(Having a former US Attorney take on Pete Domenici would be almost perfect. But read on to learn more about what sort of candidate John Kelly might make. – promoted by DavidNYC)
UPDATED BELOW
[Crossposted at New Mexico FBIHOP]
A former United States attorney is considering a run against Senator Pete Domenici. John Kelly, the US Attorney for New Mexico under Bill Clinton, reportedly thinks he should be the Democrat to take on Domenici.
The Albuquerque Tribune:
One Democrat who isn’t running against Wilson is former U.S. Attorney John Kelly. He said Wednesday he’s considering taking on U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici instead.
“I do feel obligated to consider it and am going to look seriously at it,” he said.
Perhaps it is fitting the article was about Heather Wilson’s troubles since Wilson is the other New Mexican member of Congress tainted by the David Iglesias scandal. And perhaps it is fitting that a former USA would go after Domenici, who contributed to the downfall of David Iglesias, the last USA in New Mexico.
Kelly wrote an editorial in March in the ABQJournal denouncing Domenici’s actions.
Read about it below the fold.
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., in his statement defending his call to then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, says that the FBI completed its work on the courthouse corruption case “months” before the call. He expresses concern about “unresolved new federal cases” and the inability of the federal prosecutor to “move more quickly on cases.”
The clear inference is that the courthouse corruption case should have been indicted earlier, and Iglesias is to blame for delaying the process.
Domenici’s critique is misleading and unfair. In a high profile, multi-defendant investigation, the FBI’s report is just the starting point for the prosecutor’s case evaluation. Routinely the prosecutor will want additional interviews conducted, key testimony locked in before the federal grand jury, and pre-indictment pleas negotiated with lower level targets who agree to testify.
He also criticized Iglesias for Iglesias’ failure to report the calls from Wilson and Domenici. Iglesias has admitted this was a critical mistake that he made.
Kelly unsuccessfully ran against Heather Wilson in 2000, losing 51-44. To his credit, he did better than either of Richard Romero’s runs. He still lost by a significant margin, partially because of his role in the Wen Ho Lee scandal. And Domenici was vocal in his disapproval of the Executive Branch’s handling of the Wen Ho Lee situation.
New Mexico’s Republican Sen. Pete Domenici was among numerous Republicans and some Democrats who lashed out at the executive branch in the early days of the Lee saga. At a May 1999 Senate hearing, Domenici portrayed the government’s investigation as a “tragedy of errors.”
While Kelly would undoubtedly be strong in an area of weakness for Domenici – the US Attorney scandal – so would Domenici be strong in an area of weakness for Kelly.
Already, two New Mexican Democrats are going after Domenici, but they are not top-tier candidates; Neither Leland Lehrman or Jim Hannan have any significant political experience. Two other lesser-tier candidates are thinking of a run against Domenici. Javier Gonzales and Don Wiviott are more qualified than Lehrman and Hannan, but would not strike fear into the heart of Domenici. One more rumored name is Hector Balderas, the current New Mexico State Auditor.
Update:
Jim Hannan wrote in to correct me of my comment that he had no significant political experience. I’ll let his words speak for themselves.
I served as the political chair of the Sierra Club for five years, oversaw our lobbyist and political endorsements. I served as Treasurer of the Santa Fe County Democrats. Together with Bill Sisneros, we raised over $60,000 in the 2000 cycle, money which put Al Gore over the top in New Mexico. I also served as Chapter Chair of the Sierra Club in New Mexico, under my watch we sued and won a lawsuit against the San Juan Generating Station.
I worked for Mo Udall in Congress in the 1970’s, and have been involved with political and activist campaigns ever since.
My apologies to Mr. Hannan, and in the future I will be sure to list his accomplishments. My source came from an Albuquerque Tribune article’s sidebar, which listed Hannan’s experience thusly:
He ran unsuccessfully for Santa Fe City Council in 1996.
Again, I apologize.
the whole Sierra Club, then that’d be a similar qualification to what Ellen Simon had in the AZ-01.
On the other hand, her qualifications were hardly ideal, and she was just running for a House seat.
Wikipedia has pages devoted to the 2008 elections for both the Senate and the House.
It seems like these should be kept updated. We can help create the news there.