A Public Servant

I have gained a lot of respect for Ed Lopez, Cabinet Secretary for New Mexico's General Services Department. I first got to know Ed when I was Mayor of Albuquerque and he was heading up the Qwest operation in New Mexico. We had regular meetings where we would hash things out and I felt he was always a guy who did his job in a professional way for the good of Qwest and his home state of New Mexico. After the bad guys did a takeover of Qwest, Ed left with his reputation and dignity intact and most importantly, his ethics. He could see where those corporate raiders were headed and he didn't like it. I believe they are all under indictment now.

Governor Richardson asked Ed, a Republican, to take over the GSD department for him and Ed brought all of his good qualities to that position. He did a great job there and the Governor asked him a few weeks ago to take over the Licensing and Regulation Department. That is one of the most difficult jobs in the state dealing with every thing from liquor licenses to barber schools.

Some folks in the media have tried to make something else out of this move and it is unfair. My fellow bloggers see some sinister motive here, but frankly there is none. Ed will go into another difficult job and do well at it. I happen to know that Ed has turned down some great offers from the private sector to stay on with the Governor. That is a sacrifice in the every sense of the word and it proves his worth as a real public servant.