Editor,
What does it say about an elected official who gets state properties and facilities named for himself or a family member while he or she is still in office?
Usually, naming monuments and properties occurs after the person has left office. Fiorello LaGuardia did not name the airport that bears his name. Initially called New York Municipal Airport, it was renamed LaGuardia in 1947 - two years after he left office, and the same year he died.
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is another story. He has the Barbara and Bill Richardson Pavilion at University Hospital, the Barbara Richardson Waterfall at the National Hispanic Cultural Center and the Barbara Richardson Care Bus. What kind of leader does this? Two examples I can think of are Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein - who had the Saddam Hussein General Hospital, Saddam Hussein International Airport and statues galore in Iraq - and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, who named a city for himself.
I can already see what is next. UNM will become Bill Richardson University at Albuquerque and the Lobo statue replaced by a Bill Richardson statue. I-25 will become Bill Richardson Expressway and I-40 will become the Barbara Richardson Interstate Highway. The sole refuge will be the airport, which will likely be named for one of Albuquerque's mayors - most likely Martin Ch†vez.
My proposal: The next rest stop on the highways to Arizona, Colorado or Texas should be named the Bill Richardson Bathroom. The restrooms at UNM should be named the Richardson Toilet and Wash Facilities.
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Brandon Curtis
Daily Lobo reader
