{"id":4102,"date":"2009-01-05T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-05T19:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/01\/hurting-guv-says-hell-focus-on-agenda-for-nm\/"},"modified":"2009-01-05T13:04:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-05T19:04:00","slug":"hurting-guv-says-hell-focus-on-agenda-for-nm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/01\/hurting-guv-says-hell-focus-on-agenda-for-nm\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Hurting’ guv says he’ll focus on agenda for NM"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> continued to insist during a news conference today in Santa Fe that a probe into allegations of pay-to-play in his administration will clear him, and he hinted that he might still leave the state\u2019s top job at a future date to take a position in the Obama administration.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, he said, it\u2019s time to move forward with an agenda that will better the lives of New Mexicans.<\/p>\n

At the quickly called news conference, Richardson was quick to point out that Obama said on Sunday that he looks forward to Richardson joining his administration at a later date, after the conclusion of the investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still believe I have a lot to give in public service,\u201d Richardson said, according to video of the news conference that was broadcast on the Web site of KOAT-TV<\/a> in Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

Richardson said he had to make a difficult choice in deciding to reject Barack Obama\u2019s<\/a> nomination of him to be commerce secretary, but he said it\u2019s time to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost a cabinet appointment, but I think we have to focus on what people are losing in this country,\u201d Richardson said, adding that the economic times should be the focus because people are losing jobs, savings and homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the real tragedy. Mine is minor compared to that, and I think what we need to do is move ahead with the agenda for New Mexico, and I\u2019m fully engaged,\u201d Richardson said. \u201c\u2026 I am moving forward aggressively in what is going to be my focus from now on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Richardson admitted that he \u201cwas hurting\u201d over the loss of the cabinet appointment.<\/p>\n

The federal grand jury investigation centers around whether there is any connection between the state\u2019s awarding of a lucrative contract to a California company and sizeable contributions the company made to political action committees formed by Richardson. CDR Financial<\/a> earned almost $1.5 million advising the state on interest-rate swaps and other business related to $1.6 billion in bonds appropriated for a massive transportation project.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in 2003 and 2004, CDR Financial gave $75,000 to Richardson\u2019s political action committee Si Se Puede!, and the company\u2019s head, David Rubin, gave $25,000 to Moving America Forward, another Richardson PAC.<\/p>\n

No information released publicly has directly linked Richardson to the probe, but the investigation centers around whether staffers in Richardson\u2019s office influenced the hiring of CDR.<\/p>\n

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Update, 12:55 p.m.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s video of the news conference from KOB-TV in Albuquerque:<\/p>\n