New Mexico Supreme Court takes up case with McKinley County District Attorney
-KOB
The New Mexico Supreme Court issued an order today accepting jurisdiction in a case calling for the removal of McKinley County District Attorney Bernadine Martin.
KOB reports before the New Mexico Supreme Court could consider the issue of Maritn’s removal, it first had establish its authority to rule on the case.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez is calling for Martin’s removal. The New Mexico Department of Justice claims Martin “repeatedly failed, neglected or refused” to do her job properly.
KOB also reports the Court issued a separate order on Friday, directing all parties to weigh in on whether the Court should consider allegations of misconduct outside of Martin’s current term for her removal.
NM cannabis exec asks NM Supreme Court to overturn Gov’s recent line-item vetoes
-Source NM
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham crossed out several provisions in a $162 million spending package state lawmakers approved during a special session earlier this month.
Source New Mexico reports a prominent New Mexico cannabis CEO contends in a new lawsuit is unconstitutional.
Duke Rodriguez, the CEO of Ultra Health Cannabis who is publicly weighing a run for governor as a Republican, filed a lawsuit Thursday asking the New Mexico Supreme Court to undo the governor’s vetoes.
He argued that the governor striking language from House Bill 1, a spending bill lawmakers approved in early October to counteract federal funding cuts, disrupts the balance of power between the Legislature and the executive branch.
The bill awarded $12 million to the state Health Care Authority “to maintain the minimum federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit for elders and people with disabilities.” But the governor struck the words “minimum federal.”
Rodriguez’s lawsuit argues that removing that language illegally allows the executive branch to expand SNAP benefits beyond the minimum federal requirements, which was not the state Legislature’s intent. The suit also addresses line-item vetoes made elsewhere in the bill.
Jacob Candelaria, a former state senator, is representing Rodriguez in court. Candelaria was a Democrat until his last year in office 2022, when he changed his party designation to “Decline to state.”
He successfully sued Lujan Grisham in 2021 over a similar allegation of the governor usurping the Legislature’s spending power. He argued that lawmakers, not the governor, should be in charge of distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal pandemic funding.
California man charged with trespassing after Rio Grande Gorge Bridge rescue
-Santa Fe New Mexican
A man who was rescued from the Rio Grande Gorge last week, after sheriff's deputies say he became trapped for hours under a ledge while hiking in search of a hot spring, now faces a charge of criminal trespassing.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Casey Waldman, 54, of Huntington Beach, Calif., had climbed into the gorge to look for a hot spring. But, he couldn’t climb back out, and ended up stranding himself roughly 150 feet beneath the ledge.
Waldman was “cursing and irate” with deputies and the person who reported the incident, according to Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera. Deputies later charged Waldman with criminal trespassing, accusing him of illegally climbing into the gorge, which is part of the Rio Grande Gorge National Monument.
Miera said in a statement “This was an unnecessary and avoidable expenditure of County and Town resources.”
Around 1:15 p.m. Oct. 10, Taos County dispatch received a call reporting a man had fallen into the gorge near West Rim Trail on the west side of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The Taos Fire Department, Taos County Fire and Rescue and the Taos County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident.
The gorge’s steep terrain posed complicated challenges to the rescue operation. Taos County Fire and Rescue Lt. Isaac Varela said first responders spent about 20 minutes determining the safest way to reach Waldman.
Security guard arrested in fatal shooting of alleged shoplifter at Spirit Halloween store
– Nakayla McClelland, Albuquerque Journal
A security guard was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a man who reportedly took $90 worth of merchandise from a Halloween store in Northeast Albuquerque yesterday evening.
The Albuquerque Journal’s Nakayla McClelland reports 25-year-old Josiah Armijo was arrested and charged with second-degree murder today. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and does not yet have a lawyer.
Armijo's wife confirmed he was working as a security guard for New Mexico Security Services LLC for "a long time." The manager of the security company declined to comment this morning.
An Albuquerque Police Department spokesman declined to name the shooting victim until his family was notified.
Police were dispatched to the Spirit Halloween store on Carlisle near I-40 around 5 p.m. Security camera footage showed the man walking out of the store with merchandise and Armijo tackling him in the parking lot before shooting him.
APD said the man was not armed.
Gregg Hull planning to focus on problem-solving, not party labels, in race for governor - Dan Boyd, Albuquerque Journal
Gregg Hull knows the dismal recent track record of New Mexico Republicans running for statewide office.
