Maestas faces first election as an appointed state senator - By Nash Jones, KUNM News
Though Democrat Antonio “Moe” Maestas has served in the Roundhouse for 18 years, only two of those have been in the New Mexico Senate. The former Representative was contentiously appointed to the position in 2022 following the resignation of Sen. Jacob Candelaria. Whether District 26 voters on Albuquerque’s Westside actually want him to represent them is on the ballot this primary election, where he faces challenger Julie Radoslovich.
Education is a centerpiece of the campaign.
In the House, Maestas was the lead sponsor of a resolution to tap a state trust for early childhood education. After about a decade of effort, it passed in 2021 and voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment. He sits on the Senate Education Committee and also had a hand in bringing financial literacy courses into high schools. On his website, he commits to pursuing educational reform policies that “foster inclusivity [and] innovation.”
Radoslovich is herself a longtime educator. She was a teacher and principal at Albuquerque public charter school South Valley Academy. She also sat on the New Mexico Teacher Evaluation Task Force. She’s running in part on increasing teacher training and pay, reducing class sizes and improving job readiness.
Despite this, Maestas is the one carrying key educational endorsements, including the Albuquerque teacher’s union and University of New Mexico faculty union.
Public safety is another significant issue in the campaign.
Maestas is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who’s co-chaired interim committees focused on criminal justice reform. Most recently, he sponsored a bill that increased penalties for second-degree murder.
“I am proud to have been at the forefront in ratcheting back the failed war on drugs, seeking treatment options and other alternatives to incarceration,” he said on his website.
Radoslovich’s campaign focuses on addressing “root causes” of crime, according to her website, by increasing access to behavioral health services and enacting “Constitutional and common-sense gun safety reform.” She also wants to boost recruitment, retention and mental health support for police and first responders.
“We must adopt a data-driven, comprehensive approach to building safer communities that is proactive and creative rather than merely reactive,” she said on her website.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has endorsed Maestas, calling him “an invaluable partner,” noting his work to fund early childhood education. Radoslovich has the backing of outgoing Senators Gerald Ortiz y Pino and Bill Tallman as well as several progressive state Representatives and Bernalillo County commissioners.
Maestas also boasts the sixth highest fundraising numbers of any race in the state, according to campaign finance records, with more than $272,000 in contributions. Though, more than $98,000 of that was a transferred balance from his state Representative account with the New Mexico Campaign Finance System to his state Senator account, according to a 2023 filing. A 2024 campaign finance report also shows a $2,500 loan contribution from the candidate in March. Radoslovich has brought in around $93,000. Spending wise, Maestas has thrown down about three times as much as his challenger.
The Santa Fe New Mexican has called the race “one of the most contentious contests” in the Democratic primaries. While Maestas referred to his challenger’s campaign as “a power grab by a very aggressive and entitled individual,” according to the newspaper, Radoslovich has called Maestas an “unelected incumbent” who had a “free ride” until now.
No Republican candidates are running for the Senate seat. Early voting in the primary election ends June 1 ahead of the June 4 Election Day.
CORRECTION, 5/24/24: This story has been corrected to show that the $100,873 in campaign contributions credited to the candidate on the New Mexico Campaign Finance System include a 2023 balance transfer from his state Representative account and a 2024 loan contribution.
Santa Fe ‘mansion tax’ ruled unlawful - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
A state district judge has ruled the city of Santa Fe’s so-called “mansion tax” is unlawful just days before it was set to go into effect.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports voters overwhelmingly approved the tax in November. It would impose a 3% tax on the amount of a home purchase over $1 million. The revenue would go toward the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The city had argued the tax was on the transaction, but the judge ruled the tax is on the real estate itself, since it’s based on the home’s purchase price. Under state law, cities don’t have the authority to tax real estate.
Mayor Allan Webber told the New Mexican his administration thinks the judge “got it wrong.” He says the City Council will discuss options to appeal the decision.
