ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: BIG LOANS TO CAMPAIGNS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 22, 2008


Some have observed that the 3rd Congressional District primary is getting “personal.” One way it’s getting personal: The candidates are sinking personal funds into the race.

Developer Don Wiviott, according to a report filed Tuesday, just sunk another quarter-million dollars into his campaign. This brings Wiviott’s total of self-contributions to $1.34 million for his House campaign plus another quarter-million and change of his own money he spent on his aborted U.S. Senate campaign last year.

Meanwhile, Ben Ray Luján this week reported taking out a bank loan of $150,000 for his campaign. That’s on top of a $50,000 loan he took out earlier in the race.

Sneak preview: The next round of campaign finance reports for congressional and Senate candidates isn’t due until today. But the June 3 primary is so close that federal law requires reports of contributions of $1,000 or more within 48 hours of the contribution, so a few of those are popping up.

Luján reports getting $2,300 from Ohkay Owingeh; $2,300 from Margaret Moñoz of Gallup; and $1,000 from Yvette Dobie of Laguna Beach, Calif.

Wiviott reports $2,050 from Edmund Schenecker of San Antonio, Texas; $1,500 from Michael Wilson of Albuquerque; and $1,000 each from Jonathan Potts Wendell of Greenwich, Conn., and David Gold of Albuquerque.

Also, CD 3 contender Jon Adams filed his report a day early. He said he’s raised a total of $51,500 for his campaign so far, which includes $13,000 in loans.

The two Republican Senate candidates already reported their totals.

U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce says he has raised $357,000 since the beginning of April. He spent $964,784 and has $247,207 in the bank.

His rival, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, reports raising $291,106 for the same period. While that’s $66,000 less than Pearce, Wilson reports having $712,476 in the bank.

Brace yourself, Bridget. That’s going to pay for a lot of television ads in the last week and a half of the primary campaign.

Rescinding a nonendorsement? Earlier this month on an interview on KNME’s In Focus, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici said he wasn’t going to make an endorsement in the Republican Senate primary.

But the retiring senator did leave the door slightly ajar: “Now, if something should happen untoward, where I think something was taken advantage of, I may change my mind, but that’s pretty remote at this time.”

Earlier this week, however, Domenici called upon candidate Pearce to demand The Club For Growth withdraw its new ad blasting Wilson for voting in the House for the State Child Insurance Program, or S-CHIP. Domenici voted in favor of the bill in the Senate. Pearce voted against it in the House. President Bush vetoed it.

The offending ad actually stopped running before Domenici called for it to be pulled. But that’s beside the point.

Could Domenici be thinking this ad is “untoward”?

Asked Wednesday whether Domenici might be reconsidering his nonendorsement decision, spokesman Chris Gallegos said, “We have no comment.”

Is there still some Richardson campaign we don’t know about? It seems our governor sure has been out of state a lot lately. On Tuesday, CNN reported, “Bill Richardson will campaign this week for Barack Obama in Puerto Rico, 10 days before the Commonwealth holds its Democratic primary, a Richardson aide tells CNN.” Apparently Richardson is visiting the island today.

Puerto Rico can’t vote in the general election. But in the Byzantine glass bead game of the Democratic nominating process, the island has 55 pledged delegates at stake in the primary.

Earlier this week, the governor was on the East Coast. He gave a commencement speech Sunday at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia, shortly after receiving a Titan of Technology award and delivering a keynote address for the Eastern Technology Council at Drexel University. That same day, he spoke to the World Council of Philadelphia and the William Hughes Center for Public Policy in Atlantic City.

SHENDO STATEMENT

CD 3 candidate Benny Shendo sent a statement about our story in the New Mexican. I'll post the whole thing:

There has been a lot of mischaracterization of the fact and intention of my question to Ben Ray Lujan on Monday night at the Farmington County Democratic Candidate Forum, the first and only forum or debate opportunity for candidates to ask questions of one another. In this day of "sound bite" politics, I appreciate your giving me this opportunity to set the record straight instead of letting this be spun by the Lujan and Wiviott campaigns to an inaccurate portrayal of my views and serve as a distraction from the real issue and the real point of my question, which is:

Does Ben Ray Lujan have the courage to stand up on the difficult issues that face us as a society?

First, I deeply respect the right of every individual to choose their own lifestyle. I was raised in my native culture, which has for generations been tolerant and inclusive of all people regardless of their personal lifestyle choices. And I hold the deepest commitment to working toward the day when every single person in our whole society can be accepted publicly and privately for who they are without fear or shame.

My question the other night was not about whether Ben Ray Lujan is gay or not. And if all the people who have known Ben Ray over the years at the state house, in the community and in his own extended family, and have for years known and accepted him as gay are wrong, that's perfectly fine. His sexuality is not the issue here.

My question was about his maturity and integrity in handling the issue and whether or not he is ready to be our representative in Congress. Being a leader means taking tough stands, and that takes courage—courage that starts in a person's heart, and that starts at home.

My question was about whether Ben Ray had the courage to stand up to his parents, who have been a very active presence in his public life and in his campaign. And many voters, especially including members of the GLBT community and members of Lujan's own family, have expressed concern to me that there may be a level of public deception going on in the way that Ben Ray and his parents have handled this matter by so actively promoting publicly that he has a girlfriend.

Let's be clear, if a private citizen chooses to keep their sexual orientation secret, that's their right. But Ben Ray Lujan, by his own choice, is not a private citizen, but a candidate for public office, and in this context, he is asking us to trust his decision-making, his judgment, his leadership capability, his maturity, and, frankly, his honesty.

Being a political leader isn't just about having a big office and fancy title. It's not even just about what you say your stance is or will be on the issues. A person who actively puts themselves forward as a public figure, an elected leader, by definition, is putting themselves forward to be a role model.

As such, they need to accept a higher level of responsibility for their actions. If they actively put forward a deception to hide their homosexuality, then they send a terrible and damaging message that there is something wrong with being gay. In a very real sense, they become a "gay basher" by their actions, which clearly say there is something shameful about being gay. And that does incalculable damage, especially to young GLBT people who are struggling with this issue.

