© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Good timing and good fortune for Ben Ray Lujan

Commentary: If there is such a thing as a political silver spoon, Ben Ray Lujan was born with one in his mouth.

The son of former longtime New Mexico Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, the skids were well greased when Ben Ray decided to follow his father’s footsteps into politics and ran for the Public Regulation Commission in 2004.

Lineage probably counts for more  than it should in New Mexico politics, especially in the Democratic Party. The last three Democrats to run for governor all haled from powerful political families.

Diane Denish is the daughter of Jack Daniels, a former state representative who had run for both governor and U.S. Senate. Gary King is the son of former New Mexico Governor Bruce King, though, sadly, he inherited none of his father’s famed charisma. Current Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is the niece of Manuel Lujan Jr., who served in both the U.S. Congress and the cabinet of George H. W. Bush as secretary of the Interior. She is also the granddaughter of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Eugene Lujan, and is cousins with Ben Ray.

 

After one term on the PRC, a seat in Congress came open for Ben Ray in 2008 when Tom Udall, the son of former U.S. Interior Secretary Stewart Udall, moved from the House to the Senate to replace Jeff Bingaman, who, unlike all of the other Democrats mentioned above, was the son of a college professor and a schoolteacher in Silver City.

 

It can be argued that Ben Lujan was the most powerful politician in the state when Ben Ray entered the political fray in 2004. Gov. Bill Richardson was busy preparing to run for president. Ben Lujan had been a member of the House for nearly 30 years by then, and had been the speaker for four years.

 

The House has changed its rules for the better, and is a much more democratic body now than it was then. When Ben Lujan was speaker, he had absolute power and wielded it liberally.

 

Ben Ray had fairly thin credentials in 2004 - a couple of state government jobs, some time as a blackjack dealer and a degree from New Mexico Highlands. But with Ben Lujan as his father, that would be plenty.

 

All of which explains why my jaw dropped just a little bit Sunday morning when I listened to Ben Ray’s interview on Fox News Sunday. While speaking about wage stagnation, he said, “Working families, like the one I was raised in, are still having a hard time all across the country.”

 

Working families? Ben Ray was 3 when his father was first elected to the Legislature. He can’t remember a time when his family didn’t hold political power.

 

Yes, technically, there is a lot of work that goes into running the Legislature. But typically the term “working families” is used to refer to those a little lower down the ladder than speaker of the House.

 

The timing was perfect in 2004 when Ben Ray ran for the seat on the PRC that had been vacated by Jerome Block. And in 2008 when he ran for the seat in Congress that had been vacated by Udall.

 

The timing would appear to be perfect again now, as Ben Ray begins his run for the seat in the U.S. Senate that will be vacated by Udall in 2020.

 

He certainly comes into this race with a much fuller resume than in 2004. A member of the House for more than a decade, Ben Ray has risen to the position of assistant majority leader.

There’s nothing wrong with good timing or the good fortune of being born into a powerful family, just as long as you’re honest about it.

 

Walt Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com