The first legislative session since his longshot presidential bid came to an end is turning out to be a pretty lonely one for Gov. Bill Richardson.
He’s at odds with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish on a couple of issues, and Attorney General Gary King is siding with the Senate in another dispute. The Senate hasn’t been a friend to Richardson in quite some time, and even many House members are up in arms over his line-item vetoes in the general appropriations bill.
Richardson has always ruled with an iron fist. He has a deep need to be in control. With high popularity ratings and the veto pen as weapons, he got away with a lot during his first several years in office.
Then he essentially left the state for a year while he worked tirelessly but unsuccessfully to become the next president. It now appears that Richardson underestimated how much things would change while he was gone.
“I think he’s had a difficult time adjusting. He’s not unlike any governor who has to figure out how to function as a lame duck,” Denish said in an interview with me.
Richardson took issue with anyone calling him a lame duck during a news conference on Tuesday in Santa Fe.
“I invite anyone to test whether Bill Richardson is a lame duck. I’ve got possibly three more years here,” he said about the remainder of his term, according to the Albuquerque Journal. “Everybody who wants to test if I am a lame duck, please proceed. I’d be very interested in facing that challenge.”
Accustomed to life without Richardson
Richardson’s use of the word “possibly” helps explain the current situation. Few think the governor desires to have an office in the Roundhouse much longer, instead believing he’s gunning for a prominent job in Washington.
The state’s politicians got used to life without Richardson while he was on the campaign trail. Now they see the future: Denish as a possible or even probable governor, a Senate with skilled leaders and a great deal of independence and an attorney general who is willing to stand up to the chief executive.
In the meantime, the current session is made awkward by the fact that Richardson is here but no one is sure how long he will stay. He’s being challenged more often by people emboldened by his previous and potentially future absence. People are speaking out against him more frequently and in louder voices.
Most important, Legislature has done almost nothing Richardson wanted. No health-care reform, no domestic-partner benefits, no stem-cell research and no ethics reform. The disparity between what Richardson wants and what he’s getting is exacerbated by the fact that this is a 30-day session in an election year and there’s less funding available for new projects than in recent years.
Richardson is trying desperately to regain control. He’s sticking to his guns in the fight over Denish’s acceptance on Saturday of the junior budget and capital outlay bills after his office went dark and his staffers quit answering their cell phones. Though the attorney general says Denish’s action was valid and Richardson has until 6 p.m. today to act on the bills, Richardson insists he doesn’t have to act on them until 8 a.m. Thursday.
Richardson is also threatening a special session if he doesn’t get what he wants on health-care reform.
Fight with Denish angers lawmakers
Meanwhile, another dispute is further stripping Richardson of any remaining goodwill that might get him something – such as a health-care bill – before the session ends at noon on Thursday. Richardson has been caught up in a spat with Denish over why he won’t grant her state-police security.
The Legislature approved funding last year for a full-time state police detail for Denish, but she has used the money to hire private security because Richardson won’t allow her to use state police officers. Though Richardson says Denish has had state police security when she is acting governor, he’s given no satisfactory explanation for why she can’t have full-time state police security as the state’s second-in-command.
Denish said Richardson is being dishonest and said she has been acting governor three days this month without being allowed state-police protection.
“On a professional level I don’t understand it, and on a personal level it’s very disappointing and feels somewhat disrespectful and disingenuous,” Denish said.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the governor “has always tried to accommodate the lieutenant governor’s requests for security and will continue to do so,” but won’t agree to full-time security because lieutenant governors have not had it in the past.
Perhaps someone should tell the governor that we’re in the post-9/11 era. What’s appropriate in terms of security has changed.
Richardson’s unwillingness to budge on this issue has infuriated Senate leaders from both parties, who think Denish needs security. Richardson on Tuesday vetoed language in the general appropriations bill that would have specifically granted Denish state police security when Richardson is out of the state.
It’s all about to come to a head
The tension that has been building for days will come to a head sometime between 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. on Thursday when Richardson acts on the funding bills. Senators say they plan to take him to court if he does anything after 6 p.m. today besides leave the bills intact. Gallegos said only a court order will stop Richardson from taking action between 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. Thursday.
Lawmakers believe Richardson intentionally evaded delivery of the bills on Saturday so he could use the threat of capital-outlay vetoes as a bargaining chip to get his health-care bill approved. The less time lawmakers have to overturn vetoes, the more likely the vetoes will stand, and the more power Richardson wields.
So senators are especially proud of Denish for helping their attempt to thwart the governor’s plan. Denish said this is an argument between Richardson and the Senate.
“My acceptance of the bills was based on the fact that the case was made that the governor’s office was purposely avoiding accepting the bills on Saturday afternoon,” she said. “I thought it was the appropriate and right thing to do.”
I asked Denish if she believed Richardson was intentionally avoiding receipt of the bills, and she citied the established practice – that the governor’s office remains staffed while the Legislature is in session.
“My understanding is that all of the people in the governor’s office were instructed to go home,” she said. “They intentionally avoided answering their cell phones or any other phones.”
That may be a key point in a court battle. The AG has cited Alabama case law as potentially establishing precedent that the governor can’t intentionally avoid accepting delivery of bills.
Check back here this evening, as I’ll be watching this situation closely and will report on any important happenings.
The first legislative session since his longshot presidential bid came to an end is turning out to be a pretty lonely one for Gov. Bill Richardson.