I have spent the bulk of my professional career working with young people, helping them get into and succeed in college, I know first hand the damage that this kind of message sends, when leaders by their actions say that being gay is shameful and thus, by extension, that young people struggling with their own sexual identity should also be ashamed of who they are.

And that damage is especially grave when it is in the form of a person's own parents not accepting who they are, and pressuring them into living a lie. I have seen first-hand and experts agree, when parents do not accept their children for who they are, this creates a deep wound that forms an underlying cause of many of our worst social problems – alcohol and drug abuse, depression, domestic violence, hatred and intolerance.

Therefore, when a public figure and role model chooses to deceive on the issue of his lifestyle and sexual identity this is not just private or personal matter, but an issue of direct concern all of us, including the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community, as well as to the general well-being of our whole society. Some of these may be difficult issues, certainly, but all the more reason we must talk about them, and not sweep them under the carpet, with an understandable, but misguided cry for personal privacy.

That being gay is shameful is not the right message for Ben Ray to be sending to the very people he claims he is mature enough and courageous enough to stand up for. Our representatives in Congress need to be an embodiment of the acceptance we seek in our society, acceptance both of others and of themselves. This means that if our public leaders allow themselves to be the victim of intolerance –by others or even by themselves to themselves—then they are not in a position to defend the rights of others. They become party to the intolerance, and our leaders, especially now, need to be stronger willed and more principled than that.

That is what my question was about. And that's what I will continue to fight for: that day when every child, including Ben Ray Lujan, can grow up proud of who they are, where they come from and what their place is in this world.

Benny J. Shendo, Jr

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CD 3: TURNING DOWNRIGHT NASTY

Yes, the Third Congressional race suddenly has taken a severe turn for the ugly.

No, it's not just the attack ads between Ben Ray Lujan and Don Wiviott. That stuff, despite cries of "Swift boat attacks," is to be expected.

Let's talk about the unexpected.

Things turned bizarre Monday night at a candidate forum in Farmington. And it came from -- of all people -- candidate Benny Shendo, who previously seemed like a soft-spoken, well-informed voice of reason.

But in Farmington, Shendo let loose with a strange innuendo about Ben Ray Lujan's "lifestyle."

"You say that you stand up for the people of New Mexico," Shendo said, "and I want to know how you can stand up for the people of New Mexico if you can't stand up to your mom and dad about your lifestyle."

And in an interview with Kate Nash of the New Mexican today, Shendo went on to say, that while he has no evidence about Lujan's sexual orientation:

"If he is gay, and he's deceiving people, that's wrong. The voters have a right to be concerned about the deception — not whether one is gay or not. The issue is deception. That's relevant."

It is?

The Lujan campaign calls the attack "despicable." And Linda Siegle, a lobbyist for Equality New Mexico, said, "Whether he's gay or not shouldn't be an issue. Whether he has a girlfriend or not shouldn't be an issue. The issue should be the issues. Why would another Democrat be bringing this up?"

No, it doesn't get much stranger than this. Read the whole story by Kate and me HERE.

NEW NM POLL SHOWS OBAMA TIED WITH McCAIN

The latest SurveyUSA poll shows Barrack Obama tied with John McCain 44-44 percent in a presidential match-up in New Mexico.

The automated phone poll, taken over the weekend of 600 registered voters in the state has several possible running mates of the two candidates.

Obama does best with John Edwards as his running mate. In fact without Edwards, Obama falls behind McCain in every other match-up. McCain does well with Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney as a running mate.

However, I believe these match-ups aren't very valuable at this stage. Edwards has high name recognition, as do Huckabee and Romney. Somehow I don't think Kathleen Sebelius and Tim Pawlenty are that well known here.

In fact, SurveyUSA honcho Jay Leve told me in an interview last month that the numbers in New Mexico will be going up and down for the candidates until the bitter end. "“Nothing in our polling suggests that a consensus has been formed (in New Mexico),” Leve said in April. “I expect a razor-thin margin.”

The margin of error is 4.1 percent.

IS THIS AN OPENING FOR A DOMENICI ENDORSEMENT?

Earlier this month on an interview on KNME's In Focus, U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici said he wouldn't be endorsing in the GOP Senate primary.

However, he did leave the door slightly ajar: ""Now, if something should happen untoward, where I think something was taken advantage of, I may change my mind, but that's pretty remote at this time."

On Monday Domenici called upon candidate Steve Pearce to demand The Club For Growth withdraw its new ad blasting Heather Wilson for support of the State Child Insurance Program (S-CHIP). (Read an Associated Press story HERE) Domenici voted in favor of the bill, which Pearce opposed and President Bush vetoed.

Could Domenici be thinking this ad is "untoward"?

UNIONS TO DISPUTE WIVIOTT AD

Several labor unions backing Ben Ray Luján for Congress are holding a news conference Tuesday to "set the record straight on Don Wiviott's misleading attacks on Ben Ray Luján."

An e-mailed news release doesn't give much of a hint as to what will be said at the news conference. It mainly says nice things about their candidate such as he's "has always stood up for the people of New Mexico with bold, progressive ideas and values. In Congress, he'll continue to put working families first."

Wiviott's ad blasts Luján for working as blackjack dealer in Nevada then getting a $90,000 state job the ad credits to Luján's "famous father" House Speaker Ben Luján. It also charges that the younger Luján missed 13 of 14 meetings of the "Healthcare Commission" -- actually something called the "Telehealth Commission," which is a board appointed by the governor.

The ad, which began running on TV on Saturday, does not appear on Wiviott's Web site for reasons I can;t figure out. The only known copy on the Web is on Heath Haussamen's blog and he's selfishly not sharing it. You'll have to CLICK HERE to see it.

Check Kate Nash's story in Tuesday's New Mexican.

