How Online Polls are Manipulated.

Heath Haussamen has an excellent News Blog called NMPolitics.net. He is one of a few bloggers doing it full time and trying to make a living doing so. Any web site or blog thrives on traffic. The number of visitors to the site daily increases the value of ad revenue that can be generated by the site. If you want to keep people coming to your site on a daily basis you need content and you need to give them a reason to keep checking back.

Online opinion polls are a good way to do this. If someone is interested in the poll they will encourage others to go to the site and vote. Those interested will also check back daily to see whether their chosen candidate or issue is winning the poll. However these polls are easily manipulated. As long as people realize this and don't take the poll too seriously than maybe that does not matter. However on a political web site polls are often touted by candidates on their social media pages and web sites and even in speeches and literature. Those not familiar with online polls and how easy they are manipulated could believe the results.

Screen shot of NMPolitics.net poll

Heath Haussamen is currently running a poll on the Democratic Appeals Judge Race between Dennis W. Montoya and Linda Vanzi. Over night hundreds of votes were added to Dennis Montoya's numbers. The Same thing happened to State Auditor Hector Balderas when NMpolitics.net ran a poll on whether he was doing a good job. You could almost see the frustration and desperation on Hector Balderas face as he begged for votes on twitter and facebook and the no votes kept racking up by the hundreds on the poll.

In politics small things can sway close elections, remember the hesitation during a forum that cost Patricia Madrid a congressional election? In order to realize how easy these polls are to manipulate you only need to look at how they work.

The online polls are supposed to only allow you to vote once. They attempt to do this by using two features of a computer. They place a cookie on your computer (a small data file) which tells the poll that you have voted once you have done so. Now these cookies can be easily erased by software in the web browsers so as a backup the poll also records your I.P. address. This is a unique identifying number assigned to your computer when you log onto the internet. This number is assigned to you by your internet provider. When people use cable modems, DSL and other internet providers which are always on then the IP address stays the same most of the time. But if you use dial up, it changes every time you dial in to make a new connection. You can also change your IP address by using a proxy service which allows you to change your IP address to numerous generic IP addresses.

So if you want to manipulate an online poll you need to do the following. Vote in the poll, then refresh the web page and clear your cookies. Then its easiest to change your I.P. address if you use dial up. The easiest is if you use a wireless air card like Verizon. Simply disconnect from your wireless connection and reconnect. You will now have a new I.P. address which can be used to cast a new vote. Now this is time consuming but I set up a fake poll on Polldaddy.com and I was able to cast 2 votes a minute using my Verizon air card.

It was much longer and harder using Foxyproxy which is a I.P. Proxy service available for free as a firefox browser add on. The problem with using a proxy service was that the I.P. addresses available are limited to a few hundred so you can only cast a few hundred votes and it takes about 2 minutes per vote.

Changing your I.P. address using DSL and Cable modems is very hard to do and will only allow you to cast a few extra votes. As I have an IT background I understood how easy these polls are to manipulate but by testing these methods I was actually surprised at how easy and fast it really is. Using a wireless air card and getting used to the steps I could easily add 120 votes an hour to an online poll. Someone with programing background could create a script which could do the work for them and allow them to walk away from the computer and let it do the work for them.

I understand that the polls bring visitors to NMpolitics.net and that is the lifeblood of running this kind of business, but the political polls on this site are constantly being manipulated and it may be time to pull the plug. On the other hand Heath Haussamen has been open and honest about the non scientific nature of the polls and alerts his readers when obvious manipulation is at hand. However using the methods I described here if someone has a lot of time on their hands and is not as overt in manipulation of the poll they could do it without Heath being aware.

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Susana Martinez Not Tough on DWI.

Sheriff Rene Rivera of Valencia County Joined Sheriff Joe Mascarenas and Myself on the steps of the Courthouse steps in Albuquerque to let the public know some startling information from the Administrative Office of the Courts in new Mexico. Susana Martinez candidate for Governor on the GOP ticket has been touting her tough on crime stump speech for some time now. Information released by the Administrative Office of the Courts shows that even though she pledged not to plea bargain DWI Cases in both 2000 and 2004, her office has arranged plea bargains on over 1000 cases since 2004. A great article on the matter can be found here along with the statistics which can be found here.

Here is a You Tube Video of the press conference.


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Urban Legend: People are in prison for possession of Marijuana

Its not often I agree with Republicans on an issue however, Representative Dennis Kintigh from Roswell wrote a quest column on NMPOLITICS.NET which I whole heartily agree with. I remember reading in the news when a report was issued by a New Mexico Think Tank proclaiming that 853 people were supposedly sitting in prison for only a drug possession conviction.

When I read that I knew it was not true. No one, and let me repeat this NO ONE, goes to prison for merely a drug possession conviction in New Mexico. Now three, four, eight, or ten convictions yes. New Mexico has drug courts through out the state and judges will bend over backwards to get those caught with drugs a chance to turn their lives around.

Most who end up in prison for drugs have committed, assaults, burglaries, robbery's, fraud, forgery, and murder but often it is the drug case that is easiest to prove or one which the defense attorney has them plea bargain to because it actually has the lightest sentance when compared with the offenses they committed because of their drug problem. A drug conviction also allows the inmate an array of services and treatment that a burglary or assault conviction would not provide. Therefor defense attorneys encourage felons to admit to drug problems to lessen their time in prison and afford the inmate services. Interesting contrast here, defense attorneys often want to decriminalize drugs yet they use the drug laws as a benefit to avail their clients to lighter sentences with treatment which would not be available to them under decriminalization.

Getting back to Representative Dennis Kintigh. He looked into the claims by the think tank in his guest column and here are some excerpts:

One of the most recent manifestations of this "urban" myth was in September 2009 when a New Mexico “think tank” published a report damning the state’s drug laws because 853 people were supposedly sitting in prison for only a drug possession conviction. That report motivated me to write a letter to the Corrections Department because the department was the source of that statistic.

