micaela Lara Cadena

Democrat lawmaker demands taxpayer-funded salary after trashing public funds

18 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico State Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena (D-Mesilla), best known this session for squandering public funds on a one-line constituent letter and burning bridges with her own party, is now blaming her embarrassing performance on one thing: the lack of a paycheck.

In a stunning display of entitlement, Cadena, who chose to send taxpayers a single sentence reading “The people of New Mexico deserve better” as her only official communication after the session, says it’s all because the legislature doesn’t provide her a cushy, taxpayer-funded salary.

At one point during the session, Cadena (who has the lowest attendance record of any legislator) angered House Democrats so much that she drove home during the legislative session and abandoned constituents on key votes due to her temper tantrum. Her latest antics, including attacks on legislators of both parties, could very well cost her a vice-chair seat on the House Taxation and Revenue Committee. It also would not be surprising if the Democrat Party fields a candidate to primary challenge her in the 2026 election, if she decides to run.

“Who we send to Santa Fe does not represent the incredible depth and diversity and insight and expertise of families across our state,” Cadena complained to KRQE News, arguing that only the “powerful, wealthy, or retired” can afford to serve in New Mexico’s citizen legislature. But critics say that’s just a cover for her lackluster work ethic and political ambition.

Her one-liner letter came after weeks of alienating her Democratic colleagues and voting against key legislation supported by her own party. Rather than owning up to her decisions, she’s playing the victim and lobbying for a paycheck, turning the ideal of public service into a career track.

“That body, in my perspective and insight, does not represent the New Mexicans that I try to show up for every day,” she added, even as she failed to do just that. Ironically, her own actions—minimal constituent engagement, burning political goodwill, and spending public money for essentially nothing—are the very example of what New Mexicans don’t want from their representatives.

State Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), the editor of the Piñon Post, wrote in response to her letter, “Honestly, shame on her. The taxpayers fund these letters, and she wasted it by writing one single line — a line, mind you,  that FALLS ENTIRELY ON THE DEMOCRAT PARTY WHO HAVE BEEN IN POWER FOR NEARLY A CENTURY — because she’s lazy and didn’t want to write a REAL letter, like I did to my constituents,” sharing photos of his robust correspondence to those he represents in contrast to hers.

Rep. Angelica Rubio, another Democrat who backed the failed legislative salaries push, co-sponsored HJR 18 and SJR 1 this year. Both bills aimed to add legislative pay in a state that has proudly maintained a volunteer legislature since its founding. Their efforts failed, with SJR 1 not even making it to a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.

Democratic Sen. George Muñoz (D-Gallup), who chairs the committee, pushed back strongly on the idea. “I see a wide variety of people there. I see teachers who have jobs that leave the schools for 60 days. I see non-profit organizations that have people that are elected, I see retirees, I see ranchers,” Muñoz said. He argued that paying lawmakers wouldn’t enhance representation—it would attract people looking for a paycheck, not those looking to serve.

“Now, will it open it up to an array of people? Sure it will,” Muñoz said. “It will get people running for a job, and it will not be for service to the state or for service to their constituents.”

That statement hits especially close to home for Cadena and Rubio, who seem more focused on padding their resumes than doing the people’s work. Their push to transform the Roundhouse into a salaried political class undercuts the very spirit of citizen government, replacing service with self-interest.

NM legislator’s past conflicts of interest contradict current ethics rhetoric

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NM legislator’s past conflicts of interest contradict current ethics rhetoric

3 Comments / New Mexico, News, Politics / By

New Mexico State Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, recently took a strong stance in favor of what is being billed as a transparency in lobbying bill, passionately advocating for H.B. 143, a measure aimed at shining a brighter light on lobbying activities at the Roundhouse. However, her own record raises serious questions about whether her push for transparency is genuine—or just political grandstanding.

During a recent Senate Rules Committee hearing, Cadena lamented that legislative decisions in New Mexico do not always happen “in light and in transparency,” according to a Santa Fe New Mexican report. 

She pointedly referenced an instance where two committee members voted on a bill despite having direct financial interests in its outcome. 

“Just today in our tax committee, we voted on a bill where two members of the committee who have direct financial interest in the piece of legislation we are considering took votes,” she said, adding, “I think an incredible amendment to this bill would be that us as members of the body, if we had a spouse or ourselves had a financial interest in the legislation we are considering, would have to at least disclose that since recusal is not something our body is used to or seems to practice.”

