On Thursday, it was reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican that Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s campaign attempted to yank attack ads from the air that outlined how she released violent criminals back on the street.
“KOB must pull this ad from the air immediately given your own admission it is false,” attorney Courtney Weisman of the Washington, D.C.-based Elias Law Group demanded in a letter to KOB 4’s station owner, citing a fact-check from KOB that didn’t come up with much.
“I don’t usually get into the details of our review,” station manager Michelle Donaldson said. “I will say that we followed our process that we always do. We asked for the substantiation from the party that purchased the ad. We spent a great deal of time reviewing that, asked for follow-up materials … and made our decision.”
The ad featured claims that the governor twice released a criminal, Christopher Beltran, out on the street, resulting in the murder of his ex-girlfriend Dominique Gonzales of Roswell.
KOB reporter Ryan Laughlin did a fact-check of the ad that appeared to confirm everything the ad said was true since, under Lujan Grisham’s administration, he was released twice. That resulted in the brutal death of Gonzales.
The ad, paid for by RGA New Mexico PAC, will stay on the airwaves.
But Lujan Grisham’s protest against the ad is telling since she did not demand an ad run by the Mark Ronchetti campaign come down after it mentioned the governor’s $150,000 sexual assault payout to a former staffer who claims she groped his crotch.
The Ronchetti campaign has since released an ad featuring her family saying, “The governor absolutely should be held accountable for [Beltran’s] early release and feel ashamed.”
After far-left state Sen. Jacob Candelaria of Albuquerque resigned abruptly on Wednesday, opportunistic Democrats already began chomping at the bit, looking to be appointed to fill the remaining two years of the leftist’s term.
Candelaria has been well-known for his drama, including attacking police officers who responded to his 911 call claiming he was being threatened. He also is a radical Black Lives Matter supporter who offered to defend anti-police rioters during the George Floyd riots. Even Democrat Party leaders told Candelaria to “f**k off.”
According to The Santa Fe New Mexican’s Daniel Chacón, far-left state Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo) is interested in and will apply for the position.
He wrote on Twitter that Maestas said, “It’s very important that someone with experience represent [Senate] District 26 come January.”
Maestas is a tax-and-spend liberal who has been a rubber stamp for Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s agenda. He has voted with Democrats on everything from tax hikes, abortion up to birth, anti-gun laws, and everything in between.
Maestas is married to left-wing lobbyist Vanessa Alarid who is the registered lobbyist for Bloomberg’s gun-grabbing group Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and previously was the executive director for the Democrat Party of New Mexico, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Maestas calls fellow New Mexicans who he disagrees with on Twitter “pendejos” and has made it clear he supports higher taxes on the hard-working people of New Mexico.
Ah, but you were the primary sponsor on the bill BEFORE it was supposedly stripped of the 2% tax. Also, real classy to call your fellow New Mexicans "pendejos" when they call you out on your bad legislation that bans minis & creates new licenses businesses are forced to apply for pic.twitter.com/bhaooNa3eD
Over the weekend, far-left pro-abortion up-to-birth Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held a rally with pro-abortion leaders from the unlimited abortion groups NARAL and Planned Parenthood. At the rally, she was joined by the pro-abortion national figures, as well as state legislators and city councilors who also share the governor’s stance on abortion up to birth.
There was a massive counter-protest of at least 250 people who encircled the park where the pro-abortion Democrats promoted their candidacy for the upcoming November 8 election.
While at the rally, the Democrats, including Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, danced on stage and joyously supported killing children in the womb. Lujan Grisham, who recently had her knee operated on out-of-state, hopped along with the dancing liberals who gleefully rejoiced the thought of more pro-abortion leadership after the election.
The video went viral online, with the large pro-life news site Life News sharing the video. It has already garnered over 20,000 views on Twitter.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Grisham dances at an abortion rally to celebrate killing babies.
CPAC shared the video on Twitter, writing, “Democrats and New Mexico Governor dancing at an abortion rally. Murdering innocent babies should NOT be celebrated.”
Democrats and New Mexico Governor dancing at an abortion rally. Murdering innocent babies should NOT be celebrated. pic.twitter.com/ttPzg46fR6
The pro-life group Students for Life of America shared the clip also, writing, “New Mexico Gov. Grisham was seen dancing with the CEO of Planned Parenthood and President of NARAL at an abortion rally.”
New Mexicans who responded to the original clip did not hold back either, with one writing about the dancing, “Although I’m not a person of faith, I’m not ruling out demonic possession.”
Another wrote, “If only they could see themselves through the eyes of God.”
One person wrote, “Dead babies don’t dance. Fire MLG!”
On November 8, Lujan Grisham faces Republican Mark Ronchetti, who is neck-and-neck with her in the polls. Third-party Libertarian candidate Karen Bedonie is also running.
In a video published on Facebook Saturday, the Republican nominee for the Albuquerque-based New Mexico House District 29, Greg Cunningham, ripped the Democrats for their flagrant hypocrisy with a new attack mailer just sent out by his Democrat opponent, state Rep. Joy Garratt.
Cunningham held in one hand an accurate mailer sent out by the Republican Party of New Mexico that the Democrats claimed was “racist” because it featured a photo of a young boy getting his hair cut by a grayed-out individual. It noted how Democrats voted against an amendment to a bill banning pedophiles from touching children, such as cutting their hair. Instead of defending their vote, they claimed the grayed-out portion of the image was “racist.”
The Republican candidate said in the video, “You are being told by the progressive left-wing Democrats that this mailer, which depicts a child getting his hair cut by a pedophile with creepy-looking hands which have been colored gray, is racist. You may have also received a mailer calling me all sorts of names with my skin similarly doctored. This is typical of the incompetent leaders that are currently in control of our state. When someone actually starts telling the truth about their record, they distract by throwing around the word ‘racist.’”
He said, “It’s ‘racist’ when they’re trying to deflect from a record that has hurt our families, hurt our children, and hurt our communities. But it’s not ‘racist’ when they do it to a Hispanic Republican candidate for office? If this is racist, then this is racist,” pointing to the two mailers.
“The truth is that the progressive left doesn’t think either of these mailers is racist. But one is a convenient story to tell. They tell it because they want voters, and they believe voters can be bullied into believing whatever they tell you to believe. As a Hispanic, I’ll tell you what offends me. I’m offended by bad leadership. I’m more offended by so-called leaders who refuse to take responsibility for their actions, their votes, and their record. I’m offended that they will not take responsibility for the fact that they have put my wife, my daughters, and my grandchildren at risk with out-of-control crime.”
Cunningham continued, “I am outraged by the fact that if you question their record, they use the same tactic as children — fourth graders — they call you names. We are last in public safety. We are last in education. We are last in jobs. They can’t defend their record, so instead, they call us ‘racist’ for pointing out their records. Enough of their failed leadership.”
Garratt is a far-left member of the state House, being one of the rubber stamps on Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s agenda, such as bills to strip away New Mexicans’ gun rights, institute abortion up-to-birth and infanticide, let criminals back on the streets, and exacerbate inflation with job-killing policies that harm businesses and working families. In one instance, when Garratt was asked to say a prayer in the House chamber, she refused to use the word “God” or “Heavenly Father,” instead opting to say, “Heavenly parent.”
On Saturday, the leaders of two large national pro-abortion groups, Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood and Mini Timmaraju of NARAL, stumped in Las Cruces to promote Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Lujan Grisham almost exclusively is running her campaign on the abortion issue, erroneously claiming her GOP opponent Mark Ronchetti is an “extremist” who wants to ban abortion. This rhetoric comes as the governor is a supporter of unregulated abortion up-to-birth with no exceptions, as evidenced in a 2021 law she signed stripping all protections for women, medical professionals, and babies in the womb.
The rally, held at Albert Johnson Park, included attendees such as Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Democrat Las Cruces City Councilor Johana Bencomo, scandal-ridden Democrat congressional candidate Gabe Vasquez, state representatives, and others.
As well as rallying, the pro-abortion figures both visited the Las Cruces Planned Parenthood abortion mill and met with state legislators, including state Reps. Joanne Ferrary and Nathan Small (D-Doña Ana), state Sens. Carrie Hamblen and William Soules (D-Doña Ana).
What a bunch of sickos. Who dances that happy at an abortion rally?? And if she got medical treatment in D.C. why is she still hopping on one leg to baby the knee. Something's up. pic.twitter.com/p2azWSeIeq
According to Mark Cavaliere of the pro-life group Southwest Coalition for Life, over 200 pro-lifers “completely encircled the governor’s abortion rally in Las Cruces,” where they held signs and prayed while the pro-abortion supporters rallied.
Videos show the pro-lifers praying rosaries, carrying crosses, and holding signs with messages such as “Save the Innocent” and “Pray to End Abortion.” Cavaliere says that people came from Albuquerque, Belen, Los Lunas, Rio Rancho, Ruidoso, El Paso, and other places to protest the governor’s anti-life rally.
While Democrats attempt to escape total annihilation by betting on abortion in November, New Mexicans are more interested in candidates who will address inflation, the economy, gas prices, public safety, and other issues. Despite that, leftists are hoping abortion up-to-birth will bring them a victory on Election Day.
On Friday, the Alamogordo Daily Newsreported that far-left Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed perennial failed Democrat candidate Stephanie DuBois to the seat held by County Commissioner Couy Griffin. A Santa Fe state judge, using 153-year-old case law, ordered Griffin removed, although the case is still on appeal.
Despite the case remaining on appeal, the Democrat governor went ahead and appointed DuBois, a dog groomer and ex-Democratic Party of Otero County chair.
DuBois has previously failed repeatedly in the attempt to win election to the state House and Senate, Otero County Commission, Otero County Clerk’s Office, judgeships, and New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, among others going back to at least 2002, with failed elections spanning over 20 years. She appears to have been on election ballots in nearly every cycle in recent history.
The leftist candidate said on Facebook in June, “I have been endorsed by State Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero and I have received a generous donation from our Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland. These two outstanding women are my friends and I am very thankful for their support.”
An ardent supporter of abortion, she has been at rallies and other pro-abortion functions around Alamogordo.
DuBois appears to be running a joint campaign with a Democrat state representative candidate and Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat challenging Congresswoman Yvette Herrell (R-NM-02), despite these independent expenditures not being disclosed on campaign finance reports.
DuBois told the Daily News following her appointment, “In a very red county to appoint a Democrat is monumental.”
Despite the County’s Second Commission District voting for Griffin, a Republican, in 2018 and a 2021 recall attempt failing, the Democrat governor appointed the Democrat DuBois, who the voters have rejected repeatedly for over 20 years.
In the past. DuBois has branded special county commission meetings held to discuss stopping fraud in elections as “propaganda meetings” while bashing her Republican opponent, Amy Barela, erroneously claiming she is a supporter of “voter suppression.” She has also attacked other Republican candidates in Otero County.
DuBois, who is headed for an almost-certain election defeat in November in the conservative district, even despite incumbency, will be a lame-duck “commissioner,” only being able to sit at two County Commission meetings for November and December 2022.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is available.
On Thursday, the Clovis City Council convened a special meeting to vote on proceeding to pass an ordinance banning abortion in the county seat of Curry County.
The proposed ordinance reads, “(2) The state constitution of New Mexico dims not and cannot secure a right, privilege or immunity to act in violation of federal statutes such as 18 U.S.C. § 1461-62, or to engage in criminal and racketeering conduct as defined by federal law. (3) The members of the City Commission are bound by oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the statutory provisions codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1461-62 are the ‘supreme Law of the Land’ under Amide VI of the Constitution and must be obeyed and respected by every person within the city of Clovis and by every judge the state of New Mexico. Ste U.S. Corot. art. VI (‘[T]he Laws of the United Status… Mall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any Mate to the Contrary notwithstanding’).”
According to pro-life advocate Mark Lee Dickson, who was in attendance at the meeting, “about 300 people showed up.”
He wrote, “After much debate, and overwhelming support from those in attendance, the City Commission voted 6-0 in support of introducing the ‘Ordinance Requiring Abortion Providers In the City of Clovis to Comply with Federal Law.’”
“Pro-life America, STAND UNITED WITH THE CITY OF CLOVIS! Pro-life America, stand united with the Clovis, New Mexico City Commission!”
The measure was brought forward by Commissioners David Bryant of District 3.
He said, “I think it’s time we move [the resolution] forward.”
Mayor Mike Morris said in his remarks, “You, by and large, are a pro-life community, so I have a certain responsibility, to the greatest extent possible, to represent you accurately, correct? So… it’s from those positions that I hold I was motivated to begin researching what is possible because the elephant in the room, or maybe it’s not the elephant in the room, it’s the obvious thing to everyone, is that we live in a state that seems to have decided… and the debate is over. Well, I’d like to say that maybe the debate isn’t over.”
The final vote to proceed was passed unanimously 6-0, with two commissioners not in attendance, although they were supportive.
Pro-life attorney Mike Seibel, who also attended and spoke at the meeting, wrote, “The council attempted to table the ordinance and delay it from publication, a determined crowd fought back. I got up and spoke and threatened to send women hurt by abortion to their offices. Mark Lee Dickson did a good job playing ‘good cop.’ Other people demanded it go [forward].
Now the ordinance will move forward to be published twice and proceed for a final vote in the coming weeks, according to Dickson.
