Opinion

Why you need to vote in Nov. 2 municipal elections — whether you want to or not

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While most of New Mexico’s mainstream media is glued to the dumpster fire Albuquerque mayoral race, the truth is, that is not the most important issue citizens need to focus on, especially if you are like me, and you don’t live in the Albuquerque area or a big city. 

Most folks don’t pay too much attention to local elections or care to vote in them, but at least in my town, these local elections, especially for school boards, will matter a great deal more. 

In Alamogordo where I live, our Alamogordo Public School Board of Education is full of leftists. Three members of our five-member board voted in August to forcibly remove Board President Angie Cadwallader and install a leftist registered Democrat in the post, despite not following proper protocols and not re-voting on every member of the board. 

Now, as President Cadwallader remains outnumbered with only one other ally on the five-member board, she faces tough reelection, while that one other ally is not running for reelection and a union-backed candidate is trying to defeat conservative Sara Weihausen, an anti-CRT candidate. 

In many ways, our school board elections are some of the most important, and despite the decisions made by our school boards, they don’t exactly make for salacious news, although the Piñon Post has tried to make them a priority in reporting. 

In my city, conservative Commissioner Susan Payne goes up against a radical far-leftist, Nadia Sikes, who calls constituents and media who don’t agree with her “a**holes” and mask-shames the public. Sikes has a poisonous hatred for President Donald Trump and has participated in many pro-abortion marches while promoting Planned Parenthood and other abortion up-to-birth groups. 

These races don’t make the front page often, but they should matter to every single New Mexican because they determine things like the teaching of the racist Critical Race Theory in our classrooms or the implementation of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s tyrannical mask and jab mandates. 

Don’t like those potholes you hit every day on the way to work? Well, then make sure to vote for candidates who will represent you and fix those issues you care about. Being involved in elections makes it much more likely you will get involved further, such as attending city commission or council meetings and talking directly with your representatives. 

Although these might not be the most exciting elections in the world, the people we elect make a direct impact, good or bad, on our lives. Please show up to vote for good, conservative candidates who will make the right decisions for communities across the state. On Saturday, October 30, most polling places are open from 7-5 for early voting, and on Election Day, polls open at 7:00 a.m. Find Republican candidates in your area here, find your polling location here, and see your sample ballot here. I will be voting in person on Election Day.

Remember, if you don’t vote, you have no reason to complain. 

Why you need to vote in Nov. 2 municipal elections — whether you want to or not Read More »

Public servants have a duty to protect significant cultural artifacts from evil forces

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On October 12, 2020, domestic terrorists made unprecedented and violent actions, destroying the 153-year-old Soliders’ Monument on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, with police fleeing the scene and letting these bad actors destroy the culturally significant, federally protected monument. 

The obelisk-shaped 33-foot-high monument was dedicated to Union soldiers who fought the Confederacy — something all New Mexicans should be proud of. But instead of protecting the monument, Mayor Alan Webber’s Santa Fe Police Department ordered officers to stop protecting the monument and let the terrorists destroy it. 

Now, officers who claim to have given the orders, likely scapegoats, say they had no other choice. However, for months preceding the Columbus Day massacre of the monument, extremist anti-Hispanic hate groups such as The Red Nation and the Three Sisters Collective have targeted the monument — even bragging about it being attacked with red paint.

In the time surrounding the devastating fall of the Soldiers’ Monument, violent terrorists targeted multiple Catholic and Hispanic artifacts around the state capital. They spray pained “1680 Land Back” on a statute of Catholic priest Fray Angélico Chávez outside the Museum of New Mexico History in Santa Fe. 1680 refers to the bloody Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which was led by Popé — a murderous man who many Native Americans shun for his evil ways.

In June of 2020, Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber unilaterally ordered the removal of the Don Diego De Vargas statue from Cathedral Park in Santa Fe, another blow to Hispanics who have deep cultural history and connections with De Vargas, who peacefully resettled New Mexico. The Red Nation hate group then held an anti-Semitic rally in Albuquerque supporting Hezbollah-linked terrorist groups.

In October, domestic terrorists desecrated the Cross of the Martyrs in Santa Fe, which is dedicated to the murdered victims of the blood-thirsty killer Popé. A total of 400 people were killed in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, including 21 friars.

The Cross has long been attacked by these domestic terrorists, most recently on the 2021 anniversary of the Revolt, with the monument being not only desecrated with red paint, but with people defecating on it in an act of targeted hate against Hispanic people and Catholics. The Kit Carson statue in front of the federal courthouse in Santa Fe has also been a target of vandalism.

