By Tracy Dingmann

I had just one question when I saw Sunday’s guest editorial by New Mexico Republican Party chairman Harvey Yates Jr. that excoriated Lt. Gov. Diane Denish for not combating corruption to his satisfaction (see: “N.M Needs Someone Who Will Speak Up; Denish Hasn’t”).

Was there going to be a response?

It seemed like it would be incumbent (a little election joke there!) upon on the Journal to present the other side to such a politically polemic piece.

I didn’t have to wait long – a column penned by Denish campaign chairman Ted Martinez turned up in Wednesday’s paper, defending the gubernatorial candidate and pointing out her accomplishments.

I spoke to the Denish campaign today to find out whether the Journal solicited the response. Nope – the Denish camp submitted it on their own and held its collective breath until it showed up in the Journal.

My ABQJournal Watch colleague Denise Tessier is a former writer for the Journal’s editorial page, and she says the paper typically doesn’t have to ask to get a response from the other side when dealing with a high-profile public figure like Denish.

However, Tessier  adds, “When I was editorial page editor of the Rio Rancho and West Side Journals, I routinely gave spokespersons on one or the other side of a given issue a heads up before opposing viewpoints ran, giving them a chance to prepare a response.”

Seems like a good policy.