Ethics subcommittee considers harassment allegation against Sen. Mimi Stewart - by Danielle Prokop and Austin Fisher, Source New Mexico
Lawmakers deliberated behind closed doors for more than an hour-and-a-half Friday afternoon about whether a high-ranking New Mexico senator will face discipline over alleged harassment of a legislative staffer.
Four state senators on the interim Legislative Ethics Committee and a retired New Mexico Supreme Court justice concluded their discussion before 5 p.m., but as of publication had not issued the written order containing its recommendations, according to Chris Nordstrom, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats. Source will update this story when it does.
Friday’s hearing centered on whether an email exchange and phone call in February between Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) and legislative staffer Michelle Jaschke, violated the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy.
Jaschke did not respond to messages seeking comment Friday afternoon on the committee’s recommendation.
Employment and labor lawyer Lorna Wiggins, who served as special counsel in the matter for the Ethics Committee’s investigative subcommittee, on May 18 issued her report after interviewing Jaschke and Stewart. Source NM requested a copy of the report from the Legislative Council Service but did not receive a copy prior to publication.
On Friday, Wiggins summarized her findings to the committee.
Jaschke, the capital outlay programs coordinator for the Legislative Council Service, emailed Stewart on Feb. 27 some time after 5 p.m. to ask about her capital outlay funding request — to help finance projects in lawmakers’ districts which had been due at 5 p.m. the day before.
In response, Stewart wrote: “WE SENT IT TO YOU YESTERDAY AFTERNOON AROUND 3:30…” according to a copy of the email Stewart’s attorney Ray Vargas presented to the committee.
Moments later, Stewart called Jaschke, “screaming at her using what she deemed pejorative language, including calling her stupid for not knowing that the sheet had already been turned in,” Wiggins said.
Jaschke told Wiggins that Stewart’s “verbal attack” affected her mental and physical well-being, including her ability to sleep, and that she took at least one sick day because “she was angry and upset at the interaction.”
Wiggins said Stewart acknowledged yelling at Jaschke, admitted using an angry tone during their phone call and admitted she may have used the word “stupid” during the call. Stewart also conceded that using all-capital letters is the equivalent of yelling at someone, Wiggins said.
Wiggins argued Stewart’s actions rose to the level of harassment because a reasonable person in Jaschke’s position would view the email and call as “hurtful, demeaning and caused her discomfort,” and could conclude it was “humiliating, intimidating and insulting.”
In his defense of her, Vargas said Stewart regretted her actions and later apologized. Moreover, he argued, the policy’s harassment definition requires “threatening, intimidating or coercive” verbal or physical behavior.
Stewart, he said, in a “high-stress moment, lost her cool and she was impolite to Ms. Jaschke. No, she wasn’t just impolite, she was downright rude,” Vargas said. “What she wasn’t though, was harassing, certainly not under the way harassment is defined under this policy.”
Vargas read a statement from Stewart reiterating her regrets about the incidents:
“I believe it’s important that we legislators treat everyone with kindness and respect, especially our staff,” the statement said. “During the legislative session, when all of us are rushed, under pressure and tempers can flare, it’s even more important to exhibit calmness and kindness. I regret that I failed to do that with Michelle. When I was informed of her reaction, I sent her a letter of apology. I stand by that apology, I plan to continue to monitor my reactions to others. I’m seeing a mental health counselor now to ensure my kindness and respect for others is on solid footing, and I’m committed to always learning from others and growing in my ability to help others.”
Vargas warned that if the committee decided to punish Stewart, it could have far-reaching implications for the Legislature as a whole.
“Everyone in the Roundhouse will be walking on eggshells,” Vargas said. “Everyone will be afraid to say the wrong thing, or afraid that if they’re passionate about a subject, it’s going to get confused for harassment.”
Legislative ed committee offers recommendations for improving New Mexico students’ math performance - by Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
Only about one in four New Mexico students are proficient in math, according to a Legislative Education Study Committee brief presented to members Thursday.
Members of the LESC met in Las Vegas this week on the New Mexico Highlands University campus. Thursday’s agenda included the topic of math proficiency in the state, which has remained steadily low. LESC Deputy Director Jessica Hathaway pointed out to lawmakers that this trend of low math proficiency in New Mexico is also evident across the country.
