Committee changes may reveal speaker’s genius

Many I’ve spoken with since Tuesday believe Speaker of the House Ben Lujan revealed his political genius this week with changes in committee assignments that demoralized his detractors and divided those who threatened to shift the balance of power in the House.

Those I’ve spoken with aren’t surprised. Lujan, who is from Santa Fe, has been a master politician for a long time.

I’m writing, of course, about his demotion of Joseph Cervantes from chair to vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and his removal of Mary Helen Garcia from the Appropriations and Finance Committee. Many I’ve spoken with believe the changes were part of a brilliant scheme that not only scattered his opponents, but also divided the delegation from Doña Ana County.

Here’s why:

As we all know, a group of House Democrats challenged Lujan’s leadership last year by supporting Ken Martinez of Grants in a bid to become speaker. Behind-the-scenes politicking and generous financial support for the election campaigns of this year’s class of freshman representatives gave Lujan a victory that allows him to keep the speaker position for another two years.

After losing that vote, Martinez quickly accepted a nomination to retain his position as majority leader, and remains heir-apparent to the speakership. House Democrats emerged from their closed-door meeting pledging to work together. Lujan said publicly there would be no retaliation against those who opposed him. Garcia said she hoped that was the truth.

Demoralizing his detractors

But there was still the matter of how to deal with those who want reform and see Lujan as a contributor to the ethical scandals that have plagued New Mexico in recent years.

Martinez was no longer an issue. He lost. He accepted the position he already held.

The most visible Martinez supporters left to deal with were Al Park of Albuquerque and Garcia and Cervantes of Las Cruces.

Garcia was the most vocal critic of Lujan. She was dealt with simply by removing her from her influential committee position.

Cervantes and Park are close friends, and had been chair and vice chair of judiciary, respectively. Those I spoke with said it was brilliant to flip them – demoralizing both because Park, though he has ambitions to be the attorney general and probably wanted to become judiciary chair eventually, might not be happy about moving up at the expense of a close friend. Plus, the move allowed Lujan to cite Park’s promotion as evidence that he didn’t retaliate against those who opposed him – which he did in an interview with reporters on Tuesday.

Cervantes was minimized. Though Lujan said he made the change because Cervantes sought the majority leader position, he didn’t demote the other two who sought the position when Martinez sought speaker – Mimi Stewart and Gail Chasey of Albuquerque.

Dividing Doña Ana County’s delegation

Which brings up Cervantes’ assertion that his demotion had to do with those who hold power – most from the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area – trying to fight off a threat from the south. Cervantes’ demotion means Stewart and Chasey may be better positioned to become majority leader after Lujan retires and Martinez ostensibly becomes speaker.

Some from Doña Ana County gained. Joni Gutierrez of Las Cruces took Garcia’s place on appropriations. Andy Nuñez became chair of the Agriculture and Water Resources Committee.

They supported Lujan. Nuñez has said he pledged his vote to Lujan in exchange for the chairmanship. Gutierrez pledged to support Lujan from the day rumors that Martinez might challenge him started.

Last year, Doña Ana County’s delegation – five Democrats and two Republicans – was the most united, influential group in the House. They joined with senators from the area and Republicans to shift the debate on a minimum wage increase to take into account border communities. They worked together, along with the area’s senators and the governor, to fully fund the construction of an $18 million aquatic and recreation center in Las Cruces that would rival the Genoveva Chavez Center in Santa Fe.

This year, with seven Democrats and no Republicans, the delegation had the potential to be even more influential, further threatening the Santa Fe-centered balance of power.

That won’t likely happen now. Garcia is furious with Gutierrez and has attacked her publicly. Nuñez, Gutierrez and Antonio Lujan of Las Cruces supported Ben Lujan in the speaker race, while Cervantes and Garcia supported Martinez. Freshmen Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces and Nate Cote of Organ won’t say who they supported, but most believe they voted for Ben Lujan.

A year ago, Cervantes was the rising star of the Democratic Party in Southern New Mexico. Now, the sole House committee chairmanship given to Doña Ana County is instead held by an aging statesman who doesn’t likely have future ambitions.

Regardless of whether Ben Lujan intended it, he has succeeded in dividing Doña Ana County’s delegation and reducing the influence of its rising star, at least for now. Gutierrez is one who, like Cervantes, may have future ambitions to hold higher office, and this ascension is certainly good for her political career and her constituents. But the overall influence of the county’s delegation is weakened by its division, and the opposition to Ben Lujan is demoralized.

Cervantes says he believes Ben Lujan was attempting to stop the Las Cruces area from becoming too powerful. The facts can certainly be interpreted that way.