The Mayor believes an appeal could allow the tax to begin while the case works its way through court. It was scheduled to take effect Tuesday.
State putting pressure on firms that manage Medicaid to help solve behavioral health access problems - By Gabrielle Porter, Santa Fe New Mexican
New Mexico’s Medicaid middlemen need more skin in the game.
That’s the message from Human Services Department Secretary Kari Armijo, who told lawmakers last week her department is ratcheting up pressure on insurance companies that provide coverage to nearly half the state’s residents to do more to address behavioral health care access.
Armijo told members of the Legislative Finance Committee that fixing those access issues will involve “leaning very heavily” on those firms — known as managed care organizations — to put their money where the largest gaps are.
“They should be making financial investments,” Armijo said at a Wednesday meeting. “We’ve really tasked them with reviewing the behavioral health network, looking at where we need services, making investments. It shouldn’t just be the state of New Mexico.”
Armijo’s department, which overseas Medicaid, is in the midst of overhauling its managed care program, replacing the old Centennial Care system with the rebranded and revamped Turquoise Care. The department itself also is undergoing a major reorganization set to officially roll out July 1, when it will change its name to the New Mexico Health Care Authority.
Most Medicaid patients in New Mexico fall under the managed care program, in which the state government contracts with a number of health insurance companies to organize and manage benefits for members. New Mexico’s four managed care organizations under Turquoise Care are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, Presbyterian Turquoise Care and United Healthcare Community Plan of New Mexico. Open enrollment for Turquoise Care via those plans is ongoing through the end of this month.
Health care accessibility is an issue across the board in New Mexico, where patients often have to wait weeks or months to see providers. But those problems pack a particular punch in the realm of behavioral health.
Armijo said part of the MCOs’ new contracts include more stringent expectations for behavioral health appointment wait times, which will go into effect in July, as well as new responsibilities for the insurers in providing mobile crisis services for children and adults.
“We all are concerned about families experiencing crisis [and] children in state custody,” Armijo said. “Those services will be there to support and wrap around those families who are experiencing those crises.”
Those new appointment standards include:
- A face-to-face appointment should be available within 90 minutes for people looking for crisis care. The previous contracts called for appointments within two hours.
- An initial assessment should be available within seven days of a request for non-urgent behavioral health care. Previous contracts called for assessments within 14 days.
If the MCOs don’t meet those standards, their contracts say the state can impose sanctions, both monetary and non-monetary.
Some lawmakers said they welcomed the new standards, but questioned how they will work.
Rep. Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, questioned how the insurers will be able to oversee provider wait times when so many patients call providers directly for appointments, rather than using the MCOs’ care coordination services.
“I think about how an MCO would even go about enforcing that with these huge provider networks,” she said. “... How do we know that people are actually getting help faster?”
Armijo said the state is shifting a little-known dynamic within the managed care model. Currently, the insurers perform health risk assessments of people enrolled in their plans. One problem, Armijo said, is that most patients don’t really know what an MCO is or what its role is, so they may not respond to those companies or want to participate in those assessments.
In Turquoise Care, the insurers will delegate more of that work to community providers by contract.
“For pregnant women, for example, you don’t really know who this MCO person is,” Armijo said. “But if someone from their doctor’s office is reaching out and helping, they have the ability to coordinate that care more locally.”
A BIG ADJUSTMENT
Szczepanski said in an interview she thinks that shift will be important.
“Anything we can do to make the system easier to access, to make it so that no door is the wrong door for someone to access the health they need” is a good thing, she said.
Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, questioned whether either the MCOs and the on-the-ground health providers really have the capacity to meet those goals.
“I’m wondering, if you’re mandating the MCOs to make sure these appointments happen within seven calendar days, the actual behavioral health specialists that are seeing the people, how are they going to manage that?” Armstrong asked. “Because they’re already overworked, and I would assume, seeing as many patients as they possibly can already.”
