Democrat lawmaker demands taxpayer-funded salary after trashing public funds
New Mexico State Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla), best known this session for squandering public funds on a one-line constituent letter and burning bridges with her own party, is now blaming her embarrassing performance on one thing: the lack of a paycheck.
In a stunning display of entitlement, Cadena, who chose to send taxpayers a single sentence reading “The people of New Mexico deserve better” as her only official communication after the session, says it’s all because the legislature doesn’t provide her a cushy, taxpayer-funded salary.
At one point during the session, Cadena (who has the lowest attendance record of any legislator) angered House Democrats so much that she drove home during the legislative session and abandoned constituents on key votes due to her temper tantrum. Her latest antics, including attacks on legislators of both parties, could very well cost her a vice-chair seat on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. It also would not be surprising if the Democrat Party fields a candidate to primary challenge her in the 2026 election, if she decides to run.
“Who we send to Santa Fe does not represent the incredible depth and diversity and insight and expertise of families across our state,” Cadena complained to KRQE News, arguing that only the “powerful, wealthy, or retired” can afford to serve in New Mexico’s citizen legislature. But critics say that’s just a cover for her lackluster work ethic and political ambition.
Her one-liner letter came after weeks of alienating her Democratic colleagues and voting against key legislation supported by her own party. Rather than owning up to her decisions, she’s playing the victim and lobbying for a paycheck, turning the ideal of public service into a career track.
“That body, in my perspective and insight, does not represent the New Mexicans that I try to show up for every day,” she added, even as she failed to do just that. Ironically, her own actions—minimal constituent engagement, burning political goodwill, and spending public money for essentially nothing—are the very example of what New Mexicans don’t want from their representatives.
State Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), the editor of the Piñon Post, wrote in response to her letter, “Honestly, shame on her. The taxpayers fund these letters, and she wasted it by writing one single line — a line, mind you, that FALLS ENTIRELY ON THE DEMOCRAT PARTY WHO HAVE BEEN IN POWER FOR NEARLY A CENTURY — because she’s lazy and didn’t want to write a REAL letter, like I did to my constituents,” sharing photos of his robust correspondence to those he represents in contrast to hers.
Rep. Angelica Rubio, another Democrat who backed the failed legislative salaries push, co-sponsored HJR 18 and SJR 1 this year. Both bills aimed to add legislative pay in a state that has proudly maintained a volunteer legislature since its founding. Their efforts failed, with SJR 1 not even making it to a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
Democratic Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup), who chairs the committee, pushed back strongly on the idea. “I see a wide variety of people there. I see teachers who have jobs that leave the schools for 60 days. I see non-profit organizations that have people that are elected, I see retirees, I see ranchers,” Muñoz said. He argued that paying lawmakers wouldn’t enhance representation—it would attract people looking for a paycheck, not those looking to serve.
“Now, will it open it up to an array of people? Sure it will,” Muñoz said. “It will get people running for a job, and it will not be for service to the state or for service to their constituents.”
That statement hits especially close to home for Cadena and Rubio, who seem more focused on padding their resumes than doing the people’s work. Their push to transform the Roundhouse into a salaried political class undercuts the very spirit of citizen government, replacing service with self-interest.
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