New Mexico

Colón sends bloviated letter threatening Otero County over 2020 election audit

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State Auditor Brian Colón, who is currently running for New Mexico attorney general, is meddling in Otero County’s audit of the 2020 election. Colón sent a rhetoric-filled letter to the county commissioners Monday threatening them with the “potential” of “costly civil litigation,” among other measures.

Colón claimed that “the County is deficient in their ability to properly oversee the compliance of contractual agreements and further lacks proper oversight policies for contract compliance.”

“Based on statements made to Commissioners, these volunteers would in no way represent themselves as County employees to County residents that they were interviewing. However, additional concerns brought to our attention suggest that it appears volunteer canvassers at the direction of the contractor are falsely representing themselves as employed by the County. The OSA has concerns of potential liability for the County in connection with alleged civil rights violations of its citizens.”

There is no evidence showing canvassers as representing themselves as employed by the County. Even in leftists’ TikTok videos used to try and delegitimize the audit, canvassers have represented themselves as “volunteers” that are helping Otero County in the audit.

“The stated purpose and methodology of the ‘audit’ gives the appearance of the entire affair simply being a careless and extravagant waste of public funds, which does not appear to serve any useful purpose to the taxpayers of Otero County,” Colón went on to write.

He even accused the three Otero County commissioners of violating their office, writing, “As a result, it appears that the County Commission failed to treat their government position as a public trust and instead used the powers and resources of their public office to waste public resources in pursuit of private interests concerning unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud, and failed to advance the public interest in the County by entering into a contractual agreement with a private company to look for fraud within the County’s general election despite the County’s results.”

“I speak for myself, but I think the other two commissioners feel the same way that we strongly support this audit,” Commissioner Vickie Marquardt said at a March 10 commission meeting.

“I don’t want to do anything else that’s going to bring negative effects on you for getting harassing phone calls. That’s not what this should be about,” referring to David and Erin Clements, who have helped spearhead the audit. The Commission denied a request to clarify the political affiliation of the auditor staff at the meeting, according to the Alamogordo Daily News.

Many outside forces from California, New York, and other places have injected themselves into a smear campaign against the Otero County audit, with Democrat Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Hector Balderas piling onto the swath of misinformation to attempt to stymie participation. Toulouse Oliver has even used the audit as a means to fundraise for her reelection to her office. 

Amy Barela, the past-Chairwoman of the Otero County Republican Party and current District 2 candidate for Otero County Commission told KALH radio, “The county needs to review the expenses of the New Mexico Audit Force to make sure they are distributed and allocated as they are intended to be.”

Colón sends bloviated letter threatening Otero County over 2020 election audit Read More »

One week later, NM Dems finally release convention results

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One week after Democrats’ “lovefest” convention in Roswell, they finally have the results from the contentious races. This came after the Democrats employed the use of absentee ballots, over-the-phone voting, and electronic voting which allowed votes days after the convention.

In the Second Congressional District, far-left ex-Las Cruces City Councilor Gabe Vasquez outpaced Dashel Patel 80.43% to 19.57%. Patel was just shy of the 20% needed to get on the ballot but could get extra signatures to get a ballot slot.

In the state treasurer race, Laura Montoya got 58.29% to Heather Benavidez’s 41.71%. The nominee will face Republican Harry Montoya in the general election.

Zack Quintero, who previously ran an unsuccessful race for Albuquerque City Council, got 61.81% to Joseph Maestas’ 38.19%. Maestas is a Public Regulation commissioner and former Santa Fe city councilor. 

In the hotly contested attorney general race, ​​state auditor Brian Colón led Albuqurque-area District Attorney Raúl Torres 61.46% to 38.54%. Torres has support from George Soros. The winner will face Republican Jeremy Gay. 

The governor’s race, lt. governor’s race, Congressional Districts One and Three, Secretary of State, and Land Commission are uncontested on the Democrat side. Republicans have not put up a candidate for state auditor. But they have put up a candidate, Jeff Byrd, for Land Commission.

Whoever the Democrats choose on June 7 as their nominees will face Republicans, who have been rallying to take back New Mexico with a strong showing across the state.

In contrast to the Republican convention, the GOP had primary results the night of the convention, which were released the day afterward.

[READ NEXT: Dem convention: MLG calls herself a ‘bada**,’ breaks self-imposed mask mandate]

One week later, NM Dems finally release convention results Read More »

Heinrich has his most unhinged take yet — this time about gas stoves

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On Saturday, far-left Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich shared an article advocating for doing away with gas ovens, instead to opt for induction (electric) ones. 

