Ben Ray Luján gets AFSCME nod

As crowded 3rd Congressional District race heats up, candidates go one-on-one with AFSCME

Steve Terrell | The New Mexican

4/10/2008 - 4/11/08

Following a three-hour-plus forum Thursday in which five of six Democrats, both Republicans and both independents running for the 3rd Congressional District seat spoke to the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union endorsed Ben Ray Luján for the job.

Like all of the Democrats and the two independents who spoke, Luján — a Public Regulation Commissioner and son of House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé — stressed his support of labor unions, promising to "stand up for people's right to organize." AFSCME in particular represents the lion's share of government employees in the Santa Fe area.

The race is to replace U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who is running for U.S. Senate.

There was no direct interaction among candidates. Each appeared separately before the group at the AFSCME union hall on Fourth Street, making opening statements then taking questions from the audience, which consisted mainly of AFSCME members.

One of Ben Ray Luján's Democratic rivals, Dixon lawyer Rudy Martin, raised eyebrows among the union members when he said that "the fix has been in" as far as the endorsement was concerned.

"I was very reluctant to come in this evening," Martin said. "Every union is supporting Mr. Luján. When we have every union ... supporting Mr. Luján and yet again we have six (Democratic) candidates running for this position and five of them are extremely well-qualified, it creates a doubt for me if we have any shot at getting any support from any union."

He said it's ironic that the National Education Association endorsed Luján, who only recently received a college degree.

Audience questions for Martin took a disapproving tone. "How will you represent us as a union when you feel the way you do?" one woman asked.

Martin insisted that he's very pro-labor and has represented AFSCME and AFSCME members in the past.

But while Martin attacked Ben Ray Luján, another candidate, Jon Adams, defended him. Adams said that he and Luján have the best labor records of all the candidates and urged the audience to support Luján if they didn't support him.

Adams has directed any criticism of other candidates to Democratic rival Don Wiviott, who is the only other Anglo in the Democratic field. Adams unsuccessfully sued to try to have Wiviott taken off the ballot.

Wiviott faced tougher questions than Luján. One man asked whether Wiviott, a Santa Fe developer, would be willing to make public his tax returns. Wiviott replied that he'd be willing to reveal how much he's paid in taxes but didn't promise to release his entire return. He was the only candidate asked to release his tax returns.

Also appearing at the forum was Democrat Benny Shendo Jr., who promised to help restore civil liberties in the country. "The government has done a very good job of putting fear in us," said Shendo, the former state Indian Affairs Department secretary.

Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya, a Democrat, was the only candidate who didn't show. His campaign manager, Eli Senna, who read a statement from his candidate, said Montoya had a prior commitment in Union County.

Of the Republican candidates, Santa Fe lawyer Marco Gonzales tried to convince union members that, unlike many in his party, he's not hostile to labor unions. His opponent, Rio Rancho businessman Dan East, told the audience that he's a conservative and probably disagrees with most union positions. East said he wasn't seeking AFSCME's endorsement. "I'm here to introduce myself," he said.

Independent Carol Miller, who has run twice before for the congressional seat, said she supports a single-payer universal health care system and is opposed to nuclear weapons being manufactured in the state.

Independent Ron Simmons, a political newcomer, agreed with Democratic candidates who said the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq and invest more in public schools.

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