Veteran State Rep. Eliseo Alcon (D-Milan) of District 6 has officially resigned from his seat. His son and political consultant, David Alcon, confirmed the news, stating, “On Saturday, Rep. Alcon submitted his retirement application to PERA and his notice of retirement to the Legislature.”
Alcon formalized his decision in a letter to the New Mexico Secretary of State. The reason for his sudden departure is health-related, though the specific condition was not disclosed. Alcon will turn 75 in January, according to reports.
Official New Mexico House portrait of Alcon.
First elected in 2008, Alcon represented a two-county district comprising Cibola and McKinley in western New Mexico. He was re-elected to a ninth term in November, securing 59% of the vote.
Alcon’s career included work as an infirmary technician at the Kerr-McGee uranium mines and as a magistrate judge. He also served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
As chairman of the New Mexico House Labor, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, Alcon championed veterans’ issues at the Roundhouse.
Following the news, state Sen. Pete Campos (D-Las Vegas) wrote on X, “Thank you Eliseo Alcon-a true statesman-for your unselfish/devoted years of service to your family-country-state. You’ve earned your retirement as a State Representative. NM is better because of your many contributions to improve our daily living. I wish you the best-Siempre!”
Thank you Eliseo Alcon-a true statesman-for your unselfish/devoted years of service to your family-country-state. You’ve earned your retirement as a State Representative. NM is better because of your many contributions to improve our daily living. I wish you the best-Siempre!♥️ pic.twitter.com/WXsbSeL7Gu
The Governor will appoint a replacement for Alcon’s seat, with nominations coming from the county commissions of Cibola and McKinley counties. It is expected that the seat will remain in Democratic hands, and possibly in the hands of his son, David.
On Friday, the New Mexico House of Representatives Republicans met to elect a new minority leader and minority whip.
The vacancies in the leadership positions were not unexpected. Former Rep. Ryan Lane (R-Aztec) made a voluntary decision to resign his leadership position and his seat, paving the way for new leadership. Lane’s House seat was filled by former FBI agent Bill Hall, also of Aztec.
Rep. Jim Townsend (R-Artesia), who previously served as whip, also stepped down from the leadership role as he is running for the New Mexico Senate. This smooth leadership transition demonstrates the party’s commitment to maintaining stability and continuity.
GOP House Minority Leader Rod Montoya (left) and GOP House Minority Whip Alan Martinez (right).
House Republicans selected Rep. Rod Montoya of Farmington as leader, while Rep. Alan Martinez of Bernalillo as whip.
Montoya has served in the House since 2015 and sits on the House Appropriations Committee. Previously, Montoya served as minority whip. Before coming to the Legislature, Montoya worked for GOP former Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, who served under Gov. Susana Martinez.
Rep. Martinez, who is a freshman lawmaker elected in 2022, previously worked for the State of New Mexico’s Department of Veterans Services.
The one leadership role in the House GOP that will not change is that of Republican Caucus Chair Gail Armstrong of Magdalena, who will continue in that position. Armstrong has served in the Legislature since 2017, succeeding former Speaker of the House Don Tripp.
Currently, Republicans hold 25 of the chamber’s 70 seats but hope to flip many Democrat-held seats in the upcoming November election.
Chaves County’s legislative team recently welcomed a new member, with oil and gas lawyer Jared Hembree joining its ranks. In a unanimous decision, the county commissioners voted 5-0 to recommend Hembree to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for appointment to represent New Mexico House District 59.
Following the meeting, Hembree expressed his commitment, saying, “I have a lot of experience and dedication to this community and just hope that I can do a good job.” His recommendation comes ahead of the 30-day legislative session in Santa Fe, scheduled to begin in five days.
On Thursday, Chaves County commissioners moved 5-0 to nominate Jared Hembree and send his name to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for appointment to represent New Mexico House District 59 in the Legislature. https://t.co/Q47MObwTyH
This nomination occurred in the wake of House Minority Whip Greg Nibert’s resignation after he was appointed to Senate District 27. Nibert’s seat became vacant when Stuart Ingle, a Republican from Portales, resigned in October.