Pointing to recent increases in Medicaid reimbursements and expansions of services that can be reimbursed, Armijo said efforts are being made to build out the entire health care system “so there’s not as much pressure on a single provider. But she also emphasized the state is looking to the MCOs to step up financially to support the providers.
“I think it really does require this system to come together and strategically look,” Armijo said. “We really need these carriers who ... we’re paying billions of dollars to make those investments.”
Committee chairman Sen. George Muñoz, a Gallup Democrat, said he’s frustrated at how long it’s taking for services to come online in recent years, pointing to the $31 million that was part of the Human Services Department’s budget the agency didn’t spend last year. Referencing six certified community behavioral health clinics expected to come online next year, Muñoz said he doesn’t think they’re enough.
“I don’t know how many years we’ve talked about behavioral health ... because of what happened [with] the prior administration,” Muñoz said, referencing the decision under former Gov. Susana Martinez to freeze Medicaid funding to 15 providers due to ultimately unproven allegations of fraud. “But we’re six years into this administration. ... It’s not for lack of money. It’s not for lack of resources.”
Navajo Nation approves proposed settlement to secure Colorado River water - Associated Press
The Navajo Nation Council has signed off on a proposed water rights settlement that carries a price tag larger than any such agreement enacted by Congress would ensure water for two other Native American tribes in a state that has been forced to cut back on water use.
The Navajo Nation has one of the largest single outstanding claims in the Colorado River basin. Delegates acknowledged the gravity of their vote Thursday, with many noting that securing water deliveries to tribal communities has been an effort that has spanned generations.
"Thank you for helping make history today," Navajo Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley told her fellow delegates as they stood and clapped after casting a unanimous vote.
The San Juan Southern Paiute Tribal Council also voted to approve the settlement Thursday, while the Hopi tribe approved it earlier this week. Congress will have the final say.
Congress has enacted nearly three dozen tribal water rights settlements across the U.S. over the last four decades and federal negotiation teams are working on another 22 agreements involving dozens of tribes. In this case, the Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are seeking more than $5 billion as part of their settlement.
About $1.75 billion of that would fund a pipeline from Lake Powell, one of the two largest reservoirs in the Colorado River system, on the Arizona-Utah border. The settlement would require the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to complete the project by the end of 2040.
From there, water would be delivered to dozens of tribal communities in remote areas.
Nearly a third of homes in the Navajo Nation — spanning 27,000 square miles of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah — don't have running water. Many homes on Hopi lands are similarly situated.
Navajo President Buu Nygren plans to sign the settlement legislation as soon as it hits his desk, likely Friday. He told The Associated Press it had been a long road to get everyone to the table and the next step will be knocking on the doors of Congress.
"This is a tremendous step," he said of the tribes' unanimous votes. "We can finally plan for the future now, because of course it's hard to plan for the future when you don't know how much water we're thinking about."
A century ago, tribes were left out of a landmark 1922 agreement that divided the Colorado River basin water among seven Western states. Now, the tribes are seeking water from a mix of sources: the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River, aquifers and washes on tribal lands in northeastern Arizona.
The latest settlement talks were driven in part by worsening impacts from climate change and demands on the river like those that have allowed Phoenix, Las Vegas and other desert cities to thrive. The Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are hoping to close the deal quickly under a Democratic administration in Arizona and with Joe Biden as president.
Without a settlement, the tribes would be at the mercy of courts. Already, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government is not bound by treaties with the Navajo Nation to secure water for the tribe. Navajo has the largest land base of any of the 574 federally recognized tribes and is second in population with more than 400,000 citizens.
A separate case that has played out over decades in Arizona over the Little Colorado River basin likely will result in far less water than the Navajo Nation says it needs because the tribe has to prove it has historically used the water. That's hard to do when the tribe hasn't had access to much of it, Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch has said.
Arizona — situated in the Colorado River's Lower Basin with California, Nevada and Mexico — is unique in that it also has an allocation in the Upper Basin. The state would get certainty in the amount of water available as it's forced to cut back as the overall supply diminishes.
