SANTA FE, N.M. — On the afternoon of the 58th day of New Mexico's 60-day legislative session, Gov. Bill Richardson reclined on the green leather couch in his office, rubbed his eyes and growled to the cluster of staffers surrounding him: "What can I sign?"
His aides, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, explained that the Legislature's printing office had lost three employees, keeping newly passed bills from promptly reaching his desk.
"Send them some of our people," Richardson said. "I gotta sign something."
That impatience has been the hallmark of Richardson's four years as governor, a tenure that has transformed this sleepy state's politics. The Democrat has launched a flurry of initiatives, ranging from the mainstream to the quirky. At his urging, the state has cut taxes, given teachers $275 million in raises, legalized medical marijuana, and authorized $225 million in state money to build a spaceport.
Even though the Legislature passed 80 of his bills in the session that ended March 17, he still wanted more. He called for a special session that ended March 30. He didn't get his ethics package through the Legislature in the second round, and the governor said he was considering calling yet another special session.
"It just never stops; it's busy, busy, busy," said Democratic state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, a longtime Richardson friend. "He's got an agenda like you can't believe."
Allies and critics agree that Richardson, 59, has become the dominating force in New Mexico politics. But it's not so on the national scene, where Richardson -- perhaps best-known as a former U.N. ambassador and a freelance negotiator in international hotspots -- faces an uphill battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. He lags far behind front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and also trails John Edwards.
Richardson's advisors say they're not worried -- it's too early for longshots like the governor to pull ahead, and they expect his unvarnished, outsized personality to charm primary voters. He contends he has a better chance than the other underdogs: "I'm perfectly content to be the only candidate in the second tier."
Once voters learn about what Richardson has done in New Mexico, they'll pay attention, supporters say. Even the governor's opponents in the state acknowledge that he's a formidable political figure.
