GOP candidate challenged, Dems talk Mexican drug war.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 | 1:11 p.m.
Eight GOP voters filed a petition in district court in Albuquerque on April 6, seeking the removal of Army vet Gary Smith (R) from the June 5 GOP primary ballot. Should their efforts prove successful, ex-state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones (R) would automatically become the party nominee. "Smith is in this position because he won the support of only 4 percent of delegates at the recent GOP preprimary nominating convention -- you need 20 percent to qualify for the ballot -- and had to collect additional signatures to stay on the ballot."
Arnold-Jones was backed by 63 percent of delegates at that convention, while Albuquerque City Councilman Dan Lewis (R), who later dropped out of the race, gained 34 percent support.
The petition "alleges that" Smith "gathered an addition 1,823 signatures to qualify for the ballot after falling short of 20 percent at the preprimary. He needed 1,579 valid signatures, but the voters allege that 492 signatures he submitted weren't valid, leaving him with 1,331 valid signatures." The invalid signatures were a combination of duplicate signatures and signatures of non-Republicans and in some cases non-registered voters, according to the petitioners. (Haussamen, NMPolitics.net, 4/9).
On the Dem side of the race, candidates shared their views on the ongoing Mexican drug war in an exchange with NMPolitics.net. State Sen. Eric Griego (D): "[The US] must work closely with Mexico to stop traffickers and strengthen our border. ... We cannot effectively combat the continuing drug trafficking and violence across the border with just guns and fences. The root cause of drag trafficking across the border into the U.S. is simple: Americans buy them, and there is much profit for drug cartels in ensuring supply. And the gruesome violence in places such as Ciudad Juarez will continue as long as competing cartels continue to fight each other -- and the Mexican military -- to control smuggling operations to meet the drug demand in the U.S."
Bernadillo Co. Commis. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) noted that she backs Mexican efforts to "aggressively fight drug cartels and promote the rule of law," but maintained that the United States must also work to reduce the demand for drugs in this country, while also revising immigration policy and working to stem the flow of weapons across the border. Lujan Grisham: "The brutal violence perpetrated by the drug cartels should be attacked on all fronts."
Ex-Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez (D) noted that he would work "closely with local, state and federal agencies as well as international authorities to help end the bloodshed and find solutions to the systemic economic and social issues that drive the violence."
Chavez also addressed immigration reform, indicating a willingness to provide undocumented persons currently in the United States with a path to citizenship. Chavez: "Our immigration system is broken, and fixing it is vital to our national and economic security. Reform must be comprehensive and provide for tough border protection and employer sanctions, be fair to American taxpayers and be practical to maximize the effectiveness in restoring the rule of law" (Haussamen, NMPolitics.net, 4/9).
Arnold-Jones was backed by 63 percent of delegates at that convention, while Albuquerque City Councilman Dan Lewis (R), who later dropped out of the race, gained 34 percent support.
The petition "alleges that" Smith "gathered an addition 1,823 signatures to qualify for the ballot after falling short of 20 percent at the preprimary. He needed 1,579 valid signatures, but the voters allege that 492 signatures he submitted weren't valid, leaving him with 1,331 valid signatures." The invalid signatures were a combination of duplicate signatures and signatures of non-Republicans and in some cases non-registered voters, according to the petitioners. (Haussamen, NMPolitics.net, 4/9).
On the Dem side of the race, candidates shared their views on the ongoing Mexican drug war in an exchange with NMPolitics.net. State Sen. Eric Griego (D): "[The US] must work closely with Mexico to stop traffickers and strengthen our border. ... We cannot effectively combat the continuing drug trafficking and violence across the border with just guns and fences. The root cause of drag trafficking across the border into the U.S. is simple: Americans buy them, and there is much profit for drug cartels in ensuring supply. And the gruesome violence in places such as Ciudad Juarez will continue as long as competing cartels continue to fight each other -- and the Mexican military -- to control smuggling operations to meet the drug demand in the U.S."
Bernadillo Co. Commis. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) noted that she backs Mexican efforts to "aggressively fight drug cartels and promote the rule of law," but maintained that the United States must also work to reduce the demand for drugs in this country, while also revising immigration policy and working to stem the flow of weapons across the border. Lujan Grisham: "The brutal violence perpetrated by the drug cartels should be attacked on all fronts."
Ex-Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez (D) noted that he would work "closely with local, state and federal agencies as well as international authorities to help end the bloodshed and find solutions to the systemic economic and social issues that drive the violence."
Chavez also addressed immigration reform, indicating a willingness to provide undocumented persons currently in the United States with a path to citizenship. Chavez: "Our immigration system is broken, and fixing it is vital to our national and economic security. Reform must be comprehensive and provide for tough border protection and employer sanctions, be fair to American taxpayers and be practical to maximize the effectiveness in restoring the rule of law" (Haussamen, NMPolitics.net, 4/9).
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