Sen. Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces spoke with me today about the news that Senate leaders are proposing putting Tim Jennings of Roswell in charge of the Finance Committee instead of John Arthur Smith of Deming, its current vice chair.
The position is open because of the retirement of Joe Fidel of Grants.
Jennings has more seniority than Smith, and Senate President Pro Tem Ben Altimirano is citing seniority as the criteria for committee assignments this year. Papen has been a close ally of Smith, but has also worked well with Jennings.
It’s been suggested that Smith might chair the Education Committee. That could bump either Cynthia Nava of Las Cruces, that committee’s current chair, or Papen, the vice chair, from committee leadership.
“What I’m hoping is that, however this works out, it is a fair process and that it is a consistent process,” Papen said. “If we’re going to use seniority, I want it to be consistent.”
Sen. Mary Kay Papen of