LOTSA POLITICAL NEWS

The big news of course is that Former Treasurer Michael Montoya pled guilty to extortion and has agreed to cooperate with the feds' investigation of corruption in the Treasurer's Office.

Here's another couple of stories I did for today's Santa Fe New Mexican:

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Gov. Bill Richardson’s headaches over a magistrate court position in Rio Arriba County aren’t over yet.

On Tuesday, David Gregorio Valdez, Richardson’s latest selection to fill the vacant judgeship, informed the governor’s office that he was withdrawing his name because he had not been truthful during the selection process.

Richardson announced Friday that he was appointing Valdez, a longtime probation officer with the state, to take the place of Judge Tommy Rodella, who resigned in July during a dispute with the governor over a drunken driving case.

But on Tuesday morning, Valdez called the governor’s office and admitted that in 1983 he had been found in contempt of court for failing to pay child support, Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said. Valdez hadn’t disclosed that information prior to his appointment, Shipley said.

“Valdez misled the Governor’s Office by not disclosing the information on his appointment application and lied about it when questioned by Vince Ward, deputy chief counsel for the governor,” Shipley said in a written news release.

“Furthermore, a background check of electronic law enforcement and court databases revealed no indication that such an incident had been reported to the state,” Shipley said.

Shipley said he doesn’t know what prompted Valdez to come clean on Tuesday.

Shipley said that during the selection process, Valdez had faxed his divorce papers to the governor’s staff. However, the papers didn’t include anything about the contempt of court citation or the delinquent child support, Shipley said.

In announcing the appointment last week, Richardson said, “David Valdez is known throughout the county for his integrity, fairness and his dedication to Rio Arriba and its people. His 12 years of experience as a probation/parole officer make him very familiar with New Mexico's court system. He also shares my goals of getting tougher on (driving while intoxicated), domestic violence and crimes against children.”

Valdez had not yet taken the oath of office or received a letter of appointment from Richardson, Shipley said.

Valdez was one of 24 candidates to apply for the job, which has been open since Rodella — appointed only a few months before — resigned.

A selection committee had gone through the two dozen applications and come up with a short list of Valdez and four other applicants, who were interviewed by Richardson.
Shipley said he doesn’t know whether Richardson will chose a new judge from the other four finalists or start the process over again.

Richardson’s appointment of Rodella — husband of state Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-San Juan Pueblo — was controversial from the beginning. The governor said he was caught by surprise when an Española paper obtained an internal affairs report showing Rodella was investigated in the early 1990s for allegedly pressuring other officers to fix traffic tickets to help his wife's legislative campaign.

Richardson stood by the appointment until Rodella made headlines again for driving to the Tierra Amarilla jail on July 4 to obtain the release an acquaintance arrested on a drunken-driving charge.

After Rodella’s resignation, Richardson’s staff came up with an application form that asked more pointed questions. He also created a screening-committee progress to look at the applicants

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The executive director of the state Democratic Party — who recently has come under criticism from some members of her party — is leaving her job to work on a Ph.D.

Vanessa Alarid, who has held the party position since May 2004, will pursue a doctorate in political science at Columbia University in New York, where she earned a master's degree from the university’s School of International and Public Affairs.

“Vanessa’s a great leader with valuable ties across New Mexico,” party spokesman Matt Farrauto said Tuesday. “She has done wonders to bridge the gap between elected officials and party activists. She’ll be remembered for her strength, intelligence and integrity.”

Alarid’s departure, Farrauto said, had nothing to do with the recent controversy over the state party’s contract with Richard Buckman, a Mississippi political operator who happened to be Alarid’s boyfriend.

Under the contract, the party paid Richard Buckman $40,000 between December and September for unspecified services.

Some party activists have questioned the value of Buckman’s services and the propriety of the contract.

State Democratic Chairman John Wertheim said last week that Buckman’s relationship with Alarid had nothing to do with his getting the contract. Wertheim said Buckman was instrumental in getting retired Gen. Wesley Clark to speak at a fundraising dinner in Hobbs.

Buckman’s contract was terminated by mutual consent in September, Wertheim said. Buckman currently is in the entertainment business in Los Angeles.

Farrauto said he wasn’t sure exactly when Alarid will leave, but said she’ll stay on at least until after the Nov. 19 state Central Committee meeting. Her classes begin in January.

