Terrell: Martinez Would Appoint Block's Replacement

Steve Terrell

Roundhouse Roundup - Breaking news: Nobody new called for Jerome Block Jr.’s resignation on Wednesday. Well, no one that I know of. I haven’t checked my Twitter feed in a couple of hours. Bipartisan requests for Block to quit the state Public Regulation Commission began flowing last week when the story broke about an investigation into thousands of dollars in questionable charges to a state gasoline card issued to Block, among other possible misdeeds. So far, Block hasn’t responded to those urgings, nor the possibility that the Legislature might consider impeaching him. Gov. Susana Martinez, who is among those who say Block should step down, would have authority to name a replacement for him until the next election. She hasn’t talked with any potential successors, her spokesman said Wednesday. “If the seat does come open, we would go through a swift and thorough process to find the right replacement,” Scott Darnell said in an email. It’s probably not going out too far on a limb to think that a Republican governor would want to appoint a qualified Republican to the $90,000-a-year job — even though the GOP didn’t even field a candidate in this Democratic-leaning PRC district in 2008, when Block was elected. If Block departed and Martinez appointed a Republican, it would shift the political balance of the elected regulatory body, giving the R’s a 3-to-2 edge. Read full analysis here: News New Mexico

Terrell: Martinez Would Appoint Block's Replacement