By Jennifer Yachnin, E&E reporter
Although new congressional boundaries in New Mexico have yet to be finalized, a crowd is forming in the open seat race for the Albuquerque-based 1st District -- and environmental groups are poised to make a difference.
Two-term Rep. Martin Heinrich (D) is vacating the seat, which has traditionally been held by Republicans, to make a bid for the Senate. New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D), who leads the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is retiring at the end of the 112th Congress.
The state's congressional district lines are still under review by a New Mexico court after the Legislature failed to approve a new plan -- the state's House delegation remains unchanged with three seats following reapportionment but must accommodate population shifts.
But the 1st District will likely remain the only competitive seat in the state -- Reps. Steve Pearce (R) and Ben Ray Luján (D) hold relatively safe seats in the 2nd and 3rd districts, respectively -- and has already drawn a trio of Democratic competitors and at least two Republicans.
The GOP primary has drawn former state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones and Albuquerque City Councilman Dan Lewis, and political observers suggest 2010 Republican nominee Jon Barela could also join the race once the district lines are finalized.
Democrats vying for their party's nomination include former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez, state Sen. Eric Griego and Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham, who made a failed bid for the Democratic nomination in 2008 against Heinrich.
Both Chavez and Griego have heavily touted their respective environmental records, prompting the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the Sierra Club to wade into the fight last month, when both groups pledged their support to Griego. With Chavez likely to have more money and support from the political establishment, Griego's backing from the environmental groups could prove critical.
In its endorsement, the Sierra Club cited Griego's efforts to preserve open space during his term on the Albuquerque City Council, as well as legislation he sponsored in the Legislature to assist businesses with training for "green" energy-related jobs. That bill was signed into law in 2009.
In an interview with Greenwire, Griego said he will campaign on a similar platform of investment in green job-related training and "leveling the playing field" for clean energy sources, such as wind and solar power.
"Because of where the state is, geographically and economically, we really see ourselves as potential national and world leaders on those issues," Griego said.
Federal loans for alternative energy have drawn significant criticism from congressional Republicans and contenders for the GOP presidential nomination following the collapse of the solar firm Solyndra, which had received an Energy Department loan guarantee before it declared bankruptcy earlier this year.
"It's going to continue to be a challenge and all the more reason why we need voices to continue to lead the debate," said Griego, who characterized the Solyndra bankruptcy as "unfortunate" but said such programs should be continued.
"We need to do everything we can to expedite this transition to the new energy economy, not just for the environment ... but if not we are going to lose -- we are going to lose jobs, the economy is going to lose," he added. Griego has received a lifetime score of 100 percent from the New Mexico Conservation Voters.
Green vs. greener?
In an interview with Greenwire, Chavez highlighted his own environmental bonafides, blaming the group's endorsement of Griego -- snubbing him in the process -- over a five-year dispute involving the San Juan-Chama Water Project, which provides water from the Rio Grande to Albuquerque and other cities.
Environmental advocates, including the Sierra Club, sued the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation over the project in 1999. The groups argued the project violated the Endangered Species Act because the bureau failed to divert water from the cities to maintain adequate river levels for the endangered silvery minnow.
"Most Albuquerquians who have the environment high on their list of priorities will vote for me," Chavez said. "The fault line with Sierra Club and Conservation Voters, and I respect those organizations, was over San Juan-Chama, a very difficult project."
A settlement agreement struck in 2005 created a 30,000 acre-feet reserve in the Abiquiu Reservoir, a dammed up part of the Rio Chama in northern New Mexico, a major tributary of the Rio Grande, for environmental uses.
Chavez later added: "That's the difference between being a legislator and a mayor. You have to make decisions as a mayor." He noted the project drew the support of the state's congressional delegation and governor at the time.
But New Mexico environmental advocates disputed that assessment, asserting Chavez's record on conservation is deeply flawed.
"There's not a single reason why Marty Chavez did not get the endorsement of the Sierra Club, but rather there are a number of reasons," said Richard Barish, acting political chairman of the Sierra Club's central New Mexico group.
In a separate interview, Conservation Voters New Mexico political and programs director Leanne Leith echoed that argument, stating: "Clearly the Endangered Species Act is a critical federal issue, but concerns about his record as mayor extend far beyond that -- from his support for rabid sprawl development to his opposition to water conservation programs."
Both Barish and Leith cited Chavez's opposition to impact fees, aimed at discouraging new developments from being constructed in areas not already connected to city infrastructure.
