Groups Urge People To Vote In Special Congressional Election - By Morgan Lee, Associated Press
Two groups that encourage young people, unmarried women and racial and ethnic minorities to vote are blanketing New Mexico with mailings amid a special congressional election in the Albuquerque area.
The nonprofit Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information said Friday that they have mailed reminders to nearly 130,000 registered voters in New Mexico to build enthusiasm for the race to fill a congressional seat vacated by Deb Haaland after she became secretary of the U.S. Interior Department under President Joe Biden.
Four candidates have their names on the ballot in the June 1 election, with early voting underway in person and by absentee ballot. They are Democratic state Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Republican state Sen. Mark Moores, Libertarian candidate Chris Manning and independent contender Aubrey Dunn Jr., who previously was elected state land commissioner as a Republican.
Voter Participation Center President Tom Lopach says the groups' effort emphasizes easy steps toward voting and provides repeated reminders by mail.
"We know that in a normal election season and on a normal election day people are incredibly busy with jobs and kids," Lopach said. "In a special election ... it requires that much more effort to ensure that voters know when the election day is, what the election is for, who is running and what are the options to vote safely."
Registered Democrats are dominating participation in early and absentee voting, casting 61% of ballots as of Friday, according to statistics from the New Mexico secretary of state. Republicans have cast about 27% of ballots, and 12% of votes have come from unaffiliated and minor party voters.
Republican Party leaders have said they sense a rare opportunity to flip the 1st Congressional District in a possible low-turnout election and erode the Democratic Party's 218-212 majority in Congress. Democrats have controlled the seat since 2009.
Democrats account for a dominant 47% of registered voters in the 1st Congressional District, versus 28% for Republicans. The district encompasses the Albuquerque metro area, rural Torrance County and outlying areas that overlap Indigenous communities, including Sandia Pueblo. In and around Albuquerque, then-President Donald Trump won just 37% of the vote in 2020.
Nearly 14% of registered voters have cast ballots so far, mainly through early, in-person voting. About 69% of the district's eligible voters participated in the November 2020 election.
New Mexico Man To Be Sentenced In Fatal Beating Of Boy – Santa Fe New Mexican, Associated Press
Prosecutors in New Mexico are seeking the maximum sentence of 24 years for a man who pleaded guilty to recklessly permitting child abuse in the beating death of 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia in 2017.
Jordan Anthony Nuñez, 22, pleaded guilty in March 2020 to one count of recklessly permitting child abuse resulting in death and two counts of tampering with evidence, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Nuñez is accused of helping his father, Thomas Wayne Ferguson, torture and kill Valencia in November 2017 while the boy's mother, Tracy Ann Peña, was jailed on a probation violation. Authorities said the boy's body was found buried in a plastic container along a roadside in Nambé in January 2018.
An autopsy and investigation revealed the boy was severely beaten, and he was confined in a dog kennel before his death.
Ferguson was facing a murder charge in the case, but he killed himself in the Santa Fe County jail in April 2018, authorities said. Pena was also charged and is currently serving a 12-year sentence under a plea deal.
Prosecutors turned to Nuñez after Ferguson's death, alleging he participated in the beatings and watched as his father assaulted the boy.
Mark Earnest, a defense attorney representing Nuñez, has maintained he did not beat the boy and that his actions did not amount to a serious violent crime. Earnest is seeking the minimum prison sentence of 14 years, citing Nuñez was 19 at the time of the crime and did not have a criminal history.
Earnest also argued that two counts of tampering with evidence should be merged into one, reducing the maximum possible sentence to 21 years. Prosecutors disagreed in a request to deny the merger.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias declined to comment.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday. Sentencing is scheduled in June.
Officials Say New Mexico Officer Killed In Traffic Accident - Associated Press
The New Mexico State Police says it's investigating a traffic accident that killed an Artesia police officer.
