Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano apparently wants to be the state’s lieutenant governor.
He sent a news release today from the e-mail address solanoltgov@aol.com announcing that he’ll hold a news conference on Tuesday in
And he posted an article on his blog today stating that – despite the new e-mail address with “ltgov” in it, he would not confirm or deny “the rumor going around” that he’s running for lieutenant governor.
While refusing to answer the lieutenant governor question, Solano told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he can conduct a political campaign while serving as sheriff.
“I’ve done that effectively while I ran for re-election. I have a very good staff,” he told the newspaper.
Solano wrote on his blog in January that supporters had asked him to consider running for lieutenant governor in 2010. He said that prompted him to research the fact that there is no process in state law for replacing the lieutenant governor if that person moves up to fill a vacancy in the governor’s office – a scenario that is possible at the end of next year.
Solano has been sheriff for five years. He’s a native of
Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron has also announced that she’s seeking the lieutenant governorship. Candidates are likely lining up early because, if Gov. Bill Richardson does leave the state, the position will be open in January 2009.
There’s not currently a process in state law for replacing the lieutenant governor if she becomes governor. Lawmakers considered a bill this year that would have proposed a constitutional amendment to voters creating a process for replacing the lieutenant governor, but it died when time expired on the session.