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The longstanding battle over who owns the state’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators – the counties or the state – appears settled, and none too soon with this year’s elections fast approaching. A bill Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law in recent days renders the fight moot, state and local officials say, by requiring the state to [...]

Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Jerry Ortiz y Pino says he’s staying in the race even though he didn’t get 20 percent at the party’s preprimary nominating convention on Saturday. “I am not at all discouraged by this hurdle,” Ortiz y Pino wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

Baton Rouge police officers showed racial bias, conducted illegal searches and employed excessive force, said some New Mexico state troopers who left Louisiana after only two days of working alongside the Baton Rouge cops. Reports filed by the New Mexico officers have now been published in a local newspaper.

A federal agency is ponying up around $600,000 this year to provide upkeep for New Mexico’s more than 1,900 voting tabulators and voting machines.
New Mexico won a federal grant from the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission to pay the maintenance bill after Bernalillo County contributed $33,000, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver told The Independent.

Democratic Land Commissioner candidate Harry Montoya says he’s staying in the race even though he didn’t get 20 percent at the party’s preprimary nominating convention on Saturday.

Traditional news operations such as broadcast TV and newspapers suffered badly in 2009, according to The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism’s annual State of the News Media study.

Democratic Land Commissioner candidate Sandy Jones says he’s staying in the race even though he didn’t get 20 percent at the party’s preprimary nominating convention on Saturday. Jones said he’ll have the necessary signatures to stay in the race “in the next couple of days.”
“Literally two minutes after the results came in we were getting phone [...]

Several state attorneys general argue that states should be able to enforce stronger consumer protection laws when it comes to the nation’s financial system, but they are encountering strong opposition from powerful lawmakers and industry lobbyists, reports the Washington Post. The attorneys general are generally in the East. We’ve not heard too much from New [...]

With recounting of the ballots out of the way, here are the final numbers from the Democratic Party’s preprimary convention held Saturday:
Lieutenant governor
• Brian Colón: 34.54 percent
• Lawrence Rael: 22.15 percent
• Joe Campos: 19.69 percent
• Jerry Ortiz y Pino: 18.87 percent
• Linda Lopez: 4.73 percent

The Farmington Daily Times tells of a proposed veterans complex in Kirtland that could bring 8,000 jobs to the area.
The Luna County Detention Center has expanded its juvenile block, with plans for more renovation in the future, says The Deming Headlight.
The Las Cruces Sun-News discusses expectations of tax refunds’ boosting local businesses.
Border Area Mental Health [...]

In the Democratic lieutenant governor’s race, only Brian Colón and Lawrence Rael qualified today to appear on the ballot, and in the land commissioner race only one candidate – Ray Powell – topped the 20 percent threshold.

Update, 2:55 p.m.
Lieutenant governor
• Brian Moore: 41.24 percent
• Kent Cravens: 27.64 percent
• John Sanchez: 22.81 percent
• J.R. Damron: 8.29 percent

The Independent will be on hand at the Albuquerque Hilton Saturday at noon to live blog the 2010 Republican Party pre-primary convention, where candidates for office will vie for enough votes to be placed on the primary election ballot.
In particular, we’ll be watching to see who gets 20 percent in the five-way gubernatorial race between state [...]

Members of the natural gas industry have sent a letter to both New Mexico senators asking that natural gas be added to any clean energy mandate that passes Congress, according to The Hill.
In January, then-President of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association Bob Gallagher told New Mexico Business Weekly, that while things looked better for [...]

Sen. Tom Udall discussed reforming the filibuster today at an event held by the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. Udall was the featured speaker at the event.