Alarid is the granddaughter of former state Sen. Michael Alarid. She has worked in the offices of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Gov. Bill Richardson during his tenure as a Congressman. Alarid also worked in the state Office of Homeland Security in the Richardson administration.

Before taking the job with the state party, Alarid was a majority analyst for the state House of Representatives.

LEO'S CONFESSION

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 8, 2005

On the day that Secret Service agents raided the State Treasurer’s Office in 2003 to seize computers used in a counterfeiting operation, Leo Sandoval, then an administrator in the office, scrawled a hand-written confession, admitting not only to making fake money, but acting as the bag man for kickbacks to former Treasurer Michael Montoya.

“I gave $1,000 (in counterfeit) to Mr. Paul Silva, my girlfriend’s brother who told me he was going to Tucson, Ariz.,” Sandoval wrote in the confession dated Dec. 17, 2003. “I strongly advised him against using this money for anything. He told me he was going to use this as a prank against a drug dealer in Tucson.”

Silva had been arrested a few days earlier in Tucson on counterfeiting charges and had told the Secret Service that Sandoval had given him the fake money in repayment of a debt, according to a May 2004 report by the Secret Service to U.S. Attorney David Iglesias.

Federal law enforcement officials have said that the counterfeiting case was the spark that resulting in the September indictments of former treasurers Montoya and Robert Vigil on federal charges of extortion. Vigil, who was treasurer at the time of the indictments, resigned last month in the face of possible impeachment in the Legislature.

Iglesias has agreed not to prosecute Sandoval on counterfeiting charges or for his role in the alleged kickback scheme in exchange for Sandoval’s cooperation in the Vigil and Montoya cases.

Sandoval’s confession, the Secret Service report to Iglesias and other previously unreleased documents involving his role in the treasurer scandal emerged last week in a court filing by Vigil’s lawyer Sam Bregman.

Bregman is asking federal District Judge James Parker to throw out evidence seized in an FBI search at Vigil’s home. The lawyer claims that FBI Special Agent Drew McCandless committed perjury in his affidavit to secure the search warrant.

Part of Bregman’s motion deals with McCandless’ description of Sandoval’s counterfeiting case.

The affidavit says that Sandoval — identified only as a “cooperating witness” in the document — was under investigation for counterfeiting, but “the charges were dropped as the Xeroxed money contained sports hero pictures and was intended for Christmas gifts.”

In a Nov. 2 letter to Bregman from Iglesias and prosecutor Jonathan Gerson, argued that McCandless isn’t guilty of perjury because “The FBI determined that (Sandoval’s) purposes in duplicating the currency was to create holiday gifts using pictures of sports figures and others.”

However, as The New Mexican pointed out in a Sept. 20 article, a December 2003 Secret Service affidavit details how Sandoval passed counterfeit bills not only to Silva, but also to Phillip Arellanes, who was arrested in late November 2003 for allegedly passing counterfeited $100 bills.

Neither the Secret Service affidavit nor Sandoval’s confession mention anything about sports heroes or Christmas gifts.

Sandoval in his confession also admitted to counterfeiting government documents.
“I made a driver’s license for Mr. Silva also,” he wrote. He wrote that he made Arellanes a driver’s license, a social security card, a birth certificate and a voter registration card.”

In his written confession, Sandoval gave a brief description of his role as middle man in Montoya’s alleged kickback plan.

“When I started working for the Treasurer’s Office I was asked to pick up some contributions/donations from a broker in Los Angeles,” Sandoval wrote “I came to find out that these contributions/donations were reoccurring (and) they were kickback for purchases of flex repurchase agreements.”

Sandoval wrote that he made “several subsequent trips to Los Angeles” to meet with two other investment advisors, including a man he calls “Peter Simmons.”

McCandless’ affidavit for search warrant identifies a man named Peter Simons, who was an investment advisor to the state from October 1997 to November 1999, during Montoya’s tenure as treasurer. Simons, the affidavit says “is a cooperating witness who has been immunized from prosecution in this investigation. Simons delivered money to Sandoval approximately six times, “in ever increasing amounts” the affidavit says.

“Later on Kent Nelson was introduced to Mr. Montoya by Angelo Garcia,” Sandoval wrote. “Over the next two years all transactions went through them.”

Nelson is a San Diego investment advisor who became a “cooperating witness” against both Montoya and Vigil. Garcia, who was a fundraiser for Vigil, also became a witness for the state.