The written response I received showed that the 853 number was for inmates who had a drug possession conviction plus other criminal convictions. In fact, the number of people incarcerated for simple drug possession was 92. That is 92 out of almost 6,000 inmates.

However, even the 92 number is misleading.

The Corrections Department sent me the names of the 92 inmates. Through the Internet I was able to review the cases for these individuals. Randomly checking their cases revealed what I already knew. Even though they were listed as convicted of a simple drug possession, they were, in fact, in prison because of probation revocation or for being a habitual offender.

What is a habitual offender, you might ask? Well that is someone who has already been convicted of at least one felony and is now convicted of another felony. The first subsequent conviction requires a mandatory one-year sentence even if the sentence of the subsequent conviction is suspended. The second subsequent conviction results in a mandatory three-year sentence. The third one requires an eight-year mandatory sentence.

All of these habitual offenders who are convicted of drug possession are in fact repeat offenders.

I have always said that the best thing about making drugs illegal is that the arrest by law enforcement is often the only way those addicted to drugs get help. It is often the wake up call that they need help. Most arrests are not for having a joint or a pot pipe, in fact those cases usually amount to nothing more than a citation to go to court and they are sent on their way. Most drug arrests are for selling, having large quantity's, or committing crimes to obtain money to pay for their drug habit. The court ordered treatment is often the first and only treatment an offender gets. I do believe that we need to spend more on treatment. As a law enforcement officer most would not expect to hear this from me but I do advocate spending less on enforcement or having future funding increases not go towards enforcement but rather go to treatment which is sorely lacking in New Mexico and across this country. I am not alone in this call either. A recent meeting of D.A.'s , Cops, Police Chiefs, and Sheriff's said the same thing in a recent summit held in the overdose capital of the U.S. , Espanola New Mexico. So next time someone says our prisons are full of those convicted of drug possession you can look them straight in the eye and say " sure, and big foot was having carnitas on the Santa Fe Plaza yesterday".

Video from the Democratic Pre-Primary Convention

My wife Antoinette, Undersheriff Robert Garcia, his wife Christine and I attended the New Mexico Democratic Party Pre-Primary Convention over the last weekend. It was held at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino which turned out to be a great venue for the event. There was lots of fun and lots of work, especially for the candidates and their devoted friends, family, supporters and staff. I have to give big kudos to those who turned out just to support their candidates. They all worked hard and the devotion to their cause showed. I recorded all the major candidates speeches and after a few days of editing into segments, converting them into MP4 format and uploading to you tube I have them available to you here. At the end of the speech videos you will find a video of State Chair Javier Gonzales reading the results of the delegates voting. For a bonus I have the National Dance Institute Kids video I took of them as they performed at the convention. Enjoy.

P.S. ( I am pretty sure I had more fun as a State Central Delegate then I would have as a candidate)






















































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New Blog Torches New Mexico Politicians.

I was perusing facebook when I noticed numerous politicians including Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish, Albuquerque City Councilor Ken Sanchez, State Representative Ken Martinez, and Lieutenant Governor Candidate Lawrence Rael as well as several news media personalities had become friends with defamation suit. I never friend anyone who's name, photo, or other info looks suspicious without checking them out so I clicked on the facebook page and learned it was basically a facebook page to promote a new blog called nmdefamationsuit.com. Always one to investigate further I went to the blog where I found a blog like no other in New Mexico.

Now before you go looking let me warn you. The writer fancies his or herself a comedian, but not a Sinbad type comedian known for his lack of profanity but much more like Richard Pryor known for his harsh profanity laden humor. All politicians are fair game to this blog and partisanship is no shield. Although I have not seen the writer make fun of independents or green party candidates,.... Yet.

The writer is also not above making fun of our Lieutenant Governors female body parts or beyond lambasting the accent in Lt. Governor candidates Brian Colón's name, or whether or not he is Hispanic (had to google to figure out how to add the accent). The writer is also good with photoshop and animations as he or she has shown in the numerous photos accompanying the blog posts.




















(photoshop photo from nmdefamationsuit.com)

One photoshop art work shows a scene from a cocaine overdosed Al Pacino in Scarface with the head of Pete Dominici Jr. superimposed. The writer is anonymous and the only disclaimer on the web site is this: "This site makes humorous statements about public figures. Please keep your cease-and-desist e-mails to yourself." Now my writing about this persons blog probably puts a target on my back but heed this warning "I know what you drive!" LOL, see I can make a funny too.

The media is also not above lambasting as the writer makes fun of a story by Dan Mayfield an Albuquerque Journal reporter. The writer so far is careful to only comment on items already in the public and to comment on public figures thus avoiding an actual defamation suit but watch out, even the National Enquirer has lost a suit or two.

Continuing in my investigative ways I checked to see who the domain name was registered too and found the writer uses a service called Domainsbyproxy.com . The service allows individuals to register domain names through the service and for an extra fee of $9.00 a year they will be the named registered owner for you. The service does not protect your name in a civil or criminal matter when a subpoena or search warrant has been issued.

Anyhow, needless to say I will not be facebook friends with this site but I think many will be reading the blog if only just to see what is being said about us politicians next. The one thing this site is good for is showing anyone considering running for office why you need a thick skin and a loving family who can put up with all that will be said or written about you.

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Santa Fe County Democratic Convention

Antoinette (my wife) and I had a great time yesterday at the Santa Fe County Democratic Convention. The Convention was held to name delegates to the State Pre Primary Convention coming up in March at the Buffalo Thunder Resort. I am a State Central Committee Delegate so automatically I am a delegate to the pre primary however Antoinette was also elected a delegate from our ward as well.

