{"id":2013,"date":"2007-07-24T16:20:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-24T22:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/with-guv-on-campaign-trail-denish-steps-up\/"},"modified":"2007-07-24T16:20:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-24T22:20:00","slug":"with-guv-on-campaign-trail-denish-steps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/with-guv-on-campaign-trail-denish-steps-up\/","title":{"rendered":"With guv on campaign trail, Denish steps up"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For the past three months, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> estimates that she has been acting governor all but 12-15 days. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> continues his quest for the presidency, she doesn\u2019t see that changing anytime before Feb. 5 \u2013 the day so many states hold primaries that we\u2019ll most likely know who wins the Democratic nomination. That doesn\u2019t mean Denish is calling all the shots, however.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working really closely with his staff,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s still very much involved. Until he resigns (to take a job in Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>), he makes the final decisions, but I think he\u2019s very willing to listen to me and the people on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Despite that, the next few months present an opportunity for Denish to play a larger role in setting the tone of the 2008 Legislature<\/a> and proving, as she prepares to run for governor in 2010 or take the office sooner if Richardson<\/st1:city> goes to Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, that she\u2019s up to the task.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She\u2019s working on a health-care reform package she hopes Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> will make the top policy issue during the 2008 session. Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> will also have to decide in the coming months whether to call a special session for ethics reform or put it on the call for the 30-day session that begins Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Denish and a task force have been working on health-care recommendations, and she may propose the creation of a health-care authority to bring together various state agencies that deal with the topic, with the goal of reducing costs. The proposal will likely include a comprehensive plan to insure all New Mexicans that will require support from individuals, insurance companies and employers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Denish knows \u201cthere\u2019s a possibility I\u2019ll be the acting governor for a good portion of the session,\u201d and said she\u2019s going to be working with lawmakers the rest of this year to help smooth the way for health-care reform.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She\u2019s also hoping there are no tie votes in the Senate. When she can\u2019t preside and break ties because she is acting governor, such votes die for lack of a majority. There is no provision in state law for someone else to preside.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Denish said she expects the capital outlay money available during the session to be a \u201cvery healthy\u201d amount, but said she\u2019ll continue Richardson\u2019s focus on funding projects that are ready to go, not appropriating small amounts for projects that are years from becoming reality.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Early presidential contests begin the day before the session starts with Iowa<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s caucuses on Jan. 14. Denish, who has signed on as co-chair of his Women for Richardson<\/st1:city> movement, said she believes Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> \u201chas a real shot\u201d at winning the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She also said she expects Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> \u201cto be successful in some way.\u201d He has said he\u2019s not interested in vice president and, if he\u2019s not elected president, he\u2019ll return to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> and keep his job as governor. So I asked what Denish meant, and she said she \u201cexpect(s) him to be asked to take a job\u201d in a Democratic White House administration if he\u2019s not the successful candidate.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

She said she doesn\u2019t know whether he would accept such a job.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> does resign, Denish becomes governor, but there\u2019s no provision in state law for the appointment of a new lieutenant governor. A bill that would have created such a procedure didn\u2019t pass during this year\u2019s session.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Denish said she \u201cwouldn\u2019t leave the job in limbo\u201d if she became governor. She said she would task her lawyers with legal research and seeking a way to get a new lieutenant governor in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the past three months, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish estimates that she has been acting governor all but 12-15 days. As Gov. Bill Richardson continues his quest for the presidency, she doesn\u2019t see that changing anytime before Feb. 5 \u2013 the day so many states hold primaries that we\u2019ll most likely know who wins the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2013\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}