What I have come to realize over the twenty years when I have worked in different roles as a legislator is that no legislation is as good as the enforcement of it.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Instead of taking a very high-paying type of law job or something that I might be able to do, I have been a legislator. That's what I do. I think it's an honorable profession - if you're honest and have integrity and work hard.
We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.
While legislation obviously is political, we now have allowed regulation to become politicized, which we believe will likely lead to some bad outcomes.
As I've learned in my time in the state legislature, important legislation is always a work in progress.
Having been governor of New Mexico, I know that legislation gets passed to benefit those who have money and influence. Then they buy more money and influence. That's one reason why, as governor, I vetoed more than 750 bills and thousands of line items. I did it to keep crony capitalism away from government.
It is very difficult to get legislation passed. But then the danger always is that you have no power at all if you do not exercise constant power.
I'd like to think I'm a serious legislator and trying to get things done.
I'm a lawmaker, but I really don't like laws.
The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.
In the end, I think part of my problem was that I was a better legislator than I was a politician.
No opposing quotes found.