State Chair Javier Gonzales addresses the crowd

In the morning there was registration and delegate elections and it was organized chaos. Actually registration was really smooth and then Antoinette and I joined 10 or 12 others working the crowd to enlist support and thank those who are already supporters of Robert Garcia my Undersheriff who is running for my job, the Sheriff of Santa Fe County. I was in campaign mode shaking hands, kissing baby's, and working hard for Robert.

Our next Sheriff Robert Garcia and I.

The response was overwhelming and I can't even count the number of my fellow Santa Fe County Dems who still wanted to vote for me in the Lieutenant Governor race. (I dropped out of the race a few months ago). Almost anyone running for anything statewide or local was there working the crowd as well.

In the afternoon we had to elect new State Central Committee Delegates to replace Eli Senna who's untimely death left a huge void in Santa Fe Politics as well as another seat which was vacated. Running for the two open seats were Michael Segura, Daniel Roybal, Estevan Gonzales, and John Thorpe. They all gave great speeches and then an election was held, Daniel Roybal and Estevan Gonzales won the seats in some close races.

Next we heard from all our state wide officials and candidates as well as candidates from all the local races. All my former Lieutenant Governor Candidates were present and I spent a moment and took pictures with all of them.

Lt. Gov. Candidate Jose Campos and I

Lt. Gov. Candidate Jerry Ortiz y Pino and I.

Lt. Gov. Candidate Lawrence Rael and I.

Lt. Gov. Candidate Brian Colon and I.

Lt. Gov. Candidate Linda Lopez and I.

The crowd was enthusiastic and I think this will be a great year for democrats in New Mexico! I took about 150 pictures with my cell phone camera and although the lighting in the gym made the pictures not come out so well they are still fun to look at. You can see them all here on my facebook page. It was a long day and Thank god for Bernie Loque y Perea who's great food booth and coffee kept my energy up. To all the 186 newly elected delegates congratulations and we will see you at the state pre primary convention at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino on March 13!

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Sheriff Reacts to Domenici Jr.'s Cocaine Use.

New Mexico Law Enforcement Officials React to Domenici Jr.'s Drug Admission

February 18, 2010

ALBUQUERQUE - Two prominent New Mexico law enforcement officials, District Attorney Lemuel Martinez and Sheriff Greg Solano, reacted today to news that Domenici Jr. used illegal drugs and classified cocaine as a recreational drug in recent radio interview.

A copy of the letter is attached and the text of the letter is pasted below. A short audio clip of the Domenici Jr. interview is also attached. (attachment below)

February 18, 2010

Dear Citizens of New Mexico:

Last night, a candidate for Governor said something on the radio that deeply disturbed us – and probably many other listeners as well. During an interview on KKOB, Pete Domenici Jr. admitted that he had used cocaine, but what troubled us more was the fact that he called it a “recreational drug.”

Cocaine is not a recreational drug, plain and simple. It’s extremely unfortunate that a candidate for Governor would downplay the harmful nature of such an addictive and deadly drug.

As law enforcement officials on the front lines trying to get drugs like cocaine off our streets, we’re outraged by Pete Domenici Jr.’s careless characterization. Today we call on him to do the right thing and apologize for giving New Mexico children the impression that experimenting with cocaine is acceptable. Needless to say, it’s not.

Furthermore, as law enforcement officials and as concerned citizens, we sincerely hope Mr. Domenici Jr. will be honest with the people of New Mexico and say when he last used cocaine.

Mistakes can be forgiven, and many New Mexico families are facing similar problems, but the people of New Mexico deserve to know the facts.

Sincerely,

Lemuel Martinez, District Attorney, New Mexico's 13th District
Greg Solano, Santa Fe County Sheriff

Drug Use 2-17-10 Short-C 1.mp3

Media Reports on Exit From Lt. Gov Race

The response from the public has been overwhelming during the last two days as I announced my withdrawal from the Lieutenant Governors Race. I have had friends, acquaintances, and people I have never met send me emails, call my office, comment on Facebook and Twitter, send me text messages and pm me. The show of support and well wishes has been overwhelming. The media and bloggers have been kind as well. Even though I mentioned in my goodbye blog that I felt some media and bloggers paid too much attention to the money being raised and not the candidates stands on the issues, most media if they even mentioned that I said it at all did so in a matter of fact way. Political Blogger Joe Monahan seemed offended and thought it was a parting shot at the media. Joe, it really wasn't intended to be a parting shot because I am not going anywhere. I intend on remaining involved and a good working relationship is important. On the other hand I always intend to be honest in my blogging and I did honestly think that too much attention and column space was given to money by some in the media and bloggers and not enough paragraphs were written on issues. Heck, some candidates have yet to discuss the issues at all.

All that aside its been an uplifting experience. I have all but one of the candidates for Lieutenant Governor contact me to discuss endorsements and I plan to meet with each one and discuss an endorsement. I take this process very seriously even though I realize that just because I endorse someone it does not commit my supporters to that person, it only suggests that my supporters consider that person based on my assessment of the race. If I do endorse a candidate It will not just be a quick endorsement and then I go on with my life. If I do endorse I will work for that candidate in the primary and regardless I will work for all our democratic nominees in the general election.


Fellow democrats, we can not take the general election for granted. Despite the obvious disarray the Republican party is in they could still pull out a win, just look to Albuquerque for the example. In current economic conditions having the executive and legislative branch in the hands of our party is more important than ever. Only the Democratic party has a proven track record of supporting the people over special interests and corporations. Of course there are individual politicians who claim to be Democrats but don't always walk the walk and I would be naive to think otherwise. Just what are the differences between Democrats and Republicans? I have taken definitions of Democrats and Republicans from http://www.demsunite.com/ and modified them somewhat to meet what I think the definitions are.

