Bill Richardson

For other people named William Richardson, see William Richardson (disambiguation).

Bill Richardson
Governor Bill Richardson.
30th Governor of New Mexico
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2003
Lieutenant	Diane Denish
Preceded by	Gary E. Johnson
9th United States Secretary of Energy
In office August 18, 1998 – January 20, 2001
Preceded by	Federico Peña
Succeeded by	Spencer Abraham
21st United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office January 21, 1997 – September, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Madeleine Albright
Succeeded by	Richard Holbrooke
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3 district
In office January 3, 1983 – February 13, 1997
Preceded by	N/A (newly created district)
Succeeded by	William T. Redmond
Personal details
Born	(1947-11-15) November 15, 1947 Pasadena, California, USA
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Barbara Richardson
Alma mater	Tufts University

William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is the current Governor of New Mexico and was a candidate for the 2008 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. He has previously served as a U.S. Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He was chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention as well as Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2005 and 2006, overseeing the Democrats' re-capturing of a majority of the country's governorships. Richardson has been recognized for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen, and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba. He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Early life and education

Bill Richardson was born at the Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California to William Blaine Richardson Jr. (1891–1972), a banker, who's parents' were of Jordanian heritage. He lived and worked in Mexico City for decades His Mother, María Luisa López-Collada Márquez took care of him for the most part durring his youth (born 1914). He has a younger sister, Vesta. Just before Richardson was born, his mother was sent to California, where her husband's sister lived, to give birth because, as Richardson explained, "My father had a complex about not having been born in the United States." Three of his four grandparents were Mexican, and he identifies himself as Hispanic. Richardson, a U.S. citizen by birthright, was raised in Mexico City. His parents sent him to Massachusetts at age 13 to attend a Boston-area preparatory school, Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he played baseball as a pitcher. He entered Tufts University in 1966 where he continued to play baseball. His original biographies stated that he had been drafted by the Kansas City Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers to play professional baseball, but a 2005 Albuquerque Journal investigation revealed that he never was on any official draft. Richardson acknowledged the error which he claimed was unintentional, saying that he had been scouted by several teams and told that he "would or could" be drafted, but was mistaken in saying that he was actually drafted.

He earned a Bachelor's degree at Tufts in 1970, majoring in French and political science and was a brother and president of Delta Tau Delta. He went on to earn a master's degree in international affairs from Tufts' Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971. While still in high school, he met his future wife, Barbara Flavin. They married in 1972 and have no children.

Early political career

After college, Richardson worked for Republican Congressman Bradford Morse from Massachusetts. He was later a staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Richardson worked on congressional relations for the Henry Kissinger State Department during the Nixon Administration. In 1978, he moved to Santa Fe and ran for Congress in 1980, losing narrowly to longtime 1st District congressman and future United States Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan (R). Two years later, Richardson was elected to New Mexico's newly created third district, taking in most of the northern part of the state.

U.S. Congressman

Congressman Bill Richardson

Richardson spent a little more than 14 years in Congress. As a congressman, he kept his interest in foreign relations. He visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Sudan to represent U.S. interests.

Richardson served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 98th Congress (1983–1985) and as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs in the 103rd Congress (1993–1994). While in the House, Richardson sponsored bills such as the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments, the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act, the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act, the Indian Dams Safety Act, the Tribal Self-Governance Act, the Indian Tribal Jurisdiction Bill (commonly known as the “Duro Fix”) and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act.

In 1996, he traveled to Baghdad with Peter Bourne and engaged in lengthy one-on-one negotiations with Saddam Hussein to secure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. He became a member of the Democratic leadership, where he worked closely with Bill Clinton on several issues.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

In 1997, Clinton appointed Richardson as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. As ambassador, he represented the United States in UN proceedings regarding the Palestinian National Authority and the State of Israel, the completion of negotiations that strengthened the role and mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme regarding ecologically sustainable development, as well as other duties of an ambassador to the UN. Richardson served there until 1998, when he was appointed U.S. Secretary of Energy, a post that he held for the remainder of the Clinton administration. According to his autobiography, Richardson was asked by the White House in 1997 to interview Monica Lewinsky for a job on his staff at the UN. Richardson did so, and offered her a position, which she declined.

U.S. Secretary of Energy

Richardson as Secretary of Energy

The Senate confirmed Richardson to be Clinton's Secretary of Energy on July 31, 1998. His tenure at the Department of Energy was marred by the Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal. Richardson was also criticized by the Senate for his handling of the espionage inquiry by not testifying in front of Congress sooner. Richardson justified his response by saying that he was waiting to uncover more information before speaking to Congress.

