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Legislators work to pay themselves salaries, ignoring concept of a ‘citizen legislature’

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

In January, we ran an editorial titled “Ungrateful NM legislators complain about ‘not getting paid’ despite per diem, pensions” focusing on New Mexico’s inept political “leaders” whining about not being paid enough despite getting pensions and per diem for their time on the job.

But now, these same ungrateful legislators are renewing their calls to be paid more with the interim Courts, Corrections, and Justice Committee considering a joint resolution to pay themselves, a proposal that Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto (D-Bernalillo) aims to sponsor in the 2022 30-day legislative session.

Ivey-Soto’s bill would amend the New Mexico Constitution via sending the voters a ballot measure to pay legislators via the State Ethics Commission, which would oversee salarying the legislative branch.

The Albuquerque senator claims, the Legislature is currently “comprised of the three R’s: the rich, the retired and the resourceful.” However, the Legislature was made to be a “citizen legislature,” meaning it was comprised of average citizens who work actual jobs while not in Santa Fe for the legislative session, letting them be closer to the people they serve. 

“We would have more time to devote to constituent services, oversight of state government, crafting legislation throughout the interim, and these crazy 60 and 30-day sessions wouldn’t be so crazy,” claimed Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo), who would be happy to have a full-time legislature. And with Democrats in power in both the House, Senate, and Governor’s Mansion, it would be a field day for the far-left if they could ram through their extremist agenda year-round.

But far-left Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Bernalillo) claims Ivey-Soto’s bill doesn’t go far enough. She claimed as well as the Legislature being salaried, she wants its structure to be changed “to make it have the ability to do its job.” She claims in its current form, it is an “extremely weak branch of the government,” which is likely what the framers’ of the New Mexico Constitution intended.

Previously, other members have whined about the lack of pay legislators get, despite them knowingly running for the job with full knowledge it didn’t have a salary. 

Sen. Bill Soules (D-Doña Ana), who has been in the New Mexico Senate since 2013, tweeted a picture of a dollar bill, writing, “#nmleg. ‘Another day another ………’. Oh wait.  That’s right.  The New Mexico Legislature is unpaid.  The only unpaid legislature in the country.” 

From our January editorial:

“Moderate” Rep. Alonzo Baldonado (R-Valencia), while defending Rep. Kelly Fajardo’s (R-Valencia) vote in favor of Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “mini” Green New Deal, wrote, “For all of you out there that think making votes and not getting paid to do it is easy….I say you go do it.” In 2022, many conservative Republicans will do it, and hopefully, strong patriots who do not cower will run against Reps. Fajardo and Baldonado to bring true representation to the Legislature—actual servants of the people who will not complain about the job they knew full-well they were getting into. 

Rep. Angelica Rubio (D-Doña Ana) claimed in 2019 while sponsoring a bill to pay legislators a salary, that the current system has people “being left out of the system.” However, she somehow got elected to the Legislature. 

But despite all the misinformation from ungrateful supposed “public servants,” legislators in New Mexico do get reimbursed through a daily per diem for their work, which is $184 a day and 58 cents a mile. They also get a hefty pension for their service. After ten years, it amounts to $10,824.00. 

The point of New Mexico’s legislature is for it to work for New Mexicans—not the other way around. Just remember, senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for not doing much at all. Having regular citizens who work jobs in the time they are not in the New Mexico Legislature (usually 10-11 months each year) serving as our representatives, brings them closer to the people they are supposed to represent and makes them more accountable to their constituents.

Now, time will tell if Republicans, other than extreme “moderates” like Alonzo Baldonado, join the herd of radical Democrats to try and pay themselves salaries, especially as New Mexico recovers from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s extreme lockdown that left 40% of small businesses closed and countless jobs lost.

MLG’s new NMPED guidelines invoke punitive measures against the unvaccinated

20 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

On Monday, the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) unveiled new guidelines for schools, which are set to start again in the next few weeks. According to the NMPED, masking will still be required in most schools.

“Teachers and staff in junior and high school settings will not be required to wear masks if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Proof of vaccination will be required,” KVIA reports.

KVIA also adds that “Masks will still be required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, in elementary schools. Masks will also be required for anyone that is not vaccinated or refuses to show proof of vaccination in those secondary school settings,” according to the updated NMPED rules.

