SANTA FE - Democrats in the House of Representatives - who lost eight members in the general election last year - lost another seat Tuesday when Rep. Andy Nuñez of Hatch switched his party registration from Democrat to "Declined to State."

Nuñez, who made the change in the Secretary of State's office, said his decision was the result of House Speaker Ben Lujan stripping him of his committee chairmanship and removing him from two committees last week.

The political makeup of the House is now 36 Democrats, 33 Republicans and Nuñez as the sole independent.

"At least I don't have to go to caucus meetings anymore," he joked with reporters after signing his new registration letters. "Now I'm not beholden to any party."

Nuñez, a 10-year lawmaker who had been chairman of the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee, told The New Mexican that he was seriously debating changing parties last week shortly after Lujan announced the committee changes.

Asked why he didn't want to join Republicans, Nuñez, who often votes with the GOP, said, "I'm just not that far right." His wife, however changed her registration from Democrat to Republican late last week, Nuñez said. "She was a Republican before we got married," he said.

Nuñez, who grew up in a ranching family, said his father and all his family have been Democrats.

Lujan said in an interview Tuesday that he's disappointed in the party switch. "It's unfortunate that he is deserting the party that elected him and his

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constituents," the speaker said. Lujan said the Democrats are like a family - there often are disagreements, but they can be worked out.

"Throughout the process I have not been disrespectful or said anything derogatory about Andy," Lujan said.

Nuñez becomes the first independent legislator in New Mexico since at least since the '80s, but the sixth to change parties since 1983.

Secretary of State Dianna Duran said in the 1980s four legislators switched parties while serving. They are former Reps. Max Coll and Bill Vandergriff who went from Republican to Democrat and former Sen. Les Houston and former Rep. Larry Sheffield, who went from Democrat to Republican.

Coll's conversion, at the outset of the 1983 legislative session, is what brought down the "Cowboy Coalition" of conservative Democrats and Republicans that ruled in the House. Coll represented a Santa Fe district.

In 1992 former Rep. Patricia Baca switched from Republican to Democrat, Duran said.

Former Sen. Joe Carraro switched from Republican to independent, but that was after his last session in office.

In recent months Nuñez vocally backed a proposed coalition between Republicans and southern Democrats in attempt to elect Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, for speaker instead of Lujan.

When the coalition fell apart, Nu-ez was the only Democrat who didn't fall in line and vote to keep Lujan as speaker.

That cost Nu-ez his chairmanship of the agriculture panel as well as his membership on the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Lujan assigned him to the Education and Transportation & Public Works committees. Nuñez' switch means the latter committee now will have more Republicans than Democrats. That's the only standing committee in the Legislature in which the Democrats are outnumbered.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup. com.