Ballot access measure advances in House

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

1/29/2008 - 1/30/08

A bill to make it easier for candidates in state and congressional races to get on the ballot — potentially affecting some of New Mexico's crowded congressional races this year — received a bipartisan boost Tuesday from a House committee.

The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee voted unanimously to give a do-pass recommendation for House Bill 190, sponsored by Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque. Park's bill would restore a law that allowed statewide or congressional candidates who didn't get 20 percent of delegates at their party's preprimary nominating conventions to submit voter petitions to get on the ballot.

That law was changed last year, leaving it harder to get on the ballot and raising the possibility that a party could be left without any candidate on the ballot if no one won enough convention delegates.

Among those speaking in favor of Park's bill was Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Luján, who is running for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District. "It's important that we do open up the process," Luján said. "We need a very thorough and open process."

Many, including some of his opponents for the Democratic nomination to represent Northern New Mexico in Congress, believe Luján is the front-runner in that race, mainly because he is the son of the powerful New Mexico House Speaker Ben Luján.

Some pundits and politicians have raised the specter of Luján being the only candidate to get more than 20 percent of delegates at the party's March 15 pre-primary convention. Some have raised the possibility of nobody getting 20 percent.

Other Democratic candidates in the 3rd Congressional District, currently represented by Tom Udall, include Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, developer Don Wiviott, former state Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo Jr., Santa Fe lawyer Jon Adams and Dixon lawyer Rudy Martin.

The bill needs a two-thirds majority in both chambers to become law immediately, before the pre-primary conventions. HB 190 is identical to Senate Bill 1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen. SB 1 is moving through Senate committees.

The House committee Tuesday rejected a rival bill, sponsored by Rep. Jose Campos, D-Santa Rosa. Campos' bill also would have allowed candidates who didn't make the 20 percent threshold at the convention to petition to get on the ballot.

However, Campos' HB 203 would have required statewide candidates to collect signatures in each of New Mexico's 33 counties and congressional candidates to get signatures in all the counties in their districts.

Campos argued his bill would require candidates to pay attention to rural areas and not just Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces.

But Park argued the requirement would create such a high hurdle for candidates that it might be impossible. The committee voted 5-2 to table the bill, effectively killing it.

Park's bill goes to the House Voters and Elections Committee, which is chaired by Campos. Though Campos told a reporter after the meeting that he doesn't like Park's bill, he said he'd probably vote for it.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.