Legislator arrested for drunken driving listed as ‘excused’ – Santa Fe New Mexican
A few people have phoned to complain that I’ve been too tough on state legislators this year.
These callers say politicians are human, and they’re doing their best to meet tight deadlines and high expectations.
My response is most state legislators don’t live in the real world. If not for the double standard, they would have no boundary at all.
Consider Rep. Georgene Louis, who was booked early Monday on suspicion of aggravated drunken driving, speeding and having no proof of vehicle registration or insurance.
Louis, D-Albuquerque, was released from jail 10 hours later, according to Santa Fe County booking records.
The House of Representatives had afternoon and nighttime sessions on its agenda, providing Louis a chance to do part of a day’s work on behalf of the people who elected her.
Louis skipped those debates and votes. Worse still, the official record of the House of Representatives sanitized her failure to report for work.
Louis was listed as “excused” from House meetings that occurred Monday night and at least part of Tuesday, long after she was freed from jail.
Several other legislators who missed the same debates as Louis were marked as “absent,” a harsher term implying they did not provide a valid reason for missing votes.
Everyone at the Capitol knew Louis was accused of breaking the law. Police said her blood-alcohol level was 0.17 percent — more than double the threshold for drunken driving.
Almost any other worker in any other field would not be treated with the deference Louis received.
I asked House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, why Louis was listed as “excused” from legislative work after her release from jail.
“The rules of the House state that when a member asks to be excused, they are marked as excused,” Egolf said.
No questions are asked. By the speaker’s account, House members often call in and tell the operator of the chamber’s electronic scoreboard to mark them as excused rather than absent. Every request is granted, the speaker said.
“I don’t think the criticism of this is fairly placed on the House,” Egolf added. “I don’t want to have to ask for reasons every time someone calls in. It’s not a good use of my time.”
Outside the House of Representatives, New Mexico politicians have a pattern of protecting political allies charged with drunken driving. One of the worst offenders is Amarillo Steve Pearce, chairman of the state Republican Party.
Pearce clamored for Louis to resign from office based on her arrest. His stand was inconsistent.
Pearce was the Republican candidate for governor when then-Rep. Monica Youngblood was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of aggravated drunken driving.
Youngblood, a law-and-order Republican from Albuquerque, accused her hometown police officers of mistreating people of color. Did Pearce back up police in hopes of striking a blow for nonpartisan law enforcement?
Of course not. Pearce ducked, even though Youngblood mentioned her elective office while trying to persuade a police officer not to arrest her. She refused to take a blood-alcohol test.
A judge convicted Youngblood a month before she ran for reelection. The Albuquerque Journal endorsed Youngblood anyway. Voters ousted her.
Many Democrats in the state Senate were no better than Pearce. They backed then-Sen. Richard Martinez, D-Ojo Caliente, who seriously injured two people while driving drunk in 2019.
Like Youngblood, Martinez stood trial before a judge. The senator, who was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, attacked the competence and fairness of Española police officers who jailed him.
He persuaded no one. A judge convicted Martinez of drunken driving and reckless driving.
Martinez called himself a recovering alcoholic as he proceeded with his 2020 reelection campaign.
Many high-profile Democrats stuck with him. For instance, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, contributed $1,000 to Martinez’s campaign.
A challenger routed Martinez in the Democratic primary, ending his 20-year run in the Senate.
Hypocrisy in state politics is not limited to drunken-driving cases. Money is a more prevalent concern.
One of the votes Monday night in which Louis was listed as “excused” was on Senate Bill 159 to increase the pensions of state legislators. It cleared the House on a vote of 61-5 and advanced to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her consideration.
Several legislators who voted for the bill, such as Democratic Rep. Eliseo Alcon of Milan, have opposed eliminating New Mexico’s tax on Social Security income. Exempting Social Security benefits from taxes would mostly help wealthy people, Alcon said.
Many legislators are well-to-do, but most supported increasing their own pensions.
Louis probably will face a difficult primary campaign if she runs for reelection. At least she can tell voters she didn’t support increasing legislative pensions.
She wasn’t working the night the bill came up. That would be a neat trick in the real world — an accused drunken driver being excused from her obligations after endangering innocent people.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at [email protected] or 505-986-3080.
