Convention Flashback

Deja Vu all over again. I just don't do well in machine politics. Just like 25 years ago the machine ground me up at the convention but I did get on the ballot. Just like 25 years ago I will probably win the primary. I got 27% of the delgate vote, but that is enough to be on the ballot.

The convention was well attended with many old faces and a few new ones.

Connie Beimer gave my nominating speech and Carl Garcia did the second speech.

I addressed the crowd, which by then had dwindled to about 1/3 since early voting diminished the attendance.

Kara Shair-Rosenfield, Michelle Mares and Amy Foster were some of the young folks at the convention.


Conventions start orderly and end chaotically.




Here is my speech from the Convention.

Make no mistake about it. We need a tough, feisty Land Commissioner who will fight George W. Bush and his incompetent, corrupt cronies every second during their last two years in office. You might be asking yourself, right this very minute...What does the Land Commissioner do? Well, the present Land Commissioner doesn't do anything but spend taxpayer money talking about him self. I won't do that...but I will fight to protect and preserve our lands, work to bring more money for our schools, and fight to protect our water and natural resources. I want to Save the Enchantment of this wonderful land we call home! Remember, Bush ‘s vision for New Mexico’s public lands starts at the oil pump and ends at the gas pump. His vision for our public lands is to sell them off to pay for his disastrous fiscal policies. He has a great ally in our current republican State Land Commissioner. Pat Lyons is to conservation what Dick Cheney is to hunting. Bush and Lyons are anti conservation and land protection. If they have their way they will drill our last great places like Otero Mesa and the Valle Vidal into oblivion for short term profits. They will sell the public lands to feed unplanned development around our New Mexican cities. Their policies will threaten our clean water supplies in perpetuity.

Democratic Delegates, if you’re looking for someone to stand up to Bush and Cheney and all their incompetent cronies, then I’m your choice. I am a fighter. I feel I am the best choice to fight Bush and his operatives because of my experience and my proven willingness to stand up to their reckless, short-sighted, unsustainable national policies. And I am proposing some big changes for the way the land office functions. I will, if elected ask the voters for protection of our last great landscapes by starting a State Land Conservation System, much as President Clinton did to save our federal public lands in the west. At the same time I will ensure continued revenue production in appropriate areas so that our schools will have the money they need. In my first term I negotiated tougher deals to bring in more money for our schools. It didn’t make me popular with some groups but it had to be done I created an Audit division in the land office that has found tens of millions of dollars in unpaid revenue for oil and gas companies.

And I will do one more thing—I will advocate every single day for making our Land of Enchantment the world leader on renewable, sustainable energies like solar and wind—for policies that enhance and protect our state’s enchanting setting for our children and grandchildren. Because unlike George W., I believe in science—and I know that climate change is real, and global warming is a threat that must be met head-on. The State Land Commissioner of New Mexico could lead that fight.

Yet at a time when oil and gas revenues are at an all time high our current land commissioner has cut the land office budget. At a time when it is more important that ever to have professionals out on the land making sure that prudent practices are in place by lessees, our land commissioner does nothing. While he cuts the budget for conservation, he spends over 100 thousand dollars of land office money to buy TV advertising for his campaign. That money would have funded all the school supplies for one of our poorer school districts. This is an ethical lapse that says a lot to us about republican leadership in the land office

We can not afford to have a commissioner who has a ‘go along to get along’ attitude in the land office. I am sorry, but you can not build bridges with the likes of the Bush and Cheney. It can’t be done. The other side of their canyon is just too far off to the right. And so, let’s do our Land of Enchantment a great favor. Let’s show the republican incumbent the door next January. I am electable and will raise the funds necessary to win this race, as I have done twice befoe.

My theme for this campaign is “Save the Enchantment”. The task before us is no less than that. I ask for your support to be a leader in this effort. Because you know I’ll stand up for New Mexico.