Rep.Andy Nunez, I-Dona Ana
First, he led an unsuccessful charge to oust Speaker of the House Ben Luján and replace him with Rep. Joe Cervantes (D-Las Cruces).
In the wake of that attempt, Nuñez lost his chairmanship of the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee.
Then, Nuñez defected from the Democrats, renouncing his party affiliation. Republicans hoped he’d jump to their side of the aisle but Nuñez decided to call himself an independent. “At least I don’t have to go to caucus meetings anymore,” he joked after he made the announcement but his switch eroded the Democrats’ advantage in the House from 37-33 to 36-33-1, with Nuñez often voting with the GOP on critical issues.
If Nuñez annoyed the Democratic establishment, he then completely enraged liberals across the state by leading another charge — to eliminate the state’s policy granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Polls show a majority of New Mexicans want to overturn the policy that was instituted in 2003 by former Gov. Bill Richardson but an issue’s relative popularity doesn’t necessarily equal success in the legislative process. Nuñez sponsored House Bill 78 but it went absolutely nowhere in the Democratically-controlled committee process.
But Nuñez didn’t stop there. He worked with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and in the 60-day session’s most dramatic — and heated — political move, Nuñez called for the bill to debated directly on the House floor.
At first, Speaker Luján abruptly adjourned a floor session as Nuñez made his motion. Republicans screamed foul and Luján’s office promised to put it on the House calendar the next day. He did and for 9 hours, the 75-year-old Nuñez stayed on his feet pushing his bill. Liberals said the bill was strictly a wedge issue aimed at inflaming public opinion while conservatives tried to frame the debate as a matter of public safety.
“The only reason you’re pushing this bill is because you’re mad at the Speaker for taking away your committee chairmanship,” Rep. Eliseo Alcon (D-Milan) said at one point.
But the Nuñez won the battle as the House passed HB78, although he lost the war when the Senate defeated the bill five days later.
So, who is Andy Nuñez and what’s his agenda?
Some biographical information:
Nuñez grew up as one of 11 children in a family in Roswell and as Sen. Tim Jennings (D-Roswell) pointed out on the floor of the Senate in the wake of the fierce House floor debate over HB78, Nuñez’ father was one of the first Mexican-American ranchers in southern New Mexico at the turn of the last century.
Nuñez served in the Marine Corps from 1953-56 and one of his brothers died in combat in Vietnam. After spending eight years as a director at the US Department of Agriculture, Nuñez bought his own ranch in Hatch, where he and his wife Carolyn raised five daughters. This coming December, he and Carolyn will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and they enjoy spending time with their 18 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
He still raises pecans on his ranch and when he wasn’t wrangling over the driver’s license bill, Nuñez sponsored a number of other pieces of legislation this session, including a bill (which is heading to the Governor’s desk) aimed at making sure that manufacturers who advertise they’re selling chile made in New Mexico are indeed using chile grown in the state.
I spoke to him on the session’s final day and asked him a few questions.
Is he going to re-introduce the driver’s license bill in the next session?
“It’ll come back,” he said. “The Governor wants it and I definitely want it … I thought more Democrats would vote for this bill. Sad to say, they didn’t. And that’s one reason I’m not a Democrat [anymore]. The Democratic Party has become too liberal. I’m more in the middle.”
Does he think the driver’s license issue still has strong support among rank and file New Mexicans?
“Definitely. I think there’s gonna be some D’s [Democrats] that got in this last time by the skin of their teeth that are going to be vulnerable because I get e-mails everyday, from all over the state [in support of HB78].”
And the charges that the driver’s license bill is strictly a wedge issue for political gain?
“It is not. I didn’t introduce this bill for any political gain, I had no political interest in it … I happen to be the Mayor Pro Tem of Hatch and we have a motor vehicle office there and we’ve seen the people coming in from all over … they’re abusing it.”
And here’s a soundbite summing up his 60-day ride:
Earlier this session, when Nuñez was pushing for Cervantes to replace Luján as Speaker of the House, I asked Nuñez why didn’t just try to nominate himself for the Speakership.
“Nah,” he said, “I’m too old for that. My time has passed.”
After this session? Not quite, Andy, not quite.
