Santa Fe – The state Senate’s Democratic majority heads into the 2007 legislative session with the same leaders who have demonstrated willingness to buck the Democratic governor over the past couple of years.
Ben Altamirano of Silver City was nominated to continue as president pro tem and Michael Sanchez of Belen was chosen again as majority floor leader when Democrats caucused in Socorro.
The Saturday meeting also included an hour-long session with Gov. Bill Richardson that Sanchez described as “very pleasant.”
“He was just going over his (legislative) agenda, and we were there to listen and discuss issues,” Sanchez said.
Democrats re-elected Mary Jane Garcia of Dona Ana as majority whip and Lidio Rainaldi as caucus chairman.
There were no contests for any of the positions, according to Sanchez.
The full Senate must vote on the president pro tem when the Legislature convenes in January, but the majority party’s candidate typically wins.
Democrats outnumber Republicans 24-18.
Altamirano, the Senate’s longest- serving member – since 1971 – has held the top job for two years. Before that, he was the longtime chairman of the Finance Committee. Sanchez and Rainaldi also have held their leadership spots since 2004; Garcia has been whip since 1996.
Richardson publicly expressed his disappointment and chided the Senate for its independence after the 2006 session, when he lost several of his key proposals – among them a minimum wage hike, tax cuts, ethics measures, payday loan curbs and highway funding. Most of them made it through the House, where Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe, is a staunch ally, only to die in the Senate.
“We are going to continue to do what we think is best for the people of the state of New Mexico. That’s just the way we operate,” Sanchez said Monday.
The chairmanship of the influential Finance Committee is up for grabs because of the recent resignation from the Senate of Democrat Joseph Fidel of Grants. Altamirano said a new chairman would be selected soon.
A Senate panel, which is made up of Democratic and Republican leaders and other members named by the president pro tem, designates committee chairmen. The “committees’ committee” could meet next week, Altamirano said.
