New Mexico in Focus; 232; Lt. Gov. Diane Denish; Part 1

We're now three weeks into the legislative session, which has already been full of drama from the political scandal involving the governor to heated debates about domestic partnerships, ethics reform, and of course, the state budget. We today have Lieutenant Governor Diane Dennis joining us, so thank you, Madam Lieutenant Governor, for being here. Thank you for inviting me. It's nice to be back. In your official capacity as Lieutenant Governor, of course, you preside over the state Senate. And yesterday, Thursday of this week, there was quite some important votes about the budget in terms of budget cuts to deal with the deficit that the state faces in the current fiscal year. I'm curious. Do you support the approach that the legislature is taking so far in terms of trying to get that deficit under control? Well, the cuts that were approved yesterday were capital outlay cuts, House Bill 9, which tried to go back and get unused capital outlay.

Those bills are part of a larger package, which include the agency cuts. The pain is shared by communities, by different agencies. Agencies have taken everything from about a 1.5% cut, I think, to about a 5% cut across the board. So they've worked very hard in a very bipartisan way to put these bills together. Would I have done it differently or seen it differently, maybe in a couple of areas? Education's taking a little bit of a beating. That was one of the 5%. That's right. One of the higher percentages of cuts, however, superintendents across New Mexico have assured the executive that they can find the savings within the school districts. So we have to trust that what they're saying is true and that they will find those cuts. You have a background in business and small business and your campaigns, you have reminded voters about that.

I'm curious, how do you think the state got into this position where we have a half a billion dollar deficit in the current fiscal year? And who knows? It could be more than that for the coming fiscal year. Was there overspending what happened? I don't think so, David. I think with the unanticipated national economic crisis, the dramatic drop in the price of oil and gas, took everybody by surprise. The things that had happened in the fall of 2008 had a trickle down effect or a domino effect that have now affected New Mexico. We are in better shape than most states and while we talk about a deficit, it's really a shortfall and the steps that the legislature and the executive taken this week are going to deal with that shortfall because we are required by our Constitution to have a balanced budget. I do want to say that we're expecting mid-session revenue projections which we don't expect to be any better. In fact, we do expect them to be somewhat worse. So we are going to have to continue to, this is a work in progress in the 2010 budget may

in fact require even more cuts. Given the budget issues, one of the flash points in yesterday's debate and you were there, you were presiding over the state senate, had to do with the sequestrian facility proposed for Albuquerque, it would be a new project, originally I think $20 million and then it got whittled back to $10 million, but still it's there, I believe the governor strongly supports this. Do you think that's a priority, should that be funded in this year's budget? Well, I don't want to second guess the governor, the legislature which seemed to have a majority of votes in both the House and Senate on the sequestrian, but I am disappointed that some of the money was taken out of preschool classrooms, some money was taken out of domestic violence shelters in that amendment that was put in yesterday, there were some opportunities to put a little money back in there. Do we need an equestrian center right now?

I'm not sure that's the best use of the taxpayer's money. Fair enough, one thing we talked about in terms of budget issues before we started was this federal stimulus package that is moving its way through the Congress, it sounded like you're optimistic that maybe some of those projects could help soften the blow in terms of these budget cuts that the state is having to make right now, is that accurate, is that how you feel? That's accurate to say, New Mexico has potential to get $1.5 billion or maybe a little bit more, there's money for roads, there's money for school modernization, there's money for water infrastructure projects, there's money that will provide for economic stabilization, but every year we get requests from every school district for modernization. Perhaps now those priorities will be met with this federal stimulus money, there are roads that are unfinished in New Mexico, some that are not safe, some of the grip projects are incomplete, the infrastructure money will take care of some of that, and water projects, the number one request for cap-out like every year will have an opportunity for