But the Rio Rancho mayor, who officially announced his campaign for governor this week, said he’s optimistic his pragmatic approach to crime, health care, education and other topics can lead to a breakthrough in next year’s race.
“I think for the majority of people in the state it’s not so much about Republican or Democrat anymore, it’s about can we get results,” he said during an interview.
Hull is the first Republican to officially enter the 2026 race for governor, though several other potential GOP candidates have expressed interest in the contest.
He initially planned to launch his gubernatorial campaign in June, after confirming his plans to run in April.
But Hull said he decided to delay the planned launch in order to travel the state and watch how the gubernatorial field took shape.
“I could have spent a lot of money on a kickoff campaign, or I could invest my time in actually getting around New Mexico,” said Hull, who estimated he has taken part in at least 30 parades around the state over the last several months.
He said the response from voters during his campaign swing was largely positive, while adding that many state residents were familiar with his work as Rio Rancho’s mayor.
After Hull decided to move forward with his gubernatorial bid, he formally launched his campaign this week by releasing a nearly two-minute video, something he said was done in an attempt to keep his campaign as efficient as possible.
While Hull said he plans to ramp up his fundraising efforts, whoever wins the Republican Party nomination in June 2026 will likely face a well-funded Democratic opponent in next year’s general election.
Democratic candidates Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman both reported hefty campaign hauls this week, with Haaland reporting more than $4 million in donations during a recent six-month reporting period and Bregman taking in nearly $2.5 million.
But Hull said he’s not daunted by the race’s financial landscape or the fact that no Republican has won a statewide race in New Mexico since Judith Nakamura won election to the state Supreme Court in 2016.
“As the only declared candidate on the Republican side, we don’t need a lot of cash right now, quite frankly,” he said. “We’ve had the liberty to get out and talk with people without any opposition whatsoever.”
He also said he’s planning to tout his record on public safety, economic development and infrastructure issues as Rio Rancho mayor, a post he’s held since 2014.
“Obviously to be a formidable opponent you’re going to have to have a message of success, and we have that,” Hull said.
He also said recent New Mexico governors have embraced a “one-size-fits-all” approach, instead of working with local leaders on plans that best fit their communities.
Hull’s current term as mayor runs through March’s local election in Rio Rancho, and he has not decided whether he will seek another term as he also pursues his gubernatorial campaign.
Yazzie/Martinez draft plan angers Indigenous education experts and advocates - Bella Davis, New Mexico In-Depth
Indigenous education experts and advocates are outraged over the state’s draft action plan for improving education, which they say lacks detail and fails to meaningfully incorporate community input.
“We may be stuck with something that is unconscionable” if the Public Education Department doesn’t make changes before it submits the final plan to the court in early November, said Regis Pecos, a former governor of Cochiti Pueblo and co-director of the Leadership Institute at Santa Fe Indian School. “There has been a growing consensus that this is not what we need, and this is not what our children deserve.”
Pecos made those remarks Tuesday during a five-hour gathering attended by dozens of people just north of Albuquerque.
It’s been over seven years since a state judge in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez court case found New Mexico was violating its constitutional duty to provide a sufficient education to Native American and low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.
The plaintiffs went back to court last fall, arguing the state wasn’t complying with the 2018 ruling. In April, another state judge agreed, setting an October deadline for PED to deliver a draft plan.
The 70-page document the agency crafted in response is “dismal,” said Melissa Candelaria (San Felipe Pueblo), education director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and attorney for the Yazzie plaintiffs. The draft, she said, is limited in concrete goals and funding estimates.
It’s so vague that it’s “almost useless,” said Rep. Derrick Lente, a Democrat from Sandia Pueblo who’s considered a champion for tribal education.
Asked for a response to those criticisms, PED spokesperson Janelle Taylor García wrote, “We appreciate the engagement from education experts, tribal leaders, and community stakeholders during this critical period.”
Any feedback “will help shape the final version of the plan,” García said. The final plan is due Nov. 3, after which the plaintiffs will be able to file objections.
But some education experts and advocates are frustrated that, in their view, the department hasn’t fully integrated feedback it’s received for years, most recently at public meetings held around the state in August.
Tribal communities have long called on the state to carry out the 2003 Indian Education Act, which is meant to ensure students receive an education that connects to their cultures, in part through Native language instruction, following a not-so-distant history of violent attempts at assimilation.
“Where our children spend the greater amount of their time during the course of the day, during the course of the year, that’s where they should also see themselves, their languages, their cultures and their history,” Pecos said. “The survival of language and culture is truly at stake.”