But his take on the article was what raised eyebrows. 

Heinrich wrote while sharing the link, “Would you let your babysitter smoke in your house? Having a gas stove in your home may be just as bad.”

It’s unclear what Heinrich’s obsession with banning gas stoves is all about, but Heinrich has been on this tear for years. 

In July of 2021, Heinrich wrote on Twitter, “When you trade out your gas stove for an electric one you lower your monthly energy bills, create jobs, and move us closer to a zero-emissions future. And a bill I’ll be introducing would give you money back for doing that. This is how we build a clean energy powered economy.”

Paul Gessing of the Rio Grande Foundation had some thoughts on Heinrich’s most unhinged comments comparing owning an electric stove to letting one’s babysitter light one up while watching kids.

Gessing wrote on Twitter, “I’m at a loss for words.  Cooking on your stove is like letting your babysitter smoke in your house? WTF? Heinrich is the one smoking something.”

Another commenter wrote, “He should focus on solving actual problems, not conjuring up imaginary ones. Which is unlikely.”

One person wrote in response, “And the Hoodwink continues to descend on into Crazy La la levels. We so need to clean house of these clowns.”

Heinrich previously bragged on social media about supposedly electrifying his home, sharing a video of him installing a new heat pump to supposedly save the planet. We previously reported:

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who lives in Silver Springs, Maryland outside of Washington, D.C., bragged … about how he was supposedly “electrifying” his home with expensive new appliances including a new heat pump. 

Heinrich shared a video and wrote on Twitter, “​​The decisions we make around our kitchen tables about the cars we drive and the appliances we use in our homes directly impact the health of our climate & our families. Today, I’m taking the next step to electrify my home and installing our second heat pump.”

This comes as 18.63% of New Mexicans are living below the poverty line and cannot afford to heat their homes during the winter, much less invest in eco-left appliances to “electrify” their homes for the “climate.”

Henrich is a radical enviro-Marxist who supports Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) in her attempt to pass the Green New Deal on a federal level.

Heinrich has his most unhinged take yet — this time about gas stoves Read More »

MLG ‘conspiring’ to ram pro-voter fraud bill through the backdoor: Report

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According to a report from the New Mexico House Republican caucus, Democrats and scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are “conspiring” to ram through the embattled governor’s pro-voter fraud bill through the backdoor. 

“According to credible sources, House and Senate Democrats are now in secret negotiations with the Governor to convene a special session. After facing the embarrassment of a historic veto override in a legislature-led extraordinary session, the Governor has convened with Democrats, without public input, to garner the support of enough Democrats to end their pursuit of an extraordinary session,” wrote the Caucus.

“Instead, she will call a special session and the unhappy Democrats will re-introduce the Junior Appropriations Bill, which she will now sign, in order to avoid having her veto overridden and public [acknowledgment of Democrats’] loss in confidence of the administration.”

The report concludes, “In addition to addressing the Governor’s veto of the Junior Appropriations Bill, secret discussions are taking place to revive the controversial election code changes and hydrogen hub legislation that were defeated just weeks ago.”

The Junior Appropriations Bill had $50 million in projects carefully selected by each legislator and funded things such as the Special Olympics, senior centers, vehicles for law enforcement, and tools to solve child abuse cases. Lujan Grisham flatly vetoed the entire bill, to the ire of both Republicans and Democrats.

“It is obvious that Lujan Grisham doesn’t believe that she can win re-election without changing our election laws just months before New Mexican voters are set to decide if she has done a good enough job to stay in office,” said House Republican Whip Rod Montoya (R-Farmington). 

The pro-voter fraud bill that failed in this year’s legislative session included provisions such as expanded use of ballot drop boxes, mail-in votes being accepted one week after an election, giving third parties backchannel access to voting data, among other measures. It died in the Senate in the final hours of the session due to a filibuster by Sen. William Sharer (R-San Juan).

Montoya said, “It is time for the governor and Democrat leaders in the House and Senate to stop the secret backroom dealing. Their actions reek of the corruption and politics New Mexicans have grown tired of.”

MLG ‘conspiring’ to ram pro-voter fraud bill through the backdoor: Report Read More »

Dems turn on MLG after she vetoes entire special projects bill

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Earlier this week, scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, vetoed millions in funding for small projects in each legislator’s district. Some of these projects included funds for the Special Olympics, senior centers, food banks, acequias, equipment to solve child abuse cases, and more. 