The agency says an the initial investigation shows Artesia Police Corp. Thomas Wade Frazier was driving a truck northbound Friday on U.S. Hwy 285 when for unknown reasons it struck the rear of tractor-trailer. Frazier died at the scene.
The 20-year-old man from Dexter, New Mexico who was driving the tractor-trailer was not injured.
The state police says it will release more information when it's available.
Examiner IDs Remains Found Near Border As 43-Year-Old Woman – Carlsbad Current-Argus, Associated Press
A medical examiner has identified human remains found in southeast New Mexico last year near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Carlsbad Current-Argus reported that the medical investigator's office at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque identified the remains as 43-year-old Brandi Fernandez.
An autopsy determined Fernandez died from a gunshot wound to the head in a homicide.
The skeletal remains were found in March 2020 by hikers in a rural wash south of the community of Malaga.
The Eddy County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death and offering a reward of up to $4,000 for anyone with information that leads to a suspect or arrest.
Ex-Labor Official Says Safety Threats Prompted Resignation - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
The former leader of the state Workforce Solutions Department that oversees unemployment benefits said Thursday his resignation in April was linked to threatening messages and incidents at the agency and elsewhere.
In a string of Twitter posts, former Cabinet Secretary Bill McCamley disclosed the reasoning behind his decision to resign from the agency. He did not respond to calls and texts to his cellphone seeking further comment.
"I left the position for no other reason than the safety of myself and my family," McCamley, a former state legislator and county commissioner, said in one tweet. "I have received threats before as a public official, but this time seems different."
McCamley indicated that he intends to relocate his home outside of New Mexico as a safety precaution.
The statements were made the day after state analysts reported that New Mexico may have overpaid unemployment insurance benefits by as much as $250 million during the pandemic amid a backlog in investigations of claims.
McCamley said his concerns about personal safety grew after a state-owned car was destroyed by an incendiary device and a possibly deranged man called the state labor agency to blame McCamley for unemployment problems and to ask for his address.
New Mexico State Police confirmed that an arson investigation was initiated in November in connection with a vehicle assigned to the Workforce Solutions Department in Las Cruces. Lieutenant Mark Soriano said the investigation is ongoing and that no arrests have been made.
In an email, Soriano also noted that state police were asked to conduct close patrols at the Las Cruces offices of Workforce Solutions "in reference to non-specific threats they had been r
eceiving by clients," resulting in patrols during March and May.
It was unclear whether McCamley sought out police protection as a Cabinet secretary for Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
Lujan Grisham spokesman Nora Meyers Sackett said "protocol prevents us from talking about security measures the state has taken or may take for employees facing threats."
Soriano said state police investigate "all threats, reported to us, to the health or safety of any New Mexican, including elected officials and Cabinet secretaries."
McCamley said threats against public officials in Arizona and Michigan weighed in his decisions to resign, along with the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
Ex-Las Vegas Mayor Convicted On Public Corruption Charges - Associated Press
A former northern New Mexico mayor was convicted Thursday on two felony counts of public corruption.
A sentencing date hasn't been set for ex-Las Vegas Mayor Tonita Gurule-Giron. She faces up to 18 months in prison on each of the counts.
Gurule-Giron was accused of using her position to give her then-boyfriend city contracts in exchange for kickbacks. A jury found her guilty of one count of receiving illegal kickbacks and one count of ethics violations.
Gurule-Giron initially faced six felony charges. A judge threw out four of them, saying the attorney general's office didn't have sufficient evidence to proceed.
State Attorney General Hector Balderas said in a statement Thursday that prosecuting public corruption is difficult "yet our office will always take appropriate action to ensure the public's confidence in government is restored."
Gurule-Giron didn't testify in the trial that started earlier this week. Her attorney, JoHanna Cox, told jurors in opening arguments that the only thing Gurule-Giron did wrong was to be in a bad relationship.
The boyfriend, Marvin Salazar, 53, faces multiple charges including offering or paying an illegal kickback and making or permitting a false public voucher. His attorney, Alan Maestas, declined to comment on the case earlier this week.