On Wednesday night, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican nominee Mark Ronchetti met on KOAT 7 for the second gubernatorial debate, moderated by the station’s Doug Fernandez. KOAT’s Kelly Ribando, the Albuquerque Journal’s Dan Boyd, and KKOB radio’s Bob Clark as panelists.
During the fiery debate, the two candidates presented their plans for New Mexico — the current one or a new vision for the state.
While Ronchetti continued speaking about kitchen table issues, such as violent crime, with New Mexico being the second most violent state in the nation, and fixing the stagnant economy, Lujan Grisham couldn’t shake her obsession with talking about abortion.
In her opening statement, she erroneously claimed, “My opponent wants to ban abortion,” despite Ronchetti wanting a constitutional amendment to decide the issue, as he has previously stated. Lujan Grisham continued, “As governor, I promise to protect your privacy protections and to expand access to reproductive health care (abortions) for women and their families.”
Continuing on abortion, Lujan Grisham reaffirmed that she supports abortion up to birth with absolutely no restrictions whatsoever.
“Abortion is legal in New Mexico because I’m governor today. Brett Kavanaugh — I’m sure that name is very familiar to most voters and New Mexicans. Here is someone who said anything to get the position but did quite another when he actually got the position. That is the republican playbook when it comes to abortion,” she claimed, despite Kavanaugh not saying anything of the sort on abortion. As a judge, he could not make determinations on hypothetical cases.
She then claimed, “Mark Ronchetti wants to ban abortion. If you don’t believe me, ask his pastor.”
Ronchetti said, “I don’t think an incumbent governor in this country has ever based their whole campaign on a lie,” adding, “But you and your D.C. allies will say anything to retain your seat as governor of the state of New Mexico. You will say anything you have to, and you’re hoping that people don’t know. But the reality of the situation is I’ve been very clear: I am pro-life. But also, this is a very personal issue. There’s no doubt about that.”
“And this governor has a position, too, and it’s the extreme in this race. She believes in abortion up to birth. That view is shared by countries like North Korea and China. And if you look at where we are in a broad sense, the values of the people of the state of New Mexico have to be taken into account in this issue.”
Regarding the border crisis, Ronchetti said, “Joe Biden and Michelle Lujan Grisham have an absolute border chaos policy,” saying he will carry out his plan to secure New Mexico’s border by forming a border strike force and working with neighboring states.
Lujan Grisham, with little to show for her four years as governor, responded, “Well, this is just political theater and it’s not true. And when you say you’re going to use the Department of Public Safety, what he’s saying is he’s going to take State Police officers right out of Albuquerque and move them to Deming.” In 2018, Lujan Grisham demeaned voters in Deming, which was taken as a jab at rural New Mexico. She added, “And by the way, fentanyl gets mailed in from China, as well as at the border.”
“That was a blizzard of excuses for not caring about what happens at the border. Let’s go back to that fentanyl bust in the South Valley, where there were a million fentanyl pills that were taken in by the FBI. It was the biggest FBI bust in their history,” adding, “Her answer to this whole problem shows how truly out of touch she truly is.”
When Ronchetti pressed Lujan Grisham on crime and her release of countless violent criminals, she claimed, “What is shocking is my opponent’s description of facts that are factless.”
On the issue of health care, Ronchetti said he will overturn bad Democrat legislation that is deterring medical professionals from staying and coming to New Mexico.
Lujan Grisham’s answer was, “Well, we’ve got someone who wants to be governor who doesn’t give a damn about patients and their rights, and I do,” apparently again referring to abortion.
Boyd asked Lujan Grisham the next question, inquiring, “During the #MeToo movement, your campaign settled a complaint with a former campaign spokesman who accused you of sexual mistreatment. Why would you insist you did nothing wrong but still have paid him?”
Lujan Grisham dodged the question to instead talk about her favorite topic — abortion. She said, “Well, these are really, uh, a continuation of the Mark Ronchetti campaign, uh, working diligently on baseless, and frankly, uh, dev- uh, desperate character attacks. You know, we did a couple of things that nobody does. We provided absolute disclosure about this issue and provided that information directly to individuals. We did that because that’s been the issue of our entire government, to be transparent. We’re the first administration to be transparent about every single expense. No other governor has done that. You’ve seen the baseless, false attacks that Mark Ronchetti and his campaign have run against us consistently because these are all desperate efforts to hide the fact that he has no plan, that he has no experience, uh, he’s a T.V. personality. And frankly, when he says he wants to give a choice, look Mark Ronchetti: You’re not invited into the room with me and my gynecologist. Women already have this choice. When you’re talking about the constitution, you’re inviting a resolution to change the constitution. When you’re doing that, you’re doing that solely to reduce my rights. I know that you’re trying to make this sound like somehow it’s balanced. It absolutely isn’t. And having a clinic in Las Cruces is contraceptive care. It’s reproductive health care for women and their families. It’s comprehensive primary care. You’re so concerned about healthcare access, explain to me why you don’t want a clinic for women anywhere in the state.”
