House speaker Don Tripp expected to resign
Don Tripp, speaker of the state House of Representatives, is poised to step down from the Legislature after a string of defeats in November’s election pushed Republicans back into the minority in the House, meaning Tripp would lose the powerful post of speakership after just two years.
“I may be doing other things after the first of the year,” Tripp, a Republican from Socorro, said Tuesday when asked about his plans for the legislative session scheduled to begin Jan. 17.
The House elected Tripp speaker in 2015 after the GOP won control of the chamber for the first time since Republican Dwight Eisenhower’s runaway victory in the 1952 presidential election. But several Republican House members lost their seats in November, turning New Mexico’s Legislature solid blue despite GOP gains in other statehouses.
Democrats, who will hold a 37-33 majority in the House as of Jan. 1, have nominated Brian Egolf of Santa Fe to succeed Tripp as speaker.
Tripp didn’t run for a post in the House Republican leadership after Democrats won back the majority. Instead, Albuquerque Rep. Nate Gentry was elected as minority leader and the highest-ranking Republican in the House. Gentry held the post before the party won a majority.
The affable, easy-going Tripp and the more aggressive Gentry had a rocky relationship at times.
Tripp, 70, owner of a jewelry store, has not formally announced whether he will resign from the Legislature, but he did not deny rumors that he is considering stepping down before the legislative session.
“When a speaker retires [from party leadership] or is not voted back in, they move on,” said Tripp, a member of the state House since 1999.
He declined to discuss any possible future political plans. Tripp is married to Rosie Tripp, a Republican National Committee member.
The board of commissioners in each county that Tripp represents would recommend a successor for Republican Gov. Susana Martinez to appoint. Tripp’s district stretches across three counties: Catron, Socorro and Valencia. Republicans will hold majorities on each board of commissioners at the start of the year, and it is unlikely members would recommend a Democrat to represent the relatively conservative district.
Tripp will serve as speaker until the session begins next month. Until then, he will be in charge of staffing and administration in the Legislature’s lower chamber. The House speaker appoints committee chairs, assigns bills to committees and oversees daily business on the floor.
Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell of Roswell,who is the House Republicans’ new caucus chairwoman, described Tripp as conscientious.
“He moved all of us into position with diplomacy and tact,” Ezzell said.
Though only speaker for a brief time, Tripp left an impression by changing the schedules for committee meetings so as not to conflict with floor sessions. He also admonished committee chairs to run their meetings on time. The focus on scheduling was part of what Tripp described as an effort to make the House more consumer-friendly.
“The biggest change that people talk about is committees starting on time,” Egolf said.
Egolf declined to comment on Tripp’s possible resignation from the Legislature but said the transition of power had been smooth, describing the outgoing speaker as a gentleman.
The House will keep much of the scheduling reforms Tripp put in place, Egolf added.
The Santa Fe New Mexican is a sister-paper of The Taos News. Contact Andrew Oxford at 505-986-3093 or aoxford@sfnewmexican.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andrewboxford.
