Senate calling the shots after a session of wise moves

For four years, Republicans and a number of Democrats in the New Mexico Senate fumed as Gov. Bill Richardson used his veto pen as a weapon.

They steamed as Richardson took stances and made moves they believed were geared more toward building his résumé than serving the citizens of New Mexico. They fought proposed sharp increases in the state’s budget they believed wouldn’t be sustainable.

And they lost. Repeatedly, Richardson outmaneuvered them, aided by a House Democratic caucus that, most of the time, went along with the governor’s demands.

Not this year.

The Senate has played a carefully planned game of chess all year. Some wise bargaining with the House meant the Senate was successful during the regular session not only in restoring capital outlay Richardson vetoed last year, but also in securing legislative approval of this year’s budget and capital outlay bills early enough that Richardson had to act on them before the end of the session.

They held Richardson’s proposals until the right times, approving one of his renewable energy bills immediately after he signed the bill restoring last year’s capital outlay cuts, and holding the minimum wage bill until immediately after he signed the budget and capital outlay bills.

For his part, Richardson was in a more conciliatory mood during the 2007 regular session than he was during his first term in office. His presidential run needed a successful session. He focused more on policy and less on money, exercising almost none of his authority to veto in signing the junior and senior budgets and the capital outlay bill.

He tried to build up a great deal of goodwill, and he was successful. At a news conference they held moments before Richardson’s announcement of the special session, House Republicans praised and thanked Richardson for working with them during the regular session. They didn’t know what was coming.

Warm feelings didn’t last

The governor surprised everyone by cashing in his goodwill and calling the special session. He shared the announcement with only a select few before making it public. The agenda for the session – ethics reform, road funding, domestic partner benefits and other bills – was, for the most part, intentionally passed over by the Senate during the regular session.

These were the most contentious issues during the regular session, but Richardson apparently believed he had built up enough goodwill to get them passed.

Apparently, he was wrong. Now he has egg on his face.

Only one senator – President Pro Tem Ben Altamirano – showed up to Richardson’s news conference to announce the special session. Altamirano was polite and smiled at the event, but said very little as Richardson looked to House members who were present to get in line and talk about how great everything was.

Eight Senate Democrats, including Altamirano, joined Republicans three days later in voting to defy the governor and adjourn sine die. House Republicans jumped on board. Suddenly, Richardson was under fire because the only pressing item on the agenda was the domestic partner benefits bill – and it’s only pressing because Richardson is speaking to gay-rights groups in California on Saturday.

More egg. The appearance that Richardson uses his office first and foremost to advance his career is dogging his campaign.

A House that had easily approved during the regular session, in a bipartisan manner, many of the proposals on the special session agenda was suddenly bitterly divided. Republicans fought Speaker of the House Ben Lujan’s attempt to pass the agenda in one evening. It was a battle that kept the House up through the night on Wednesday/Thursday.

Its members adjourned weary and worn, having passed all but one proposal – campaign contribution limits, arguably the most important of the ethics reform proposals, which Richardson said were the main reason he called the special session.

As a possible sign that he realizes he has been weakened by the rebellion of the Senate and House Republicans, Richardson’s response wasn’t to ask the House to come back and pass what he claimed was the most important proposal of the special session. Instead, he heaped praise on the House and said he would “meet soon with the Senate leadership to discuss the next steps.”

It’s the Senate’s move

The Senate has a number of choices. Its members can keep meeting every three days and vote to adjourn each time until the 30-day session ends, daring Richardson to call another special session. They could meet Saturday and begin considering the proposals. They could pass the House versions. They could amend and pass them, forcing the House to meet again. They could kill them.

Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell and one who voted to end the session on Tuesday, said he thinks senators will vote to again adjourn sine die.

“We told (the House) to go home, and they should have listened. I think everything will go the way it went last time,” Jennings told the Albuquerque Journal.

Altamirano said something a bit more cryptic.

“I can almost say I’m positive we can go in there and get the Senate together,” he told the Journal. “(Richardson) said that all he wanted is an up-or-down vote. If the guy wants an up-or-down vote on those bills, it’s time we gave it to him.”

The Senate’s next move could be checkmate. Here’s a scenario:

The Senate has to convene on Saturday. On that day, Richardson will speak to one gay-rights group in Nevada at noon New Mexico time and another in California at 8 p.m. New Mexico time.

Picture the Senate convening. Picture the eight Democrats and the Republican caucus systematically killing each bill on the special session agenda. Picture them getting to the domestic partner benefits bill right as Richardson is telling one of the groups that he’s working toward the bill’s passage and is optimistic that senators will come around. Picture them killing it.

Checkmate. The session would be over, and Richardson would be the loser.

Not only would he have lost, but he would have buried what was an extremely successful regular session under a nightmare of a special session.

Will it happen? We’ll have to wait and see.