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With all the yapping the state Republican Party has done about voter fraud, you'd think it would at least consider hopping aboard Anselmo Chavez's bandwagon.

The potential consequences, after all, are huge: shoving Gov. Bill Richardson not only out of office but into prison.

Oh, and declaring Chavez the new governor and awarding him $440,000 in missed paychecks.

The saga started when Chavez, 74, got ticked off at the state Taxation and Revenue Department. The retired accountant for Lockheed-Martin - who says he also did work for the CIA that he can't discuss - decided to make it personal and run against Richardson in his re-election bid last year.

He paid the pittance it takes to make it as a write-in candidate on the ballot and then, basically, sat back. He knew he'd win. And he knew he only needed one vote to win.

He had the law on his side.

See, Richardson's legal name is William B. Richardson. The state's Election Code requires citizens to register with their legal names. But Richardson registered as Bill Richardson. Fourth-degree felony No. 1, according to Chavez.

Then, on his declaration of candidacy, Richardson again used Bill Richardson. Felony No. 2, Chavez says.

Relying on a 1960 opinion by then-Attorney General Hilton A. Dickson Jr. that said candidates must use their legal names, Chavez took Richardson to court.

Three times.

The 2nd Judicial District Court dismissed him, saying "technical irregularities" can't be used to change the will of the voters.

The state Supreme Court told him that Richardson "substantially complied" with the Election Code and that voters weren't "somehow confused, misled or mistaken."

The U.S. District Court told him it was a state issue with no jurisdiction in federal court.

Chavez isn't through. He intends to take the case to the federal appeals court in Denver.

"He's not supposed to be there," Chavez said of Richardson. "Any absence is fatal to this registration. He does not have a middle name, so he's out of it.

"Every time Billy has voted, he's committed a fourth-degree felony."

Besides being declared the real winner of the 2006 primary, Chavez contends he won the general election, too. How come? Republican candidate John Dendahl didn't use his middle initial on his voter registration or on his declaration of candidacy.

Richardson's lawyer, Daniel Macke, approached the issue of Chavez's legal claim with a bit of a sigh, but said it hasn't worn him out.

"It's really not that much time (to work against it) because there's not that much merit to it," he said, estimating he's spent a total of 20 hours on the matter.

But it's no frivolity to Chavez. He's as serious as the next person. While he admits to being "quirky," he's also an adoring fan of politics.

Besides challenging Richardson, he's run against U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and in the 1st Congressional District and who knows what else. Then there are the California runs. He took on a state senator, a congressman and Gov. Gray Davis.

In that 2002 contest, a funny thing happened: He discovered that Davis was registered to vote by his legal name, Joseph Graham Davis Jr., but ran as "Gray," in violation of California law.

Guess what Chavez did?

Yup. Took it to three courts.

Why bother? Why continue playing Don Quixote with a legal loophole that's sure to fail?

"I believe in that which is: tenacity," said Chavez, a one-time ninth-grade dropout who eventually earned three college degrees. "Otherwise, I'd be shoveling dirt somewhere."

Chavez could have one more legal avenue ahead of him in his pursuit of Richardson. According to a somewhat cryptic statement in the federal court opinion, the requirement to register with your full name only applies if you're running for a federal office. Which, presumably, includes . . . president.