Navajo and Hopi, like other Arizona tribes, could be part of that solution if they secure the right to lease water within the state that could be delivered through a canal system that already serves metropolitan Tucson and Phoenix.
Arizona water officials have said the leasing authority is a key component of the settlement.
Jury gets case filed by former APD employee — Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
Jurors began deliberations Wednesday in a lawsuit by a former city employee who says she was fired in retaliation for reporting misconduct by a top Albuquerque Police Department official.
The Albuquerque Journal reports Paulette Diaz sent a memo to then APD chief Michael Geier regarding his chief-of-staff John Ross, alleging Ross received a raise and made several purchases, including a laptop, without proper approval.
Diaz alleges she was then forced out of her job as an administrative assistant for APD by being transferred to a different department, and eventually fired by the city altogether.
In closing statements yesterday, an attorney for the city said when Harold Medina took over for Geier, he brought in his own administrative assistant, just like Geier and other APD chiefs had done before.
But Diaz’s attorney argues her removal wasn’t just a simple changing of the guard, but rather a result of her reporting improper and possibly illegal actions, which would be in violation of the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act.
The suit is just the latest in a series of legal actions and settlements that emerged during Geier’s time as chief, including $400,000 paid to Ross to settle claims he made against the city.
Multigenerational center first of several new projects planned for NW Albuquerque - By Rodd Cayton, City Desk ABQ
City leaders celebrated a key Westside project with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new multigenerational center to be built near Cibola Loop and Cuba Road NW.
The center, expected to open in August 2025, will bring to the area city services and programs aimed at residents of all ages. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said access to those services, including breakfast and lunch, is important for seniors and youth.
The center is the first of multiple new amenities planned for the site; a library and municipal pool will follow. The area already has new police and fire stations.
A multigenerational center was a logical first step, as it will serve as a bustling community hub during future Westside growth, Keller said.
“We have, I think, realized a little bit of a consensus, which is that multi-gens are the way to start,” he said, “because they are the most accessible and most beneficial for everyone.”
The new multigenerational center, Keller said, will have a drawing power that extends beyond the city limits.
“Our neighbors in Rio Rancho are gonna love it,” he said.
Dejah Moss, who lives near the site, said she’s excited about the potential of the new center to bring the community closer together. She said it’s a better fit than Section 8 housing that had been considered for the site.
Moss said her family will use the center, particularly her husband, whose prework workouts will be made easier.
She said she was surprised at the ceremony, which indicates progress on a site that’s been discussed since she moved there several years ago.
“I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen or when,” Moss said.
State Rep. Cynthia Borrego said the center is a great need, as the nearest multigenerational center, North Domingo Baca, is eight miles away and Bernalillo County’s Westside Community Center is 17 miles away.
City Council President Dan Lewis, who has at times been at odds with the mayor, praised Keller’s efforts.
“Tim Keller has been a great champion of this project,” Lewis said. “A lot of our directors (were) really championing this project and really pushing to move it forward. So, thank you to the mayor for giving good leadership on that and seeing that this project gets built.”
Keller, for his part, directed credit elsewhere, both for the new multigenerational center and other projects launched or completed during his term; those include the International District Library, New Mexico Media Academy and new Sierra Community Center.
“None of these projects were my or my administration’s idea,” he said. “They were all ideas from the community from decades past. I said ‘Let’s build something.’”
Keller said the groundbreaking was in jeopardy, but the City Council moved quickly by passing a bond issue about two weeks ago to make sure there was enough money to launch the project.
Voters previously approved $13 million in city bonds over several years for the first phase. The state Legislature has contributed about $3 million and the recent council action added another $1.8 million.
State Sen. Harold Pope Jr., one of several legislators lauded for their assistance in securing state funding for the project, said he’ll keep his gym membership, but will be a user of the new center.
MULTI-GEN CENTERS
The new multigenerational center will be the fourth operated by the city’s Department of Senior Affairs. It will join Manzano Mesa, North Domingo Baca, and the newly constructed Santa Barbara Martineztown Multigenerational Center, which is slated to open in the coming months.
