GOP CONVENTION TO NOMINATE CANDIDATES TODAY

Gov. Gary Johnson says a proposed change in the state Republican Party
platform won't stop him from advocating an overhaul of drug laws, including
legalizing marijuana.

Republicans will vote today on revisions to the party platform at a
preprimary nominating convention in Socorro. Delegates also will decide
which candidates for governor, Congress and other offices will receive
automatic places on the June 4 primary-election ballot. A proposed change
in the platform is aimed at the governor's drug-policy agenda and GOP
chairman John Dendahl's support for it.

If the platform plank on "controlled substances" is adopted, Republicans
will go on record in opposition to legalizing or decriminalizing drugs,
including marijuana.

Johnson has advocated legalizing the medical use of marijuana and
decriminalizing the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana, which would
treat it like a traffic violation that's subject to a civil fine but no
jail time or arrest.

Johnson said he didn't consider the platform change a slap at him personally.

"Everybody is so fearful about doing anything other than the status quo. In
an election, I just see this as part of that whole phobia about not getting
a vote because you might - what I would term - speak the truth on these
issues," Johnson said earlier this week.

Dendahl said he didn't expect a big fight at the convention over the
anti-drug platform change. The state GOP platform is silent on the subject
of legalizing drugs.

A platform committee has recommended the changes. Initially, the proposed
document expressed opposition to drug legalization, but this week the panel
agreed to expand that to include decriminalization.

Frank Gorham III of Albuquerque, who helped form a group to oppose the
governor's drug-law proposals during the Legislature, lobbied for the
broader statement against easing drug laws.

"Our goal is to basically have the state Republican Party adopt a platform
and then require that party officials publicly adhere to that position,"
Gorham said Friday.

Candidates are free to stake out their own positions on drugs and other
issues, he said.

But Gorham said, "Dendahl should not, in his capacity as party chairman,
advocate a position on controlled substances contrary to the state-party
platform."

Dendahl has come under heavy fire from some Republicans for backing the
governor's drug policies. However, Dendahl won re-election last year by
defeating one of the sharpest critics of the governor's stance on drugs,
Rep. Ron Godbey of Albuquerque.

Godbey said he didn't expect Johnson to be silenced by the platform change.

"I don't think whatever we say will keep him quiet on the issue. He's
leaving office and not bound by it," Godbey said.

But Dendahl should be held to a different standard, he said.

"As chairman of the party, I believe he is morally bound to support
verbatim the party platform. Now whether or not he will do that remains to
be seen," Godbey said.