Students who refuse to wear masks will be sent home. “While waiting for pickup, such students will be supervised and quarantined from other students,” the report notes.

“Our priority is to keep children in school, and it’s great news that the CDC guidance shows that secondary students and staff who are vaccinated can safely attend school without masks,” said PED Secretary Ryan Stewart.

The teacher’s unions responded to the punitive school mask mandates with glee. American Federation of Teachers New Mexico president Whitney Holland said, “Today’s release of updated New Mexico Public Education Department guidelines for COVID-19 safety protocols correctly keeps a focus on proven strategies for combating the spread of coronavirus in our places of learning.”

“We appreciate Secretary Dr. Ryan Stewart and the NM PED team including educational stakeholders in this process and the development of today’s updated guidelines. These protocols correctly acknowledge this virus is still present in our communities and will continue to be present until all able New Mexicans have access to an approved vaccine. These guidelines are especially important for our youngest learners as they wait for an age-appropriate vaccine to be widely available,” Holland concluded. 

Despite the unions being happy with the new guidelines, the NMPED is treating unvaccinated individuals with punitive measures, such as, “Unvaccinated students should sit on only one side of a table and maintain the prescribed social distance.” 

Also, “[s]chools must maintain a voluntary student surveillance testing program with a new weekly goal of testing 25% of unvaccinated students participating in sports and other extra-curricular activities. The previous goal was 1% of the overall student population and 10% of students participating in sports and other extracurricular activities.” 

The testing levels have also increased for teachers, aides, custodians, and other administrators, with a mandatory 25% weekly testing requirement for unvaccinated staff members. Previously, only schools in red counties had to test at such a high level.

New Mexico is one of only seven states (CA, CT, DE, HI, NM, NY, WA) with mask requirements for students. All of New Mexico’s neighboring states are without these stringent reqirements.

New Mexicans will be protesting the Governor’s strict masking mandate Saturday, July 31, 2021, across the state. Find your protest location here.

UPDATED: New Mexicans holding July 31 statewide school mask protest

11 Comments / Action Alert, New Mexico, News, Politics / By

While a majority of states in the country have no school mask mandate, New Mexico’s schoolchildren are still being forced to wear masks, even when playing outdoor sports in 100+ degree heat, according to the group New Mexico Freedoms Alliance.

“It’s not healthy for children to breathe through masks because the reduced oxygen and increased carbon dioxide is dangerous,” the group contends, adding that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “recent change to allow vaccinated athletes to be unmasked is not enough; ALL students must be allowed to unmask, regardless of their vaccination status.”

So, on Saturday, July 31, citizens are organizing protests against school mask policies statewide, from Albuquerque to Carlsbad. So far, seven cities are participating, but the list of areas joining in the effort is expected to grow.

  • ALAMOGORDO – 2pm – Corner of 10th Street and White Sands Blvd – Contact Ben at 575-921-5650 or contact@1name1banner.com
  • ALBUQUERQUE – 10am – 1005 Osuna, Vista del Norte Park – Contact Erin at Erinmg23@gmail.com or Karen at naturallyhealthykaren@fastmail.com
  • ARTESIA – 10am – Corner of Main & 7th – Contact Stacey at 575-343-1234• BELEN – 10am – Corner of Main and Reinken – Contact Regina at 505-550-0918• CARLSBAD – 1pm – Eddy County Courthouse Lawn – Contact Christy Bryant at 575-361-7779
  • CLOVIS – TUESDAY AUG 3 at 11:30am – Clovis Municipal School Central Office, 1009 N Main St – Contact unmaskclovis@gmail.com
  • DEMING – 10am – Deming Public Schools Emmett Shockley Building, 400 Cody Road
  • EDGEWOOD – 10am – Corner of Rout 66 and 344 – Contact Karisa at karicia55@hotmail.com
  • FARMINGTON – 10am – Main Street, Grassy Area in Front of Applebee’s, Near the Mall– Contact Lorna at 480-589-3856
  • LAS CRUCES – 10am – Albert Johnson Park on corner of Main and Picacho – Contact Daniel at freepeopleofthesouthwest@gmail.com
  • LOGAN – 10am – Cowboy Chuckwagon Parking Lot, 122 HWY 154 – Contact Tonya at 970-396-2222
  • LOS LUNAS – 10am – Corner of Los Cerritos and Main Street, in front of Applebee’s – Contact Valerie at 505-261-2209
  • MORIARTY – 10am – Crossly Park, at corner of Route 66 and HWY 41
  • PORTALES – 10am – Courthouse on the square – Contact Nicole at ntivis226@hotmail.com
  • RIO RANCHO – 10am – Corner of Southern and 528
  • ROSWELL – 10am – 912 N Main St, in front of Roswell Convention Center – Contact Daniel at 575-937-8476 or danieldictson@yahoo.com
  • RUIDOSO – 10am – School House Park, 501 Sudderth Drive – Contact Shane at 575-937-4948 or holdershane08@yahoo.com
  • SANTA FE – 10:30am – Salvador Perez Train Park at 601 Alta Vista – Contact Kristi at 505-204-8261 or kristi7issues@gmail.com
  • SILVER CITY – 10am – Gough Park, Corner of 12th St and Pope St
  • TUCUMCARI – 10am – Corner of First and Route 66 Blvd, next to the old Hardee’s – Contact Fran at 575-403-5758 or frantollett@yahoo.com

