ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: RACING WITH RICHARDSON

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 9, 2005

MANCHESTER, N.H. — New Mexicans upset by those reports a couple of years ago indicating Gov. Bill Richardson orders his state police drivers to go 100 mph on our roads shouldn’t feel alone.

According to one New England journalist, our governor does this in Nuevo Hampshire too.

On Wednesday morning, a freelance photographer from Cambridge, Mass., working for The New Mexican to document Richardson’s visit here this week, tried to follow the governor’s entourage from a public radio station in Concord, N.H., to a meeting in Portsmouth, N.H. “I tried to keep up, but I gave up at 95 mph,” Jodi Hilton said.

No, the New Hampshire police didn’t stop him. In fact, a New Hampshire State Police officer accompanied Team Richardson on his travels.

Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks denied the governor was going that fast. “I was in the car behind him, and we didn’t go over 70,” he said.

The Richardson Posse: Richardson, of course, didn’t go alone to New Hampshire. Traveling with him, according to Chief of Staff Dave Contarino, were four staffers and two state police officers assigned to the governor.

The Democratic Governors Association, which Richardson chairs, is paying for the travel — except the police, who are paid by the state. So far, there have been no audible objections from other Democratic governors — though that could change if any other D-guv jumps into the presidential race.

Keeping the trains on time: Also with Richardson was Michael J. Stratton, a political consultant from Littleton, Colo. Stratton has worked for the Carter and Clinton administrations and has managed campaigns of several Colorado Democrats, including last year’s successful U.S. Senate race by Ken Salazar. He’s now a consultant for the Democratic Governors Association.

“I do a lot of (Richardson’s) out-of-town appearances,” Stratton told me shortly before Richardson spoke at Tuesday’s New Hampshire Latino Summit luncheon. “We’re old friends. I’ve known him for about 30 years, since he first moved to New Mexico.”

Stratton, according to a March article in The Hill, a publication about Congress, is a new member of a Democratic National Committee’s commission studying possible changes to the strange process by which the political parties choose our presidential nominees. The publication noted that Stratton assembled a coalition of Democrats in eight Western states, including New Mexico, to petition the DNC to push for a Western regional primary.

Richardson repeatedly assured New Hampshire audiences, who are a little touchy about the subject, that he’s in favor of keeping the New Hampshire primary first.

Stratton was modest about his role in Richardson’s current trip. “I’m just an advance man,” he said. “I make the trains run on time.”

Another familiar face: Also popping up at several Richardson stops here was Walter “Butch” Maki, a Santa Fe businessman and lobbyist as well as a former staffer of Richardson’s when he served in Congress and a longtime associate.

Maki told me he was in New England helping set up a branch of his security business. Maki, a New Hampshire native who still owns land there, invited several relatives from the area to Richardson’s Politics and Eggs speech Tuesday.

Recycling jokes: When you hire joke writers for $12,000, you don’t just want to use a joke once and throw it away. One of Richardson’s best-received routines here is one where he explains in both English and Spanish his position on running for president. “No, I will not run for president,” he says in English. Then, switching to Spanish, he adds, “Seguro que sí, ¡voy a ser candidato!” (”Of course, I will be a candidate!”)

Luckily few people, if anyone, attending Tuesday’s New Hampshire Latino Summit had been at the annual Gridiron dinner in Washington, D.C., when he premiered the joke a couple of months ago.

Courting the I-man: Speaking of jokers, at a Wednesday breakfast for a group of French-American New Hampshirites, someone asked Richardson whether he would seek the support of national radio-personality Don Imus, who operates a ranch for children with terminal diseases in San Miguel County and also broadcasts some of his shows from there.

Richardson described his relationship with the acid-tongued broadcaster: “In the early days of our relationship, he made false allegations about me — that I was fat. I wondered why I should go on his show when he pillories me.” After Richardson appeared on Imus in the Morning, however, Imus wasn’t so rough on him, Richardson said.

