Democrat U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico’s Third Congressional District recently joined some of her colleagues on a list of members of Congress who violated a federal stock trade law known as the STOCK Act.
Leger Fernandez is now one of 76 congressional representatives who bucked the law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts of interest.
According to Business Insider, “Federal records show that Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a freshman member of Congress from New Mexico, violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, which in part requires members of Congress to disclose within 45 days stock trades they’ve made for themselves, spouses, or dependent children.”
Leger Fernandez sold between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of the investment company Golub Capital BDC. She waited until December to disclose the January 2021 stock trade — made just after she took office. That is well after the 45-day requirement for members of Congress.
An aide to Leger Fernandez, who refused to go on record, defended the stock trade, saying she “made the trade as part of her retirement portfolio, which is normally managed by an independent firm. In this particular instance, the aide noted, Fernandez directed the firm to sell the stock,” according to the report.
The aide claimed the Democrat congresswoman had “drafted” the report of the sale within the 45-day period but blamed an “electronic error” for the trade only being reported this month.
Leger Fernandez’s aide claimed the congresswoman “supports a ban on members of Congress owning individual stocks,” although Congress has refused to act on legislation to implement such policies.
According to reports from leftist and more right-of-center news organizations, there is a consensus that gas prices are likely headed upward in the near future.
Due to the Saudi-ruled Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) decision to reduce oil output by two million barrels per day could lead to higher oil prices and, thus, higher gasoline prices at the fuel pump, according to Fox Business.
“Gas prices are dropping sharply and are only a nickel more per gallon than a year ago,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said to Fox. “But with oil being the main ingredient in gasoline, OPEC+’s move could slow this decline.”
CNNadded, in a report titled, “Big Oil stocks are pointing to higher gas prices to come,” “The S&P 500 is down more than 17% this year while shares of Exxon, Halliburton and Chevron are all up more than 45%. Oil prices and energy stocks are closely interlinked — so this discrepancy is an odd one and could mean that lower gas prices may not be here to stay.”
“While crude prices are dropping, equities traders appear to be taking on a different bet: They’re hoping that OPEC’s recent decision to stick with supply cuts and Europe’s agreement to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel will keep the global supply of oil very tight, even if demand drops.”
The report continued that prices are likely to go up, though, according to historical trends, noting, “In the end, the divergence may be temporary: In four of the five major splits between oil and energy stock prices since 1990, oil returned to a rally in the year that followed, according to Bespoke Investment Group.”
Gas price averages across the country are down by one cent versus last week, while down by an average of 14 cents versus last month, according to AAA.
New Mexico’s average gas price is $3.13. The county with the lowest price is reported to be Valencia County at $2.82. Under the Joe Biden administration, New Mexico recorded its highest-ever average gas price of $4.83 for regular unleaded and $5.60 for diesel in June of 2022.
Democrat ex-Gov. Bill Richardson is decrying the state Public Regulation Commission (PRC) nominees submitted by the Public Regulation Commission Nominating Committee as non-representative of New Mexico, specifically in regard to Native Americans.
Richardson told the Associated Press that the exclusion of these rural-area individuals was “a glaring omission.”
He said, “To ignore northwestern New Mexicans and the Navajos in Cibola, McKinley, and San Juan counties is both short-sighted and insensitive,” adding, “The PRC needs to go back to the drawing board. Period.”
Most of the nine nominees selected to fill the three spots on the newly created governor-appointed commission are from the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas.
Former Four Corners Power Plant engineer Jeff Peace, who applied but was not selected as a nominee, said, “We don’t have [representation] now. And if it’s not me, then somebody else,” saying, “But like I said, we just keep getting shortchanged up here.”
Regarding the outrage over the nominees, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s press secretary Nora Sackett told the AP, “The governor’s role is just one aspect of the comprehensive process that seeks to ensure qualified professionals can be relied upon to work on these technical matters that affect every New Mexican.”
Joseph Little is among those who will be considered by the governor. From the Mescalero Apache Nation in southern New Mexico, Little has worked with tribes on everything from water rights to utility easements.
The others are Cholla Khoury, New Mexico’s chief deputy attorney general for civil affairs; Amy Stein, who has worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., and California before teaching in Florida; former Public Service Co. of New Mexico resource planner Patrick O’Connell; former Republican state lawmaker Brian Moore; FERC senior policy adviser Gabriel Aguilera; Carolyn Glick, who worked for years at the PRC as general counsel and a hearing examiner; Sandia National Laboratories engineer James Ellison; and Arthur O’Donnell, who has served as a PRC consultant.