The bill, which each legislator worked on to provide funding to their individual districts, impacts those who counted on the funding to help New Mexico families. The Governor’s veto could have been in retaliation for the Legislature not passing many of her left-wing policies, such as a 35 to 50 cents-per-gallon gas tax, a radical pro-voter fraud bill, anti-gun measures, and more. Democrats and Republicans are now plotting a potential extraordinary session of the Legislature, which would take three-fifths of the lawmakers in each chamber to support it.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported, “[T]here is “great concern” in the Senate Democratic caucus over the governor’s veto of the so-called junior bill — which would fund an array of initiatives across the state in a year when the state expects record-high revenues — a spokesman for the Senate Majority Office said Democrats would be meeting soon to discuss their options.” 

Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup), the chair of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, said she was “incredibly disappointed” in the governor’s veto of the junior bill. “Those were all very good projects, both on the House and the Senate side, and I hope we do something about it,” she said.

Lujan Grisham erroneously claimed the projects in the bill were not properly vetted, which was a reason for her veto.

“If they hadn’t been vetted, how would [the governor] know that?” Lundstrom asked. “C’mon now. Give me a break. … I think legislators know what’s best in their own darn communities, and they should be able to fund some of those smaller projects.”

She added, “There are very specific guidelines that are given to the members before they put the request in. There is absolutely vetting and guidance on this. It’s not just throwing a dart at a dartboard.”

Rep. Derrick Lente, (D-Sandia Pueblo), said, “I don’t understand why the political fight would want to be taken.” He supports overriding Lujan Grisham’s veto. 

Even far-left Rep. Roger Montoya (D-Velarde) blasted Lujan Grisham, who endorsed him, for her betrayal of the people. 

“As an unpaid legislator, my team and I drove thousands of miles over the last year, met with leaders from every community that I represent in District 40 — a district that spans 6,000 square miles — and together we identified programs and needs where junior money would have significant and immediate impacts to enrich the lives of my constituents,” he said.

He added, “$360,000 of junior funding that my communities were counting on are gone in the stroke of a pen.”

“It is astonishing to see how weak this Governor has become over the last year,” said House Republican Whip Rod Montoya (Farmington).  “Democrat members of the Legislature were at her beck and call for three years and are now willing to, in an unprecedented manner call themselves into a special session, during the Governor’s first term, to override her vetoes. We typically only see actions like this when dealing with a lame duck Governor who no longer holds sway over their political party.”

Now, as the walls are closing in on Lujan Grisham, her press secretary Nora Sackett claimed in an email to the New Mexican, “The governor’s responsibility is to ensure that New Mexico’s investments directly and meaningfully benefit New Mexicans while maintaining fiscal responsibility, given the once-in-a-generation revenue we have available.”

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New ABQ City Council strips Keller’s emergency powers, repeals plastic bag ban

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The newly elected Albuquerque City Council, which now skews to the right, with moderate Democrat Louie Sanchez holding the keys to the kingdom, has made sweeping reforms of the city to the ire of far-left Democrat Mayor Tim Keller.

On Monday night, the City Council voted to nix the City’s plastic bag ban, which has already increased costs for grocery stores and consumers. It now heads to Keller’s desk for a likely veto.

“With spring winds kicking up, no one wants to see plastic bags hanging from trees and blowing down our streets again. The plastic bag ban is one important step to reducing litter, and Council should have waited for the results of the impact study they commissioned instead of taking this premature vote tonight,” said Keller in a statement.

The City Council also voted 5-4 to restrict the mayor’s command during an infectious disease outbreak that “presents a threat (to residents’) health or safety.” 

The change only allows Keller  “advisories and recommendations” regarding another crisis.

But the Mayor’s chief operating officer Lawrence Rael claimed, “There were some specific … situations that occurred in different areas of the city where we had to move quickly,” according to the Albuquerque Journal. 

Council also voted 8-1 to pass a measure that calls for renegotiating the DOJ settlement agreement. The proposal encourages a new agreement that sets an end date and caps spending.

After these reforms, Councilor Dan Lewis said, “This is clearly a major shift to a more common-sense, conservative approach to leading our city in the right direction.” He added, “Our conservative leadership and Republican strength on Council will mean great things for the future. Government must have checks and balances, accountability and be fiscally responsible. These are the values that conservatives on the Council are promoting, and, because of this, we are taking the right actions and making the right decisions that will mean better things for the great citizens of Albuquerque.”

