New Mexico

Lujan Grisham calls special session after vetoing junior money

After angering Democrats and Republicans over a veto of junior money that would have gone to projects such as funding for the Special Olympics, senior centers, and helping solve child abuse cases, Gov. Lujan Grisham has called for a special session starting on April 5. 

Once a formal proclamation comes out from Lujan Grisham on the special session, all legislative candidates and legislators will be banned from fundraising throughout the conclusion of the special session.

The scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Governor tried to cover her bases by saying the special sessions about gas prices. “As prices remain high nationwide, it is clear that we must act swiftly to deliver more relief to New Mexicans,” claimed Lujan Grisham in a news release.

“It is our responsibility to do what we can to ease that burden,” she concluded, despite having killed 40% of small businesses and leading New Mexico to the highest unemployment rate in the nation. She also supported a proposal that would result in a 35 to 50 cents-per-gallon gas tax on the poor.

Lujan Grisham said she was “unconvinced” the distribution of more than $50 million for projects across the state “upholds principles of fiscal responsibility.” This comes after she signed a mammoth $8.5 billion budget that included millions in funding for the Green New Deal, anti-gun programs, and taxpayer-funded “free” college.

“Given this is an election year, a potential battle over the bill between the heavily Democratic Legislature and Lujan Grisham, also a Democrat, could have caused some political fallout,” wrote the Santa Fe New Mexican.
It is unclear if the special session will include a backdoor voting bill that would appear to make New Mexico elections unsecured. But the Piñon Post is on high alert for any developments regarding a pro-voter fraud measure. 

Lujan Grisham could call special session to save her hide after unpopular veto

More reports are confirming that scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham could call a special session of the New Mexico Legislature to pass an amended junior funding bill after she vetoed the one passed earlier this year by unanimous Senate and House votes.

According to New Mexico Senate Pro-Tem Mimi Steward (D-Bernalillo), the special session could also include measures to alleviate the state’s gas taxes, despite Lujan Grisham and Stewart supporting a bill for two years in a row that would have increased the cost of gasoline anywhere from 35 to 50 cents per gallon.

“We are looking at providing some sort of cost-of-living, cost-of-transportation rebate,” Stewart told the Santa Fe New Mexican.

The Lujan Grisham-vetoed junior funding bill included funding for the Special Olympics, rural economic development, investments in senior centers, food banks, acequias, and equipment to solve child abuse cases. Democrats and Republicans responded with fury after she vetoed the commonsense bill.

Now, Stewart claims the bill can be “fixed” to accommodate Lujan Grisham. “She has brought up problems in the bill, and we are trying to determine if we agree with those,” the Senate Pro-Tem said.

Nora Sackett, the Governor’s press secretary, told the New Mexican, “The governor is committed to prioritizing transparency and accountability in making fiscal decisions, and we are optimistic that we will be able to move forward in partnership with the Legislature in ensuring taxpayer dollars are responsibly spent for the benefit of New Mexicans.” 

Lujan Grisham faces fierce opposition as she seeks another term despite her multiple scandals. A special session would mean a fundraising ban for Lujan Grisham and all legislative candidates, which will not help her in her quest to seek funds to win reelection. State Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), “There’s concern about the political optics of [an extraordinary session] in an election year.”

SOS says ‘Anyone’ supporting Otero audit is undermining ‘confidence’ in elections

On Thursday, far-left New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver relished in the news that left-wing coastal congressional Democrats, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) are launching a House Oversight investigation into the company contracted for the Otero County audit of the 2020 election.

Toulouse Oliver dubbed the County-sanctioned audit a “fraudit” and claimed it “sabotages our constitutional right to vote.” It is unclear how merely recounting votes and documenting abnormalities in the ballots cast is doing anything other than strengthening the integrity of elections. With the audit findings, New Mexicans can definitively know the results of the 2020 election in Otero County.

She wrote, “Arry, weeks ago, I said that this was a vigilante audit. Anyone supporting the ‘fraudit’ undermines public confidence in election security and continues to spread lies about our elections here in New Mexico. The fraudit is a fraud itself.”

“Millions of Americans have sacrificed their lives to vote in this country. Anything that sabotages our constitutional right to vote should be taken very seriously, and I am grateful to the House Oversight panel for proactively investigating this. It’s pure voter intimidation,” Toulouse Oliver continued.

The Secretary of State supported far-left Democrats’ proposals for an extreme pro-voter fraud bill that would enshrine voter suppression into New Mexico law during the 2022 Legislative Session. Some of these proposals included allowing widespread ballot harvesting, letting ballots be counted one week following an election, unsecured ballot drop boxes, and other corrosive measures. 

She also teamed up with Attorney General Hector Balderas and the mainstream media to try and stymie participation by citizens in answering canvassers’ questions that could verify if they voted in the election.

It appears Toulouse Oliver is gaslighting those seeking truth in Otero County by accusing them of exactly what she is guilty of — voter intimidation. If nothing went wrong in the 2020 election, why do everything possible to stop the audit of the supposedly “secure” election? 