But still, Richardson insisted, “I just think it was very insensitive and wrong not to include a Navajo.”
On Tuesday, the Bipartisan Policy Center held its 2022 Elections Summit in Washington, D.C., where Democrat New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver was a panelist. Toulouse Oliver joined moderator Carrie Levine, a story editor at election reporting site Votebeat.org, as well as Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, Nevada County, CA Clerk-Recorder-elect Natalie Adona, and U.S. Election Assistance Commissioner Ben Hovland.
During the panel, Toulouse Oliver repeatedly took sly jabs at county commissioners, such as those in Otero County, who audited votes and also decertified potentially fraudulent election results and then were forcibly mandated to go back and certify upon the threats of removal.
She also spoke about the close relationship between her office and the media to “pre-bunk” so-called “election myths.”
“The field of election administration, over time, has just become incredibly more professional, incredibly more diverse. It used to be, you know, whoever sort of the local political favorite was got the job of being election administrator in a jurisdiction,” she said.
Regarding her campaign to try and quell supposed misinformation, Toulouse Oliver said, “I’ll also add I think we started doing this pretty darn well in 2020: foreseeing the post-election challenges. We didn’t know exactly what they were going to be, but we did a good job as a community of ‘pre-bunking,’ if you will, some of the things we could see coming down the pipeline of, you know, ‘We’re not gonna know on election night, you know, because we have all of these critical states that are still gonna have ballots to count and this is how the process works.’ I think we did an even better job of that, and that isn’t just the work of election administrators.”
She then praised the media, telling the panel, “I think we did an even better job of that, and that isn’t just the work of election administrators. It’s also the work of the media, which has really invested incredible amounts of time and effort working with offices like mine and local election offices to get information — how does this actually work? — because the media wants to be good partners and helping us pre-bunk or debunk some of the election myths that are out there. As a result, I think the electorate, whether they want to be or not, is much more informed about how the election process works, and I think that significantly contributed to the success of the 2022 election and to the fact that we didn’t see as much strife, or we’re not seeing as much strife – We’re still immediate post-election 2022 — than we did in 2020.”
Then, Toulouse Oliver attacked citizens who asked for public records from her office, claiming their requests for data were political. She said, “When we’re dealing with not the normal level, I mean, any government office should expect and anticipate public records requests, and we should be responsive to them. That is not the question we are talking about here. We are talking about this coordinated, weaponized effort to make it so hard for us to fulfill those requests that we can’t do the rest of our job properly or we can’t fulfill the record requests properly. And that’s intentional. That is a tactic, and it is intended to keep us from being able to do our jobs properly.”
She added on that note, “like many states, we’re looking at how we can better craft our public records laws. For example, one thing we want to make sure, in my state, that we aren’t doing is giving away the keys to the castle, right? What is a public record that anybody should be able to just take a look at whenever they want, and what is something that is, you know, what we need to keep internal so that we can keep hackers from getting into our system, right? So we are taking a look at that, and I think those are conversations that are happening in legislatures throughout the country. But again, I don’t want to be a broken record, but as Ben said, it’s resources, resources, resources. We do want to be able to give out this information, but we need to make it so we can all have an office that functions like Seth’s where they can focus on their work. We can focus on the work and not on fulfilling records requests.”
Toulouse Oliver bashed local leaders who defy her edicts, saying, “I think county government is sort of the most obscure to folks. And I would like to start with just my commissioners understand what their job is. I don’t think they want me coming to their county telling them how to do dogs, dumps, and driving. Likewise, I don’t want them making election policy because that’s not their job.”
She concluded in her commentary on the panel, “So I think just demystifying local government is important. One thing I think was good about COVID — many bad things — is that I think that was part of the reason we did have such great turnout in 2020 because people really started to realize the impact that state and local government had n ther daily lives. And so whatever we can do… to continue to sort of expand that understanding is a plus.”
According to new reports, the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) is requesting the state Public Regulation Commission to allow it to raise rates — the first time in six years. The proposal includes a first-year billing increase of 1.74 percent, which is around $1.20 more per month for residential customers, according to reports.
The rate hike will help the company pay to “begin a six-year grid modernization project with $344 million in upgrades to its distribution system,” according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
“But in a news conference Monday, Darnell said the total average impact for residential customers will be lower than 1 percent, or about 75 cents a month. However, when commercial and industrial rates are added in, the overall increase would be about 9 percent.”
The cost hikes are due to the passage and forced implementation of the anti-energy “Energy Transition Act,” the state’s version of the Green New Deal signed by Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2019.
