Professional mediator takes on New Mexico budget impasse

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – He is a mild-mannered professional mediator who negotiates out-of-court resolutions to legal disputes.
In his unsalaried job as the next New Mexico state Senate majority leader, Democrat Peter Wirth is positioned as a chief powerbroker for high-stakes decisions about plunging state revenues and essential government services.
Wirth says his challenge is keeping the doors of government open and protecting programs that are economic drivers. And that could mean raising m