It might be the start of a New Mexico political campaign season dominated by talk of ethics.

With a blast of the icy air from inside the state Supreme Court's front door, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish stepped out into the summer heat Thursday and made it clear that it would take a while to outline her lengthy proposal to revamp ethics laws.

"You might want to get into the shade," she told reporters gathered on the front steps.

And a while it took.

Denish, a second-term lieutenant governor, will seek the state's top executive post in 2010, in the wake of a series of political scandals involving fellow New Mexico Democrats.

She said she wants an ethics commission nominated by the Supreme Court but devoid of any elected officials, lobbyists or family members of lobbyists. No officers of political parties, either.

Denish wants an online "sunshine portal" that would host a state checkbook ledger of sorts, a capital outlay tracker, a comprehensive list of open meetings, a salary of state employee salaries and a contractor database.

In addition, Denish is pitching increased transparency in political campaigns and from lobbyists. Under her plan, all statewide candidates would file reports every three months. Eventually, all candidates would be required to file campaign finance reports every 30 days.

"The point here is this: It's time to usher in a new era of thinking," she said. "We have to set the tone of transparency, oversight, enforcement and punishment, if in fact it's needed."

There is another point as well, political observers say: A front-burner issue in the 2010 gubernatorial race will be ethics in government, with proposals expected from both major political parties.

Some of Denish's ideas have been floated before, including the ethics commission. The idea passed the New Mexico House of Representatives this year but died in the Senate. However, Denish said she's already lining up more supporters than it had in years past.

Her announcement comes as rumors swirl of possible indictments in a federal grand jury pay-to-play investigation that has involved members of Gov. Bill Richardson's administration. It also comes as former state Senate President Manny Aragon begins serving a 5 1/2-year federal prison term for his role in an Albuquerque courthouse construction fraud scandal. Additionally, it comes after indictments in a housing authority scandal and a federal corruption probe that snared two former state treasurers.

And it comes as some in the state look ahead to a time when Richardson isn't governor. After years of dominating New Mexico politics, he is prevented by term limits from running again.

Some say part of Denish's campaign work will involve showing she hasn't been involved in any questionable behavior, something she was quick to do Thursday.

"Regardless of what we are proposing today, my office and I are not part of anything that has to do with any of the current allegations," she said.

"Again, whatever may be said by the opposition party in their quest to find qualified candidates for some of their offices, let me just say this: I have not been part of any of this, my office has not been part of any of this, regardless of what they may want to say or allege."

Those comments came in response to a release issued by the New Mexico Republican Party even before Denish started her press conference.

"For years, the people of New Mexico have been waiting for Diane Denish to take a more active and visible lead on the issue of corruption," state GOP chairman Harvey Yates said in the statement. "Cosmetic changes to the laws under the guise of corruption reform will not do. What is most important in the battle against corruption is for leaders to stand up against the fountains of corruption in the state."

Other candidates or potential candidates have released statements on ethics reform, and Republicans haven't been shy about suggesting that Denish should have done more to root out corruption.

Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, a Democrat who is running for the lieutenant governor's position, issued a news release Wednesday headlined "Others follow Sheriff Solano's lead on Ethics Reform plan," reminding reporters in advance of the Denish news conference that he unveiled his ethics plan last month.

His proposals include an independent ethics commission, better access to campaign finance reports and a state department of webcasting, among other things.

Solano also said political office should be a full-time, paid job.

In a statement on his Web site, he said "this could also provide honest competition for those who just have ulterior motives and those who want to use politics as a stepping stone to big lobby jobs and other high paying positions. The common man or woman who has the knowledge, honesty, wherewithal and ability to run for office should not have to choose between a full time job to support his or her family and serving the public in an elected position."

Denish hopes to get her proposals — about which she said she hadn't consulted with Richardson — on the agenda for the 30-day legislative session beginning in January.

She said she's been working on them for months, including while recently traveling around the state and hearing concern from citizens about current scandals.

"The alleged reports of wrongdoing, recent indictments and sentencings really have shaken the confidence of many people in their government and their public officials," she said.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.