3rd Congressional District: Domenici as role model

Republican Marco Gonzales says he can appeal to Democrats in the crowded bid for Tom Udall's seat

Doug Mattson | The New Mexican

1/10/2008 - 1/11/08

Marco Gonzales, in seeking the Republican nomination in the 3rd Congressional District, said Thursday that he can appeal to Democrats in the tradition of U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and even California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He'll have to. The Northern New Mexico district voted just 27 percent Republican in the last congressional race, and Gonzales' own family is mostly Democratic.

"I recognize and understand there is too much partisan bickering in Washington between Republicans and Democrats and no results on solving people's problems," the 40-year-old attorney said at the Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club before dozens of his friends and family members and more than 100 kids, some of them polishing off their afternoon snacks.

At least two Democratics, including Gonzales' mother, threw their support behind him afterward.

"He's always done what he's wanted to do," Maria Gonzales said of the youngest of her and Jose Gonzales' seven children. "He's got the experience for it, and he's got the heart for it. ... Definitely, I'm always for the man and not the party."

Gonzales' father is a Republican, although his uncle, former Santa Fe Mayor George Gonzales, and cousins Javier Gonzales, a former county commissioner and one-time congressional candidate, and Estevan Gonzales, a city planning commission chairman, and much of the Gonzales family are Democrats.

Family friend Joe Salas, a Democrat and retired Los Alamos National Laboratory mechanical engineer, said he will back Gonzales, regardless of the Democratic nominee. At least six Democrats and two Republicans are seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, a Democrat running for Domenici's Senate seat.

Gonzales is "following in the tradition of Domenici," said Salas, who attended the announcement. "He was a good man, and I'm sure Marco will follow in his footsteps."

Gonzales was an aide to the Republican Domenici for 10 years, including as a defense appropriations specialist, meaning he had a hand in helping bring dollars to LANL, one of the state's biggest employers. In an interview after his speech, Gonzales criticized Udall's vote against a bill that included funding for the lab. He also disagreed with the five-term congressman's argument that the lab needs to change its mission.

"At this point and time, there are enough dangerous countries and individuals in the world, and we need to continue with the mission in terms of the simulation of nuclear tests," Gonzales said.
Among his other issues, he said he wanted to provide leadership in the areas of Social Security and Medicare, although he didn't provide specifics, and to make it easier for veterans and uninsured children to get help. He also said the U.S. needs to become economically competitive with China and promote "affordable energy policies" and renewable energy.

Gonzales picked the Boys and Girls Club as his launching ground partly because he started going there when he was 7 and later became a board member and president.

After his announcement, he headed to Farmington and said he will be traveling the district for delegate support at the Republicans' preprimary convention next month.

The last election's Republican nominee in the 3rd District, Ron Dolin, a businessman and Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist, said Thursday that he's not running.

Dan East, a Rio Rancho businessman, said he plans to announce his run for the Republican nomination around Feb. 1. East, 50, is a civil contractor who works on water and wastewater systems.

State Rep. Brian Moore, R-Clayton, said he won't seek the GOP nomination. He had decided earlier not to seek re-election to the Legislature.

Greg Tucker, a Farmington attorney and businessman whom Udall beat in 2002 with 69 percent of the vote, said he is considering a run. He said he has been polling and talking to party activists but mostly is waiting to see if a longtime friend, a San Juan County Democrat he declined to identify, runs for the seat. Tucker said he won't run if his friend does.

Jason Sandel, a San Juan County Democrat, reconfirmed Thursday he won't run for Congress.

Contact Doug Mattson at 987-3087 or dmattson@sfnewmexican.com.



MARCO GONZALES

• Age: 40
• Home: Santa Fe
• Family: Single; youngest of seven children.
• Education: Graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, 1998; graduated from Catholic University with a bachelor's degree in world politics, 1990; graduated from St. Michael's High School, 1985.
• Work: Partner, Modrall Sperling Law Firm, 2005-present; associate at Modrall Sperling, 1998-2005; legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, 1988-98; Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club board member, 2000-2004 and 2007-present; state Personnel Board member, 1999-2002. He also is a partner in the Railyard Co. LLC, which is developing the Santa Fe Railyard.

WHO'S RUNNING SO FAR?

Democrats

• Former state Assistant Attorney General Jon Adams
• Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján
• Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya
• Former state Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo Jr.
• Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott
• Dixon attorney Rudy Martin
  

Republicans

• Rio Rancho businessman Dan East
• Attorney Marco Gonzales