Tsosie chooses Navajo council, will quit Senate

State Sen. Leonard Tsosie, D-Crownpoint, will resign his seat to take a position on the Navajo Nation Council, the Associated Press is reporting.

Tsosie, who has held the Senate position since 1993 and was a member of the powerful Finance Committee, took the oath of office today for the council position. He hasn’t yet resigned from the Senate, but said he will travel to Santa Fe on Tuesday to do so and give his regards to lawmakers and Gov. Bill Richardson.

Because Tsosie represents a multi-county area, Richardson will appoint a replacement after each county commission in the district makes a recommendation.

After being picked last year for a spot on the council, Tsosie had fought to keep both seats, but the Navajo Supreme Court ruled last week that he cannot be a council delegate and a state senator at the same time, and ordered him to choose one by 9 a.m. today, the news service reported. Over the weekend, Tsosie said, constituents told him to choose the tribal council.

“There’s a direct relationship between many of the Navajo people and their capital, and that almost affects them daily, the laws that they pass, so they wanted somebody to be there, someone to be a guardian of their concerns,” the news service quoted him as saying. “I’m going to miss the friendship of many New Mexicans (in the Legislature), but I hope that will stay here, and I’ll be visiting them often. I think I could still be a bridge of understanding.”

Tsosie’s Senate district includes parts of McKinley, Rio Arriba, Bernalillo, Cibola and Sandoval counties. Richardson will have to choose from among the candidates recommended by those counties’ commissions.

Update, 4 p.m.

In a news release, Richardson called on the five counties that are included in Senate District 22 to quickly nominate candidates to fill the vacated Senate seat. Richardson asked that recommendations be sent to his office by the close of business on Friday.

In order to meet that request, county commissions will generally have to provide notice of public meetings by Tuesday so they can be held Friday.