EDITORIAL: Our missing governor While we were saddened to hear that incumbent Gov. Susana Martinez had declined to appear at a gubernatorial debate at next month’s New Mexico Press Association convention, we weren’t surprised. We haven’t made up our minds to support Attorney General Gary King in his bid to replace Martinez — yet — but we were struck by the ring of truth in something he said Thursday to our reporter. King suggested that one reason Martinez might have for passing up the debate is that the questions won’t be available to her in advance. Obviously, we don’t know Martinez’s reasons for avoiding the state’s newspapers, since she isn’t giving any. But King’s suggestion reminded us of our experiences with Martinez the last time she was a candidate, four years ago. In 2010, Democratic candidate for governor and then- Lt. Gov. Diane Denish visited Grant County several times, and stopped into the Daily Press newsroom on two separate occasions to discuss the issues and her campaign with our editor and publisher. Both conversations were informal and wide- ranging, and they were very helpful in understanding her plans for the future of the state. Since we hadn’t yet decided who to endorse, and in the interest of fairness, we contacted the Martinez campaign to offer her the same opportunity. The response? If we would submit our questions in writing in advance, Martinez would consider meeting with us. As it turns out, that prescient glimpse of Martinez’s style was an insight into her attitude toward both the media and the people of this state after her election, and the pattern has been repeated again during her campaign for re- election. We believe that Martinez’s refusal to debate her Democratic opponent in front of the state’s newspapers reflects a lack of respect, not just for us as reporters and editors covering the debate, but for you, the citizens of Grant County, New Mexico. You deserve to know what your next governor really thinks about the issues facing all of us, and how that compares and contrasts with the views and reactions of his or her opponent. You deserve more than poll- tested answers to presubmitted questions, or slick, misleading and expensive television ads. Unfortunately, it would appear that Martinez has decided that those things are the keys to her re- election, not honest communication with the citizens. However, it’s not too late for Martinez to prove us wrong.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 04:38:12 +0000
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