With all these actions taken by these bad actors who aim to wipe out Hispanic and Catholic people who live in New Mexico, the City of Santa Fe, the State Police, and all other law enforcement bodies have a duty to protect our communities against hate crimes. They must stand up against extremism and protect these critically important historic landmarks and culturally significant places by stationing officers to watch all of these landmarks, both to protect them and to show solidarity with Hispanic and Catholic communities that have been targeted. Those who let these acts continue perpetuate hatred, division, and domestic terrorism stemming from evil forces.

Public servants have a duty to protect significant cultural artifacts from evil forces Read More »

What is MLG hiding by falsifying NM child abuse rates?

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

The better question may be what is she not hiding after embattled alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration was caught falsifying child death rates at the Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD).  

The former CYFD secretary Brian Blalock lied to legislators in July, claiming “New Mexico is below the national average in both child abuse-related fatalities and child maltreatment.” However, the newly unearthed statistics by legislative analysts show child abuse rates skyrocketed by 200% in 2020 — an extremely different picture than what Blalock reported to legislators.

The nine-page legislative report says: 

The maltreatment rate in New Mexico stood at 16.9 per 1,000 children in 2019, [the] sixth highest in the nation and well above the national average of 8.9.

The rate of child maltreatment fatalities in New Mexico more than doubled from 2.3 per 1,000 children in 2019 to 4.8 in 2020.

New Mexico has the second-highest percentage of children suffering from repeat maltreatment in the nation. In 2019, about 12% of the state’s children who were victims of maltreatment had another case of maltreatment within six months, higher than every state but New York.

So, why was Lujan Grisham’s CYFD hiding this data? Could it be because in 2022 she will have to face voters on this issue and her agency’s failure to protect children is at the bottom of the rung, sitting at #45 highest? 

These horrifying reports showing the Governor’s agency lied to legislators comes after the agency fired whistleblowers Cliff W. Gilmore and Debra Gilmore after they brought to the attention of the Department that its use of the “Signal” application to communicate and delete correspondences after certain periods of time violated government transparency (sunshine) laws in the state.

After they brought this to the attention of Lujan Grisham’s CYFD by saying the use of the app was “detrimental to the credibility of and the public’s trust in government institutions and their leaders,” both were fired.  

A subsequent report found that the Governor’s Department of Information Technology supported the systematic deletion of messages and this was even normalized across the board in all agencies via the use of “Microsoft Teams” to systematically delete all agency messages on the program after 24 hours.

So, even if New Mexicans wanted information pertaining to child abuse cases in the state, they could not access this vital life or death information because the Governor’s Department had already deleted it. 

Was Lujan Grisham purposefully instructing her CYFD secretary to delete these messages and did she give the order to falsify child abuse data in New Mexico? We may never know, but we do know that her agency is complicit in hiding and falsifying data regarding the most innocent and vulnerable in our communities: our children.

What is MLG hiding by falsifying NM child abuse rates? Read More »

Even if you hate Alexis’ guts, rank her as 2nd choice anyway on Election Day

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When it comes to politics in New Mexico, Santa Fe is considered a Democratic stronghold. With 71% of the county voting overwhelmingly  Democratic and only 22.3% voting Republican in the last election, one would find it hard to believe that a conservative would even have a chance at winning the capital city’s top job as mayor. However, the actions of the incumbent mayor Alan Webber can change that. 

Webber has been widely criticized by Santa Fe’s majority Hispanic population and some of his former supporters for his refusal to protect the  Soldiers Monument which was destroyed by violent thugs in 2020. To make matters worse, his Santa Fe Police Department was told to stand down. He  also partnered with out-of-town organizations to rip down culturally 

significant Hispanic and Catholic artifacts through a Marxist “Culture,  History, Art, Reconciliation” commission or the CHART committee. 

Webber argues that the monument’s destruction prevented wider unrest in Santa Fe despite multiple Hispanic cultural artifacts and monuments having been vandalized by domestic terrorists targeting Catholics and Hispanics such as the Cross of the Martyrs and the Kit Carson monument. 

Not only that, crime has skyrocketed and homelessness is getting worse.  

It’s safe to say, in my opinion, that the mayor is not very popular in his own city and will more than likely lose reelection on November 2nd. Although the mayor has opposition from sitting councilwoman JoAnne Vigil Cobbler, she seems to be no different from the sitting mayor as she voted for the Marxist CHART  committee. 

So who is the one that can make Santa Fe a beautiful place again? Who is the one who preserves Santa Fe’s unique and beautiful culture? Who is the one who can save Santa Fe from becoming the next Portland or San  Francisco? 

That person is Alexis Martinez Johnson. 

Alexis is a mom, wife, and environmental engineer who understands  Santa Fe is in desperate need of change. When she ran for Congress in  2020, despite only receiving 11% of the pre-primary delegate vote for the  Republican nomination, she received 36.7% of the 44,795 votes cast in the primary election as the winner.

Although Alexis lost in the general election, she gained 41% of the 317,448  votes cast — a record number for a Republican in District 3’s history — as she crossed party lines. She is the only centrist candidate in the mayoral race. 

Her career experience includes working as an environmental engineer &  consultant in areas such as hydrogeological investigations, wastewater management, water conservation, and environmental site assessments. 

She is someone who is steadfast in getting results and representing all voices no matter what political affiliation. 

As mayor, she will never shut down small businesses and she will never let violent extremists destroy monuments that are important to the community. She will focus on stopping Santa Fe’s rising crime rate,  preserve Santa Fe’s culture, and focus on homelessness without Santa Fe becoming a safe haven like liberal cities.

City Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler and Webber, both running for the mayorship, claim they will focus on all these issues despite doing nothing while they were in office. They’re two sides of the same coin. 

While Webber would let Santa Fe quickly become his hometown of  Portland, Vigil Coppler would let Santa Fe go in the same direction, but slower. 

Alexis is the only candidate who will make Santa Fe that sparkling place again. She will represent all voices in Santa Fe and not just play politics for personal gain. 

On November 2nd, rank her as 1st or 2nd choice when you go to the polling place. Even if you hate Alexis’ guts, rank her as 2nd choice anyway. Elect Alexis and save Santa Fe!

Freddie Lopez is an American independent journalist living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is the founder & editor-in-chief of Shining Light Press. You can visit his website at shininglightpress.blogspot.com.

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.

Even if you hate Alexis’ guts, rank her as 2nd choice anyway on Election Day Read More »

Democrats hell-bent on raiding the rainy day fund to spend on socialism

1 Comment / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

Radical Democrats in the Legislature are hell-bent on spending as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time as they cling onto power in the House, Senate, and Governor’s Mansion as the 2022 elections are just right around the corner. 

According to a report from the Albuquerque Journal, Democrats are furious that New Mexicas would dare save money in the rainy day fund instead of spending it on socialism, such as the socialist“free” (taxpayer-funded) daycare slush fund passed by the Legislature, which will be appearing on the ballot in 2022 via a constitutional amendment.

“That fund is getting pretty big, and I think we need to take a look as a Legislature at how it’s structured,” Far-left House Majority Leader Javier Martínez, (D-Bernalillo), said during a legislative committee hearing last week. Martínez took over after former Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton resigned in disgrace following a decades-long corruption investigation. 

Extremist partisan Democrat Rep. Moe Maestas (D-Bernalillo) claimed, “Money sitting in an account is actually counterproductive to the future of our state.” But in a financial crisis, the state’s rainy day fund could save New Mexico from economic catastrophe. Democrats do not care. 

The Journal reports that scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham “has not announced her administration’s final plan for using $1.7 billion in federal relief funds, although some of that money has been earmarked for restoring New Mexico’s largely depleted unemployment fund and temporarily boosting wage levels for chile field workers.” 

On the Governor’s and the Democrat Legislature’s watch, New Mexicans have been plunged into poverty, over 40% of small businesses that once existed in our state are now closed, and alarmist pandemic health orders have been reimplemented, further crippling the state’s already frail economy.

[READ NEXT: New oil and gas revenues mean more cash for MLG, Dems blow on socialism]

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Did MLG visit Española just to mask shame them — AGAIN?

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On Wednesday, scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham says she visited Española to hold a “roundtable on higher education with students, higher ed leaders, and elected officials.” There she touted her socialist plan for taxpayer-funded (not free) college. However, one thing was noticeably different in her wardrobe choice: her use of not just one — but TWO masks. She re-implemented her mask mandate in fear of the supposed“Delta” variant of the virus.

The double-masked governor in 2020 drove by Española in her taxpayer-funded chauffeur during her brutal lockdown where she scoffed at Española residents’ use of masks, even though she never even left her expensive ride to see first-hand if the residents were wearing masks. 

At the time, she said, “Last week, I traveled to Northern New Mexico, and in traveling to Northern New Mexico, I went through Española. I saw a lot of activity in Española and traveling through Main Street going North. I didn’t see a single mask, not one. Not in a parking lot, not in a grocery store that we passed, not at a convenience store, not at a gas station, not by someone in a car, not hanging on a rearview mirror, not on a wrist, not as people were walking, nowhere! Not one. The only masks I saw were in the car I was in, and we have to do better than that because if we don’t we cannot successfully introduce risk.”

She was later forced to apologize to the community after the Mayor of Española, Javier Sanchez, roasted her in a fiery letter for picking on the small Hispanic Northern New Mexico community. 

Mayor Sanchez wrote in the letter, “Are we truly to believe that the governor slowed down enough to see into our dark tinted windows to find no masks hanging from rear view mirrors? At this rate of condescension, I would be very surprised if the governor’s vehicle even slowed down to a rolling stop at the red lights. How empty those words sound coming from behind the windows of an air-conditioned vehicle while peering in at us like we are children who haven’t cleaned our rooms.” 

Lujan Grisham later wrote, “My comments were taken as a lack of respect for Española and the work the community has done to fight this virus. I apologize for making that impression. That was not my intent, and I take responsibility for the way my words were conveyed and heard.”

But her apology fell on deaf ears after her press secretary Nora Sackett bashed the Española mayor, accusing him of “hypocrisy” and bashing him as “self-righteous.” 

Now, it appears Lujan Grisham is attempting to make amends with the community — which votes predominantly Democrat — as she looks to cling onto power in the Governor’s Mansion. Her subtle two-masked approach to this may be another way to take another jab at Española for its perceived lack of compliance with her draconian mask mandates.

Did MLG visit Española just to mask shame them — AGAIN? Read More »

New oil and gas revenues mean more cash for MLG, Dems blow on socialism

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

Every year of the seemingly never-ending Michelle Lujan Grisham regime, she and her allies in the Legislature seem to always find a new “social program” that they are all too content to force New Mexicans to pay for with their hard-earned tax dollars. 

Some of these so-called “progressive” policies include the Green New Deal in the form of the “Energy Transition Act.” Others come in the form of “free” daycare via the creation of a new wasteful state department, increased benefits incentivizing New Mexicans to not work, and burdensome economy-crippling regulations that are plunging small businesses into closure. 

But the traditionally good news of $8.8 billion in revenue — almost $1 billion higher than the year before — creates a horrifying new reality for New Mexicans, who could see Democrats blow these desperately needed state funds to shreds in the next 30-day legislative session. 

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the new funds “could allow for big spending increases on New Mexico public schools, roads, health care programs and possibly help fund an overhaul of the state’s tax code, though specific plans from the Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are not expected to be rolled out until January.” 

New Mexico remains at nearly the top of the list of states with the highest unemployment rates with an eye-popping 7.6% as of July, which is not moving much from previous months. Actually, this very high number could rise exponentially if Gov. Lujan Grisham decides to plunge New Mexico into total lockdown as she has before. 

Now, as Republicans and Democrats gleefully rejoice the new money coming in, the funds will inevitably get smaller and smaller each year as the Green New Deal takes effect, which will cripple energy economies and kill more jobs left and right. This destruction of the industry has already been evident in places like northeast New Mexico.

The Green New Deal has forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station by PNM, leaving countless New Mexicans without jobs and only around 80 employees able to retire. “For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner. 

Even far-left enviro-Marxist groups have begged the Legislature to make changes to the Energy Transition Act before it completely wrecks the state.

But the pleas from the left and the right have fallen on deaf ears, and now the corrosive piece of legislation may force PNM to rely on a “brownout” next summer due to the “energy lost with the anticipated closure of the coal-fueled” San Juan Generating Station, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican.

If New Mexicans thought the 2021 Legislative Session was a bloodbath full of wasteful spending, non-transparent lawmaking, and the ramming through of the most extreme bills imaginable was bad, they should be absolutely horrified about the power grabs to come in the 2022 Session, with Michelle Lujan Grisham able to spend nearly $1 billion extra dollars before her first (and hopefully last) term is up as governor.

New oil and gas revenues mean more cash for MLG, Dems blow on socialism Read More »

Lujan Grisham regime pushes ‘climate emergency’ doomsday propaganda

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On Sunday, the Santa Fe New Mexican editorial board posted its latest opinion piece, this time floating the idea that a supposed “climate emergency” must be all that is talked about “all the time.” 

The far-0ut editorial fearmongers imminent disaster if extreme actions are not taking, writing, “the window to stop its progression is rapidly closing.” The board proposes, “Let’s not call it climate change anymore. The planet is in the midst of a climate emergency.”

“That’s why the switch from burning fossil fuels for energy to renewable power is essential. It’s also why New Mexico and the United States must control methane gases and other pollutants,” the editorial continues. “If we can coordinate efforts to stop carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, temperatures will rise, but not to a point that makes life unbearable.” 

The board proposes that through the United Nations, countries should cough up billions of dollars to stop this supposed “climate crisis” with massive investments switching to “renewable” energy to limit the rise in global temperatures by two degrees Fahrenheit.

Scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is touted for her work to ram through radical budget-killing “climate change” policies, such as her Green New Deal (Energy Transition Act), which will decimate the fossil fuels industry by the year 2045. 

“The oil and gas industry is the state’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, and these rules will reduce the industry’s pollution footprint,” the New Mexican editorial board claims, applauding Lujan Grisham’s economy-crippling plan to “increase the availability of zero- and low-emission vehicles in the state. A Clean Fuel Standard is being updated as soon as the next legislative session and the state is shoring up electric vehicle infrastructure.” 

But the state has already seen the devastating effects from the Governor’s “green” proposals, such as the Green New Deal, which is likely to create brownouts by next summer due to an energy shortage and has forced the closure of the San Juan Generating Station by PNM, leaving countless New Mexicans without jobs and only around 80 employees able to retire. For the rest of the employees, though, they’re going to have to go find some other form of employment,” said plant manager Omni Warner. 

Even far-left enviro-Marxist groups have begged the Legislature to make changes to the Energy Transition Act before it completely wrecks the state.

The alternative energies that Democrats’ tout, such as wind and solar, have shown to use toxic pollutants in production, they are unreliable in terms of energy power, and because of how they are produced, wind turbines and old solar panels cannot be recycled. They also are frying (solar) and crushing (wing) birds and bats in mid-air — an extremely devastating demise for these aerial animals. 

But Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration continues its extremist push for “climate emergency” propaganda by sharing the New Mexican’s editorial board, further showing the regime will push its corrosive agenda — no matter the cost to hard-working New Mexico taxpayers harmed by these destructive globalist policies. 

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The Alamogordo Public School Board must act to protect children

Leave a Comment / New Mexico, News, Opinion, Politics / By

Since all but one member of the Alamogordo Public School Board has ignored the many pleas from folks in our city and constantly eroded transparency through a failure to act on critical issues affecting the children in the community, this is the last stand I can think of to make them listen.

The first day of school for students starts in just a few weeks and the Board has failed to consider critical resolutions protecting female students’ safety in sports and failed to hold a meeting on the 2021-2022 learning platform — which integrates principles of the racist Critical Race Theory via the “Kickboard” plan implemented in 2019. 

Just a few weeks ago, the School Board cowered in fear of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a radical out-of-state dark money group that threatened to sue the school district if it considered a proposal by APS Board President Angela Cadwallader to ban biological males from female sports.

The ACLU demanded in its threatening letter that the School Board pull the resolution to protect girls’ sports, publicly state that the resolution was “ill-advised,” publish a document “clarifying that the district welcomes, supports, and affirms trans students of all kinds,” and “engage in trans-specific sensitivity training as a Board.” 

Once the ACLU sent their demand letter, the proposal mysteriously disappeared from the next meeting’s agenda, being replaced with banal contract approvals. In the midst of a threat, the School Board kowtowed to a radical “social justice” group’s threats above the safety of Alamogordo students and the citizens who elected the board members. 

This is just the latest failure of the School Board, following their silence on students being forcibly masked in schools by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham — even having to wear face coverings in 100+ degree heat while competing in sports. 

They have refused to call a meeting, as many communities have, to buck these draconian lockdown mandates, which are forcing teachers, students, and school personnel to face copious amounts of testing if they won’t be forcibly inoculated. Lujan Grisham also instituted segregating children based on vaccination status and quarantining/punishing students who do not comply. 

APS has been limp and actionless, such as previously when Board President Cadwaller was the only member to vote against the further closure of APS. 

Now, the board is refusing to act upon children being taught to hate each other based on race, with the school’s Critical Race Theory curriculum, which according to the Kickboard site, includes a “districtwide culture audit,” staff training on “trauma-informed mindsets,” and a focus on “social and emotional wellbeing.”

But despite the countless pressing issues still afflicting APS students and parents, the School Board has failed time and again to prioritize these issues while parents and students run out of time as the new school year approaches.

The APS Board members know what they have to do: reschedule a board meeting to consider pivotal proposals banning boys from girls’ sports and banning racist Critical Race Theory from the curriculum — issues parents deeply care about.


If the School Board instead bows down to the ACLU and radical outside groups that do not know or care about our community, then we have our final answer as to who owns four out of five of our school board members. Hint: it’s not we, the citizens, who have to deal with the catastrophic results of their inaction — it’s out-of-state extremist groups pushing the transgender and Critical Race Theory agendas. 

John Block is a native New Mexican and Alamogordo resident who serves as the editor of PinonPost.com.

The Alamogordo Public School Board must act to protect children Read More »

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

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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.

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