NM congressional delegation outlines concerns over Trump’s second term - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
Members of New Mexico's all-Democratic congressional delegation say they are bracing for a rough ride during the second presidency of Donald Trump.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the state, which voted for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s high-stakes presidential race, relies heavily on federal funding, and Trump has called for cuts to federal agencies.
Democrats have other concerns, including Trump’s plans for mass deportations, which officials say would tear families apart and deliver a blow to businesses already struggling to find employees in the state.
“I won’t sugarcoat it,” U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich said in a statement.
“The return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House presents incredible challenges for New Mexico, and we must take those threats seriously,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury echoed the sentiment, saying Project 2025, a plan by the conservative Heritage Foundation to radically change the U.S. government, offers a preview of what a second term will look like, including the dismantling of federal agencies and retribution against Trump’s political opponents.
The plans include eliminating federal jobs, which Stansbury said will have far-ranging consequences for New Mexico because the federal government is one of the state’s largest employers.
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said the consequences of the presidential election are “particularly disastrous” for New Mexico. For example, she said, Democrats have been successfully fighting a Farm Bill in Congress that would cut $30 billion from nutrition programs.
“With a Trump presidency, they will cut that funding,” she said.
ABQ Council president calls for a vote of no confidence for Keller - Elizabeth McCall, City Desk ABQ
Recently, contention has escalated between Albuquerque City Council President Dan Lewis and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration after Lewis accused the mayor of playing politics over former President Donald Trump’s campaign visits. Now he is calling on other councilors to join him in publicly condemning Keller over his response to two ballot questions voters approved earlier last week.
The two questions were proposed amendments to the city’s charter. One amendment allows the council to terminate a police or fire chief without cause on a 7-2 vote. The other creates a process for filling vacancies on a three-member committee that resolves disputes between the mayor and the council.
After the amendments passed, Keller said in a news release Tuesday night that the administration “heard concerns that the language on the ballot was too vague” and the amendments may have to be “reviewed by the courts.”
Lewis said in a news release Thursday night that it is unclear why the administration “did not raise concerns about the ballot language sooner, given the ample time and process available.” Lewis emphasized that Keller originally said the proposal to change the way chiefs are fired “gives reasonable checks to both the mayor and the council.”
The Bernalillo County clerk and the city clerk collaborated on the ballot language which was also approved by the secretary of state, according to the release. Lewis said Keller “misled the public and dishonored his office” and the council “should move a vote of no confidence.”
Lewis told City Desk ABQ that he suggested a vote of no confidence because Keller is “misleading the public’s trust.”
Staci Drangmeister, a spokesperson for Keller’s office, said a vote of no confidence “wouldn’t do anything.” Drangmeister said the administration sent out the news release because it received countless questions about the ballot measures and the mayor “was never involved in any discussions about the ballot language and that process.”
“Mayor Keller was helping folks during a storm that left thousands without power while Dan Lewis was overreacting and whining about the mayor,” Drangmeister said. “More meaningless grandstanding from the bitter council president. Our constituents want us to fight for them, not with each other.”
It’s unclear how many councilors might side with Lewis, but two councilors who spoke with City Desk ABQ offered two different views.
Councilor Louie Sanchez said the mayor had the chance to review the ballot measures before they went to voters and the council “went through the full process from start to finish and that’s what the charter called for.”
On the other hand, Councilor Fiebelkorn said she had constituents tell her they were confused about the ballot questions.
“They were vague, they were confusing,” Fiebelkorn said. “But it’s not surprising because these are part of the eight charter amendments that were proposed, that were fast tracked, that were voted on very quickly.”
Fiebelkorn said a vote of no confidence “wouldn’t be something I would be supportive of.”
The back and forth jabs over the ballot questions are the latest in a week’s worth of contention between Lewis and Keller.
When Trump stopped in Albuquerque on Oct. 31, he spoke at CSI Aviation, near the Albuquerque International Sunport, after officials with the Albuquerque Convention Center denied the campaign’s request to use the facility, citing maintenance issues. Lewis claimed that explanation was an excuse for Keller to attempt to stop the rally.
The campaign visit was also marked with a reminder from Keller’s administration that the city still holds an unpaid invoice for hundreds of thousands of dollars from Trump’s visit in 2019. During a recent council meeting, Lewis argued with the administration about consistency when it comes to charging for other campaign events.
