Dan Foley is a fighter. Whether it’s using his debating skills to single-handedly filibuster legislation on the House floor or rushing a
That has led to some of the controversies that ultimately cost Foley his elected position, including his arrest last June during the basketball-court fight on charges that were later dismissed. The House minority whip was defeated in last week’s primary by his well-funded opponent, Republican Dennis Kintigh, who went negative early and hammered Foley throughout the campaign.
But Foley’s willingness to fight and his skill in a debate, coupled with his unique friendships with a handful of colleagues on the other side of the aisle, have also made him an effective legislator whose absence will change the dynamic in the House, many of his colleagues said.
Foley offered to resign following his defeat so Kintigh could be appointed and get a jumpstart on his work. Kintigh said he is hesitant to do that because voters elected Foley to serve the current term. With Gov. Bill Richardson promising a special session this year for health-care reform, it’s likely Foley will have one more opportunity to battle on the House floor if he serves out his current term.
Rep. Justine Fox-Young, R-Albuquerque, said there’s no one better to engage in that fight.
“Dan Foley is the guy — not the kind of guy, but the guy — you want fighting in the trenches with you, no matter what the issue,” she said. “He is persevering, quick-witted and unwavering in his commitment to serve.”
Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, also praised Foley’s talents.
“Foley is a simply gifted debater, and had mastered the complex rules and procedures of the legislative process,” Cervantes said. “It would be hard to argue that Foley had not led all of the minority-party activity on the floor of the House for the last four years and was a principle strategist of the agenda of the Republican Party of the House.”
Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, said Foley is “one of the most able debaters to grace the floor of the House of Representatives. His passion and style will be regarded fondly in the history of the New Mexico Legislature.”
Crossing party lines
Foley is a conservative who, during his 10-year career, has sponsored legislation to allow school-vouchers and toughen registration requirements for convicted sex offenders and a memorial requesting that Congress repeal the so-called death tax. He has frustrated Democratic leadership with his ability to lead filibusters of proposals his caucus opposed.
But Foley has been by no means a party-line politician, and it has not been uncommon during a spirited floor debate to see him approach House Majority Leader Ken Martinez. The two would confer briefly as their fellow lawmakers battled sometimes arcane points. A few minutes later the debate stopped. A deal had been forged between the two men.
The two also spent a great deal of time in each others’ offices discussing compromise on complex issues.
Legislative leaders often work this way, but Foley had close relationships with
An oft-told story recalled a particularly spirited debate in which Foley and
Such friendships helped lead to a loose, bipartisan coalition that could, when enough Democrats agreed, override the will of powerful House Speaker Ben Lujan.
“We have always been political polar opposites, and while at times I disagreed with Dan on issues, I understood he sought what he thought was best for
Foley said there was “no one who fought more with liberal Democrats” than he did, and
That group was perhaps most influential during the 2007 legislative session, Foley’s first as minority whip. That year, the Republican caucus and a handful of Democrats banded together to force the speaker to compromise on a proposal to restructure and investigate the state’s affordable housing system, which had been crippled by scandal tied to a lobbyist and ally of the speaker. A similar bipartisan push forced Lujan to distribute capital outlay among House members equally for the first time in recent memory, instead of giving more to Democrats than Republicans.
That was a precedent-setting action, and capital outlay was distributed evenly again this year.
Forming a new strategy
“That’s obviously what’s lost when you have a change like this,” House Minority Leader Tom Taylor of
“The charge of the caucus will be to redesign the way we do business,”
Foley agreed.
“The Legislature was there before I got elected and it’ll be there after I’m gone,” he said. “All you can hope is that you leave it better than when you got there.”
House Republicans will have to select a new minority whip when Foley leaves office, but none interviewed for this article would talk about who that will be. Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson, R-Las Cruces, said he is confident the House Republicans will select a strong whip.
“The style of that leadership might change, but that doesn’t mean that the leadership won’t be there, the leadership won’t be as effective,” he said. “I know a number of people in the House who can… do as good a job as Dan, so I don’t see where the caucus loses anything.”
What’s next for Foley?
Foley said one thing he won’t do after he leaves office is become a lobbyist. He said he spent his legislative career being “genuine” and only making deals in which he believed, and that’s not going to change.
“I’m not going to go back and try to use my friendships to make some money. I’m not going to be that guy,” he said.
Foley said he will “do all I can to help where I’m needed and where I’m asked.” He’s also considering doing political analysis as a columnist for the New Mexico Independent and possibly on radio and television.
“I’d love to still talk about politics because I think I still have some stuff to offer,” Foley said.
Asked whether he might return to elected office someday, Foley said he isn’t ruling it out, but he’s planning to spend the next few months with his family and “living life.”
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