{"id":5635,"date":"2009-08-31T11:20:57","date_gmt":"2009-08-31T17:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=5635"},"modified":"2009-08-31T22:11:23","modified_gmt":"2009-09-01T04:11:23","slug":"arnold-jones-formally-launches-gubernatorial-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/08\/arnold-jones-formally-launches-gubernatorial-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"Arnold-Jones launches gubernatorial bid"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Arnold-Jones,

Arnold-Jones, shown here webcasting a legislative committee meeting earlier this year. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Saying she is \u201ctired of New Mexico being known for graft, corruption and poor service,\u201d state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, R-Albuquerque, formally launched her bid for governor on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Santa Fe, we are experiencing a moral train wreck, and it is costing the taxpayers money and confidence,\u201d the Albuquerque Journal<\/a> quoted Arnold-Jones as saying.<\/p>\n

In addition to stressing ethics, Arnold-Jones said she\u2019ll focus her campaign on connectivity and education, according to the New Mexico Independent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legislator confirmed to me a month ago<\/a> that she was running. This weekend\u2019s formal announcement was made before about 200 people in Albuquerque, the Independent reported.<\/p>\n

Arnold-Jones, who has been a state lawmaker since 2003, is best known for leading the charge earlier this year to force webcasting on the Legislature. For her work on that issue, the Santa Fe Reporter<\/a> nicknamed her \u201cLady Sunlight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arnold-Jones has plans to further expand government transparency. From the Independent:<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said she\u2019d pressure the Legislature to open its meetings to the public, to implement the \u2018wide use of technology\u2019 to provide access across the state, real-time tracking of bills, and \u2018the full and complete vetting of legislation, including detailed cost analysis and revenue source expectations.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, she said, if she\u2019s elected governor her cabinet meetings will be \u2018accessible to the public on a regular basis.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Arnold-Jones, according to the Independent, also proposed \u201cmandatory ethics training for state employees, whistleblower protections and high standards to reduce both the appearance and reality of conflicts of interest.\u201d She didn\u2019t mention a proposal that\u2019s popular among many Democrats — creating an independent state ethics commission.<\/p>\n

Other issues<\/h3>\n

Arnold-Jones didn\u2019t go into specifics on what she would do to improve education, but, according to the Independent, \u201csaid it\u2019s about attitude, expectations, and \u2018believing in ourselves.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Journal, she also talked about \u201crelaxing regulation and tax policy to draw more business to the state.\u201d The Independent said she also stressed \u201cconnectivity,\u201d which the news organization explained as \u201cencompassing renewable energy, smart-grid technology and communications infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the GOP side, Arnold-Jones joins Do\u00f1a Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez<\/a> in the race. Former state GOP chairman Allen Weh<\/a> has formed an exploratory committee and is calling himself a \u201clikely candidate,\u201d and public relations professional Doug Turner<\/a> appears to be about to formally jump into the race.<\/p>\n

In addition, former U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> says she\u2019s thinking about running.<\/p>\n

On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> is the only declared candidate, though Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez<\/a> says he\u2019s formed an exploratory committee.<\/p>\n

Will vote to repeal death penalty be an issue?<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s one issue on which some Republicans are already hitting Arnold-Jones. She was one of a handful of Republican lawmakers who voted for the successful push to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who has started a movement<\/a> to try to repeal the death penalty repeal, wrote in an e-mail that he encourages Republicans thinking about Arnold-Jones\u2019 candidacy to consider that fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoft-on-crime legislators should be voted out of office, not promoted,\u201d White said. \u201cConsidering, in a recent poll, eighty-six percent of all Republicans in New Mexico support the death penalty for murderers, Janice\u2019s campaign will be a very hard sell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arnold-Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on White\u2019s statement. White said he is not supporting any candidate for governor at this time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saying she is \u201ctired of New Mexico being known for graft, corruption and poor service,\u201d state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, R-Albuquerque, formally launched her bid for governor on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-5635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635","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=5635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}