If your location is not on the list, the organization asks citizens to volunteer to lead a protest in their underrepresented area. “Select a high-visibility location, and then we will help spread the word, make a flyer for you to use, help with press/media outreach, etc. Please email Sarah at concernedfornm@gmail.com to get involved,” writes the Alliance.

The group has organized anti-forced school masking rallies previously across the state, with much success. But as the school year comes right around the corner, the added pressure on the governor is critical in stopping these mandates from continuing.

Democrat state rep. who sponsored abortion up-to-birth bill takes a jab at pro-life Catholic bishop

7 Comments / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

On Sunday, in an op-ed published in the Las Cruces Sun-News, state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Doña Ana) came to the defense of her colleague in the New Mexico Senate, Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who was denied Holy Communion because he voted for the radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide S.B. 10. 

Cadena chastised the cleric, Bishop Peter Baldacchino, for withholding the Most Blessed Sacrament from Cervantes, despite giving Cervantes multiple unanswered warnings that he would not receive the Eucharist in his diocese if he voted to kill children in the womb with the passage of S.B. 10. 

“I’m still feeling the sting of what happened in deeply personal ways,” wrote Cadena, sponsored the extreme anti-life bill. “The cultural war being waged by overreaching American bishops couldn’t come at a worse time for women and pregnant people in our country.” 

Cadena appears to be claiming Bishop Baldacchino, who has the authority to withhold the Eucharist to those who are not in full communion with the faith, is “overreaching” despite hin having the authority and acting rightly according to Canon Law. 

The far-left state representative tried to brush over her and Cervantes’ longstanding support for the gruesome practice of abortion, claiming, “As a mama, Chicana and Catholic raised in this diocese, I know pregnancy is sacred.” If she thought of pregnancy as “sacred,” then she should not be in support of tearing children in the womb limb from limb with forceps, sucking children’s bodies out of the mother with a vacuum, or giving women unsafe drugs to forcibly expel their children from the womb, leaving the mother in agonizing pain. 

“And while select voices within the church hierarchy may think they can dictate what’s best for our families and chastise us if we fail to act according to their views, our faith also teaches us to care for our fellowship by caring for our communities,” she added.

However, the Bible directly says what the job of a pastor is. 1 Timothy 4:2-5 clearly states, “proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry.”

Baldacchino is standing up for not only what the Bible says, but for what the church teaches in practice. The bishop guided Cervantes in the right direction, with patience (such as his multiple letters of warning), and let Cervantes know the grave consequences of his actions. Despite if Cervantes listened to the truth or not, Baldacchino performed the work of an evangelist and did all he could to divert the senator from the myths and evil associated with abortion.

Cadena, despite all her rhetoric and titles she has bestowed upon herself as a “Chicana,” “Catholic,” and “mama,” she, as well as Cervantes disobey the faith of which they purport to belong by voting to destroy God’s most sacred creation in the womb. Chastising a bishop for doing his job will not fare well for Cadena or Cervantes come Judgement Day when they must answer for their crimes against God’s creation.

