Santa Fe Democrat's Ward 47-A

Block campaign cash went to county clerk

NewMexicoMatters — 2008-08-22T07:46:45-06:00

Link: Santa Fe Reporter - audit right there.

According to Block’s campaign records, a few days after the June 3 primary election, Block cut a $300 check to San Miguel County Clerk “Pecos” Paul Maez for “campaign coordination.” San Miguel is the only county Block won in the six-way Democratic primary. Block used Maez’ official clerk’s office address on the report.
That same day, Block also cut a $2,500 check to the country-western band Wyld Country, in which Maez is a guitarist. According to Block’s campaign, the payment was for a rally in San Miguel County just prior to the primary election. Block deferred questions to his recently appointed campaign manager Jonathan Valdez.

“The vast majority of Paul Maez’ help was outside of San Miguel County,” Valdez writes in an e-mail to SFR. “Paul has always maintained and upheld the highest ethical standards and integrity in his personal life and in his professional capacity.”

Maez did not return multiple messages left with his office and on his cell phone. However, Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza tells SFR that, as an election official, she would never accept payment from a candidate’s campaign.

3rd District PRC race: Disenchanted Dems to launch PAC for Lass - SantaFeNewMexican.com

NewMexicoMatters — 2008-08-20T08:51:09-06:00

Link: 3rd District PRC race: Disenchanted Dems to launch PAC for Lass - SantaFeNewMexican.com.

A group of Democrats backing Green Party Public Regulation Commission candidate Rick Lass is working to show its support with money.
Bernie Logue y Perea, a Santa Fe ward chairman, said he and others will launch the Democrats for Rick Lass Political Action Committee this month. He said Democrats have grown disenchanted with their party's PRC nominee, Jerome Block Jr., who won a six-way primary in June with 23 percent of the vote.

"I've had people come up to me saying, 'Hey Bernie, we're pissed off because we voted for Jerome thinking it was the dad, and not the kid. The kid's an idiot,' " Logue y Perea said this week — from Loma Linda, Calif., where he is recuperating from a kidney transplant — referring to Jerome Block Sr., who also served on the PRC. "When I saw Rick Lass was running, the thought of (Block Jr.) walking into a $90,000 a year job when he doesn't deserve it just infuriated me."

Lass said Tuesday he would welcome PAC support, although any money the committee raises legally wouldn't be his to spend.

The Block campaign sounded unconcerned about the support from within its party. "That's part of the democratic process," Block spokesman Jonathan Valdez said Tuesday. "You get to choose who you want to vote for, and we're OK with that."

Both candidates are receiving public financing for the general election, about $64,000.

Logue y Perea said PAC money will be used to advertise on behalf of Lass. "I know there's some really good Democrats who want to give to Rick Lass, but they don't want to give to the Green Party," he said.

Democrats had already been meeting in support of Lass, including at a meet-and-greet at the Ostería d'Assisi restaurant last month. Lass also has been attending Democratic events around the PRC's 3rd District, a Democrat-heavy area that includes Santa Fe, Rio Rancho and north-central and northeast New Mexico. There is no Republican nominee in the race.

"These people that wouldn't talk to me six years ago are coming out and supporting me," Lass said Tuesday. "That's why I believe I can win the election and that a third to half of the Democrats will vote for me."

Española Mayor Joe Maestas, who also ran in the PRC primary, said he has seen Lass pick up support in the crucial Española Valley area. "There's the voters, and then there's the party insiders, and sometimes they're not necessarily on the same page, but I think it's probably a mixed bag in terms of the party establishment," he said. "He is getting some support in the Democratic Party, particularly from the progressives."

Meanwhile, Lass said he still hopes to have a debate with Block, but Valdez reiterated Block still has no intention of doing that.

Block has been under fire since after the primary, when it was revealed he didn't tell the whole truth about his arrest record in interviews before Democrats went to the polls. He admitted to being arrested for drunken driving in 1998 and said he was found not guilty. It turned out the charge had been dropped because he wasn't prosecuted in a timely fashion. Block also never mentioned a later arrest and conviction for riding with a drunken driver.

Bernie Recieves A Long Awaited Call

NewMexicoMatters — 2008-08-14T00:28:47-06:00

Though one might never know from the pace Bernie has kept serving as a force for change and progress across the state and in the Democratic Party, for several years he has been fighting the various stages kidney failure- brought on by a hereditary disease.

On Tuesday morning, Bernie called me from the Sun Port to say that he was on his way to the Loma Linda Medical Center in California to receive his long awaited kidney transplant. For Bernie, John, the babies and all of Bernie's family and many many many friends, this is a day that we have prayed would come and we are excited for the return of a healthy Bernie.

However, the transplant process is not an easy one and Bernie will be at the Loma Linda Medical Center for several weeks after the procedure. Thoughts and prayers for Bernie's speedy recovery and return home are welcomed. And if you would like to send an email to Bernie, you can do so through the hospital's website here.

Obama Floated Idea Of Voluntarily Capping Donations - Politics on The Huffington Post

NewMexicoMatters — 2008-05-10T20:48:26-06:00

Link: Obama Floated Idea Of Voluntarily Capping Donations - Politics on The Huffington Post.

During a private fundraiser last month, Sen. Barack Obama said he was "considering" voluntarily restricting the amount of money he could raise in a general election from campaign donors.
"We need to separate money from political influence. It's an experiment in open source politics," Obama told a crowd of supporters in Silicon Valley. "One thing that I am considering, and my advisers might not like this: I may limit campaign contribution amounts per person to less than the federal limit in the general election."

The remark, which was shared with The Huffington Post by an event attendee and not disputed by the Obama campaign, is the first public indication that Obama is willing to forgo some of his massive financial advantages if he were to face off against John McCain in the fall. The current federal cap on individual general election donations is $2300.

Pundits Declare the Race Over - New York Times

NewMexicoMatters — 2008-05-07T13:13:03-06:00

Link: Pundits Declare the Race Over - New York Times.

Very early this morning, after many voters had already gone to sleep, the conventional wisdom of the elite political pundit class that resides on television shifted hard, and possibly irretrievably, against Senator Hillary Clinton’s continued viability as a presidential candidate.