By MILAN SIMONICH
The Santa Fe New Mexican
Legislators like to say every minute is critical. They don’t mean it.
The state House of Representatives devoted four of the last 36 hours of this year’s session to insider testimonials instead of legislation.
Representatives delivered a few dozen speeches praising four members who aren’t running for reelection. The House also honored two former members who resigned from office during this term.
It wasn’t all upbeat babbling. At least one case of hard feelings became public.
Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Los Lunas, complained about the rival party failing to properly honor former Rep. Alonzo Baldonado. Baldonado was best-known for questioning the religious implications of teaching yoga in physical education classes.
“All the members on the Democratic side got recognized for hours on end,” Fajardo complained.
Baldonado declined to be feted, Fajardo said. But Republican legislators are such a tenacious bunch they persuaded him to appear on a Zoom video so he could hear testimonials about what a statesman he’d been.
Fajardo said a number of scheduled internet appearances for Baldonado, R-Los Lunas, were called off. The last of the cancellations came at 1 a.m.
“It hurts me that someone who served this body for 11 years gets squeezed out,” Fajardo said.
There was no regret about public policy matters that weren’t considered because of all the farewell addresses.
House members could have honored everyone they liked, for as long as they wanted, after the legislative session ended at noon Thursday. Doing so would have required them to use their personal time.
That would have reduced the speeches. Many lawmakers bolt as soon as the session ends.
Far more time would have been wasted if House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, hadn’t waited until the last three minutes of the session to announce he will not seek reelection.
Egolf enjoyed a rapid rise to power. He was elected to the House in 2008 and became chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in January 2011. Then-House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, ousted a chairman he regarded as disloyal. Egolf was elevated in the shakeup.
Republican members considered Egolf cocky, bristling at his style in those early years. Six Republicans once marched out of a committee hearing Egolf was chairing, accusing him of picking on the oil industry.
Egolf had a tart reply.
“They’re putting on a little show for you,” he said.
Republicans won control of the state House in the 2014 election. It marked the first time since 1953-54 that Republicans held the majority. Many Democrats blamed outgoing Speaker Kenny Martinez, D-Grants, for botching election campaigns.
With Martinez more unpopular than ever, Egolf made a smart move by running for House minority leader. He said he would hold the job for two years only. If Democrats didn’t regain control of the House, he promised to vacate his leadership position.
Democrats took back the chamber in 2016. Egolf at once became the logical choice for speaker of the House. Colleagues elected him to the job when he was only 40 years old.
Democrats now control the House 45-24. There also is one independent member. Even with a healthy majority, Egolf lived in a pressure cooker. Republicans bellyached about him, and some older Democrats resented his ascension.
Egolf’s departure will lead to a scramble for the speaker’s job. As always in New Mexico, Democrats will be favored to maintain control of the House in the November election.
If they do, plainspoken Rep. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque, could be a contender.
Rep. Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, outpointed Thomson last year for the job of majority leader. But the state House has never had a female speaker. Egolf’s decision to step aside might create momentum for a historic change in leadership.
Long-winded Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, also would likely run for speaker. He couldn’t defeat either Thomson or Javier Martínez.
Sen. Bill Sharer is perhaps the one legislator who talks more than Garcia while saying even less.
Sharer, R-Farmington, filibustered during the last two hours of the session to kill House Bill 144 on election laws. He combined redundancy and bad history with bizarre statements.
Sharer made it seem like Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders were all from New Mexico. Roosevelt combed the Southwest, athletic fields and the Ivy League for recruits.
Sharer provided other simplistic overviews of the Bataan Death March and World War II in the Pacific.
He veered to strange analogies such as this one: “That’s how our government is supposed to work — like baseball.”
Sharer advocated patience from the press and public for risk-taking lawmakers: “They should be proud of us for throwing out weird ideas.”
The session deadline lapsed, and Sharer walked out a winner. Testimonials and awful oratory can sink a lot of legislation.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505.986.3080.