Democrats - a short summary
Democrats generally support government policies that benefit working class families, seek more corporate regulation, and less government influence over the individual. Democrats favor a government that supports lower and middle-income families and workers through a tax structure which has all paying their fair share based on the income they have. They strongly support government programs such as social security and health care in order to provide for the common good. In social matters, Democrats emphasize personal choice, privacy, and liberty. They believe that it is the responsibility of the family to promote morals and values in society and not the government's responsibility (this is usually labeled as socially liberal).

Republicans - a short summary
Republicans generally support government policies that benefit large corporations, seek less corporate regulation, and more government influence over the individual. Republicans favor a government that supports corporate America and the wealthy by reducing taxes and regulations on corporations. Republicans believe that reducing corporate taxes and regulations will translate into lower unemployment rates. They would prefer to out-source government entitlement programs such as social security and health care to the private sector. In social matters, Republicans believe that the government should make certain moral decisions for us and sometimes see privacy and liberty as a risk to security. They believe that the government should be actively involved with promoting morals and values in society (this is usually labeled as socially conservative).

The Economy
Democrats believe that in order to have a strong economy, the government must promote policies that empower individual workers. These policies can include supporting unions, discouraging companies from exporting jobs overseas, and increasing the minimum wage. Democrats believe that companies must be regulated (to an extent) to ensure fair compensation and treatment of American workers, to prevent large corporations from abusing employees, and to reduce corporate fraud. In a broader sense, Democrats believe that it is better to stimulate the economy from the bottom-up (stimulating the worker) instead of from the top-down (stimulating corporations).

Republicans believe that the best path to a strong economy is by promoting policies that benefit large corporations. Lower corporate taxes, not increasing minimum wage, and reducing corporate regulation are all policies that benefit corporate America. Republicans believe that by reducing corporate taxes and regulation, American corporations will in turn hire more workers and increase wages. While these policies are some of the foundations of capitalism, they can sometimes be detrimental to the American worker (exporting jobs overseas, no minimum wage, etc.). In a broader sense, Republicans prefer to stimulate the economy from the top-down (stimulating corporations) instead of from the bottom-up (stimulating the worker).

Everyone would have their own beliefs and definitions but these pretty much sum up mine. I opened this blog post with a description of the blogs and media reports of my dropping out of the Lieutenant Governors race and below is a compilation of those reports if anyone cares to read them. I apologize if I left someone out. Let me know if I did and I will update.

The Santa Fe New Mexican (first mainstream media outlet to find my blog post and report)

Roundhouse Roundup ( praised my candor and accessibility, Thanks Steve.)

Albuquerque Journal (subscription required, short and to the point)

New Mexico Politics.net ( called blog post insightful, Thanks Heath.)

The New Mexico Independent.com ( Straight forward, good ending)

Diogenes Six (Ched clearly understood what my campaign was about.)

Democracy For New Mexico ( Took the time to give a good summary of my blog post)

A Female New Mexican's Point of View Blog (Mary had some great quotes about the over importance of money in our political process)

New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan (Joe gave the story little column space and seemed offended of one sentence in the blog where I bemoaned the media paying little attention to the issues.)

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A New Year, A new Adventure

On August 21, 2007 I announced my intention to run for Lieutenant Governor in the 2010 June Primary. There were a lot of circumstances which comprised my decision to run and my decision to announce so early. Bill Richardson was running for President and rumors were rampant that win or lose he would be leaving the Governors office early. After meeting with family, friends and longtime political advisers I decided to run for Lieutenant Governor and to announce the campaign early. The main reasons for the decision were the following.

1. My friends, advisers and myself felt Lt. Governor Diane Denish would be a shoe in if not unopposed for the Democratic nominee for Governor. I really felt that I could make a difference on many issues which I felt were important to the middle class. Not coming from a high income family, not being a lawyer or a high brow politico was something I felt was lacking in the roundhouse. I truly felt we were lacking a majority of progressive democrats who understood the hardships which typical middle and low income families endure.

2. With Lt. Gov. Diane Denish having a solid foundation in Southern New Mexico we felt she needed a Hispanic from Northern New Mexico to balance the ticket and bring in much needed Hispanic votes.

3. We all felt Lt. Gov. Denish would be Governor by Jan-Feb 2009 with Richardson leaving office early.

4. In order to get noticed by Lt. Gov. Denish I would have to begin the campaign early. I am well established politically in Santa Fe County however I did not have strong connections to state wide politics. The goal was to get on Lt. Gov. Denish's radar screen for a possible appointment.

5. It was felt by us all that my lack of connections to state wide politics could be a positive. Even though we did not foresee the scandals and accusations that would later hit the Richardson Administration we did foresee some citizens had become weary of the Richardson Administration and my lack of connections to the administration could be a positive for a Diane Denish run for Governor.

So, I announced my campaign for Lieutenant Governor in August of 2007. In January of 2008 Governor Richardson dropped out of the presidential race and rumors were still rampant that Richardson should leave office at the end of the year. Barack Obama then won the Democratic Primary for President in June and was well on his way to a win in November. At the time it was believed that Bill Richardson would leave soon after the inauguration in January of 2009.

I had reached out to Lieutenant Governor Denish in the weeks prior to my announcing my run for Lieutenant Governor and we were not able to meet. In early 2008 I made more attempts to meet with her and we had sill not been able to meet. This was the first of many roadblocks I began to encounter. In 2008 I had concentrated on meeting Democrats across the state and getting my name out there. In 2009 I began trying to raise money for the impending race. While many were talking about running for Lieutenant Governor and many were rumored to be considering running, I was still the only candidate actually announced. While running in three different elections for Sheriff. I did rather well raising money within Santa Fe County. I was however, encountering a lot of difficulty in raising money for the Lieutenant Governor race. Donors who had given to me in election after election were not donating for this campaign.

