Bill Richardsons effectiveness? (Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Belen: crime, credit, employment)

[Joey Saint]

I am curious what NM residents think of Gov. Bill Richardsons effectiveness in regard to the following issues. I am not a resident but do own land and hope to live there in a few years. So please excuse what may be mistaken perceptions as to the priority of issues in your beautiful state. 1) Jobs 2) Education 3) Growth/Management 4) Water/Management 5) Crime. I hear a great deal of interest in living in NM and I'm curious if state government is planning for what looks like strong (at least) population growth. As an example visiting in Oct. of this year I was struck by the expansion in Las Cruces. Please try to stay non-political (if possible). What do you folks see as the priorities?

[mortimer]

Joey Saint wants to know about Bill Richardsons effectiveness:

> ... not a resident but do own land and hope to live there ....

If everyone comes back and says he's wonderful - the best - etc. Please note that he wants to go to Washington - hopefully as President. There is a good chance that he will be picked as a VP candidate by whoever wins the Democratic nomination. If not, he'll still "do diplomacy" for a nice office in D.C.

My overall take is that he has done a great job in spending an oil and gas windfall and maxing out the State budget with it.

1) Jobs - NM doesn't have much say in this since the biggest employers drive their decisions from elsewhere (Intel, Sandia). There are a lot of start-ups here, but my guess is that they are here because they are started by longtime NM residents who wouldn't want to live anywhere else. They are not started because this is such a great place to incubate a business.

3) Growth/Management - there are some great plans for road improvements on the books. No money for it though. We ran out.

5) Crime.

As for drunk driving, they are great at attacking small booze vendors who sell alcohol to people who have been arrested many times before and then let go by the courts.

[dracul]

"...employers drive their decisions from elsewhere..."

Do you mean: employers derive their decisions from elsewhere?

This response certainly seems to have some political undertones, perhaps something a bit less polemic would be useful to us NM neophytes.

As for crime, is this primarily focused in the Alb/Belen/central region, for the most part, or is crime generally on an upswing state-wide???

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by dracul

"...employers drive their decisions from elsewhere..."

Do you mean: employers derive their decisions from elsewhere?

This response certainly seems to have some political undertones, perhaps something a bit less polemic would be useful to us NM neophytes.

As for crime, is this primarily focused in the Alb/Belen/central region, for the most part, or is crime generally on an upswing state-wide???

Allow me to offer some input - hoping, at the same time, that I'm on the right track.
Many states offer companies tax-breaks or breaks of one sort or another to place their "satellite" in their state. This has been really wide-spread with computer and internet companies such as AOL, Yahoo, etc. It also brings a more stable type of employment to the intermountain-west, of which NM is a player. It has had impact thru Oklahoma and Texas areas as well. These states could not draw the previous "manufacturing - based" economic players due to a lack of water and lack of truly large potential workforces. This has allowed towns like, for instance, Evanston Wyoming - which had no real job-base except for Walmart - to have a computer-tech-support company thrive in town with better-paying jobs for 50-100 employees. A good thing.
So, companies can move operations into smaller areas now that we are no longer a manufacturing-oriented country. I believe this is what the poster is referring to - so that a company moves a "techy" operation in - but the decisions are still made at a higher corporate level based in a larger city.
Sorry if I missed the point.

[mortimer]

dracul pedantically asked:

> "...employers drive their decisions from elsewhere..."

> Do you mean: employers derive their decisions from elsewhere?

Either one works for me.

> This response certainly seems to have some political undertones ...

We *are* discussing the governor - a politician.

> As for crime, is this primarily focused in the ....

Yes, the whole state. The governor might involve himself in the affairs of a specific town, but it would be hard for them to take much credit for improvement or be blamed for much degredation in any local.

[dracul]

There is a distinction between drive and derive Mort. Drive: suggests to urge on; to keep in motion; to compel, etc. Derive: is to obtain or draw from a source; to trace the etymology or descent or origin. Quite distinct properties...not a pedantic exercise in the least. Your response is nebulous at best.

If you will recall, Mort, Joey Saint was requesting a more objective, rather than invective and subjective, response than yours.

RockyMtnr, your response is what I was trying to pin down...thanks. Based on your erudite observations Mort's term: "drive" is indeed the more accurate nomenclature describing the process.

[mortimer]

dracul pointed out:

> There is a distinction between drive and derive Mort.

I didn't say there wasn't. I said they both work for me. Drive popped into my head, but derive could just have easily - depending on what part of my brain the cosmic rays were effecting.

[funkymonkey]

Richardson has been the most effective at economic development than any governor I can remember. He's also been pretty effective in general at getting things done--whether you agree with what he's getting done is another matter.

I'd also say that 1) jobs and 3) growth/management kind of go together to an extent.

[6 FOOT 3]

Yeah i'd give Richardson a C+ as he's done some good things and other things not so good. When he first was elected GOV about 6 years back he came in charging ahead and got alot accomplished. He lowered the top tax rate from 8.9 % to 4.9% as even Larry Kudlow (CNBC) a staunch Reagan Conservative loves Richardson for this. I approved his GRIP to remodel the freeways and interstates (2.7 billion) also he's pumped money into the public schools as he's built new high schools and raised teachers saleries and unemployment right now is 2.8 % in NM.

On the bad he's pushed thru this train (Railrunner) from Belen to Santa Fe (90 miles) at several hundred riders a day and thats left a 500 million hole in NMDOT and yesterday an article in the ABQ Journal DOT announced 29 hyway projects have been canceled. He's also put forth a plan to ensure all New Mexican's and while thats laudible it will put 80% of the burden on Businesses and they are not happy from what i'm hearing.

Also him running for Prez has taken him away from this state alot as LT.GOV Denish is running it and he seems out of touch with some of the problematic issues we face.

Anyway thats my non political take on him.

[dracul]

Interesting. The man seems to be quite distracted, at present, pursuing his doomed bid for the White House. As gov'ners go, he's a tad above average then...all told. About where Colorado's chief executive, Ritter, stands currently. His precursor, Owens, was a pathetic Bush bootlicker who rubber stamped every marching order from on high. It's still too early to see whether Ritter will take his medicine from the democratic demagogues in like fashion. In Colorado the polemic political pendulum swings wildly from from one clueless extreme to the other at regular intervals. So tiresome. At this point, being utterly disgusted with both vile parties, my wife and I have developed a fondness for Lou Dobbs and embrace the concept of independent populism.

...And as for cosmic rays and brain function, Mortimer, I'm more fearful of those dreaded and pesky gamma rays...always turning me green at the most inopportune times