Keller wants taxpayers to foot the bill for ‘New Mexico United’ stadium boondoggle

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On Saturday, during a “tailgate” party for the Albuquerque-based liberal soccer team “New Mexico United,” Albuquerque Democrat Mayor Tim Keller joined the crowd to make a major announcement about the team’s future.

During the event, Keller said “We are sending a resolution to the council on Monday to put a bond for a new stadium on the ballot this November,” another boondoggle that taxpayers will no doubt be stuck footing the bill for, much like the ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) project, which has been widely criticized as a failure. The bond would raise taxes on Albuquerque residents, already hurting due to Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s strict lockdown that killed 40% of New Mexico businesses.

According to the Denver-based consulting firm CAA Icon, the stadium would cost between $65 and $70 million.

At the tailgate event, Keller took the stage with the team’s owner Peter Trevisani (who was wearing a Black Lives Matter-inspired fist t-shirt) and made the announcement while holding a flag for the City of Albuquerque. The team has long been a proponent of the Marxist Black Lives Matter hate group and the LGBT agenda.

The sites under consideration for the proposed new stadium are the Railyard Site, Coal and Broadway, 12th and I-40, and 2nd and Iron. 
Keller has long been known to have Albuquerque taxpayers foot the bill for expensive projects, such as his $30,000 rainbow crosswalk and the creation of the city’s “Office of Equity and Inclusion.”

Keller faces a tough re-election with Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales running for the job and outraising the incumbent mayor.

Cease and desist notice sent to LANL over face mask, vaccine, testing mandates

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On Friday, the public interest legal group New Mexico Stands Up! sent a cease and desist notice on behalf of “a large group of employees” at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The order was addressed to Thomas Mason, the laboratory director for LANL.

“This letter serves as formal notice to cease and desist all actions related to mandates requiring employees to wear a face mask, submit to COVID-19 tests or be injected with the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. As more particularly described below, such a mandate is in direct violation of State and Federal Law, and if the dispute escalates or results in a constructive or retaliatory firing or suspension, a lawsuit may be brought against you,” the letter reads. 

The legal group argues that because the testing, vaccinations, and masks are all authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under “Emergency Use Authorization,” that does not equate to approval by the Department. 

NM Stands Up! uses a quote from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) chief medical officer of the National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases who stated, “I just wanted to add that, just wanted to remind everybody, that under an Emergency Use Authorization, an EUA, vaccines are not allowed to be mandatory. So, early in this vaccination phase, individuals will have to be consented and they won’t be able to be mandated.”

Also cited was data regarding adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, including illness and even deaths related to the inoculation. “As of July 9, 2021, VAERS reported 463,456 adverse events, including 10,991 deaths, from the COVID-19 vaccines,” the legal group wrote, adding that Dr. Peter McCullough, vice chief of internal medicine at Baylor University estimates that there are at least 50,000 deaths in the United States so far relating to the vaccination. 

Among other evidence cited, regarding mandatory testing, NM Stands Up! quoted the CDC, which previously noted that “It is unethical and illegal to test someone who does not want to be tested, including students whose parents or guardians do not want them to be tested.”

As of May 2021, the CDC’s previous statement had been updated to say, “Testing should not be conducted without informed consent from the individual being tested (if an adult) or the individual’s parent or guardian (if a minor). Informed consent requires disclosure, understanding, and free choice and is necessary for teachers and staff (who are employees of a school) and students’ families to act independently and make choices according to their values, goals, and preferences.”

The legal group wrote, “Employees at LANL have stated they are being retaliated against, discriminated against and being subjected to a hostile work environment as a result of not taking the injection. This includes being kept in a segregated area and not being allowed to join in certain socializing events. This is not acceptable.” 

“An employee has advised us that the employee’s supervisor had access to his health information and was sharing that with others. New Mexico recognizes invasion of privacy as a tort and a constitutional violation. We demand that whatever policies or procedures you are utilizing that gives access to employees’ health and medical information be ceased.” 

The allegations against LANL come after employees in May told the Piñon Post that the labs were running a “coercion campaign” to “force” injection of the COVID-19 vaccine, despite it not being approved by the FDA. Now, these shocking revelations in the cease and desist order lead to even more concern regarding LANL employees’ safety and privacy.