XXXXXXXX

Speaking of the CD 3 Congressional race, our profiles of Harry Montoya, Jon Adams and Rudy Martin ran today.

Profiles of the Republican CD 3 candidates Marco Gonzales and Dan East are running Tuesday.

All these can be found on The New Mexican's Elections section.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, May 18, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Chicken Slacks by RIAA (Sam Cooke vs. Ray Stevens)
Hand on the Hot Wire by Key Francis
Killer Wolf by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Ain't That Just Like Me by The Astronauts
Who Buy The Guns by Joe "King" Carrasco y las Coronas
Don't Hold It Against Me by ? & The Mysterians
Oblivion by Mudhoney
Jibba Jab by Tic & Toc

Sixteen Tons by Stan Ridgway
As Long as I Have You by The Detroit Cobras
Wild Baby Wow by Lightning Beat-Man
Pachuco Cadaver by Captain Beefheart
Thunder Thighs by Andres Williams with the Diplomats of Solid Sound
Rock 'n' Roll Murder by The Leaving Trains
Chick Habit by April March
Stoned by The Rolling Stones

Is There Anybody Out There? (Bob's Nightmare) by Simon Stokes
Lucky Lucky Luck by Evangelista
Evil Alligator Man by Jad Fair
Talk to the Animals by Bobby Brodsky
Mr. Slater's Parrot by The Bonzo Dog Band
Zombie Dance by The Cramps

Ohio/Machine Gun by The Isley Brothers
Mission District by The Black Angels
Banghra Brothers by Firewater
La Faim de Haricots by Les Negresses Vertes
Cliquot by Beirut
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

CD 3 PROFILES

The New Mexican's profiles of candidates for Congressional District 3 begin running today.

My story about the race as a whole is HERE.

An issues questionannaire, consisting of 10 Yes-or-No questions is HERE.

My profile on Don Wiviott is HERE.

Kate Nash's profile of Ben Ray Luján is HERE.

Her profile of Benny Shendo, Jr. is HERE

The other Democratic candidates. Harry Montoya, Jon Adams and Rudy Martin will run Monday. The Republican candidates, Marco Gonzales and Dan East will run Tuesday.

Happy reading.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, May 16, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Feelin' Good by Levon Helm
Les Secrets D'Evangeline by Mama Rosin
Cajun Joe (The Bully 0f the Bayou) by Doug & Rusty Kershaw
Bully of the Town by Joe Maphis
The Gallows by Possessed by Paul James
Ten Million Slaves by Otis Taylor
Fishing Blues by Taj Mahall
Don't Go Cutting on My Cattle by Bone Orchard

Train of Life by Laura Cantrell
Bayou Tortous by James McMurtry
Time Heals by The Gear Daddies
Hillbilly Blues by Ronnie Dawson
Wolfman's Romp by The Juke Joint Pimps
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away? by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
The Curley Shuffle by Jump 'N the Saddle
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands by Brother Williams' Memphis Sanctified Singers

COAL MINING SET
Lawrence Jones by Kathy Mattea
Last Train to Poor Valley by Norman Blake
16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford
Dark as a Dungeon by Merle Travis with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Working in the Coal Mine by Devo
Dreams of a Miner's Child by The Stanley Brothers
Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn
Paradise by John Prine
Big Bad John by Jimmy Dean
Que Creek by Buddy Miller
Timothy by The Buoys

The Last Word in Lonesome is Me by Roger Miller
Carbon-Dated Love by I See Hawks in L.A.
Former American Soldier by Chip Taylor
Buffalo Skinners by Woody Guthrie
Hank Williams' Ghost by Darrell Scott
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots
Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: IN THE MINES, IN THE MINES WHERE THE SUN NEVER SHINES

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 15, 2008


Back in the 1980s and ’90s, Kathy Mattea was one of Nashville’s dependable country/pop hit makers. Her voice was soulful, and she’d often allow folk and bluegrass elements in her music, though she never strayed too far from the Nashville formula.

But like many female singers in modern corporate country — think Patty Loveless, Pam Tillis, Trisha Yearwood — Mattea at some point fell out of favor with the evil druids of 16th Avenue who control the Country Music Industrial Complex. It would be a nasty accusation to say that Nashville would callously dump a singer because of age (Mattea turns 50 next year), but that’s how things seem to work out now, isn’t it?

The good news is that Mattea still has that soulful voice, and, being free of commercial pressure, she’s at liberty to follow her creativity. And she’s done that quite capably with her new album, Coal. The bad news is that the album won’t get the airplay and won’t make the money it deserves.

Mattea is a native of West Virginia and the granddaughter of coal miners (on both sides of her family). She was moved by the tragedy of the 2006 Sago Mine disaster in her home state, in which 12 men were killed. So she took a batch of fine songs about the mining life by the likes of Jean Ritchie, Hazel Dickens (outright radicals you’d never hear on conservative Hot New Country radio!), Merle Travis, and others; grabbed Marty Stuart to produce and play on it; and made one powerful little bluegrass-soaked concept album.

Mattea sings about the extremely backbreaking work that is coal mining. She sings about a profession where danger is double and pleasures are few. Then there are the health hazards, which Mattea addresses in her a cappella version of Dickens’ wrenching “Black Lung,” which closes the album.

Mattea also tells of the economic hardships when the mines shut down. Ritchie’s “Blue Diamond Mines” recounts the story of one such impacted community: “Now the union is dead and they shake their heads/Well, mining has had its day/But they’re stripping off my mountaintop/And they pay me eight dollars a day.” The song even name checks “John L.” — Lewis, that is — president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. With Stuart on mandolin and Loveless on vocal harmonies, the song is a bittersweet treat.

Even harder-hitting is “Lawrence Jones,” which was written by Si Kahn, a folk singer, political organizer, and son of a rabbi man. This is a song about a bloody 13-month strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, that began in 1973. According to a 2006 article in The Nation, "The miners went out on strike, and an escalating fight ensued between gun thugs hired by Duke Power and the men and women on the picket line. Finally, a Duke Power employee shot miner Lawrence Jones in the face one night and Jones died at the hospital.”