DA Says No Jail Time For 7 In New Mexico Monument Vandalism Case - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report For America
Seven of the protesters charged with tearing down a historical marker in the Santa Fe plaza last fall have agreed to a diversion program that will spare them jail time, the district attorney said in a statement Thursday.
As part of the deal, they agreed to perform community service and participate in restorative justice mediation.
"The Obelisk case defendants meet the criteria I set out for diversionary programming. We have reached a resolution after months of careful investigation and negotiation between defendants, their attorneys, and my office that ensures justice while working toward community healing," said District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, in a statement citing a promise to divert non-violent and first-time offenders.
The restorative justice program aims to "shape a resolution that is agreeable to all parties" between defendants and victims, DA spokeswoman Jennifer Padgett Macias said. Police, city employees and other community members will be invited to join the program.
Defendant and art gallery owner Steven Fox did not accept the deal.
Around 40 people participated in the destruction of the stone obelisk Oct. 13, as part of a nationwide protest against atrocities committed against Indigenous people.
The monument was erected to honor Union troops who battled the Confederacy during the Civil War and fought with Native American tribes.
One face of the monument honors "heroes" who died in battle with "savage Indians." The word "savage" was chiseled out by an activist in the 1970s and never replaced.
Statues of Spanish conquistadores long venerated by many in New Mexico's Hispanic community have been removed from public view in the past year out of fear they too would be destroyed.
Navajo Nation Reports 4 New COVID-19 Cases And No Deaths - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported four new confirmed COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths.
Tribal health officials said the latest figures pushed the total number of cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago to 30,751 on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The known death toll remained at 1,297.
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said more than half of the reservation's adult population has been vaccinated.
"The mask mandate remains in place here on the Navajo Nation," Nez said in a statement Thursday. "As I've stated before, wearing a mask makes you a warrior in this fight against COVID-19. If we continue to take precautions and get more of our people vaccinated, we will get through this pandemic sooner than later."
New Mexico Official Takes Aim At Oil, Gas Bond Requirements - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
New Mexico's financial assurance requirements for oil and gas wells, pipelines and related infrastructure fall far short of what would be needed to offset closure and cleanup costs, according to the findings of an independent study released Thursday.
The research was commissioned by the state after concerns were raised last year about taxpayers being left on the hook if companies go bankrupt or abandon their operations without plugging wells, decommissioning pipelines or cleaning up.
While bonding requirements can vary widely depending on the location and the type of well, the study estimated the bonding gap for companies operating on state trust lands and private land at more than $8 billion. For example, closure and cleanup costs for an oil well on state trust land were estimated at more than $218,000 while financial assurance amounted to just $3,500.
For pipelines on trust land, the study estimated average financial assurance is about $51 per mile, while the average decommissioning and surface reclamation cost is likely to top $211,000 per mile.
Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard called the gaps in financial assurance staggering. She said the state needs to ensure companies are adequately bonded so the costs of plugging wells, remediating spills and contamination, and reseeding disturbed areas will be covered.
"No one can afford these obligations if they have gone bankrupt. That is why we need companies to be adequately bonded on the front end," she said.
The New Mexico Legislature in 2018 increased the amount of certain financial assurances. Industry officials said not enough time has passed to determine if the new rules are working as intended.
The State Land Office is planning a series of public meetings on how increasing bond amounts for oil and gas operators would affect communities, workers and small businesses.
Oil and gas is a driving force of New Mexico's economy and the state budget. The State Land Office reported oil and gas royalty earnings of nearly $110 million in April, which marked a record. Much of that money goes to support public education and other trust land beneficiaries.
Bonding concerns go beyond New Mexico. A 2019 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted bonding shortfalls on federal lands and found that oil and gas bond amounts largely have not been updated in 40 years or more and fail to serve their intended purpose.
Abandoned wells have been an issue across much of the West. Some officials are concerned the problem could grow given the increase in development in places such as the Permian Basin, which straddles the Texas-New Mexico border.