Read more about the argument here.
State Senate Republicans elect Sharer as minority leader — Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
New Mexico’s state Senate Republicans picked a new boss last week.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Sen. Bill Sharer of Farmington will be the chamber’s new minority leader, replacing Greg Baca of Belen who did not run for reelection.
Sharer has served in the roundhouse since 2001, and is known for his filibusters.
He said he is honored to be chosen, and that he will, “Usher in an era of unity and conservative principles to the Senate Republican caucus.”
He made clear his thoughts on how Democrats have run the Legislature lately, saying New Mexicans are over-taxed and that the state has been run into the ground, according to the New Mexican.
Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, a Democrat from Santa Fe, says he is looking forward to working with Sharer as they, “Have a good relationship.”
Republicans also elected Pat Woods, who represents Broadview, as minority whip, and David Gallegos, of Eunice, as caucus chair.
Gallegos said the caucus will focus on attracting, “Traditional Hispanic voters” who are “conservative and pro-family” into their party, and on border issues and immigration.
New Mexico considers ban on forever chemicals in oil and gas operations – By Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
New Mexico environmental regulators will consider new rules this week that would require companies to disclose what chemicals they use in oil and gas operations, and prohibit them from using so-called “forever chemicals” that can harm human health.
The state Oil Conservation Commission will hold a four-day hearing that runs from Tuesday through Friday to consider establishing new rules banning PFAS in oil and gas operations, and mandating full disclosure of the chemicals companies use. The commission will be accepting public comments on the proposed rules.
PFAS – which stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are synthetic chemicals used in everything from industrial processes to household products. They are frequently described as “forever chemicals” since some don’t degrade naturally.
One cause of concern linked to PFAS in New Mexico is oil and gas production.
The state generates billions of gallons of toxic wastewater from oil and gas drilling and fracking, which the industry calls “produced water.” The U.S. Geological Survey in 2021 found PFAS in water samples from the Pecos River and produced water samples from the Permian Basin.
In anticipation of the hearing, climate activist groups on Oct. 21 delivered more than 4,700 public comments which urged Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to build on her efforts to address PFAS contamination by supporting the proposed rule.
PFAS can be harmful in many ways, said Dr. Robert Bernstein, a medical doctor and president of the New Mexico chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
They can raise cholesterol, disrupt thyroid function, cause liver and kidney problems, reduce the body’s ability to fight infections by interfering with the immune system, increase risk of birth defects, and cause cancer, he said.
It is unclear when the commission will decide on the rule.
Arbitration hearing continues over whether state has failed to improve CYFD - Albuquerque Journal, KUNM News
An unusual hearing began last week in Albuquerque focusing on whether the state has failed to comply with a settlement agreement designed to improve the lives of children and youth in state custody.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that back in 2018, a federal lawsuit was filed against the Children, Youth and Family Services Department and the then-state Human Services Department on behalf of 14 foster children in New Mexico.
They were joined by Disability Rights New Mexico and the Native American Disability Law Center in alleging the state’s “broken system of child welfare” was violating the rights of children in its care. The lawsuit demanded systemic changes.
By 2020, plaintiffs dismissed the lawsuit — referred to as the “Kevin S.” case — after reaching a final agreement with the state.
But implementation of the reforms has faltered, especially with a recent increase in the number of kids taken into custody and high staff turnover.
There has been a memorandum of understanding between the parties; mediation to try to resolve disputes; and now, arbitration that could lead to the arbitrator finding the state has breached the agreement.
Last week, attorneys for the plaintiffs argued it's time for the state to be held accountable for the lack of progress. A lawyer representing the state said there have been good faith efforts to comply with goals, which he described as aspirational.
The proceedings are set to continue this week.
Just 1 ‘bellwether’ precinct remains in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District after election - By Patrick Lohmann, Source New MexicoHeading into the 2024 General Election, three precincts across the vast 2nd Congressional District had the unusual distinction of voting for the eventual winner of the hotly contested seat every election for the last decade.
Now that the dust has settled and a winner declared, only one such precinct remains: Valencia County’s Precinct 39, which went for Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat who was reelected this week.
Of 548 precincts that stayed in CD2 through redistricting in 2021, three of them voted for the winning candidate in each election since 2014. They did so even though CD2 has flipped parties four times in the last five elections.