According to the brief, U.S. students’ math performance declined “significantly” between 2018 and 2022, while reading and science scores remained steady. The brief cites the Program for International Student Assessment, an assessment conducted internationally every three years that measures reading, math and science literacy of 15-year-olds.
The U.S. placed 26th out of 81 in the 2022 assessment, the most recently conducted, while the country placed sixth in reading and 10th in science.
“Math proficiency peaks in fifth grade in New Mexico, where we see a 32% proficiency rate. But you also see this line drop right after that point,” Hathaway said during the meeting. “By the end of middle school, in eighth grade, we see a 19% proficiency rate across all student groups. And by 11th grade, we see a 12% proficiency rate across all student groups.”
Hathaway detailed how other states in the country have started to address their own math systems through legislation and practice. Common threads include universal math screening at early ages to catch dyscalculia and other possible learning difficulties; intervention plans for at-risk students; high-quality learning materials; professional development and teacher preparation programs; and improving parent engagement.
She also pointed out that several of these components were included in Senate Bill 235, introduced by Sen. Bill Soules (D-Las Cruces) during the recent session; however, the bill died in committee. At the time, the bill was described as a similar approach to math as structured literacy is to reading.
Sen. Gabriel Ramos (R-Silver City) asked whether there is a program or method of education for math that would mimic structured literacy. The LESC brief noted that there is not a universal “science of math” program.
“What we’re seeing is that states are actually having to create those training programs, so that’s what we mean whenever we say there’s not a clean science of math,” Hathaway said. “That being said, one part I do want to pull out is that there is a very, very substantial body of research about effective math instruction that can inform policy.”
The brief provided a list of recommendations for the state Legislature, the New Mexico Public Education Department, teacher preparation programs and school districts, which include the state codifying expectations for math instruction, screening and intervention; the PED revising teacher licensure requirements; preparation programs requiring math methods coursework for all licensure pathways; and districts investing in math coaches or interventionists and engaging parents as partners in students’ learning.
Soules, a former math teacher and chair of the LESC, said he was encouraged by the end of the discussion Thursday, “because it’s not something we dig into as we’re very, very focused on the reading side of things.”
UNM central campus closed following fatal shooting - Bryce Dix, KUNM News
University of New Mexico police are warning residents living near and around central campus in Albuquerque to shelter in place following an early morning shooting of two people at the Casas Del Rio student dormitories at 420 Redondo Drive.
A police emergency message said one of the victims is deceased and the other has sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The suspect remains at-large and may still be on campus.
UNM has closed its Albuquerque central campus – the Health Sciences Center and all related clinics are still open.
While multiple officers from various agencies are on scene and actively investigating, officials are urging the public to avoid the area.
Those on campus are asked to remain in place while officers conduct a sweep in search of the shooting suspect.
The Albuquerque Journal reports about 400 new students were on campus for orientation, which included staying overnight in the dorms Thursday. The New Student Orientation has been cancelled. The new students are sheltering in place in Hokona Hall and at least one other dorm. They will be transported by bus back to a parking structure when authorities have cleared the campus.
UNM Police Lt. Tim Delgado confirmed no students taking part in the orientation were shot.
In an emailed statement, Rep. Marianna Anaya (D-Albuquerque) who represents District 18 — which includes the University of New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College, and the Nob Hill and university areas — wrote that the shooting is "yet another reminder of the urgent need to address gun violence and historical trauma" in New Mexico.
Those with information about this incident should call UNMPD at 505-277-2241. Also, anonymous tips can be made via Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP, the Crime Stoppers app, or at crimestoppersnm.com.
The story is still developing as authorities investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
New Mexico seeks judge’s order to sample PFAS at Cannon Air Force Base - Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
New Mexico state officials have asked a state court to order Cannon Air Force to allow inspectors to test for toxic substances, after Cannon officials on July 15 prohibited them from doing so.
Inspectors had sought to sample for per-and-polyfluoroalkyl substances — a class of toxic chemicals that have contaminated multiple groundwater sites in the state. While health effects are still being studied, PFAS exposure has been linked to increased cancer rates, decreased fertility and immune system damage.
In December 2018, New Mexico regulators issued a permit to Cannon Air Force Base in December 2018, requiring cleanup of PFAS contamination of the air, soil, surface water and groundwater stemming from decades of use of PFAS-laded firefighting foams. The following year, the U.S. Department of Defense filed suit and alleged New Mexico’s efforts to mandate cleanup of PFAS contamination in the Ogalla Aquifer overstepped the state’s authority on hazardous waste.
