JOHN DENDAHL RE-ELECTED GOP CHAIR

SOCORRO - John Dendahl was re-elected Saturday as chairman of the New
Mexico Republican Party, fending off a challenge from state Rep. Ron Godbey
of Albuquerque.

Dendahl got 268 votes to Godbey's 104 at a meeting of the state central
committee.

Dendahl, 62, of Santa Fe, was criticized by Godbey and other Republicans
for supporting Gov. Gary Johnson's drug reform crusade.

"We've got some fences to mend. We've got some patching to do," Dendahl
told Republican officials.

Godbey, 66, a retired Air Force officer and one of Johnson's fiercest
critics, said he wanted to take the party back on a more traditional path.

"The drug discussion is absolutely killing us, and if I'm elected I assure
you there will be no further discussion of legalizing drugs from the party
platform," Godbey said.

Dendahl stressed his support of traditional Republican issues and said the
party needs him.

"These are going to be two rough years," Dendahl told the crowd, with
redistricting this year and elections in 2002.

"Prominent Democrats are out there circling like buzzards" for the
governor's seat and other offices, he said. "Our plate is full to overflowing."

Johnson, a Republican who wraps up his second term next year, is nationally
known as an advocate of legalizing marijuana and reducing penalties for
using other drugs.

He proposed reforms in the recent legislative session that included
decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and
legalizing the use of marijuana by seriously ill patients.

Those were rejected, but lesser measures - making clean needles and a
heroin-overdose antidote more readily available were enacted.

Johnson nominated Dendahl for re-election, calling him "my friend and my
role model."

Later, in a speech to the committee, Johnson said his drug legalization
effort does not make him any less a Republican and he encouraged committee
members not to fear dialogue on the issue.

Richard Cheney of Farmington, the chairman of the San Juan County GOP and a
Godbey supporter, said the drug issue and Dendahl's support of it had
deeply divided the party.

"I hope John will be able to hold the rhetoric down on the drug issue -
leave that to someone else," Cheney said. Drug legalization, he said, is a
"liberal Democrat issue and a libertarian issue."

Do=F1a Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez - in a speech about
recruiting more Hispanics to the party - said that legalization and
decriminalization of drugs is "not the answer."

"Our leadership should represent the majority and the majority do not
support this issue," she said. The emphasis on drugs would discourage
Hispanics from joining the GOP.

Dendahl supporters said he has reinvigorated the party in the six years he
has been chairman.

"I think his leadership has permeated the entire party," said Jim Hurlbut,
a Gallup real estate broker.

Hurlbut said Dendahl has been more aggressive than his predecessors. "I
think the contributions of the Republican Party are significant, and our
leadership should be telling that story."