“There’s blood upon the contract like vinegar in wine/And there’s one man dead on that Harlan Country line,” Mattea sings.

Musically, the album drags a bit on slow, mournful songs like “Red-Winged Blackbird” and “Coming of the Roads” (both written by Billy Edd Wheeler.) And I’ve heard better versions of “Dark as a Dungeon.” Otherwise, Coal is a diamond.

Bonus! Mining for coal songs — my personal favorites:

1. “Dark as a Dungeon” by Merle Travis with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Though lots of people have recorded this Travis tune, his version on Will the Circle Be Unbroken? is my favorite. Honorable mention: Johnny Cash’s cover of the song on his live At Folsom Prison album.

2. “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Working in a coal mine doesn’t pay well, but it apparently gives you license to kill those who refuse to step aside when they see you comin’. Tennessee Ernie’s is the coolest version of this classic Travis song, but I also like Stan Ridgway’s oddball arrangement.

3. “Quecreek” by Buddy Miller. Like Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” this song was ripped from the headlines. On the day Buddy was finishing his Midnight and Lonesome album in 2002, nine Pennsylvania coal miners who had been trapped for three days were rescued. Buddy’s wife, Julie Miller, wrote this song, which appears at the end of the album.

4. “Last Train From Poor Valley” by Norman Blake. The mines shut down, a marriage fails, and brown-haired Becky is Richmond-bound.

5. “Working in a Coal Mine” by Lee Dorsey. This funky 1966 tune by New Orleans soul man Dorsey made mining sound cool and funky. But just like Rose Royce’s song about working at a car wash 10 years later, the record was better than the reality. Devo covered Dorsey’s song, too, but can you imagine anyone being allowed to work in a mine wearing those silly Devo hats?

6. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” by Loretta Lynn. Coal mining can’t be that bad if it spawned Loretta.

7. “Dream of a Miner’s Child” by The Stanley Brothers. The plot of this traditional tune is simple: A little girl has a nightmare about a mining disaster and begs her dad not to go to work, but he ignores her. Guess what happens.

8. “Paradise” by John Prine. The tale of Mr. Peabody’s coal mine in Muhlenberg County and the greatest strip-mining protest song ever written.

9. “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean. Big John was the type of miner “Sixteen Tons” was written about: “Everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to Big John,” Jimmy drawls. Even though he’d killed a guy from Louisiana in a fight over a “Cajun queen,” John’s superhuman heroism in a cave-in redeems him. This is one of the greatest faux-folk songs from the era (late ’50s and early ’60s) that produced “The Battle of New Orleans,” “El Paso,” “Saginaw, Michigan,” “Long Black Veil,” and others.

10. “Timothy” by The Buoys. Just because you’re in a mining disaster doesn’t mean you have to start skipping meals.

Radio: You know dang well you’re going to hear a lot of these songs tonight (Friday) on the Santa Fe Opry, 10 p.m. on KSFR-FM 101.1.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: S. UDALL BACKS BEN RAY

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 15, 2008

U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, who is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, has not and isn’t expected to make an endorsement in the crowded Democratic primary that likely will determine who will take his congressional seat.

But his dad has.

Former U.S. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall on Wednesday announced he’s supporting Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján for the 3rd Congressional District seat.

“I’ve followed (Luján’s) career, and I have a high regard for him,” the elder Udall said in a telephone interview. He said he likes Luján’s record on energy and environmental issues. “He’s interested in all the things I am,” Udall said.

Stewart Udall was a congressman from Arizona in the 1950s. He served in the cabinets of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. “I’m a very independent-minded individual at my old age,” he said. “I simply told Tom (about his decision to endorse Luján), and he didn’t object.”

A story for Hillary: During my conversation with Stewart Udall, he said this year’s presidential race reminds him of a situation with his brother, the late Arizona Congressman Mo Udall.

“My brother ran for president in 1976,” Stewart Udall said. Mo Udall lost the nomination to Jimmy Carter that year. A few years later, Mo Udall was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his brother noted, but that didn’t stop his desire for the White House.

“During Reagan’s first two years, there was a recession,” Stewart Udall said. “My brother talked to people saying he was thinking of running again. I brought a group of friends to talk him out of it. It’s a disease that’s progressive, and he’d have to think about the next five years.”

Apparently the group of friends were effective in talking Mo Udall out of another presidential bid. And after all, Stewart Udall said, “my brother was famous for the statement that once you get it in your mind that you’re the best candidate for president or the only one qualified, the only remedy is formaldehyde.”

This, Stewart Udall said, is applicable to Hillary Clinton.

More fun with endorsements: It’s that time of year, of course. Here’s a couple that caught my eye:

Long shot Democratic congressional candidate Jon Adams sent an e-mail Wednesday endorsing A.J. Salazar for district attorney. “A.J.’s record shows a commitment to fighting drunk driving, domestic violence, and crime across the board,” said Adams, a former assistant attorney general. “A.J. is exactly the kind of tough on crime district attorney we need.”

So far, Salazar hasn’t returned the favor.

Also on Wednesday, former Secretary of State Shirley Hooper endorsed Valerie Espinoza in her re-election bid for Santa Fe County clerk.

“It’s almost unreal that I gave (Espinoza) her first job when I was Secretary of State in 1979 and she gave me my last when she became County Clerk in 2005,” Hooper, Espinoza’s chief deputy until 2006, said in an e-mail.

And it’s not really an endorsement, but ... Española Mayor Joe Maestas, who is running for Public Regulation Commission, is mailing campaign literature with a picture of him with Gov. Bill Richardson, along with a quote saying: “Mayor Joe Maestas has a proven record of accomplishment and leadership and would make a great commissioner on the PRC.”