Some wanted to wait and see how things would shake out after the Governor left and the Lieutenant Governor ascended to the Governors seat. Others had heard that there was a favorite who would be appointed and they did not want to do anything that could offend an appointee who may not be me. One even claimed they were advised by those in the roundhouse to hold off donating to anyone until "things had a chance to shake out in the Lt. Gov's Race". I did some checking and this was found by me to be true. Some of these donors had given thousands to me in the past and had held fundraisers for me but they were not willing to get involved in the race at this time. This was disappointing to me and would be the beginning of a death blow to my campaign.

The interesting thing to me was how many business owners were not outright saying it but they seemed to be in fear that if they donated to the wrong person it could affect their business with the state. Now I am not saying it was any type of pay to play or corruption but rather cautious large business owners who needed to keep a good relationship with the upper levels of state government and feared making a mistake in their donations. I think that in my county races the donors felt they could make donations based on people they liked or in some cases I know the same donor gave to both me and my opponents but they did not feel that in local races it could come back to bite them later.

It was a big awakening for me and showed me the stark differences between a local and a state wide race. By spring of 2009 I had five other announced opponents who were out campaigning and starting to raise money. Governor Richardson was no longer leaving and it was clear that the next Lieutenant Governor would have to become Lieutenant Governor the old fashioned way, by being elected. While I tried to talk issues and issued platforms statements, some opponents concentrated on raising huge sums of money and were being very successful at it. Other candidates put tens of thousands of money from their own pockets and borrowed tens of thousand from banks in order to compete with the couple of candidates who were from one hundred and fifty thousand to a quarter of a million dollars. Even today several of my opponents have no issues or platform statements on their website and speak little about the issues and much about their success at raising money. On October 13, 2009 we all had to report the money raised so far. One candidate had raised over $250,000 and two had raised around $150,000 although one did so through loans of $100,000 to his campaign. The other three candidates including myself had less than $20,000 raised.

After all the campaign finance reports came out I decided to go into hiatus on raising money. I needed to make a decision as to whether I would be staying in the race. Until I decided for sure I did not want to take any additional money while I was unsure of my position on staying in the race. We did begin to gather petition signatures which were needed to garner a place on the ballot. In addition to gathering petitions we reached out to State Convention Delegates to see where we were in garnering the 20% needed to get on the ballot in June as well. A lot of voters don't realize that they are the last to decide who wins a race or not. There are numerous hurdles candidates need to get over before voters ever get to see their name on a ballot. One of these is getting past the delegates at the State Democratic Convention. One of my opponents has a decided advantage in that arena having been Chairman of the State Democratic party for over two years. I expect him to take well over the 20% of delegates in the convention leaving the rest of the candidates to fight over what remains.

By Thanksgiving it was becoming increasingly clear I was in for a huge uphill battle. I decided to take the holidays off the campaign trail and make a decision and announcement after the new year. I have met thousands of people who have really supported me, if not with money but with their heart and words. Many of my supporters are everyday people who in today's economic times could not afford to give money to political campaigns while they are facing job loses, furloughs, and fear of just keeping their houses. While the middle and low income people of New Mexico are the ones needing representation and change the most they are the ones least able to pay for the influence they need at the roundhouse. I do feel we have some great candidates running for Lieutenant Governor and I also feel Diane Denish is in touch with the plight of middle income residents of New Mexico and will represent them well. I truly hope the next Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico will remember that as the state faces tough economic times that we must not forget to bail out the people as quickly as the state and nation bails out industries.

I also feel that the state has been remiss in meeting with state employee unions and negotiating cuts and ideas to save money rather than handing down orders, furloughs, and cuts without input from the union members. That is why we have unions to give employees a voice in what happens to them.

At least two candidates have approached me for endorsements should I get out of the Lieutenant Governors race. I am considering whether I endorse and if I do who it would be. So, if you have not figured it out by now I am leaving the race for Lieutenant Governor. It is really too bad that the one thing the media, bloggers, and political operatives care about most is how much money a candidate can raise. The issues, the person are secondary in a state wide race to money.

I lost my first run at political office in 1998 when I first ran for Sheriff. I learned more from that loss than my subsequent two wins for the office of Sheriff. I can honestly say I learned a whole lot from my attempt to become the states next Lieutenant Governor. I have no regrets and the lessons learned will only help me in anything I do in the future. I have never been one to make New Years resolutions. I have always thought you should make decisions on your life and any changes on a day to day basis and not just once a year. So I start this new decade and New Year with a new adventure. The great thing about life is you never know where the road will take you.

When I was a young son of a single mother I would have never guessed in a million years I would even have an opportunity to run for Lieutenant Governor. I would have never guessed I would be Sheriff of Santa Fe County, meet three presidents and numerous movie stars and have the great life and family I now have. I am truly blessed. To all those who have supported my candidacy I hope I have not let you down. I have always been very pragmatic and logical in my decisions, (my wife says I am too logical and not emotional enough), She is probably right and I am constantly working on that. Logically I was not in a position to win. However, I have run races before where I have lost and come back to win another time, so don't count me out.

Thank you all for your support, whether in an elected office or not I will always be an outspoken advocate for you and for what is right. To my wife and children thanks for putting up with a life in politics, few realize what you go through and the price you pay for having me as a husband and father. I do realize the sacrifices you have made and I appreciate it more than I could ever show you.

Public needs to know or Breaking News?

I try and respond to requests for records with open arms. I am even criticized by my peers for being too open to the press. Not mildly criticized mind you but heavily criticized and accused of damaging the ability for law enforcement to function in the state and creating roadblocks for the ability to successfully investigate and prosecute cases by releasing too much to the media. While my reasons for doing it in my mind are clear, open and honest government, I have been accused of being too accommodating to the media only for political reasons, or because I am "a media hog".