New ABQ City Council strips Keller’s emergency powers, repeals plastic bag ban Read More »

Lujan Grisham signs radical $8.5 billion Democrat budget into law

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On Wednesday, scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the massive $8.5 billion budget passed by House Democrats and a handful of Republicans which funded over $10 million for the “Green New Deal,” $75 million for “free” (taxpayer-funded) college, over $300,000 for anti-gun programs, and more. The budget is the largest ever passed in the history of New Mexico.

Lujan Grisham said while signing the mammoth budget, “This budget makes transformative investments exactly where they’re needed: from historic raises for New Mexico educators and growing the country’s most expansive tuition-free college program to creating a new fund to hire public safety officers and unprecedented funding to fight food insecurity.”

She added, “We are taking full advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to strategically and meaningfully build upon our progress to lift up every New Mexico family.”

Also included in the budget, according to a summary of amendments to the bill from the Senate Finance Committee, are massive increases in funding to already bloated state agencies. Those include, “12 percent for Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, and 16 percent for the Environment Department.”

The budget also “creates new offices to address climate change and regulate cannabis (marijuana), and enforce regulatory duties of the oil conservation division.” These positions will support anti-energy “climate change” policies while promoting the use of recreational drugs.

The far-left budget increases the Governor’s socialist free daycare program by over $15.3 million in taxpayers’ dollars.

The analysis of the bill further notes that with the Economic Development Department, the budget addresses “the agency’s top priorities, such as adding an additional $1 million in recurring job training incentive program (JTIP) funding, filling vacancies in the film department, creating a justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion office and expanding the number of regional representatives available to local communities.” The creation of a “justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion office” is the propagation of Critical Race Theory (CRT) into the state’s framework.

According to the Albuquerque Journal:

Lujan Grisham also vetoed several references to “public health orders” issued by her administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, though she left intact funding for the State Fair and other entities negatively impacted by the pandemic.

In an executive message to lawmakers, the Democratic governor said some of the vetoed language sought to unlawfully intrude into the executive branch’s managerial duties.

The “Republicans” who voted with the far-left Democrats on the budget in the House include Gail Armstrong (Magdalena), Brian Baca (Valencia), Rachel Black (Alamogordo), Jack Chatfield (Tucumcari), Kelly Fajardo (Tome-Adelino), Joshua Hernandez (Rio Rancho), T. Ryan Lane (Aztec), Bill Rehm (Albuquerque), Luis Terrazas (Bayard), and Jane Powdrell-Culbert (Corrales). Fajardo is not seeking reelection while Black and Powdrell-Culbert face primary challenges. The primary election will be on June 7, 2022.

Lujan Grisham signs radical $8.5 billion Democrat budget into law Read More »

Five House Republicans face primary challenges, many from the right

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On Tuesday, legislative candidates filed their paperwork to get on the June 7 primary ballot, including five Republicans challenging incumbents for their seats in the Republican primary. 

Many of these candidates are running to the right of the GOP incumbents, such as Piñon Post’s editor and founder John Block, an America-First Republican, who is challenging the incumbent in House District 51 in Alamogordo. The current representative, Rachel Black, was the lone vote against tax relief for small businesses during the pandemic lockdown, voted for the Democrats’ $8.5 billion 2022 budget, voted to raise taxes, along with a laundry list of bad votes.

State Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert (R-Corrales) faces a primary challenge from Frida Susana Vasquez (Susan Vasquez) of Rio Rancho in House District 44. Powdrell-Culbert was also a Republican who voted for the Democrats’ $8.5 billion budget, which funds around $75 million in recurring spending for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “free” (taxpayer-funded) college, among other waste, such as around $10 million for components of the “Green New Deal.”

State Rep. Larry Scott (R-Hobbs) faces off against Elaine Sena Cortez, also from Hobbs, who is running on a platform of getting “money and authority back to local communities,” while also focusing on public safety, small business, oil and gas, teachers, and the unborn, according to her website. Scott has been an active voice in the Legislature against enviro-Marxist bills and other bad measures that affect the Oil Patch-area in District 62. 

State Rep. Randall Pettigrew (R-Lovington), a first-term incumbent, is being challenged by Rebecca Jill Jones of Hobbs in House District 61. Pettigrew’s short tenure in the House gives better hope to Jones in her race, but it is unclear at the moment what issues will be key in her campaign.

Conservative Republican Tracy C. DeLaRosa of Roswell is challenging GOP state Rep. Greg Nibert, also of Roswell, for his District 59 seat. DeLaRosa has been a strong advocate against the policies of Joe Biden and Democrats and has been critical of Gov. Lujan Grisham, who was accused and later settled over $150,000 for sexual assault claims. Nibert, an attorney, works at a fairly large firm that has many contracts with the State of New Mexico. 