When speaking about education and fixing the failed Democrat policies of the current administration, Ronchetti outlined his plan for a voucher system, to expand charter schools, and to remove the racist Critical Race Theory social studies policies of the current administration. Lujan Grisham, of course, pivoted to abortion, mentioning abortion and sex ed programs.
In a portion of the debate where candidates could ask each other questions, Ronchetti said to Lujan Grisham, “Governor, I want to ask you about James Hallinan He was one of your staffers in your last election. And you were in a meeting with him, and you grabbed his crotch, and you said, ‘Is there anything down here?’ Governor, you then had him sign a non-disclosure agreement, so he kept his mouth shut. You then, about two months later, signed a law in New Mexico outlawing those agreements, further allowing people who were the victims of these type[s] of events to be able to talk. Why shouldn’t your victim be able to talk?
Lujan Grisham responded, “Uh, Mark. Again, you have spent your entire campaign attacking my character and my integrity. They are baseless attacks, and you do that including now to hide from the fact that, again, you’re a T.V. personality with no experience.” She continued, “The only thing you actually have a plan for is to ban abortion in the state of New Mexico.”
Lujan Grisham’s question for Ronchetti was, “What is misoprostol?” referring to the drug used in chemical abortions to forcibly eject a baby from its mother’s womb.
He responded, “Here we go again. This is what 25 years in government gets you. This gets you a governor who wants to play Jeopardy!’” Ronchetti added, “People have had enough of the political games. It’s garbage at this point. And you’ve said you’ve been more transparent than any governor in history. Governor, you grabbed a male staffer’s crotch — a gay male — and then you said, ‘Is there anything down there?’ You then paid him $150,000, governor, and then you made him shut up about it. And now, you have the gall to sit up here and not only victimize James Hallinan, but you revictimize him. If you remember back, you said during the Andrew Cuomo scandal if you don’t believe those who go and bring these charges, then you’re revictimizing. So, you’re victimizing, revictimizing, and now — on topper of all toppers — you’re creating yourself as the victim. Governor, this is the sort of thing that people cannot stand. You’ve never come clean. You’ve never said, ‘Look, I made a mistake. Here we go.’ You’ve just continued to lie about this issue time after time after time. And let me tell you about experience. Experience, especially the experience we need in this office, is someone with character. Someone who has been in tough situations and doesn’t lie about them, doesn’t belittle people, and doesn’t try to shrink other people to make themselves feel better. You, on a regular basis, do that in every single way. You shut down stores, and then you go jewelry shopping. You shut down our ability to see our families, and then you hold parties. And then you keep our kids out of school, and you roll up to Navajo Lake, and you have a party with your friends while we’re on lockdown. You are a hypocrite, governor.”
.@Michelle4NM, you grabbed a male staffer's crotch then said "is there anything down there," and then you then paid him $150,000 to shut up about it.
You have the gall to revictimize your victim, even though you've said we should believe all victims. Disgusting. pic.twitter.com/qdWRN2Cm49
Using her final rebuttal opportunity, Lujan Grisham claimed Ronchetti’s answer was a “blizzard of nonsense, right? It’s one character attack. If I was doing anything that was a violation of the COVID rules, you would have a photo of that. I religiously did that,” she claimed.
On an energy question from Bob Clark, Ronchetti blasted Lujan Grisham’s “California energy policy” through the Green New Deal (Energy Transition Act of 2019), which forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station. He also noted how the governor proposed a bill to raise gas prices $0.35 to $0.50 a gallon through an enviro-Marxist policy.
“I take exception, Bob, that you say that the ETA led to the closure of the San Juan coal fire plant and generating station. That’s just not true.” She then claimed that New Mexico needs the “strongest, toughest standards” to punish the coal and oil and gas industries.
In his closing statement, Ronchetti asked New Mexicans if they want high crime, failing schools, or one that is a “great story for our future?”
Lujan Grisham, of course, pivoted back to abortion in her closing statement, saying you can vote for her “or believe someone whose only agenda, only policy, quite frankly, is to ban abortion and interfere with my private health care decisions.”