Richardson, who is a frequent guest on countless national television-news shows, said he gets more comments from Imus listeners than from all the other shows. “People are always telling me, ‘I heard you on Imus,’ ” he said. “Or Imus was making fun of you, ha-ha.’ ”

STATE GOP ATTACKS GUV IN TWO STATES

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 9, 2005

MANCHESTER, N.H. — As Gov. Bill Richardson traveled around New Hampshire on Wednesday, making contacts and trying to build his name recognition for a possible presidential bid, New Mexico Republicans launched an ad campaign designed to embarrass him in two states.

The New Mexico Republican Party began airing radio spots in both New Hampshire and New Mexico criticizing Richardson for what they call his “extravagant lifestyle at taxpayer expense.”

The ad labels Richardson as a “high-class showboat” and compares him with entertainers P. Diddy and Britney Spears.

The attack apparently was inspired in part by news reports that the Richardson administration spent $5.5 million to buy a new jet airplane — though the 30-second commercial blasts him on other issues as well.

Marta Kramer, executive director of state Republican Party, said Wednesday, “When people heard about this plane, our phones were ringing off the hook.”

A Richardson spokesman issued a statement denouncing the ads. “This is a desperate, pathetic, partisan attack filled with lies and complete fabrications, and about what you would expect from a party that lacks leadership and any real ideas for moving New Mexico forward,” Gilbert Gallegos wrote.

A GOP news release said the ad campaign — called “Operation High Roller” — will run statewide in New Mexico for at least the next week and that the ads aired Wednesday on three New Hampshire stations. The New Hampshire ads, the announcement said, are “designed to coincide with Richardson’s pursuit of the Democratic nomination for President.”

Richardson has told several New Hampshire audiences this week that he is keeping his options open for 2008. He has repeatedly said his main focus is getting re-elected governor in 2006.

Political experts in New Hampshire and Washington, D.C., have said this week’s trip to New Hampshire appears to be a “testing of the waters” for Richardson.

Kramer declined to say how much her party had spent on the ads or what stations would be airing them. But the party released this transcript of the ad:

It’s the lifestyles of the rich and famous ... who is this high-class showboat?
$5.5 million for a brand new jet airplane ...
Three personal chefs ...
Travels with a large entourage of body guards and staff to places like Europe and Las Vegas ...
Gets front-row seats to all the best events ... and isn’t bothered by speed limits ...
Is it P-Diddy? (Britney) Spears?
No ... it’s Gov. Bill Richardson ...
And how does Gov. Richardson pay for it all ... he doesn’t — you do ...
That’s why Bill Richardson has raised taxes by 740 million dollars ... and raided our children’s permanent fund ...
And the most creative way to keep the money rolling in? Bill Richardson taxes the elderly in nursing homes at $9 a day ... that’s over $3,000 a year for every patient ...
Nursing-home patients may have to dig deep to pay the tab ... But Governor Richardson just wouldn’t be the same without his 5 million dollar jet.
Announcer: Call Gov. Richardson at 827-3000 ... tell him to stop living the rich and famous lifestyle ... on the backs of New Mexico taxpayers.

The controversial jet is a 2005 Cessna Citation Bravo, which can carry eight passengers and two pilots at a speed of 463 mph. Delivery is expected in August.

Speaking to reporters before hearing the news about the Republicans radio ads, Richardson defended the purchase of the plane, saying Republican critics were “just playing politics.”

“Every Republican in the Legislature voted for the plane,” he said.

Richardson said he’s not the only state official who will be using the plane. “A lot of people will benefit from it,” he said, adding that the governor’s office will only use it 7 percent of the time.

Gallegos said the Department of Transportation uses state aircraft the most at 28 percent of the time, followed by the School for the Visually Handicapped at 20 percent; the Department of Health Children Medical Services uses state planes 9 percent of the time.

The new jet will replace a “39-year-old, unsafe plane,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos’ news release challenges most the points of the Republican ad.

He said the Governor’s mansion staff employs only one chef.

