Richardson, Bill: 1947—: Politician

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Bill Richardson: 1947—: Politician

Bill Richardson was installed as the governor of New Mexico on January 12, 2003. His political career began 21 years earlier when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative of New Mexico's third district in 1982. After 14 years in Congress, Richardson served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN) and as the secretary of the Department of Energy. Known for his diplomatic skills, Richardson has worked for years as an unofficial ambassador for U.S. interests around the world.

Gave Up Baseball for Political Science

Richardson was born on November 15, 1947, in Pasadena, California. His mother, Maria Luisa Zubiran, a homemaker, was from an upper class family from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. His father, William, was an American citizen and a high-ranking executive with Citibank in Mexico City, where Richardson grew up with his younger sister Vesta. Richardson returned to the United States as a teenager to attend Middlesex, a prep school located nearly his father's hometown of Boston. Later, as a politician seeking the working-class vote, he would downplay his socially and economically privileged upbringing.

During his high school years, Richardson was an exceptional baseball pitcher and was drafted in 1967 by the Kansas City (now Oakland) Athletics. However, to his disappointment, his father successfully convinced him that college was a better choice than a career in baseball. The following year Richardson blew out his elbow, ending any baseball prospects and making his father seem all the wiser.

Richardson majored in political science at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, his father's alma mater. After graduating in 1970 with his bachelor's degree, Richardson enrolled in Tuft's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. A field trip to the U.S. Senate set the course of his future career. He later told the New Republic, "I went to the Senate, and Hubert Humphrey gave us one of his orations. He turned me on, talking about Africa. I can still hear him bellowing, and I said, 'I want to be part of that.'"

Began Career in Politics

After receiving his master's degree in international affairs in 1971, Richardson moved to Washington, D.C., and secured a position as a staff member for the U.S. House of Representatives. During 1972 Richardson married Barbara Flavin, an antiques restorer he had known since his teenage years. In 1973 he took a job as a staffer in the Congressional Affairs Office of the U.S. State Department. Three years later he joined the staff of the foreign relations subcommittee of the U.S. Senate, which was under the leadership of Sen. Humphrey.

By 1978 Richardson was eyeing his own political future. His problem, however, was that, although he was born in the United States, he had been raised in Mexico and had no real home base from which to establish himself. To remedy this, Richardson moved to New Mexico in 1978, where he worked for a time as a trade consultant and quickly got involved in local Democratic politics. He became a member of the Bernalillo County Democratic Commission and, before long, was asked by the Arizona governor to assume the duties as executive director of the New Mexico State Democratic Commission.

At a Glance . . .

Born on November 15, 1947, in Pasadena, CA; son of William and Maria Luisa Zubiran Richardson; married Barbara Flavin, 1972. Education: Tufts University, BA, 1970; Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, MA, 1971. Religion: Roman Catholic. Politics: Democrat.

Career: U.S. House of Representatives, staff member, 1971-73; Congressional Relations Office, U.S. State Department, staff member, 1973-76; Senate Foreign Relations Committee, U.S. Senate, staff member, 1976-78; New Mexico Democratic Committee, executive, 1978-82; U.S. House of Representatives, representative from New Mexico, 1982-96. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, 1997-99; secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, 1999-00; Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, instructor, 2001-02; United World College, Montezuma, New Mexico, instructor, 2001-02; business consultant, 2001-02; governor of New Mexico, 2003–.

Awards: Distinguished Public Service Medal, Center for the Study of the Presidency, 1997; Visionary Award, Institute of American Indian Arts Foundation, 1997; International Leadership Award, Institute of American Indian Arts Foundation, 1997.

Address: Office— Office of the Governor, State Capitol, Room 400, Santa Fe, NM 87501.

Richardson's first foray into elective politics was his unsuccessful bid for the second congressional district seat in 1980. On the announcement of his candidacy, Richardson was pelted with charges of carpetbagging. However, he responded that his dual heritage made him a perfect fit for New Mexico's diverse culture, which includes large populations of Anglos, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Richardson won the primary, but faced stiff competition from Rep. Manuel Lujan, Jr., a well-established Republican incumbent, in the general election.

