerque chief public safety officer by Albuquerque mayor-elect Richard Berry last month. The Bernalillo County Commission will appoint a new sheriff who will…
If defeated District 5 City Councilor Michael Cadigan had taken public financing, he could have had a lot more money to spend on the race this year. About twice as much.
One thing that didn’t make it into today’s story about Albuquerque’s public financing system is this little tidbit: If campaign activity should have triggered matching funds before election day, but didn’t because of late/improper campaign finance reporting, the city…
While there are some kinks that still need to be worked out, advocates say, the mayor’s race showed the system does what it is intended to do–reduce the influence of special interest money on elections.
In e-mails to readers of a popular Atheist blog, City Councilor Don Harris recently apologized for attempting to use his opponent’s religion against him, saying he had only intended to “expose his radical politics.”
Both Mayor Martin Chavez and his campaign manager, Mark Fleisher, popped up in the press over the weekend giving their take on why Chavez lost the mayor’s race on October 6.
He’s spent no time since the election analyzing why…
Much has been written about the potential change in the Albuquerque police department’s policy on when officers may check a person’s immigration status. Mayor-elect Richard Berry has said he wanted to the model of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, where officers use their discretion. Berry’s appointment Tuesday of Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White as his chief public safety officer indicates that the mayor-elect meant what he said.
David Campbell is Mayor-elect Richard Berry’s choice for the city of Albuquerque’s top administrative officer, Berry’s campaign just announced.
Campbell is an Albuquerque lawyer who previously served as an assistant to Mayor Harry Kinney from 1981 to 1983 and as
…
When R.J. Berry resigned his position as a state representative on Monday, he removed one from an otherwise growing number of job titles, the biggest one being: mayor of Albuquerque. Rio Rancho mayor Tom Swisstack Swisstack found himself in a similar situation 18 months ago.
Albuquerque’s Mayor-elect Richard Berry resigned his legislative seat in the state House of Representatives on Monday. He also announced that Sherman McCorkle will head up his transition team. McCorkle is President and Chief Executive Officer of Technology Ventures Corporation, and a leader in New Mexico economic development initiatives.
The election might be over, but the City Clerk’s office is still hard at work on it. Employees are working to tally the official count of Albuquerque’s municipal election results now, counting provisional ballots as well as a small number…
The Albuquerque Journal’s Dan McKay has an amusing take on the beginning of the transition from Mayor Martin Chavez to Mayor-elect Richard “R.J.” Berry. Who’s going to get which jobs in the new administration? Dan’s got his ears open. “I’ve…
When Richard Berry moves into Albuquerque’s mayor’s office in December, he’ll inherit a government faced with significant economic challenges. While Mayor Martin Chavez was hammered for companies closing shop and leaving town, the reality is that Albuquerque itself—like other cities—is being hammered by the worst economic crisis the nation has seen in generations.
