Legislature 2004

By Shea Andersen
Tribune Reporter

SANTA FE - To his adoring fans, he's "Big Bill," the smiling, high-flying governor of New Mexico.

But when the doors are shut it can be a different story, some say.

That was the case Thursday, when Gov. Bill Richardson apparently teed off on lobbyists who were opposing his health care agenda in this 30-day session of the Legislature.

By several accounts, Richardson unleashed a harsh, profanity-laced tirade at lobbyists.

One witness is married to Sen. Tim Jennings, a Roswell Democrat. When Jennings heard about the matter, he blasted Richardson on the Senate floor.

"I am going to tell you that this governor, if he was in a family situation, he would be arrested for domestic violence," Jennings thundered. "If this body and this Legislature doesn't stand up on its feet and defend this institution, this governor will take us all straight to hell."

Patty Jennings, who works for the state running the High-Risk Insurance Pool, said she was in an unpleasant meeting Thursday morning, and said she's seen it before.

"We see it every day, people coming out of the governor's office, saying `My god,'" Patty Jennings said.

Richardson was out of town for much of Thursday. But his staff said the governor is known to be "firm" when he is passionate about an issue.

"He's direct in his language, and it contains a lot fewer profanities than many politicians who walk this earth," said Billy Sparks, Richardson's chief spokesman. "He's a master negotiator. They may not be used to that in this building."

Others said Richardson's harsh style behind closed doors isn't appropriate in the Roundhouse.

"He does much better with the North Koreans than he does here," said Sen. Joe Carraro, an Albuquerque West Side Republican who has met with Richardson several times.

"His thing is more Machiavellian," Carraro said. "His deal is, might makes right. That's not the way it should be."

At the heart of one of the rough meetings Thursday was an administration effort to raise revenues by creating a bed tax for nursing homes. The measure would raise as much as $22 million for a state facing a huge bill for Medicaid.

But when Richardson saw an ad, put out by the New Mexico Health Care Association, that criticized the measure, he called its representatives in for a meeting.

"We were treated very disrespectfully," said Jody Knox of the New Mexico Health Care Association.

Knox said Richardson called her and other health care lobbyists into his office and told them not to bother sitting down. Knox said he told them he was offended by their ad, and if they didn't "get on board" with the bill, he would seek retribution.

"Our buildings were targeted," Knox said.

Now, Richardson's administration has said it plans to audit nursing homes.

"Many of these facilities make huge profits and spend money on administration and ads," said Aging and Long-Term Services Secretary-Designate Michelle Lujan Grisham. "Now they're complaining about fees. We want to know where this money goes."

That has only fueled Patty Jennings' fire.

"Threats and intimidation do not work," Patty Jennings said in an interview. "That is wrong in a democracy. Maybe they do it that way in Washington, but not here."

Richardson's staff said it was disingenuous of Knox and other lobbyists to say they want to work with Richardson while airing ads opposing his efforts.

"Our staff is working with them to alleviate concerns about the surcharge," said Dave Contarino, Richardson's chief of staff. "They're working to kill the bill. The worst is to use senior-citizen scare tactics."

Knox said the television ads show a resident of a nursing home, with a voice-over asking the governor not to raise the cost of long-term care.

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