Bill is slowing down
At about 3 pm, this press release came in from Gov. Bill Richardson's office:
LOS LUNAS- Governor Bill Richardson today issued the following statement regarding recent media reports of his state police drivers speeding while transporting the Governor to an event in Albuquerque:
“A lot of people, especially the media, have had some fun at my expense regarding reports of my state police drivers exceeding the speed limit.
I enjoy humor, and I can take legitimate criticism. In politics, you get used to criticism.
I am the first to admit that I try to cram as much business as possible into each and every day. As you know, I’m impatient. We have a lot to do to continue to move this state forward.
The dedicated state police officers who drive my vehicle are the best. They have been specially trained in dignitary protection by the Secret Service. They have never operated the vehicle in a way that would risk the safety of me or other drivers on the road. I will also never question them when they believe security is an issue.
But I am not above the law. Hurrying has never been about me- it’s about getting things done for the people who elected me. Sometimes I have gone fast- too fast. I won’t stop working to move New Mexico forward, but I have instructed my drivers to slow down and follow the speed limit on the highway.
I’m not going to stand here and say we’ll never speed again- there may be exceptional circumstances. But we are going to slow down.
I hope this will put this distraction to rest, and we can move on with the important work we are doing on education, jobs, fighting DWI and domestic violence, and what I’ll be doing later today and tomorrow- helping to keep Cannon Air Force Base open.”
I also would like to issue a statement about my speeding:
Santa Fe, NM: Today, for no apparent reason, Julia Goldberg, editor of The Santa Fe Reporter, issued a statement regarding her speeding: "I like laws as much as the next person," Goldberg said. "But the problem is that it's actually very difficult to drive 25 miles an hour in a sportscar. So difficult, in fact, that I believe it creates more of a hazard than just letting a person drive at least 40 miles per hour wherever they are going. I also have to question who comes up with speed limits because, frankly, the only people I ever see observing them usually have handicapped tags on their plates. Nonetheless, I can't really afford to get any more speeding tickets and my charm in talking my way out of them appears to have worn thin. Finally, I think it's unfair to the people in New Mexico who are my friends to always have to tell me not to speed so much and, therefore, I am not going to do it anymore. At least I'm going to try not to do it anymore but I can't promise that I won't by accident, particularly when there isn't anyone else on the road and a really banging song comes on my ipod when it's in Shuffle Mode."
LOS LUNAS- Governor Bill Richardson today issued the following statement regarding recent media reports of his state police drivers speeding while transporting the Governor to an event in Albuquerque:
“A lot of people, especially the media, have had some fun at my expense regarding reports of my state police drivers exceeding the speed limit.
I enjoy humor, and I can take legitimate criticism. In politics, you get used to criticism.
I am the first to admit that I try to cram as much business as possible into each and every day. As you know, I’m impatient. We have a lot to do to continue to move this state forward.
The dedicated state police officers who drive my vehicle are the best. They have been specially trained in dignitary protection by the Secret Service. They have never operated the vehicle in a way that would risk the safety of me or other drivers on the road. I will also never question them when they believe security is an issue.
But I am not above the law. Hurrying has never been about me- it’s about getting things done for the people who elected me. Sometimes I have gone fast- too fast. I won’t stop working to move New Mexico forward, but I have instructed my drivers to slow down and follow the speed limit on the highway.
I’m not going to stand here and say we’ll never speed again- there may be exceptional circumstances. But we are going to slow down.
I hope this will put this distraction to rest, and we can move on with the important work we are doing on education, jobs, fighting DWI and domestic violence, and what I’ll be doing later today and tomorrow- helping to keep Cannon Air Force Base open.”
I also would like to issue a statement about my speeding:
Santa Fe, NM: Today, for no apparent reason, Julia Goldberg, editor of The Santa Fe Reporter, issued a statement regarding her speeding: "I like laws as much as the next person," Goldberg said. "But the problem is that it's actually very difficult to drive 25 miles an hour in a sportscar. So difficult, in fact, that I believe it creates more of a hazard than just letting a person drive at least 40 miles per hour wherever they are going. I also have to question who comes up with speed limits because, frankly, the only people I ever see observing them usually have handicapped tags on their plates. Nonetheless, I can't really afford to get any more speeding tickets and my charm in talking my way out of them appears to have worn thin. Finally, I think it's unfair to the people in New Mexico who are my friends to always have to tell me not to speed so much and, therefore, I am not going to do it anymore. At least I'm going to try not to do it anymore but I can't promise that I won't by accident, particularly when there isn't anyone else on the road and a really banging song comes on my ipod when it's in Shuffle Mode."
posted by Julia at 7:20 PM
<< Home