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THE NEW MEXICAN Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Martinez still outpacing King Governor nets $961K to rival’s $379K, reports reveal By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
Gov. Susana Martinez’s fundraising machine continues to dwarf the efforts of Democratic opponent Gary King. Campaign finance reports filed Monday show the Republican incumbent raised $961,901 between late June and Sept. 1. That’s more than two and a half times the $379,050 King raised during the same period. Susana More daunting for King, Martinez however, is the fact that Martinez had more than $3.8 million cash on hand to spend before the November election. King had only $157,730. Since the campaigns filed their last finance reports in late June, Martinez has blistered King with scathing ads on television and radio airwaves, while King has only had enough cash to fight back with a handful of campaign spots. According to Monday’s reports, Martinez spent more than $1.4 million during that time. More than $686,000 of that went to buy media time for her commercials. King, on the other hand, spent $337,337, of which $93,753 was for media. Martinez’s contributors included 67 donors who gave the maximum $5,200. Among those were Koch Industries, owned by brothers David and Charles Koch. The
pair, who have given millions to Republican and conservative candidates nationwide, already had given $5,194 in contributions to Martinez in this election cycle, plus another $5,000 to the governor’s political action committee, Susana PAC. Another Republican celebrity to give Martinez $5,200 was former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who listed his occupation as “author.” Rumsfeld, who was defense secretary under President George W. Bush during the early years of the Iraq War, has retired in El Prado near Taos. His wife, Joyce Rumsfeld, also gave Martinez $5,200. A Lea County ranching family — Donald, Norman, Larry and Marjorie Gregory — contributed a total of $20,800 to Martinez’s re-election effort. Two companies for which Larry Gregory serves as president gave $15,600 to Martinez. Labor unions were the major source of contributions for King. He received $10,200 from the Communications Workers of America’s political action committee. That union represents many state employees. He also got $5,200 each from the International Association of Firefighters; National Education Association; American Federation of Teachers; the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and the Drive Committee, which is part of the Teamsters Union. King also received a total of $30,400 from several companies with the same address in the U.S. Virgin Islands, an address also associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A King campaign spokesman said Monday, “If anything is found to be improper about any contribution, they will be returned or donated to charity.”
The biggest single donor to King was the campaign of U.S. Rep. Michelle Luján Grisham, D-Albuquerque. Grisham’s organization gave $10,400. Former U.S. Sen Jeff Bingaman and his wife, Anne Bingaman, each contributed $2,500. The governor’s Susana PAC reported raising $59,675 since late June. That PAC mainly is contributing to Republicans running for statewide offices and GOP legislative candidates this year. Susana Pac listed only one campaign contribution, in the amount of $2,500, in Monday’s report. Other PACs also are soliciting campaign contributions this season. Patriot Majority, which is for Democratic candidates, received $625,000 in contributions, all of which came from national labor unions. The PAC didn’t make any contributions to candidates this period. Advance New Mexico Now, a newly formed GOP-leaning political group, which lists former Clovis district attorney Matt Chandler as treasurer, raised $227,500. That included $100,000 each from Texas real estate investor and developer Marcus Hiles and a national GOP group, the Republican State Leadership Committee. Giving $10,000 were Denver developer and homebuilder Larry Mizel and EnerVest, a Houston-based oil company with operations in New Mexico. Hiles and Mizel have contributed to Martinez’s re-election. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Steve Terrell at sterrell@ sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at www.santafenewmexican.com/news/blogs/ politics.
King: In 2006, campaign returned $15K Continued from Page A-1 another contribution from a business at the same address — $5,200 from Neptune LLC. King received an additional contribution from the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this year when SourcePoint, a company that leases slot machines to casinos, gave his campaign $5,000. SourcePoint, however, did not use the Red Hook Quarter address. A spokesman for the King campaign said Monday, “If anything is found to be improper about any contribution, they will be returned or donated to charity.” If that happens, it wouldn’t be the first time King returns campaign money linked to Epstein. In 2006, following Epstein’s arrest, King gave back $15,000 that an Epstein company called The Zorro Trust had con-
tributed to his campaign for attorney general. In addition, Democratic politicians from Bill Richardson down to the Santa Fe County sheriff returned Epstein campaign contributions. King said at the time, “I don’t think I’ve ever met him personally. He knows other members of my family better.” Epstein had purchased his 10,000-acre Zorro Ranch in Stanley from King’s father, former Gov. Bruce King, in 1993. In 2006, then-Gov. Bill Richardson donated $50,000 in Epstein campaign contributions to charity. In 2011, Epstein, after serving an 18-month prison sentence, told the New York Post, “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an offender, It’s the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel.” But the Post noted that a New
York judge had ruled a month before that Epstein was “the most dangerous kind of sex offender: a Level 3.” In New York, that means he is at high risk to repeat his offense and poses a threat to public safety. The 23,000-square-foot hilltop mansion Epstein built in New Mexico, which was twice the size of the second-largest home in Santa Fe County, was thought at that time to be the biggest house in the state. It’s not clear whether Epstein still owns that property. Epstein appears in sex offender registries in Florida, the Virgin Islands and New York, where he also has a residence. New York’s registry is the only one that lists his actual address. A 1995 report in The New Mexican, when Epstein submitted plans for his house to the
County Commission, said “The main house will be similar to a Mexican hacienda, with an open-air entry into a courtyard with high-ceiling hallways, stone columns and a central fountain. The living room will measure about 2,100-squarefeet, larger than the average house in Santa Fe County. The home will have an elevator, eight bathrooms, four fireplaces and three bedrooms.” Epstein got a county permit to build a small airplane hangar and maintained an air strip on the ranch. In 2006, Santa Fe County appraised the structures on the Zorro Ranch at $16.6 million. Contact Steve Terrell at sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at www. santafenewmexican.com/news/ blogs/politics.
