Senator in hiding should resign
Once in a while, between all the spin and the breathless solicitations for money, old-fashioned humanity still finds its way into politics.
State Rep. Susan Herrera showed it by texting a colleague who’s in immense pain. She told state Sen. Richard Martinez his troubled time would pass. Martinez, D-Española, is charged with aggravated drunken driving and reckless driving. Many people are encouraging Herrera, D-Embudo, to run against Martinez if he seeks a sixth term next year.
Just as many want Martinez to resign from office. That would be the honorable course for him.
He can and should set aside self-importance so the people he represents are not stuck with a senator who’s in hiding while his criminal case trudges through state District Court.
Herrera, just back from a family reunion, said she will spend the summer working on interim committees of the Legislature and considering whether to run for the Senate. “There’s time for me to decide,” she said.
Herrera doesn’t speak ill of Martinez. It’s not her way. “Richard has a pretty good Democratic voting record,” she said.
His Senate District 5 is bright blue, and he no doubt would use Herrera’s quote as evidence of why he should remain in office.
But the reasons for his ouster outweigh any
votes he’s cast.
Fifteen years ago, Martinez and every other politician in New Mexico with a safe district could have survived an arrest and conviction for drunken driving. Some did.
Now the state’s residents are more enlightened. They have less tolerance for a lawmaker who talks a good game about getting drunks off the roads, then is arrested for the very crime he’s railed against.
It’s been nearly a month since Martinez crashed his 2010 Mercedes SUV into the back of a Jeep. He’s been lying low since.
He didn’t respond to Herrera’s text message. There was no reason to believe he would. A fellow Democrat who might turn into a political opponent is as dangerous as the case against him.
Martinez refused to take a breath-alcohol test after the wreck he caused. Then he embarrassed himself by claiming his arrest wasn’t justified. His bumbling, glassy-eyed performance on sobriety tests is on the internet for all to see.
Martinez hasn’t returned my calls about the charges against him or legislative business. He did not attend a hearing this month of a legislative panel he co-chairs — the Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee.
That’s right. Defendant Martinez is supposed to lead the way on matters of crime and punishment. He also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee when the Legislature is in session.
Each year, I watch many inept and selfinterested people take seats in the Legislature. New Mexico’s archaic system of providing no base pay to state lawmakers restricts who can serve.
Retirees and public employees have an obvious advantage. They have time, or they can get time off, for legislative sessions.
A segment of private employees, notably attorneys and Realtors, also can arrange their schedules around legislative business. In some instances, their work in politics can help their business.
Martinez, 66, was a Magistrate Court judge for 14 years. This is his 19th year in the Senate. That’s a long run in government. Too long in his case. He is damaged beyond repair, though he would never admit it.
The state can do better than Martinez. Even with a system that makes it impossible for so many to run, New Mexico has a deep enough bench to force a change. It won’t be easy. Martinez’s Senate colleagues won’t move against him. The leadership of the state Democratic Party is anemic, and Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce is worse than that. Pearce ducked when thenRepublican Rep. Monica Youngblood was arrested and convicted for drunken driving, but he’s happy to talk about Martinez.
Martinez could do the state one last service by resigning. That’s like asking a king to cede the throne. Voters will have to show him a Senate seat is not an entitlement.