{"id":36286,"date":"2012-02-07T09:53:13","date_gmt":"2012-02-07T16:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=36286"},"modified":"2012-02-20T06:47:16","modified_gmt":"2012-02-20T13:47:16","slug":"howe-issues-first-and-last-comments-on-smothermon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/02\/howe-issues-first-and-last-comments-on-smothermon\/","title":{"rendered":"Howe issues \u2018first and last\u2019 comments on Smothermon"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Public<\/a>

Public Regulation Commissioner Doug Howe<\/p><\/div>\n

Public Regulation Commissioner Doug Howe<\/a>, whose appointment by Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> has been at the center of recent controversy because he\u2019s gay, says it\u2019s unfortunate that some are promoting \u201can agenda of intolerance and bigotry.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Howe says, he won\u2019t be distracted from doing his job.<\/p>\n

Howe\u2019s statement comes in response to an NMPolitics.net article<\/a> about Martinez, a Republican, appointing him to office and the ensuing controversy. The article sparked anger among some social conservatives including Legacy Church\u2019s Pastor Steve Smothermon, who told NMPolitics.net Martinez had broken a pledge to not \u201cespouse the homosexual agenda.\u201d In response, gay-rights activists held a protest<\/a> in front of Smothermon\u2019s church on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Howe\u2019s full statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe media has run a number of stories recently concerning statements made by Rev. Steve Smothermon about Gov. Susana Martinez\u2019s appointment of me to the interim position of commissioner for the 3rd District of the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). I am issuing this statement today as my first and last comments on Mr. Smothermon\u2019s statements and the controversy that has enveloped them.<\/p>\n

\u201cGov. Martinez has made it repeatedly clear that she chose the candidate for PRC on no other basis than ability to get the job done. I believe she correctly determined that given the condition that the PRC was in, it was important to fill the position as quickly as possible with a candidate who was highly qualified, experienced in regulation and could hit the ground running. I believe that the governor is to be commended for having put the interest of New Mexico ahead of political expediency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is unfortunate that a small minority is using the governor\u2019s PRC appointment process to promote an agenda of intolerance and bigotry. But I have no control over the actions of others and I will not be distracted by them. Job #1 for me is to focus on the important and complex issues in front of the PRC and, in the remainder of the year that I will serve on the commission, to put all of my efforts into leaving it a better institution with a brighter future than past.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Howe has announced that he won\u2019t seek re-election<\/a> so he can instead focus on the job. He will leave office at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Support for Howe<\/h3>\n

Many in the public arena are expressing support for Howe and Martinez. State Rep. Brian Egolf<\/a>, D-Santa Fe, last week thanked Martinez for \u201csticking to her guns,\u201d the Albuquerque Journal reported<\/a>. Egolf praised her for \u201cresisting the small-minded comments of a hateful person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings<\/a>, D-Roswell, said it\u2019s time to put matters such as Howe\u2019s sexual orientation aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the man do his business,\u201d Democracy for New Mexico quoted Jennings as saying<\/a>. \u201cHe is very qualified. \u2026 What matters is what is best for the State of New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the Albuquerque Journal, on its editorial page<\/a>, wrote that Martinez was \u201c100 percent correct to place the value of a PRC commissioner on his or her qualifications.\u201d The Journal highlighted Howe\u2019s qualifications before making this point:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd unlike two recent ex-commissioners, both of whom were in heterosexual marriages, he doesn\u2019t have a felony record.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Public Regulation Commissioner Doug Howe, whose appointment by Gov. Susana Martinez has been at the center of recent controversy because he\u2019s gay, says it\u2019s unfortunate that some are promoting \u201can agenda of intolerance and bigotry.\u201d<\/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":[233,217,177,107,269],"class_list":["post-36286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-gay-and-lesbian-issues","tag-prc","tag-religion","tag-roundhouse","tag-steve-smothermon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36286","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=36286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36286\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}