Richardson created the Director for Native American Affairs position in the Department in 1998, and in January 2000 oversaw the largest return of federal lands, 84,000 acres (340 km²) to an Indian Tribe (the Northern Ute Tribe of Utah) in more than 100 years. Richardson also directed the overhaul of the Department's consultation policy with Native American tribes and established the Tribal Energy Program.

Educational and corporate positions

With the end of the Clinton administration in January 2001, Richardson took on a number of different positions. He was an adjunct professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a lecturer at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West. In 2000, Bill Richardson was awarded a United States Institute of Peace Senior Fellowship. He spent the next year researching and writing on the negotiations with North Korea and the energy dimensions of U.S. relations.

Richardson also joined Kissinger McLarty Associates, a "strategic advisory firm" headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Clinton White House chief of staff Mack McLarty, as Senior Managing Director. He also served on the corporate boards of several energy companies, including Valero Energy Corporation and Diamond Offshore Drilling. He withdrew from these boards after being nominated by the Democratic Party for governor of New Mexico, but retained considerable stock holdings in Valero and Diamond Offshore. He would later sell these stocks during his campaign for President in 2007, saying he was "getting questions" about the propriety of these holdings, especially given his past as energy secretary, and that it had become a "distraction".

Governor of New Mexico

Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in November 2002, having defeated the Republican candidate, John Sanchez, 56–39 percent. He succeeded a two-term Republican governor, Gary E. Johnson. He took office in January 2003 as the only Hispanic Governor in the United States, other than then-Governor Sila María Calderón of Puerto Rico. In his first year, Richardson proposed "tax cuts to promote growth and investment" and passed a broad personal income tax cut and won a statewide special election to transfer money from the state's Permanent Fund to meet current expenses and projects. In early 2005, Richardson made New Mexico the first state in the nation to provide $400,000 in life insurance coverage for New Mexico National Guardsmen who serve on active duty. Thirty-five states have since followed suit.

Working with the legislature, he formed Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2003. The partnership has been used to fund large-scale public infrastructure projects throughout New Mexico, including, through the use of highway funds, a brand new commuter rail line (the Railrunner) that runs between Belen, Albuquerque, and Bernalillo. He supported LGBT rights in his career as governor; he added sexual orientation and gender identity to New Mexico's list of civil rights categories. During the summer of 2003, he met with a delegation from North Korea at their request to discuss concerns over that country's use of nuclear energy. At the request of the White House, he also flew to North Korea in 2005, and met with another North Korean delegation in 2006. On December 7, 2006, Richardson was named as the "Special Envoy for Hemispheric Affairs" for the Secretary General of the Organization of American States with the mandate to "promote dialogue on issues of importance to the region, such as immigration and free trade".

He was named Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and announced a desire to increase the role of Democratic governors in deciding the future of their party.

In 2006, Forbes credited Richardson's reforms in naming Albuquerque, New Mexico the best city in the U.S. for business and careers. The Cato Institute, meanwhile, has consistently rated Richardson as one of the most fiscally responsible Democratic governors in the nation.

In December 2005, Richardson announced the intention of New Mexico to partner with billionaire Richard Branson to bring space tourism to the proposed Spaceport America located near Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In March 2006, Richardson vetoed eminent domain legislation in response to a surge of interest created by the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London to increase local governments' eminent domain power.

On September 7, 2006, Richardson flew to Sudan to meet Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and successfully negotiated the release of imprisoned journalist Paul Salopek. Salopek had been charged by the Sudanese with espionage on August 26, 2006, while on a National Geographic assignment.

Richardson won his second term as Governor of New Mexico on November 7, 2006, 68–32 percent against former New Mexico Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl. Richardson received the highest percentage of votes in any gubernatorial election in the state's history.

In December 2006, Richardson announced that he would support a ban on cockfighting in New Mexico. On March 12, 2007, Richardson signed into law a bill that would ban cockfighting in New Mexico. Puerto Rico is now the only part of the United States where cockfighting is legal.

In January 2007, at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, he brokered a 60-day cease fire between al-Bashir and leaders of several rebel factions in Darfur, the western Sudanese region. The cease-fire never became effective, however, with allegations of breaches on all sides.

