Pubdate: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 1999 Albuquerque Journal Contact: P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103 Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Author: Loie Fecteau, Journal Capitol Bureau WHITE'S EXIT BAFFLES GOVERNOR Former state Public Safety chief Darren White said Wednesday his relationship with Gov. Gary Johnson started deteriorating after he said the governor's advocacy of drug legalization was demoralizing police throughout the state. White, a Johnson Cabinet member for five years, resigned Tuesday over differences with Johnson's drug-policy positions. Johnson appointed State Police Chief Frank Taylor as acting secretary of the Public Safety Department. Johnson said through a spokesperson Wednesday that he was perplexed by White's abrupt resignation. "He doesn't understand the resignation," said Diane Kinderwater, Johnson's press secretary. "He did not ask him to resign. He's said you can disagree with me, just understand my position -- know it and understand it." Taylor on Wednesday said he, too, disagrees with Johnson's support of legalizing drugs, including heroin and cocaine. But Taylor said he has spoken with the governor and was reassured that Johnson did not expect his Public Safety chief to agree with him on drug legalization. "I respect the governor's position, but he also understands and respects ours from law enforcement," Taylor said in an interview. "There has never been any remarks or statements made by him or any of his staff for us to curtail any (drug) interdiction efforts." White said Johnson's increasing advocacy of drug legalization over the last few months had made it impossible for him to do his job. Johnson's arguments have gained national attention. At a drug policy forum in Albuquerque on Tuesday, he argued that marijuana smokers pose less danger to society than heavy drinkers. Johnson said most people would avoid a raging drunk while the only damage a pot smoker would do "is to a bag of potato chips." White said in an interview Wednesday he finds Johnson's arguments in support of drug legalization "troubling." "Especially where he's saying pot is safer than alcohol or tobacco," White said. "Safer? That's like saying it's safer for a child to play with a loaded .22 than to play with a loaded .38." White said tensions between him and the governor over the drug issue began to come to a head after White said in an Oct. 13 story in the Journal that Johnson's position was damaging the morale and credibility of law enforcement officers across New Mexico. "It's a major moral killer," White said in the story. "These guys feel he doesn't appreciate what we are doing." White, a Cabinet secretary for Johnson since the beginning of Johnson's first term in 1995, was the latest dissenter from the Republican governor's controversial drug arguments. Three members of Johnson's Drug Enforcement Advisory Council, including representatives of the FBI and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, resigned in October. They said Johnson's views were inconsistent with the council's mission. Johnson and White have acknowledged in interviews having a private telephone conversation about White's comments in the Journal. "That conversation was the beginning of when it (Johnson's drug stance) did start to get in the way," White said Wednesday. "I told him that night, 'I'm walking a tightrope here, and you took the net away.' That's when the relationship started to deteriorate ... I could tell he was disappointed in me." Johnson said in an interview last week that he was upset with White for saying he did not understand Johnson's drug stance. "I've told my Cabinet, 'You can criticize me from sun up till sundown, but first understand what I'm saying,' '' Johnson said. "Well, of all people, Darren should have been able to write an essay on where I was coming from ... I was taken aback." White accompanied Johnson in early October to Washington, D.C., when Johnson spoke to the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute in support of drug legalization. Johnson said in the earlier interview that White's job was not in jeopardy over the drug issue, nor was the job of anyone else in his Cabinet who disagreed with him. Kelly Ward, Johnson's superintendent for Regulation and Licensing, said Wednesday that the drug issue has been a hot topic of discussion at recent Cabinet meetings. "But it's never been 'my way or you're gone,' " said Ward, who was Johnson's senior policy analyst before being named by the governor to his current post late this summer. Meanwhile, White's resignation was greeted by mixed feelings by members of the Legislative Finance Committee, where he had been scheduled to appear Wednesday before he resigned. "I think the department is the winner in this case," said Sen. Ben Altamirano, D-Silver City, who chairs the committee. Sen. Sue Wilson, R-Albuquerque, said she wished White had stuck it out despite his differences with Johnson over the drug issue. "These abrupt resignations hurt the state in terms of being inflammatory and political," Wilson said. "If it had been me, I think I would have stayed even though I differed with the governor. Most people are differing with the governor, but it doesn't mean that I want to resign my Senate seat." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk