Baca says Qwest deal may paint PRC into corner

The Deming Headlight - PRC considers latest Qwest offer:

Chairman Ben R. Lujan said Qwest was simply doing what the PRC had asked — coming forward with a plan to settle the dispute.

But Commissioner E. Shirley Baca of Las Cruces said she felt reports from the governor's press conference made the settlement appear to be a done deal, and may have painted the PRC into a corner.

"It almost made me feel like we had to do it or it would make us look like the bad guys for not going along with money for low-income schools," Baca said, referring to part of the settlement that calls for $15 million to be devoted to school technology.

Baca said she felt "offended" by the way the settlement was announced.

"Ultimately, whether any of the parties like it or not, whether the governor likes it or not, the buck does stop here," she said. "We are the final deciding body, not the governor's office, not the (General Services Department), not the attorney general."