Since 2014, CD2 has gone from Republican Steve Pearce, who was re-elected in 2016, to Democrat Xochitl Torres-Small in 2018, to Republican Yvette Herrell in 2020, to Vasquez, the Democrat elected in 2022 and this year.
Source New Mexico published a story last week about the history and political attitudes of one such “bellwether” precinct, which was Lea County’s Precinct 53. According to Secretary of State unofficial election returns, Precinct 53 voted for Herrell by a tiny margin: 139 to 137.
Herrell’s victory was unexpected, given the precinct’s political composition after redistricting. Redistricting cut out the rural area in Precinct 53 outside the Hobbs city limits, excising 33 square miles of the precinct and removing 300 registered voters.
The precinct’s political makeup went from 36% Democrat and 29% Republican in January 2021 to 41% Democrat and 22% Republican in January 2022, which was after redistricting went into effect.
Socorro County’s Precinct 24, another “bellwether,” went for Herrell, as well, after she got 113 votes compared with Vasquez’s 100.
Valencia’s Precinct 39 had much higher turnout than the other two “bellwethers,” where 464 voters went for Vasquez compared to 388 who went for Herrell.
Valencia County as a whole is a nationally recognized “bellwether” county, though it voted for President Donald Trump in 2020, which ended its streak since at least 1980 of voting alongside the national presidential election winner every year.
Michael Rocca, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, cautioned that “bellwethers” are not “crystal balls” that can predict winners or contain especially open-minded voters. Instead, “bellwethers” just occur randomly and reflect how competitive races are.
How the 2nd Congressional District has voted over the last decade
Proposed changes to city’s encampment policy questioned - Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
There was a rising chorus of criticism and concern last week regarding proposed changes to the city’s policy on disbanding encampments located on public property. A vast majority of those who gave public comment at Monday’s Albuquerque City Council meeting expressed unease about updates that would significantly reduce the amount of notice given to those experiencing homelessness before the disbandment process takes place — from the current 72-hours to less than two-hours in some cases.
“Priority 1 encampments” would require little to no notice, according to a draft of the proposed policy obtained by City Desk ABQ. Such encampments are defined as those located within one-block of Central Avenue, where many are typically located.
Other encampments that would be considered priority one are those located within 300 feet of school property, school bus stops and day care centers. The tier includes encampments located within city parks, within 10-feet of a roadway, and those on a highway or off-ramp, sidewalks, alleys, trails and a long list of other areas.
The proposed changes prompted City Councilor Nichole Rogers to pose a question to the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, Samantha Sengel, on Monday.
“Can you provide with your policy a map on where people are allowed to be? There is no place based on your tiers that people are able to be,” Rogers said.
But the City Council doesn’t have the authority to affect the proposed policy changes — something many homelessness advocates think is a strategy by the city at least partly in response to the failed Downtown Vacant Buildings and Properties Ordinance which was voted down 8-1 by councilors in October. The ordinance contained a provision that would have banned sitting or lying on Downtown sidewalks along Central Avenue, among other measures.
Health, Housing & Homelessness Department spokesperson Connor Woods said Thursday, however, that there’s no connection.
“This is a routine update,” he said. “The city makes regular updates to our encampment policy.”
Woods said current city policy, which allows for a 72-hour notice and the offer to store personal belongings, was first drafted in 2021 and last updated in 2022.
‘A MAJOR CHANGE’
Anami Dass, the chair of the city’s Human Rights Board and a longtime advocate for those experiencing homelessness, said any similarity between the current policy and the proposed one is virtually “unrecognizable.”
“The new encampment policy is significantly different from previous versions and should be treated as a major change,” she said. “This policy would attempt to eradicate encampments without ending homelessness.”
Under the proposed changes, priority three encampments would have the longest notice time — a maximum of 36 hours — but still considerably less than the current threshold.
“But nearly every camp will be prioritized as tier one or two, meaning no notice or a 24- hour notice,” Dass said.
In addition, Dass and others say the priority one update along Central Avenue would simply push encampments deeper into residential neighborhoods, potentially causing volatile situations with property owners.
