I'm a Winner, I Think?

In the words of our own Governor Bill Richardson when receiving the Santa Fe Reporter's "Best Local Politician Award for a second year in a row", “I’m a very fond and avid reader of the Reporter, even when you guys poke fun at me.”

I was reading the Winners and Losers section for this week when low and behold, There I was. After reading the part pertaining to me, this blog and some honorary deputies I had to glance back up the page to see whether I was in the winners or losers column. Whew! I was in the winners column. Although when you read the section.................

Country singers

Perhaps it was a bit of a political risk for Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano to issue the oath of office to three country-rock musicians (Tobey Keith, Rodney Carrington and Ted Nugent) to lend more credibility to their roles as sheriff’s deputies in the film Beer for My Horses. After all, the quickest way to SFR’s “Losers” column is the use of public office to promote ridiculousness. On his blog (sheriffgregsolano.blogspot.com) Solano defends his decision after seeing the local preview screening of the film, which made him LOL several times over.

OK, in all seriousness I look at these types of things as no different then when the mayor or governor issues a proclamation doing things like...."making it Santa Fe Reporter Day" when celebrating an anniversary? Also a small correction, I actually did not know until I saw the movie months later that they were playing deputies in the movie. Other wise things like the honorary deputy, or giving a celebrity or sports star the key to the city is just a fun way of building community pride and promoting our community or state. A lot of what a political figure does is to promote the community, attend meetings, set policy, and be a sounding board for the community as well as be a voice for the citizens. Some of this involves pomp and circumstance while most of it involves rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.

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