During New Mexico's most recent legislative session, Richardson signed a bill into law that made New Mexico the 12th state to legalize marijuana for medical reasons. When asked if this would hurt him in a Presidential election, he stated that it did not matter, as it was "the right thing to do."

Political views

Richardson is pro-choice, supports the death penalty, gun rights and affirmative action policies in government contracts. He advocates an immigration policy that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and favors issuing official identification documents to them. Richardson opposes the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. When asked at a candidate forum if homosexuality was a choice or biological, he replied "It's a choice," but then later retracted his remark, stating that he does not believe homosexuals choose their orientation. He initially supported the war in Iraq but now has called for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from the region. Richardson has stressed that he would leave "zero troops" in Iraq. He also supports universal health care, but opposes a single-payer system. Richardson has called for completely scrapping the No Child Left Behind Act. He also calls for "minimum wage" for teachers that would stand at $40,000 a year.

2008 presidential campaign

Main article: Bill Richardson presidential campaign, 2008

Richardson campaigning in Elko, Nevada, July 2007

Richardson announced his candidacy to run for President of the United States on January 21, 2007 on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
His campaign mostly focused on the early primary and caucus states of Iowa and New Hampshire. He finished fourth in both states.
On January 9, 2008, the Associated Press and CNN reported that Richardson will be withdrawing after poor results in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Despite his losses in the primaries, speculation has remained about the possibility of Richardson serving as the Vice Presidential nominee on the 2008 Democratic ticket or about him as the possible Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate Seat in New Mexico vacated by Pete Domenici (R).

Writings

Richardson has authored two books:

• Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life autobiography, published March 2007
• Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution released October 2007

Electoral history

New Mexico Gubernatorial Election 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Richardson	256,561	56.3
	Republican	John Sanchez	177,739	39.1

New Mexico Gubernatorial Election 2006

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bill Richardson (Incumbent)	384,260	68.8	+12.5
	Republican	John Dendahl	174,214	31.2

References

• Brooke, James (December 14, 1996). "Traveling Troubleshooter Is Ready to Settle Down, at the U.N.: THE SECOND TERM: The New Lineup William Blaine Richardson". The New York Times, pp. 11.
• Rankin, Adam (July 10, 2005). "Richardson Named As Likely Source of Wen Ho Lee Leak". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved on 2007-03-01.

External links

Official sites

• Bill Richardson for President official presidential campaign website
• Governor Bill Richardson's official website
• Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership (GRIP)
• Final Report of the Attorney General's Review Team on the Handling of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Investigation aka The Bellows Report, May 2000

Unofficial supporter sites

• Change & Experience: A North Dakota Blog (unofficial)
• Florida for Richardson (unofficial)
• The Bill Richardson Blog (unofficial)
• Washington for Richardson (unofficial)
• Western Democrat Blog: The Case for Bill Richardson

Databases and topic pages

• About.com — Bill Richardson
• FEC — Bill Richardson campaign finance disclosure
• FollowTheMoney — Bill Richardson campaign contributions (Governor)
• OnTheIssues — Bill Richardson issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Bill Richardson campaign contributions (President)
• Project Vote Smart — Governor Bill Richardson (NM) includes bio, campaign finances, voting record, issue positions
• USAElectionPolls — Bill Richardson Poll Results summarized presidential election polls
• Bill Richardson at Curlie
• Genealogy of Bill Richardson
• Governor Richardson Answers Candidate Questions! Governor Richardson answers questions regarding disability issues
• Bill Richardson shares his ideas on clean energy, global warming and energy independence Set America Free Coalition presents "Primary Energy: '08" with 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Governor Bill Richardson

Media coverage

• "Richardson Enters the 2008 Race" ABC News This Week with George Stephanopoulos television interview, January 21, 2007
• "NM Governor Richardson Calls Special Legislative Session to Investigate Price Gouging and Energy Cost" Democracy Now!
• "Richardson's Run" Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics
• "Bill Richardson News" The New York Times news and commentary archive
• Richardson's comment that the Democratic race will be over in January 2008 after the first 4 state contests
• "Annals of Diplomacy Backfire" The New Yorker, Carl Nagin
• Vote 2008: Bill Richardson, The Online NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• "The Richardson File" The Santa Fe New Mexican comprehensive news and archive index
• "See Bill Run" Santa Fe Reporter news archive
• "Richardson walks fine line on Immigration" CNN.

2006 New Mexico gubernatorial campaign

• Governor Richardson's Campaign website
  • Governor Richardson's Campaign blog — "The Plaza"

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