“After that, Kent Nelson sent money to Angelo, Angelo gave me Michael’s share (and) I gave it to Mr. Montoya,” Sandoval wrote.

“I kept a list of all those transactions that took place (and) there is a book with them also.”

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, November 6, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Little Miss Chocolate Syrup by The Dirtbombs
Guns For Everyone by The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Shadowline by The Fleshtones
Red Death at 6:14 by The White Stripes
Mean Man by The Detroit Cobras
Wounded World by Mission of Burma
Sunday Drive by The Come Ons
Funny Thing by The Reigning Sound
Sponge Bob Square Pants by The Black Lodge Singers

Ain't It a Shame by Nirvana
True Love by X
Change in the Weather by John Fogerty
Blind Rage by Lou Reed
Connection by The Rolling Stones
The Walking Dead by The Dropkick Murpheys
Livin' in America by Black 47
Certain People I Could Name by They Might Be Giants

Joy by Bettye LaVette
Stepchild by Solomon Burke
Mama Was Right by Howard Tate
Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons by Sam Cooke
The Dark End of The Street by Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham
A Dying Man's Plea by Mavis Staples
Soul Survivor by Wilson Pickett

Mysterons by Portishead
The World Spins by Julee Cruise
Stomach Worm by Stereolab
Take My Music Back to the Church by James Blood Ulmer
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

MINUTE MAN ROCK

When my friend Margot sent me an e-mail with the subject line "Really bad music" with a link to the Sadly, No blog I just assumed that it had something to do with Prussian Blue. Both Sadly, No and I find twisted pleasure in those cute Nazi kids singing chirpy little songs about Caucasian supremacy.

But happily no, this was another example of political/musical weirdness.: Wake Up America by The Minutemen Project Band, being hawked by a group called The United American Civil Task Force. Part of the $10 you'll spend on this album -- and spend, I know you will -- go to support the UACTF and part goes to the Minutemen project.

I haven't heard it yet, so I can't honestly say whether it's truly bad music.

But judging from Sadly, No's review, it sounds like a doozy:

My personal favorites are "Boycott France," an angry anti-Gaul rap-metal ditty; "Pancho Villa Stops Here," an anti-immigrant number containing the lyrics "If you hate this country / You're gonna stop right here / We don't need your beans, we don't need your beer ..."

I think it's high time someone finally took action against those undocumented carbohydrates pouring across our border.

You can make up your own mind and listen to samples HERE.

THROUGH THE YEARS WITH FRAN GALLEGOS

In today's New Mexican I wrote a retrospective of the career of former Santa Fe Municipal Judge Fran Gallegos, who resigned Thursday after felony charges of record tampering were filed against her.

As the paper's police and courts reporter for most of the '90s, I covered most those early controversies with Fran.

It didn't make our free Web site, so I'll publish it here.

For Jason Auslander's stories on the resignation, click HERE and HERE


A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 5, 2005

Judge Frances Gallego’s nine-plus years as municipal judge were colorful, controversial and often contentious. Here’s a brief history of her public career.

*November 1994: Gallegos, running as a Green Party candidate, gets 45 percent of the vote in running against Democrat Richard “Buzzy” Padilla for Santa Fe County magistrate judge. Though she lost, her percentage was considered remarkable in the heavily Democratic County.

*March 5, 1996: Longtime Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina, under the cloud of Judicial Standards Commission investigations, loses by about 250 votes in a four-person race to Gallegos.

*May 1996: Less than two months after taking office, Gallegos asks the City Council for a raise. By the end of the year, the council agreed, increasing her salary from $39,500 to $49,500. By the time she leaves office, her salary is $65,000.

*June 1996: Gallegos causes controversy by appearing in a newspaper advertisement for a downtown restaurant. The ad, for the now defunct Fabio’s, showed a picture of the judge with a caption declaring the lobster at Fabio’s “judiciously wonderful.”

*August 1996: Gallegos starts a program that would become a trademark of her tenure in the city court — requiring convicted drunken drivers to wear bright pink baseball caps while performing court-ordered community service work in public places. The program later is expanded into a rainbow of cap colors: green for shoplifters, blue for domestic violence offenders and brown for animal ordinance violators.

*January 1997: During a long-running dispute with city officials over court funding, Gallegos filed notice of intent to sue then-Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, the city manager and several city councilors. By the next month she dropped the idea of suing the city.