Pot: Commission will hear resolution Continued from Page A-1 Richard Ellenberg, the Santa Fe County Democratic Party chairman, said Monday. “The Democratic candidates will get a percentage boost,” he said. “Whether it’s 10 votes or 10,000 votes, I don’t have a clue. Probably somewhere in between those two numbers.” Stefanics did not return messages seeking comment Monday. She represents County Commission District 5, which includes some southern parts of the city, as well as Eldorado. Under her resolution, voters would be asked whether county commissioners “should support county, city, and statewide efforts to decriminalize possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.” Commissioners in Bernalillo County, the state’s most populous county, voted 3-2 along party lines on Monday to put a similar advisory question on the November ballot. Critics said the marijuana measure in Bernalillo County is simply an attempt by some Democrats to get younger voters to the polls. Commissioner Wayne Johnson, a Republican, repeatedly questioned the legality and wisdom of adding advisory questions to the ballot so late. “These questions have no basis in law,” he said. Secretary of State Dianna Duran, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November in a race against Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Louise Oliver, last month warned Santa Fe County commissioners that she has concerns about whether she can fit a marijuana question onto a crowded general election ballot that already includes five constitutional amendments, three statewide bond questions, multiple judicial retention questions and vari-
ous candidates for office. The proposed Santa Fe County resolution comes after the Santa Fe city governing body’s 5-4 vote on the issue after advocacy groups filed enough petition signatures to put the idea of decriminalizing marijuana possession before city voters. The council’s vote to amend a city ordinance eliminated the need for such an election. Last week, a behind-the-scenes effort to call a special meeting for the council to reconsider its action and instead try to put the question before voters failed to get enough support. “We’ve been hearing a lot from constituents that weren’t happy with our decision who wanted a chance to vote on the initiative,” city spokesman Matt Ross said. “There were some folks looking at what it takes to do a special meeting, what it would take to reconsider the initiative and send it to the ballot after all,” he said. “But there wasn’t a lot of support for that from the mayor or from the council in general, so they dropped it.” Stefanics attributes the council’s decision to adopt the initiative outright “as well as the fact that several states have enacted decriminalization laws” as evidence of “increasing support for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana,” according to the resolution. “Putting advisory questions to voters in general elections allows elected officials to accurately gauge the opinion of the voting public on matters of public concern at minimal additional cost,” the resolution states. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Daniel J. Chacón at 986-3089 or dchacon@ sfnewmexican.com. Follow him on Twitter @danieljchacon.
Birds: Blue jays, robins will benefit Continued from Page A-1
Ski: Limits are planned on number of skiers Continued from Page A-1 in North America, will increase lift-serviced terrain at the mountain by 50 acres — or 50 percent. Taos Ski Valley plans to limit the lift capacity to keep crowds on the slopes as small as possible. The lift has been engineered to transport about 1,500 people per hour to the top, compared to a traditional capacity of about 2,100. “We did this with the idea that it’s OK to have a line to ride up this lift. Nobody else does this, but it’s very much in keeping with the Kachina Peak experience. This is much more than a lift going up on a hillside. It’s giving people the opportunity to have an experience unparalleled in North America.” According to Briner, anyone who has skied the black diamonds at Taos (known to be quite challenging) will be comfortable coming down off Kachina Peak. “If you ski any black diamond at Taos Ski Valley, you’ll probably be able to ski Kachina Peak. In relative terms, it’s some of the more forgiving expert terrain at Taos Ski Valley.” For those who dig the walk, the majority of Highline Ridge and West Basin will remain accessible by foot only. And the ski area will add new hiketo terrain this season with the opening of The Wild West Glades, 35 acres of tree skiing accessible via the West Basin Ridge. Installing the lift, bought from the Salt Lake City company Skytrac, was a challenging construction project, in part because of an agreement with the Forest Service not to bulldoze new roads through the
Helicopters ferried 11 lift towers to positions on the Taos Ski Valley slope. COURTESY JIM COX
mountains to build it. Roads were used to bring materials and equipment only as far as the bottom of the lift, which is just a short downhill traverse from the top of Lift 4. The construction project started in May, after the end of the 2014 season, when two snowcats were used to haul the 3-ton bull wheel, around which the cable moves, on a special sled to the peak. The grooming machines had never been to the top of Kachina Peak before and crews first had to build a path with switchbacks, like a mountain road. The snow was then still 6 or 8 feet deep in the mountains. The whole process took about a week. A spider hoe, a specialized backhoe designed to crawl up mountains, was then used to dig the foundations for the lift towers and the terminal location. Helicopters were brought in to pour the concrete foundations in July and August.
