Democrats roll into Gallup
Victory 2006 bus tour stops in city to encourage voters to go to the polls

UNM student Mike Butler, left, and Gallup High student Patrick Lohmann interview Gov. Bill Richardson Friday at a campaign rally on Civic Plaza downtown. The two were interviewing the governor for KGLP's youth radio project. In addition to Richardson, a bus load of New Mexico Democrats rolled into town to gain support in the upcoming election and remind people to vote. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

GALLUP — If you happened to be looking for your Democratic Party candidate for just about every statewide race in New Mexico Friday afternoon, the downtown courthouse square was the place to be.

With the general elections now just a week-and-a-half away, the state's Democratic ticket rolled in to town in what the party is optimistically calling its Victory 2006 Bus Tour to get out the vote. With the McKinley County Courthouse to their backs and the new square before them, the candidates addressed a crowd of close to 100 area residents wielding their favorite candidate's pickets, wearing their stickers, or donning their T-shirts. Vendors circled the crowd selling fry bread and soda.

The scene was a who's who of New Mexico Democrats: public lands commissioner candidate Jim Baca, state auditor candidate Hector Balderas, secretary of state candidate Mary Herrera, attorney general candidate Gary King, state treasurer candidate James Lewis, state Sen. Leonard Tsosie, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and Gov. Bill Richardson. Gallup Mayor Bob Rosebrough was also on hand to share MCing duties with the governor.

"We're going from county to county. We're going from community to community. We're campaigning the old fashioned way," Richardson said.

Having arrived in one of the most reliably Democratic counties in the state, the candidates on the tour knew they had little to worry about here.

"We don't have to worry about the majority here," Richardson said. "What we have to worry about is turnout."

The governor warned the crowd against apathy on election day, against assuming the party's candidates would win and staying home.

"My main message to you is go vote right now, today," Richardson said, with early voting aptly underway in the courthouse just behind him. "Don't wait until Nov. 7."

"This has always been a banner county for Democrats in New Mexico," said Bingaman.

Like the governor, he urged the crowd to head to the polls once more.

"We're here to get the Democrats out," he said.

With the senator by his side, Richardson spoke of the national party's increasingly promising chances of taking control of the U.S. Senate and more likely the House of Representatives this year.

"If we take the U.S. Senate, we're going to call him Chairman U.S. Sen. Bingaman," the governor said.

But for all the talk of national and international issues behind the Democratic Party's charge on Congress, even Bingaman and Udall kept things local.

Udall spoke of the "Bingaman/Udall team" and its work on the area's water issues. It was just this week that Bingaman announced his plans to introduce a bill that would effectively authorize the construction of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project a pipeline that promises to deliver more than 30,000 acre feet of water from the San Juan River Basin to Gallup and the eastern chapters of the Navajo Nation in Congress this November.

"I think you're going to see movement and rapid progress on that in the next Congress," Udall said.

He also spoke of the New Mexico delegation's ongoing efforts to craft and pass a bill that would allow Navajo servicemen and servicewomen killed in the line of duty to be buried within the boundaries of their four sacred mountains.

Sitting near the square's dance arena in the shade of her Bill Richardson sign, Lisa, of Church Rock, was glad she came.

"You don't want to read about politics in The Independent; you'd rather come out here in person," she said.

Though a registered Democrat, Lisa said she only brought the Richardson sign at the urging of her sister, who supports the governor. She doesn't trust the press for her political news, and said she learned a little something about each of the candidates by showing up to the rally. She hasn't voted yet, but said she'll probably vote for the entire Democratic ticket when she does.

Paul, of Gallup, isn't so sure. He's particularly interested in the tight race for public lands commissioner between Baca and Republican incumbent Patrick Lyons. With the management of the state's public lands and the money they generate of it public schools at stake, he said, it's an especially important race. Although a registered Democrat, he's still not sure who he'll be voting for.

From Gallup, the tour headed south to the Pueblo of Zuni in the middle of its own council elections where the candidates had planned a rally at the tribal administration building.