He noted that Richardson has successfully pushed for personal income-tax cuts as well as ending gross-receipts taxes on food. Republicans argue that these tax cuts have been more than offset by increases in taxes and fees in other areas, including various taxes on the trucking industry, a huge raise in cigarette taxes and other increases.

He argued that Richardson rarely takes a state plane on his out-of-state trips and that most of Richardson’s travels are within the state.

NEW FANS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

As published in The The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 9, 2005

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Gov. Bill Richardson’s two-day trip to New Hampshire, which included an overstuffed schedule of speaking engagements, interviews and news conferences, won him praise from many who heard him.

A typical comment came from Eric Drouart, a professor of business administration who heard a Wednesday breakfast speech by the New Mexico Democrat.

“I was impressed by his bipartisan approach to solving the problems of education and security,” Drouart said. “And he was very funny.”

Richardson, who claimed his trip officially had nothing to do with any presidential ambitions, told anyone who asked that he is keeping his options open for the 2008 race. New Hampshire traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the election cycle.

Most of those interviewed seemed to assume that Richardson is running for president. At a Tuesday breakfast event, when Richardson said “I’m not running for anything,” a woman in the audience laughed and said “Sure.”

Many praised Richardson for his sense of humor. “I like the fact he is self-deprecating,” said Chris Williams, vice president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, who was part of a small audience Wednesday at a breakfast for leaders in the local Franco-American community.

In that talk, Richardson poked fun at his girth and laughed at his attempt to speak French. (Though Richardson said he minored in French in college, his command of that language is far less impressive than his Spanish.)

He also made frequent jokes about his real intentions for 2008.

“I’m not asking you for anything. ... Yet,” he told the Franco-Americans.

Many praised Richardson’s knowledge of issues. “He spent a good deal of time talking about education,” said Jim Brett, president of the New England Council, a business group that sponsored Tuesday’s Politics and Eggs breakfast.

Karina Mera, who heard Richardson at a luncheon for the New Hampshire Latino Summit on Tuesday, said it’s good for young Hispanics to see an example of a successful Hispanic like Richardson. “I really hope he runs for president,” she said.

New Hampshire reporters and radio interviewers who talked to Richardson seemed to be interested in two major topics — the governor’s opinion of recent comments by Democratic National chairman Howard Dean and two small-town New Hampshire police chiefs who recently began arresting undocumented Mexican immigrants on charges of trespassing.

On Dean, Richardson said he stands behind the chairman, though he said Dean made a mistake with his recent controversial remarks about Republicans.

On the police chiefs, Richardson said he didn’t think they should make such arrests, but said he sympathizes with them, saying the situation is the result of a failed federal immigration policy.

One Republican who heard Richardson on Wednesday said she found Richardson charming and full of common sense.

But Georgi Laurin Hippauf, a former vice chair of the New Hampshire GOP, predicted Richardson would not end up on the top of the Democratic ticket.

“If Hillary (Clinton) runs, I can see Gov. Richardson as being the perfect geographical match,” Hippauf said. “She’s from the East and he’s from the West. And he emulates a warmth she doesn’t necessarily have. If I were running the Democratic campaign, that would be my strategy.”

RICHARDSON: THE NEW HAMPSHIRE RITUAL

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 8, 2005


MANCHESTER, N.H. — Many of the New Hampshire political veterans who came to hear Gov. Bill Richardson on Tuesday at a “Politics and Eggs” breakfast and at the 2005 New Hampshire Latino Summit assume Richardson’s trip here this week is a classic testing of the waters.

They have no doubt the New Mexico Democrat’s grueling schedule of speeches, interviews, fundraisers and private meetings with party honchos is part of the same ritual that scores of other would-be presidents have gone through.

At a news conference, Richardson remained officially noncommittal about his intentions in New Hampshire, traditional site of the nation’s earliest presidential primary: “I haven’t ruled anything out.”

On other occasions, he joked about presidential ambitions. He said he is too busy with local issues to run for president. “Like the new snowmobile trail in Dixville Notch,” he quipped, referring to a New Hampshire state park.

It’s an election process that starts so early that most average citizens here — people who work in stores and restaurants — don’t seem to know or care about the politicians making “Hey, look me over” trips through their communities.