*February 1997: Gallegos asks the city to buy her a .38-caliber stainless steel Smith & Wesson Ladysmith handgun for $369.99. The city declined.

*February 1997: Hundreds of Santa Fe residents who thought they’d taken care of traffic tickets — from up to nine years before — receive court summons to failure to appear in court. She acknowledged that many of those summoned were victims of bad record keeping by her predecessor, but Gallegos initially asked those summoned to supply proof that their tickets were already adjudicated. Many ended up paying court costs for the years-old tickets. After criticism, Gallegos relented and stopped the summonses. (For full story CLICK HERE)

*May 1997: Following a spate of unfavorable news coverage, Gallegos decides to restrict the hours that members of the news media can request court records to one hour a week. She quickly retreated from this plan.

*1998: Gallegos begins an alternative sentencing Drug Court program for drunken drivers and drug abusers. The program requires meditation and acupuncture.

*Jan. 10, 1999: A friend of Gallegos, who was married to a state legislator, was arrested on drunken driving charges shortly after midnight. The man called Gallegos at home. She immediately went to the county jail and ordered him released — contradicting her own policy of requiring DWI suspects to spend at least 12 hours in jail.

*Feb. 29, 2000: At a candidate forum where opponents attacked the “pink hat” program, Gallegos answered, “...sure I got carried away.” Then she made a little curtsy and said, “But I’m ‘Girl Judge.’ That’s what we do.”

*March 7, 2000: Gallegos is re-elected to a second three-year term. She defeated Fiorina and a third candidate by a healthy margin.

*August 13, 2000: Gallegos marries Michael Trujillo in a ceremony on the Plaza. The couple later divorce.

*April 2003: Gallegos is formally reprimanded by the state Supreme Court for not living within the city limits of Santa Fe for nearly two years. She said she moved to a home south of the city limits after she separated from Trujillo in the winter of 2000.

*June 2003: Following heated criticism Gallegos stops her practice of ordering traffic offenders to attend a for-profit driving-safety course taught by her chief administrator Mary Ann Caldwell. Gallegos allowed Caldwell to use the court’s facilities and property for the class. Caldwell reportedly made $30,000 during a five-year-period for the safety course. During the height of this controversy television investigative reporter Larry Barker chases Gallegos into a court restroom, where she stayed instead of talking to Barker. She finally emerged, pushing past Barker, telling him she had a meeting to attend.

*August 2003: Gallegos gets national attention for her New Agey alternative sentencing program, in which traffic offenders can learn tai chi and Japanese tea ceremonies.
*March 2, 2004: Gallegos reelected, defeating three opponents.

*July 1, 2004: State District Judge Steve Pfeffer rules that Gallegos had not been properly advising drunken driving defendants of their legal rights.

* March 2005: The state Supreme Court disciplines Gallegos for the Caldwell traffic classes, ordering Gallegos to take a course in judicial ethics.

*May 12: Gallegos confirms she is pondering a campaign for Santa Fe mayor in 2006.

*August 2 Gallegos decides she won’t run for mayor.

*August 7: The New Mexican reveals accusations that Gallegos systematically altered records of numerous DWI cases, often inflating jail sentences and the amount of time defendants spent behind bars.

*August 12: State Judicial Standards Commission recommends Gallegos be immediately suspended for “a myriad of ethical violations.” Besides the altered records, the commission said Gallegos failed to properly instruct defendants on their options for making pleas.

*August 24: The Supreme Court suspends Gallegos for 90 days while Judicial Standards conducts further investigations.

*August 30: The City Council appoints Sonya Carrasco-Trujillo, deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish as a temporary municipal judge.

*Sept. 1: Caldwell resigns.

*Sept. 13: Carrasco-Trujillo stops “pink hat” program.

*Oct. 11: The City Council votes not to pay Gallegos’ legal bills beyond the $20,000 initially approved.