Another change that skiers will see when the area opens this fall is that the drop-off area is at the west end of Thunderbird Road. For the next two years, there will still be a short staircase to climb to reach the lifts. But Taos Ski Valley this spring will start redevelopment of the base area, including the main building where the rental shop and ski shop are located. That building will be removed, replaced by a 120,000-square-foot building that will include residential units, skier services, new shops and the ticket office. The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2016. The base area improvements ultimately will come in at well over $20 million. The investments are being made at a time when climate change is making it more and more challenging for ski ares to sustain themselves.
But Briner said Taos Ski Valley is addressing those challenges. The Kachina Peak Lift, he pointed out, will take skiers to the best snow in the valley. Even in low snow years, there is snow on Kachina Peak. “That’s a snow magnet,” he said. “If there is going to be good skiing anywhere, it’s probably on Kachina Peak.” And the improvements to the base will broaden appeal, making the valley less dependent on snow. “With a better base area, people can come and still have a great experience,” Briner said. Summer and fall recreation opportunities, like lift-accessed mountain biking, which launched June 28, will be increased. Taos Ski Valley also made a $700,000 investment over the summer in snow-making, which means the top of the mountain will be opened sooner this season, and beyond, possibly by Thanksgiving. The goal is for all lifts to be operating by Christmas. Instead of taking 10 weeks to put snow on about 400 acres, it will take eight because of more energy-efficient compressors. “We’re not going to increase the amount of snow we make [or the water used]. We’re just going to put that water on the slopes faster,” Briner said. After 40 years in the ski business, Briner said he has stopped watching the weather forecasts, but ski enthusiasts are hoping El Niño, the weather phenomenon linked to moisture in the Southwest, will mean more snow this winter. Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@ sfnewmexican.com.
jections of what is likely to happen to America’s birds. The report says that in a few decades, 126 bird species will end up with a much smaller area to live in, which the society says will make them endangered. An additional 188 species will lose more than half their natural range but relocate to new areas. Those moves will be threatening to the birds’ survival, too, because they will be confronted with different food and soil, bird experts said. Other birds, including backyard regulars like the American robin and the blue jay, will fly in even more places, the report says. And some of the biggest potential winners aren’t exactly birds that people like — species such as the turkey vulture, the American crow and the mourning dove, which will expand their ranges tremendously. “If you want to know what the climate change future sounds like, it sounds a lot like a mourning dove,” Langham said. Some people find annoying the singing of the mourning dove, which will more than double its range. Langham used bird survey data in summer and winter from 2000 to 2009 and correlated it to climate conditions to come up with simulations of how bird ranges will change. He then tested the simulations against past data from 1980 to 1999, and they worked. Then he used United Nations carbon pollution scenarios from 2007 to project bird ranges in 2020, 2040 and 2080. The report is not yet peerreviewed, which is crucial in science. However, Langham said it is based on a report Audubon did last year that
An American robin could be one bird that has an expanded habitat with climate change, the Audubon Society report says. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
was commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm dismissed the study as too general, poorly executed and not that new. But other scientists, such as Stanford University biologist Terry Root, said the Audubon report makes sense and looks trustworthy. A third biologist, A. Townsend Peterson of the University of Kansas, faulted some of the methods used but praised the overall comprehensiveness of the study. “It’s very scary,” Root said. “People need to stand up and take note.” On Tuesday, several federal agencies, Cornell University and a number of private organizations will release a separate U.S. “state of the birds” report, and the outlook will be bleak. Cornell Lab of Ornithology director John Fitzpatrick wrote in a preview last month in The New York Times that 230 species “are currently in danger of extinction or at risk of becoming so” and that two dozen common birds, such as nighthawks, are showing “early warning signals of distress.”