“No one’s going to declare their candidacies until after the midterm elections,” observed Michael Chaney, president and CEO of the New Hampshire Political Library, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the New Hampshire presidential primary. “But it does not hurt to come up here and make friends with political leaders.”

James Pindell, managing editor of a Web site called politicsNH.com, said of Richardson: “He’s the third Democrat to come up so far. His agenda is to be mentioned as many times as possible as a potential candidate.”

State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Lou D’Allesandro said the 2008 primary clearly has started already. “I was with (U.S. Sen.) Joe Biden (a Democrat from Delaware) last night,” he said. “I helped Gov. Richardson set up his schedule.”

D’Allesandro, who supported former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina in the 2004 primary, said he would be inclined to support Edwards again if he runs. But he said Richardson is making the right moves in New Hampshire.

“The person who wins is the person who connects,” he said in an interview at his state Capitol office in Concord. “If he comes and he connects and people see him and want more Bill Richardson, he’ll get momentum. These visits are in that category.”

A sense of state boosterism about the New Hampshire primary is one area in which Democrats and Republicans share the same view. Warren Henderson, state chairman of the New Hampshire Republican party, said Tuesday that early — and frequent — visits by national candidates are good for the people of New Hampshire. “I don’t know about the Democrats,” he said, “but Republicans ask over and over for national politicians to come visit. It helps us raise money and draw crowds.”

In an interview at his office across the street from the Capitol, Henderson said the New Hampshire primary is an opportunity for candidates to not only promote themselves, but to promote issues they care about. “In Washington, there are only four or five issues they talk about,” he said. “But when you come to a place where politics is always in season, you can make your issue part of the national debate.”

Richardson got belly laughs from politicians and business leaders Tuesday when he joked about the New Hampshire primary’s traditional first-in-the-nation status.

“Being from New Mexico, I believe very strongly in a Western primary,” he said. People from the West should have a say in who is chosen for president, he said. “The people of Keene should have the same right as the people of Manchester.”

(For those unfamiliar with Granite State geography, Keene is in the western part of the state, Manchester in the east.)

Later in the speech, Richardson went back to the subject, saying despite his support for an early Western-state primary, New Hampshire should remain the first primary in the presidential-selection process.

“Besides the fact that it’s your birthright,” he said, “you are the grass-roots state.”

Reassuring people in New Hampshire that he does not want to usurp their first-primary status was a good move on Richardson’s part, several political observers agreed.

New Hampshire voters are protective about their primary — which by state law must be held before any other state’s presidential primary.

Both Democrats and Republicans here seem to think this status is under siege. The national Democratic Party has a commission studying various plans to restructure the primary process.

Richardson and other Western governors have for more than a year been talking about an early Western presidential primary.

“The advocacy of an early Western primary won’t hurt as long as it’s after (New Hampshire’s),” Linda Fowler, a political-science professor at Dartmouth College, said in an e-mail last week. “Otherwise, the hostility will be pretty thick.”

The New Hampshire primary dates to 1916, when it was one of three states to conduct a primary to elect delegates to party conventions. For many years, the state selected uncommitted delegates to the conventions and didn’t vote directly for candidates. That changed here in 1952, a year when Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower proved he could win votes by defeating Republican Party favorite U.S. Sen. Robert Taft in the GOP presidential primary and U.S. Sen. Estes Kefauver upset President Harry Truman in Democratic Party voting.

Unlike New Mexico, where the state pays for primaries in which only major-party voters can participate, New Hampshire allows independent voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican primaries. More than 40 percent of voters here are registered as independents.

Although Richardson trails far behind in a recent New Hampshire poll, many state residents feel he would have a decent shot.

Westerners like Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado have emerged victorious in New Hampshire — at the expense of the perceived front-runner.

And one little quirk about New Hampshire: Due to the intense news-media and political-professional-class analyses of the primary and “horse-race” coverage, you don’t actually have to come in first in order to “win” the primary.