I bring all this up because I truly believe in open government, however the recent fight over the Governor releasing names of 59 employees who are being laid off in a few weeks has me questioning motives and what is right and decent. The media and bloggers have been trying to force the governor to release the names of the employees. Two of the names have already been released. Those two were released either by the employee themselves or through leaks.

Many of these 59 employees are widely regarded at least by the media, but probably by the public as well to be undeserving political flaks who only got their jobs by serving Governor Richardson in some point in his political career. Some may be, and who knows maybe all of them are. You know what? They are also people. People with families, kids, mortgage payments, college tuition etc. Yes these may all be high paying jobs, but the more you make the more you spend. And who says high paid workers hurt any more or less when they lose their jobs? Now lets combine the suffering of being told you will lose your job weeks before Christmas with the media dying to have the "BREAKING NEWS" banner listing your name as one of the poor slobs who lost their jobs.

Reporters often say the public "has a right to know" or "needs to know", "this is taxpayer money" but does the public even want to know who has been laid off? Is outing peoples identity who have lost their jobs necessary? There are no taxpayer dollars being spent in the move to cut these jobs, in the contrary taxpayer dollars are being saved. If the names are released what will the media do with them?

Lets take a look at the two names which have been released. Bruce Kohl, head of the Securities Division at the Regulation and Licensing Department and former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron with the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The media portrayed Bruce Kohl as a victim who really was not the type of employee who should lose their job and was in a needed position while Rebecca who is facing federal charges for misspending money in her former elected position of Secretary of State is portrayed as someone who either should have lost their job months ago or someone who should have never gotten the job to begin with.

Now that's exactly what will happen if all the names are released. First there will be a big headline listing all the names. Then the rush will be on to see who gets the in depth story. Each news agency will try to interview the employees who are losing their jobs and exploit their situation for all its worth. Some of the employees will be portrayed as deserving in losing their jobs while others will be portrayed as human beings who will suffer due to the job loses.

All T.V. Stations, Newspapers, and even radio have had cutbacks in the last year. When the Santa Fe New Mexican laid off employees in two separate cuts in the last year, no one interviewed the employees and decided who was deserving of losing their jobs and who was not. No one went to their homes and workplaces like stalkers and shoved microphones and cameras in their faces trying to get that emotional story that makes up the tabloid style journalism that has permeated the media today. But wait! There is a difference, the reporters and news staff are private employees, the laid off state workers are government employees. Since they are government employees they are not worthy of dignity. By becoming public servants they give up all rights to a private life and deserve to have the entire state aware that they are now unemployed.

In the past editors weighed the story against good old fashioned morals and right and wrong as well as whether the story was really newsworthy. Today news media want to be first with the big story. Emotions and tragedy sell or so they think. Yet as the media go's for the jugular and becomes more and more tabloid like, people are buying and watching less and less. Is this just a coincidence?

One of the reasons reporters often ask for police reports is not just to relay the facts of the case. Public information officers, Chiefs, and Sheriff's provide that information. The real reasons they ask for the reports is to hunt down witnesses, suspects, and victims like dog the bounty hunter looking for his criminal. Once they find them they bring their cameras and show up at their front doors. Even when the person exercises their constitutional if not god given right to decline to talk to the media then the story just becomes the reporter knocking on the door and the person refusing to talk. Heck I have seen reporters chase people into bathrooms and then make that the story when the person refuses to talk. I look forward with disdain to some poor state employee who is probably already depressed over losing his or her job at Christmas being chased down a hallway or into a bathroom by the reporter trying to get his or her story online or on TV first.

In the case of these laid off employees I really don't believe the public wants to know. Its the reporters who want to know, the Governor has had the audacity to deny them their story! So like any good reporter or blogger would do, they can still write a story, the headline instead is "Governor Releases No Info on Outgoing State Employees". There is many a reporter in this state who are mumbling "as god is my witness we will fight the governor on this"! I have no doubt that the press will get the names one day. To those employees who will be subject to undignified embarrassment and harassment I am sorry. It is no wonder it is so hard to find good public servants. I often warn new deputies, this is not a regular job, you are subjected to public scrutiny unlike any job you ever had and you must recognize it and be ready to deal with it. The truth is you can not get ready to deal with it. If you get involved in a major case or make a mistake, only then will you receive a baptism by fire, only then will you truly understand what it is like to be a public servant.

Final Notes: After I wrote this I had my wife read it over. We had a lively discussion about how hard I was on the media. Many times she reads my posts before I post them and she convinces me to change things. I have debated in my mind changing certain things like the reference to Dog the Bounty Hunter. My wife says this post gives the impression that I am painting all media with the same brush. She says it is exactly what the media is doing to these state employees and actually to all exempt state employees. She is right. I have been very harsh to the media in this post.

Many times members of the media proudly proclaim that they are the watchdogs of the government and only when they expose governments downfalls will changes occur. But who is the media's watchdog? I say it is the public, when the public stops reading, stops buying or expresses their disappointment with the media only then will they change. When the media goes after perceived wrong doing in the public they often do it with tenacity and extreme criticism. Editors don't often mince words and the editorial pages and news stories often mix. Well first off I apologize to any reporter or editor who would not take advantage of employees losing their jobs. If I have painted you with the same brush, then take this note to heart, you are not the one I am talking about. To the rest I chose to leave the post just as I initially wrote it, full of strong language and passion.

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Reflecting on Lost Friends.

I had refrained from blogging about the loss of Governor Bruce King and now I have lost another political mentor and friend. Eli Senna, after attending his funeral mass on Saturday I started reflecting on both Eli and Governor King.

Governor Bruce King.

I first met Governor King when I was around eight years old. He was in his first term as Governor of New Mexico. My Grandmother Eufemia Solano was a custodian at the roundhouse.


















