JOHNSON, DEA HEAD DEBATE MONDAY

As state legislators continue wrangling over redistricting, Gov. Gary
Johnson will once again take the national spotlight to espouse his
views on a topic that has caused strife in the state Republican Party
- - drug-law reform.

On Monday, Johnson will debate Asa Hutchinson, the new head of the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration, on a national radio show.
The debate is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday at The University of New
Mexico's Continuing Education Conference Center, 1634 University
Blvd. The event is free and open to the public.

The debate will be broadcast sometime in the fall on Justice Talking,
a weekly show on National Public Radio hosted by radio journalist
Margot Adler. It also will be available over the Internet.

Since the special redistricting session of the Legislature began,
Johnson and his aides have stressed the governor's loyalty and
commitment to the Republican Party, promising to veto any
redistricting plan he feels is unfair to the GOP.

Johnson's legislative liaison Dave Miller has talked openly about how
state Republican National Committeeman Mickey Barnett and Mark
Braden, a national redistricting consultant from the RNC, have
"camped out" in the governor's office for the special session.

Not surprisingly, Republican lawmakers at the special session have
been enthusiastic about defending Johnson in this regard in the face
of frequent criticism from Democrats.

However, the drug issue in recent months has shown that the state
Republicans are not always one big happy family. It has caused
several instances of bad blood and public feuding among Republicans.

The issue spurred U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici to rally other New Mexico
GOP congressional representatives to lambaste state Republican
Chairman John Dendahl for publicly supporting Johnson's drug-reform
initiatives during the last legislative session.

This led Rep. Ron Godbey of Cedar Crest - Johnson's staunchest critic
about drug issues - to launch an unsuccessful campaign to wrest the
state party chairmanship away from Dendahl.

Drug reform also was the underlying issue in the much-publicized spat
in June involving Godbey and House Republican Whip Earlene Roberts of
Lovington on one side and Rep. Dan Foley of Roswell - who supported
some of Johnson's drug measures - on the other.

Godbey said last week that he thought Monday's debate could reopen
these wounds "depending on how the press plays it."

"I understand it's going to be broadcast at a later date," Godbey
said. "If the press doesn't give it a lot of coverage, it probably
won't have much effect."

But Godbey was not concerned that the drug debate could derail
Republican unity during the special session. "It's bad timing,"
Godbey said. "But I don't think it will do much more damage than
already has been done."

Godbey said he was going to make an effort to attend the debate.

Miller said last week that he doubted the debate would prompt much
criticism. "Who would throw stones at such a prestigious forum?"
Miller said.

Johnson has appeared in several national forums over the past two
years, calling for liberalization of drug laws.

Until taking the DEA job this year, Hutchinson was a congressman from
Arkansas. On the drug issue, he is Johnson's polar opposite.

Hutchinson recently called for increased enforcement of federal
marijuana laws in states that allow the medical use of marijuana.
Johnson backed legislation in New Mexico that would have set up a
medical-marijuana program.

According to a news release from the Lindesmith Center, "The debate
will cover a broad range of drug-policy issues, including mandatory
minimum sentencing, incarceration versus treatment, legalization of
certain substances and quantities, and whether our federal government
should emphasize prevention and education or drug interdiction."

Following the drug debate, Justice Talking also will tape a
discussion about Indian sovereignty. One scheduled speaker is former
Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Kevin Gover.

This debate also is free and open to the public and is scheduled to
begin at 7:30 p.m.