‘DOES NOT ADDRESS ROOT CAUSES’
Matt Mirarchi, the director of advancement and operations for Albuquerque’s Enlace Comunitario, said he’s also concerned about a lack of “linguistic accessibility” in the proposed changes. As it stands, he said, the policy doesn’t sufficiently take Latino and immigrant communities into account — including those who have experienced domestic violence and are unhoused or living in a precarious situation.
Enlace provides crisis intervention and housing options for mostly women and children who are fleeing domestic violence — often choosing between continued abuse and living on the streets or in their vehicles.
“There’s a lack of recognition that domestic violence is a significant factor in homelessness,” Mirarchi said. “A lot of times, shelters are completely packed — especially the ones for women and kids. Shelter staff is overwhelmed; bandwidth is strained.”
Enlace helped 154 families obtain some form of stable housing last fiscal year, he said, but there’s always a waiting list.
The outreach section of the proposed update has a provision to provide an interpreter or interpreter service to those in encampments that require one. If there is a need for translation, it reads, city personnel will arrange to have written material translated in an appropriate language.
But Mirarchi said the provision is “very nebulous.”
“If they don’t speak English or they are scared or averse to asking for help because of the misinformation they’ve received or been fed by an abusive party, they will most likely remain on the streets,” he said. “It’s like, well, we tried. We offered to get them something translated and to bring it back, but we’re sweeping.”
Woods, meanwhile, said the city is committed to offering shelter and services to those in displaced encampments, especially as winter sets in.
“It is dangerous to be outside in cold, wet weather, and we have beds available for anyone who wants one,” he said. “Our goal is to connect people to services. We are ramping up outreach to offer support and give coats and blankets to those who do not accept services.”
Woods said Albuquerque Fire Rescue and Albuquerque Community Safety personnel have distributed 160 coats, 125 pairs of insulated pants and 100 blankets to those who have recently declined a shelter bed.
OPTIONS TO WEIGH IN
Dass said she hoped the public would continue to speak out on the proposed policy changes and contact city officials.
“I think if people started to push for the mayor to take public comments — so that City Council [meetings] are not the only open mic in town — I think there might be a way to get the city back on track in terms of human rights and being a city that cares about its people,” she said.
Added Mirarchi: “This should be brought for public comment and debate, rather than a circumvented internal guideline change,” he said. “It does not address the root causes of homelessness, including push factors that put people on the street — rent and accessibility, domestic violence, mental health considerations and the conditions of the shelters.”
Woods said the city’s Mental Health Response Advisory Committee is currently reviewing the draft policy and the city would consider its input before finalization. He said the public is invited to send comments to the committee. Those interested can contact Brenda Vigil-Gallegos at bvigil-gallegos@cabq.gov.
The full draft policy is available here.
PRC nominating committee sends names to governor - By Hannah Grover, New Mexico Political Report
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission nominating committee is submitting four names to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to consider for appointment to the regulatory body. The committee is required by law to submit at least two names to the governor.
The PRC rules on utility rate increases, electrical generation resources, broadband infrastructure and other important topics.
The names include current Commissioner James Ellison, state Sen. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, Debra Hicks and Blessing Chukwu.
In October, the committee interviewed six candidates. Originally, it was set to interview seven candidates; however, one of them did not show up to the interview.
Committee Member Cydney Beadles made the motion to send Ellison’s name to the governor.
“Not only is he currently serving as commissioner, his background includes 10 years at Sandia National Labs, where his work includes integrating battery storage and renewable energy into the grid, and before that, eight years at a power company where he worked on coal and nuclear issues, other work includes gas,” Beadles said. “He brings to the commission this intellectual capital that the jewels of New Mexico, our national labs, represent. His working familiarity with advanced technology is critical to maintaining reliability as New Mexico’s grid moves into the future. His work on the commission also demonstrates that he watches the impact on ratepayers of utility projects and programs, realizing that you shouldn’t approve everything all at once, but must prioritize.”
Additionally, Beadles said Ellison would bring continuity to the commission.
Committee Member Denise Ramonas said that Ellison has spearheaded valuable initiatives during his two years on the PRC. She highlighted his work on an electric distribution system reliability rulemaking.
Ellison received unanimous support from the committee.
Committee Secretary Alonzo Baldonado made the motion to send Nibert’s name to the governor.