PFAS contamination from Cannon infiltrated nearby dairy cows in Clovis, resulting in the euthanasia and disposal of more than 3,000 cows in October 2022. Recent studies found the plants and animals at Holloman Lake outside of Alamogordo contain the highest levels of measured PFAS in the world.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and the New Mexico Environment Department submitted a motion to a Santa Fe judge Wednesday arguing for immediate access to the base and an order requiring air force officials to follow terms of the hazardous waste permit. The motion was an update to the new lawsuit filed against Cannon Air Force Base in June.
Cannon officials, however, said in a July 18 statement that the denial was prompted by the ongoing federal litigation.
“While NMED sought to collect samples for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the Air Force could not authorize PFAS sampling due to ongoing litigation over NMED’s authority to regulate PFAS as a hazardous waste,” the statement read. “However, Cannon did offer sampling opportunities for hazardous waste covered by its permit.”
When reached for further comment, Major. Jaclyn Pienkowski, a spokesperson for Cannon Air Force Base referred Source NM back to the July 18 statement.
State officials said the denial violated the permit and state laws, including a measure lawmakers passed in the 2025 session. House Bill 140 expanded the state’s authority to require the cleanup of firefighting foams containing PFAS at military bases in New Mexico.
“Denying access to state inspectors to sample for toxic PFAS contamination while claiming to value relationships and embrace transparency is downright insulting to New Mexicans,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said in a statement. “For years, the U.S. Air Force’s promises have contradicted their harmful actions towards communities and regulators — a-tired pattern from Washington bureaucrats with no connection to our families, land, or water.”
Trump order calls for tougher stance on homeless encampments, public drug use - By Olivier Uyttebrouck and Gillian Barkhurst, Albuquerque Journal
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at requiring cities to take a more muscular approach to homelessness, mental illness and drug use.
The order calls on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to redirect federal funding into programs that enforce prohibitions on homeless encampments and “open illicit drug use.” It also takes aim at harm-reduction and safe-space programs that are intended to prevent diseases, overdoses and reduce violence for people who struggle with substance abuse and homelessness.
Advocates for the homeless said Thursday that the order would be impossible to implement in New Mexico, where treatment facilities and shelter beds are in short supply.
“We don’t have a strong enough behavioral health system to accommodate something like what (Trump) is talking about,” said Monet Silva, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness. State lawmakers have made efforts to address the shortage in recent sessions “but it’s not built,” she said.
Albuquerque has an estimated 2,740 people experiencing homelessness, compared with a total of 1,284 shelter beds available, according to the organization’s 2024 point-in-time count.
On Thursday, several unhoused people congregating outside homeless service provider HopeWorks didn’t see how the order would work.
Carlos said it would be difficult to provide drug treatment to Albuquerque’s unhoused with the state’s lacking resources. Alex, who said she has been waiting for housing since becoming homeless in 2022, couldn’t picture the unhoused being forcibly removed from public spaces.
The National Homelessness Law Center, in a statement, called the order a return to “backwards, expensive and ineffective policies” that expand the use of law enforcement and institutionalization to respond to homelessness. “This Executive Order is rooted in outdated, racist myths about homelessness and will undoubtedly make homelessness worse,” according to the statement.
Albuquerque officials said they have not had time to study Trump’s order.
“City staff will thoroughly review the executive order to determine its specific impacts and how the City intends to protect our unhoused population,” a spokesperson for Mayor Tim Keller’s office said in a statement.
The Republican Party of New Mexico did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
Trump’s order also calls for a more vigorous use of the civil commitment process to direct people with mental health and substance abuse problems into treatment facilities.
The order calls for increased use of civil commitment to ensure that people with mental illness “who pose risks to themselves or the public” are committed to “appropriate facilities for appropriate periods of time.”
Civil commitment, sometimes called involuntary commitment, allows a judge to commit someone into treatment for mental illness against their wishes.
“Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order,” the order states.
The order, published on the White House’s website, said the number of homeless living on the streets in a single night in the U.S. peaked at 274,000 under the Biden Administration and contends that the majority “are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both.” Overall, experts believe there are more than 771,000 homeless in America, up from an average of 550,000 pre-pandemic.
The order directs Bondi to end legal barriers that would encourage civil commitment of people with mental illness “who pose a risk to themselves or the public.”
