Gov. Bill Richardson might not have been feeling much public pressure yesterday to sign a bill that would open conference committees and other legislative meetings to the public, but he’s certainly feeling it today.
Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said on Wednesday that, other than media pressure, his office had seen “very little public interest” in House Bill 393, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces. Since news reports about that circulated, the number of calls and e-mails to Richardson’s office has increased, Gallegos confirmed today.
One of those e-mails was from Violet and Ronald Cauthon of Las Cruces.
“You are under the impression that only media figures want open government,” they wrote in their letter, which they provided to me. “Be advised that concerned and involved voters want our legislators to know we are watching and listening.”
The pressure was also put on Richardson at a news conference he held today to sign other ethics-reform bills, according to the New Mexico Independent. Actually, Richardson invited the pressure when he asked reform proponents who were present for the bill signing to express their views, in front of the media, on Cervantes’ bill.
“We have urged you to sign it and we’re going to continue putting as much pressure on you as we can for you to sign it,” Terri Cole, of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, told Richardson.
“I think the bill that’s in front of you, while it’s not perfect, I believe it’s the only bill we could get in front of you,” NMI quoted Cole as saying. “It’s either that or nothing. And we just don’t want nothing as we move forward. We’ll continue to urge you and be a pain in your neck.”
“You think this is the best we can do?” the governor asked in response, according to NMI.
“Well, governor, I think so,” said Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque. “We have tried it now for six years.”
Also asking the governor to sign the bill at today’s news conference were Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, and Common Cause New Mexico Executive Director Steven Robert Allen.
Common Cause put a full-court press on the governor today by also sending out an e-mail to its members urging them to contact the governor about the bill and a news release imploring Richardson to sign it.
In the news release, Common Cause praised Richardson for signing the other ethics bills today, but said the organization hopes the governor will also “continue his long-time support for openness in state government” by signing Cervantes’ bill.
Richardson has repeatedly endorsed open conference committees in the past and said late in the session that, if it passed, he would sign Cervantes’ bill. But he now says he’s concerned about a “loophole” — language in the bill that allows it to be overridden by a rule change that would require the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers — and he doesn’t know whether he will sign the bill.