Speaker of the House Ball is in Tom Taylor's Court

Thomas Taylor (R-Farmington)

A developing mutiny in the New Mexico House of Representatives puts the political ball squarely in the court of House minority leader Tom Taylor of Farmington. Hints of the potential for muntiny began in June when Speaker of the House Ben Lujan barely made it out of his own primary race. Later in the summer, House member and long time Democrat Mary Helen Garcia from Dona Ana County called for "a change in the speaker position" in an interview on News New Mexico. No doubt the thought of mutiny simmered behind the scenes until November 2nd. When New Mexico Democrats lost eight house seats to Republicans as part of the nationwide sweep the mutiny fire began to burn. With the balance of power count in the House falling to a narrow 37-33 margin in favor of Democrats, suddenly the Republicans are in a position for the first time in years to actually get a seat at the legislative governing table in Santa Fe. Shortly after the election speculation mounted on our radio show and in other media outlets around the state that there were serious behind the scenes rumblings.

All the rumors pointed to a possible change at the speaker level. On Tuesday November 9th Democrat Andy Nunez of Hatch was quoted in NMPolitics.net, saying it was time for a change in House leadership. On Wednesday Democrat House member Donna Irwin from Luna County joined Mary Helen Garcia of Dona Ana County in saying she was in favor of a change, even if a coalition with Republicans was necessary. Each of these three house members mentioned Joseph Cervantes of Dona Ana County as an acceptable alternative to Speaker Ben Lujan. There is no longer any doubt that a full-fledged challenge to the speaker position is afoot and the combat in the Democratic Party will be intense in the days ahead of the November 20th caucas date.

What's a Republican to do? House minority leader Tom Taylor of Farmington could simply sit back and see how the fight ends. There are at least two possible outcomes if Taylor sits back. First, the Speaker can survive. In this case, Ben Lujan will, as he has in the past, have little if any use for the input of Republicans in passing legislation. Second, the Democratic caucas might decide to clean its own house with either Joseph Cervantes or another Democrat prevailing. If the house self-cleans, and it is done without the visible support of a coalition, once again the Republicans will be a mere side-show in the legislature. What's a New Mexico House Minority Leader to do? It would seem to many observers that we have the football equivalent of a "loose ball" for a brief window of time. 

It should not be lost on house Republicans that getting any Speaker of the House removed is tricky business. While the current "public" head count of four (Cervantes, Garcia, Nunez, and Irwin) calling for change indicates a bit of trouble for Lujan, it may only be a serious threat if there is a block of the 33 House Republicans are also backing the force for change. This may be the only force sufficient enough to create a seat at the table for the minority party. Many Republicans we speak with believe the time has come for Tom Taylor to pounce on the loose ball. They reason that at this moment in time, and only before the Democratic Caucas on November 20th in Santa Fe, can Taylor, if he marshalls all 33 House Republicans to support Joseph Cervantes, put his party in a position to have a voice in state government for the first time in decades.

Speaker of the House Ball is in Tom Taylor's Court