New Mexico lawmakers have grappled with the issue of court-supervised treatment for people with mental illness.
Lawmakers scrapped a bill last year intended to expand court-supervised outpatient treatment for people with mental illness. Some lawmakers said that a shortage of behavioral health treatment options in New Mexico is an underlying problem that makes any changes in civil commitment laws difficult to enforce.
Multiple people rescued, at least one home destroyed as floods strike Ruidoso - Albuquerque Journal
Heavy rain and hail over a burn scar caused the Rio Ruidoso to rise a dozen feet Thursday — leading to several people being rescued and at least one home destroyed.
Village of Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden said 3 inches of rain and hail fell on the South Fork burn scar in an hour, sending debris-filled floodwaters rushing downhill. The waters, she said, carried away a home in the Paradise Canyon area.
A video, widely shared over social media, showed a home swept downstream by the floodwaters, breaking apart as it hit trees and other obstacles. Gladden said one person was rescued from a vehicle and four others from homes.
She said nobody was injured, killed or reported missing from the floods.
During a July 8 flood, in which the river rose more than 20 feet, two children and a man were killed after being swept away from an RV park.
The village nestled in the mountains of south-central New Mexico has been inundated by floods all summer and was placed under yet another flash flood warning Thursday afternoon.
During the ensuing downpour, the Rio Ruidoso rose to around 12 feet on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Around 1 p.m., people began posting videos to the Ruidoso Community Support Page on Facebook showing floodwaters gushing through the village and the Rio Ruidoso overflowing its banks.
The village of Ruidoso reported several road closures and the Public Service Company of New Mexico reported several power outages in the area Thursday afternoon, but power was restored by 3:30 p.m.
Gladden said the village has been staging rescue crews anytime a flood warning is issued, and the crews go to work as soon as floodwaters recede enough to do so.
“Unfortunately, we are getting very good at that,” Gladden said.
The village advised those in need of assistance to visit the Disaster Resource Center at the Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso annex at 709 Mecham Drive. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Shelters have been established at the ENMU Ruidoso campus and the Ruidoso Community Center, 501 Sudderth Drive.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump issued a major disaster declaration for recovery efforts in the Ruidoso area following the deadly flooding on July 8.
Top-ranking NM Senate Democrat faces ethics hearing after internal investigation - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
A top-ranking New Mexico Senate Democrat is facing a rare public ethics hearing Friday, after being accused of violating the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy.
No details have been released about the allegations against Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, who said Thursday she could not yet discuss the case.
Legislative Council Service Director Shawna Casebier said the complaint against Stewart is going through the process established in the anti-harassment policy, but also declined further comment.
Under the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy, complaints against legislators are initially kept confidential and are considered by top-ranking legislators — including lawmakers from both political parties — and an outside expert. If a complaint is deemed to have merit, it is then forwarded to an investigative subcommittee for further review.
If that committee determines probable cause exists, the matter is sent on to a separate panel that must hold a formal hearing and weigh the evidence in the case to decide whether sanctions should be imposed.
Due to the secretive nature of the process, it’s unclear how many ethics complaints have been filed against legislators in recent years.
A 2022 complaint against former Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto did become public, although it did not result in a public hearing being held. Ivey-Soto said at the time his lawyer was told the case against him had been closed with no recommendation for discipline.
That case prompted calls from outside groups for the Legislature’s handling of ethics complaints to be revised, but no changes were ultimately made.
The anti-harassment policy was last updated by lawmakers in 2018, after a slew of sexual misconduct claims in New Mexico and around the nation. The policy covers sexual harassment, along with harassment based on age, race, gender, religion and other factors.
Lawmakers who are found to have violated the anti-harassment policy face sanctions that include reprimand, censure or expulsion from the Legislature.
No legislator has been expelled from the body in recent years, though former Sen. Phil Griego, a San Miguel County Democrat, resigned in 2015 while facing a possible removal vote.
Stewart is the Legislature’s second-longest-serving member, having served in the Senate since 2015 after previously representing an Albuquerque-based state House seat for roughly 20 years.
She was elected the Senate’s president pro tem in 2021, following former Sen. Mary Kay Papen’s defeat in the previous year’s primary election. In her current post, Stewart plays a key role in choosing Senate committee chairs and determining committee assignments.
The Friday meeting of the hearing subcommittee of the Interim Legislative Ethics Committee to consider the allegations against Stewart will be held remotely.