CLOVIS OFFICIALS READY TO OPPOSE JOHNSON'S STANCE

The mayor and city commissioners want to send a clear message tonight to
Gov. Gary Johnson. Clovis leaders decided to just say no to the governor's
controversial and well-publicized support of legalizing drugs from
marijuana to cocaine and heroin.

"Personally, I feel the governor is way out of control," Clovis Mayor
Pro-Tem Robert Moreno said. "Definitely, drugs are a problem in our area
and in the United States. Legalization will not stop the tide of drugs from
coming in."

At tonight's Clovis City Commission meeting, commissioners said they plan
to adopt a formal resolution opposing Johnson's stance on the legalization
of drugs and his statements concerning drug use and asking the governor to
reconsider his position.

"We wanted to pass a resolution in public so people would know where we
stand, that we totally disagree with the governor and his concept about
drugs," Moreno said.

The resolution is modeled after a lengthier version promoted by Santa Fe
City Councilor Peso Chavez and forwarded to the New Mexico Municipal
League, which in turn passed it along to Clovis and other cities in the
state, Clovis City Commissioner Mario Trujillo said.

"I definitely think the governor is on the wrong track myself," Trujillo
said. "I don't think we need to be legalizing drugs."

Clovis Mayor David Lansford said as a community leader and a concerned
parent he objects to the governor's stance.

"I think the biggest negative effect the governor's comments have had is on
young people who are looking for consistency," Lansford said. "My own
children, when they heard Gov. Johnson's statements, said, 'Where is he
coming from?' They don't agree with him at all."

Lansford said he believes that Johnson is entitled to his opinion, but when
the comments come from a governor in office, "it sends a confusing message
to our kids.

"Drugs are not good," Lansford said. "They destroy people's lives. I think
Gov. Johnson is looking at it from a budgetary standpoint of how much it
costs to arrest and incarcerate people who use and sell drugs. He's
overlooked the social and moral implications from his comments."

City Commissioner Kevin Duncan said he thinks it is important for Clovis to
take a stand and for other cities to have the opportunity to officially
oppose the governor's stance on drug legalization "to show the whole state
of New Mexico is not for it."

"I'm against it myself because that's all you hear these days are problems
with drugs everywhere," Duncan said.

City Commissioner Jonathan Brock, a full-time pastor who serves as a
chaplain for the Clovis Police Department, echoed the thoughts of several
other commissioners when he said Johnson should have been more forth-right
about his views on drug legalization before he was elected last year to a
second four-year term in office.

"I was disappointed in our leader to come out for legalizing drugs," Brock
said. "I think New Mexico, especially being so close to the border, should
take a stand against all drugs. I'm glad we're doing this resolution
because I want the governor to know he doesn't speak for me."

Longtime Clovis City Commissioner Isidro Garcia said he does not want the
rest of the country to think that New Mexicans support drug legalization.

"Hopefully, people will realize that not all people in New Mexico feel the
way the governor does," Garcia said.