Under New Mexico law, when a legislator resigns, the county commissioners within the legislative district are required to submit a candidate for the governor’s consideration to serve until the next election. As District 59 is entirely within Chaves County, Hembree’s nomination will be the sole recommendation to the governor.
A Roswell resident for 19 years, Hembree, 50, is not only an experienced oil and gas attorney but also holds the position of president at the Independent Petroleum Association of New Mexico. His community involvement extends to serving as a member of the Eastern New Mexico State Fair Board of Directors and as an adjunct professor of oil and gas law at the University of Washington and Lee School of Law in Virginia.
Hembree voiced his concerns over the potential negative impacts of certain legislation and administrative rules under consideration in Santa Fe on industries such as fossil fuels and agriculture, as well as on small businesses. “We provide so much for this state. It is so important for this state and this part of the state and it is under attack,” he stated.
He specifically mentioned proposed changes to the state’s oil and gas act and paid sick leave legislation. Additionally, Hembree criticized Governor Lujan Grisham’s use of a public health emergency to address gun violence and substance abuse in Bernalillo County, affirming his support for gun rights.
Hembree aims to follow in Nibert’s footsteps, particularly in pursuing legislation to limit the governor’s emergency powers, and expressed his desire to join the House Judiciary and Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committees. “I think with my experience in the oil and gas industry, I am qualified to step into those shoes and fill those roles during the 30-day session,” he remarked.
Moreover, Hembree plans to run for a full term this year and is currently gathering signatures for the June Republican primary ballot. When questioned about the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department, he acknowledged his need to gain more knowledge but stressed the importance of consulting experts on child protection legislation. “I don’t think anyone can do this job as a representative alone. I think they have to know who to talk to about legislation on bills to protect our children,” he said.
The commission’s decision followed a nearly two-hour meeting where they reviewed the qualifications of seven other candidates. These included Chaves County Treasurer Charlotte Andrade Gurule; business owner Steve Dodson; child welfare executive Kevin Berry; Jennifer Cole from the Roswell Independent School District; former city council candidate Christopher Hensley; farmer and businessman J. Shay Wagner; and immigration attorney Eli Luna.
Each applicant was given five minutes to address the commission and respond to questions. The discussion highlighted the diverse backgrounds and motivations of the candidates, ranging from Gurule’s experience in program development and grant writing to Berry’s commitment to child welfare and Cole’s focus on improving education outcomes.
With the primary election approaching, several candidates, including Gurule, Hembree, Wagner, Cole, and Hensley, confirmed their intentions to run for the seat, while Dodson and Berry indicated they were considering it. Luna, however, was not questioned about his plans. The meeting foreshadows a competitive primary race for the seat in June.
In a revealing interview with the New Mexico Democrat Party’s Chair Jessica Velasquez for the Democrats’ “Blue Opiñon” newsletter, Speaker Javier Martínez shared his vision and expectations for the upcoming legislative session, along with his commentary on his party. The interview, available for viewing at this link, offered a glimpse into the priorities and challenges as seen by the Speaker.
Speaker Martínez proudly highlighted the supposed diversity of the NM Democrat Caucus leadership, claiming it to be “the most diverse in the country.” He noted the presence of many “young mothers” among the leadership.
Looking ahead under his leadership, Martínez emphasized his desire to maintain a “tone of civility” in the legislative process. He committed to avoid debating controversial bills in the early hours, stating, “We try our best not to debate controversial bills at three in the morning.” He says he expects the 2024 Legislative Session to be a “really productive session.”
As for the 2024 elections, Martínez confidently projected that the Democratic majority, currently holding 45 seats, is set to grow.
In terms of legislative priorities for the next session, Martínez outlined several key areas:
Education: He wants the creation of the “Tribal education trust fund” sponsored by state Rep. Derrick Lente (D-Sandia Pueblo)
Early Childhood Education: Martínez plans to build upon the existing fund, which is already spending billions on socialist taxpayer-funded “free” daycare.
“Climate Change”: He mentioned incentives for solar panels and electric vehicles, along with geothermal subsidies.