some of those water treatment systems and water conservation systems to be completed. And I think that's a very good thing, we just have to remember it is a recovery and stimulus plan and we have to put the pieces into place so that in two years when that money is gone, that we are back on an upward trajectory and that we can continue to move forward in the future. Now as I listen to you describe this, I can't help but think and we mentioned this at the top of the show in terms of your topsy, turvy year, you expected to be making these decisions at this point in time or right about now, you must have been disappointed, how disappointed were you when you found out that the governor was withdrawing his nomination and he was going to stay as governor and you would not be transitioning into the governor's office? Well clearly we had an expectation even though I want to say I admit with the governor every week since the official announcement and he had warned me that there might be a problem with a delay in his confirmation so I wasn't completely surprised when he

called me on that Sunday morning to tell me that he was going to withdraw his name and he didn't want to be a distraction. I would be kidding you if I said we weren't somewhat disappointed but I have a job to do as lieutenant governor, we got back into that, we have aggressive legislative package that we're working on with some consumer issues, fighting hard for pre-K, for home visiting, for child care assistance, so we have plenty of work to do as lieutenant governor and we're back at it. Maybe one last question on this topic, what was your immediate reaction when the governor did call you? Well I was in Washington DC, I'd gone to see the new Congress get sworn in so I was there on a Sunday and I was in a shopping facility and so I sat down, got my breath, spoke with the governor briefly about my disappointment and his too, he was very disappointed that he had to withdraw his name. I think he would have been a great commerce secretary and I think I'll be a good governor so we were both, we shared our disappointment I think in the events, the turn of events. We'll talk a little more about the future here in a moment but I wanted to ask you, you

know, while this federal investigation has been going on, looking into the governor's office and this company CDR financial, New Mexico has gotten some bad press and I want to mention maybe you saw, there was a Wall Street Journal story that called New Mexico the Wild West in terms of our political culture and it said, New Mexico is quote, unusual and lightly regulated political culture, you know, is kind of running rampant here, what was your reaction to a story like that, does that put New Mexico in a bad light as far as you're concerned? Well, I think that we are the Wild West and we've been regulation avoiding for a long time when it comes to federal contributions to campaigns. That's why you'll see me and some others champion, new ethics laws, minor simple and to the point, more frequent reporting, one of our weaknesses is we have these long drawn out periods where we don't have to report. Annual reporting? Right. That's what they do at the federal level.

And you already do that. I already do that. I've been doing that for two years. I think that if people want to look those things up, in fact, I'd like to go to more frequent reporting but I don't know that the system is set up for it, yeah, but I'd be in favor of monthly reporting, technology allows us to do it. Let's put up a database that's searchable about who does business with the state, contracts, online, and let's make it easier for you and for the public to get information more quickly from the state, information request should be answered more quickly if we can do that. I want to ask you about the contracts. Is she not necessarily about your legislation you're supporting? But earlier this week, there was a new story by Trip Jennings in the New Mexico independent about one particular auditing firm, Miners and Company, and the principal of the company Bruce Malat, he was the campaign treasurer of Governor Richardson back in 2002, prior to 2002, the story of the New Mexico independent showed that the amount of money this company received in state contracts was very small, $20,000, I think it maxed out at $70,000, but

since 2003, the money was steadily going big, really high, from $100,000 to $400,000, $2,000, $2,000,000, I think $2.3 million fiscal 2008. Does a story like that say something about how our system works, how if you get to be good friends with someone who's powerful, you might get rich because of it? You know I really can't speak to that, I don't know what the governor's relationship is with Miners and Company or with Malat, and so I can't really speak to that why their firm was selected for so many audits. So I don't think, I think if they RFP'd and they were the best price firm, that's how most of our contracts are allowed, CDR is under investigation because there was no RFP. I think a contracting process that is open and transparent and fair and gives everyone the opportunity to bid is what New Mexico needs and we need that information on an online searchable database on a regular basis.

