Insiders way up North come through with some news that sheds light on who will succeed Manny Aragon in the all-important job State Senate Majority Leader. They tell me that during the recent primary election campaign Big Bill was introducing Sen. Phil Griego as ”the next majority leader."

"I heard it right and I am surprised that no one picked up on it," reported one Northern source.

If so, that would be yet another break with tradition by Big Bill, who also turned precedent on its head when he went public and endorsed a slate of legislative candidates in the recent primary. Griego has not confirmed that he is Bill's boy, but he did tell Steve Terrell of the New Mexican that he could "work well" with the administration.

That's pretty close to conceding that he is the Guv's pick, and raises the question whether his fellow senators will take kindly to Big Bill playing on their independent turf.

"It's very heard to say," one wall-leaner at the Capitol explained. "It is really unheard of for a governor to get involved in the internal organizing of the state senate, but this governor has gone where none has before and, for the most, part gotten away with it. I think his previous success is encouraging him to move into the power vacuum left by Aragon going to Highlands (University)."

Past Guv’s rarely, if ever, got publicly involved in the Legislature’s leadership battles.

Another Santa Fe source put it this way: "Manny was Bill's point man in the Legislature. With him gone, he has no natural 'go-to' guy. To use a bad pun, Phil fits the Bill. He is savvy, has eight years in the Senate and also has experience in local government. Also, there are not that many senators who can do it."

GOODBYE MANNY, HELLO PHIL?

Another line of thought is that Big Bill will do all he can to stop Sen. Jennings from assuming power after Jennings' outburst against the Bill regime last session. There's also the ethnic angle. Both majority leader and Senate pro tem have been filled by Hispanics for many years. That may play a role in the final decision which is made by the majority Democrat state senators in their party caucus before the January session.

If Griego succeeds Aragon it will be a major political comeback for the 55 year old. He conquered a drinking problem that caused him two highly-publicized DWI arrests and survived a bitter primary contest in 2000 against New Mexico’s only openly gay legislator, Sen. Liz Stefancis. On the first score, Griego has received successful treatment. On the second, he is working with gay groups to sponsor legislation in the next session dealing with AIDS funding, a disease his brother died of in 1987.

Griego's local government experience is with the Santa Fe City Council. His Senate district sprawls through the north and includes Santa Fe and San Miguel counties. If Griego does take the majority leader job he will become one of the most important figures in the state. But to gain the full respect of his fellow senators, insiders speculate, he would have to show a degree of independence from BIg Bill. Unless, of course, he is looking for an appointment to a university presidency.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2004
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