But Richardson said Wednesday that he isn’t actually endorsing in the race. “I like Joe Maestas, but I like Paul Campos and Louie Gallegos too,” he said. Maestas, the governor said, is the only PRC candidate to ask him. “I’ll pose with anybody who asks,” he said, “but it’s not an endorsement.”

Official state Dem blogger: The national Democrats have chosen the Albuquerque-based Democracy for New Mexico as the official New Mexico blogger at the Democratic National Convention this August in Denver.

DFNM’s Barbara Wold posted Wednesday: “Some months ago the DNC solicited applications from bloggers in all 50 states (plus several territories) to vie for one blogger slot per state. They’ll form what’s called the State Blogger Corps at the Convention. ... Each official state blogger will be credentialed for seating with the state’s delegation on the Convention floor, and will be an integral part of the Convention action.”

I’m not official, but I’ll be blogging from the convention as well (right here on this blog) in addition to my regular duties writing stories for The New Mexican.

MY $600

I just received my $60o from the IRS.

I paid $500 on my car, knocking off a couple of months payments and a little interest.

But I didn;t want to be completely unpatriotic by paying debts instead of buying new stuff.

So I spent about $40 on Amazon for two out-of-print CDs in the LAS VEGAS GRIND series (volumes 1 and 6). One satisfied customer wrote, "Some of the raunchiest, sleaziest, most glouriously (sic) outdated rock 'n' roll you'll ever hear." (You'll be hearing some of these albums on Terrell's Sound World soon after they arrive.)

Earlier tonight I paid almost $40 for a tank of gas. So that leaves me about $20 to stimulate the economy.

MORE ON THE PUSH POLL

I found out a lot more about the Common Sense Issues push poll -- sorry "personalized educational artificial intelligence poll." READ IT HERE.

Turns out that Udall's not the only target. In fact. at least until the primary's over he's not even the main target. That would be Heather Wilson.

“Congresswoman Heather Wilson did not vote for (a bill to outlaw transporting) minors across state lines for abortions nor did she vote to save the life of Terri Schiavo. And Heather Wilson supported spending federal dollars to fund life-destroying human embryonic stem-cell research.”

That's one of the things you hear if you tell the automated caller you support Wilson. Indicating you support other candidates takes you down diffrent paths. (CSI executive director Patrick Davis was nice enough to have the company call me at home so I could hear what happens when you say you support Pearce, Wilson and Udall.)

Here is a link to a Time magazine story about CSI's activites in the Iowa Caucuses. Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was supported by the group, publicly disavowed the push polling for him, though the Mitt Romney campaign questioned the sincerity of the disavowal.

PUSHING THE POLLS

Push- polling. Now there's a fun little political sport.

"Would you vote for George Papoon if you knew he liked to stomp on little baby ducks while he raises your taxes?"

Push-polls are telephone calls designed not to determine statistics about voter opinion but to spread negative information about a candidate in the form of questions.

"Would you vote for George Leroy Tirebiter if you knew that he shot a man in Reno just to watch him die?

The first push-poll of the season has been spotted in New Mexico according to a fund-raising e-mail from Tom Udall’s Senate campaign. Apparently it's from a national conservative group that emphasizes right-to-life issues.

“We’ve just received some disturbing news from one of our staff — the GOP ‘Swift Boat’ attacks on Tom Udall have begun here in New Mexico. She got an automated ‘push-poll’ phone call from an organization misleadingly calling itself ‘Common Sense Issues’ this weekend,” said the e-mail from Amanda Cooper, Udall’s stepdaughter and campaign manager.

Cooper couldn’t be reached for comment about details of the poll Monday.

Representatives of CSI couldn’t be reached for comment Monday night at the phone number listed on its Web site. So if the report is true, we still don't know what information was being passed in the phone calls or how true or false it was.

A Jan. 9 story in Newsweek said, “Common Sense Issues is a tax-exempt group registered in Delaware whose organizers have acknowledged the use of controversial telephone polling tactics to promote (Mike) Huckabee presidential bid — and allegedly to trash the campaigns of the former Arkansas governor’s rivals.” Huckabee’s campaign denied any connection with the group.
Common Sense Issues’ Web site lists “life issues” as its top priority. Among other issues listed are liberty, economics, national security, “natural family” and “confronting radical Islam.”

Udall is running unopposed in the Democratic Senate primary. Republicans Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce are duking it out in the Republican primary.

If you didn't get a call from this push poll, don't worry. There's bound to be more in the general election.

DOMENICI ENDORSES GONZALES

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici endorsed Marco Gonzales in the Republican primary for the Third Congressional District.

The endorsement isn't that surprising considering Gonzales -- who is running against Rio Rancho contractor Dan East -- worked for Domenici for 10 years. Then again, the retiring senator isn't endorsing in the Heather Wilson/Steve Pearce U.S. Senate primary, even though Wilson has long been considered his protégé .

Here's the text of a postcard sent to CD 3 Republicans:

Dear Friend:
I'm so pleased that Marco Gonzales is running for congress to represent northern New Mexico.
I have known and been friends with Marco for over 20 years. Marco started his public service career by serving as my legislative assistant while attending college and law school at night.
I have seen firsthand Marco's dedication and commitment to New Mexico and have confidence in his ability to effectively represent the third district--from day one.
I have enjoyed seeing Marco advance his professional career back
home in New Mexico and re-establish his northern roots. Because Marco understands our unique cultures and interests and is a man of principle and conviction, I know he will serve us well in Congress.
That's why I'm supporting his candidacy and wanted to take a moment to encourage you to do the same. But don't just take it from me. I encourage you to call Marco or join him at upcoming event.
Talk to Marco about the issues facing our nation and learn more about his views for the future of New Mexico. I am confident that after you do, you too, will see the same qualities, talents, and views that have me supporting his candidacy for congress.
In closing, I want to thank you again for you support as I have worked to represent you in the United States Senate. It has been my honor to serve you and the state of New Mexico for the past 37 years.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, May 27, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Webcasting!
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Backstreet Girl by Social Distortion
Hey Grandma by Moby Grape
Mindblower by Link Wray
Wild About You Baby by Hounddog Taylor
Who You Driving Now by Mudhoney
Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
The Big Heat by Stan Ridgway