“Senator Nibert has served in the legislature for pretty close to 10 years. He has a really strong background in his legal practice and brings a lot of things to the table that should be up for consideration when the governor gets to nominate a new commissioner or or move forward with the current commissioner,” Baldonado said.
Ramonas said Nibert’s experience as a lawyer could benefit the PRC. She said that while the two commissioners whose seats are not up for appointment this year have “a great deal of expertise,” neither of them are attorneys.
“I think that having a lawyer as a commissioner would be a complementary skill set,” she said.
Nibert also received unanimous support from the committee.
Committee Member William Brancard said he wanted to have more than two names submitted to the governor. He recommended Hicks and Chukwu.
“Miss Hicks not only has enormous experience as an engineer in projects, but she has an obviously tremendous resume of public service, having served on various commissions. I think that would be helpful if the governor thinks that’s a good choice,” he said. “Obviously, Miss Chukwu has tremendous experience working in the public regulatory field, both in Arizona and Oklahoma, and I think she’s a very qualified choice. I’m not telling the governor who to vote for, but I think the governor should have a variety of choices.”
The committee voted 4-3 to send Hicks’ name to the governor and 5-2 to send Chukwu’s name to the governor.
Retired research chimps to be moved from New Mexico to a Louisiana sanctuary - By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
The National Institutes of Health decided to relocate nearly two dozen retired research chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a sanctuary in Louisiana, a move celebrated Friday by animal advocates who have been fighting for years to get the animals moved.
NIH representatives confirmed in an email that the transfer of the 23 chimps from the Alamogordo Primate Facility at Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico will happen in the coming months.
Staffing issues, namely the planned retirement of the chimps' caretakers, prompted the decision to move the chimps, the agency stated. The animals have not been used as test subjects since 2015, when the NIH retired chimpanzees — humans' closest relatives — from invasive research.
More than 200 were previously moved to the federally supported sanctuary, but the NIH said it was decided in 2019 that some were too frail to be relocated due to their health conditions. They remained at the base under the care of contracted veterinarians and caregivers.
The contractor informed the NIH that a significant number of staff were expected to retire by July 2025.
"Recruitment and training of new staff has proven difficult due to the specialized nature of the work and APF's remote location," the NIH statement said. "Given this uncertainty, NIH has determined that the best course of action for the welfare of all these chimpanzees is to relocate them to the federal sanctuary at Chimp Haven."
Agency spokesperson Amanda Fine said relocating chimpanzees is a complex, time-consuming process and that Chimp Haven will work with the NIH and the facility in Alamogordo to ensure the health and safety of each animal during the move.
The Humane Society of the United States is among the groups that have been sending letters to and petitioning the NIH over the years to relocate the last of the Alamogordo chimps.
The Humane Society of the United States, Animal Protection New Mexico, Humane Society Legislative Fund and others sued the NIH in 2021. In a ruling the following year, a federal judge found that the NIH could not legally refuse sanctuary retirement for the chimpanzees because of their chronic health conditions but declined to direct the agency to move the animals.
"We believe that the extraordinary amount of pressure that has been put on NIH to move them to Chimp Haven -- including the engagement of thousands of our supporters who demanded that the chimps be moved and our winning lawsuit — played a major role in the decision to finally move them to sanctuary," the group said.
The chimps — which range in age from 34 to 62 years old — could have years ahead of them to enjoy life at the sanctuary, advocates said. The sanctuary has cared for hundreds of chimps since the first two animals arrived there in 2005. That includes 214 that were sent there from NIH-supported facilities following the agency's 2015 decision.
Chimp Haven President and CEO Rana Smith said Friday that the sanctuary is close to capacity and will have to build additional living spaces to accommodate the chimps.
The expansion is expected to cost at least $4 million, which will have to be raised from private supporters.
"There are many details to be determined in the weeks to come, but for now, we celebrate this wonderful news for the APF chimps," Smith said.
New Mexico was once home to a large colony of captive-bred chimpanzees, with the animals first brought to the state for space travel testing. Later, the colony was acquired by the Coulston Foundation, and expanded for use with drug testing and infectious disease research.
Animal Protection New Mexico has pressed for the chimpanzees' freedom since the mid-1990s.
"These deserving chimpanzees have endured so much for so long, and their arrival in sanctuary will represent the federal government's honoring of its obligation and commitment to their retirement," said Elisabeth Jennings, the group's executive director.