On Monday, leftist columnist for the Santa Fe New Mexican, Milan Simonich, wrote a surprisingly critical column on state Rep. Georgene Louis, who blew a .17 alcohol level on her breathalyzer, resulting in an aggravated DWI arrest.
The 44-year-old legislator was arrested early on Monday, February 14 in Santa Fe, where she repeatedly changed her story, evaded arresting officer Sgt. Heinz De Luca’s questions, and even invoking her status as a legislator during the traffic stop.
“So, like, I haven’t had much sleep because, um, I’m not trying to, like, say anything, but, like, I’m a legislator, so we haven’t had much sleep,” Louis said to De Luca.
De Luca responded to Louis, “To me, you’re just another citizen, another driver, on the road.”
The New Mexico Democrat Party spokeswoman Miranda van Dijk told Simonich, “We do not comment on these kinds of ongoing judicial processes, but we support Ms. Louis as she focuses on her family and her health.”
“I also wanted to emphasize on background that officers have stated publicly that Ms. Louis cooperated fully with law enforcement. There is no evidence that she attempted to use her position as a legislator to influence these proceedings,” the spokeswoman continued.
Simonich wasn’t buying it, writing:
Not true. Louis’ mention of her elected position was gratuitous.
A 44-year-old attorney, Louis knew the office she holds was irrelevant in the police investigation. The only issue was whether Louis was intoxicated and therefore a danger to pedestrians, other drivers and herself.
There’s more to this story regarding Louis’ political office.
Most New Mexico legislators display on their vehicles a special license plate emblazoned with the number of their district. Not Louis. She kept her legislative license plate inside her car, so it could not be seen by police.
She did so, it seems, because she didn’t have a valid vehicle registration. She also could not provide proof of automobile insurance.
Simonich also invoked a 2018 instance where then-state Rep. Monica Youngblood (R-Bernalillo) also invoked her office while being stopped for a DWI. He noted,“ Democrats lambasted Youngblood. They had good reason. But now they excuse similar tactics by Louis and falsely claim she was a model of cooperation with police.”
The rare criticism coming from Simonich shows that Democrats’ rhetoric appears not to be working anymore, even to the leftist paper in one of the most liberal cities in New Mexico. This could mean bad news for Democrats in 2022, especially if Louis remains on the ticket.
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