Stuart Ingle
I spent most of Wednesday chasing down leaders in the House and Senate for this week’s New Mexico in Focus on KNME. I managed to catch Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, House Majority Leader Ken Martinez and House Minority Leader Tom Taylor.
I talked to all of them about Gov. Susana Martinez’s efforts to reach out to lawmakers (consensus: they are improved), the possibility of banning driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants (not likely) and the wisdom of combined reporting and cutting gross receipts tax for small businesses (both debatable).
We also talked briefly about Speaker Ben Luján’s announcement that he’s battling cancer and won’t run for re-election.
While talking to Ingle, I was struck by his respect and compassion for Rep. Lujan — and also by his candor about the reality of elective office. Here’s an excerpt from that interview:
For the full interviews, watch this week’s New Mexico in Focus.