{"id":2866,"date":"2008-02-13T04:14:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T10:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/02\/richardson-faces-a-new-reality-in-santa-fe\/"},"modified":"2008-02-13T04:14:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-13T10:14:00","slug":"richardson-faces-a-new-reality-in-santa-fe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/02\/richardson-faces-a-new-reality-in-santa-fe\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson faces a new reality in Santa Fe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The first legislative session since his longshot presidential bid came to an end is turning out to be a pretty lonely one for Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

He\u2019s at odds with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> on a couple of issues, and Attorney General Gary King<\/a> is siding with the Senate in another dispute. The Senate hasn\u2019t been a friend to Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in quite some time, and even many House members are up in arms over his line-item vetoes in the general appropriations bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has always ruled with an iron fist. He has a deep need to be in control. With high popularity ratings and the veto pen as weapons, he got away with a lot during his first several years in office.<\/p>\n

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

Then he essentially left the state for a year while he worked tirelessly but unsuccessfully to become the next president. It now appears that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> underestimated how much things would change while he was gone.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI think he\u2019s had a difficult time adjusting. He\u2019s not unlike any governor who has to figure out how to function as a lame duck,\u201d Denish said in an interview with me.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:city> took issue with anyone calling him a lame duck during a news conference on Tuesday in Santa Fe<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI invite anyone to test whether Bill Richardson is a lame duck. I\u2019ve got possibly three more years here,\u201d he said about the remainder of his term, according to the Albuquerque Journal<\/a>. \u201cEverybody who wants to test if I am a lame duck, please proceed. I\u2019d be very interested in facing that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Accustomed to life without Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s use of the word \u201cpossibly\u201d helps explain the current situation. Few think the governor desires to have an office in the Roundhouse much longer, instead believing he\u2019s gunning for a prominent job in Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.<\/p>\n

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

The state\u2019s politicians got used to life without Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> while he was on the campaign trail. Now they see the future: Denish as a possible or even probable governor, a Senate with skilled leaders and a great deal of independence and an attorney general who is willing to stand up to the chief executive.<\/p>\n

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

In the meantime, the current session is made awkward by the fact that Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is here but no one is sure how long he will stay. He\u2019s being challenged more often by people emboldened by his previous and potentially future absence. People are speaking out against him more frequently and in louder voices.<\/p>\n

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

Most important, Legislature has done almost nothing Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> wanted. No health-care reform, no domestic-partner benefits, no stem-cell research and no ethics reform. The disparity between what Richardson wants and what he\u2019s getting is exacerbated by the fact that this is a 30-day session in an election year and there\u2019s less funding available for new projects than in recent years.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is trying desperately to regain control. He\u2019s sticking to his guns in the fight over Denish\u2019s acceptance on Saturday of the junior budget<\/a> and capital outlay<\/a> bills after his office went dark and his staffers quit answering their cell phones. Though the attorney general says Denish\u2019s action was valid and Richardson<\/st1:city> has until 6 p.m. today to act on the bills, Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> insists he doesn\u2019t have to act on them until 8 a.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is also threatening a special session if he doesn\u2019t get what he wants on health-care reform.<\/p>\n

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

Fight with Denish angers lawmakers<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Meanwhile, another dispute is further stripping Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> of any remaining goodwill that might get him something \u2013 such as a health-care bill \u2013 before the session ends at noon on Thursday. Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has been caught up in a spat with Denish over why he won\u2019t grant her state-police security.<\/p>\n

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

The Legislature approved funding last year for a full-time state police detail for Denish, but she has used the money to hire private security because Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> won\u2019t allow her to use state police officers. Though Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> says Denish has had state police security when she is acting governor, he\u2019s given no satisfactory explanation for why she can\u2019t have full-time state police security as the state\u2019s second-in-command.<\/p>\n

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

Denish said Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is being dishonest and said she has been acting governor three days this month without being allowed state-police protection.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cOn a professional level I don\u2019t understand it, and on a personal level it\u2019s very disappointing and feels somewhat disrespectful and disingenuous,\u201d Denish said.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the governor \u201chas always tried to accommodate the lieutenant governor\u2019s requests for security and will continue to do so,\u201d but won\u2019t agree to full-time security because lieutenant governors have not had it in the past.<\/p>\n

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

Perhaps someone should tell the governor that we\u2019re in the post-9\/11 era. What\u2019s appropriate in terms of security has changed.<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s unwillingness to budge on this issue has infuriated Senate leaders from both parties, who think Denish needs security. Richardson<\/st1:city> on Tuesday vetoed language in the general appropriations bill that would have specifically granted Denish state police security when Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is out of the state.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s all about to come to a head<\/span><\/p>\n

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

The tension that has been building for days will come to a head sometime between 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. on Thursday when Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> acts on the funding bills. Senators say they plan to take him to court if he does anything after 6 p.m. today besides leave the bills intact. Gallegos said only a court order will stop Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> from taking action between 6 p.m. today and 8 a.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

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

Lawmakers believe Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> intentionally evaded delivery of the bills on Saturday so he could use the threat of capital-outlay vetoes as a bargaining chip to get his health-care bill approved. The less time lawmakers have to overturn vetoes, the more likely the vetoes will stand, and the more power Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> wields.<\/p>\n

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

So senators are especially proud of Denish for helping their attempt to thwart the governor\u2019s plan. Denish said this is an argument between Richardson and the Senate.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy acceptance of the bills was based on the fact that the case was made that the governor\u2019s office was purposely avoiding accepting the bills on Saturday afternoon,\u201d she said. \u201cI thought it was the appropriate and right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

I asked Denish if she believed Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was intentionally avoiding receipt of the bills, and she citied the established practice \u2013 that the governor\u2019s office remains staffed while the Legislature is in session.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy understanding is that all of the people in the governor\u2019s office were instructed to go home,\u201d she said. \u201cThey intentionally avoided answering their cell phones or any other phones.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

That may be a key point in a court battle. The AG has cited Alabama<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> case law as potentially establishing precedent that the governor can\u2019t intentionally avoid accepting delivery of bills.<\/p>\n

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

Check back here this evening, as I\u2019ll be watching this situation closely and will report on any important happenings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first legislative session since his longshot presidential bid came to an end is turning out to be a pretty lonely one for Gov. Bill Richardson. He\u2019s at odds with Lt. Gov. Diane Denish on a couple of issues, and Attorney General Gary King is siding with the Senate in another dispute. The Senate hasn\u2019t […]<\/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-2866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866","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=2866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}