Lewis said the new center is, for the time being, referred to as the “Cibola Loop Multigenerational Center,” though the plan is to consult with the community and eventually decide on a permanent name.
The building, which will have almost 15,000 square feet of space, will be constructed in phases, with the first phase to include a multipurpose room, meeting room and classroom.
Jennifer Turner, director of the city’s Municipal Development Department, said the August 2025 completion date is an informed target, as general contractor Weil Construction was brought in during the design phase and could discuss costs and scheduling associated with the project.
Another recent city project, the North Domingo Baca Park Aquatic Center, continues to move forward. Local construction firm Bradbury Stamm was selected to build the swimming and diving complex and is now in contract negotiations with the city.
That process is expected to wrap up around the end of this month, said Emily Moore, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department.
Provision for acequia insurance hanging in balance as U.S. House and Senate debate Farm Bill - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
In their 942-page Farm Bill proposalreleased late last week, Republican House leaders did not include a provision that would preserve insurance for acequia associations facing lower crop yields amid multi-year drought.
Keeping acequias eligible for the insurance, a provision touted by members of the New Mexico congressional delegation, is among many differences between the Senate Democrats and House Republicans plans for the twice-a-decade Farm Bill that needs to be renewed by Sept. 30.
The Farm Bill is already a year late, after expiring in September 2023 over disagreements between the split Congress on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, crop insurance and other aspects of the legislation.
The House’s version would spend up to $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. While the Senate has not yet released the full text of its version of the Senate bill, or provide an estimate of its cost, it did release summaries of key provisions earlier this month, including one that would clarify that acequias are eligible for the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.
The program provides insurance to farmers who are not otherwise eligible for other kinds of federal crop insurance and suffer from disasters like drought, hurricanes, hail or floods.
Acequias are centuries-old irrigation channels relied upon by generations of farmers in New Mexico. Many of them buy crop insurance to protect against harvests damaged by drought, which has intensified across the state in recent years due to climate change.
In 2018, farmers along acequias in Rio Arriba County learned that a policy imposed by former President Donald Trump would make their farms ineligible for the insurance program. The federal Farm Service Agency office in the area also reduced the threshold for harvests that would allow farmers to make an insurance claim, according to U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján’s office.
In 2021, Luján intervened, convincing incoming President Joe Biden’s Agriculture Secretary to pause the policy and get the farmers paid back for their losses.
“New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers are essential workers who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Luján said in a news release at the time. “This reversal in policy and practice represents a hard-fought victory that gives New Mexicans the benefits they deserve and have paid into.”
In 2023, Luján sponsored the ACEQUIA Act, which would enshrine the pause into law, along with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) in the House.
The law was never enacted, but Luján, as a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, was able to get the provision included in the Senate’s framework for the Farm Bill, Luján spokesperson Adan Serna said.
But it’s not in the House version released Thursday, and both chambers are now working to agree on a compromise, Serna said Tuesday.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a statement May 17 that, while the two bills have a lot in common, she was concerned the House proposal will “split the broad, bipartisan coalition that has always been the foundation of a successful Farm Bill.”
While the House version of the Farm Bill does not include the insurance provision, it does make acequias eligible for funding from the Water Source Protection Program, which provides $30 million annually to help the federal Forest Service and farmers partner to improve watershed and forest health.
Film about West Mesa murders raises concern– Mia Casas, KUNM
A new film called “Boneyard” will be released this year depicting an unborn child and 11 women who were murdered on Albuquerque’s West Mesa.
The Albuquerque Police Department said in a statement today/yesterday that the filmmakers did not contact them about the production. Agency officials say they only became aware of the movie after the official trailer was released.
Families of the victims contacted APD concerned about how the film will depict their loved ones who died in 2009.
The investigation into the murders has been open and active for 15 years. Police say the team of detectives assigned to it review tips weekly.