Ask Democrat George McGovern, who came in behind front-runner Edmund Muskie in 1972, or Bill Clinton, who came in 8 percentage points behind U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas of Massachusetts in 1992.

Most New Hampshire residents interviewed said they expect to see a lot more of Richardson in the next two and a half years. And the governor did nothing to dispel such talk. Concluding his speech at the Latino Summit luncheon, Richardson said, “See you soon.”

The early polls:

A recent poll by The Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire indicates New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has a long way to go to win the New Hampshire primary.

In April, pollsters read a list of potential Democratic candidates and asked 178 voters which ones they would support if the election were held now. Richardson’s numbers were in single digits — a distant fifth behind better-known potential candidates.

Smith said it’s not surprising Richardson scores so low in New Hampshire at this point — about two and a half years before the next presidential primary.

Several New Hampshire political observers have noted that Granite State voters sometimes back candidates initially seen as long shots.

On the Republican side, a Smith poll of 195 voters showed former New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani in the early lead with 29 percent, followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain with 25 percent. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was a distant third with 9 percent.

NEW HAMPSHIRE BOUND

I'm heading to New England Monday to report on Gov. Bill Richardson's trip to New Hampshire.

Here's what I had in this morning's paper:

As published in the Santa Fe New Mexican
June 5, 2005

As usual, Gov. Bill Richardson has a full schedule this week.

On Tuesday and Wednesday he'll be giving at least four speeches before political, business and cultural groups; doing a couple of radio interviews and appearing at various meetings with Democratic Party officials. He'll be attending breakfast, lunch and dinner events, at least one political cocktail party and conducting at least one news conference.

On Wednesday, Richardson's public itinerary starts at 6:30 a.m. and runs until 9 p.m.

But it's not in New Mexico where these events are happening.

It's New Hampshire.

Politicos and those who watch them know the significance of the Granite State. It's traditionally where the first presidential primary is held.

Richardson, who routinely brushes off questions about his possible candidacy for president in 2008, denies this week's trip has anything to do with the primary.

"He was invited to speak to these groups," Richardson spokesman Billy Sparks said Friday. Sparks said the governor has had long-standing invitations for some of the functions. He added his oft-repeated mantra: "The governor is focused on his re-election campaign."

The Democratic Governors Association - of which Richardson is chair - is paying for the trip, Sparks said.

However, publicity for some of the events mentions that Richardson is a "potential" presidential candidate in 2008.

And serious political observers assume that, despite any official denial, the main purpose of Richardson's trip is to make contacts and build relations with Democratic Party activists and to start getting his name out in front of New Hampshire voters.

"Bill Richardson is something of a blank slate to New Hampshire Democrats at this point, even to the core of activists who are paying attention now," said Dante Scala, a professor at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.

"He doesn't come with sizable negatives or strong baggage," Scala said in a telephone interview. "I'm sure he'll find a receptive audience here, but people aren't really anticipating his arrival like they are Hillary Clinton."

Although the primary is more than two and a half years in the future, Scala - author of a 2003 book titled Stormy Weather: The New Hampshire Primary and Presidential Politics - said this is a good time for a potential candidate to begin making overtures in New Hampshire "especially for someone like Richardson who is not that well known here," he said. "It's good for someone
to come and get his face known, especially to the core activists who could end up working in his campaign."

Linda Fowler, a political-science professor at Dartmouth College agreed. In an e-mail last week, Fowler wrote, "this is the type of visit for meeting the activists who organize grass-roots primary campaigns in the state. The state legislators and party people will be looking him over, and like every Democrat, they will be looking for someone who can win."

Richardson isn't the only early bird to visit New Hampshire. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and retired Gen. Wesley Clark have trips planned in the near future.

On the Republican side, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Virginia Sen. George Allen, Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney have paid recent visits. Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska spoke last month at the "Politics and Eggs" breakfast, where Richardson is scheduled to speak Tuesday.