Won Congressional Seat

During the 1980 campaign Richardson worked tirelessly and quickly became known for his campaigning energy. His goal was to not let a day pass without shaking at least 1,000 hands, and he briefly held a spot in the Guinness Book of Record for shaking 8,871 hands in a single day. Richardson spent more than $200,000 on his campaign—much more than Lujan. Nonetheless, Lujan held on to win the election by just 5,000 votes (out of 250,000 votes cast). Despite the loss, Richardson's good showing made him the darling of the Democratic party in New Mexico.

When a new district was created in northern New Mexico the following year, Richardson moved to Santa Fe and was quickly pegged as the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. The new third congressional district covered a vast amount of territory and was one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the nation—40 percent Hispanic, 40 percent Anglo, and 20 percent Native American. There were 28 sovereign Native American nations within the district's borders. Richardson traveled throughout the district, visiting every small town and pueblo, speaking both English and Spanish along way.

Richardson struggled through the primary in 1982. He received negative media attention after being forced to retract a statement in his campaign literature that claimed he spent three years working as Humphrey's top foreign affairs aide during his time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff. In fact, Richardson had served on a subcommittee rather than the full committee and never held a leadership position. More bad press was generated when the Federal Election Commission looked into the source of a $100,000 campaign loan. The investigation revealed that Rich-ardson's mother, still living in Mexico City, had helped Richardson obtain a certificate of deposit. Although cleared of any wrongdoing, the incident brought to light Richardson's privileged background. Despite his missteps, Richardson won the primary with 36 percent of the vote, and his continuous glad-handing earned him a relatively easy victory over Republican Marjorie Bell Chambers. Richardson remained in Congress for the next 14 years, winning every bid for reelection by more than 60 percent of the vote.

Had Long Career in Congress

As a member of Congress, Richardson served on numerous committees. In 1983 he was appointed to a coveted seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he worked as a strong proponent of increased natural gas use and had a significant role in 1990 of strengthening the environmental regulations outlined in the Clean Air Act. Other committee assignments included the Resource Committee on National Parks, Forests, and Lands, the Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Helsinki Committee. In 1985 Richardson was elected as the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, but controversy ensued after he supported immigration legislation that was opposed by most of the House's Hispanic members, leading to Richardson's resignation of the chairman-ship. In 1993 he was named chairman of the Native American Affairs Committee, where he introduced some two dozen bills to improve health care and job training services to the Native American population.

During the 1988 presidential election, Richardson traveled widely to campaign for Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis. Although Dukakis' bid was unsuccessful, Richardson was given credit for a higher-than-average Hispanic turnout in the areas where he campaigned. In 1992 there was talk that Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton, a friend of Richardson, might tag the Congressman for the vice presidential spot. Although the rumors did not play out, Richardson earned a leadership role in Congress as one of four chief deputy Democratic whips following Clinton's election to the presidency.

During his years in Congress, Richardson pushed consistently for a trade agreement with Mexico. In 1992 debate began regarding the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and Richardson quickly emerged as one of the agreement's most vocal proponents. Debate was heated, and Richardson proved instrumental in working with President Clinton to drum up sufficient support to ensure its passage. When NAFTA was passed in 1994, it created the world's largest tariff-free zone that spanned Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

Became Unofficial U.S. Ambassador

As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Richardson traveled around the world on international fact-finding missions, and he soon earned a reputation for his abilities as an unofficial emissary for U.S. interests in unfriendly territories. In 1994 he traveled to Burma to work for the release of the Burmese opposition leader, Nobel-prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been under house arrest since 1989. Leading a United Nations (UN) delegation, Richardson and a New York Times reporter were able to arrange to meet with Suu Kyi for over five hours. Although nothing came directly from the meeting, the encounter did instigate further diplomatic activity that led to Suu Kyi's release the following year. Following his trip to Burma, Richardson's innate desire to appease all sides—a trait that some considered a strength and others, weak-ness—was also receiving attention. Calling for sanction against the government in front of human rights groups, Richardson would speak of the need to remain open when talking with leaders of the Burmese junta.