Christine Sims (Acoma Pueblo), an associate professor in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies, presented a number of gaps she identified in the draft.
For instance, one of the goals the draft sets is that every community will have access to high-quality programming that leads to literacy in English and a second language, including Native languages.
But the draft doesn’t spell out how schools will provide more Native language classes. It lists “tribal partners” as one of the parties responsible for helping to meet that goal of increased biliteracy, but it doesn’t factor in how districts and schools could collaborate with tribal nations to evaluate existing language programs and design new ones. The draft also doesn’t list specific instructional materials needed for language classes, Sims said, adding that teachers are often left to create such materials on their own.
And aside from one mention of Jicarilla Apache students, the draft does not name the eight Native languages spoken by the 23 federally recognized tribes in New Mexico, nor does it mention tribes by name.
That’s a problem, Sims said, because identifying those languages is the first step in assessing the programs schools offer and what’s needed.
During a presentation focused on well-being and behavioral supports, Chenoa Bah Stilwell-Jensen (Diné), a UNM instructor focused on health education, said a man in Farmington she spoke with was troubled that he and his wife were not contacted about the individualized education program for the grandson they’re raising, who has autism.
Some Taos families have similar concerns, said Glenabah Martinez (Taos Pueblo/Diné), director of the Institute for American Indian Education at UNM. She questions what the state plans to do to make sure special education is culturally relevant.
The draft doesn’t meet nine key components the Yazzie legal team outlined earlier this year, Martinez said. Those components — including developing robust accountability mechanisms — “push the boundaries of what we should do in terms of curriculum, instruction, assessment, policy,” Martinez said.
“We’re this many years in, and we’re still fighting for our children,” plaintiff Wilhelmina Yazzie (Diné) said. “Coming to you as a mother, it’s heartbreaking to see.”
Stephanie Garcia Richard suspends run for lieutenant governor, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver considers run - Santa Fe New Mexican
Outgoing State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard is suspending her campaign for lieutenant governor.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Garcia Richard says she made the decision after her husband of 26 years, Eric Velasquez, was diagnosed with cancer. Garcia Richard says the demands of campaigning were incompatible with her husband's health needs.
Garcia Richard is leaving the land commissioner office due to term limits. She was the first Democrat to announce a run for lieutenant governor in the current cycle.
Democratic State Sen. Harold Pope of Albuquerque and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver are also considering running for Lieutenant Governor.
Toulouse Oliver is also leaving her current job due to term limits. She’s New Mexico’s longest-serving secretary of state and a former Bernalillo county clerk.
The New Mexican reports Garcia Richard didn't rule out getting back into the race. The primary is next June, and the general election is in November next year.
New Mexico opens economic office in Mexico City, aiming to boost cross-border relations - Natalie Robbins, Albuquerque Journal
Though relations between the United States and Mexico have been strained during the Trump administration, New Mexico state officials say the relationship between the Land of Enchantment and its neighbor across the border is as strong as ever.
This month, the state of New Mexico opened a new economic development and tourism office in the World Trade Center in Mexico City, in the hopes of facilitating trade, tourism and economic collaboration between New Mexico and Mexico, EDD officials said.
“We’re just reinforcing that that relationship hasn’t changed between New Mexico and Mexico,” Black said. “In fact, we see it as a growing opportunity for our economy.”
The office will help facilitate trade between New Mexico and Mexico and foster new opportunities, Black said.
In addition to tourism and cultural exchanges, the office will help students from New Mexico travel across the border for academic opportunities, and will recruit students from Mexico to study at New Mexico’s public universities, according to Black.
“We think that there’s great opportunities for both cultural and educational exchange,” Black said.
New Mexico’s other foreign economic development office is in Taiwan, according to EDD officials.
The support from both sides of the border for the initiative has been “unprecedented,” said Patricia Pinzón, the Consul of Mexico in Albuquerque.
Mexican and New Mexican officials signed a letter of intent Oct. 7 in Mexico City, affirming the two governments’ wishes to develop cross-border ties.
Mexico is the state’s largest export market, according to federal trade data. New Mexico exported $7 billion in goods to Mexico last year, accounting for 58% of the state’s total exports.
“Mexico is the first trading partner of New Mexico, and not only at the commercial or economic level. We are extremely united in many ways,” she said.
The team did not encounter any difficulties at the federal level when opening the Mexico City office, Pinzón said.
“We are very happy to work with this state that is so, so welcoming of Mexico and so immigrant-friendly,” she said.