Constituents expect their legislators to vote
Heath Haussamen
I’m betting that most other voters are like me: When they vote for a candidate for state representative, they expect that person to be present for important votes when possible.
Of course, a 30- or 60-day session of the New Mexico Legislature is a long time to be in the Roundhouse and away from home. Our lawmakers arrive at work early, stay late, and often come in on the weekends. And they’re not paid to do it.
So it makes sense that doctors’ appointments would cause lawmakers to miss votes sometimes. That’s life.
And that’s why I don’t find it egregious that two Republican state representatives missed a close vote Friday on whether to raise the gross receipts tax by a half cent. Both had doctors’ appointments and were out of town.
Two Democrats, however, missed the close, contentious vote even though they were in the Roundhouse at the time.
Here’s how it went down
To recap what I wrote previously, House Democrats had been meeting behind closed doors for days to debate the tax-hike proposal from Speaker Ben Lujan. The speaker knew it would be a close vote, and there was a lot of behind-the-scenes wrangling.
On Friday he called his bill up for a floor vote. Democratic Reps. Danice Picraux and Karen Giannini were absent, having been previously – and conveniently – excused.
You’d assume that means they were off taking care of some important personal business, right? They apparently weren’t. A search of the Roundhouse during a call of the House turned them up, and they were brought to the House floor.
An angry-looking Lujan got on the phone, and Giannini and Picraux quickly vanished again. The vote was taken without them and the two Republicans who were at doctors’ appointments, and Lujan’s bill passed 34-32.
The two Democratic representatives magically reappeared on the House floor moments later, after debate on the next bill had begun.
Call me an idealist…
I’m the kind of person who can stomach a vote on an important piece of legislation going either way – regardless of my personal opinion – as long as the bill passes or fails because members are voting based on what they believe to be right or what they believe their constituents want. Call me an idealist, but I believe that’s exactly what the U.S. and state constitutions intend.
In this instance, with two Republican members missing for valid reasons, an important piece of legislation passed by two votes while two Democrats were ostensibly hiding out somewhere in the Roundhouse to avoid voting.
For all we know they would have voted no and, together, had the power to kill Lujan’s bill by making it a tie vote, so the speaker successfully pressured them to take a walk.
I called both women on their cell phones shortly after the vote on Friday. Neither answered or returned my messages. Giannini made two appearances on the New Mexico Independent’s liveblog later that day, and both times I asked her to talk about the situation.
She vanished from the liveblog both times without another word.
For shame
I realize it’s difficult to stand up to the speaker. He’s the second most powerful official in state government and a master of behind-the-scenes politics. And he doesn’t really care if things play out in full view of the public. What happened Friday was so obvious to many who were watching, but he unashamedly made it happen anyway.
Such people remain in power and acting like bullies unless the members who give them those positions of authority refuse to allow it. I’m pretty sure most of Picraux’s and Giannini’s constituents wanted them on the floor for the vote on Lujan’s bill regardless of whether Lujan wanted them to be present.
Instead of standing up for the people they’re elected to serve, Picraux and Giannini apparently bowed to the will of the speaker.
Shame on them.
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“As was mentioned, we are all serving as volunteers – we are not paid for this additional job. Everyone here is here because they feel strongly they can make a difference to better New Mexico, even if our methods and beliefs differ.
It takes a lot of effort and dedication to be this involved as volunteers!”
- – -
Representative Giannini,
As a rebuttal to Heath saying that you should vote on issues, you have mentioned that you serve as a volunteer, and that it’s hard, and that it requires dedication. That’s true, but apropos of what? Are you saying this as a justification for not voting? Do you think constituents should let it slide when representatives don’t vote on things because the job is unpaid and hard? I am confused by this statement and interested in further clarification.
Also, how would you have voted on HB 119 to raise gross receipts tax half a cent?
