Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, considered by many as New Mexicos greatest governor, best recognized for transitioning the economy of New Mexico for bringing the film industry to New Mexico, bringing Space Port America to Nee Mexico, and championing rail infrastructure for New Mexico, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize

Bill Richardson, expanded his international reputation from a political career into a respected professional role as a global crisis negotiator.

With that success and respect he has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to free hostages and political prisoners around the world.

Richardson was nominated along with Richardson Center for Global Engagement, a nonprofit he founded, by foir senators, Bob Menéndez (N.J.), Joe Manchin (W.V.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (N.M.).

“I’m especially humbled by the support of American hostage families and human rights families. But hostage diplomacy worldwide is only going to increase and is at the very least here to stay, especially affecting Americans,” Richardson responded concerning the nomination. 

Bill Richardson has been nominated for the prestigious award before, but this nomination is notable because it is backed by four senators.

In their nominating letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the lawmakers touted Richardson’s central role in the liberation of 15 political prisoners, including professional basketball player Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, both repatriated after high-stakes prisoner swaps with Russia.

Richardson’s nomination is also supported by 14 letters from former hostages and their families, praising his role in their liberation.

“We feel lucky to have been introduced to the Richardson Center and will forever be grateful for them. I am confident that without their experience, commitment, and passion for the work to reunite families, I would not be home today,” wrote Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner.

Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in November 2002, having defeated the Republican nominee, John Sanchez, 56–39%. During the campaign, he set a Guinness World Record for most handshakes in eight hours by a politician, breaking Theodore Roosevelt's record.

He succeeded a two-term Republican governor, Gary Johnson. He took office in January 2003 as the only  Hispanic Governor in the United States at that time. 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 helped make New Mexico the first state in the nation to provide $400,000 in life insurance coverage for New Mexico National Guard members who serve on active duty. Thirty-five states have since followed suit.

Working with the legislature, he formed Richardson's Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2003. The partnership has been used to fund large-scale public infrastructure projects throughout New Mexico, including the use of highway funds to construct a brand new commuter rail line (the Rail Runner) that runs between Belen, Albuquerque, and Bernalillo. He supported a variety of LGBT rights in his career as governor; he added sexual orientation and gender identity to New Mexico's list of civil rights categories. However, he was opposed to same-sex marriage, and faced criticism for his use of the anti-gay slur "maricón" on the Don Imus Show.

During the summer of 2003, he met with a delegation from North Korea at its request to discuss concerns over that country's nuclear weapons. 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".

In 2003, Richardson backed and signed legislation creating a permit system for New Mexicans to carry concealed handguns. He applied for and received a concealed weapons permit, though by his own admission he seldom carries a gun.

As Richardson discussed frequently during his 2008 run for president, he supported a controversial New Mexico law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses for reasons of public safety. He said that because of the program, traffic fatalities had gone down, and the percentage of uninsured drivers decreased from 33% to 11%.

He was named Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2004 and announced a desire to increase the role of Democratic governors in deciding the future of their party.

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

In 2006, Forbes credited Richardson's reforms in naming Albuquerque, New Mexico, the best city in the United States 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 March 2006, Richardson vetoed legislation that would ban the use of eminent domain to transfer property to private developers, as allowed by the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London. He promised to work with the legislature to draft new legislation addressing the issue in the 2007 legislative session.

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. The Sudanese had charged Salopek with espionage on August 26, 2006, while on a National Geographic assignment. 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.

Richardson won his second term as Governor of New Mexico on November 7, 2006, 68–32% 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 banned cockfighting in New Mexico. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands are now the only parts of the United States where cockfighting is legal.

During New Mexico's 2007 legislative session, Richardson signed a bill into law that made New Mexico the 12th state to legalize cannabis 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".

During 2008 and 2009, Richardson faced "possible legal issues" while a federal grand jury investigated pay-to-play allegations in the awarding of a lucrative state contract to a company that gave campaign contributions to Richardson's political action committee, Moving America Forward.  The company in question, CDR, was alleged to have funneled more than $100,000 in donations to Richardson's PAC in exchange for state construction projects. Richardson said when he withdrew his Commerce Secretary nomination that he was innocent; his popularity then slipped below 50% in his home state.  In August 2009, federal prosecutors dropped the pending investigation against the governor, and there was speculation in the media about Richardson's career after his second term as New Mexico governor concluded.

On March 18, 2009, he signed a bill repealing the death penalty, making New Mexico the second U.S. state, after New Jersey, to repeal the death penalty by legislative means since the 1960s. Richardson was subsequently honored with the 2009 Human Rights Award by Death Penalty Focus.

In its April 2010 report, ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washingtonnamed Richardson one of the 11 worst governors in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Richardson's term as governor.  The group accused Richardson of allowing political allies to benefit from firms connected to state investments, rewarding close associates with state positions or benefits (including providing a longtime friend and political supporter with a costly state contract), and allowing pay-to-play activity in his administration. They also opined that he fell short on efforts to make state government more transparent.

In December 2010, while still serving as governor, Richardson returned to North Korea in an unofficial capacity at the invitation of the North's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan. Upon arriving in Pyongyang on December 16, Richardson told reporters that his "objective is to see if we can reduce the tension on the Korean peninsula, that is my objective. I am going to have a whole series of talks with North Korean officials here and I look forward to my discussions", he said.

On December 19, Richardson said his talks with North Korean officials made "some progress" in trying to resolve what he calls a "very tense" situation. Speaking from Pyongyang, Richardson told U.S. television network CNN that a North Korean general he met was receptive to his proposal for setting up a hotline between North and South Korean forces, and also was open to his idea for a military commission to monitor disputes in and around the Yellow Sea.

After his return from North Korea, Richardson dealt with the issue of a pardon for William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, for killing Sheriff William J. Brady of Lincoln County, New Mexico, some 130 years before. Following up on the promise of a pardon at the time by then-territorial governor Lew Wallace, Richardson said he could not pardon Bonney posthumously because he did not want to second-guess his predecessor's decision. "It was a very close call", Richardson said. "The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it."

Richardson's second term in office ended in 2011 and he was term-limited from further terms as governor.

Source: Richardson Center for Global Engagement, Wikipedia, Guinness Book of World Records, Forbes, AlamogordoTowNews.com archives 

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