Rep. Joseph Cervantes (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Though House Democrats voted Saturday to nominate Rep. Ben Luján to continue serving as speaker, there’s still a chance some Democrats and Republicans will band together to overthrow him in January.
Rep. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, who unsuccessfully challenged Luján during this weekend’s Democratic caucus, wouldn’t say during an interview whether he is still considering trying to form a bipartisan coalition to become speaker. But he sounded like someone who is considering doing just that.
Cervantes said it’s time to “evaluate where the (Democratic) caucus is going, and listen to all New Mexicans to see if they support the same direction.” He said he challenged Luján in the Democratic caucus meeting because the message he took from the recent election is that “voters wanted to see change in the Democratic Party.”
“It was a message that we shouldn’t take any voters for granted,” Cervantes said. “It’s a message for consensus building.”
He said the voters were also sending a message that they want reform, which “reflects my own efforts over the past few years to reform Santa Fe.”
‘We need a change’
Cervantes spoke before Saturday’s meeting with some members of the Republican caucus about a potential coalition. Three Democrats have said they support a bipartisan coalition to make Cervantes speaker – and all three reiterated that support after Saturday’s meeting.
“I think we need a change,” said Rep. Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces, Cervantes’ aunt. “The people told us (in the recent election) that we hadn’t been listening. … We’re ready to go, if Joseph is willing and the Republicans are willing.”
The “we” Garcia was referring to also includes Reps. Dona Irwin of Deming and Andy Nuñez of Hatch. Like Garcia, they also reiterated their support for a Cervantes-led coalition.
“I know that we need a change, and I’m not one to back down from something I’ve started out with, because I think we need open government,” Irwin said.
Nuñez was quoted by the Albuquerque Journal as saying he would also be willing to support a Cervantes-led coalition.
“We’ve got to do something. It’s the same thing as in Washington, where they elected Pelosi. It’s the same sort of thing here,” the Journal quoted him as saying.
It would take the votes of the entire Republican caucus and three Democrats to overthrow Luján.
Cervantes said there are some House Democrats who, following an election in which they lost eight House seats to Republicans, think the party should be “circling the wagons and building the walls.” He said he disagrees, but he still congratulated Luján for coming out ahead in Saturday’s vote.
“I was pleased to offer an option for change in the Legislature,” Cervantes said.
‘Who knows what might happen’
Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, said his party is still willing to consider a coalition but hasn’t decided to get behind one.
“The speaker election doesn’t take place for two months,” he said. Who knows what might happen in that period of time.”
The formal vote for speaker takes place on the opening day of the legislative session in January.