Coziness with donors dogs Richardson’s campaign

Gov. Bill Richardson’s coziness with donors continues to grab national attention as he runs for president.

One of the top political stories across the nation today from the Associated Press is about Richardson signing a bill that will benefit a company that gave his gubernatorial re-election campaign $150,000.

The bill authorizes up to $500 million in taxpayer-subsidized bonds for a massive real-estate development in Albuquerque being built by Forest City Covington. Richardson’s spokesman said what his people always say – “The governor makes decisions based on what is best for the state.”

I’ve written before about how Richardson’s insistence that he isn’t influenced by massive gifts contradicts his assertion that state politicians, now that he has run in his last election in New Mexico, need to be subject to campaign contribution limits. You can read that by clicking here.

It appears Richardson was more interested, in light of his impending presidential run, in proving he could raise a ton of money than he was in setting the example for the rest of the state by voluntarily imposing on his 2006 campaign the standard he wants to become law for everyone else. It’s not like he needed the money to beat John Dendahl.

The public can see that. So can national journalists. That’s why it continues to gain attention.