Early voting has already started in New Mexico, with expanded voting locations opening on October 22. Election day is November 8th. Ronchetti (R), Lujan Grisham (D), and Karen Bedonie (L) all will be on the ballot.
On Tuesday, New Mexico candidates filed their financial reports for the second General Election period, with many contentious races for fundraising. On the top of the ballot, Republican nominee Mark Ronchetti outraised embattled Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is battling flak on the airwaves over her $150,000 payout for grave sexual assault claims.
Ronchetti ended up raising $1,451,582.10 to Lujan Grisham’s $1,121,728.94 — outraising her by $329,853.16.
Third-party Libertarian candidate Karen Bedonie raised $14,523.08 during the same period, leaving her with $3,415.94 cash on hand.
According to the Ronchetti campaign in a press release, “95% of Ronchetti’s money is from within the state of New Mexico, showing that he has the support of the people of this state, not special interest groups in California and Washington, DC.”
“The outpouring of support from everyday New Mexicans continues to humble me, and I will not stop fighting for them until we restore our public safety, catch our kids up in school, and provide sustained economic relief for the people of this state,” said Ronchetti. “There are 28 days left in this campaign, not only do we have plenty of resources to win, we have the people of this state on our side and we will carry this momentum forward all the way through election day!”
The campaign’s press release continued, “Ronchetti will be entering the final 27 days of this campaign with $2.49 million cash on hand. With this advantage, Ronchetti will be in great position to put Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on defense for the final month. The governor is currently sitting on $1.68 million cash on hand, more than $800k less than Ronchetti.”
Ronchetti predominantly spent $1,080,963.20 on expenditures marked as television during the fundraising period.
The cash advantage will help Ronchetti overcome the embattled Democrat governor as she continues to attack the Republican on the abortion issue — apparently running specifically on her record of signing a 2021 abortion up-to-birth bill into law.
Ronchetti continues to poll within single digits of Lujan Grisham, signifying a close race that Republicans have a good shot of winning.
Over the past few weeks, a self-proclaimed “progressive” calling himself Chris Edwards — also known as “Martin Christopher Edwards” — has been launching vicious attacks against conservatives, specifically pro-lifers who he opposes in Alamogordo. They include conservative Alamogordo City Commissioner Karl Melton and myself, the Republican nominee for New Mexico House District 51.
Edwards has a so-called media operation that is seeking to mislead Otero County Republicans and infiltrate our conservative community with far-left radicalism. Beyond his “progressive” views, Edwards is also a convicted felon with a long criminal record who had fled to Mexico, suffers from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, according to his attorney, and has actively promoted Democrats, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), along with longstanding support for Planned Parenthood.
Otero County Republicans should read on to learn the dangers of this shady individual and should also be wary of trusting anything published by Edwards’ blog “2nd Life Media” and a publication Edwards is closely connected with, “New Mexico’s Influence Magazine.”
Chris Edwards’ Far-Leftist Activities
Edwards is a fervent supporter of Planned Parenthood and social justice causes. He is pro-lockdown and pro-Dr. Fauci. Edwards says he has “consulted” on at least two local Democrat candidate campaigns in the 2022 Primary and General elections. He claims his clients include pro-abortion judge candidates Rev. Warren Robinson and Claudia Powell. Despite the claims, according to finance reports, Edwards is on neither of the candidates’ payrolls.
As he wrote on his own website, in 2020, Edwards “aligned” with two left-wing organizations to attack conservative candidates via “opposition research” and previously publicly shamed donors to a political action committee that supported a ballot measure he opposed. On his LinkedIn profile, he writes that he “has demonstrated results in crafting opposition negative campaign ads,” along with “opposition marketing tactics.”
He is the “co-owner” and “CEO” of an entity called 2nd Life Media/ ROADRUNNER EMPORIUM Inc. on New York Avenue in Alamogordo, according to a filing with the New Mexico Secretary of State. The other owner is his partner, a man named Rene Lee Sepulveda.
According to Edwards’ blog, “2nd Life Media Inc is a vertically integrated consulting and operating company.” He calls it a “multimedia and consulting company” partnered with “Roadrunner Emporium Fine Arts, Antiques and More Gallery, Gallery 1209, and via the soon to be revitalized Sands Theater Partnership.”
A twice-failed candidate for Napa City Council in California, Edwards was accused in his previous races of “dirty politics” for misleading elderly voters during candidate forums.
Dee Cuney, a woman who attended Edwards’ controversial forum, said, “It’s very, very disappointing that people were misled,” adding, “That’s dirty stuff.”
