GOV. SAYS HE'S TENDING TO BUSINESS

Gov. Gary Johnson on Thursday said he is not neglecting New Mexico's
problems as he crusades for national drug policy reform.

The governor said his critics -- including some fellow Republicans -- have
wrongly accused him of "not minding the store" as he speaks out in favor of
legalizing drugs.

Johnson, who just returned from the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, also
defended his out-of-state travel, insisting it's minimal when compared with
previous governors.

"There is a perception right now that somehow I am not minding the store,
and I just think that is a false perception," Johnson said during an
Albuquerque news conference on a variety of issues. "I accept it, but it's
not happening. I know what problems we have ... and we continue to address
all those problems and understand what the issues are."

Over the past several months, Johnson has tried to spark a national drug
policy debate and has drawn criticism from Democrats, law enforcement
officials and even Republicans who say he has more important issues to
worry about.

Senate Majority Leader Tim Jennings has publicly criticized Johnson for
"not doing what he was elected to do."

State Republican Party chairman John Dendahl earlier this month urged the
governor to focus on other New Mexico issues. Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley also
has disagreed with Johnson's drug stance.

Johnson said Thursday any perceptions that he is concerned only with drug
reform and that he is traveling all over the country to advance that agenda
are false.

He said almost all of the nationally televised interviews he has done on
the drug issue have been done from the state Capitol.

"All of these shows I'm doing out of New Mexico," he said. Johnson traveled
to Washington, D.C., for three days earlier this month to speak in favor of
drug legalization and school vouchers. That trip cost taxpayers $2,400.

Last week, the Albuquerque Journal reported that Johnson has been out of
state 290 days, or almost 10 months, since he took office in 1995.
Johnson's travel has allowed Bradley, who is paid extra when Johnson leaves
the state, to pocket more than $47,000 in bonus pay.

Johnson said he travels only when he needs to, and pointed out that he has
voluntarily slashed his own discretionary budget by $60,000 a year since
taking office.

"I've traveled less than any other governor in this office," he said.

Several state agencies, including the Department of Finance and
Administration, said they could not provide the Journal with the travel
records of previous governors.

But Johnson isn't the first governor to be criticized for his travel.
Former governors Toney Anaya, a Democrat, and Garrey Carruthers, a
Republican, also were criticized for their travel habits. Carruthers once
spent 109 days out of New Mexico in a single year. Johnson's highest
one-year out-of-state total is 67 days.