It's Crazy Time in Santa Fe.

January every year brings around the crazy season in Santa Fe as the state legislature is back in session.

Big news this session is that longtime Speaker of the House Ben Lujan will not see re-election in the fall because he is battling lung cancer.

Second biggest news seems to be the complete impasse between the Democrats who control the legislature, and Governor Susana Martinez who governs the state from the executive branch. The impasse hurts all of us, as nothing is being accomplished in getting good legislation passed.

A side story during this session was that a group of Republican legislators who were attending a private dinner at the Eldorado Hotel were surrounded by an unruly crowd of Occupy Santa Fe protestors who draped yellow crime tape over the diners, and injured a guest of State Rep. Bill Rehm, hitting her with a menu and injuring her eye.

On the opening day of the session on Jan. 17, tea party groups from all over the state assembled for a rally at the west entrance of the Roundhouse, and Occupy protestors had their own rally on the east steps.

Here are some pictures I took of the tea party rally:

Yep. Crazy days in Santa Fe.



Dax Contreras of Los Hispanos Unidos:



Santa Fe TEA Party table:


Santa Fe TEA Party activists Orlando Baca and Sherry Morrison:


Lt. Gov. John Sanchez:


State Representative Jim Smith:


Energy guru Marita Noon:


Honoring our military vets:

Tea Partying at the Roundhouse

Tuesday, September 6 was a brilliant sunshiney early fall day in Santa Fe. It was also the opening day of the special session of the state legislature.

The combined tea party groups from around the state gathered to petition the legislature to pass a law repealing New Mexico driver's licenses for illegal aliens. We had a good crowd,and some excellent speakers.

Jake and Debbie enjoyed taking part in the tea party rally. Debbie and I wore T-shirts that said "Santa Fe New Mexico Tea Party" and got a lot of attention.

I saw one Democrat legislator in the crowd, my own representative, Brian Egolf, and Debbie and I had fun engaged in a lively political discussion with him. I don't agree with him on nearly anything, but he is fun to talk to and always a good sport.

There was another group taking part in the opening day event, a pro-illegal immigration group who were supporting the right of illegals to get New Mexico driver's licenses. THEY didn't have to meet outside; they held their rally right in the rotunda of the building. One of the speakers even said, "I am an illegal resident of the state...." My brother said, How can someone stand in the state capitol building and confess to being illegal and not get arrested? Two words: "sanctuary city."

Here are some pictures of OUR rally at the Roundhouse entrance:


Jake and Debbie at the rally:






Sherry Morrison and Orlando Baca:





Therese Cooper of the East Mountain Tea Party:




Lt. Governor John Sanchez:

End of the Session

As I said in my last post, the 2011 New Mexico legislative session has ended.

For us, that means no more trips to the hearings and various committee meetings, and more free time.

I have a few pictures that I took at the Roundhouse that I have not yet posted, so I am putting them in this final blog post for the year's session.

I am admittedly a political junkie, and I love all the activity that accompanies the annual sessions in Santa Fe, but I also like wandering around the building looking at the artwork and taking pictures.

More next year!


This peaceful sitting area is outside of the House Majority Office:




John looking at one of the many statues on the NM State Capitol grounds:

The North Capitol Annex

We have been spending a lot of time at the New Mexico State Capitol Building in the last two months, watching the legislature in action and attending committee meetings.

For us, one of the bonuses of living in Santa Fe is that we are a 20 minute drive to the Roundhouse and can go there frequently to keep an eye on the goings on.

Another bonus is that the NM State Capitol is like a museum, just full of wonderful artwork, furniture and architecture. There is no end of things to take pictures of. As New Mexicans, we can be proud of having such a grand facility.

A long walkway connects the Roundhouse with the North Capitol Building, which houses the Secretary of State's office as well as office for many state legislators. The Annex hallway is a beautiful walk filled with natural New Mexico sunlight and interesting art. Here are some of the sights:


The Annex hallway:



Several of the more "unusual" art pieces in the annex:




The Secretary of State, Dianna Duran's office is in the North Capitol Building:


This is a portion of the rotunda seen from the top floor:



This wall hanging in the North Capitol Building depicts New Mexico themes and is completely done in needlepoint:

Espanola Day at the Roundhouse

John and I have been spending so many hours at the New Mexico State Capitol Building that it has begun to feel like our second home. We have attended countless committee meetings, followed proposed bills that are important to us, met some really good people who are working hard to fix this state, seen some of the most outrageous behavior from legislators that you can imagine, and experienced many more disappointments than victories. We're tired. The annual session ends this weekend and we get our lives back.

The nicest part about our days spent hanging out watching the proceedings, is that every day at the Roundhouse there are exhibitors there from many New Mexico organizations, cities, colleges, etc. I love wandering past the exhibition tables, talking to people from all over the state, and picking up little goodies they are giving away. Just last week, at the Navajo Nation Diabetes table, they gave me a potholder, a back scratcher, a fan, and a set of measuring spoons. A week before that John and I got really nice small leather bound calendar/appointment books from a medical clinic in Espanola.

Speaking of Espanola, a couple of weeks ago they were having an Espanola Day at the Roundhouse, with lots of interesting exhibits. A girl from Northern New Mexico College gave me some fresh bulbs of garlic from their college garden.

I got a few pictures that day:







The House of Representatives chamber taken from the visitors gallery:

Scenes from the Roundhouse

We spent quite a few hours this past week at the New Mexico state capitol building attending hearings on the Photo Voter ID bill, which Republicans felt strongly is needed in the state, but the Democrats rejected Thursday in a party line vote. I think our strong presence was noted though, and another similar bill is waiting on the schedule to be debated in the coming week.

Anyway..... while we were there, I wandered around and got some pictures of the artwork at the Roundhouse. All four floors are full of New Mexican art, and I will get more pictures in the future.


Looking down at the rotunda floor from above:



Committee Room 307 - where the hearings were held:



Some of the art work in the capitol:




Painting by R.C. Gorman, noted New Mexico artist:

The Constitution Ride Across America

Daren Gardner is a 50 year old Virginia businessman who became committed a year ago to doing something for his country. He decided on a motorcycle ride across the United States, stopping at every state capitol to give a speech on the U.S. Constitution, and getting an elected official in every state to sign a petition pledging to uphold the Constitution.

On Wednesday, October 6, Daren rode into Santa Fe, accompanied by 6 riders from Gallup, NM. It was a gorgeous New Mexico early fall day, and a small but enthusiastic crowd was there to greet him and hear his speech.

(The elected official that he got to sign his pledge was State Senator George Munoz from Gallup. He is a Democrat who has been in the state legislature since 2009.)

I got some pictures at the rally:


Daren Gardner:




Daren with veterans behind him:


John speaking at the rally:

Rally for Susana

We went to the rally for Susana Martinez today at the New Mexico State Capitol Building. It was a gorgeous late May day in Santa Fe.

Susana is in her last minute spin around the state meeting voters before the primary on June 1.

It looks like the primary victory is within reach - she has a 10 point lead over her closest opponent in the latest polling.


SUSANA AND HER HUSBAND CHUCK FRANCO:


SUSANA AND THE RUSSELL GIRLS:





SUSANA'S STEPSON CARLOS ON THE RIGHT: