Legislators worked into the wee hours of the morning on Saturday debating legislation, with many bills still bottlenecked on the House and Senate floor calendars as the end of the legislative session comes at 12:00 noon.
Much of the debate was on HJR 1, which seeks to raid the land grant permanent fund for “early childhood education,” better known as taxpayer-funded daycare.
Right after midnight, the House of Representatives voted on a proposal, S.B. 304, relating to voting district geographic data, which was amended on the floor to create an independent redistricting commission. The amended compromise bill between a bipartisan and Democrat-led proposal takes the power of redistricting away from the dark rooms of the Roundhouse and opens it up to the public in a fair, less partisan way. After a lively debate, the bill passed 64-2 with Rep. Eliseo Alcon (D-Cibola & McKinley) and Majority Leader Sheryl Stapleton (D-Bernalillo) voting against the bill.
In a previous committee, Alcon complained about an independent commission taking away representatives’ “rights” to redraw their own districts, saying, “I don’t think it’s our duty to give up our rights.” He did not like the idea of a seven-member commission making the decisions, not him. “If these seven people really want to be part of the redistricting, then they should run for our spots,” he said, adding, “I will be a solid no matter how you look at it,” despite the majority of people in the committee hearing in support of giving more power to the people.
Due to the bottleneck of radical Democrat legislation, it was revealed in the wee hours of the morning that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham intends to call a special session as early as Wednesday to ram through her extreme recreational marijuana bill, according to one representative.
The Albuquerque Journal confirmed this, with the Governor’s communications director Tripp Stelnicki saying that a special session could be called “sooner rather than later,” adding “there was a largely-agreed upon framework in place between the Governor’s Office and lawmakers.”
“Nobody wants to wait another year — it’s too close to being done,” said Stelnicki.
However, it doesn’t look like the Wagyu steak-eating Governor cares much about the political ramifications of her actions, despite a special session being “politically risky,” with a daily cost of around $50,000 per day, according to the Journal.
After it was revealed the Governor intends to call a special session, the New Mexico House Republicans wrote, “UNBELIEVABLE. After spending $2 million on a fence blocking YOU from the Roundhouse for a year- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has FAILED to get her showpiece marijuana bill across the line. She now says she will call us back next week. Taxpayers, the Gov’s agenda is on your dime.”
Other bills are still stuck on the House and Senate calendars, including S.B. 11, the gas tax on the poor, S.B. 316 to harvest “gender” and “sexual identity” data from New Mexicans, and S.B. 230 instituting racism in state agencies and many other proposals, which as the clock ticks on look dead in the water.
On Monday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Public Education Department (PED) finally announced a reopening plan for New Mexico schools by April 5, 2021.
During a virtual news conference, Lujan Grisham’s PED secretary Ryan Stewart said, “All schools across the state do need to be open by April 5,” however, “that gives about a month for planning.”
“Your school or district administration will determine the timeline that works well for the community… we encourage our school leaders to work with their families, educators, school staff and community members,” PED said regarding when school districts will be reopening.
According to Stewart, remote learning will remain an option for students, while PED will allow “high-risk” staff exemptions until two weeks following full vaccination or inoculation becomes available to them. All teachers are eligible for the vaccine, says Stewart.
New Mexico’s largest school district, the Albuquerque Public Schools, “is updating its plan to get students back in the classroom, following the state Public Education Department’s announced expectation that all New Mexico public and charter schools return to in-person learning by early April,” writes the District.
Masks will be required to be worn by students and faculty and 6-feet “social distance” is highly encouraged wherever possible, but does not appear to be mandatory.
“It is time to ring the bell to welcome our kids back to class,” Stewart said.
“Our message to New Mexico public schools is that you can and should move as quickly as possible to get everyone who wants it back for in-person learning,” he added.
The announcement by PED comes nearly a full year after Gov. Lujan Grisham shuttered schools and thrust children and teachers into a 100% virtual format.
In July–right in the middle of the Governor’s lockdown–New Mexico had the highest rate of suicide, with the rate for children 5-14 increasing by 88%.
New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce wrote in a statement following the announcement, “This is a decision that’s been long overdue. While it’s good that public school students will be back in class where they have always belonged, they and their families have had to endure real hardships for a year.”
He added, “It’s been a devastating experience, and students have fallen behind academically and socially. It will be hard to tell whether the Governor’s actions will have a long-lasting impact in our state. Now it’s time to fully reopen New Mexico and get life back to normal.”
While the mainstream New Mexico media has refused to cover Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s deep connection to Communist China, the Piñon Post has been the only outlet to do an in-depth dive into Lujan Grisham’s connections with the oppressive country.
In December 2020, we covered all the Governor’s meetings with Chinese officials, but not until now have we received correspondences showing details about the Democrat governor’s April 11, 2019 meeting with Chinese Consul General Zhang Ping and what specific topics were covered in the secretive closed-door meeting.
Zhang Ping is a high-ranking communist Chinese official who has repeatedly spread propaganda whitewashing Communist China’s humanitarian failures and oppression of its people. For example, here is an excerpt from Ambassador Zhang Ping’s speech given months after he met with Gov. Lujan Grisham:
“Over the past seven decades, staying true to its original aspiration and mission for pursuing happiness of the Chinese people and for rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, adhering to the people-centered approach, the Chinese Communist Party has united the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a strenuous struggle to build a strong and prosperous country, opened up a road that fits China’s own conditions, that is, socialism with Chinese characteristics, and accomplished the most profound and the greatest social transformation ever occurred in the country’s history.”
According to the newly unearthed documents exclusive to the Piñon Post, obtained via an Inspection of Public Records Act request, we now know that the Governor spoke with the Chinese ambassador in a “private meeting room” after her public photo-op that she posted on Twitter describing the supposed meeting.
In a May follow-up email from Zhang Ping’s office, Junying Shao, Director of Political Section for the consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Los Angeles, who was at the April 11, 2019 meeting, wrote to Lujan Grisham’s senior advisor and former chief of staff while the now-governor was in Congress, Dominic Gabello, that “We understand the Governor is interested in China-US Governor’s Forum but may not be able to attend this year due to her schedule. We welcome The Governor to visit China next year and attend the Forum as it is scheduled to be hosted by China.” Gabello was also at the April meeting.
Previously in August of 2017–eight months after announcing her run for New Mexico’s governorship–Lujan Grisham was spotted at a photo-op at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. It appears she was the only U.S. representative on the trip, and she posed multiple times with China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zheng Zeguang. For reference, other photographs of world leaders posing at the same location can be found here.
Regarding particulars of the meeting, the May 24, 2019 email from Junying Shao reads, “[T]he Consul General and the Governor also talked about the establishment of sister-state relationship between NM and certain state (we call it “province” in China). We are working on that. May I know what is [a] further idea on your end about this, any standard, or requirement on the potential sister state from China?”
In another email from April 13, 2019, a Xinlian Liu from the Chinese Consulate wrote to Gabello that the meeting between the Governor and the Ambassador was “pleasant and fruitful.”
Here’s what the email read:
Hi Dear Dominic,
It is a great honor to meet you in Albuquerque. Thank you so much for attending the meeting between the Honorable Governor and my ambassador. The meeting was pleasant and fruitful. Thank you so much for making all these happen. We highly appreciate your support and help.
I am back now in LA and start to miss the enchanted land. If anything brings you to LA, please let me know. Let us have authentic Chinese food.
Have a nice weekend.
Xinlian
Also, it appears that the Chinese consulate director of the political section attempted to guide the Governor’s hand in condemning the visit of Tibet’s democratically elected leader of the country’s government-in-exile state, Dr. Lobsang Sangay, who was chosen as the successor to the Dali Lama in 2012.
The Chinese official wrote referring to a May 24, 2019 proclamation by the City of Santa Fe that it had officially proclaimed a “Friendship Between Santa Fe Indian School, Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay, and Tibetan People Day.” In 2017, Dr. Sangay, who traveled from India where he is being protected, spoke at the Santa Fe Indian School for a speaker series.
Junying Shao wrote to Cabello:
“The last but not least, there is one thing we would like to get your attention. We got to know someone whom Chinese government opposes and condemns is going to visit Santa Fe in coming days. His name is L[o]bsang Sangay, who conducts activities to gain sympathy or support in international community which aim against Chinese government, particularly for the independence of Tibet, part of China. It is anti-china act [sic]. We sincerely request officials of high ranking as Governor or local officials in NM not be in any contact with him during his visit. We sincerely hope to get your attention of our stance and pass it to the Governor.”
Although Cabello did not appear to respond to Junying Shao’s email, a later email shows that in February 2020, Consul General Zhang Ping spoke with Lujan Grisham’s executive policy advisor for Health and Human Services, Jane Wishner.
An email from Junying Shao reveals more details about that conversation:
“Dear Anna (Gov. Lujan Grisham’s scheduler) and Dominic, many thanks for the facilitation. Consul General and Governor’s health policy advisor Jane had a good talk on the Covid-19 last Friday. He also sends best wishes to the Governor and expresses his will on the efforts for further exchange and cooperation between NM and China. Thanks again and keep in touch. If you happen to come to LA, please let me know. Regards, Junying.”
Also at the meeting, according to documents obtained from the Governor’s office, was Deborah Burns, managing partner at “InvestUS LLC,” a company that invests in real estate in major markets. She also reportedly “was involved in bringing the US/China business matchmaking conference to Albuquerque in October of 2017.”
The Governor’s office has been contacted for comment, but as with every time we have attempted to receive a response, we have never received one.Records from Gov. Lujan Grisham’s days in Congress and meetings with communist Chinese officials have not been available for release since Congress is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
On Monday, Gov. Lujan Grisham had an interview with the Washington Post where she was candid about her COVID-19 pandemic protocols and who gets priority to the vaccine. During the interview, she announced there would be an “absolute mask mandate” even if a county reaches “green” status, despite neighboring states removing COVID-19 restrictions.
She said, “Here’s what won’t change: absolute mask mandates, mandates for social distancing, making sure that businesses go through a safe certified [sic], which also requires each business sector to have very strong COVID-safe practices that we approve as the state and then we do random checks and we also have a complaint hotline.”
While asked about the vaccine, Lujan Grisham claimed the federal government under President Donald Trump sent Moderna COVID-19 shots to CVS and Walgreens for distribution. She then threw CVS and Walgreens under the bus, saying, “They really stumbled out of the gate. Most states are still struggling with them. We brought them all in, and I made it really clear ‘you will be held accountable to the highest standards, you will do these clinics, you will communicate directly with us, you will report directly to us, and if you don’t do it, there are fines and other accountability measures.”
Lujan Grisham noted how her vaccine priority system was “equitable,” meaning racial minorities get first grabs at the shots.
She lamented that “unfortunately, far too high a percentage of health care workers are non-minorities,” saying there is a “lack of representation” in getting vaccines out.
“We can get much more granular at the zip code level to really make sure that we’re reaching high-risk minorit[ies] so you’ve got an equity distribution population,” she said, adding, “We’re actually going to use Census data as we go granular, so we have a vulnerability index factor that looks at everything from socio-economic status to your minority or racial status and household circumstances. That means we’re going to take a certain percentage of vaccine off the top. As long as this amount of vaccine—and now with Johnson and Johnson—continues to increase and come to the states, including us, we think that we can do 25% off the top will go to this vulnerability index system.”
When asked about her COVID-19 restrictions and her message to critics of her strict mandates that shuttered businesses, she said,
“Let’s own that businesses were lost, livelihoods were lost and diminished, and the financial insecurity for far too many New Mexicans and far too many Americans is real.”
Lujan Grisham then claimed she foresaw the pandemic in March when she signed a bloated $7.6 billion budget, claiming she vetoed a “$200 million appropriations bill” to boost state reserves. The appropriations would have funded roads and capital outlay requests.
She also touted Democrats’ work to ram through millions of dollars “to businesses” in a special session, bashing the federal government under President Trump for the Paycheck Protection Program. However, the only reason she was able to send out funds at all was because of the federal CARES Act signed by President Trump.
She added, “We recognize this is a cruel hardship that didn’t invite a pandemic into their (businesses’) doors.”
This is one of Gov. Lujan Grisham’s first interviews since it was discovered she used her discretionary budget to indulge in $200/pound Wagyu beef steaks, alcohol, and expenses for her dog. Conveniently, the Washington Post did not ask her about this.
On Tuesday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham sent out a message to her campaign email list touting her signing of the extreme abortion up-to-birth and infanticide S.B. 10. She said she was “honored” to affix her name to the new law.
She claimed it was an “important piece of legislation” and that its passage meant “everyone in New Mexico, no matter their gender, has the right to autonomy over their own body,” implying that men also can give birth?
She also thanked all the pro-abortion groups that spread extreme propaganda ultimately leading to the bill’s passage. She wrote, “I’m so grateful to all the community advocates, leaders and organizations from across New Mexico who have tirelessly worked to get this done.”
Read her full email here:
Friend, I wanted to share an update on an important piece of legislation that I just signed into law: Senate Bill 10.
SB10 repeals decades-old, unenforceable laws that criminalized doctors for providing abortion care in New Mexico. It’s a simple bill – getting outdated laws off the books – but it’s the message this sends that’s really profound.
By passing this bill, the legislature affirmed loud and clear that everyone in New Mexico, no matter their gender, has the right to autonomy over their own body. And it tells health care providers that they’ll never be punished for doing what’s right for their patients.
I’m so grateful to all the community advocates, leaders and organizations from across New Mexico who have tirelessly worked to get this done. Every New Mexican should be able to exercise their full reproductive rights: This bill’s passage underscores that powerful truth, and I was truly honored to have signed it into law.
This legislation is just one piece of our fight to build a brighter future for New Mexico. Thank you for looking toward that brighter future alongside me. There’s so much we can achieve together.
On Monday, the Republican Governors Association released a hard-hitting new ad targeting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for her hypocrisy during the pandemic.
The ad, featuring local liberal news clips, highlights the Governor forcing New Mexicans to stand in freezing cold breadlines while she pampered herself in the Governor’s mansion, buying booze, Wagyu beef. The ad also went after her expensive shopping trip for jewelry at a shuttered Albuquerque jewelry store. Gov. Lujan Grisham also spent big taxpayer bucks on her dog, with $800 expenses to clean carpets and even purchase a new doggy door–all at New Mexicans’ expense.
At one point in the ad, a narrator says, “You stepped up and made hard sacrifices when asked, but what about Michelle Lujan Grisham?”
The Governor is likely not going to take too kindly to the truth-filled ad, which directly calls her out for her pandemic hypocrisy of living the high life (off the taxpayers) while New Mexicans starve.
“Families are in serious need, the state coffers are bare, and people have sacrificed their freedoms as the pandemic rolls on,” Will Reinert, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association wrote in a statement. “However, nothing is stopping Lujan Grisham from using state funds to fuel her lavish lifestyle or from making exceptions to the rules for herself. Wagyu beef, Crown Royal, taxpayer money, lockdown carveouts, just add Governor Lujan Grisham, and you have a recipe for terrible leadership.”
On Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that she had signed the radical abortion up-to-birth and infanticide bill, S.B. 10, which the House of Representatives passed last week stripping away all protections for women, babies in the womb, and medical professionals.
In a condescending quote, Lujan Grisham said, “A woman has the right to make decisions about her own body,” adding, “Anyone who seeks to violate bodily integrity, or to criminalize womanhood, is in the business of dehumanization. New Mexico is not in that business – not any more. Our state statutes now reflect this inviolable recognition of humanity and dignity. I am incredibly grateful to the tireless advocates and legislators who fought through relentless misinformation and fear-mongering to make this day a reality. Equality for all, equal justice and equal treatment – that’s the standard. And I’m proud to lead a state that today moved one step closer to that standard.”
Notice she claims pro-lifers are “violat[ing] bodily autonomy” (wrong), “criminaliz[ing] womanhood” (wrong), and are “in the business of dehumanization.”
The false and ironic rhetoric from the Governor comes as she just signed a bill allowing late-term abortionists to rip infants limb from limb just moments before birth, not to mention infanticide–killing infants AFTER birth, which is already occurring in New Mexico.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo), who refused to defend her bill on the Senate floor, said, “Thank you to Governor Lujan Grisham for signing this legislation, thank you to every one of my fellow bill sponsors and community advocates, and thank you to all of the voters of New Mexico who made your voices heard in the last election. Abortion is a personal health care decision. We can hold our own moral values on abortion and still trust individuals to make their own reproductive health care decisions.”
Previously, the 2019 version of the bill, H.B. 51 died in the New Mexico Senate after pro-life Democrats rejected the extreme bill. Out of spite, Lujan Grisham put her entire political machine into primary challengers to destroy these pro-life Democrats in the 2020 election. One of these pro-life Democrats, Sen. Carlos Cisneros passed away before the election.
Now, Democrats are looking to ram through another extreme anti-life bill, assisted suicide H.B. 47, which passed the House of Representatives with one Republican, Rep. Kelly Fajardo (R-Valencia), joining Democrats to help pass it through the chamber. Its next step is the Senate Judiciary Committee.
It has happened again. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has once again put another black stain on New Mexico with the recent revelations of her irresponsible spending of taxpayer dollars used for $200-per-pound wagyu beef steaks, ahi tuna, and expensive wines and liquors, all totaling up around $13,500. This all happened while New Mexicans were forced to stand in long breadlines at grocery stores due to Gov. Lujan Grisham’s restrictive public health orders.
Now national news outlets are picking up the story, such as Fox News, where the governor’s shameful spending is their #3 story as of 6:38 a.m. on Sunday.
Grisham said she did not personally make the purchases. Instead, they were made by a “woman who works here [who] is a rock star,” the New Mexican reported.
On Thursday, Stelnicki [her communications director] explained the $200 booze purchase. He said it was for a planned holiday party that was ultimately canceled. He claimed the purchased bottles of alcohol remained unopened.
The spending came despite a state law enacted in 2019 that set new limits on use of the governor’s discretionary funds. That law was signed by Grisham’s predecessor, former Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican who also took criticism for how her office spent cash, the New Mexican reported.
The Governor’s spending got criticism inside New Mexico with Democrats and Republicans alike, including Patricia Lundstrom (D-McKinley and San Juan), Republican Whip Rod Montoya (R-San Juan), and Republican Leader Jim Townsend (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero).
Here are some other responses from across the state about the Governor’s big spending while New Mexicans starved and stood in breadlines:
“There’s a difference between inviting someone into your house for the Super Bowl or someone’s birthday and having three or four Cabinet secretaries there to talk about their budgets”
Now @GovMLG expects you to believe she was benevolent in misusing your tax dollars- despite her staff saying they would use the liquor for a “hopeful” post-covid party, and bringing people into her government home while you were told to isolate. #nmpol#nmleghttps://t.co/212sX7k9zS
Previously, the Governor brought New Mexico national attention for her trip to buy expensive jewelry from a shuttered jewelry store, violating her own COVID-19 mandates. She also brought New Mexico national attention for making New Mexicans stand out in the cold over the holidays to buy basic goods, such as food and toilet paper. The breadline story originally appeared in the Piñon Post.
What are your thoughts on Gov. Lujan Grisham’s spending of the so-called “discretionary fund”?
Just a few short months ago, Democrat Gov. Lujan Grisham was forcing New Mexicans to stand in freezing cold breadlines to buy food and toilet paper. Little did we know, while New Mexicans were being treated like pond scum, Gov. Lujan Grisham was living the high life in her hilltop mansion, indulging herself and her staff in $200-per pound cuts of Wagyu beef, fine wine, and liquor–all on the backs of hardworking taxpayers. The same folks standing in the freezing cold over the holidays and not allowed to see their families due to Lujan Grisham’s health orders.
But to defend the indefensible, the Governor sent out her trusty misinformation jabberwocky, Tripp Stelnicki, to spin the story. He claimed, “There are still meetings with cabinet and staff that are distanced small groups,” Stelnicki said. “They are sporadic, but they last a long time and so there’s food at those meetings often prepared.” According to Stelnicki, “they were fed gourmet meals” during these sessions. To remind you, meetings such as this are in stark violation of Lujan Grisham’s public health orders. The review of her finances was completed July 1st through December 31, “a time period when Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham restricted capacity of grocery stores, urged New Mexicans to limit time out of their homes and restricted business operations through a series of emergency public health orders.”
She previously demanded, “Do not mix up households–coming into contact with non-household members. It is high-risk,” telling people, “No hugging” when “mixing households” over the Thanksgiving holiday.
According to KOB 4, “The receipts we reviewed show about $350 in alcohol purchase for beer, Crown Royal, an assortment of wines and tequila. According to Stelnicki, these alcohol purchases were made over a period of time for a future staff party after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.”
“The staff at the residence have, I think, been guilty of optimism, that with declining case numbers,” Stelnicki said. “We might get to a place where there could be a safe gathering. I think everyone has been guilty of that from time to time over the course of COVID. And so some of those purchases have been made, whether it’s planning for or hoping for a different kind of gathering with legislators or partners, whoever it might be. That hasn’t happened. So those purchases are sort of just there. And they’ll be used after COVID. Hopefully, soon.”
New Mexicans also footed the bill for the Governor’s dogs, who apparently are being treated better than New Mexicans who have been mistreated for months. Hundreds of dollars has been spent on cleaning up the dogs’ messes, according to the report.
The spending was reviled by Democrats and Republicans alike, with Democrat chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee saying, “My feeling about it is, is that there are certain things that should not be paid for by the taxpayer. I did say that I do not believe that alcohol expenses are one of those things unless it’s an official event.”
Gov. Lujan Grisham has repeatedly lied to New Mexicans, violated her public health orders to buy luxury jewelry, belittled New Mexicans from Hobbs to Española, gave her staff raises while New Mexicans lost their businesses and starved, and now, the details of her extravagant lifestyle paid for by the hard-working taxpayer doesn’t even seem to be a surprise anymore.
KOB 4 tried to give Lujan Grisham a break by contrasting her spending to that of her predecessor, Gov. Susana Martinez, who did indeed spend the taxpayers’ money irresponsibly and used her position to indulge herself while harassing State Police officers. But passing the buck to the past administration is weak and shows a hollow and tired argument. It is of my opinion that the New Mexico governor’s “allowance” should be bare-bones and minimal, allowing only for costs of survival and that’s it. New Mexicans should not be forced to pay for a slush fund for anyone, much less the Governor so she feast while we starve.
Will Lujan Grisham reimburse New Mexicans for her lavish lifestyle? Unfortunately, the answer is likely no.
Read more on Lujan Grisham’s hypocrisy from the Piñon Post:
A recently released short film from Adelante Now Foundation, which was posted on the Artesia Chamber’s YouTube account, reveals the sad reality for some in New Mexico who are being forced to leave New Mexico by no choice of their own.
The short film highlights community members in southeastern New Mexico, including business owners, restauranteurs, high school seniors, waitresses, and others who are most affected by Gov. Lujan Grisham’s government shutdowns and the Democrats’ assault on the oil and gas industry, which provides countless jobs.
“We’re hurting the state because people that want to work,” said business owner Chad Harcrow. He said the shutdown “just beat out” people who are trying to make an “honest living,” which is why they are leaving.
Twelve days ago I shut my business down. I shut a successful business down because I want my son in Lubbock, Texas to have a chance at education,” said John Henry, an Eddy County Commissioner. “And you’re going to see more great New Mexicans move because your family will come first.”
An educator, Becky Argo, said she didn’t go into teaching to “be in front of a computer screen for eight hours a day.” She added, “I don’t like teaching this way and I don’t like my own personal children learning this way.”
A high school senior, Braxton McDonald, said of the fully online education, “You basically got to learn by yourself, or you just hope that your teacher… can somehow teach it through the computer.”
Dianne Gonzales, a waitress, said, “They shut the restaurant down. We were not able to work. We were not open anymore.” She said, “We don’t make money like the way we used to when we were waitressing.”
