Thread: US-Mexico border-state governors to convene in Santa Fe

US-Mexico border-state governors to convene in Santa Fe
By Ramon Bracamontes \ El Paso Times
Posted: 09/18/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT


The U.S.-Mexico border governors will meet Sunday and Monday in Santa Fe to talk about border security and economic development even though Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer are boycotting the event, New Mexico officials said Friday.

Brewer and Perry will not be there because they disagree with the decision of the other governors to move the conference from Arizona to New Mexico. The conference was supposed to be in Phoenix this year, but the six Mexican governors in the group announced in June that they would not travel to Arizona because of its new immigration law.

At that point, Brewer canceled the conference.

However, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson disagreed with Brewer and he moved the conference to New Mexico. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is helping Richardson host the conference. Chihuahua state Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza is expected to be there.

Richardson said the conference must go on regardless of who shows up.

"As border governors, we see the impact of border issues like security, economic development and energy issues every day," Richardson said in a statement. "While we may not always agree on every issue, as leaders of the U.S.-Mexico border region, we must maintain a strong dialogue to help assure cooperation along the border, resolve regional border issues, and make sure binational issues are given proper attention by our federal governments."

A spokeswoman for Perry said the Texas governor will not attend the meeting and referred all questions to the statements Perry made in July when the conference site was changed.

"It was Arizona's turn to host this and he respected their decision to cancel it. He still intends to have a working relationship with all of the border governors," Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said.

For 27 years, governors representing the U.S. and Mexican states along the border have met to discuss common interests. The annual conference rotates locations each year.

The U.S. states normally represented at the conference are Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. The six Mexican states represented are Coahuila, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Baja California.

Next year's meeting is scheduled to be in the Mexican state of Baja California.

www.elpasotimes.com

Schwarzenegger to skip border governors' meeting
The Associated Press
Posted: 09/18/2010 05:00:20 PM PDT
Updated: 09/18/2010 05:00:20 PM PDT


SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is skipping next week's border governors' conference in New Mexico because of California's record budget impasse.
Spokesman Aaron McLear said Saturday that Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado will attend while Schwarzenegger holds budget talks with legislative leaders Monday.

Lawmakers set a new record for a tardy budget this week.

The governors of Arizona and Texas also will miss the meeting of U.S. and Mexican border governors. The conference was moved from Arizona because of its new immigration enforcement law.

Schwarzenegger's decision gives Maldonado a spotlight for the second time in two weeks as he seeks to hold his office in the November election.

Maldonado oversaw the state's early response to the San Bruno natural gas disaster while Schwarzenegger was in Asia.


http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16113076

From what I have learned about all of the border Governors, they would probably agree to meet with glee if the issue were about how fast they could get Washington DC to legalize 20 million + illegal aliens. As everyone knows the republican governors are all RINOs, and so is little goofy Maldonado.

I heard on a radio station that Abel is so supportive of those who have come here to our country illegally, that he refuses to be interviewed by some radio hosts who might ask him any hard questions about illegal aliens. But it is pretty obvious he is being groomed for a high position in our countries politics anyway.

New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson loves every minute of it. If there was ever any official state "protector of the clan", he's it.

Glad to see Schwarzenegger is busy.