But even if it's perfectly legal, don't you think that people out there watching, when they hear about a company that goes from kind of nowhere to multi-million dollar business with government, don't you think to them it may just look bad, there's at very least the problem of perception that needs to be addressed? If there's any, there may be a perception of too much business with one company, but I know the state has hundreds of contractors, this contractor happens to be in the limelight right now, but it would have to be done where we're comparing apples to apples, oranges to oranges and see how many other accounting firms do we have, what are their contracts with the state, I don't know if Tripp Jennings explored those issues, but I think in fairness to miners and company, we ought to make sure that we're comparing apples to apples and see if they're competing fairly and openly. And maybe last question on this subject, you obviously think highly of this company. And I think they do the campaign books for your campaign committee, right? And we pay them, what we think is a fair price.

They also have people within the firm who understand reporting laws and federal election laws, which is very important to people in the political arena, have somebody that understands the statutes, both at the federal level, who we can give money to and who can give money to us, and we pay a fair price for their, there's no, they don't do it for us for nothing, so we work very closely with people within the firm. Maybe taking one step back, this term pay to play has been all over the place since these investigations started. And I'm curious, do you think among the public there's a little, maybe naivete, that if you have politicians who, to be successful, they have to raise lots of money, and who's going to kick in money, but people who may have a little bit of an agenda, I mean most people don't part with their money for unless there's a good reason, what would you say to people out there who look at our system the way it is and how successful politicians have to operate, but when they think it's just a kind of messed up system, what do you

say? Well I think that first of all there's a demand on to have more transparency, more limits on contributions, which I think is absolutely necessary. At the federal level we have limits, we need to have limits in New Mexico, and I know there's a number of bills going through the legislature. I'd like to see those limits recognize what you mentioned, which is the cost of running campaigns. The cost of buying a 30 second television ad is astronomical, and to get your name known and what you stand for known electronically, we all spend 65 to 70% of our money on the electronic media, radio or television. So limits that also allow you to run a decent campaign, public financing of campaigns has worked in other states. We haven't quite figured that out here, but I think we're going to in the next two to four years. And you favor the bill before the legislature now that would bring about campaign, public campaign financing to statewide campaigns?

I haven't seen the bill that's circulating now. I want a bill that encourages public financing and is not a burden on the taxpayer. But you're not saying that you support the bill. I haven't seen the bill, so I haven't seen the details of the current bill. One of the bill that's come up on the ethics reform issue that I know you have spent some time thinking about, and you have proposals that you're pushing, and you mentioned a few of them a second ago, one that has come up is this ethics commission, an independent body that could investigate, that could also educate, could answer questions if an elected official says, you know, I'm not sure, can I do this, can I do that? But one of the issues that has come up is that this proposed ethics commission, as of right now as I understand it, does not have subpoena power. It would actually have to ask the attorney general to file a subpoena. And some people say, you know, well, what happens when it's the attorney general who's being investigated, is he have to kind of ask himself, would you favor an independent ethics commission that did have subpoena power? Not initially. And the reason I say that is I think we need the ethics commission, and we need to get it going and see how it works.

And then I want to see how it would work, and if they could make the case that they needed subpoena power, we should give it to them. But I think we have to take this one step at a time. I was disappointed two years ago when the ethics commission wasn't passed, and no funding was put forward. I think independence is the key to an ethics commission, can't be appointed by the legislature or the governor. I'm not sure how the bill reads right now, but I think that putting political appointees on there would not be the transparency that we would want. But if you say the ethics commission should be independent, if it has to actually ask permission from the attorney general to, you know, subpoena witness or testimony, that doesn't sound like that's independent. Well, I think that the attorney general takes a note to abide by the law. If he's given evidence by an ethics commission that there's reason to use subpoena powers, I think an ethics commission can work through that system. I think people take oaths of office and they should abide by them. I certainly would say that if they were presented with the evidence and they could use their

subpoena power for an ethics commission, we should see if that would work. If it wouldn't, we need to change the law. But many times we have to work these things one step at a time. I want to really push for the ethics commission and make sure that we get that and not complicate it too much so that it's an excuse for voting against it. About the politics, we only have a few minutes remaining. You've made no secret about the fact that you do want to run for governor in 2010. I think most people acknowledge you'd be, if not the front runner, certainly a contender in that office. What do you make of this news that this particular movie star, I think his name is Val Kilmer, might run as well? He's certainly talking a big game. Is he a serious candidate in your eyes? You know, I think it's a little early to speculate on that. We have about a year and about a year and a half until a primary. I think it's a little early to speculate on whether he's a serious candidate or not.

