Flamboyant at times and impeccably dressed with a taste for fine suits, the outspoken Schwartz was often the center of attention.

“He needed the limelight, that was part of his persona,” said Joe Lally, who worked for Schwartz in the District Attorney’s Office in the 1990s. “He was not one to be quietly put out to pasture,”

There will be at least 15 new senators and 20 or 21 new House members -- depending on a recount in one race-- when lawmakers meet for next year's 60-day session.

In the Senate, the election appears to have added more supporters of the license proposal that has been a centerpiece of the governor's legislative agenda.

"We are concerned about the possibility of voter suppression in this instance. We are also very concerned about allegations of voter suppresion [sic] prior to the election. we are working to find out what happened in Rio Rancho and to make sure it doesn't happen again," King said.

However, in the case of Rio Rancho, the charge of “voter suppression” has come from Republicans and conservatives.

A page on the Rio Rancho Tea Party website titled “Rio Rancho: Voter Suppression” says, “Hundreds, possibly thousands, left the polling areas because of the wait; parents having to pick up kids from school, the elderly who couldn’t endure the wait, employees with only a two-hour window to be away from work, and many more were affected by this debacle.”

A county spokesman has said the county asked the secretary of state for more machines before the election but was told there was no funding. The Secretary of State’s Office denies receiving a request for more equipment.

Outraged voters complained of long waits, and some said they gave up and left before voting. Some Rio Rancho Republicans have alleged it was an attempt at voter suppression.

Another probable roadblock: the Mayor of Albuquerque would have to sign off on it, and Richard Berry, appearing on Sunday morning's "Eye on New Mexico" program, did not sound like a man who's ready to do that.

"I think it was well-intentioned," Mayor Berry said. "I think the voters of Albuquerque want their brothers and sisters to do well, so it passed, and once again our boss said 'yes' so we move forward."

Romney pollster Neil Newhouse and other members of his firm, Public Opinion Strategies, declined or did not respond to requests for comment on the record. In addition to polls for Romney, one POS poll that drew notice late in the election showed former New Mexico Rep. Heather Wilson ahead by 1 in the state’s Senate race; she lost by 6 points.

Several Republicans pointed out that the surveys released for public consumption by GOP groups — or shared with Romney donors by Newhouse and others — may only have represented the most optimistic end of internal polling. It’s standard for campaigns to work through multiple potential turnout scenarios to make sure they’re not caught off guard on Election Day.

The proposal made by Mr. Udall and Mr. Merkley last year, which we strongly supported, would have preserved the filibuster but made it much harder to use. Rather than allow a single senator to raise an objection that triggered a 60-vote requirement, their plan would require 10 signatures to start a filibuster and would then force an increasingly large group of members to speak continuously on the floor to keep it going. Senators could not hide in cloakrooms but would have to face the public on camera to hold up a judge’s confirmation, a budget resolution or a bill.

Acting forest supervisor Diana Trujillo signed a record of decision allowing Phase 1 projects under the Ski Valley’s Master Development Plan to go forward. They include replacing several lifts, adding lifts to Kachina Peak and the West Basin, thinning about 72 acres for two new gladed areas, adding a lift-served mountain bike trail, developing a snowtubing center, constructing a snowshoeing “adventure center” and reconfiguring parking lots.

City buses and vans handled 1.2 million passenger boardings that month – a 10 percent increase over October 2011. For the calendar year, Albuquerque’s transit ridership is up about 5 percent so far.

Setting records isn’t unusual at the Transit Department. The previous monthly record was set just two months ago, in August.

I must also say that as a middle class voter, I don’t recall “dreaming of millions,” just the fighting chance to restore our Judeo-Christian Democratic Republic with a party that will not trample the Constitution or pick our pockets to buy votes with.

I am proud of Mitt Romney and the Republicans. You did great guys, but in a slave dictatorship you couldn’t win.

Virgil Wallace was buried with full military honors Monday afternoon in Tatum, according to officials with the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services. He died last week in Idalou, Texas.