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Bill’s Media Campaign

Governor Bill is the most powerful Governor we have ever had in New Mexico and maybe the most powerful Governor in the United States.  He has this power because he understands three things about money in politics:

1. Where it is;
2. How to access it; and then
3. How to spend it so that money will help Governor Bill’s political future.

By doing this he is increasing his political power.  He does not care about New Mexico’s future only his own political future.  He has patience and runs only on one-track, that is, “How can I become President of the United States?”  He has been on this track since he came to this state thirty-one years ago.

Let’s talk about Bill Richardson.  From what I have read Governor Bill was born on November 15, 1947 in Pasadena, California and raised in Mexico City by his wealthy Mexican mother and American father who was in the U.S. State Department.  He came back to the U.S. and got a bachelors degree from Tufts University in 1970 and then a master’s degree in law and diplomacy from Tufts in 1971.  Governor Bill came to New Mexico from Washington, D.C. following six years of work at the State Department and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He went to work for the NM Democratic Party as the Executive Director in 1978.  After one year he quit that job to run for the U. S. Congress against Congressman Manuel Lujan in 1980. Manuel had served as our Congressman from the Northern District for twelve years, was a native New Mexican and a Republican.  Bill lost!  That didn’t stop him so he ran again in the 1982 election after our growing state of New Mexico was reapportioned with the Third Congressional District.  He then won this new district’s seat and was back in Washington after a tough four years in New Mexico.

Congressman Bill always worked very hard, kept running and winning elections until President Clinton appointed him in 1997 as the Ambassador to the United Nations where he served for one year until a better job came along in 1998.  He then became the Secretary of Energy in the Clinton Cabinet.

Governor Bill lost this job when Clinton completed his term in December 2000.  During his years as Secretary of Energy it was reported by the media that the White House asked him to help find a job in his department for a young female intern whose name was Monica Lewinsky.  The investigation of Wen Ho Lee also took place in Los Alamos under his watch.  There are many unanswered questions about both of these situations even today.

When he was out of a job as Clinton’s term ended, he did not come back to New Mexico to live but stayed in the East, teaching at a couple of universities, traveling and giving speeches for pay.  It would be interesting to know if during this time, he paid New Mexico state income taxes on this income.

After a year he returned to New Mexico, announced again how much New Mexico meant to him and ran for Governor and was elected.  I think he is now running for President and has been elected Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) to help himself along the way.  He also managed to have himself appointed Chairman of the Finance Committee of the DGA.  Most of the Democrat Governor candidates that the DGA helps in the 2006 election, will in turn help him in the following two years when he runs for the White House.  He and his Gucci carpetbag have come a long, long way!

Because President Bush is in office for four years, Governor Bill will do everything possible to look “Presidential,” keep his picture in the national media and win re-election for Governor of New Mexico in 2006 then go for the top job, the President of the United States.  This campaign has already started!

One way to look presidential is to have a lot of guards around.  Governor Bill’s security detail in three years has gone from nine (9) state police officers to fourteen (14) officers, an increase of 56% in security.

Recently the state police have been directed to cut back on their driving to save money.  The police can drive no more than 2500 miles per week, that used to be 3000 miles per week, a drop of 16½ % statewide to save money.

Governor Bill appoints the Secretary of Public Safety (currently Mr. John Denko) and can remove him at any time.  Remember Mr. Denko is the boss of the State Police and in charge of the officers assigned to Governor Bill’s security detail. 

A year ago Governor Bill attended a meeting at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Governor Bill wanted to go to a cocktail reception for Senator Dave Lieberman in the East Mountains around four in the afternoon.  His state police driver was going up the freeway at 100 m.p.h.  Governor Bill wanted to get to the reception on time and asked the driver to speed up, so the driver went 110 m.p.h.  Mr. Denko was in the car at the time and told the reporter for the Washington Post that the high speed was for security reasons.  Mr. Denko has also said that the administration does not need to tell the reporters whose private jet that Governor Bill rides on as that, too, is for security reasons.  Security for Governor Bill covers a lot of things.

As Governor of New Mexico, Governor Bill is able to hire people called “exempt employees” without going through the personnel systems.  All Governors have done this to a certain extent.  According to the June 19, 2005 Albuquerque Journal Governor Bill’s hiring of exempt employees throughout state Government has gone from 292 to 437.  This is the biggest increase ever (145).  It is over 45% of what Governor Gary Johnson had.  All of these exempt employees serve at the “pleasure of the Governor,” meaning he can fire them at will if they do not do what he wishes.