Dems call in U.S. House big wigs to help stop Otero County audit, claim it’s racist

On Thursday, NBC News reported that the U.S. House Oversight Committee was launching an investigation into the New Mexico Audit Force, which is tasked with carrying out the Otero County-sanctioned audit of the 2020 election.

Specifically, the Committee is investigating EchoMail, which was the contractor hired by Otero County for around $50,000 to do the audit. 

Previously, New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colón sent a letter to the County threatening litigation, while Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Hector Balderas used their bully pulpit to attempt to delegitimize the forensic audit of the 2020 election. Now, as the New Mexico Democrats’ ploys to stop the audit appear to have failed, they have now called in their friends in Washington, D.C., to try and stop it on a national level.

“The Committee is investigating whether your company’s audit and canvass in New Mexico illegally interferes with Americans’ right to vote by spreading disinformation about elections and intimidating voters,” House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the chairman of the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties, wrote in a Wednesday letter addressed to V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, the founder of EchoMail. (Pictured).

Ayyadurai is an MIT-educated expert who has been cited as the “inventor of email.”

The House panel erroneously claimed in its letter that “[t]he canvas may have a particular impact on minority communities in Otero County,” noting that 40 percent of the County’s residents are Hispanic.

“Otero County’s diversity makes it susceptible to the same threat identified by DOJ in Maricopa County—that canvasses of this nature, even when sponsored by local governments, can result in intimidation directed at minority voters,” the letter continued, without any such evidence of intimidation by volunteers helping conduct the audit.

Maloney said in a statement, “The reports coming out of New Mexico of EchoMail’s canvassers harassing and intimidating people on their own property in the name of a sham ‘audit’ are truly disturbing. I urge the Department of Justice to review potential ongoing civil rights violations arising from this so-called audit, and I look forward to uncovering the full scope of EchoMail’s actions.” No specifics about what supposed “civil rights violations” may occur by merely going door to door to canvassing the area, as many political campaigns have done for decades to reach voters. The audit is even more benign, literally asking if a voter cast a ballot in 2020 — not asking who they voted for.

Secretary of State Toulouse Oliver claims there were around 20 complaints to her office, while she said “twice that” were filed with the New Mexico Attorney General.

National leftist groups, many backed by George Soros, have already dunked money into the smear campaign against the Otero County audit, with paid activists from New York to San Francisco working overtime to stop the County from getting to the truth.

“The intent of the audit is to restore trust, faith, and confidence in the integrity of our elections,” the three Otero County commissioners said. “Election integrity is a non-partisan issue.”

One must ask if these Democrats are working overtime from the West Coast, East Coast, and the offices of statewide elected leftists to stop the audit of a county with fewer than 70,000 people residing in it, what are they hiding, and what could they gain by successfully stopping the truth from coming out?

U.S. Attorney requests forfeiture of fmr. top Dem’s assets in fraud case

According to a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, agents have requested a judge grant forfeiture of around $455,000 relating to the case of ex-House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-Bernalillo), who was accused of graft of millions from children at the Albuquerque Public Schools. 

In September, the FBI seized around $3 million connected to Stapleton. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the U.S. Attorneys’ letter aks approval to “‘forfeit and condemn’ part of the seized federal funds related to Robotics checks that went to a nonprofit called the Ujima Foundation.”

According to research done by the Piñon Post in a sweeping report, over the course of decades, Stapleton allegedly funneled millions of dollars into Robotics Management Learning Systems, LLC and other shell companies run by Washington, D.C.-based  Joseph Johnson. Johnson is a former cabinet secretary who was forced to resign in disgrace following corruption charges during the Toney Anaya administration.

He has since been involved in multiple cases regarding public corruption in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and now again in New Mexico. 

“Federal agents in the fall seized more than $1.5 million from the Bank of America account for Robotics. Agents also seized more than $1 million from Bank of America accounts tied to those businesses and foundations linked to Williams Stapleton, plus a 2017 Volvo,” reports the New Mexican. 

“Federal agents also took $452,419.56 being held in the 2nd Judicial District Court related to state charges against the former lawmaker — funds the U.S. Attorney’s Office now wants. That agency also wants the Volvo, which was partially paid for by Williams Stapleton with Ujima Foundation funds.”

Despite Johnson claiming Stapleton had no connection with Robotics Management Learning Systems, LLC, the two have been connected since they both attended college at New Mexico State University and first got involved in politics through the socialist “Rainbow Coalition,” which Stapleton is still listed as the contact for the group in New Mexico.

[Read our full report on Stapleton’s shady business dealings and close connections to other New Mexico politicians here.]

Colón sends bloviated letter threatening Otero County over 2020 election audit

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.”

One week later, NM Dems finally release convention results

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]

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

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.

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

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.”

Dems turn on MLG after she vetoes entire special projects bill

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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