*Nov. 3: Gallegos resigns after state police file three felony counts of tampering with public records.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, November 4, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Hogs on the Highway by The Bad Livers
Pick Me Up on Your Way Down by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
The Old Man Down the Road by John Fogerty
No Place in History by Big Al Anderson
Two Step Too by Delbert McClinton
Don't Ya Tell Henry by The Band
The White Trash Song by Steve Young
Please Don't Bury Me by John Prine

River, Road or Rail by Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
Hurricane Season by Tom Russell Band
Joe Citizen Blues by Son Volt
The End by Marah
Doreen by The Old 97s
Party Lights by Junior Brown
Crimson and Clover by Dolly Parton
Black Sheep by Mark Weber

Keep Going by Boozoo Bajou with Tony Joe White
All You Rounders Better Lie Down by Clothesline Revival
Mother Prays Loud in Her Sleep by Flatt & Scruggs
The Waltzing Ladies by Josh Lederman & Los Diablos
Turn Row Blues by Bobby Earl Smith
Burn That Broken Bed by Iron & Wine with Calexico
Polk Salad Annie by Tony Joe White

I Don't Wanna Play House by Tammy Wynette
Weighted Down (The Prison Song) by Alexander Spence
Glasgow Girl by Rodney Crowell
Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley
Funny How Time Slips Away by Willie Nelson
Shine on Harvest Moon by Bobby Bare
3 Hearts Later by Marti Brom
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

LIKE A NINJA

OK, Tom over at The Donegal Express challenged his cronies in blogdom to use the phrase "like a ninja" on a blog post between now and Monday.

I'm not sure exactly why.

He probably wanted something more subtle, but I had this stupid Madonna song in my head ...

I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn’t know how lost I was
Until I found you

I was beat incomplete
I’d been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you made me feel
Shiny and new

Chorus:

Like a Ninja
Touched for the very first time
Like a Ninja
When your heart beats (after first time, with your heartbeat)
Next to mine

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: BETTYE'S BACK

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 4, 2005

The new album by soul belter Bettye LaVette, I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise reminds me of a couple of other excellent albums from recent years.

There are obvious similarities between LaVette’s latest and Solomon Burke’s 2002 CD Don’t Give Up on Me. Both were produced by roots rocker Joe Henry, and both consist primarily of vibrant covers written by better known, (primarily) rock artists. (Burke sang tunes by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Elvis Costello. Here LaVette covers Sinead O’Connor, Lucinda Williams, Joan Armatrading, Aimee Mann, Dolly Parton and other female composers.)

Perhaps even more comparable to LaVette’s new album is Howard Tate’s 2003 tasty “comeback” album Rediscovered. (I’ve actually become angry when I saw this CD in bargain bins at a record store a few months ago. “The fools!” I nearly screamed.) Like Tate, LaVette is an unjustly overlooked singer who should have been a huge star in the 1960s, but through a series of strange misfortunes, somehow missed the boat. I’d like to believe that there’s a parallel world somewhere in some galaxy in which both Howard and Bettye are right up there in higher reaches of the soul pantheon.

Unlike Tate, who went missing for several decades after his recording career flopped, LaVette stuck with it, her career “like a case study in the annuls of Murphys Law, full of bad luck, wrong decisions and nonstop professional disappointments,” a wise critic once wrote.

On the new CD, Henry has assembled a very capable but unassuming batch of musicians to back her up (guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, no horn section.) But he wisely allows LaVette’s voice to remain front and center.

The album starts off with “I Do Not Want What I Do Not Have,” which was the title song of Sinead’s greatest album. Like the original, LaVette’s version is performed a capella. But the similarities end there. O’Connor’s version sounded like the cry of a wounded child. LaVette -- who has taken so many liberties with the melody she should get songwriter credits, sounds like a field holler, oozing with raw spiritual power.

Then the band comes in for “Joy” with a funky crunching guitar (Doyle Bramhall II) and LaVette shouting the title. This is one of Lucinda Williams’ greatest rockers. I never thought anyone would ever make it better, but somehow LaVette did.

She turns Parton’s folkish “Little Sparrow” into a voodoo-soaked blues, while “The High Road” written for LaVette by Sharon Robinson sounds like a gospel ballad worthy of Mavis Staples. But even prettier is “Just Say So,” in which LaVette is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. It sounds like a long, lost Stax demo.

The only slight disappointment here is “Down to Zero,” the song that introduced Joan Armatrading to the world in the late ‘70s. LaVette’s cover is worthwhile, but I find myself missing Armatrading’s understated moan.

The album ends with Fiona Apple’s “Sleep to Dream,” whose refrain not only gave LaVette the title for her album, but also reveals the singer’s underlying attitude: “This mind, this body, and this voice cannot be stifled by your deviant ways. … I‘ve got my own Hell to raise.” It’s not clear to whom LaVette is directing her rage. But I wouldn’t want to be the one to try to stifle this voice.