Edwards has posted on his Facebook page a multitude of “LGBTQ+” pride content, anti-Trump posts, support for the ANTIFA-linked Black Lives Matter hate group, and photos with Democrat politicians and activists, such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and George Takei. Other posts include photos reading “#IStandwithPP” (Planned Parenthood) and “Unapologetically Pro-Choice (Abortion),” support for failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Obama, posts reading, “I stand with Fauci,” “I support DACA,” among others disparaging conservatives and promoting far-left politics. Yet Edwards is trying to dupe conservatives into believing he is an “independent” voice. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Edwards’ Long Criminal History
Along with his “dirty” left-wing political activity, Edwards has a years-long past of criminal activity, pleading guilty and being convicted of felony mail fraud and tax evasion in 2014. The Department of Justice charged him after he was wanted by the FBI as a fugitive for 23 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The “fraudster,” as the Bureau put it, was finally apprehended after fleeing to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, seven months following his failure to appear in federal court. He was found at Hacienda Escondida Private Villas, where he claimed to work as a “sales marketing director,” according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Department of Justice charged Edwards, and he was found guilty of embezzling $900,000 between May 2010 and October 2012 from his employer, the online fulfillment wine company, The Wine Tasting Network, a subsidiary of 1-800 Flowers. He did this by directing the network to make large payments through a fake entity he set up called Dufrane Compliance Trust. The Department of Justicesaid that the fictitious entity “purported to provide compliance services to wineries and wine retailers.”
According to the FBI, “Edwards … deposited these funds into an account he controlled and withdrew them for his own personal use, including the purchase of a BMW, which has since been seized by law enforcement authorities.” Along with the BMW, Edwards used the embezzled funds for “ expensive vacations and lavish meals.” According to Edwards’ Twitter account, he spent time on vacation in such places as Hawaii. He claims to have “traveled to 46 countries.”
One portion of Edwards’ criminal indictment reads, “MARTIN CHRISTOPHER EDWARDS, did knowingly and intentionally devise a scheme … to defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses … and concealment were false and fraudulent when made, and, for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice, did knowingly cause the following items to be sent and delivered by the United States Postal Service, and private and commercial interstate carriers (emphasis added).”
According to the Napa Daily Register, Edwards’ lawyer claimed during the trial, “Edwards suffered from chronic depression, a bipolar disorder, drug and alcohol addictions, all of which contributed to his compromised judgment.” Whether or not Edwards is currently treated for bipolar disorder is unknown.
Edwards was sentenced in September 2014 to nearly three years (33 months) in federal prison and ordered to pay $894,222 in restitution to the Wine Tasting Network. Bay City Newsreported that prosecutors “said Edwards did not declare any of the [embezzled] money on his federal income tax returns in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Edwards’ plea agreement also included an enhancement for obstruction of justice for a flight he took to Mexico to avoid prosecution.”
This is not the first run-in Edwards had with the law.
Previously, Edwards was convicted of two misdemeanors for larceny-theft in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. He was initially charged with two felony counts of embezzlement for defrauding the fast food company Hardees, where he worked at the time in its corporate offices, “but Edwards agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of larceny for an amount more than $200 and was ordered to pay restitution,” according to the DailyRegister.
The news of his previous conviction came out during Edwards’ failed 2005 run for Napa City Council, where he said he was “dismayed that public records still contain information about his conviction,” according to the newspaper. With his later 2014 conviction, it appears Edwards did not change from his old ways.
Edwards Attacking Alamogordo Conservatives
Edwards has recently transplanted himself to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he admits to pushing progressivism in the heavily conservative area, including viciously attacking conservative candidates and pro-life policymakers who are moving the community forward.
The attacks ramped up as Alamogordo City Commissioner Melton proposed, and the Commission successfully passed a resolution declaring Alamogordo a sanctuary city for the unborn in August. The only two dissenting votes came from Mayor Susan Payne and Commissioner Sharon McDonald. Payne insisted she is “100 percent pro-life” but refused to support a resolution protecting life.
A long-time supporter of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, Edwards wrote in 2017, “I have supported the missions of Planned Parenthood for years,” while bashing pro-life sidewalk counselors outside of abortion clinics as “extremist.” He added in the post, “ I stand pink to show my support of Planned Parenthood.”
Screenshot of Edwards’ post professing to support Planned Parenthood for “years”
Apparently angered that Alamogordo stood up for the lives of the unborn, he attempted unsuccessfully to elevate pro-abortion organizers’ petition demanding a special election for a referendum on the pro-life resolution.