Eufemia Solano (Grandma)


During the summers we could not afford any type of daycare so I would go to work with either my uncle who was a jockey at the Santa Fe Downs Racetrack or I would go to the State Capitol Building with my Grandmother. I was pretty much allowed free rein though out the capitol from the nursery which used to be above the rotunda and was used to grow plants for the building, to the parking garage underground. I remember Governor King catching me in the hallways or in the lobby to his office and telling me lets go! We would go to the lunchroom or the nearest vending machines where I would have my pick of treats on his dime. Sometimes I was invited into his office to hang out for a few minutes or to get the latest giveaway stuff. These gifts ranged from Smokey the Bear coloring books and crayons to little Highway Department toy cars.

Up until graduation from High School I was a page or just hung around the roundhouse every year usually during summer or winter school breaks. I went through the administrations of Dave Cargo, Bruce King, Jerry Apodoca, and Toney Anaya. While all treated me good, I have especially fond memory's of Governor King who always went out of his way to pay attention to me or find something to give me. As everyone who met him knows he was down home folksy and the kind of man who made you feel like you knew him all your life even if you just met him.

I have told a few people these stories and I am often asked if this is where I got the bug for politics. I don't really think so because I never thought I would get involved in politics until the early ninety's when my stints as Union President and Vice President of the City Police Union forced me to get involved. Yet I do think I learned a lot from those days hanging around the Roundhouse. I actually saw the back slapping, making deals in the hallways, and learned that by the time things got to the floor of the House or Senate the outcome was usually a done deal. One thing I did learn from Governor King was to keep grounded in your cowboy boots and remember that you are one of New Mexico's people not one who is elevated by the people. I also learned that you are always campaigning even when you are not running and you never leave a room until everyone has met you and received a hand shake. For those aspiring to a political office who have never seen Governor King in action you will never realize what lessons you have missed.



























Eli Senna ( My Brotha)


I first met Eli Senna on my second run for office in 2002. I first ran for Sheriff in 1998 and lost to Sheriff Raymond Sisneros. When I ran the first time I had no idea what I was doing and ran a very limited campaign with little money and only close friends and family helping. I came back in 2002 to run again and by this time I had broadened my base and become more involved in the Democratic Party. One of the people I credit with my win, Charlene Rodriquez, made sure I met every politician and every person who was involved in the Democratic Party in Northern New Mexico. One of those people she introduced me too was Eli Senna. Eli was easy going and extremely knowledgeable in Northern New Mexico Politics.

He made sure he got to know you and everything about you. He got your phone number and called to check up on you from time to time. There was two reasons he called you, one to just say hi and see how you were, and two, to get what ever information he could glean from you on the latest political happenings. By the same token if you needed to know something political in New Mexico, Eli had the answer or could get it in a few minutes. He ran for Magistrate Judge in 2006 and I supported him and to this day I think he would have made an excellent Judge. Eli was one of the first people I met who made a living getting people elected. I never hired him because he was already working for another politician in every election I was involved in.

My wife and I enjoyed having dinner with him after a many a Democratic meeting or during some function and I learned more about current politics in five minutes from him than any newscast, newspaper or blog. When he made his periodic check on me phone calls he always started the conversation with " hey Brotha how are you doing?" As soon as I heard this phrase I knew it was Eli. Brotha, Antoinette and I will miss you but I will always remember your insight and your political teachings. In your memory I will try and pass them on to the next generation who unfortunately will not have you around to guide them.

Join us this Sunday!

Just a quick reminder of our reception this Sunday at the beautiful home of Pawan and Amrik Dhindsa in Santa Fe on Sunday October 11, 2009.

Sunday October 11, 2009 2pm to 5pm
39 West Chili Line Road, Santa Fe New Mexico

I hope you can attend. There is no minimum donation and heck if you can’t donate but want to come out and show your support I would love to see you.

More info and a map can be found here.

Hear Greg on KRSN AM 1490 Los Alamos!

Thursday, August 20, 8:30-9:30 am KRSN AM 1490, Los Alamos

Sheriff Solano will be in the studio speaking with Miro about public safety issues in Santa Fe County, and his campaign and platform as a Democrat for the 2010 Lt. Governor’s Race.

Hear web cast at http://www.krsnam1490.com/venusinterviews.htm

Join Toby Keith and Help the Campaign!

The Solano for Lieutenant Governor Campaign has been given two tickets to the Toby Keith Concert in Albuquerque on August 20, 2009. Along with the tickets comes two meet and greet backstage passes which will allow the lucky couple to go backstage just before the concert and meet Toby Keith. You will get a professional photo taken of you with Toby and you will each leave with an autograph picture of Toby.

This is a drawing and all you need to be entered is to make a $20 donation to Gregs Campaign at:

http://www.actblue.com/contribute/entity/22510

You can donate any amount and you will receive one drawing entry for every $20 donated. So for example if you donate $100 you will get 5 entries. The donation for drawing tickets is valid only for donations made from July 24, 2009 to 5 pm August 18, 2009. The winning ticket will be drawn on August 18th, 2009 and the winner will then be notified and must meet me at the concert on August 20th, 2009 to get your tickets and passes.

Thanks for you support and Good Luck!

P.S. Here is a video from his last concert in September 2008 in Albuquerque. I took it while I was his special guest. This also included back stage passes and a great time! The winner will have the time of his or her life!

Would you like to meet Toby Keith backstage?

Guess what ! Toby Keith has just donated two tickets to his concert at the Journal Pavilion with Trace Adkins in Alb. on 8-20-2009 and two backstage passes to a meet and greet with him backstage! Join Antoinette and I backstage with Toby Keith!

We will be raffling them off soon for donations to my Campaign for Lieutenant Governor!

Keep an Eye on this blog for more information to be posted by Monday!

Sheriff Solano Releases list of Ethics Reforms he would support on his web site.

On my Road to the Lieutenant Governor Blog I have a copy of a News Release issued today which outlines my ethics proposals for the State of New Mexico.