Former Albuquerque City Councilman Michael Cadigan, who served during Chavez's mayoral term, characterized Chavez's environmental focus as little more than political gamesmanship.
"I've personally watched him take a public 180-degree turn on the environment and conservation and his change in direction was more public than policy-orientated," charged Cadigan, who is supporting Griego. "Even after he announced that he was in favor of conservation and concerned about climate change, he continued to pursue urban growth policies that led to unbridled urban sprawl."
But Chavez touts a long list of environmental credentials. He highlighted a 2008 award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors honoring Albuquerque as the nation's "greenest" city, and a U.S. EPA award issued the same year to the "Best City in America Addressing Climate Change."
"These are very real accomplishments," Chavez said. "This city was very much transformed, but I make no apologies for making tough decisions."
State activists assert that the city may have overestimated its own successes. Leith points to a 2008 report in the Albuquerque Journal that exposed errors in data the city promoted on a website touting its environmental achievements.
Among them, the newspaper reported that Albuquerque officials had overstated how much the city had reduced its greenhouse gases, based on a claim that natural gas usage dropped more than 80 percent in a 15-year period ending in 2005. At that time, the city blamed a "calculation error" and removed the data from its site.
Chavez offered a similar explanation for errors in the data and defended the city's current reports.
"Every single savings and reduction in admissions is now sourced, you can go exactly to the source of the data," said Chavez, who went on to serve as executive director of the Washington, D.C.,-based ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability following his failed bid for a fourth term as mayor in 2009.
Chavez, a former state senator who was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in 1998, cited his own list of endorsements, which includes Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Carbon War Room CEO Jigar Shah, Earth Day Network President Kathleen Rogers and actor and environmentalist Robert Redford.
But Leith dismissed those endorsements as backing from outsiders to the New Mexico district.
"I think it's clear from the endorsements that Eric Griego is the environmental champion in this race. He has received all of the support from environmental organizations locally and nationally," Leith said. "Chavez on the other hand has not earned any endorsements from environmental organizations only from individuals from out of state who are not familiar with his record as mayor."
Former New Mexico Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim, who is supporting Chavez's bid, acknowledged the former mayor can "create some very strong emotions in people."
"But I think if we step back and we look at the facts of the situation, he has a very strong environmental record," Wertheim added, pointing to Albuquerque's advances in mass transit, as well as water conservation measures and environmentally friendly building codes during Chavez's tenure.
Wertheimm serves as NMCV's vice president and treasurer but stated that he was presenting his own views and not the organization's.
He went on to praise all three Democrats -- "I think it's a very interesting race, I think that all three candidates running are strong" -- but said he believes Chavez's name recognition and past fundraising experience could put him ahead.
"I think they're all viable, but I do think that Marty rises to the top as the person who can carry the banner on those bread-and-butter issues," said Wertheim, who was the Democratic nominee during an unsuccessful bid for the 1st District seat himself in 1996.
Chavez and Griego have a history
This is not the first time Chavez and Griego have faced off: Griego challenged Chavez in 2005 for the Albuquerque mayor's office. Chavez raised more than $1 million for his re-election bid, according to media reports at the time, and handily defeated Griego to win a third term.
This time around, the fundraising has been more closely matched. Chavez had raised $237,000, banking $178,000 as of the end of September, according to his most recent campaign finance report. That includes nearly $21,000 Chavez gave to the campaign himself.
During the same period, Griego had raised $293,000 with $181,000 on hand at the end of September. Lujan Grisham raised $161,000 and reported $159,000 in the bank.
Griego also recently won endorsements from Democracy for America, a liberal group affiliated with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D), and the Daily Kos, the liberal political news site. EMILY's List, the national group that backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, last week put Lujan Grisham "On the List" -- a designation that encourages donors to help the candidate but falls short of a full-blown endorsement.
Contenders in the Republican primary are raising money at a decidedly slower pace. Lewis reported raising $156,000 and retaining $82,000 on hand at the end of September. Arnold-Jones raised $50,000 and kept $25,000 in the bank at the end of the same period.
Regardless of how the primaries turn out, Democrats are slightly favored as of now to hold the seat -- depending on how the district lines are finally drawn and what the national political dynamic is like.
Copright 2012, E&E Publishing LLC. Reprinted with permission.
To learn more about Eric Griego for Congress in New Mexico's First District visit www.griegoforcongress.com.