The New Mexican notes, “PNM’s proposed grid updates would apply to the company’s entire service area and are a response to the state’s zero-carbon initiatives stemming from the 2019 Energy Transition Act.”
As we previously reported, utilities such as PNM and El Paso Electric are bracing for blackouts and brownouts due to the Green New Deal:
During a special Public Regulation Commission meeting [in September], Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM) said it is being forced to PNM executives said the utility will fill “quite a hole” next summer due to “green” replacements taking longer to materialize as the San Juan Generating Station is set to close next week.
According to PNM spokesman Ray Sandoval, PNM “generally has a 2,000-megawatt system with about 500 megawatts provided by the San Juan Generating Station.”
With the closure of the San Juan Generating Station, it has purged countless jobs, with 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.
The AP reports, “El Paso Electric, a utility that serves customers in southern New Mexico, also is expecting a capacity gap next summer. Like PNM, El Paso Electric will have to buy power from other producers to ensure adequate capacity when customers crank up their air conditioners during the hottest of days.”
PNM’s senior vice president for public policy, Ron Darnell, said the utility expects “a final decision within 10 to 13 months” on the rate hike to keep the company afloat.
Retiring New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe) has resigned from his position on the Public Regulation Commission Nominating Committee after appointing himself to the post. The committee was formed after voters in 2020 changed the PRC from an elected board to a governor-appointed board. A legal challenge to the constitutional amendment was thrown out by the majority Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham-appointed New Mexico Supreme Court.
The move comes amid an ethics complaint filed by state Rep. Miguel García (D-Bernalillo), who charged that Egolf broke the law and the state Constitution with his self-appointment.
According to the State Ethics Commission (SEC), García’s charges were found to be valid. SEC executive director Jeremy Farris wrote that the Commission “has determined that probable cause supports allegations asserted by the complainant [García] … that you violated the Governmental Conduct Act.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican further reported, “Farris wrote that Egolf could ‘correct the violation’ by resigning from the nominating committee in 10 days. Otherwise, he wrote, Hearing Officer Alan Torgenson would preside over a public hearing ‘to determine whether a preponderance of the evidence establishes a violation of the Governmental Conduct Act.’”
Now that Egolf has resigned no hearing on the matter will occur, according to House Democrats’ spokeswoman Camille Ward.
The resignation came the same day the committee had nominated nine individuals for Lujan Grisham to pick from for the PRC. The previous five-member elected commission is now a three-member panel — all of whom Lujan Grisham will select.
On Saturday, members of the New Mexico Republican Party’s State Central Committee (SCC) met in Las Cruces to vote on state leadership positions in the GOP.
Running for his third term as party chairman, former Congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico’s Second District won the race, taking 213 votes (55.2 percent) to Bernalillo County GOP officer Sarah Jane Allen’s 80 votes (20.7 percent). Attorney Robert A. Aragon garnered 51 votes (13.2 percent), Eddy Aragon had 40 votes (10.4 percent), and Rodney Tahe got two votes (0.5 percent).
Following the chairmanship results, newly reelected Chairman Pearce wrote in a press release, “This was a spirited campaign, and I thank the grassroots Republican leaders from across New Mexico for trusting me to lead for another term as RPNM chairman. An overwhelming number of these leaders agree that our data-driven approach to identifying and turning out conservative leaning voters is working, proven by the fact that Republican candidates are getting closer and closer to defeating the Democrats in competitive races.”
“Turning New Mexico red is a marathon, not a sprint, and as we look toward 2024, I am excited about helping our future Republican nominees be successful in their campaigns.”
For the first vice-chairman spot, members selected newly elected Otero County Commissioner Amy Barela with 291 votes to Torrance County GOP Chairman Richard Lopez’s 100 votes.
SCC members selected Leticia Munoz Kaminski for the second vice-chair position, with 305 votes to Santa Fe County Republican Party chairman Robert “Bob” Graham’s 87 votes.
Maricela “Mari” Trujillo-Spinelli won the secretary spot, with 288 votes to former Doña Ana County Commissioner Isabella Solis’ 78 votes.
Members picked Kim James Kvamme for party treasurer with 257 votes to Leonard-David Chavez’s 106 votes.
For each congressional district’s vice-chairmanships, SCC members selected Donelle Inventor for the First Congressional District with 74 votes to Eric Lucero’s 25 votes. In the Second District, state Rep. Rebecca Dow ran unopposed with 107 votes, and in the Third District, Drew Degner clenched the spot with 120 votes versus Anita Statman’s 37 votes and Paul Morrison garnering no votes.