The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division last year tallied the number of orphaned and abandoned wells in the state at more than 700, of which only 6% have been plugged. While the state has a restoration program funded by a tax on oil and gas operators, officials say its $5 million budget would be drained quickly considering the number of wells needing to be plugged and remediated.
According to a 2020 legislative analysis, the State Land Office pulled one bond for a produced water spill in Lea County that occurred more than five years ago. The estimated cleanup cost was over $600,000, but the bond only covered $10,000.
"Highlighting rare and selective cases doesn't demonstrate the need for broad bonding reform, only that it's possible for outlier cases to exist. It's simply impossible, and illogical, that all oil and gas wells and infrastructure would require plugging and remediation at the same time as the report suggests," said Robert McEntyre, a spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association.
The study highlighted the differences among various state agencies' bonding requirements. The Oil Conservation Division requires financial assurance to fund well plugging and land restoration efforts if a permit holder doesn't comply. However, that assurance is not intended to secure payment for landowners whose livestock, crops or property may be damaged.
The study also found that under current requirements, the largest users of private and state trust lands often carry the lowest marginal amounts of financial assurance coverage.
Activist Files Complaint Over New Mexico Governor's Expense – Albuquerque Journal, Associated Press
The editor of a conservative media outlet has filed an ethics complaint against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's reelection campaign, claiming she improperly used campaign funds at her daughter's beauty business.
In October last year, the governor's reelection campaign made a payment of $1,040 to "Beauty By Erin Grisham" for media preparation, the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.
John Block, a conservative activist and editor of online publication Piñon Post, said in his complaint filed last Thursday that the payment to Erin Grisham's business was not a permitted campaign expense because he said it was for cosmetology, not media preparation.
According to Beauty By Erin Grisham's website, the business is "a freelance hair and makeup artist" service.
Block cited a state campaign finance guide published in 2019 that listed hair, nail and makeup services as personal – and not campaign – expenses.
"No public servant in New Mexico should be above the law regardless of what office they may occupy," Block said in the complaint.
A Lujan Grisham campaign spokesperson said that the media preparation spending was justified and related to her appearances before the Democratic National Convention last year.
"These routine political expenses were for the governor's speech and 14 other events she addressed for the Democratic National Convention in August 2020," said Jared Leopold. "This type of event preparation expense is a common and necessary political expenditure for politicians of both parties."
Leopold said that Lujan Grisham's predecessor, Republican Susana Martinez, reported a similar campaign expenditure for "styling" in 2010. He called the ethics complaint "frivolous and sexist."
Regulations issued by the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office allow campaign funds to be spent for purposes "reasonably attributable to the candidate's campaign" but not for personal or living expenses.
A spokesman for the Secretary of State's office, which shares jurisdiction with the State Ethics Commission over campaign rules and complaints, said he couldn't comment until there's a ruling, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
New Mexico State Fair Plans In-Person Return This Year – Associated Press
The September spectacle featuring funnel cakes, turkey legs, livestock and art exhibits, and carnival rides plans an in-person return this year.
The New Mexico State Fair was scrapped in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, although some events took place virtually. The event held in Albuquerque drew about 475,000 visitors from around the state and region in 2019.
Spokesman Wyndham Kemsley said Thursday that officials are confident the event can be held safely in person, with more hand-washing and sanitation stations, and social distancing.
"We have one of the biggest properties in New Mexico so we have a lot of open space," he said.
The fair is scheduled Sept. 9-19. Organizers are looking to hire hundreds of employees.
Ticket sales for another big event, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, are expected to start in July. The fiesta, too, was canceled last year.
Its early morning mass ascensions, fireworks shows and launches of special-shaped hot air balloons attract hundreds of thousands of spectators from across the globe and hundreds of balloon pilots and their crews. The fiesta is scheduled Oct. 2-10.
The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs announced Thursday that all of the state museums have reopened, and several of its historic sites.
