Put Martinez' veto in a snow bank

Take a moment as you indulge in your morning coffee to consider this scenario with me.

You and your family are avid skiers. You have a couple of kids who’ve learned to love the slopes and they — like you — look forward to little getaways whenever it fits in the schedule. Last weekend, you had the chance to venture to the Santa Fe area for a little taste of the slopes and some rest and relaxation.

The trip was going well. There was always a cozy fire burning in the lobby of the resort, the food was top notch at the restaurants you visited and your children were building experiences they’d remember for a lifetime.

On the last day of the trip, mom unfortunately took a tumble after hitting an icy patch on one of her runs. Dreadfully, she injured her knee.

She missed work on Monday. She’s probably going to miss another couple of days because she’ll need to meet with a specialist to determine whether surgery is necessary. If it is, undoubtedly it’s going to lead to another few days of missed work.

That’s OK, though. It’s not the end of the world because mom’s contract with her employer affords her 10 days of sick leave each year. She’ll be able to utilize those sick days to help recover from the injury and get back on her feet.

Wait, did I forget to mention that she’s a teacher? All bets are off now. After using her first three sick days, she’s going to automatically receive negative marks on her evaluation in spite of what’s included in her contract.

OK, what if instead of mom getting hurt on the ski trip it was one of her kids? She may have to take off those same sick days to care for her injured child and then tote them to doctor’s appointments as they face the same potential surgery scenario.

It still doesn’t matter. She’s a teacher.

And as a teacher, she’s not the governor of New Mexico. That may seem like an odd reference here, but let me bring it all together for you.

It was New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez who crashed and burned on the ski slopes last Sunday during a free trip to a Republican Governors Association meeting in Park City, Utah. She missed work on Monday.

She said in a statement released this week that she’ll be getting her knee checked out soon. She certainly could face surgery. She’s probably going to miss more work.

But, she’s not a teacher. She’s made it even clearer this week that she doesn’t care about our state’s educators.

Full disclosure: My wife has been a school teacher for two decades, one year in New Mexico. My mom and dad were both longtime educators on the East Coast. I come from a family of educationalists.

On Thursday, Martinez vetoed House Bill 241 that would have allowed teachers to take more of their contractually-allowed sick leave without being penalized. The bill passed the House by a 64-3 vote and sailed through the Senate by a 39-0 count.

Sen. Craig Brandt of Rio Rancho began the process Friday to override the governor’s veto. It would take the support of two-thirds of the members of each chamber to accomplish that. The Legislature has never overridden one of her rejections.

Now is the time to do it. Pretty convincingly, 103 of our state’s 106 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill during the session. I implore them to do the right thing and not become spineless with some “party line” excuse.

It’s time for our elected officials to override her first veto after six years in office.

Remind her, too, just how much time from work she’s probably going to miss after her skiing debacle last weekend.

Rob Langrell is the publisher of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]