By Deborah Baker/
Associated Press
SANTA FE — New Mexico's float in the Tournament of Roses parade will feature a familiar lineup: Indian artists, flamenco dancers, a Buffalo Soldier, Smokey Bear — and Gov. Bill Richardson.
Richardson and his wife, Barbara, will be waving at the crowds from a rose-covered buckboard at the front of the float as the parade wends through the streets of Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 2.
The state Tourism Department has signed a contract for $165,000 with a Pasadena design firm, Fiesta Parade Floats, to create the state's entry, tourism officials said.
Jon Hendry, the department's marketing director, said it's an opportunity to promote New Mexico in southern California, where prospective tourists are plentiful but advertising is prohibitively expensive.
"We've always wanted to be in southern California, and we've just never been able to figure out how to do it,'' Hendry said.
The Tournament of Roses Association estimates 1 million people watch the annual Rose Parade along the route, with another 50 million viewers on television. Eight networks and a local station will televise the event.
With publicity-conscious Richardson considered a likely contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, one critic expressed mock relief at the float design announced this week.
"I figured (the float) was going to be a big bobble-head of the governor,'' said Dan Foley, a Republican lawmaker from Roswell.
Instead, the 55-foot-long flatbed trailer with more than 30,000 roses will carry a depiction of the plaza at Old Mesilla flanked by artisans representing Navajo, Apache and Pueblo Indians displaying their wares against scenery ranging from high desert to alpine forest.
"The only reason the governor is doing this is that it gets him out there. ... I just think the money could be better spent doing other things,'' said Foley, a House member.
The state's $165,000 float design cost will be offset by $25,000 apiece from the Santa Fe Opera and the Albuquerque Tricentennial, and $10,000 each from Acoma Pueblo and the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center, Hendry said.
Hendry said tourism officials also will plug New Mexico at the post-parade float viewing, a classic car show, a media day, and the college football national championship Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 4.
None of the other 43 Rose Parade floats is sponsored by a state, according to the Tournament of Roses Association's Web site.
Hendry said the Pasadena-born Richardson is New Mexico's most recognizable resident and "the best marketing tool I've got.''
"If it was up to me, I'd put the governor on everything because it doesn't cost me any money. ... I can't afford to pay Val Kilmer to ride the float,'' he said.
The Rose Parade is traditionally held on Jan. 1. The 2006 parade is scheduled for Jan. 2 because Jan. 1 falls on a Sunday.
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