New Hampshire voters are "spoiled," said Larry Sabato, director of the Virginia Center for Politics. "They're going to expect to see more of Bill Richardson than New Mexicans do. They're tough to read, and they don't intend to make their final decision until the last minute. That's why there are so many upsets in New Hampshire."

Fowler agreed: "The state has a tradition lately of boosting relative unknowns in the fall polls before the primary," he said.

What will New Hampshire Democrats want in a candidate?

"Typically they are attracted to a candidate with a message of reform and a willingness to stir the pot," Scala said. "They like new ideas, candidates from outside the Beltway instead of résumé candidates."

Could that be trouble for someone like Richardson, who campaigned on his résumé for governor three years ago? (His employment record includes stints as U.S. Energy secretary, ambassador to the United Nations, a long Congressional career, as well as being governor of New Mexico.)

"He's going to have to find a way to turn his résumé into something like 'a reformer with results,' " Scala said, borrowing a catch phrase used by President Bush in the 2000 election.

Voters there will pay special attention to the issues of education and health care, Scala said.

The fact that Richardson is a westerner shouldn't in itself be a handicap with New Hampshire voters.

"New Hampshire voters are not parochial," said Paul Manuel, also a political-science professor at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

"Westerners have as good a shot of winning the primary as New Englanders. People here pride themselves for being independent thinkers and try to select a candidate best able to lead the country. In that regard, (New Hampshire) Democrats will probably be on the look-out for a candidate who can articulate a clear, perhaps centrist, message, as well as have broad electoral appeal. As is probably the case elsewhere with Democrats, they are tired of losing national elections."

Sabato said Richardson might "intrigue" New Hampshire. "They will give him a close look," he said. "Being Hispanic could be a plus. Some New Hampshire Democrats are sensitive about the fact the state is 98 percent white. This could be their opportunity to go for a minority."

Here are some of the stops on Gov. Bill Richardson's New Hampshire itinerary. (All events in the Manchester area unless otherwise noted):

Tuesday June 7

Politics and Eggs Breakfast
Richardson is the featured speaker at this monthly breakfast sponsored by the New Hampshire Political Library and the New England Council, an economic development group. The breakfast was started in 1996 and, according to some New Hampshire press accounts, has become a "must-stop" for presidential candidates.

The 2005 New Hampshire Latino Summit
Richardson is the luncheon speaker at this conference sponsored by Visión Hispana-NH, an organization for Hispanic professionals, and Vote Now New Hampshire Hispanics. While New England isn't generally thought of as a hotbed of Hispanic culture, event organizers say more than 25,000 Hispanics live in New Hampshire. This is New Hampshire's second annual Latino Summit. Richardson will speak at a press conference immediately before the luncheon.

Meeting with Gov. John Lynch at state Capitol in Concord.
Lynch is a Democrat elected last year and up for re-election next year.

Event for the New Hampshire Democratic Party
This is a meet-and-greet cocktail party at the Common Man restaurant in Concord. However, the common man won't get to attend, as this is a private event. The press isn't invited either.

Wednesday, June 8

The Charlie Sherman Show
Richardson will be interviewed on this early morning radio show on WGIR-AM, a Clear Channel station that broadcasts popular right-wing talk shows by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

Breakfast speech for Franco-American citizens at America's Credit Union
Museum
New Hampshire Commissioner for the Department of Cultural Resources Van McLeod organized this event for a group of New Hampshirites in the local business, academic and cultural communities who have ties to Quebec and northeast Canada. Richardson was invited, McLeod said, because he speaks French as well as English and Spanish.

The Exchange, New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord
Richardson is scheduled to be a guest on New Hampshire's only statewide call-in show.


The 10th Annual Grover Cleveland Dinner
Richardson is the featured speaker for this event sponsored by the Carroll County Democratic Party and held at the Grand Summit Hotel in Bartlett, N.H. While President Cleveland was a Democrat, the former mayor of Buffalo, N.Y. originally was from New Jersey, not New Hampshire. But he used to vacation in New Hampshire and his grandson George Cleveland lives there. George Cleveland is scheduled to make an appearance at the dinner impersonating his grandfather.