State Democratic Party Chair Brian Colon and City drinking water

Lt. Governor Diane Denish backs State Party Chair Brian Colon

Lt. Governor Diane Denish said that she does not favor asking State Democratic Party Chair Brian Colon to resign. Chairman Colon has made it clear that the buck stops at his desk. He has admitted to mistakes and will take steps in the future to prevent them for every happen again. Lt. Governor Denish feels that the State Democratic Party Chair position should be a full time paid position so that more time could be spent on making the party run more smoothly.

I think that the idea of a full time paid position is a very good idea and that New Mexico Democrats should support the idea. It is clear to me and many others after last Tuesday, February 5 and Thursday, February 7 that Brian Colon has inherited a political party that needs to develop a transparent system and a set of manuals with simple but exact instructions that would govern how party elections are run and how to train volunteers that work these elections. The party may even want to invest in paying people to be judges for each of the caucus sites. This state may have been part of the Wild West in the past but if we are to become a leading state in the future than we need rules and standards that show a high degree of ethical behavior on our part in our party's elections. Our own Governor Bill Richardson went through something very similar when he was running the DOE during the Clinton Administration. I don't feel that the Democrats of New Mexico should be scapegoating Chairman Colon for problems that have been an inherent part of the fabric of our party for far too many years. It is now up to the people who are running our state party to develop a system that out shines all of the other states. I can think of no better person to lead that effort than State Democratic Party Chair Colon.

Mayor Martin Chavez moves to ensure clean water to the City of Albuquerque

The Albuquerque Environmental Health Department issued an order last Thursday prohibiting the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Authority from serving treated river water inside the city. This will stop them from serving water to the Albuquerque public by bottle but it would take a state order to stop them from putting the water into our pipes. The Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Authority said that it has not plans to start pumping river water to residents of Albuquerque until next fall. Let's all hope that they clear up the problems long before the treated river water reaches our homes. I am sure that no one in the City of Albuquerque wants water that might make our children ill being pumped into our homes, schools, and work places. I must admit to being more than a little disturbed by the reaction of the people who are working on the water project. It should be clear to them that the highest propriety should be the health and safety of the residents of the City of Albuquerque. I hope that the people running the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Authority make it crystal clear to all the individuals working on this project that the highest propriety is the health and safety of Albuquerque residents who will be drinking this water. I am pleased to see that the Mayor stepped in to see that the health and safety of the residents of Albuquerque came first when dealing with any problems that may have arisen from changing over to river water as our source of water for the City of Albuquerque. We need someone in that office that will strongly protect the interest and safety of the residents of Albuquerque first and foremost.