2022 is seen as a “shakeup” year for many in the Republican Party to clean house and elect conservative Republicans to replace moderate incumbents, especially in solid red areas of the state like Alamogordo, Hobbs, and Roswell. In total, 62 Republican candidates are running for the House, which is composed of 70 seats.

Eight Democrats face primary challenges from the left. According to the Albuquerque Journal, these Democrats are “Anthony Allison of Fruitland, Doreen Wonda Johnson of Church Rock, Eliseo Alcon of Milan, Roger Montoya of Velarde, Susan Herrera of Embudo, Kristina Ortez of Taos, Andrea Romero of Santa Fe and Ambrose Castellano of Las Vegas.” 

Find the full list of candidates who filed for state representative, among other offices, here.

Five House Republicans face primary challenges, many from the right Read More »

MLG’s Supreme Court tosses citizen grand jury petitions

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New Mexicans from three counties, Chaves, Eddy, and Lea, filed citizen grand jury petitions last year against scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s misuse of emergency powers during the pandemic.

After Lujan Grisham, in her official capacity, used taxpayer-funded lawyers demanded in November the New Mexico Supreme Court strike the petitions down, that’s exactly what it did. The Court, which is made up of 4 out of 5 judges appointed by Lujan Grisham, claimed the signatures were invalid. They claimed the Governor’s actions were “lawful, noncriminal” activities.

Justices C. Shannon Bacon, David K. Thomson, Julie J. Vargas, and Briana Zamora were all appointed by Lujan Grisham, with Chief Justice Michael E. Vigil being supported by Lujan Grisham. All these jurists are Democrats.

State Sen. David Gallegos (R-Eunice) said to the Albuquerque Journal following the ruling, “They never touched on any of the real issues in the case.” He continued, “The courts aren’t willing to listen to New Mexicans.”

“There’s a lot of people who are very irritated about where we are.”

During Lujan Grisham’s scandal-ridden tenure, she extended the emergency orders first enacted in March of 2020 more than 30 times.

The Governor’s emergency orders resulted in at least 40% of small businesses in New Mexico closing, long breadlines to get food and basic goods over the holidays due to capacity limits at grocery stores, restaurant and closures, among other measures seen by many New Mexicans as cruel.

It is not immediately clear if the individuals leading the push for the grand juries will appeal the ruling. This article will be updated when more information is available. 

MLG’s Supreme Court tosses citizen grand jury petitions Read More »

New Mexico gets national attention over MLG’s CRT radicalism

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Recently, ABC News highlighted New Mexico’s radical Critical Race Theory (CRT) agenda adopted by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Public Education Department (PED). The new social studies standards were adopted by a process 100% controlled by PED, with a “comment period” for New Mexicans to add their thoughts, although it did not result in the removal of CRT from the standards.

For example, one standard asks children to “[a]ssess how social policies and economic forces offer privilege or systemic inequity in accessing social, political, and economic opportunity for identity groups in education, government, healthcare, industry, and law enforcement.”

Other standards include language such as, “Demonstrate how diversity includes the impact of unequal power relations on the development of group identities and cultures” Regarding the territorial period of New Mexico, the rules aim to “Determine the role of race and racism in the acts of land redistribution during the territorial period.”

But ABC News branded the new radical standards as a positive development for schools to “focus on social identities and understanding the world through the lens of race, class and privilege.”

The news organization characterized the changes and comment period on the new CRT standards as follows:

Opponents of the new approach expressed fears that children would be labeled as victims or oppressors based on their race.

Some commenters color-coded the entire proposed rule, identifying language that they saw as echoes of critical race theory, including phrases like “unequal power relations,” “privilege or systemic inequity,” and requirements that students identify their “group identity” starting in kindergarten.

The agency also removed “mentions of sexuality, communism, police brutality and gun violence following concerns raised by the public,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Maddy Hayden.

The agency decided to keep the privilege, power and inequity language, and even increased the instances of those terms in an effort to make the language consistent across different sections of the final rule, in response to public comment.

These standards will be mandated to begin in the training phase next year, with instruction of the Critical Race Theory standards beginning in the fall of 2023.

Lujan Grisham is currently up for reelection, and her constant scandals, including paying $150,000 to an alleged groping victim may cost her. The further implementation of Critical Race Theory into the schools is not likely to help her chances.

New Mexico gets national attention over MLG’s CRT radicalism Read More »

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