{"id":936,"date":"2006-11-30T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-30T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/in-speaker-battle-house-democrats-need-to-put-fear-aside-and-vote-their-consciences\/"},"modified":"2006-11-30T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2006-11-30T18:30:00","slug":"in-speaker-battle-house-democrats-need-to-put-fear-aside-and-vote-their-consciences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/11\/in-speaker-battle-house-democrats-need-to-put-fear-aside-and-vote-their-consciences\/","title":{"rendered":"In speaker battle, House Democrats need to put fear aside and vote their consciences"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I recently had a politico tell me that politics is about fear, that most of our leaders make decisions based primarily on the consequences they\u2019ll face. <\/p>\n

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

For that reason, many of our elected officials like to pass the buck.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019ve been a journalist for eight years, and there have been many times politicians have tried to pass it off on me. In the current battle over speaker of the House, for example, several Democratic members have tried to do that in recent days.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou know Ben Lujan is corrupt,\u201d one told me. \u201cCall for House members to vote against him. Tell them it\u2019s the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

So I asked how that member planned to vote. That depends, I was told. If it\u2019s safe to do so, that member pledged to vote against Lujan, but if it isn\u2019t, all bets are off.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Another member told me the press, not legislators, will determine who becomes the next speaker.<\/p>\n

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

I don\u2019t have a vote. Neither does any other member of the press. But I do have a role in this process, so I\u2019ll share with you some of what I\u2019ve learned about Lujan.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 He slipped $75 million into the capital outlay bill earlier this year to fund water-rights lawsuit settlements. He did it without the knowledge of just about every lawmaker, at the last minute, and outside the normal process. Because of that, the governor appropriately vetoed it.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 A Lujan staffer has been living rent-free in a home owned by the Region III Housing Authority, which was run, until recently, by Lujan\u2019s close friend Vincent \u201cSmiley\u201d Gallegos, a lobbyist who has spent a lot of time in the speaker\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Lujan opposed impeachment hearings for former state Treasurer Robert Vigil and, when he lost that fight, he tried, unsuccessfully, to close the hearings to the public. If ever there was a time for the House to take seriously its constitutional responsibility to impeach, and to do it with transparency, this was it.<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 There is widespread feeling among House Democrats that Lujan is unethical, that he repeatedly disregards House rules and checks on his power, and that he controls with an iron fist. He inspires fear, and that\u2019s probably his intention.<\/p>\n

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

Beyond that, I can tell you that about a dozen House Democrats have shared with me their concerns about Lujan. Fewer than half of those say they\u2019ll vote for Ken Martinez to become speaker, however, because they are afraid.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s when they ask me to do something.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m doing what I can. I\u2019m reporting on the issue. I have a couple of records requests out as I look into allegations that have been shared with me. I\u2019m digging \u2013 not looking with the motive of ousting Lujan, but with the intent of seeking the truth, whatever it may be.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s my job \u2013 to sort through rumor and report fact, to facilitate a discussion that helps the community find the truth.<\/p>\n

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

Legislators have a duty to the truth. They have a duty to the public to vote based on what they believe is right.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIf I do that and Lujan wins, I\u2019ll lose my committee position, and I won\u2019t get much capital outlay,\u201d one representative told me. \u201cThe people of my district will suffer because they won\u2019t get new infrastructure they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

I think that\u2019s an excuse for a politico who is really thinking about his own political future.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s also shortsighted. It\u2019s saying that you don\u2019t have the guts to stand up for what\u2019s right, so at least if you play along you\u2019ll be able to give your constituents some paved roads. There\u2019s no integrity in that.<\/p>\n

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

The long-term solution to New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s problems lies in cleaning up the system.<\/p>\n

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

If we did that, capital outlay funds could no longer be used as weapons by those in power, and legislators wouldn\u2019t have to worry about whether they would be fairly appropriated.<\/p>\n

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

There would be one less reason to fear. If politics is about fear, it\u2019s because our politicians allow it to be.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m not going to say Lujan is dirty. I have no proof, though I do believe his actions with the $75 million appropriation were egregious, and his opposition to impeachment hearings was questionable.<\/p>\n

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

I do know that a number of House Democrats believe he is unethical, at best. I also know that many who believe that are seriously considering voting for him because they fear him. Few who have been willing to tell me they support Lujan have any praise for him.<\/p>\n

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

Our legislators can\u2019t serve two masters. Either they serve the speaker of the House or they serve their constituents and the State of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>.<\/p>\n

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

If legislators believe Lujan is ethical and makes decisions based on what\u2019s best for the citizens of the state, that\u2019s a valid reason to vote for him. But after speaking with many House Democrats I suspect that, were they all to vote their consciences, Martinez<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> would be the next speaker.<\/p>\n

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

Thus far, Rep. Joni Gutierrez of Las Cruces<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> is the only representative who has shared with me reasons she supports Lujan that aren\u2019t based on fear. Despite knowing what the consequences will be if she isn\u2019t successful, Rep. Mary Helen Garcia of Las Cruces<\/st1:city> is a leader of the charge to replace Lujan with Martinez<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. She has a seat on the powerful appropriations committee that Lujan can take away.<\/p>\n

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

The rest of our legislators would do well to follow the examples of both and embrace their ethical duty to do the right thing \u2013 whatever they believe it to be. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently had a politico tell me that politics is about fear, that most of our leaders make decisions based primarily on the consequences they\u2019ll face. For that reason, many of our elected officials like to pass the buck. I\u2019ve been a journalist for eight years, and there have been many times politicians have tried […]<\/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-936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936","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=936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}