Certainly, there'll be a lot of people who may consider running for governor in both parties. What I know is that I'm running and I'm going to be a candidate in 2010. I was ready to be governor when the transition was happening. It's part of my job to step into the role of governor. I think I'll be, and I'm ready to take on a campaign and to put my record up against those people that think they want to be governor. I'm happy to do that. But, you know, being ready to leave for the last six years working hard with a governor that's helped us make great progress in this state, I'm ready to go. I understand that Mr. Kilmer actually served on your transition committee and maybe even helped out with some water issues, is that correct? He served on the economic stability transition team, which was about everything from pay equity to higher wages. He attended one team meeting, and I think it was an educational experience for him. Going forward, what are you going to priorities going to be here with the remainder of this

session? Obviously, maybe with one eye toward 2010, but we mentioned ethics reform. Are there other priorities you have in this legislative session the remaining weeks? Well, right now, my priorities helping us get through this economically very fragile time for New Mexicans. Keep New Mexicans working, making sure they're getting, they have jobs. We're working on a package of consumer issues, closing the payday lending loophole, getting rid of the bad card title lenders, making sure that people have opportunities to buy homes and that mortgage lending is not done in a predatory way, but we still have access to VA and FHA loans, because people need to continue to build their wealth and build their assets in the most vulnerable communities. Anytime that's their car or their house, we want to keep people in their houses, keep them working. I'll be fighting hard for education and workforce development. We have to look beyond this economic crisis, beyond income and sea, beyond any office I might hold or any of these legislators might hold. We have to look out 10, 20 years to the workforce of the future, alternative energies, the film

industry, the health occupation industry that's growing like crazy. We're all getting older, we're going to need people to take care of us. So there's a lot of opportunities within this challenging time in New Mexico. In our minute or so remaining, I'm curious, you've been at this quite a long time. You ran for Lieutenant Governor a couple of times and came up short and then of course the third time was the charm with Governor Richardson in 2002. What is it about this that you enjoy that you like? It's not all great obviously, but there's something about it that keeps you plugging away. Well, you know, I've lived in three communities in New Mexico for periods of time, Hobbes, Albuquerque, Farmington. I own a small home in Hillsboro, New Mexico. I love the fabric of this state and the people who make up that fabric and it's really those people that give me the energy to continue to fight for families, to fight for them, to have jobs, health care, educational opportunities. I've visited the tiniest communities and it's been a lot of time in Albuquerque and San

Faye and everybody has something to offer. Of all our 103 municipalities around this state, they all have something to contribute to the painting of New Mexico and I just really enjoy that part and you know, the best ideas that we get in policy come from those people out there in those communities. They have little ideas about what might work better and they've helped us do some of the things that we needed to do. I mean, back in squeeze in one last question, you said in a statement when the governor announced that he would not be taken the Commerce Secretary position that he was postponing his trip to Washington, he said something similar, I think even the president said something like that. He expects him to join the administration at some point. Do you still have that same expectation that he might leave or will leave before 2010? Well, we know he won't be the Commerce Secretary. I think once the investigation is resolved and I think the governor expects it to be resolved favorably, if an opportunity came along, I think the governor would like to take that opportunity. But I won't speak for him.

I'm planning on being a lieutenant governor through 2010 and running for governor in the election year of 2010. Well, hopefully we'll get a chance to chat with you at least once, maybe more between now and then. Well, I hope so. Our times run out this time, but thanks so much for swinging by. I appreciate the opportunity to be here, David. Over the last several months, we have been following another piece of legislation, one that has to do with the national level and the digital TV transition, whether or not it should or should not be delayed. Here with an update is Gene.