Martinez Forced To Appoint Democrat

Oh, the indignity of it all:

Democrats force Republican Gov. Susana Martinez to appoint a Democrat to a state Senate seat vacated by a Republican, and the appointee is also president of the New Mexico Trial Lawyers Association & Foundation.

It’s no wonder the GOP is still howling about the appointment of Lisa Curtis of Albuquerque to fill the seat vacated by Kent Cravens. (He resigned to become a lobbyist, but not much Republican indignity there.)

The state GOP said several dozen people opposed to driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants confronted Curtis at her swearing-in ceremony Monday afternoon at a public library.

Curtis said it was more like 10 people and that she had a good talk with them about the law that allows foreign nationals to obtain driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status.

She told me Tuesday that she supports tightening proof-of-residency requirements for foreign nationals but that driver’s licenses are a way for the state to know who’s living here, whether documented or not.

State GOP Executive Director Bryan Watkins, who previously called Curtis a “liberal extremist,” said the senator “is out of touch with everyday New Mexicans.”

Watkins didn’t explain what he meant by “everyday New Mexicans.” I asked, but I didn’t get an answer.

Martinez was required by law to appoint Curtis to the vacant Senate seat because hers was the only name submitted by commissioners for Bernalillo and Sandoval counties. The boards of commissioners are controlled by Democrats.

Martinez announced the appointment of Curtis in the final paragraph of a news release issued Friday on the governor’s latest appointments. Martinez appointees to the Fire Protection Grant Council and the Early Learning Advisory Council got top billing.

The Senate district – No. 21 – has been the one of the strongest Republican districts in the state since 2004. Cravens was preceded in office by another Republican.

The governor told me Tuesday that the Bernalillo and Sandoval boards of commissioners “went against the will of the people” by naming a Democrat to represent a district that had elected a Republican and wanted to Republican to replace him.

The appointment of Curtis to the Senate is good for only the remainder of the year. She plans to seek election to a full four-year term.

Case review

Curtis, 47, has been in New Mexico since a she was a child and went to the School of Law at the University of New Mexico.

I first met Curtis in 2000 while working on a series about how more than 100 children had received outdated treatment for cancer at UNM. Curtis represented parents of children who had died. UNM paid millions to settle lawsuits.

Some of the other clients of Curtis over the years:

♦ The mother of a 17-year-old pregnant girl who suffered chest pains but was told during a visit to University Hospital to go home and await test results. She died two weeks later. The case was settled for $350,000.

♦ An alleged victim of Joseph A. Martinez of Tijeras, who has been indicted in federal and state courts on charges of child pornography and child sexual assault.

♦ A patient of Dr. Christian R. Schlicht, who injected a cement-like substance into the spines of patients for chronic back pain and now faces dozens of lawsuits over the experimental treatment.

♦ A woman who had sex with a top UNM physician who was prescribing her drugs. The doctor surrendered his medical license.

♦ The family of a woman who died after cataract surgery performed by an Alamogordo physician. A jury awarded more than $6 million in punitive damages.

♦ The husband of a woman who died after gallbladder surgery performed by a surgeon with a history of alcohol abuse.

♦ The estate of a woman whose death led to a state Supreme Court ruling that nursing homes and other care providers can be held accountable if they fail to exercise great care in hiring employees.

During her 18 years as a lawyer, Curtis has probably filed lawsuits that some would consider frivolous. But for “everyday New Mexicans,” she has helped make hospitals and nursing homes safer and better at what they are supposed to do.

UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Thom Cole at tcole@abqjournal.com or 505-992-6280 in Santa Fe. Go to www.abqjournal.com/letters/new to submit a letter to the editor.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal