{"id":4024,"date":"2008-11-25T15:54:00","date_gmt":"2008-11-25T21:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/11\/a-rapid-rise-to-prominence\/"},"modified":"2008-11-25T15:54:00","modified_gmt":"2008-11-25T21:54:00","slug":"a-rapid-rise-to-prominence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/11\/a-rapid-rise-to-prominence\/","title":{"rendered":"A rapid rise to prominence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2006, Hector Balderas became the nation\u2019s youngest statewide Hispanic elected official. Now many consider him a top contender to become lieutenant governor when Bill Richardson leaves the state.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Hector Balderas<\/a> says he\u2019s trying to keep in the proper perspective the fact that he\u2019s being named as a strong contender to become the state\u2019s next lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m really at this point, I think, going through what every voter and citizen in New Mexico is going through,\u201d the state auditor said in a Monday interview. \u201cI\u2019m really excited about the opportunity for change, and I\u2019m really excited that new leaders are getting opportunities. I\u2019m just proud to be considered in that dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

For Balderas, who at 35 is the youngest statewide Hispanic elected official in the nation, the rise to prominence has been quick. A little more than two years ago, he was a second-term state representative from Wagon Mound<\/a>, a community with fewer than 400 residents that has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the nation. A desire to make a difference, an eye for political opportunity and a little bit of luck have catapulted him to being named by many politicos as a top candidate — if not the frontrunner — to become lieutenant governor now that Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> is taking a job in the Obama administration and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> is set become the first female governor in New Mexico history.<\/p>\n

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

While most Democratic insiders aren\u2019t talking for the record about their belief that Balderas is or at least should be a top contender for the job, the below-the-radar chatter is widespread, and both the Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a> and Albuquerque Journal<\/a> have mentioned it.<\/p>\n

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

While saying he\u2019s waiting for the \u201cofficial announcement\u201d on Barack Obama\u2019s<\/a> selection of Richardson to be commerce secretary, Balderas acknowledged the coming shift and said he is interested in being appointed by Denish to fill the lieutenant governor vacancy.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI would anticipate that it\u2019s likely that we\u2019ll have a Gov. Denish soon, and we\u2019ll have a Secretary Richardson soon, and, in that situation, I would certainly consider the position,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

Denish\u2019s spokeswoman said the lieutenant governor isn\u2019t commenting on Balderas or any other potential candidates to fill her shoes, pointing out that Obama hasn\u2019t officially announced Richardson as his commerce secretary. Another politico who has expressed interest in the job is Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid Region Council of Governments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

How he got here
<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Balderas kicked off his political career in 2004 by beating the odds when, at 29, he was elected state representative by defeating a Democratic incumbent in the primary by a two-to-one margin and then beating a Republican in the general election. Before moving back to his hometown of Wagon Mound to run for that office, he was an assistant district attorney in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

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

Balderas got his big political break in 2006, when then-Democratic state auditor candidate Jeff Armijo was pressured by the governor, speaker of the House and others to quit the race because of allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a female campaign volunteer. Armijo was indicted on a felony charge and three misdemeanors in the case, but the charges were later dropped.<\/p>\n

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

In the meantime, the party replaced Armijo on the ballot with Balderas, who was elected two months later at age 33, making him the youngest statewide Hispanic elected official in the nation.<\/p>\n

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

As the state\u2019s auditor, Balderas has worked to increase the influence of his office by using its previously little-utilized subpoena power in special audits, hiring criminal investigators and developing a fraud hotline. Hispanic Business Magazine<\/a> named him one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the nation in 2007. Last week, he was named to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials<\/a> Board of Directors.<\/p>\n

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

\u2018A privilege to even be considered\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

During his tenure as auditor, Balderas has earned the respect of progressive and conservative Democrats. That\u2019s one of many positives people who are pushing his appointment to lieutenant governor cite.<\/p>\n

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

Balderas said he has heard such talk, and he\u2019s honored by it.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cTo be thrown around as a possible lieutenant governor nominee, truly it\u2019s been kind of reflective of the work and the kind of people that I want to serve,\u201d Balderas said. \u201cBut for me, it\u2019s just been a privilege to even be considered. \u2026 First and foremost, I am committed to the greater interest that government stabilize itself and that the citizens of New Mexico, if there are vacancies and positions, that they absolutely receive the strongest leadership that they can.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Balderas said he has \u201cnot asked (Denish) directly\u201d to appoint him as lieutenant governor and he\u2019s not lobbying for the job. Instead, he said, he\u2019s talking about his record \u201cand the kind of politics and government that I seek,\u201d and waiting to see whether Denish believes \u201cthat it would be a nice fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThat\u2019s really all I\u2019ve done this far, is just maintained good relationships and just did my job the best that I could,\u201d Balderas said. \u201c\u2026 I\u2019m pretty flattered to be in this position.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2006, Hector Balderas became the nation\u2019s youngest statewide Hispanic elected official. Now many consider him a top contender to become lieutenant governor when Bill Richardson leaves the state. Hector Balderas says he\u2019s trying to keep in the proper perspective the fact that he\u2019s being named as a strong contender to become the state\u2019s next […]<\/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-4024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4024","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=4024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4024\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}