(The photo of Bettye LaVette is from Robert Mugge's Blues Divas.)

Also Recommended:

One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963; Night Beat; The Best of Sam Cooke. With a new biography on the shelves (Peter Guralnick’s Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke) and these three reissues from RCA/Legacy, perhaps the time has come for a full-fledged Sam Cooke revival.

This new version of One Night Stand is the “20th anniversary edition” of an album which for reasons I will never understand wasn’t released until 1985, more than 20 years after Cooke’s death.

Before this, the only live Cooke album was the rather tame Live at the Copa, which showed the softer, smoother, more uptown side of Sam. But here, Cooke, fresh off a British tour with Little Richard is all sweat and grit in this Miami show. With a band led by R&B sax titan King Curtis (grim note: both Cooke and Curtis died as a result of homicide), Cooke rips through most of his biggest hits, spotlighting the gospel fervor that had only been hinted at in the studio versions.

One Night Stand was recorded in January 1963. About a month and a half later he went into the studio and in three nights recorded what would become Night Beat.
It’s not nearly as raw as the Harlem Square show, but no less soulful. Here he plays with a small combo, including a young Billy Preston on organ. While Cooke wrote most of his own material, Night Beat is a collection of blues songs, including some Charles Brown tunes and a snazzy takes on the Howlin’ Wolf hit “Little Red Rooster” and Mississippi Fred McDowell‘s “You Gotta Move.”

But the record starts out with a quietly urgent version of the old spiritual “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”.

The fact he was doing religious material is significant. Cooke started out as a gospel singer with the influential Soul Stirrers and his “defection” to the world of pop was considered by some as an affront to God Himself. But Cooke proved here that his gospel roots still were strong.

I like the “Best Of” album here mainly, to steal a Cooke hit title, “For Sentimental Reasons.” It was one of the first albums I ever owned in the early ‘60s. It still makes me grin when I read the hyped-up headline that was on the original back cover: “He lives in the Top Ten…”

Still there are far better retrospectives to introduce a new fan. Both Portrait of a Legend, released just two years ago and The Man and His Music (1986) have about twice as many tracks, and unlike this one, contain “A Change is Gonna Come.”

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: MORE ON MR. BUCKMAN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 3, 2005

If nothing else, Mississippi political operative and all around colorful character Richard Buckman stirred things among New Mexico Democrats.

First there was his “sweetheart” contract with the state Democratic Party for which he took in $40,000 between December and September — while his real-life sweetheart Vanessa Alarid worked as the party’s executive director.

State party chairman John Wertheim insists that Alarid had nothing to do with the contract with Buckman’s TCB Consulting firm.

Then there was his precedent-setting drunken driving case.

Although two Albuquerque police officers said Buckman showed signs of intoxication — bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and the strong odor of alcohol — and although he failed a field sobriety test when he was pulled over in the early morning hours of Oct. 27, 2004 — the charge was thrown out.

A judge ruled that the field sobriety test was invalid because Buckman was too heavy.

Police guidelines say that DWI suspects more than 50 pounds overweight shouldn’t be given certain physical field sobriety tests involving balance. Buckman’s DWI charge was dropped.

Buckman didn’t return phone calls made Tuesday and Wednesday to his Los Angeles office. He’s now working in the show biz world with a company called Sand Castle Entertainment Group.

But even before Buckman came to New Mexico, Buckman’s name was attached to controversies in other states.

The Wall Street Journal in March 2004 reported that Buckman approached an associate of U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss. with an unusual offer concerning the Democratic filibuster of President Bush’s judicial nominees.

According to Pickering, Buckman had proposed a deal: Democrats were willing to end their opposition to the nomination of the congressman’s father, Charles Pickering Sr., to a federal appeals judgeship.

All the younger Pickering had to do was agree to a redistricting plan that would effectively eliminate his Congressional seat.

Buckman, in a Mississippi paper, denied trying to influence the confirmation of Judge Pickering.

Charles Pickering became a federal appeals judge, eventually getting a temporary recess appointment by Bush. He resigned late last year, shortly before his term was up. Chip Pickering still is in Congress.

(Strange aside: An online Fox News article about the alleged Pickering proposal says Buckman is “formerly a GOP consultant.”)

