Paul Gessing, Author at Piñon Post

Lujan Grisham’s 7-member panel votes to limit gas cars in close vote

42 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion / By Paul Gessing

At the Rio Grande Foundation, we have written extensively about Gov. Lujan Grisham’s disdain for “democracy,” let alone a representative republic, but last night’s (Thursday, November 16) vote by her un-elected EIB takes the cake.

Unsurprisingly, despite overwhelming numbers of New Mexicans in opposition, the SEVEN member Board voted on a mere 3-2 basis (in support) to mandate a drastic increase in the number of EVs sold in New Mexico. You can find the list of all seven members here while the vote was as follows: Bitzer and Trujillo voted NO, and Ely, Garcia, and Suina all voted YES. Two of the Board’s seven members DID NOT VOTE: Honker and Cates.

In other words, MLG couldn’t even get an outright majority of her un-elected board to support her policy to force cars that New Mexicans don’t want on them. That sets aside inherent biases and conflicts of the members, like Sandra Ely being a paid employee of the Environment Department AND being married to prominent, recently retired environmental attorney Steven Michael.

There are numerous reasons to litigate. We’re confident that lawsuits will arise from this “kangaroo court” in which massive policy changes are initiated by a board acting without as much as a majority of its own membership.

Paul Gessing is the president of the leading free market economic policy think tank and taxpayer watchdog group, the Rio Grande Foundation. This article originally appeared in Errors of Enchantment.

Appraising former Gov. Bill Richardson’s legacy

25 Comments / Opinion / By Paul Gessing

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has died. While we at the Rio Grande Foundation often disagreed with the former governor, we also had our areas of agreement. Here are a few thoughts on him and his legacy.

Compared to today’s Democrats, Richardson was a moderate. He genuinely seemed to desire economic growth for New Mexico and had a plan (which was fairly successful) to grow NM’s economy. He cut NM’s top income tax rate from 8.2% to 4.9% and reduced capital gains taxes.

Sadly, Richardson ALSO fell into the trap of big government boondoggles. His purchase of a supercomputer was one, but his Rail Runner and Spaceport have been very costly. The RailRunner continues to lose ridership while the Spaceport remains unproven even as Virgin Galactic FINALLY has started manned tourism launches. Subsidies for Eclipse Aviation and Schott Solar also failed to create long-term economic success. Richardson also laid the groundwork for New Mexico’s costly film subsidies, which have helped film while failing to develop New Mexico’s economy despite hundreds of millions in subsidies.

Richardson was pro-2nd Amendment, especially compared to modern Democrats. He was endorsed by the NRA twice.

In broader terms, Richardson was a consensus-builder who genuinely tried to represent the entire state, whereas current Gov. Lujan Grisham often ignores rural New Mexico in favor of vote-rich urban areas.

Richardson (gently) reproached Gov. Lujan Grisham for her overly zealous failed COVID lockdown strategy. He also (sagely) pushed NM legislators and Lujan Grisham to avoid raising taxes in the most recent legislative session.

Finally, as with so many other New Mexico politicians, ethical questions abound. Richardson was associated with noted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and missed out on a key role in the Obama Administration due to ethical questions. There is likely a great deal to both of these stories that the public is not aware of, but they highlight deep-seated problems with New Mexico’s political culture and Richardson’s own character.

Opinions expressed by Piñon Post contributors do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the publication or its editorial staff. Submit an op-ed to the Piñon Post at news@pinonpost.com.