Lt. Gov. Diane Denish announced today that she will voluntarily forgo the $250-per-day stipend she is entitled to receive when Gov. Bill Richardson is out of the state for the duration of his campaign for president.
The announcement is certain to alleviate some of the criticism that Richardson is running for president at the expense of state taxpayers. It also promotes a selfless image of Denish during a week in which her campaign has been battling that of Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, who like Denish is raising money for a potential 2010 gubernatorial run.
Chávez’s first fundraiser is tonight. Denish’s campaign leaked a poll earlier this week that shows her with a comfortable lead over the mayor in a potential 2010 Democratic primary.
But that wasn’t mentioned in the news release announcing Denish’s decision.
“The benefit to New Mexico taxpayers is that our governor is running for president,” Denish said. “I’m committed to filling in for him as necessary and getting the job done under any circumstances, without any cost to taxpayers. This is just one additional way I can contribute to his effort.”
Denish said she made the decision to forgo the stipend because she supports Richardson’s White House bid and because she wants “New Mexico taxpayers to rest assured they aren’t paying for Gov. Richardson’s time out of state.”
Under New Mexico law, when a governor is out of the state, the lieutenant governor assumes the office and is paid the stipend.
After visiting El Paso on Monday, Richardson was in Houston today for another fundraiser. He will be in Washington, D.C. on Friday and Saturday for a Democratic National Committee meeting.
During the past four years, Denish has assumed the role of governor an average of 40 days per year. She has donated her stipend pay to a variety of charities and organizations, including Roadrunner Food Bank, the Southwest Women’s Law Center, the New Mexico Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program and the church she attends with husband, Herb Denish.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish announced today that she will voluntarily forgo the $250-per-day stipend she is entitled to receive when Gov. Bill Richardson is out of the state for the duration of his campaign for president.