The Governor’s personal staff has gone from 27 to 49 since Bill took over from the Republicans.  Here are some of the titles of these new people, according to the July 3, 2005 Albuquerque Journal that has been added to the Governor’s staff:

1. Senior Manager for Public Out Reach and Operations
2. Director of Legislation and Public Affairs
3. DWI Czar
4. Behavioral Health Czar
5. Drug Czar
6. Health Advisor
7. Environmental/Natural Resources Advisor
8. Policy Advisor/Speech Writer
9. Head of Sports
10. Head of Music
11. Homeland Security Initiatives

(The Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Assistant to the Governor, Assistant to the Chief of Staff, etc., are also there as in past administrations.   The eleven shown above are all new positions and this list doesn’t cover all of the new hires.)

It takes a lot of help to campaign for the White House!

Also in the newspaper recently it pointed out that Richardson had hired at least 28 different media people since he was elected.  These 28 people might be doing a good honest job for the New Mexico taxpayers at higher salaries than they received before; but I think the real reason they were hired is that each knows at least five people in the media.  Whenever Governor Bill does anything, it is their job to call their five or more friends to put “Bill’s spin” on everything he does during every day of the week.  It also assures that state employees do not complain to the media about Governor Bill and/or his administration.

Spin is what Governor Bill had Bill Hume carry out on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 when Hume sent the Albuquerque Journal an Op-Ed piece justifying the Governor’s purchase of a new jet plane.  Bill Hume is a former editorial page editor of the Albuquerque Journal and now serves as a so-called “senior policy advisor” to Governor Bill.  Bill Hume worked for the Albuquerque Journal for over 35 years.

I have often wondered why he or other editors or reporters of the Albuquerque Journal or Tribune never mention the money-tie between a company called “Research & Polling” and the owners of the Albuquerque Journal during the last 15 years.  All Ethics Codes I have read state that ownership of Research & Polling should be included each time the Albuquerque Journal quotes Research & Polling.  Have you ever read any notice like this in the Journal during the last 15 years?

I was a member of the Legislative Finance Committee when long-time Democratic Party worker, Brian Sanderoff, President of Research & Polling, was making a pitch for his company.  He wanted to get the professional technical service contract for re-districting after the 1990 census against another company who had bid much lower than Research & Polling’s bid. The company receiving the bid would provide redistricting boundaries for the Congressional Seats, all legislative seats and other governmental bodies.  Mr. Sanderoff was asked who owned Research & Polling and he replied, “Tom Lang, owner of the Albuquerque Publishing Company owns 100% of it.” Research & Polling bid higher but still won the contract!  I also have a copy of an Albuquerque Journal article dated 1999 that states that Lang started Research & Polling.

In 2000 at a legislative Voters & Elections Committee meeting in Las Vegas, N. M., I asked Brian again about the ownership of Research & Polling.  At that point he told me that he owned 25% and Tom Lang, owned 75% of it.  Because of the many contracts that Research & Polling is awarded from all forms of government throughout New Mexico as well as the districting and re-districting followed by the many lawsuits, these contracts gross Research & Polling (Tom Lang and Brian Sanderoff) $2 to $3 million (dollars) each ten-year period.  It’s never mentioned in any form of media who owns Research & Polling because the Democrats and Lang want everyone to think the Albuquerque Journal is a non-partisan paper.

Remember, if Governor Bill gets re-elected Governor in 2006, it will be time to award the next re-districting contracts during his term.  Research & Polling will once again be awarded all those big-money contracts by the Democrats.  Redistricting is a money machine for the Democrats.  The Albuquerque Journal sometimes appears Republican on national issues but in the state news section where it counts, it is Democrat.  Research & Polling has always been Democrat controlled.  Read the back issue of Bullets # 21 and 82 at www.buffettsbullets.com.  It confirms what I’m saying again now about Research & Polling and the Albuquerque Journal being pro Democrat on redistricting.

So while Governor Bill helps the media types:  Tom Lang, Research & Polling, 28 ex-media people who are on his staff led by Bill Hume etc., the media continue helping Governor Bill look more presidential.

Bill’s campaign keeps on rolling.

Sincerely,

George D. Buffett

P. S. Not enough people really understand Governor Bill’s Campaign.  Please educate your taxpaying friends by passing this Bullet around.  The media never puts it all together for easy reading.

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