Bill Richardson in the News

Richardson Withdraws Nomination (Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009)
Gov. Drops Out of Commerce Consideration, Cites Federal Probe
Gov. Bill Richardson at press conference today (Dean Hanson / Journal)
Richardson Shocker
By Jeff Jones/ Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer

  Gov. Bill Richardson's surprise weekend announcement to pull the plug on his nomination for U.S. commerce secretary stunned political observers nationwide and transformed New Mexico's political scene in the blink of an eye, derailing Lt. Gov. Diane Denish's planned transition to the state's top job. Read Story

Pay To Play Inquiry Derails Cabinet Post
By Mike Gallagher/ Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Investigative Reporter

  It was a recipe for a typical New Mexico political stew: Start with two lucrative contracts worth $1.4 million, stir in at least $100,000 in political contributions, add a dash of questionable bid procedures and top it off with a heaping tablespoon of suspicious timing.

Richardson Hires Top N.M. Lawyer
By Tim Korte/
Associated Press
  Gov. Bill Richardson has hired a prominent white-collar attorney to represent him while a federal grand jury investigates how a top political donor landed lucrative state contracts, The Associated Press has learned. Monday, Jan. 05, 2009 (updated 2:09 PM MST) Click Now To Continue

Dec. 3, 2008: Governor Joins Obama Administration
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[+] Click for slideshow of Bill Richardson through the years
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo
President-elect Barack Obama stands with Commerce Secretary designate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, at a news conference in Chicago today.

Obama Says Richardson Key Part of Team
By Michael Coleman / Journal Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that Bill Richardson will be an integral part of his economic team as U.S. commerce secretary and that the former U.N. ambassador will help rebuild America's "economic diplomacy." Obama, speaking at a Chicago news conference announcing Richardson's nomination to the Cabinet, also said the job was not a consolation prize for the New Mexico governor, who apparently was considered for the higher-profile secretary of state position before Obama offered it to Sen. Hillary Clinton.

FROM THE JOURNAL ARCHIVES
A Year in the National Spotlight
By Leslie Linthicum / Copyright © 2008 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
  "Everybody loved him, and he was everybody's second candidate," Rep. Tom Udall said before Gov. Bill Richardson's swan-song speech Thursday. (Jan. 11, 2008)

Gov. Richardson, Clintons 'Clear the Air' in Call
By Leslie Linthicum / Journal Staff Writer
  Bill and Hillary Clinton have had Gov. Bill Richardson on their speed dial in recent days, Richardson said in a CNN interview after dropping out of the presidential fray. (Jan. 11, 2008)

High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House - Part 5 (Feb. 18, 2007)
By Thomas J. Cole Copyright 2007, Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
  SANTA FE— A few days after the November election in 2004, Gov. Bill Richardson and top aide Dave Contarino sat in Richardson's fourth-floor office at the Capitol and chewed over the results. The governor and Contarino had worked hard for Sen. John Kerry, hoping to deliver New Mexico's five electoral votes to the Massachusetts Democrat and help deny President Bush a second term. In the end, Kerry lost New Mexico and the election. That meant four more years of Bush but an opportunity for another Democrat to be the party's nominee for the White House in 2008. "Maybe next time it's going to be us," Richardson said. As he and Contarino prepared over the next two years for a possible Richardson run for the presidency, their mantra became "Do well by doing good." Do good as governor by being socially progressive but cutting taxes and being pro-business; do well with voters as a new-type Democrat.

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Previous Stories:

High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House - Part 1 (Jan. 21, 2007)

High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House - Part 2 (Jan. 28, 2007)

High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House - Part 3 (Feb. 4, 2007)

High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House - Part 4 (Feb. 11, 2007)

The complete series, High Ambition: Richardson Eyes the White House, are available now. The reprints are $1 to anyone picking them up at the library in Journal Center, 7777 Jefferson NE. For mailed copies, send $2.50 and your address to the Journal Library, Albuquerque Publishing Co., P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M., 87103.