Making Waves.

My Campaign for Lieutenant Governor is starting to make some ripples in the New Mexico political waters. See my Road to New Mexico Lt. Governor Blog for more!

Check out Solano for Lt. Gov Blog for new posts!

Its getting busy for the 2010 election cycle and I am starting to see opponents at the same gatherings and meetings I attend. See my Road to New Mexico Lt. Governor blog for details!

Photo of me speaking at the BCDP Meeting in Albuquerque Thur, June 18, 2009

New Mexico State Democratic Central Committee Meeting

I attended the New Mexico Spring State Democratic Central Committee Meeting on Saturday April 25, 2009 both as a voting member and as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. My weekend started for my wife Antoinette and myself at the Albuquerque Country Club on Friday afternoon where State Auditor Hector Balderas had a reception to honor State Chair Brian Colon. Afterward there was a welcome reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel hosted by Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish. My Wife, a good friend and I had a late night and then checked into a reasonably priced hotel for a few hours of sleep.

The next morning we were on our way to the Kiva Room at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The three of us passed out business size cards with information on the Lieutenant Governor Race and my run for it in 2010. For the first time I had a potential opponent out handing out stickers with an announcement she would be running for Lieutenant Governor as well. I took some pictures in between shaking hands and talking to old and new friends. Below I have some of the pictures.

Here the crowd shuffles into the 3 floor of the convention center.

Governor Richardson showed up for a short time to greet Democrats in the lobby but never gave a speech in the auditorium.

Brian Colon was re-elected as the Party Chair.

The Audio Visual Guy keeps things moving along.

Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish speaks to the crowd.

Senator Tom Udall makes a point in his speech.

State Treasurer James B. Lewis demonstrates his great speaking abilities.

Congressman from my district Ben Ray Lujan addresses the crowd.

Here I share a laugh with my local Ward Chair Connie Salazar

State Auditor Hector Balderas takes the stage.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera gives her report to the Democrats.

Here I catch both Representative Brian Egolf and the New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell Twittering. (or is it tweeting?)

Congressman Harry Teague addresses the crowd as Chair Brian Colon looks on.

The Santa Fe New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell sits near Albuquerque Journal Reporter Dan Boyd and the two watch the speeches from a safe distance.

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New Santa Fe County Chair Elected

At 7 pm on Tuesday April 7, 2009 about 280 Santa Fe County Democrats crowded into a conference room at the Santa Fe Community College to elect a new Chair. I was one of the voting delegates who attended to cast their vote. A total of 453 votes were cast (votes by proxy were allowed) and the newly elected chair was Richard Ellenberg a retired attorney who moved here from Georgia and has been active in the Santa Fe Democratic party for the last 4 years. He garnered 240 votes to Jose Morfin's 214. It was a close contest which divided the Santa Fe Democrats. I certainly hope that the party can be pulled back together as important local and statewide races are upcoming. I took some photos with my cell phone but for some reason they came out really blurry I need to check the settings on the camera and see if I can figure out what happened. I will post a few here anyway.



I ran into Steve Terrell our political reporter with the Santa Fe New Mexican (sorry Steve the picture I took of you was too blurry to post). Lt. Governor Diane Denish joined the group and gave a campaign speech for her race for Governor. Many local and statewide elected officials gave welcoming speeches including myself. The candidates for chair welcomed delegates with tables of refreshments, buttons, bumper stickers and copies of their platforms.

Jose Morfin gave out water, buttons, and bumper stickers that proclaimed
GANAMOS! (we win).

Richard Ellenberg handed out donuts, granola bars, coffee, and did I mention DONUTS!

Richard Spoke first and raised a few eyebrows when he spoke of the Gringo Vote. He did promise to open communication using the web and other means.

Next to speak was Jose Morfin who spoke of preparing to re-elect democrats across the board and also opening lines of communication and bringing new comers to Santa Fe into active membership in the democratic party.

Robert Garcia a County Delegate, Santa Fe County Under Sheriff, and Candidate for Sheriff in 2010 shares a light hearted moment with my wife Antoinette.

For the most part the mood was serious however a room full of laughs were elicited when Interim chair Bill Sisneros teased former mayoral candidate and long time Santa Fe Fiesta board member and past president Tony Lopez about his pink tie. Tony shot back a little later when Bill Sisneros asked the crowd how they liked his new Buddy Holly looking glasses. Tony loudly proclaimed the glasses looked like he took them from Sara Palin. That comment brought the house down with laughter.

I am a County Delegate and I also threw my name in the mix for State Central Committee. The voting for State Central Committee lasted until 10 pm. and the college then threw the democrats out for the night. The elections committee took the ballots for State Central to Denny's to have breakfast and count the votes. A group of us went to Late Night Burger for a late dinner. I checked in on the vote counting at midnight and it was still ongoing. At this point (1:48 am) I still don't know if I was elected to State Central or not.

Just as the make up of the National Democratic party has changed with the election of President Obama, the Santa Fe Democratic party has taken a dramatic shift tonight. I over heard one disappointed democrat joke that a whole group of them should go to the Republican Party take it over by having a hundred dems join the Republicans in Santa Fe County, then vote to endorse democrats. It was a joke but within the joke there was some sense of the division now in the Santa Fe Party. Hispanics are really worried that our current Hispanic democrats in office may not enjoy the same support from the democratic party they have for years. I really don't believe that to be the case however Chair Richard Ellenberg will have to really reach out to heal divisions which came about during this election.

Santa Fe County has long been a democratic stronghold and divisions in the party could change that. The demographics have been changing in Santa Fe and recent elections have begun to show the shifts. The democratic party must adjust to meet the needs of a changing Santa Fe County while not leaving the old guard behind. Only then will the party remain the dominating party in Santa Fe County.

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