Following his trip to Burma in February of 1994, Richardson undertook a mission to North Korea in December of 1994. At issue was the North Korean government's sincerity in abiding by the pact it had made with the United States to freeze its nuclear weapons program. By coincidence, while Richardson was in North Korea, a U.S. military helicopter crashed north of the demilitarized zone. One crewman died, and the other was being held in Pyongyang. Richardson immediately informed the North Korean government that he would discuss nothing but the release of the U.S. pilot and the return of the remains of the crewman. The North Koreans continued to push talks on the arms agreement, but Richardson stubbornly refused, until tensions grew to the point that he was asked to leave the country. Holding his ground, Richardson refused to leave. Running up a $10,000 telephone bill with the U.S. State Department, Richardson worked tirelessly to secure the pilot's release. Three days, with negotiations in place, Richardson returned to the United States with the crewman's body. Several days later the pilot was released.

One of Richardson's most high profile diplomatic trips came in July of 1995 when he met with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Richardson arrived to discuss the release of two U.S. engineers, who had been imprisoned four months earlier after becoming lost and accidentally crossing the border from Kuwait into Iraq. Richardson's meeting with Hussein did not begin smoothly when Richardson unknowingly insulted Hussein by crossing his legs and showing the Iraq leader the soles of his feet. Hussein left the room but eventually returned. After a 90-minute discussion, Hussein agreed to release the engineers, successfully placing another feather in Richardson's cap.

Richardson was in flight again in December of 1996, this time traveling to the Sudan to negotiate the release of three Red Cross workers who had been taken hostage by rebel leader Kerubino Kwanyin Bol after their plane crashed. Later he was praised for his success in securing the release of the Red Cross workers, as well as five Sudanese who had also been on the plane. Richardson also received criticism for his friendly demeanor toward rebels known for committing crimes and atrocities, and for conceding to give the rebels jeeps, radios, and rice in exchange for the prisoners. Yet Richardson defended his negotiating style by noting that a good negotiator who does whatever gets results. He told Fortune: "You have to respect the other side's point of view. You have to know what makes your adversary tick. Certainly you want to have a goal. You want to come out of a meeting with something, even if it's only a second meeting. And basically you have to use every single negotiating technique you know—bluster, reverence, humor."

Path to Governorship

In 1992 Richardson was under consideration for the Interior Secretary's position, but the job went to Bruce Babbitt after environmental groups voiced fears that Richardson would be too sympathetic to ranching interests. Four years later Clinton appointed Richardson as the new U.S. ambassador to the UN, replacing Madeleine Albright. Later, Richardson became embroiled in Clinton's Monica Lewinsky scandal after it was revealed that he had offered to create a job for the intern at the UN.

In 1999 Clinton convinced Richardson to accept an appointment as secretary of the Department of Energy. As energy secretary, Richardson came into the national spotlight when classified information turned up missing at the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory. Richardson and the administration did their best to blame security lapses on previous administrations, but when it was discovered in July of 2000 that two hard drives containing nuclear secrets mysteriously disappeared for a month, Richardson returned to the hot seat. Once widely rumored as Al Gore's probable choice as a running mate in the 2000, the upheaval in the Department of Energy pushed Richardson back down the list of vice-presidential hopefuls.

In 2000 Richardson resigned his position as secretary of the Department of Energy and returned to New Mexico. He spent 2001 teaching classes at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government as well as at the United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. He also worked as a business consultant in Santa Fe and served on the boards of several organizations, including Freedom House (a private organization that promotes democracy worldwide), the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the United Way International. On January 12, 2002, he announced his candidacy for governor of New Mexico.

During the 2002 gubernatorial race, Richardson once again undertook a nonstop press to meet the people and get out the vote. He shattered the world handshaking record by glad-handing 13,392 in an eight-hour period. Running on the platform of improved education, tax cuts, higher wages, and a comprehensive statewide water plan, Richardson won the election by the largest margin of victory since 1964. He was inaugurated as the governor of New Mexico on January 1, 2003. According to Fox News, when asked if he would accept a nomination to be the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2004 if asked, Richardson said no, responding, "I love being governor. I love being in New Mexico."