HAPPY MUMMIE'S DAY!
Teenage Mummy Radio Spot #1
I'm a Mummy by The Fall
The Ballad of Iron Eyes Cody by The Mummies
The Fez Man Walks by The A-Bones
Jenny is Feeling Bad by Mummy the Peep Show

Up Side by ? & The Mysterians
Howl by Iggy Pop
Hairball Alley by Rocket From the Crypt

This is My Life by Firewater
Sailor's Wife by Babylon Circus
Through the Roof 'n' Underground by Gogol Bordello
Romana by Kultur Shock
Twoj Moj Czas by Kult
200 Flying Girls by The Red Elvises
Sticky Little Girl by Zee Rok
Siki Siki Baba by Kocani Orkestar

Forks and Knives by Beirut
WPLJ by The Mothers of Invention
Wine-O Boogie by Don Ramon Sr.
Vikings by The Black Angels
She Lives (In a Time of Her Own) by The 13th Floor Elevators
Lightning's Girl by Nancy Sinatra
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

R.I.P. EDDY ARNOLD

Country singer Eddy Arnold died last week at the age of 89. Read about him HERE .

I think my favorite Eddy Arnold hit was his version of Roger Miller's "The Last Word in Lonsesome is Me."

According to Jim Terr, this photo, by his friend music historian Tony Byworth, might be one of the last ever taken of Eddy. (Photo(c) 2008. Used by permission.)

eMusic MAY

*White Trash Girl by Candye Kane. Big beautiful Candye is a natural-born belter specializing in sexy blues "Work What You Got" is a song title on this 2005 album, but it's also Candye's guiding philosophy.

She does a tough, bluesy version of The Lovin' Spoonfuls' :What a Day for a Daydream"and a funny tune called "Estrogen Bomb." But my favorite here has to be a song that we used to sing in grade school "Let There Be Peace on Earth." (No, I didn't go to some hippie free school -- it was a regular public elementary school in Oklahoma in the '60s. Pretty hip, no?) Of course we didn't sing it with a fraction of Candye's soul.

Last month Candye underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. She's recovering now and reportedly feeling better. Check out her Web site.


* Never Been Caught by The Mummies . They hailed from San Francisco, but they were a lot more Rice-a-Roni than Haight Ashbury. Spending more money on their Ace Bandage costumes, or so it would seem, than on their pawn-shop instruments, The Mummies called their sound "Budget Rock" (not to be confused with The Fleshtones' "Super Rock."). And it was a pretty apt description, as the production of their music did have a pronounced bargain-basement quality about it. This album, originally released in 1992, sounds like a lost cheap cassette bootleg of some teen dance at a VFW show in South Dakota in the mid '60s (Anybody remember Spider & The Crabs???!!!) When I hear The Mummies rip through The Young Rascals' "Come on Up" and The Righteous Brothers' "Justine" my first instinct is to scream out "Little Latin Lupe Lu!" And then there's "Mariconda's a Friend of Mine," the lyrics of which have been passed down generation to generation in elementary school boys' rooms.

* Memphis Sanctified Jug Bands 1928-1930. Jug band gospel music! What a concept! These tracks were recorded at a Church of God in Christ in Memphis. The album includes what has what has to be the greatest versions of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" I've ever heard. Unfortunately the individual artists aren't listed on the tracks, though the Document Records Web site indicates "Whole World" is performed by Brother Williams Memphis Sanctified Singers.

Not all the songs are jug tunes. There's also some good old fashioned Black preaching with a Holy Ghost-filled choir moaning the Word behind the minister, sometimes with a short jug-band interlude following.

(Memory Lane: In the late '70s I used to live a couple of doors down from a Church of God in Christ on Gallegos Lane right here in Santa Fe. Sometimes I'd hear some amazing gospel being sung there. The church, however, was sold by the early '80s. The building is still there though.)

* Daptone 7-Inch Singles Collection, Vol. 1 by Various Artists. How can you go wrong with Dap regulars like Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields? There's also worthwhile offerings by lesser-known singers like Charlie Bradley and the deep-voiced Naomi Davis, who does a funk-filled tune called "Promised Land" (not the Chuck Berry classic) And there's a couple of instrumental groups -- The Sugarman 3 and Company -- who sounds as if they're making soundtracks for a new crop of Cleopatra Jones movies.

This compilation just serves to show why Daptone has become synonymous with 21st Century soul. I just saw that Daptone is releasing a Volume 2 of this. Can't wait.


* Directions to See a Ghost by The Black Angels. This is the brand new album from Austin's psychedelic drone masters, released just a couple of months after I became aware of them. (I saw them at Roky Erikson's Ice Cream Social during SXSW). It's cool that eMusic had the album available a few weeks in advance of its release.

Virtually every track is a lengthy journey to the center of what's left of your mind, culminating in the 16-minute "Snake in the Grass," which features Oooga Boooga drums and layers of feedback.


* Trains and Boats and Planes by Laura Cantrell. This is a nine-song EP by this New York country gal. Most the songs are about modes of transportation. Her talent is only eclipsed by her great tastes. I knew it would be worth it alone for her covers of two of my favorite obscure country songs from the early '70s: Roger Miller's "Train of Life" (covered by Merle Haggard on his landmark Someday We'll Look Back album) and John Hartford's "Howard Hughes Blues" from his greatest Aereo-Plain. Plus there's versions of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and New Order's "Love Vigilantes," a sad soldier song that sounds like it was written as a country tune.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, May 9, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
White Trash Girl by Candye Kane
Wanted Man by Johnny Cash
Hey Little Dreamboat by Rose Maddox
I Push Right Over by Rosie Flores
Qualudes Again by Bobby Bare
Friday Night on a Dollar Bill by Huelyn Duvall
Have Love Will Travel by Big Sandy
High and Wild by Ray Condo & His Ricochets
Tiny Blue Transistor Radio by Connie Smith
Tore Up Junction by Arty Hill & The Long Gone Daddies
The Palace Roses by Todd Andrews