Regarding the other officers’ election results, Pearce wrote, “I am so pleased that Republicans chose this outstanding team of young and diverse leaders who represent the future of our party.”
On Thursday, Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) issued an emergency public health order regarding the rise of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), declaring masking is recommended.
Dr. David Scrase, the head of the NMDOH, wrote, “It is recommended that New Mexican families exercise additional precautions this holiday season to prevent transmission of RSV, including wearing masks when in indoor public settings and refraining from meeting with friends and family when experiencing respiratory disease symptoms.”
He also declared, “New Mexican families are strongly encouraged to obtain vaccinations and boosters for influenza and COVID-19 to prevent additional illness.”
Scrase’s order erroneously claimed, “the use of masks during the COVID-19 Pandemic was shown to reduce exposure and transmission of pathogens.”
However, there is not a single scientific study proving masks work to prevent any disease, much less COVID-19, with recent studies finding no significant difference between N95 and medical masks, casting even more doubt on the effectiveness of masks in preventing disease.
Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote, “The real-world effectiveness of face coverings to prevent [the] acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection has not been widely studied.”
Sen. Gregg Schmedes, M.D. (R-Albuquerque), wrote that the New Mexico Department of Health “recommends indoor masking for RSV today. They also recommend bivalent Covid vaccination for healthy people. They did not, however, cite any evidence.”
BREAKING: @NMDOH recommends indoor masking for RSV today. They also recommend bivalent Covid vaccination for healthy people. They did not, however, cite any evidence.
On Wednesday, the University of New Mexico’s chapter of the conservative group Turning Point USA hosted the organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, to talk on campus.
The event was met with violent protests from far-leftists, including Antifa and members of the extremist Party for Socialism and Liberation. Some demonstrators slung anti-American sentiments, such as one person who said, “Americans, f**k Americans.”
“Americans, f*ck Americans”
Protestor starts talking about how @charliekirk11 is taking women’s rights away but doesn’t even know who Kirk is.
University of New Mexico: Antifa and associated radical left-wing group Party for Socialism and Liberation have advanced toward the guest entrance of tonight’s event and prevented guests from entering. @FrontlinesShow | @TPUSApic.twitter.com/T9mi3NYLfJ
“It’s really interesting when you try to show up on a college campus and do an optional, voluntary event, how angry the other side gets. But it’s a very important moment for people to recognize and understand that the other side — the left, the radical left — they’re acting like the very same domestic violent extremists that the entire federal government is now organized to go after, and we’re told that’s on the American right,” Kirk told Fox News’ Tucker Carlson in response to the violent protest.
According to KRQE News 13, “Three people were detained before being given summons and escorted off campus. There has been no word on the charges they’re facing as of 10 p.m. Wednesday.”
Previously in September, a violent mob formed around conservative activist Tomi Lahren’s event at UNM, shoving police officers down and attempting to bang down the door to Lahren’s talk.
On Monday, the New Mexico Supreme Court denied a court challenge to the 2020 constitutional amendment that gave the governor full authority over the Public Regulation Commission (PRC), the most powerful regulator of utilities in the state.
The five-member, all-Democrat state Supreme Court is nearly entirely comprised of Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s appointees.
Justices C. Shannon Bacon and David K. Thomson were appointed by Lujan Grisham in 2019, Justice Julie J. Vargas was appointed in 2020, and Justice Briana H. Zamora was appointed to the Court in 2021. The only justice not appointed by Lujan Grisham is Chief Justice Michael E. Vigil, who was elected by the voters in 2018.
The amendment transformed the formerly elected commission to a three-member panel appointed by the governor. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the petition was filed by the Indigenous Lifeways, New Mexico Social Justice & Equity Institute, and the Three Sisters Collective.
“This case presents a unique circumstance where there’s a real risk of abuse of power,” said the groups’ attorney Sarah Shore. “There’s a transfer away from the people who in their own constitution reserve rights to themselves to the political branches. This is not a circumstance where the Legislature is proposing to change rights that the people already delegated.”
“Shore argued that the amendment should be struck from the state constitution because it illegally rolled several reforms into one ballot question for voters to decide. She said most voters are neither lawyers nor lawmakers and were misled since the ballot measure did not reference the effect on the public’s right to elect commission members,” reported theAssociated Press.
The justices denied the request, claiming they did not believe the amendment amounted to logrolling, which would have been illegal.
Now, the PRC will be entirely controlled by the Democrat governor, who is sure to use it as a political weapon, as she has done in the past with her hostility toward energy producers.
