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KSFR First News For March 7th: N.M. Democrats Hold Pre-Primary Convention Tomorrow (Listen)

New Mexico Democrats will gather at Laguna Pueblo tomorrow for the party's pre-primary convention. State Democratic Party Chair Sam Bregman says party is energized: 030714-Sam-1  :29***** Bregman says to get on the ballot through the convention process, candidates need 20-percent of the Party’s delegates' vote, and the person receiving the most votes gets the top spot on the ballot for the June Democratic Primary. He says with five candidates for Governor, one will likely not make it through the convention process, leaving only the possibility of collecting additional signatures for a spot on the ballot.

 

The two Republicans seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Senator Tom Udall this fall--David Clements and Allen Weh—are involved in a fray over charges leveled by Clements regarding Weh's campaign manager. KOB-TV reports the accusations made against Diego Espinoza that he was hacking Clements' campaign email account were publicized on the website “BernalilloCoverup-dot-com.” An attorney for Espinoza says his client will file a defamation suit against Clements.

 

Santa Fe Police Chief Ray Rael is retiring on Monday. Rael, who was appointed Chief of Police in March of 2011, received praise from outgoing Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, who said in a statement, quote, “Property crimes in our city have dropped to record lows and Santa Fe is the safest it’s been in years. Under his administration all vacancies were filled and backlogs of internal affairs investigations were cleared. I would like to sincerely thank Chief Rael for his time, diligence and service.” Incoming Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales is expected to name an interim police chief next week.

A New Mexican who's on a short-term assignment working for the White House on the Affordable Care Act is reminding the public that the deadline to sign-up for health insurance is the end of this month. Phil Schiliro says the next enrollment period won't be until mid-November. Schiliro, who recently moved to Santa Fe, says the following the well-publicized problems with the rollout of the ACA website in the fall, the website was repaired in December. *****030714-Schiliro-3  :36***** Schiliro says Affordable Care Act website offers a variety of health insurance options for people to choose their best option.

U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are applauding the news that President Obama incorporated into his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year a plan based on a bill the cosponsored to reform federal wildfire policy. The change, which still must be approved by Congress, would fund major wildfires the same as other natural disasters and free up funding to prevent future fires. If the change is approved by Congress, the administration would treat the largest fires – only about one-percent of annual fires – as natural disasters. It would then fund firefighting efforts from a disaster account similar to the account that funds hurricane and other natural disaster relief efforts.

 

Santa Fe Weather:  Partly sunny, with a high near 60 and a 10 percent chance of showers after noon.. Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28 with a 30 percent chance of snow showers. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47 and a 30-percent chance of rain and snow showers.