Whether she realized it or not, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish went against Gov. Bill Richardson's wishes over the weekend when she officially accepted spending bills from the Legislature that the Governor's Office apparently wanted to delay.

But it wasn't the first time in recent days that Denish took a position different from that of Richardson, a governor to whom she's been loyal for the past six years. She publicly praised the state Democratic Party's handling of last week's presidential-preference caucus — just days after Richardson criticized the party's performance.

Could Denish, who is preparing her own run for governor in 2010, be consciously showing some independence?

On Friday night, Denish sent a mass e-mail to state Democrats defending the state party's much-criticized handling of the caucus.

"Four days after New Mexico got the opportunity to participate in a historic presidential election, our performance has been branded 'a disappointment,' 'embarrassing' and 'quirky,' " Denish wrote. "It's none of the above."

The long lines and difficulty in counting ballots, Denish said, "proves democracy is alive and well."

Perhaps the most notable person in New Mexico to publicly say the handling of the caucus was "disappointing" was none other than Richardson.

"I am deeply disturbed by the reports that problems and delays at polling locations may have kept people from voting," Richardson said in a news release. " ... As this very close election shows every vote is important, and every vote must count. Anything less is unacceptable. In addition the delay in results was extremely disappointing."

Richardson's statement stressed the state Democratic Party — not the governor's own political organization — was in charge of the caucus.

There's no evidence Denish is inclined to openly break with Richardson, who has high approval ratings in state polls. But showing she's not afraid to occasionally take a different tack than the governor might make her look stronger and clearly principled.

A Denish spokeswoman said Monday that the lieutenant governor isn't purposely trying to show independence. "That isn't the intent," Kate Nelson said.

Nelson said one reason Denish was showing sympathy for the state party and its chairman, Brian Colón, was that "she's been state chair and she knows what a hard job it is."

As for her receiving the spending bills — after Richardson's staff locked up his office, left the Capitol and reportedly stopped answering their phones — Denish told The New Mexican, "It wasn't a big deal. ... I thought it was part of the process, part of following the rules."

Stalling the bills might have given Richardson more leverage in threatening line-item vetoes of spending proposals as he negotiates with lawmakers prior to Thursday's noon adjournment.

Denish said she hasn't personally spoken with Richardson since she accepted the bills, though her staff is communicating with his.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.