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.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 30, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

THE STEVE TERRELL SPOOKTACULAR!
Halloween Hootenanny by Zacherle
Monster by Fred Schneider
Haunted House by Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
Monster Rock by Screaming Lord Sutch
Zomby Woof by Frank Zappa
Werewolf by Southern Culture on the Skids
Pet Semetary by The Ramones
You Must Be a Witch by The Lollipop Shoppe
Voodoo Voodoo by LaVern Baker
New Mexico (from John Carpenter's Vampires)
The Blob by The Five Blobs

King Henry by Steeleye Span
Demonoid Phenomenon by Rob Zombie
Everyday is Halloween by Ministry
Monsters of the ID by Mose Allison
Lonesome Undertaker by The Ghastly Ones
(I Lost My Baby to a) Satan Cult by Stephen W. Terrell

Graveyard by Trailer Bride
Night of the Vampire by Roky Erickson
Rockin' Bones by The Cramps
Brand New Girl by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) by Concrete Blonde
The Man with the Candy by The Frogs

Feast of the Mau Mau by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Loop Garoo by Dr. John
Am I Demon? by Danzig
Welcome to My Nightmare by Alice Cooper
Night of the Wolves by Gary Heffern
Wound by Stan Ridgway & Pietra Wexstum
Heebie-Jeebies by Little Richard
Happy Halloween by Zacherle

IT'S SPOOKALICIOUS!

Just a reminder that the 200th Annual Steve Terrell Spooktacular is tonight on KSFR, 90.7 FM, starting at 10 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, going on to the witching hour.

Those from out of town can listen on the web.

Dance and romance to beloved fright songs by Roky Erickson, The Cramps, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Rob Zombie, The Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch and more.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: SWEET SOUL MUSIC

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 28, 2005

Southern soul music of the 1960s -- which for my money was one of the major pinnacles of American music -- represented not only a joyful triumph of Black culture but provided a vibrant example of the possibilities of integration.

The music that came out of Memphis and Muscle Shoals -- which was rawer and grittier than the more polished pop of Motown -- featured amazing Black singers. The Stax/Volt galaxy, for instance -- Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and Percy Sledge. But you can’t overlook the contributions of certain talented Caucasians to this glorious sound.


Guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn -- members of Booker T & The MGs who performed on countless classic soul records -- are high on this list. So are songwriter/producer Dan Penn and keyboardist/songwriter Spooner Oldham. These guys are living proof that soul knows no color line.

This duo is responsible for the recently released Moments From This Theatre: Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham Live, recorded from various concert performances in the British Isles while touring with Nick Lowe in 1998.

Unlike the countless hits that bear the mark of Penn and/or Oldham, this CD isn’t a high-charged, sweaty, Dionysian strut. Instead, it’s low-key, a little moody, full of quiet intensity. These still waters indeed run deep. The soul’s so thick, you might break the knife if you tried to cut it.

Penn strums an unassuming guitar, singing lead (on all but one song) with his mournful drawl. Oldham’s gospel-drenched Wurlitzer piano sounds almost otherworldly.

The duo leads us through some of their best-known material, starting out with “I’m Your Puppet,” originally a hit for James and Bobby Purify.

There’s “Sweet Inspiration,” a faux gospel tune that was a minor hit and signature song for a girl group appropriately called The Sweet Inspirations (who later would become backup singers for Elvis Presley’s touring ensemble); “Cry Like a Baby,” a hit for a young Alex Chilton with his ‘60s band The Box Tops; a lesser known and unjustly overlooked Percy Sledge hit “Out of Left Field”; and “A Woman Left Lonely,” best known for its version by Janis Joplin.

Probably the best-known -- and probably the best period -- Penn songs -- “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and “Dark End of the Street” are both here. These songs, both high in gospel influence, are like emotional bookends. The former is a sturdy declaration of everlasting fidelity, sung not from a starry-eyed, giddy, “I’m-in-love-I’ll- promise-anything” perspective, but as a hard-won, well thought out piece of wisdom. It’s a pledge of respect and a demand for respect.

The latter is a confession of shame and weakness, but a nonetheless sincere cry of devotion to an illicit romance. While “Do Right” implies that some kind of moral crisis has been vanquished or averted, the narrator of “Dark End” is sinking fast and isn’t even sure if he wants to be pulled out.

My personal introduction to both of these songs, which were co-written with Chips Moman -- were on Gilded Palace of Sin, the first album by The Flying Burrito Brothers.

“Do Right Woman” first was recorded by Aretha Franklin. Between her 1967 record and the Burritos’ 1969 version, the song was covered by William Bell, Joe Tex, Cher and Delaney & Bonnie.

“Dark End of the Street” has been around the block even more. It’s been covered by Aretha, Percy, Joe Tex, Dolly Parton, Gary Stewart, Ry Cooder, Gregg Allman, Lazy Lester, Richard & Linda Thompson, Porter Wagoner, Elvis Costello The Afghan Whigs, and most recently, Frank Black (on his latest album Honeycomb, which features performances by Penn and Oldham).

“Everybody keeps asking me what’s my favorite version of `Dark End of the Street,’” Penn says, introducing the song here. “As if there was any others but James Carr’s.” Carr was the first to record it in 1966.

There are several lesser known tunes here too, “I Met Her in Church” (an obscure Box Tops song) and the funny country funk of “Memphis Women and Chicken” standing out.

Penn and Oldham did their most important work in the shadows of more famous singers. But this short excursion into the spotlight only enhances their invaluable contributions.

(The Web site for Proper Records has no information on this CD at this writing. If you can’t find it in local stores, just Google the title and you’ll find several online vendors who have it.)

*If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry by Marah. Like the best work of this Philadelphia band, this new album is raucous and rootsy.

Brothers David and Serge Bielanko, who make up the core of the band, do little to discourage comparisons to Springsteen and Gasoline Alley-era Rod Stewart.

But don’t assume Marah is some kind of classic-rock revivalist band. The more records they put out, the more distinct they sound.

One of my favorite songs here is “The Hustle,” in which Dave sings of leaving the maddening pace of the city (“Claim me a country hill and a woman with which to grow old …”), though the frantic rhythm and the pounding guitar paints a picture of a crazed but seductive urban world to which you know he’ll always go back.

“The End” (no, not The Doors’ song) starts out with a gentle dobro riff over a shuffling beat. The song goes quiet for several seconds before coming back with an urgent melody that Lindsey Buckingham would have killed to have written.

But the high point of this record is “The Dishwasher’s Dream,” a Dylanesque (harmonica and all) nightmare of working class angst, blood and suicide and Cheetos and dope. The melody sounds like some Irish outlaw ballad.

No, If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry doesn’t measure up to Marah’s greatest album Kids in Philly. But it’s a worthwhile listen.

The Steve Terrell Spook-tacular: A Santa Fe Halloween tradition for the past 200 years. Tune into Terrell’s Sound World, 10 p.m. to midnight Sunday, 90.7 FM or web casting at www.ksfr.org.

Laurell Reynolds will be filling in for me tonight on The Santa Fe Opry, 10-12 on KSFR