OPINION: Self-inflicted wounds will do in Sen. Pirtle

Mar. 14—As it turned out, Sen. Cliff Pirtle's worst move of the legislative session wasn't introducing a showboating bill to create a state holiday after the Super Bowl.

Pirtle, R-Roswell, stands accused of infidelity by his wife, Aysia. He isn't talking, but speculation at the Capitol is rampant the woman linked to Pirtle is a legislative employee. If it's true, he might face a Senate ethics investigation.

None of it will matter in the long run, except to people inside the Pirtles' household. Their pain is only beginning.

To the outside world, this statehouse soap opera already has a predictable ending. At 37, Sen. Pirtle is finished politically.

Depending on the time and place, certain people in public life cannot withstand a scandal.

Presidential front-runner Gary Hart saw his campaign collapse in 1987 based on a single newspaper story. The Miami Herald reported a model from Florida had flown to Washington to spend a weekend with Hart, a married man. Traditional newspaper practices of ignoring politicians' infidelities were history. So was Hart.

Pirtle finds himself in a similar fix. His wounds are self-inflicted and deep enough to return him to private life.

Pirtle since 2013 has represented a conservative swath of southeastern New Mexico. He spoke often about big-city legislators disregarding salt-of-the-earth rural residents, people like himself.

To protect his bedrock values, Pirtle in 2021 proposed a constitutional amendment to allow counties to secede from New Mexico. Freed from liberals, disaffected counties could form a new state or become part of an adjoining state.

His amendment went to the Senate Rules Committee, a cemetery for zany proposals. Pirtle didn't mind. He made hay in his district.

No one was more concise than Pirtle during Senate debates. He would rise, make a point in 30 or 40 seconds, then sit down.

His plainspoken style could be adversarial. City slickers were typical targets of his barbs.

He once stood to extol the freedoms of Texas. Pirtle said its policies were a welcome contrast to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's insistence on mask mandates and shuttered schools during stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque, had a fast rebuttal. Ivey-Soto pointed out winter power outages had crippled much of Texas. A land of the frigid and immobilized wasn't all that free.

Even with legislative conflict, Pirtle was well-liked by many Democrats. Liberal Sen. Bill O'Neill, D-Albuquerque, is especially fond of Pirtle. O'Neill even wrote a play called Save the Bees that was inspired by their friendship.

Other Democrats, such as Sen. Joe Cervantes of Las Cruces, found wisdom in some of Pirtle's positions. One was Pirtle's opposition this session to Rep. Pamelya Herndon's House Bill 9 that established new crimes for negligently making firearms available to a minor.

Cervantes voted for Herndon's bill, though without enthusiasm. "I think Senator Pirtle and Senator [Greg] Baca have a good point. This law is going to be ignored by just about everybody," Cervantes said.

It was the sort of moment that led Republicans to believe Pirtle might be a good candidate for higher office next year or in 2026.

Not many at the Capitol remember it, but Pirtle tried to start near the top of politics. He ran for Congress in 2010 when he was just 25 years old. Pirtle lost the Republican primary in a landslide.

He set his sights lower in 2012 when he entered the race for a seat in the state Senate. Pirtle tried to obscure his failed campaign for Congress. He said he wasn't a politician, only a farmer who wanted to do the people's work.

Pirtle squeaked through the Senate primary by nine votes. He went on to oust Democratic Sen. Tim Jennings in the general election.

Jennings, in step with many Republicans, had been in office since the 1970s. But then-Gov. Susana Martinez saw Jennings as an obstacle to her conservative legislative agenda. Pirtle benefited from ads attacking Jennings.

The second-youngest senator when he took office, Pirtle showed his flair for introducing provocative bills. He perhaps is best-known for his relentless campaign to do away with twice-a-year time changes in New Mexico.

Pirtle also established something of a tradition on the last day of legislative sessions. He would bring Aysia and their kids onto the Senate floor. They were always the most photographed family in the chamber.

In one of those grand finales, the Senate took up an unusual bill by then-Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque. Youngblood wanted to exempt people who specialize in eyebrow threading from having to obtain a cosmetology license.

Aysia Pirtle opposed the bill. She fed information to husband Cliff, who urged fellow senators to vote down Youngblood's proposal.

Youngblood fumed as she stood in the Senate chamber, listening to Pirtle relay his wife's objections. Senators finally went along with Youngblood's idea, voting 27-12 to exempt eyebrow threaders from licensing requirements. Martinez would sign the measure into law.

The Pirtles nonetheless made quite an impression with their teamwork. It will be a distant memory when Pirtle stands alone as the session ends Saturday.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.