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| Lunch at the Mansion |
Look at that photo courtesy of the Alligators. It appears that only one lawmaker bothered to accept MLG's invitation to lunch at the Guv's Mansion Monday as she desperately tried to hammer out an agreement to avoid a complete breakdown of the special session set to begin Thursday.
The sole lawmaker hungry enough to lunch with her was outgoing Dem Senator Daniel-Ivey Soto. He looks lonelier (but happier) than he did on Primary Election Night when progressive groups banded together to take him out of his ABQ NE Heights legislative seat which he keeps until the end of the year.
Ivey-Soto is a legendary deal-maker in Santa Fe but you have to have someone to make a deal with and right now literally no one is coming to the Governor's table.
Word is she invited to lunch members of the judiciary committees of the House and Senate which is why so many chairs are set up but lawmakers bowed out.
So what of the pressing question: What happened to all the leftovers? Well, we imagine the "First Manny" will be enjoying his lunch breaks for the next couple of days.
PRETTY BAD
How bad is it? Even mild-mannered and accommodating Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth is lost to MLG, saying at a Monday news conference:
Special Sessions only work when the bills are cooked. We thought we had an agreement with the governor when she first indicated she wanted to call a special [session], that she wouldn’t proceed unless there was consensus. The governor went ahead and. . . called this session, before we had even started working on these bills; that’s certainly her prerogative. We have worked hard to try and find bipartisan consensus on the bills that were proposed. As the speaker said, we’re just not there.
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| Sen. Wirth |
She had already lost House Speaker Javier Martinez who again appeared livid Monday that lawmakers were being called back when there is no agreement on the five anti-crime measures MLG is putting on the session's agenda,
That news conference by Wirth and Martinez left the clear impression that legislators could be gaveled into session Thursday for only a few minutes and then immediately adjourn. But the Governor's office showed no outward sign of worry or of cancelling the session, declaring that plans are going "full steam ahead."
Are those plans like MLG conducting a steam-powered locomotive and heading for a train wreck with legislators?
That a PAC supporting the Guv has put up radio ads urging the public to call legislators and pressure them to support MLG's special session agenda, doesn't seem to be helping.
At the news conference Speaker Martinez seemed to indicate the two sides may be going to the mattresses. He pointedly said the lawmakers were ready to get to work if they had a a workable agenda. That sounded as if incoming fire against the lawmakers would be launched by MLG if they did not bend to her ways.
BLASTING THE HOMELESS
MLG held a news conference at a downtown ABQ homeless camp and blasted the legislature for not embracing her bill that would strengthen mental competency laws and make it easier for judges to hold certain offenders in confinement. But the optics were a mixed bag.
The homeless camp did not look nefarious and the Governor may have appeared tone deaf to their plight as she railed against them in support of her bill:
If these individuals will not seek care and break the law and come right back to the streets, there is nothing we can do to interrupt this chaos.
But the event missed the mark with the Democratic base and may actually have strengthened the hand of the progressives who have called on her to cancel the session.
She may think a tough line will rally Republicans and moderate Dems but they and she don't have the votes. A compromise is still the only way out. That Mayor Keller was there to egg her on only exposed the ineffectiveness of the city in fighting crime--not the state.
For Republicans this is a rare time to enjoy the Roundhouse. They are proposing all manner of crime bills that have no chance but at least they can show they are doing something. That's clearly not the case for the chief executive and the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.
Then there's that other crisis. The Rio Chama bar and restaurant, across from the Roundhouse and a favorite hangout of legislators and lobbyists, has let its liquor license expire.
No free lunches at the Mansion or premium booze nearby? How long can they last up there?
FULL COMMENTS
Here is the full statement of the Democratic legislative leadership on the special session:
House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque), House Majority Floor Leader Gail Chasey (D-Albuquerque),Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque), and Senate Majority Floor Leader Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe)issued the following statement:
“We share the Governor’s commitment to improving public safety and expanding access to behavioral healthcare and substance use treatment. However, we have repeatedly noted that our constitutional duty as a separate and co-equal branch of government is to fully consider the legislation that comes before us and the potential impact it may have on New Mexicans.
In a series of public committee meetings over the last few months, lawmakers brought together law enforcement, behavioral healthcare providers, disability rights groups, community leaders, and other subject matter experts to consider the legislation proposed by the Executive.
Unfortunately, after several weeks of these meetings, we still have deep and serious concerns that the legislation proposed for this special session would have unintended consequences on New Mexicans, especially for those most vulnerable, and their liberties.
Lawmakers, along with community leaders and advocates, have repeatedly raised their voices about the potential problematic impact of the proposed legislation.
While we think these policies are not ready for the special session, we can and will continue our work on these issues in the interim and in the upcoming 60-day legislative session that begins in January. ”
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2024