Also last year, Buckman found himself in the middle of an ethics fight in D’Iberville, Miss. — though he was not accused of wrongdoing himself.

According to accounts in The Sun Herald, a Biloxi, Miss. paper, Buckman was hired as a consultant on economic development issues in 2003, receiving a monthly retainer of $1,500. But when a Buckman associate went to pick up his money, the city manager said he had to go talk to a city councilor about the check.

D’Iberville Councilor Oliver Diaz said that he had made a personal loan to Buckman. Diaz said he and Buckman had agreed that if Buckman couldn’t pay his loan, Diaz would keep his consulting check.

Buckman had fallen behind on his loan payments, Diaz said.

“Richard and I are still friends. In fact, he still owes me $500,” Diaz was quoted in The Sun Herald in April 2004.

Diaz in December was found to be in violation of the city’s ethical code and was forced to reimburse the city for $1,500.

Love & Gloating on the Campaign Trail: For another perspective on Richard Buckman, check out Stump Connolly's account of meeting "a dark, brooding man in a dark suit and camel's hair coat leaning into my shoulder" while covering last year's Wisconsin primary. Buckman eventually asks Connolly, "Just paint me clean! Just paint me clean, brother."

This is where I stole the photo of Buckman -- with Stump's blessing. Be on the lookout for a soon-to-be-published book by Connolly based on his coverage of the 2004 election.

Pigskin preview: Perhaps state government is trying to create less news about kickbacks and more about kick-offs.

Whatever the case, the state is advertising for proposals for consultants who will study the feasibility study of attracting a National Football League to New Mexico.

James Jimenez, secretary of the state Department of Finance and Administration said in an interview Wednesday that this request for proposals came about as a result of talk earlier this year about trying to lure the New Orleans Saints franchise to the state.

After Saints owner Tom Benson talked about the possibility of moving the team out of New Orleans — and this was well before Hurricane Katrina — Richardson sent representatives to talk to the team management.

It’s not likely that New Mexico will get the Saints, Jimenez said. But Richardson wants to study everything that is needed for the state to be in the position of being serious about trying for an NFL team, he said.

“We want to know what are the business requirements, what’s expected of a public entity, what kind of stadium would be required, the number of tickets you’d have to sell,” Jimenez said. “Everything needed to make New Mexico more attractive.”

The maximum the state will pay for the study is $150,000, Jimenez said. The deadline for proposals is Dec. 2.

And though I’m sure it’s premature, my vote is to call the team The New Mexico Jackalopes.

WERTHEIM UNDER FIRE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
Nov. 2, 2005

State Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim — under fire recently from some Democrats who say he has kept them in the dark on party finances and other matters — said Tuesday that he hasn’t done a good job communicating with his members.

“I haven’t done enough reaching out and soliciting other people’s advice,” Wertheim said in an interview. Wertheim has been state chairman since April 2004.

Wertheim said he is working on improving his communication with party rank-and-file and has taken to heart criticism of his leadership listed in a letter last week from 16 members of the party’s state Central Committee.

The Oct. 24 letter — sent to all 350 central committee members — was from members from the state party’s “progressive” wing.

One of those signing the letter, Barbara Wold of Albuquerque, said her main concern is that the state party needs to be more transparent and more communicative.

In a progressive Democrat blog called Democracy for New Mexico, Wold wrote, “We believe the party's focus has been on candidates and their big personalities at the top instead of on principles and positions that come from the bottom up — the very things that define who we are and what we stand for as a Party.”

Charlotte Roybal of Santa Fe, a longtime party activist who signed the letter, said she and others made a proposal to Wertheim to form a progressive caucus. She never heard back, she said.

Wertheim’s critics say he has not made the state party’s budget available to them. Those signing the letter said they want to see “a meaningful and detailed accounting of the incomes and expenditures that have reduced our state party’s coffers to a dangerous low.”

Wertheim denied that the party is having financial problems.

According to the most recent available filing with the Federal Election Commission, the state party has cash on hand totaling $50,818. Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, the state party has spent about $40,000 more than it had taken in.

Party spokesman Matt Farrauto said having $50,000 in the bank during an off election year is “fantastic.” He said the contention that the party is in financial trouble is “fiction conjured by people who don’t have a good perspective.”

Wertheim said the party’s finances and budgets are available to any Central Committee member “who wants to come in and look at our records.”

