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Mayor Martin Chavez might have sat a little too close to the camera at first.

Marty or Scott, back up the camera, I feel like I'm looking up your nostrils! - Ray of Albuquerque

But that got straightened out.

Then his broadcast broke up a little as he introduced himself to computer users across the state who were logged on Tuesday night.

Refresh if you're having any audio/video questions. It'll come right back on - usstreamer 85670

But Chavez and his technical team worked out those glitches, too, at the first online town hall meeting in the contest to claim the seat now held by U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici.

Chavez was the first major Democratic candidate to seek the position Domenici, an Albuquerque Republican, has held for 35 years. Domenici, 75, is retiring at the end of next year.

During an hourlong chat with about 85 participants who logged on with names like pinstripepower, Chavez laid out his biographical information, touted his successes as mayor and outlined his plans for a safe and green United States.

While he answered a bevy of questions on national issues ranging from the U.S. Constitution to Social Security, Chavez also received a slew of Albuquerque questions and comments. All the questions appeared on the screen next to a live video of him speaking from his campaign headquarters in ABQ Uptown.

Mayor, can we do something about the speed-trap camera on Paseo? - pinstripepower

Chavez, who will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Udall in the June 3 Democratic primary, said he wanted to try something new with the virtual town hall. His campaign sent 30,000 e-mails to potential Democratic participants.

How come is it that all of a sudden when the red-light cameras appeared, the patrols of officers stopped? I still see people talking on cell phones, traffic violators . . . - usstreamer 10290

The second-term mayor, a frequent flyer on talk shows, came up with the idea, said his campaign spokesman, Mark Fleisher.

"Where else can you have an hourlong conversation with several hundred people around the state?" Fleisher said.

We need the intersection cameras. I would rather be hit in the rear (while both of us are decelerating) than be hit on the side (T-boned) by somebody who is speeding - John Haley

While Chavez spent time discussing Iraq, veterans and energy policy, he didn't answer questions about Albuquerque's red-light camera program because he wanted to stick to national issues, Fleisher said.

"We just felt we should talk about issues related to the Senate race, not just in the city," he said after the event. "We tried to get a pretty good mix of questions."

As Chavez answered questions, he managed a subtle swipe at Udall, alluding to the Santa Fe Democrat's recent support of a bill that reduced funding for the national laboratories, including Sandia and Los Alamos.

Several participants, many of whom had default screen names starting with the word usstreamer, picked up on the reference and started pointing it out - a signal that Udall's vote might be a topic Chavez focuses on as the campaign heats up.

Udall voted to cut lab funding? - usstreamer 31486

yep - usstreamer 13360

dang, what was he thinking? - usstreamer 31486

It also might be argued that Chavez supporters could have planted the messages anonymously - it's happened before. The city's chief financial officer, Gail Reese, called in to the mayor's weekly radio show in June and used an assumed name to bad-mouth Chavez's opponents on the City Council. She later admitted to making the call.

On Tuesday, the mayor signed off after an hour, and predicted more virtual town halls are to come.

"It won't be long until everyone running for office has got to use this technology," Chavez said.