Dendahl, Beffort share views; rivals skip forum

Because Gov. Bill Richardson didn’t show up to Wednesday’s League of Women Voters forum in Las Cruces, Republican challenger John Dendahl, like Congressional candidate Al Kissling, had the podium to himself.

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish was also a no-show, so Dendahl’s running mate, Sue Wilson Beffort, had the podium to herself.

Dendahl pledged to be the sort of governor who works with people and builds bridges. He said he did lots of fighting as the state’s Republican Party chairman because that was his role, but the governorship is different.

Dendahl said he works well with others, and said 30 years in business, including three years as the head of the state’s economic development department, should prove that.

“That’s the kind of style I would bring to the governor’s office – not the style of the dictator,” Dendahl said, making an obvious reference to Richardson. “I am eager to serve as your governor.”

Beffort pledged the same, and said her record in the state senate proves bipartisanship.

Dendahl said he believes those coming to the United States must learn English, or they face huge disadvantages in school and work. He said the state education secretary’s desire to have Spanish-speaking students in Spanish-speaking classrooms is “crap” and a disservice to those students, because immersion is the best way to learn a language.

“I want our children to grow up multilingual,” Dendahl said.

As expected, a group of hostile Democrats jeered and hissed at Dendahl as he spoke. When he said former Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration wasn’t plagued by the corruption Richardson has faced, many broke out in laughter.

But Dendahl wasn’t fazed in stating that his top issues are “rooting out the corruption that is endemic in state government” and “school choice.”

Dendahl said he supports drilling on the Otero Mesa and Valle Vidal, and said environmentalist Ted Turner has proven it can be done in such an environmentally friendly way that you wouldn’t be able to find the oil wells.

Beffort, who spoke briefly, said her top priorities as lieutenant governor would be education and deregulation.

In an interview with me before the forum, Dendahl spoke about ethics in state government and attacked Richardson.

He opposes laws that limit campaign gifts, saying they give incumbents an even greater advantage, in part because they can use the resources of their offices to campaign. Gov. Bill Richardson, Attorney General Patricia Madrid and Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons have all sent out mailers or done commercials with government money promoting their offices or programs during this election season.

“That and a lot of other perks are just the advantages of incumbency,” Dendahl said.

He also opposes the proposal to pay legislators, saying there is already an appropriate mix of citizens serving that includes business people, teachers, retirees and government employees.

He said paying legislators would attract more “political hacks” to the positions.

Dendahl said, however, that something needs to change.

“We have a state government now that is more rotted with corruption than it has ever been, and it starts with Richardson,” he said, blaming the governor’s “vengefulness,” his “conduct,” and his “pay-to-play” system of governing.

Dendahl said he laments the fact that the majority of New Mexicans recently said in an Albuquerque Journal poll that they believe Richardson is honest, despite the fact that the Journal and other newspapers commonly report on scandals tied to the governor.

Still, Dendahl said, ethics reform won’t help much.

“We’re not ever going to be able to make dishonest people behave honestly,” he said. “Maybe there are some holes that need to be closed, but every time some supposed hole is closed, some dishonest politician finds a way to rip it wide open.”

Dendahl said the answer is that people need to elect honest leaders. They’re wrong to believe Richardson is truthful, he said.

“People deserve what they get,” Dendahl said. “They aren’t paying attention.”