He said that all the party’s monthly finance reports are available on the Internet. State political organizations are required to file reports with the FEC. But he said he intends to require the party treasurer to come up with a way to help party members better understand the financial reports.

One large expense that has been criticized by some Democrats is a now-terminated consulting contract with a firm called TCB, which cost the party $40,000 between December and September. The company is headed by a man named Richard Buckman, who at least for some time in recent months, was dating the party’s executive director, Vanessa Alarid.

The letter also complains that Wertheim hasn’t responded to requests for regular meetings of the Platform and Resolutions Committee “so we can counter the recurring criticism that the Democratic Party does not stand for anything.”

Wertheim said the activists have a point in this criticism. He said he recently reactivated the committee.

Some Democratic activists have raised concerns about the large turnover on the state party staff in recent months. Last month the party lost long-time comptroller Brian Monaghan, who was hired in 1998 to straighten out problems the party was having with the FEC. Monaghan, 65, said last week his retirement had nothing to do with any problems in the party.

Wertheim said that while some positions haven’t been filled, the party recently hired four regional field organizers to help Democratic efforts in all parts of the state. Their salaries, he said, are being paid by the Democratic National Committee.

Until recently, the party had four other field organizers who were paid by Gov. Bill Richardson’s campaign fund. Those four still work for the governor’s political operation.

Wertheim said part of the party’s problems is that so many new people became active in the party during the 2004 election.

“There’s a lot of energy and passion for the party by people who want to get involved who have no prior experience in party politics,” he said.

Wold, a Howard Dean supporter who became active during last year’s state Democratic presidential caucus, said that she is one of those newcomers Wertheim mentions.

“The party’s not used to having all these new people come in,” she said. “There are 40 to 50 state Central Committee members who are new and don’t expect things to be run like they’ve been run before.”

Wold said the challenge of the Democrats is to “get new blood without turning off the people who’ve worked (with the party) a long time.”

Meet Richard Buckman

A Democratic political operative from Mississippi who was paid $40,000 the state Democratic Party while dating the party’s executive director, has raised eyebrows among some party activists.

TCB Consulting, headed by Richard Buckman, 37, was contracted for “party building and fund raising” between December and September. During at least part of his tenure in New Mexico he was dating Vanessa Alarid, executive director of the state party.

Wertheim said in an interview Tuesday that Alarid had nothing to do with Buckman’s hiring.

During his time here Buckman was arrested on a drunken driving charge in Albuquerque shortly before last year’s election.

However, his lawyer was able to get the DWI charge dropped after convincing a judge that the 300-pound Buckman was too heavy to pass a field sobriety test in which Buckman had lost his balance while trying to walk a straight line.

In September he pleaded guilty to having driving without insurance or his driver’s license.

Buckman couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

Some Democratic critics of Wertheim have questioned the TCB contract and what exactly the Democrats got for their money.

Wertheim said Buckman did valuable work for the party in terms of fundraising.

One of TCB’s major accomplishments, Wertheim said Tuesday, was getting retired Gen. Wesley Clark to speak at a fundraising dinner in Hobbs. Strengthening the Democratic Party in southeastern New Mexico — which voted overwhelmingly Republican last year — is crucial, Wertheim said.

In a July e-mail to a county party chairman who had questioned Buckman’s contract, Wertheim wrote, “TCB’s consulting arrangement focuses on strengthening the (state party’s) relationship with the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, both of which have provided substantial financial support to the DPNM during my tenure as Chairman.”

Last week outgoing party comptroller Brian Monaghan said he had never seen the TCB contract, though he had once asked Wertheim to see it.

“I’m not going to read anything into that,” Monaghan said. But he said normally he would see such contracts.

Wertheim said “I’m not sure why he said he couldn’t see it. The contract is on file at the office.”

The contract with TCB was terminated in September by mutual agreement of both parties, Wertheim said.

The DWI arrest had nothing to do with the contract being terminated, Wertheim said.

Buckman currently is in the entertainment business in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: A Democrat reader just pointed out to me that in my subhead for this post I mistakenly had written "Meet Richard Buckner."

For those who don't know, Richard Buckner is a wonderful singer in the alt country realm. You can read about him HERE. As far as I know, he's never been a political operative from Mississippi.

Fortunately, I got Richard Buckman's name correct in the rest of this post, and, thank God, in the paper.