{"id":31453,"date":"2011-09-01T06:38:02","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T12:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=31453"},"modified":"2011-10-10T08:34:01","modified_gmt":"2011-10-10T14:34:01","slug":"an-ambitious-martinez%e2%80%99s-frustration-is-showing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/09\/an-ambitious-martinez%e2%80%99s-frustration-is-showing\/","title":{"rendered":"An ambitious Martinez\u2019s frustration is showing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Heath Haussamen \/ NMPolitics.net<\/p>

Gov. Susana Martinez, shown at the Domenici Public Policy Conference, sounded impatient as she called on lawmakers to debate several bills during next week\u2019s special session and told Sunland Park to uphold its end of a water deal that helps pave the way for development. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe have to pull together as Democrats and Republicans and do the right thing. If we don\u2019t, I want to know which legislators are going to tell those children, \u2018We\u2019re busy,\u2019\u201d Martinez said during a speech in Las Cruces<\/h4>\n

Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> has been displaying an increasing frustration with elected officials who, in her view, get in the way of bettering New Mexico. Her speech Wednesday at the Domenici Public Policy Conference<\/a> was no exception.<\/p>\n

Martinez sounded impatient. She had harsh words for state lawmakers who express concern that she\u2019s packing too many other issues into next week\u2019s redistricting special session, and for officials in Sunland Park who may be backing away<\/a> from a water deal with Do\u00f1a Ana County that helps pave the way for development.<\/p>\n

During the speech in Las Cruces, the governor took a shot at Senate Minority Whip Mary Jane Garcia<\/a>, D-Do\u00f1a Ana. Garcia initially pledged support for a bill Martinez is pushing that would require third graders to read at grade level before moving on. The senator waited until Martinez\u2019s news conference earlier this week, which was designed to promote the bill, to tell the governor she had changed her mind.<\/p>\n

One reason Garcia cited was the need to focus during the session on redistricting \u2013 the redrawing of political lines based on new Census data.<\/p>\n

At the Domenici Conference, Martinez said elected officials who \u201csay we\u2019re too busy\u201d and don\u2019t prioritize children \u201cdo not belong in leadership positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to pull together as Democrats and Republicans and do the right thing,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, I want to know which legislators are going to tell those children, \u2018We\u2019re busy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview following her speech, Martinez confirmed her frustration with elected officials she perceives as putting politics above the needs of New Mexicans. She said her answer is to try to increase citizen involvement through means such as webcasting of legislative hearings so New Mexicans know which elected officials aren\u2019t working for them.<\/p>\n

Then it\u2019s up to citizens to hold those officials accountable, Martinez said.<\/p>\n

\u2018We have the time\u2019<\/h3>\n

This governor is certainly ambitious. She\u2019s added several bills to the redistricting special session that she says are critically important. Near the top of the list is the legislation to end what she calls \u201csocial promotion\u201d out of third grade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not OK with being 49th in the nation in education,\u201d Martinez said during Wednesday\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n

Some lawmakers say Martinez is overloading the special session<\/a>, but Martinez said there\u2019s plenty of time to address issues other than redistricting. During the last special session lawmakers adjusted the budget in three days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the time,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWe can get this done, because jobs and education and border security are enormously important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez also spoke about the deal to move the Union Pacific rail hub from El Paso to Santa Teresa. It\u2019s expected to bring jobs and growth to Southern New Mexico. Martinez said Santa Teresa is \u201cstrategically positioned to become the new gateway to North American trade.\u201d Former Gov. Bill Richardson believed the same thing.<\/p>\n

The water deal between Do\u00f1a Ana County and Sunland Park is necessary, Martinez said, because it provides stability that lets businesses know the area is a good place to invest their resources.<\/p>\n

The governor said the capitol outlay bill that will be introduced during the special session will include $1.5 million for the area\u2019s water system, but if the state is going to invest in the area, it needs reciprocity from the local governments. She wants Sunland Park to stick to the agreement it made six years ago.<\/p>\n

\u2018People who forget who they work for\u2019<\/h3>\n

Martinez said what has her so frustrated is \u201celected officials forgetting what they promised they were going to do when they got elected.\u201d Some lawmakers have criticized Martinez for what they call keeping up the campaign rhetoric even after the election ended. She sees things differently.<\/p>\n

Martinez told NMPolitics.net that, after she was elected, one lawmaker told her she had to stop campaigning and start governing. Martinez said when she asked for clarification, the lawmaker told her she should forget the promises she made on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n

The governor said she has no intention of doing that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why people are considered politicians instead of leaders; they forget what promises they made,\u201d Martinez said. \u201c\u2026 That\u2019s my frustration \u2013 people who forget who they work for.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will she do about it?<\/p>\n

\u201cI make sure the people know where their elected officials stand. I bring people into the process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

During the regular session earlier this year, Martinez\u2019s office webcast legislative hearings<\/a> on bills she was pushing. She said that webcasting will improve. Eventually people will be able to do word and bill searches to find specific portions of videos more easily.<\/p>\n

She said she also hopes to broadcast video her office takes of legislative hearings on cable television across the state.<\/p>\n

Over time, Martinez said she expects New Mexicans to become more informed and force change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Susana Martinez has been displaying an increasing frustration with elected officials who, in her view, get in the way of bettering New Mexico. Her speech Wednesday at the Domenici Public Policy Conference in Las Cruces was no exception.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[118,125,136,107,167],"class_list":["post-31453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-pete-domenici","tag-roundhouse","tag-sunland-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453","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=31453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31453\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}