Bleeding Willow by Bone Orchard
Blue Diamond Mines by Kathy Mattea
Reprimand by The Santa Fe All Stars
Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's Anymore by John Hartford
Johny Can't Dance by Mama Rosin
Merchants Lunch by The Austin Lounge Lizards

THE COMBINATION PLATE
Guacamole by The Texas Tornados
Martha's Tacos by Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs
Tamale Baby by Joe "King" Carasco y Las Coronas
Cook yer Enchiladas by Stephen W. Terrell
Pink Burrito by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
Big Chorizo by Manic Hispanic
Hot Burrito #1 by The Flying Burrito Brothers

Red Hot by Billy Lee Riley
Whatcha Gonna Do Now by Tommy Collins
Junior by Simon Stokes

New Song of Freedom by Chip Taylor
A Girl in a House on Felony Flats by Richmond Fontaine
Davey Took a Gun and Killed His Wife/Sittin' on a Jury: The Verdict/Sittin' on a Jury: Epilogue by The Wilders
Weakness in a Man by Waylon Jennings
Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You by Dolly Parton
Iowa City by Eleni Mandell
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots
Radio list

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: FIREWATER SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 9, 2008

Back in the late ’80s to mid-’90s, singer Tod A was in an “industrial” band called Cop Shoot Cop. Remember industrial music? It was kind of like heavy metal played by evil robots.

The main thing I remember about Cop Shoot Cop was a little ditty called “Surprise, Surprise,” from the 1993 album Ask Questions Later, which featured the refrain, “Surprise, surprise! The government lies!” (The album was released just a few weeks before the Branch Davidian tragedy in Waco, Texas. Surely a coincidence.)

Tod’s latest band, Firewater, can hardly be considered industrial. In fact, its new album, The Golden Hour, which was recorded in India, Pakistan, Turkey, and Israel, has an international rock sound influenced by the music of those nations as well as Balkan music and even some Latin and Caribbean styles.

But Mr. A still has some of that Cop Shoot Cop spirit in him. He might not sound like an evil robot anymore, but he’s still repulsed by government lies.

The Golden Hour has the feel of a political exile’s diary. Disgusted with the paranoid climate in the U.S. — and having just split with his wife — a frustrated and depressed Tod left the country with a guitar and a laptop, recording local musicians in the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia.

Khyber Pass interlude. Tod kept a written diary, available on his blog, . One of my favorite posts is from Aug. 1, 2006. Scroll down to “Sick Days, Sufi Nights, Drugs, Guns, and Transvestites,” which concerns his decision to abort his plan to cross the Khyber Pass, which links Pakistan and Afghanistan, because of the danger of kidnapping.

“I learned a lot about football: locked in an Amritsar hotel room with only the World Cup and the shits to stave off the interminable boredom; I escaped being drugged and robbed in Jaisalmer; I entertained thinly veiled marriage proposals from Punjabi farm girls; I ate opium and jammed with Thar desert gypsies; I slept alone under the stars; I danced with transvestites among the graves of Sufi saints; I took many pictures; I stood in the rain with crowds of ecstatic people as the first rains of the monsoon erupted from the sky; I made a healthy start on a novel; I recorded six music groups, gathering enough rhythm tracks for the next Firewater album; I was robbed only once (a cellphone), but otherwise managed to hang on to my computer and other pricey recording gear. I made some new friends. Weighed with these measures the trip was a success.”

Back to the music. “Borneo,” a cool jungle stomp that reminds me a lot of Los Lobos’ version of “I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song),” sets the stage for The Golden Hour: “Well, I ain’t gonna live in your world no more (Hey, Borneo!)/Feelin’ like a flunky for a two-bit whore (Here I come, Borneo!)/You got a monkey for a president (Hey, Borneo!)/And a head all filled up with cement (Look out, Borneo!)”

Tod is more pensive on the next track, “This Is My Life,” on which he is backed up with ents, and what the liner notes describe as “cannibal drums” played by (Tamir Muskat of Balkan Beat Box). “I’ve never cared for authority/I’ve never felt part of the majority/I lost my home, I lost my wife/This is no joke — this is my life.”

Each song is a weird little foreign adventure — bouncy Bollywood reggae in “Banghra Bros”; a sad tango with a crazy guitar solo in “Paradise”; some circus music, complete with trombone and banjo in “Hey Clown” (which might be another George W. Bush “tribute”); and “Electric City,” which sounds like the soundtrack for a spy movie.

Though The Golden Hour is charged with political anger (“We’re gonna burn your flag and piss on your parade,” Tod rasps on “Hey Clown”), his feelings of melancholy are the most striking element of the album. This mood reaches a climax in “Feels Like the End of the World.”

Though the music, recorded partly in Istanbul, is up-tempo — lots of that James Bond guitar and impressive percussion — Tod’s lyrics speak of emotional crisis. “And I probably should shave/And dig myself out of this grave/But I can’t go, no, not just yet ... So tonight in the bar/Of this hotel bizarre/I’ll write some postcards and throw them away.”

The traveler returns in “Weird to Be Back,” Fishbone-like ska with a little flamenco guitar. “So I just dropped in today/To check up on my old obsessions/Everything’s the same/Or maybe just a little worse.”

And by the last song, “Three Legged Dog,” Tod’s back on the prowl, his self-effacing humor at full strength. “You know my father thinks I’m crazy ’cause I ain’t got no career/And my mother thinks I’m crazy and my sister thinks I’m queer/Ah, but if you think it’s easy, man, you just ain’t got no idea/I’m a three-legged dog on the roam.” Backed by a “Sympathy-for-the-Devil” woo-woo chorus (and Uri Kinrot — also of Balkan Beat Box — on electric banjo), this tune gives us hope that Tod A’s going to be roaming for a long songs from The Golden Hour.

