Governor Bill Richardson used his oft-neglected blog today to push back on criticism coming at him for his spending and the current budget crisis that necessitated a special session. (There is no record as to when there was last a post on the blog, but I can’t recall seeing a post in recent months.)

A common argument by legislators, used by both Democrats and Republicans in this year’s special session, is that Richardson has been wildly overspending in recent years.

The Richardson blog spreads the blame, writing, “the same legislators who are critical of spending during the past seven years are conveniently forgetting important details about those budgets, including the overwhelmingly support from the Legislature for each of those spending plans.”

Richardson’s blog says the state spent “a major portion” of the money from the oil and gas boom “on one-time projects, rather than on-going initiatives.”

The blog says Richardson “work[ed] with the Legislature invested in the top priorities, such as $1 billion in classroom spending. The vast majority of that went toward salaries, particularly teacher salaries – which moved New Mexico from the bottom of the national rankings to a more competitive salary level.”

And it gives vote details.

Here is how legislators voted on the main budget bills for each of the past seven years:

2009
House 45-25
Senate 35-5

2008
House 57-10
Senate 36-4

2007
House 48-20
Senate 33-5

2006
House 68-0
Senate 39-2

2005
House 66-3
Senate 35-3

2004
House 54-14
Senate 31-18

2003
House 43-20
Senate 38-0