It’s been somewhat difficult to get many New Mexico politicians to comment on the news that Gov. Bill Richardson is withdrawing his nomination to be commerce secretary because of an ongoing probe into allegations of pay-to-play in his administration. The Albuquerque Journal published the reactions of some politicos, which you can read by clicking here. In addition, here are a few more quotes I’ve gathered:
From U.S. Sen.-elect Tom Udall, who will be officially sworn in Tuesday:
“I am disappointed that Gov. Richardson will not become our next U.S. secretary of commerce, because he would have served our country well. His decision to put the progress of the Obama administration and the difficult challenges facing our nation first demonstrates his commitment to our nation.”
From Whitney Cheshire, communications director for the Republican Party of New Mexico:
“This is a very serious and unfortunate situation for New Mexicans. Our state has been under one party’s rule for decades and is now riddled with scandal. The Republican Party of New Mexico commends the FBI and the US Attorney’s office for their work. Like the rest of the country, we are waiting to see what comes of the investigation into Bill Richardson’s administration.”
From state Rep. Joni Gutierrez, D-Mesilla:
“It’s the nation’s loss and New Mexico’s gain.”
Last, click here for some more people, including me, opining in a New York Times article, and here for a few others (including me again), opining in a FOXNews.com article. One note on the Times article: I was misidentified. Though I wrote some articles about state politics as a newspaper reporter before I started this blog, I wasn’t an official “state capitol reporter” for either of the two newspapers I worked at before I made the switch to the Internet. Many journalists cover many topics at once, and, as a newspaper reporter, I tended to be one of those people.