The Mayor Berry administration, undoubtedly under instructions from the Governor and her minions, has moved the goal for signature petition requirements that would lessen penalties for marijuana possession. They increased the number required that will make it harder to get the question on the ballot. They know that young people will come out to vote on this issue, and that those young people in Albuquerque could make a big difference in the upcoming election for Governor. This is one of the most underhanded things I have seen Berry and his crew pull off. It is voter suppression.
It was nice to see Senator Martin Heinrich stick his head out and take on the failed policies of Governor Susana Martinez. He is not afraid to state the obvious, in that Martinez is a do nothing pol. Meanwhile, Senator Tom Udall is in his bunker worrying only about reelection. This is his style and one wishes he would be a little more aggressive on the faltering standing of the Land of Enchantment. He can do good work, especially his efforts are reforming and improving the Senate and wanting corporate money out of politics. But he needs to get down and dirty in his own state because things are not well here.
It was nice to see Senator Martin Heinrich stick his head out and take on the failed policies of Governor Susana Martinez. He is not afraid to state the obvious, in that Martinez is a do nothing pol. Meanwhile, Senator Tom Udall is in his bunker worrying only about reelection. This is his style and one wishes he would be a little more aggressive on the faltering standing of the Land of Enchantment. He can do good work, especially his efforts are reforming and improving the Senate and wanting corporate money out of politics. But he needs to get down and dirty in his own state because things are not well here.
9 comments:
Tom Udall is cut out of the same mold as Jeff Bingaman: They are only around when they need you and could careless about the Democratic Party and no one else in the Democratic party but them selves. Udall's latest ads regarding his creation of a national registry for sick veterans points out a single good deed he has done, but what has Tom Udall really done in six years to increase and protect veterans benefits?
Tom Udall sure has not helped in any job creation for New Mexico and he has done nothing worth mentioning about the minimum wage, a woman's right to choose and marriage equality. I do not recall Udall saying anything at all about the late term abortion initiative last October in Albuquerque. What Udall did do for four years was to go after the filibuster only because he wanted to increase his own power in the Senate.
I'm a hard core Democrat but will NOT be casting a vote in the Senate race realizing that Allen Weh would be just a little worse than Udall as far as helping New Mexico. Tom Udall in four years had never, ever criticized Susana Martinez, even though his Senate seat is considered one of the most secured in the US.
Very glad to see Martin Heinrick is finally stepping out of the shadows of Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall and helping Gary King and the Democratic Party. Lets hope he really cares about getting King elected and cares about New Mexico and not doing it for the sole reason that Susana will probably be his opponent in four years if she is elected.
Increasing the signature requirement for the marijuana initiative is not the first time the Berry administration has messed with the municipal elections to suppress turnout and to disenfranchise voters. During his first term, Berry had his City Clerk invalidate ballots cast in a "mail in" election, I recall to increase the minimum wage that Berry opposed, that voters forgot to sign the outside envelop and sent their vote in. The City Clerk originally agreed to count the votes but wound up invalidating about 10,000 votes. Then, in the last Mayor's race back in October, Berry made sure the city wide late term abortion initiative, which he supported, was not placed on the Mayor's ballot but rather a "special election" ballot a month later costing taxpayers half a million dollars. City wide turn out for the Mayor's race was 19% and city wide turn out for the special election held a month later was 30%. The failure of the late term abortion initiative could have cost Berry's reelection.
Yea, Tom Udall is like former NM Senator Bingaman: keep your head low; don't start / get into controversy; pass a few laws to keep minions happy.
This is the same thing Berry and his city clerk did in the mayoral election with the abortion issue. They got that changed to a different date also. They knew democrats would come out and vote (which the did) and that Dinelli would have won.
Do you have any evidence that changing the number of required signatures was anything other than a mistake by a Deputy City Attorney? If you do have evidence, you should print it. If you do not have evidence, you should say so.
There certainly is a pattern here. Maybe just incompetence, but most likely manipulation and voter suppression. It is that whole thing about...where there is smoke there is fire.
Greg Wheeler is the Assistant City Attorney who has advise the City Clerk for the last few years and who supposedly made a "mistake" on the number of required signatures. He has gotten very close to Rob Perry and he is the same one who cost the City $25,000 for spreading the false rumor by bragging he had sex with a para-legal. He should have been fired long. Wheeler also practically got into a physical altercation in the city underground garage defending Perry and arguing with an APD protester. Wheeler will do whatever Perry tells him to do to keep his job, even bend the rules and increase signature requirements. My point is, Wheeler has no credibility and he should never be trusted.
The mail in election was for the 50% vote in March 2013. I worked on that one getting signatures and phone banking.
I also worked on the minimum wage petition drive and it got on the ballot in 2012. The Mayor's office had APD harass us when we were getting signatures. We were told that we couldn't be in front of the zoo or public libraries, because it was city property. We could get signatures on the city sidewalks even though that is also city property. We were told that we were solicitors and it got to the point I had to carry a copy of the United States Constitution with me, because the cops and public are ignorant of the First Amendment's right to petition the government. The city clerk went over the petitions with a fine tooth comb, so you had to be really careful in making sure that the petitions were filled out correctly. We had to sign an affidavit every week stating that we would not commit a felony by putting false information on the petitions. When we canvassed the neighborhoods the mayor had APD hassle some of the campaign workers. I must also say that lots of APD doesn't like Mayor Berry. I still support the cops, but not the corruption in Albuquerque and New Mexico government.
IN 2012 the Secretary of State sent letters to mainly Democrats that gave them the impression that they were removed from the voting list because they moved and didn't fill out a new voter registration. This was wrong because she can't do a voter purge until 2015 and she was told by the Feds to not remove voters from the list. She would have violated the Federal Election laws (you can google old news articles). A lot of these voters thought they would not be able to vote in the 2012 election due to her letter and I registered them at their new address. I am a voter register and I've done since I was 18.
Then the Secretary of State was very slow in getting voter registration forms to Bernallilo County and at one time the county ran out. I guess she did this to make Maggie look bad and suppress the vote.
I'm not surprised that the City Clerk and the City Attorney pulled this latest move, but then they are hired by the Mayor. I think that we should change the city law to elect the City Clerk after my experience with her.
I agree about Tom Udall and I might leave it blank to wake him up. I'm voting for King, because I can't stand Martinez. Even though I really didn't want him to run. I feel great about voting for Maggie, because she is the best County Clerk we have ever had.
Reduced marijuana penalty is a stupid idea. Sure, plead guilty/no contest and pay $5 for it. Then whenever you're asked if you've plead to a drug crime, you get to say yes which will cost you a lot more than $5.
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