By DIANE DENISH
Corner to Corner
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
It’s the time in the election cycle when legislators decide if they are going to run again. The 2024 June primary season is 11 months away, which, to the average voter, may seem like a lifetime. But to legislators and other candidates, it’s a time of decision making. The gathering of petition signatures begins in early October and incumbent legislators will need to raise money prior to the “prohibited fundraising period” before the next legislative session.
Several members of the state Senate have already announced their departure. Democrat Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Republicans Cliff Pyrtle and Mark Moores are calling it quits. There will likely be others. The most recent announcement came from Sen. Gay Kernan, (R-Hobbs), who is resigning effective Aug. 1, making way for a replacement to be appointed.
After 20 years, Kernan has done her part. The long drive of five hours or more, come rain or shine, from Hobbs to Santa Fe is a long one.
Her resignation was more a disappointment for me than a surprise. I have known Sen. Kernan most of my life. Her family moved to our hometown of Hobbs when she was just six years old. At one point we lived in the same neighborhood, and for one year we were both students at Hobbs High School before she graduated.
The best of Gay never went away. Gay Gottshall, aka Sen. Kernan, was selected by her classmates as Best Personality. She was a member of the cheerleading squad and an officer on student council. And she was a delegate to Girls State, where she was elected to the Youth Senate.
Although Kernan professes that she had never really entertained the idea of running for the New Mexico Senate, in 2002 her local community saw her as a natural to succeed Sen. Shirley Bailey, who resigned her seat to move to Texas.
Kernan was appointed by Gov. Gary Johnson, and her first legislative session was in 2003, the year I was sworn in as lieutenant governor. We shared excitement as we took office for the first time.
I had a front row seat watching Kernan as a member of the Senate. She was a good listener. I always had the sense she knew what she didn’t know. (Not every legislator is so humble.) She was confident in her own area of expertise – Education, specifically early education. When I was out of office, I observed her as one of the sharper minds on the Senate Education Committee, Senate Finance Committee and, last year, on the Tax, Business and Transportation Committee. She asked smart questions, never grandstanding or wasting time.
In 2005, when working with Gov. Bill Richardson, I led the effort to pass the New Mexico Pre-K Act. Sen. Kernan was a behind-the-scenes, invaluable source of information, sharing her experience as an elementary school teacher and early reading coordinator. She understood how quality early education helps kids succeed. Although she was unsuccessful in persuading other Republicans to vote for the act, she made a gutsy move, separated from her caucus, and cast a yes vote.
Her tenure was recently described by the current Majority Whip, Sen. Michael Padilla this way: “Sen. Kernan worked on a wide array of issues, but it was clear that her primary focus was always children and their well-being.”
Over the years, that “best personality” helped her work across the aisle. She was a cheerleader for kids and enjoyed respect on both sides for her leadership.
She made her mark. It won’t just be hard to fill her shoes, it will be impossible. Thank you, Sen. Kernan, from me and New Mexico’s kids.