After the pro-abortion petitioners, calling themselves “New Voices Otero,” failed to reach the mere 589 signature goal despite having 30 days to organize, Edwards wrote a blog post viciously attacking Commissioner Melton and myself, paying homage to his former days of “dirty politics” in Napa. He claimed criticisms of the mayor were “propaganda” despite her vote against the pro-life resolution and her signature prominently featured on a petition, which bashed the commission that she oversees as “extremist.”
Increasingly angered by his political loss when the petitioners’ signatures were thrown out by the City Clerk, Edwards decided to attack me, claiming with absolutely no evidence that I or someone affiliated with me sent copies of his federal indictment to unknown individuals via the U.S. Postal Service. Now, Edwards is falsely claiming mail fraud, when in actuality, he spent years in federal prison after being convicted of not only mail fraud but also tax evasion and larceny, among other crimes. Mr. Edwards appears to be projecting his own previous criminality. If such letters did, indeed, get sent out, the plausible suspect would be himself.
After Edwards’ attacks against myself and Commissioner Melton fell flat, Edwards filed a slew of frivolous Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) requests with the City of Alamogordo, attempting to undermine the premise of the resolution, claiming there was no support for it. In the process, Edwards doxxed a local resident who requested Commissioner Melton propose the measure. He posted in a blog entry a screenshot of an email showing personal information about where she lived and even published her unredacted email address.
For someone who claims to be so invested in Alamogordo and has so much at stake, he seems fine with wasting city staff’s time and money with his manic IPRA requests.
In one subsequent unhinged blog post, Edwards got confused and falsely accused Commissioner Melton of submitting a September IPRA request under my name, despite not checking the signature. A simple signature match could have proven he was incorrect. Still, he published the defamatory article anyway without a hint of fact-checking. More Napa Valley “dirty politics.”
Edwards has continued to attempt to lace together conspiracy theories about Commissioner Melton, who owns a legitimate conservative consulting service, Conservative Compliance LLC, unlike Edwards’ fictitious Dufrane Compliance Trust that defrauded nearly $1 million. Edwards cooked up multiple far-out conspiracies through his “2nd Life Media” Facebook account. One such false claim was that Conservative Compliance’s client list included County Commissioner Couy Griffin, even though that would legally be required to be reported to the Secretary of State’s office.
While trying to shift the topic after his theories disintegrated, Edwards ended up claiming that non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations are a “tax dodging ploy” in the apparent attempt to attack non-profit pro-life groups. His baseless theories seem to be a projection of his days sitting behind bars for tax evasion.
In one of Edwards’ Facebook posts, it shows an image of him with a filter reading, “I pay more taxes than Trump,” ironic since his lack of paying taxes when he systematically defrauded 1-800 Flowers landed him behind bars for nearly three years.
A photograph posted by Edwards on Facebook.
Edwards wrote in one of his blog posts that he will not quit harassing conservatives in Alamogordo until “they rise to the occasion of true leadership, end the attacks on those that differ in opinion and embrace open dialog with a civil tone to seek areas of compromise for a better Alamogordo.”
If only Edwards would take his own advice and end his obsessive attacks against people fighting to move Alamogordo forward and represent the conservative values of our community.
Now, the far-left Chris Edwards continues to ignore his self-righteous standards and instead launch vicious attacks against Alamogordo conservatives. As he keeps attacking with his Napa Valley-style “dirty” smears and promoting abortion up-to-birth/LGBTQ+ groups, locals should watch carefully the many ventures he is closely affiliated with. That includes a new magazine, “New Mexico’s Influence Magazine,” and the businesses he has purported to own or operate. At face value, the magazine attempts to come off as even-handed. However, knowing “progressive” Edwards is behind it, conservatives should use extreme caution.
More information will be released in due course on individuals such as Edwards; This first report just scratches the surface. New Mexicans must continue to be vigilant of leftists, many with crime-filled, shady pasts, attempting to implement far-left California policies into our conservative community.
As Edwards wrote in one post, “We are working to change the extremism, But we need the help and support of progressive businesses like those downtown Roadrunner Emporium, ReneFit, New York Art and Music Studio, the Game Shop on New York and others.”
What exactly is the “extremism” Edwards is trying to cut out of Alamogordo, and how exactly does he intend to do this through “progressive” businesses, many of which he has a financial interest in? It is still unclear if the $894,222 ordered in restitution for Edwards’ embezzlement has yet been paid.
While the facts presented in this article have been extensively verified for correctness and accuracy, the author’s recommendations on actions Otero County conservatives should take are purely opinion.
