Richardson volunteers take on Iowa.
***image1***If Gov. Bill Richardson�s relentless stumping in Iowa doesn�t seal the deal, maybe some homemade green chile will clinch it for him.
That�s just one of the campaign secret weapons a threesome of New Mexicans with longtime personal ties to Richardson have brought to Iowa for a 24-day final push that began on Dec. 11.
SFR spoke with Patsy Trujillo, Conny Maki and Judy Basham a few days into their Iowa holiday stump-a-thon to get an on-the-ground view of the guv�s chances in the Hawkeye state.
�This race isn�t over,� Trujillo, the deputy secretary of the state�s Aging and Long-Term Services Department, reports from Des Moines. �The media is only looking at Hillary, Obama and Edwards, and they forget about Bill Richardson. He�s still fighting!�
Trujillo, also a former state lawmaker, loaded up her Ford Explorer with chile, posole, beans and even 12 dozen farolitos destined for a New Year�s Eve party, and shared the cross-country drive with Maki and Basham. The group has already traveled the length of Iowa along I-80, and Trujillo, the surrogate speaker of the bunch, has already attended one event on behalf of the guv.
She says she spoke at the Scotts County Democratic Party�s Red, White and Blue Dinner to a crowd of approximately 300, sharing the stage with presidential candidates Sens. Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, who is stumping for Hillary Clinton.
�I was really humbled and very honored that I was on the stage with them,� she says.
Maki, the deputy secretary of the state Department of Information Technology, who also is taking unpaid leave from her day job, dismisses recent polling that puts Richardson at fourth place among likely caucus-goers.
�We�ve known the governor, each of us, about 30 years and we�re sharing those personal experiences with the folks here,� Maki says.
Basham, a retired state personnel director who also worked in Richardson�s congressional office, points to some proof: �There were these crusty old men who were meeting for coffee in Rowley, Iowa�� she begins.
�And we turned them around,� Trujillo finishes the thought for her.
Between door knocking, phone banks, nonstop events with Iowans waiting to be politicked�and nights spent at the Des Moines Quality Inn on their own dime�none of the three regrets the time away from home.
Basham sums it up best: �This man is that important to us that we�d leave New Mexico, be away from our families during the holidays, because he means that much to us,� she says. �It�s actually a small sacrifice.�
Santa Fe Reporter