Santa Fe New Mexican

New power for North, new liberal strength?
Bill Waters | The New Mexican

So besides Ben Luján of Nambé in charge of the House of Representatives, Northern New Mexico sees Carlos Cisneros of Questa as a top Senate leader when the 49th New Mexico Legislature convenes next month?

It could happen, as The New Mexican's Steve Terrell reported nearly a month ago: Sunday's Democratic caucus chose Cisneros, whose district runs from Taos, through Los Alamos, Río Arriba and Santa Fe counties, as the new Senate president pro tem, replacing Tim Jennings of Roswell.

That position, when it was held by Manny Aragón during the 1990s, was the Senate's most powerful. Today, the top job is that of majority leader — held by Michael Sánchez of Belén.

Still, the president pro tempore — who presides over the Senate in the absence of its vice president, the lieutenant governor — is a powerful force in the 42-member body. Its powers include appointing the panel that decides who serves on what committees.

If Cisneros is confirmed by a Senate majority, he could team with Luján to bring bigger shares of porkbarrel money to el norte. Or at least he could if there were any; with our state in recession and gas and oil revenues narrow to non-existent, it's hard to imagine any areas of our big state getting much largesse. Those revenues, in time, will return ...

Jennings, who drew Democratic wrath for his role in Republican Lee Rawson's losing campaign to keep representing Las Cruces, isn't going quietly: He'll try to get seven or more of the Senate's 27 Democrats, and all 15 of its Republicans, to fend off this palace coup.

That would be a successful case of bucking Sánchez and the Democrats. Would it also mean conservative control of the Senate, just when it seemed on the verge of becoming more liberal — sorry, uh, progressive?

That would be over the political corpse of Sánchez, brother of onetime House Speaker Raymond Sánchez. Surely the Senate boss, even as you read this, is reminding suspected turncoats not only that their party is primed to push educational, social, maybe even environmental reforms onto the statute-books, but also that that those standing with Jennings would go ignored.

Their only hope would be a Democratic-Republican coalition in charge of the Senate.

So, as Dirty Harry would say from his side of the .44 Magnum,"You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"

We doubt that Jennings will find enough fellow Dems, even in our state's conservative enclaves, who'll answer that in the affirmative.

Cisneros carries some pretty good conservationist credentials — especially when it comes to water in this dry state. He's made some good, if still-unsuccessful, efforts at domestic-well reform, and recognizes the ecological value, as well as the strong cultural role, of our state's acequia systems — so many of them in our region, and so many of them being salivated over by commercial water brokers.

What Cisneros isn't is accessible — and lest his new high rank make him think he can hide out from the press, the public and his constituents, he should consider that, as well as president pro tempore, he's a senator pro tempore, too.

Luján shares many values with Cisneros, some of whose district overlaps his; the two, while recognizing and helping meet the many challenges facing the entire state, can be expected to stand strong for el norte as it's besieged by mineral and land-development interests.

Our state's traditional rural communities don't always see eye to eye with environmental activists — but when it comes to water, they share conservationist concerns.

On many points, we'd guess, the two would be delighted to see Carlos Cisneros join Ben Luján in a legislative leadership role.