Pro-abortion Dem who was denied Communion wants to receive Eucharist at Biden’s parish

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In another apparent attempt at drawing out his time in the spotlight, state Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Doña Ana), who was denied the Eucharist at a Las Cruces-area monastery, had yet another interview about the experience. In the interview with Axios, Cervantes said he hopes to someday receive Holy Communion at Joe Biden’s parish.

Despite Cervantes being told by both Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino and St. Albert the Great Newman Center pastor Kevin Waymel the consequences of his vote to support the killing of children in the womb, he did anyway, despite his faith and his pastors forbidding it.

“In a personal letter to Senator Cervantes, his pastor advised him that a vote in favor of this particular Senate bill would constitute a grave moral evil and that he should not present himself for Communion,” the diocese said in a statement.

Now, Cervantes tells Axios “I won’t have any problem finding to place to receive Communion.” He added, “In fact, I look forward one day to receiving Communion at the same parish where … Biden does.”

Cervantes also voted for an anti-life assisted suicide via lethal drugs bill, which would give a lethal dose of drugs through a “cocktail” to a terminally ill patient. Proponents of the bill claimed it was “death with dignity,” seeming to say people who live with their illnesses are dying without dignity, be it via their conditions or natural causes. The Axios bill erroneously claims Cervantes is a “conservative Democrat.”

Despite these votes, if Cervantes chooses to receive Communion in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, he will be met with open arms by Archbishop John C. Wester, despite the Archbishop saying the assisted suicide bill Cervantes voted for was “the worst in the nation.” 

The Bible, as well as Church doctrine, affirms that receiving the Eucharist while not in full communion with the church is not only a grave offense, but it can make the recipient physically ill.

Corinthians 1:11 Verses 27-30

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.*

A person should examine himself,* and so eat the bread and drink the cup.

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.

That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.

According to the Code of Canon Law, “A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.” TITLE III, THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST (Cann. 916)

BernCo GOP chair calls Republicans critical of her leadership ‘insurrectionists’

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On Wednesday afternoon, Bernalillo County Republican Party chair Julie Wright sent out an email blasting her Republican opponents, many of whom being elected and formerly elected leaders, calling them “insurrectionists.”

The email comes after Wright’s opponents have been critical of her over her failure to support Republican candidates, win elections, and show “transparency,” and previously attempted to have a vote to oust her from the leadership of the Bernalillo County Republican Party.

In an email calling for her removal via a call for a County Central Committee Meeting, the concerned members cite rule 3-1-4 D USR “Removal of County Officers,” which reads: 

 Any officer of a County Central Committee may be removed by a two-thirds vote of all the members of the County Central Committee present in person at a meeting properly called for the purpose and attended by at least 51% of the entire membership of the committee. In such voting, proxies shall not be recognized. 

However, according to what Wright previously told the Albuquerque Journal, “The party’s executive committee has ruled the dissenters have fallen short of the requirements needed to call a special meeting this week,” and “a state Republican Party rules committee was reviewing the matter but added the meeting would be invalid under the current ruling.”

The letter was signed by the former state Reps. Janice Arnold Jones and David Adkins, Harry Lord, the husband to current state Rep. Stefani Lord, APS School Board candidate Ali Ennenga, former state Legislature candidate Giovanni Coppola, former First Congressional District candidate Michaela Chavez, among many others. 

In Wright’s Wednesday night email, she tried to rebut the claims made by the scores of County Central Committee members and blasted those dissenters, writing, “What might seem to be an angry mob looking to remove the County Chair is really a handful of insurrectionists who are powered by ego and selfishness.  Ask yourself – has this helped the Party?  Does this shed a good light on Republicans or on the cause of conservatism?  Absolutely not.”

She added, “I often hear that ‘The Democrats are beating us – they have more money and a large group of volunteers!’  Yes, they do.  But do you know what else they have?  They have the understanding that being united is to conquer yet to divide is to fall.  They follow their elected leadership and that is what I ask of you.”

There has long been friction in the Bernalillo County GOP between the Julie Wright wing versus the more conservative wing, with Wright’s hand-selected executive director Geoff Snider branded the New Mexico Trump Victory team “Nazis” and on another occasion said the Bernalillo County GOP was not interested in help from Scott Presler, a conservative activist who has been registering voters around the country.