Yet, just a few years ago, Cadena herself was seen in a bout of blatant conflicts of interest, actively participating in legislation that directly benefited the organization she worked for—without recusing herself.

Cadena’s Own Ethical Questions

Cadena, while serving her first term in the New Mexico House, was also employed as the Research Director for Young Women United (YWU), an organization that aggressively lobbies for expanded abortion access, as reported by our predecessor site, JohnForNM.com in 2019 

YWU was a key player in the push for that year’s House Bill 51, which sought to expand abortion rights in the state. Not only was Cadena personally involved with YWU’s legislative agenda, but her direct association with the group was evident—her name and photo were even featured on the Respect New Mexico Women coalition’s website, an advocacy group tied to YWU.

Under the New Mexico Legislative Ethics Guide, legislators are expected to recuse themselves from voting on bills where they or their organizations have a direct interest. Despite this clear ethical guideline, Cadena actively participated in discussions and votes that directly benefited her employer, violating the very principles of transparency and accountability she now claims to champion.

Double Standards on Lobbying and Influence

Cadena’s recent statements in favor of 2025’s HB 143 come across as hollow in light of her past actions. She has expressed concerns about legislators voting on bills where they have personal financial interests, yet she saw no issue with doing the same when it suited her political and professional objectives. 

This raises a fundamental question: Is Cadena truly committed to ethics reform, or is she simply using the issue as a tool to target political opponents while ignoring her own potential transgressions?

Moreover, her recent push for greater disclosure in lobbying lacks credibility when considering her history of working for a lobbying organization while simultaneously serving as a lawmaker. The very transparency measures she now supports would have, in theory, required her to disclose her connections to YWU more openly—something she conveniently avoided when it would have affected her own career.

Political Opportunism Over Genuine Reform

Cadena’s inconsistency on ethics and transparency demonstrates the kind of political opportunism that frustrates voters. While she is quick to call for others to be held accountable, she has shown little regard for the rules when they apply to her. Her actions highlight the hypocrisy that often plagues politics, where lawmakers demand accountability from others while conveniently ignoring their own conflicts of interest.

If Cadena truly believes in transparency and ethics, she should start by acknowledging her past violations and committing to holding herself to the same standard she seeks to impose on others. Until then, her advocacy for HB 143 rings hollow, serving more as a political maneuver than a genuine commitment to reform.

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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.

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NM House and Senate to hold final votes on abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bills

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Today’s a deciding moment in New Mexico, with both the House and the Senate chambers to decide the fate of a radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, H.B. 7 in the House S.B. 10 in the Senate. Sens. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) and Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe) are sponsoring the legislation in the Senate and Reps. Micaela Cadena (D-Doña Ana), Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), Joanne Ferrary (D-Doña Ana), Deborah Armstrong (D-Bernalillo), and Georgene Louis (D-Bernalillo) are carrying the bill in the House. 

The bill would flatly strip away all protections on the books in New Mexico for women, children in the womb, and health care workers. The bill rips out portions of the law protecting medical professionals’ conscience rights, allows teen girls to get abortions on-demand with no parental consent, and paves a path for unregulated, unsafe abortions in New Mexico. 

The bill is an exact mirror image of 2019’s failed bill, which pro-life Democrats killed in the Senate. Since that vote, most of these pro-life members have been ousted by their parties or have mysteriously died. Gov. Lujan Grisham took out retribution on these pro-life Democrats by mounting well-funded primary challenges to them, made up of mostly out-of-state PACs, dark money organizations, and misinformation campaigns to malign their reputations. 

It should be noted that not a single co-sponsor of the radical abortion bills comes from any locality outside of the three Democrat-dominant population strongholds of Bernalillo, Doña Ana, and Santa Fe counties, which says a lot about where the bill comes from and where support for it comes from also.

Out-of-state abortion giants, including Planned Parenthood and far-left dark money group the American Civil Liberties Union, have spent an unknown sum on expensive mailers and digital advertisements on their deep-pocketed misinformation campaign. 

H.B. 7 and S.B. 10 were rushed through both chambers’ committees and both chambers will decide whether they support the right to life or abortion up-to-birth and infanticide. 

ACTION ALERT: Please reach out to your representative and senator here. Call them and tell them to vote “NO” on S.B. 10 or H.B. 7. Remind them how quickly the next election is coming and how you will never forget their vote on Election Day.

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