Public Safety: The Speaker stressed what he perceived to be the need for behavioral health funding to address “generations of divestment” and to “hold criminal actors accountable for their crimes.”
“Gun Safety”: He expressed a firm stance to “tackle head-on” bills Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants to snatch New Mexicans’ rights.
Martínez ended the interview by emphasizing wanting to keep New Mexico to be a “safe space” to be a “transgender person, a transgender child, as well as abortion.” He said, “We are a very Catholic state,” but “we are also a place where women can access reproductive health care [abortion up-to-birth] and transgender children can live to be themselves.”
This interview provides a clear roadmap of the legislative and social issues that Speaker Martínez and the NM Democrat Caucus plan to address in the coming legislative session, as well as some key topics he aims to prioritize.
On Friday, a pro-life bill, H.B. 258, will be heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee at 8:30 a.m. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), is dubbed the “New Mexico Heartbeat Act” to protect children in the womb from the moment a fetal heartbeat is detected.
The bill reads, “A health care provider who knowingly performs an abortion and thereby kills a human fetus without determining, according to standard medical practice, whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat; without informing the pregnant woman of the results of that determination; or after determining, according to standard medical practice, that the fetus has a heartbeat is guilty of a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human fetus.”
Block’s legislation also reaffirms that the woman would not be liable, but rather the doctor performing the illicit procedure. It reads, “Nothing in this section shall be construed to
allow the prosecution of a woman who receives an abortion.”
Contact the members of the committee to urge their support. Their contact information can be found here:
Chair: Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson (D). District 24 (Bernalillo). Room 314B, 986-4425. Email: liz.thomson@nmlegis.gov
On Wednesday, H.B. 80, sponsored by Rep. Greg Nibert (R-Chaves), passed through its first committee with vast bipartisan support. The bill would limit the New Mexico governor’s emergency powers to 90 days for a state of emergency, with intervention by the legislature.
The bill notes, “The special session called pursuant to Subsection A of this section shall convene no later than the ninetieth day after the initial declaration of the state of emergency.”
During the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committee hearing, Nibert noted how he had consistently worked on this bill for years, beginning in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the governor commenced lockdowns via public health emergency orders. He noted how he has worked with former Rep. Daymon Ely (Sandoval, Bernalillo), who has been a longtime partner and co-sponsor on the bill.
All members of the public who testified on the bill signaled support for it, with no opposition whatsoever from the audience.
House Majority Leader Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo) made the case in the committee that the legislature was not a co-equal branch of government with the governor and thus must first “modernize” before making any such change. Others argued that this is exactly how to strengthen the legislative branch while keeping both the governor and the legislature accountable.
On the motion to pass the bill, all members but Chasey supported advancing the legislation.
The votes in support included Chairwoman D. Wonda Johnson (D-McKinley and San Juan), Vice Chair Natalie Figueroa (D-Bernalillo), Rep. Martin Zamora (R-Curry, DeBaca, Guadalupe, Roosevelt, and San Miguel), Rep. Janelle Anyanonu (D-Bernalillo), Rep. John Block (R-Otero), Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Bernalill0), Rep. Charlotte Little (D-Bernalill0), and Rep. Bill Rehm (R-Bernalillo).
Great news and great work getting Democrats to work together on this bill!
On Saturday, the New Mexico House Republicans elected new leaders of the GOP caucus, propelling three new faces to all of the leadership positions.
In a surprise move, GOP Caucus Leader Jim Townsend (R-Artesia) decided not to seek a third term in the position, although he will still remain a representative in the New Mexico House. The caucus elected Rep. Ryan Lane (R-Aztec) to succeed him in the vacant position.
House Republicans elected Rep. Jason Harper (R-Rio Rancho) to succeed GOP Whip Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) for the caucus whip position.
Rep. Gail Armstrong (R-Magdalena) was chosen for the House GOP caucus chair position, succeeding retiring Rep. Rebecca Dow (R-Truth or Consequences), who did not run for reelection and will be leaving the chamber. Republicans now hold 25 seats in the 70-member lower chamber, a net pickup of one seat.
Rep. Lane told the Santa Fe New Mexican, “I think Jim thought it was a natural transition and the time to help new leadership come on board, you know, and finish out sort of the work that [Jim Townsend] begun.”
The shocking move by the New Mexico House Republicans comes as Democrats are making significant shakeups in their own caucus, with Speaker Brian Egolf retiring from the chamber at the end of his term and Rep. Javier Martinez (D-Bernalillo) the favorite to succeed him in the Democrats’ caucus.
The Democrats also selected Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo) as the new majority floor leader, succeeding Martinez, and newly elected Reena Szczepanski (D-Santa Fe) as their new majority whip. They also chose Rep. Raymundo Lara (D-Bernalillo) as their new caucus chairman.
Far-left New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf (D-Santa Fe), who is retiring after his current term ends, is weaponizing his political committee, “The Speaker Fund,” to viciously attack Republican state legislative candidates, specifically Greg Cunningham running against far-left state Rep. Joy Garratt (D-Bernalillo) in the Albuquerque-based District 29.
Egolf is funding a commercial that portrays police officers as the Gestapo stopping women from getting abortions in New Mexico. The commercial features a woman driving a young woman named “Grace” to an abortion appointment. The officers in the commercial interrogate Grace about if she is pregnant. Then it shows the officers forcibly rejecting the two women from the car, with the words “REJECT GREG CUNNINGHAM” in bold, ominous letters.
The extreme portrayal, in the attempt to stigmatize pro-life legislation, angered police officers who put their lives on the line each day to protect communities.
The Albuquerque Police Officers Association took great offense to the commercial, writing, “Disgusting, ridiculous and insulting. Shame on you Brian Egolf – Speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives this portrayal of officers is beyond awful. Your fear-mongering knows no limits.”
The advertisement is running on television. The race has been rated a “toss-up” by political commentators and is one of the races slated for Republicans to take back on Tuesday in the General Election.
The incumbent, Garratt, who supports abortion up-to-birth and infanticide policies that require no protections whatsoever for medical professionals, doctors, and children, is running on a rabidly anti-life ticket.
Cunningham has focused on his ending of late-term abortion in the state, but the soon-to-be former House Speaker is keen on using his last bit of influence to attack any and every Republican running in districts where Democrats are vulnerable.
Cunningham wrote after the commercial dropped, “In the final hours of her reelection campaign, Joy Garratt… should denounce this disgusting attack on police officers which is being run on her behalf. The sad reality is that her party has become so anti-law enforcement that she prefers to score political points at the expense of the hardworking police officers of Albuquerque.”
In fact, the only women who have been arrested in New Mexico are those who abortionists had arrested after they botched the woman’s abortion. In 2020, a woman was arrested at an abortion facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after she suffered a twice-botched abortion.
Instead of focusing on the issues New Mexicans truly care about, such as crime, inflation, and getting the economy back on track, Egolf and the Democrats are trying to use abortion as a wedge issue to push their weakest Democrats to victory.
According to his latest New Mexico Campaign Finance System report, Egolf’s PAC, which is heavily funded by state House Minority Leader Javier Martínez, spent at least $113,400 on TV ad time and booking through November 1, 2022. Martinez dunked $89,100 into the committee during the last reporting period alone.
The Speaker Fund spent at least $54,023.96 to help Garratt during the last financial period. She also got $4,399.89 in aid from Planned Parenthood.
Election day is Tuesday, November 8. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
On Sunday, far-left state Rep. Liz Thomson (D-Bernalillo) posted an op-ed penned by her party’s leadership, including retiring New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf and Democrat House Leader Javier Martinez. The op-ed bashed Republican gubernatorial candidates for focusing on the crime seeping through the border and the teaching of the racist Critical Race Theory in schools.
One portion of the opinion piece read, “In the Republican primary for the governor’s race, the candidates keep trying to outdo each other with lies about dangerous ‘illegals’ entering our country, or insisting learning our history and how it impacts us today is harmful to our kids.”
“Behind these lies about the supposed dangers of immigration or learning history, Republican candidates send coded messages to New Mexico voters – claiming falsely that new arrivals to New Mexico are a threat and that minority groups are to blame for all that ails society,” added the far-left lawmakers, apparently attempting to scare off GOP supporters by making false claims of racism.
Thomson shared the post, writing on Twitter, “What my colleagues said! Drop lies and hate, focus on solutions for better future.”
However, Thomson has been a longtime hater of those she disagrees with, even spreading lies, anti-police propaganda, and mocking New Mexicans who had questions about the pandemic virus shot.
Last November, Thomson fully backed banning guns from the state Capitol, calling law-abiding gun owners “gun-toting extremists” while sharing a cartoon comparing police officers to the Ku Klux Klan. She also bashed anyone opposing Critical Race Theory ideas as “racist.”
In December, Thomson shared a post reading, “When you say ‘Let’s go, Brandon,’ you might as well advertise yourself as a nearly politically illiterate, unoriginal, cult-following fool who wandered willingly behind the flock of the loudest voices around you into hating a man that you don’t actually know anything about.”
The post continued that Trump was a “flagrant piece of s**t.”
Thomson wrote, “This is spot on.”
During the recent special legislative session dedicated to redistricting, Thomson responded to her fellow legislators who said the maps being proposed were partisan and gerrymandered, which they were. She said, “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.”
The far-left lawmaker on the most extreme fringe of the Democrat Party has long been known for her nasty and personal attacks against fellow New Mexicans, demeaning them as “uneducated” for asking questions about the virus jab and claiming in one rant, “Anyone who continues to back the orange traitor (apparently referring to President Donald Trump) after the terrorist attack, is forever branded with a scarlet S for seditionist.”
She also called concerned parents asking questions about the jab for their kids “low iq voters.” Then, Thomson snitched on fellow citizens to the attorney general regarding pandemic mandates.
However, she now claims to want to “drop lies and hate” despite her long history of not only sharing hateful content but lying and besmirching those she disagrees with.
During the first reporting period, the Piñon Post’s John Block outraised his opponent, Rachel Black, in New Mexico’s 51st state House District based in Alamogordo. Block’s America First Republican campaign received over 177 individual donations, 50% of them being smaller than $30. The average donation to the Block campaign was $62, with $20,977.56 raised in total.
On the other side, Block’s opponent, who voted for Critical Race Theory and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s $8.5 billion budget, had an average donation of $716.95, with 15 contributions totaling $8,200.
Rachel Black is relying heavily on donations from sitting politicians, including Republican Rep. Bill Rehm, who voted for the Green New Deal. Black even befitted from a $3,271.30 independent expenditure mailer paid for by Rehm that included her campaign logo and return address, making it appear to come from Black when it did not.
Other contributions from politicians included $1,250 from Rep. Phelps Anderson, who voted for abortion up-to-birth and left the Republican Party, $500 from Rep. Zach Cook, who is retiring after his current term, $1,000 from Rep. Martin Zamora, and $2,500 from Rep. T. Ryan Lane, who also joined Black in voting for Michelle Lujan Grisham’s $8.5 billion budget.
After the campaign finance reports were posted, Block said, “The massive showing of support for our campaign from REAL people, not Santa Fe Swamp politicians, proves just how much of a grassroots movement this is. New Mexicans are fed up with being ‘represented’ by the same failed politicians who sell us out to the Democrats and now think they deserve to keep their jobs. We The People own this district and this state, not the politicians. It’s time for We The People to clean house.”
While John Block raised more in the first quarter, Black has thousands in cash on hand to try and defeat John. If you would like to support John’s campaign, please visit JohnBlock.com to send a donation and express support for his America First campaign.
John Block is a native New Mexican and proud Alamogordo resident. He’s the editor and founder of the Piñon Post, New Mexico’s #1 conservative news site. He has exposed waste, fraud, and abuse across the state while bringing a conservative voice to New Mexico media through the platform. As a legislator, John hopes to FINALLY send a fighter to the Legislature to battle the Radical Democrats and restore New Mexicans’ confidence in the political system.