Also recommended:
* Dances of Resistance by Babylon Circus. This is a French band that specializes in ska and reggae. But this latest album shows the group has a good awareness of other sounds, too.

“De la Musique et du Bruit,” for instance, is a little jazzy, a little poppy, and a lot crazy. You can hear a Mideastern influence and maybe even a little Mr. Bungle as the tempo picks up.

The Bungle comparison is even more apt in “Mr. Clown” and “Musical Terrorism Act.”

Meanwhile “Warlord” could be described as science-fiction reggae, while “Sailor’s Wife” is ska with hillbilly-twang guitar and strange clarinets. And you have to love the little circus-music instrumental interludes that pop up between songs.

Babylon Circus makes me miss another great French band, Les Négresses Vertes; their 1988 debut album Mlah was a world-punk milestone.

UPDATE: Several hours after the initial post, I repaired some computer-induced gibberish in the Firewater review.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: FUN WITH ENDORSEMENTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
May 8, 2008

Gov. Bill Richardson has had his problems with the state Senate in recent sessions of the Legislature — not infrequently with senators who are, like Richardson, members of the Democratic Party.

But that’s not stopping the governor from helping several incumbent Democratic senators facing tough primary challengers.

And at least a couple of his state endorsements are bound to be unpopular with the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Stopped in the Roundhouse hall immediately after his appearance on Larry King Live on Monday night, the governor said he has endorsed several incumbent senators, including James Taylor and Shannon Robinson (both representing Albuquerque districts) as well as Carlos Cisneros of Questa. “I’m mainly helping with fundraising,” he said.

Why these candidates? “They seem to have the most contested primaries,” Richardson said.

The Cisneros primary hasn’t grabbed much statewide attention. The six-term Cisneros is being challenged by Archie Velarde and Erminio Martinez.

Taylor and Robinson have been targeted by liberal reformers who say the two are too conservative. Their challengers — Eric Griego and Tim Keller, respectively — have been endorsed by the Albuquerque-based Democracy for New Mexico blog as well as Conservation Voters New Mexico and several labor unions.

Taylor, a former majority whip in the House, was appointed to his seat by Richardson in 2004 to fill out the term of Manny Aragon, who left the Senate to become president of New Mexico Highlands University. At the time of the appointment, Richardson called Taylor “one of the best natural politicians in New Mexico.”

But Taylor is being challenged by someone who also has been appointed by Richardson to state office, former Albuquerque City Councilor Griego. In 2005, Richardson named Griego as assistant secretary of the state Economic Development Department. He worked there until last year, when he became executive director for New Mexico Voices for Children, an advocacy group that sometimes has been at odds with Richardson’s economic policies.

Robinson and Richardson have crossed swords before. During the 2007 session, Robinson angrily withdrew as a sponsor of a Richardson-backed bill to create a new Media Arts and Entertainment Department. Robinson was upset because the governor had appointed former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron as head of the state Film Museum. The bill withered and died, and Richardson eventually withdrew Vigil-Giron’s appointment.

But that’s apparently celluloid under the bridge. Recently Richardson appeared with Robinson at Highland High School in Albuquerque at a news conference about traffic safety.

Revenge of the Invisible Man: But one old Richardson legislative ally has decided to endorse Keller over Robinson. Former state Senate President Pro-tem Richard Romero said in a news release this week: “We need to send a true Democrat like Tim to the Roundhouse. I know where Tim stands — he’s ethical and competent.”

Romero never said anything like that about Robinson. In 2001, Romero’s first year in his leadership post after ousting Aragon from the pro-tem position, Robinson made a point of denouncing Romero nearly every day in overheated speeches on the Senate floor. Robinson mocked Romero as “The Invisible Man.”

The Heldmeyer endorsement: Former City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer might have left office in March, but she keeps her old constituents — and apparently reporters — updated on her activities with occasional mass e-mails. On Wednesday, she announced her support for Ben Ray Luján for the Third Congressional District Democratic primary.

“On the (Public Regulation Commission), he has worked for better consumer protection and increased use of alternative energies, work that has earned him the endorsement of the Sierra Club and the Conservation Voters of New Mexico,” Heldmeyer wrote. “Additionally, I have been impressed that he has bucked the old-time Democratic establishment on issues such as coal-fired electric plants and truly universal health care.”

But what was more interesting was Heldmeyer’s blistering rejection of Luján’s rival in the Democratic primary, Don Wiviott.

“Since Don has never been elected to office, the only thing I have to judge him on is his record as a businessman and a developer,” said Heldmeyer, who often voted against development projects while on the council.

“I have to say that I have frequently been appalled by the tactics he has used to push his developments through the city process,” Heldmeyer continued. “He is the master of misrepresentation, last minute bait-and-switch tactics, and manipulation. ... Don is among the worst of the worst. ‘Green development,’ for him, seems to be a business tactic that comes and goes depending on market forces, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not exactly an unwavering philosophy. The tactics he uses in business cause me to call into question the sincerity of all the statements he is making to put forward his candidacy.”

Heldmeyer didn’t share her opinions on Benny Shendo Jr., Harry Montoya or the other CD 3 candidates.

Wiviott’s campaign responded Wednesday, saying the candidate has worked for more than a decade in Santa Fe trying to improve the quality of life here. “Wiviott has made it a priority to work closely with community members and has redesigned his projects in response to neighborhood concerns. Wiviott is a firm believer in maintaining a constructive approach when it comes to problem solving and never believes in resorting to baseless personal attacks that slow progress. In Congress, Wiviott will bring people together, even those who disagree with him.”

But I’m guessing if Heldmeyer ever runs for office again, she won’t get a campaign contribution from Wiviott — unlike another former councilor, David Pfeffer. Wiviott’s $2,100 contribution to Pfeffer’s 2006 U.S. Senate race is still raising eyebrows among some Democrats, because Pfeffer was running as a Republican.

AND NOW A WORD FROM THE FORGOTTEN CANDIDATE