Thank you,
Ben
While I understand that life has its unexpected turns, I find it interesting that a person who had personal business to attend to somehow managed to show their face on the floor while there was a call on the House. So busy, in fact, that they could still stop by to give a wave to all the other volunteers there voting like they were compelled to do under the call? If you really think now is the time to pander to the people for a pay raise, get real! There are people who will gladly serve the in the volunteer position. Move over Rep. Gianinni, I think I hear Nate Gentry heading to the capitol!
So, Rep. Giannini, your excuse is that you didn’t vote because you didn’t want to–and that is okay beacause we don’t pay you?
If you don’t take your job seriously enough to do it, then your constituents should find a public servant who is committed to fulfilling the duties of this office.
This isn’t about your “personal reasons,” for skipping a vote. This is about your constituents who now have to pay more in taxes because you are more concerned with playing the blame game than you are in drawing a line in the sand and saying: before we tax the people of this state anymore, we should tighten our own belts.
You were present, you came to the floor, then you ran. Heath is right, shame on you.
“Everyone here is here because they feel strongly they can make a difference to better New Mexico, even if our methods and beliefs differ.”
Representative Giannini, you can’t make a difference if you are not on the floor to vote your beliefs.
“As was mentioned, we are all serving as volunteers – we are not paid for this additional job.”
Representative Giannini, Were you not aware of this BEFORE you decided to volunteer for this office?
The people who elected you entrusted you with this honorable office to REPRESENT them.
I’m sorry any of you feel disappointed in my being gone from the House Floor when the vote for the GRT tax was on. I had asked to be excused earlier that morning for personal reasons and the Speaker had granted that absence. The Republicans that were absent had not requested to be excused from the Floor, hence the House had to vote to allow them to be gone from the vote. Later they came with excuses to the press for doctor appointments. And I might mention that one of the Republicans came in for the next vote as well.
So I’m not ashamed that I needed to be gone for personal reasons and it was the only vote I missed; nor that I had some personal business to attend to at that time. As was mentioned, we are all serving as volunteers – we are not paid for this additional job. Everyone here is here because they feel strongly they can make a difference to better New Mexico, even if our methods and beliefs differ.
It takes a lot of effort and dedication to be this involved as volunteers!
Thank you for the opportunity to address your readers.
From Rep Karen Giannini
That’s a very impressive list of Democrat “no” votes, all right. I think this bill will have tough going in the Senate.
Wedum59 -
There were actually several votes last session where veteran and freshman Reps alike joined up on votes against either bills the Speaker was carrying or on bills he strongly supported. What happened with those two walking onto the floor while they were excused and then being shuffled away was wrong.
Wow!!! Linking the word “bully” with Speaker Lujan takes some cajones.
Congratulations for putting in print what needs to be said about some of
the leadership in the Democrat-controlled NM House of Represenatives.
This latest action coupled with his attack on Senator Smith last year shows
that the veneer of civilization is wearing thin on Speaker Lujan.
wedum59 – As stated in my first article on this, nine Demcorats did vote against the bill. They are Elias Barela, Joseph Cervantes, John Heaton, Dona Irwin, Rhonda King, Andy Nuñez, Al Park, Ben Rodefer and Jeff Steinborn.
That’s a mix of professives and conservatives, first- and second-term members and more veteran members. There was a lot of division among the Democratic caucus on this bill.
It takes 10 Democrats voting with the Republican caucus to override the will of the speaker and kill a piece of legislation he’s trying to push through the House.
I’m not saying with certainty that Picraux and Giannini were “no” votes. That was purely speculative on my part, designed to use a hypothetical to illustrate why it was so important on such a close vote that every member able to be present for the vote do so.
Did ANY Democrats vote against Lujan’s tax bill? To say that Giannini and Picraux ‘might have voted no’ is pretty speculative. Can you find an example of a Lujan bill that any Democrats have voted against? The prime example, IMHO, is that ridiculous ‘answer’ to the “New Mexico question.” And remember that Giannini is a first term rep. Not much chance she would defy the Speaker.