Martinez needs to work with Dems

State columnist

link Tom McDonald

Susana Martinez had better figure out how to work with Democrats or she’s going to go down in state history as an ineffectual governor.

Sure, she can and does point to a number of accomplishments during her first term — balancing the state budget during tough times, creating a simplified grading system for the state’s schools, and more — but I don’t think any of them are systemic in nature. They’ll only have a temporary impact on New Mexico.

Contrast those issue with something more long-term, such as Bill Richardson’s aggressive push for the state funds to construct Spaceport America. Like it or not, his success in getting it built, and getting Virgin Galactic in as its No. 1 tenant, thrust New Mexico into the commercialized space industry, whether we like it or not. It had a lasting impact on the state.

And that was just Richardson’s first term. Love him or hate him, he was a governor of historic consequence.

As for Martinez, she’ll always be remembered as the nation’s first Latina governor, but I see little else during her time in office so far that’s of historic value. Her balanced-budget accomplishment is required by the state constitution, so that’s a hollow boast, while her education initiatives are being stymied by lawmakers and educators alike. It even took a second term just to get her education secretary confirmed in the Senate.

So is that the greatest accomplishment of the 2015 legislative session? That Hannah Skandera, after four tumultuous years on the job, finally got confirmed? Of course it’s not the biggest thing to come of the session, but judging by the failures of this session, you can’t help but wonder.

This session was so unproductive that even the $264 million capital outlay bill, one of the biggest pieces of legislation to come out of every session, couldn’t get passed.

According to all the accounts I read, the governor was visibly angry when she met with reporters immediately after the session adjourned. The Senate, she declared, is obstructing the process. Of course she’s right about that, but she’s wrong not to take any of the responsibility for such a dismal session.

She contributed, by not working with the other side of the political aisle.

Personally, I think Martinez has the same problem that President Obama has — an inability or an unwillingness to develop personal relationships with the opposition’s leadership. Of course I have no way of knowing this, since I’m nowhere close to the inner circle of either of these elected leaders, but what’s clear even from a distance is that neither of them seem capable of making deals that stick. For Obama, it’s those tea-party Republicans, and for Martinez, it’s the obstructionists in the New Mexico Senate.

Still, all’s not lost for Governor Susana. After all, she won re-election by a landslide last year, and brought with her a House majority, so she’s got considerable leverage — and three more years to exercise her options.

If she’ll just take that leverage into some good-faith negotiations with her loyal opposition, maybe she’ll become a governor of consequence after all.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at: [email protected]