Richardson Defends Clinton, his Character and Roswell’s Little Green Men

By Emily Esterson, 11-01-07

Savvy campaign move? New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, in a move meant to differentiate himself from Barack Obama and John Edwards, actually came to Hilary Clinton’s aid after the debate in which the two candidates pummeled her as beholden to special interests. “It’s OK to get aggressive on the issues, but to make personal attacks on somebody’s attachments to lobbyists, that’s not the kind of positive tone I want to see,”Richardson told the Associated Press. Compassionate? Or well timed political maneuver? The candidate also launched a new ad campaign, depicting him as a straightforward, really nice guy, walking down a country road in a brown button down. “I’m sure not the best looking or the flashiest, but I know who I am,” Richardson tells the camera. Julie Bosman of the New York Times writes that the ad presents Richardson as sensitive, authentic and self-deprecating, a side that may hold particular appeal to female voters. Richardson’s defense of Hilary Clinton and criticism of negative campaigning came right at the same moment as his ad about being Mr. Nice Guy. Go figure.

Well, those who’ve worked in New Mexico state government or who’ve had contact with Richardson through the media know all too well that he’s not so nice sometimes. And now a blogger wants first hand Bill-the-bully stories (you can read the story, but you have to watch the commercial first). The Albuquerque Journal reports that the blog is scheduled to launch this Sunday (nmviewpoint.typepad.com) and gives those who feel they’ve been retaliated against by Richardson a chance to air their grievances online, anonymously if they want. The blog is spearheaded by Agnes Maldonado, former director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “What are we going to do with someone who is acting like a bully and has control over our state dollars?” Maldonado told the Journal. Maldonado and others say they were fired when they disagreed with the Governor, or committees appointed by him. In one case, they told the Journal, Richardson vetoed of the budget for rent, phones and postage for the state Retiree Health Care Authority after its then-director, Milton Sanchez, resisted the governor’s efforts to wrap it into a larger agency. Richardson spokesman Gil Gallegos told the newspaper, “The governor makes no apologies for holding employees and appointees accountable for their performance.”

As Governor of New Mexico, Richardson has been good to teachers. Their pay has increased significantly over the years he’s been governor, and he understands just what a debacle No Child Left Behind has been in a number of ways. As part of his $60 billion education program, Richardson says he wants minimum pay of $40,000 a year, universal pre-K, physical education and art programs, among other things.

And, since he’s such an expert, Richardson felt the need to weigh in on Dennis Kucinich’s close encounter of the third kind. Kucinich says he saw a UFO. He even joked about moving his campaign headquarters to Roswell (or was he joking?) Richardson, never one to miss an opportunity to tout tourism in New Mexico (remember the Times Square billboard?) said the government should come clean about what happened in Roswell.