A day in the life of Bill Richardson

Journalists are, I suppose, part nosey, part curious, part political groupie, and part, according to the estimation of most people I know, pain in the butt.

Something in that recipe was the magnet that drew me to Ruidoso Village Hall last week to watch Gov. Bill Richardson’s Traveling Democracy Show. It was a pip.

What brought The Bill to Lincoln County was uproar over Mary-Dale Bolson’s earlier decision to close Camp Sierra Blanca, a juvenile detention center near Ruidoso. Bolson is the secretary of the Children, Youth and Family Department.

Lincoln County went nuts. Its media and community leaders, perhaps most effectively, District Judge Karen Parsons, whipped up a frenzy of protest that got Santa Fe’s attention. The governor was in a bind. Here was a united county with the facts clearly on its side — the Camp Sierra Blanca program really does work — and here was his cabinet secretary who had already announced its closure.

Power to the people. Richardson said the camp stays open, and in making that announcement, called Mary-Dale Bolson “one of the crown jewels in my cabinet.” Win-win for everyone. People around New Mexico can learn from the united front presented by the mountain folks.

It was a chance for me to rub shoulders with one of my column subjects, Billy Sparks, the governor’s press guy. I had written months ago that Billy Sparks would not return my telephone calls because he was too busy talking with Wolf Blitzer. Billy had subsequently called to assure me I was very important on his list of columnists.

I had heard Billy sports a ponytail. Noting a person of that description in the governor’s entourage, I took a chance. “Hi, Billy,” I said, “I’m Ned Cantwell.”

“Nice to see you again,” said Billy, who had never seen me in is life, his eyes searching the crowd in hopes that Tom Brokaw was there taking notes.

From a side hallway, an observer could look directly through a door to the head table. From that vantage point I had an excellent view of the governor’s rather considerable profile.

The Bill was chomping on what appeared to be a Snickers Bar, like Popeye and his spinach, powering up for his next rescue mission in some distant New Mexico city.

What occurred, standing there watching Bill chew, is this guy has a massive countenance. If his political star ascends in the manner many believe, Bill might one day be carved on some Mount Rushmore-type edifice. They are going to have to chisel and chisel and chisel.

Bill’s ascendancy was put on hold when John Kerry’s vice presidential nod went to John Edwards. Our governor may not have had the vocabulary for the job, anyway.

When VP Dick Cheney, who represents the very moral, Christian administration, was berated by Sen. Patrick Leahy, he told him to “go F yourself.”

Likable John Edwards would no doubt respond to such situation with a “ah, shucks, come on, that isn’t nice,”

Had he nailed the vice president’s job, we suspect that Bill Richardson would have followed the example of former state rep Jack Skinner who was once pounded for five minutes by an unhappy constituent who promised never, ever to vote for him again. Skinner pondered that a moment, then said, “I am going to go ahead and put you in the undecided column.”

Ned Cantwell of Ruidoso is a retired newspaper publisher and member of the New Mexico Press Association Hall of Fame. E-mail him at:

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