MLG’s DOH let veterans home keep ‘four disabled veterans to a room’ during pandemic

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In a new “scathing” report from the Legislative Finance Committee (FLC), scandal-ridden Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Department of Health “failed to ensure proper infection control” at the New Mexico State Veterans Home in Truth or Consequences.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that state Sen. Nancy Rodriguez (D-Santa Fe) told them “[t]he facility, she said, houses four disabled veterans to a room.” The facility had 28 people die from COVID-19. 

But Lujan Grisham’s cabinet secretary for Human Services (and now the Department of Health) Dr. David Scrase defended the department.

“He told lawmakers that even the most well-funded private nursing homes in New Mexico faced difficulty limiting the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The veterans home, Scrase said, was particularly challenging, given the layout of the building, with four people to a room,” reports the Journal.

“What happened at the veterans home,” he said, “is about the same as what happened throughout the entire state and, in my opinion, based on design issues, could have been much worse.”

But state analysts don’t agree with Scrace’s attempt to downplay responsibility. The 28 deaths at the facility equaled 19% of the facility’s 145-bed capacity, a percentage higher than the state average, according to an LFC analyst. 

The 28 deaths at the veterans home – which occurred over several months late last year – equaled 19% of the facility’s 145-bed capacity, according to the LFC report. The percentage was higher than the state average, one analyst told lawmakers. The LFC report says the veterans home’s coronavirus deaths ​​“were exacerbated by inadequate oversight,” with other practices such as staffers not changing personal protective equipment between visiting patients, among other issues. 

State Rep. Patricia Lundstrom (D-Gallup) who chairs the LFC, urged the Lujan Grisham administration to use federal stimulus funds to build a new Truth or Consequences facility for these veterans. 

“With this high-risk population, we need to do something, and we need to do it sooner than later,” said Lundstrom. 

In December, Lujan Grisham announced New Mexico hospitals were on the brink of “rationing care” while last April, Lujan Grisham’s administration evicted scores of nursing home patients, some even in their 90s and one aged 102. 

Following the news, Republican Governor’s Association spokesman Will Reinert said, “Instead of working to take care the disabled men and women who fought to keep our country free as COVID-19 ravaged their living quarters, Governor Lujan Grisham dined on taxpayer-funded wagyu beef.” He added, “If Grisham won’t even work to protect New Mexico’s veterans, don’t expect her to fight for families struggling to put food on the table or to clean up Albuquerque’s crime-ridden streets.”

No GOP contender for state auditor yet as second Dem announces

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On Tuesday, Democrat Public Regulation Commissioner Joe Maestas, 60, confirmed to the Santa Fe New Mexican that he is running to be New Mexico’s next state auditor following one other Democrat already in the race, former ombudsman Zackary Quintero, 30, who served under Gov. Lujan Grisham. Quintero lost a race for Albuquerque City Council two years ago.

Maestas was a former Española city councilor, former Santa Fe city councilor, and unsuccessful candidate for the Santa Fe mayorship before winning a seat on the PRC his second time running.

Quintero says he served as ombudsman for 10 months and that he has a close relationship with Lujan Grisham, who may endorse him for the race. He has the endorsements of multiple far-left state legislators, including appointed Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Bernalillo), Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo), and Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe).

Maestas is running for Auditor instead of vying for Lujan Grisham’s appointment to the PRC, which is set to be governor-appointed in 2023. Maestas says since Lujan Grisham endorsed his opponent for PRC, so it would likely mean she would not keep him on the commission if she is reelected in 2022. 

With Quintero and Maestas competing for the Democrat nomination for state auditor, a Republican has still yet to file to run for the office — a critical position that would oversee finances of New Mexico agencies and hold local and state governments accountable for their use of funds.

Current Auditor Brian Colón is running for Attorney General, leaving the position an open seat, and a better opportunity for a Republican pickup — if a Republican ran for the seat.

The two Democrats already in the race will have a fundraising edge on whatever GOP candidate announces, making it that much more important for the Republicans to field a viable candidate.

The Auditor’s office has long been used as a launching pad for higher office rather than its purpose to oversee government entities. Colón is only in his first term and is already leaving to pursue a job as the state’s top law enforcer, while former Auditor Tim Keller left the gig after just a little over two years for the mayorship of Albuquerque, New Mexico’s most populous city. Current attorney general Hector Balderas, who is term-limited, previously served as state auditor, and Colón appears to be vying for his career path. 

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