The Roundhouse in Santa Fe (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The 2011 N.M. Legislature opens sometime after noon today, with the biggest question being who will be elected speaker of the House.
Tea party groups are making a last-minute attempt to hinder a potential coalition between Republicans and Democrats to overthrow current speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé. The Las Cruces Tea Party passed a resolution late last week opposing a potential coalition. Here’s the group’s statement:
”We, the members of the Las Cruces TEA Party strongly recommend that the Republican Legislators nominate their own candidate for speaker of the House and vote in unison for that candidate. We do not support any coalition with progressives nor with those with a voting record that contradicts our conservative values.”
Since then, several other tea party groups from around the state have passed similar resolutions.
And members of the Las Cruces group met with House Minority Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, to share their concerns last week when he was traveling down south.
Will the lobbying from the active segment on the fringes of the GOP have an influence on conservative lawmakers who are considering a coalition to make Rep. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, the new speaker? Time will tell. Here’s an article on where the race stands from The Santa Fe New Mexican.
In the meantime, here’s what else to watch for today:
Martinez’s big speech
The speaker vote, if there are fireworks or breaks for caucus deliberations, could greatly delay other opening-day activities. But let’s not forget that new Gov. Susana Martinez has a big speech to give today. The state of the state address will be webcast by KNME-TV in Albuquerque. You’ll be able to watch it by clicking here.
We already know a lot about Martinez’s legislative priorities. She gave us a preview yesterday. (Hint: She’s going to call for spending cuts.)
One area that’s been hot in recent years that we haven’t heard much about from Martinez is ethics and transparency. I asked her office last week about what transparency-related legislative proposals she had planned, and the response was that her staff was “continuing to develop” her agenda.
In other words, nothing yet.
The issues
The Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican published in-depth articles on Sunday about what policy issues to keep an eye on during the 60-day session. Click here for the Journal’s and here for The New Mexican’s.
Check back
I’ll be working the speaker story this morning and keeping an eye on opening-day activities. Keep an eye on NMPolitics.net throughout the day for updates.