Duke Rodriguez officially announces campaign for governor - Albuquerque Journal Staff Report
Duke Rodriguez, a cannabis entrepreneur and a health care system executive, is officially in the race for governor.
A Cabinet secretary under former Gov. Gary Johnson, Rodriguez for months had been weighing a bid and speaking with local and national GOP leaders. His announcement was made in a paid advertisement that was published in the Sunday Journal.
"Most political candidates start their campaigns off with a huge announcement party. I view this as a waste. I'd rather get to work making our state better, so I've created this letter to you as a means of announcement and as an impassioned plea for your help," he wrote.
State Sen. Steve Lanier, R-Aztec, and Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull have already announced their campaigns as Republican candidates for governor in 2026. Democratic candidates Sam Bregman, the 2nd Judicial District attorney; Deb Haaland, former U.S. Interior Secretary; and Ken Miyagashima, former Las Cruces mayor, are also in the race.
As a former secretary of the state's Human Services Department, Rodriguez said he would bring extensive experience in Medicaid and other health care issues to the governor's office. He is currently the president and CEO of Ultra Health, a cannabis company. His campaign announcement mentioned guaranteed health care for New Mexicans and getting more nutrition assistance funding to people who need it most.
"Politicians won't like these ideas, but they're necessary because New Mexico is not a poor state ... it's just poorly run," he wrote.
Santa Fe City Manager Mark Scott to resign Jan. 1 after dramatic council meeting - Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe City Manager Mark Scott is resigning after a little less than a year on the job. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Scott gave his resignation to the city last Thursday following a dramatic City Council meeting Wednesday night.
Santa Fe is approaching a municipal changing of the guard, as current council member Michael Garcia will be the city’s next mayor. At Wednesday’s meeting, Garcia clashed with others present during an emotional discussion of a complicated problem with the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The conflict involved a budget adjustment of over $3 million to make up for a disparity that city staff identified between the amount of money budgeted for the fund and what was actually spent.
Garcia asked why the disparities in the account had not been brought to the council’s attention earlier and asked who knew about it. Scott defended city staff.
Scott accused Garcia of implying that staff were concealing the problem from the council. Scott described the implication as offensive and characterized Garcia as unfair. Garcia blamed the entire situation on the administration of outgoing mayor Alan Webber.
Scott says he’ll resign, effective Jan. 1st, but plans to return to his family’s home in Fresno, Calif., where he plans to work remotely for the rest of the month.
Scott was hired in February.
Deputy City Manager Andrea Phillips will serve as acting on-site city manager for the rest of December.
'We are going to raise the rails': NMDOT makes historic commitment to suicide barriers at Rio Grande Gorge Bridge - John Miller, Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico Department of Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna announced at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on Friday that the state will construct higher curved railings for the 60-year-old structure, responding to a spike in suicides there this year and the bridge's longstanding reputation as a magnet for people in crisis.
Serna made the historic announcement at the Community Rally for Accountability, one of two gatherings held at the bridge this fall in response to seven suicides in 2025, including three in the month of September. A day before Friday's rally, the Taos County Sheriff's Office recovered the body of a Colorado woman from below the bridge, marking the seventh such death there this year.
"A higher rail can interrupt a moment," Serna told a crowd of local residents, politicians and sheriff's deputies, some of whom participated in Thursday's body recovery operation. "A conversation can interrupt a spiral. Compassion can interrupt despair, and a connection can truly save a life."
An engineering study the NMDOT commissioned this fall determined it will cost the state roughly $8 million to complete the project, which will require the replacement of the bridge's current sidewalks using "lightweight concrete" to help the structure support the heavier railings. The steel arch bridge, which was built in 1965, may also be repainted in the process. A closure the state ordered for the bridge's sidewalks this fall is still being enforced.
"We need concrete interventions now," said Carlos Miller, a former president of the True Kids 1 Youth Council, speaking at Friday's rally. "We cannot continue to let lives be lost to this bridge."
John Nettles, a longtime river guide and swift water rescue expert who attended Friday's gathering, estimated he has discovered the remains of up to 12 suicide victims below the bridge over the last 16 years. The section of river below the bridge is a popular rafting and kayaking spot, known for its challenging rapids.
According to data the sheriff's office shared with the Journal this week, a total of 58 people have died by suicide at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge since 2000, with an average of three deaths annually.
"This is a time-sensitive issue, getting these rails raised," Nettles said, adding that there's a misperception that halting one suicide attempt is only delaying another. "I think a lot of people misunderstand how suicide works. A lot of times if you can just break that momentum, they'll be able to clear their head and move through it and onto the rest of their life."
The bridge has for years been equipped with crisis phone lines and now is patrolled by three security guards employed through the state. However, advocates for safety enhancements at the bridge argue that the structure's 4-foot-tall railings make it too easy to jump, minimizing the window for people in crisis to reconsider their decision or for someone else to intervene.
Steven Adelsheim, director of the Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing at Stanford School of Medicine, said suicide at the bridge is just one part of a complex problem — he said it's important that the Taos community looks for ways to provide its population with additional mental health resources as part of a continuum of care.
"I worked for many years as the director of school mental health programs in New Mexico," he told the Journal, "and I continue to believe there can be expanded support for young people, both from the school district, school mental health professional staff as well as from community mental health agencies, who also can provide an additional level of confidentiality for mental health services for young people."
The Taos County Sheriff's Office has borne the brunt of the responsibility for recovering the bodies of people who die due to suicide at the bridge. Missions are often led directly by Steve Miera, the county sheriff. Lt. Marvin Armijo said each mission ends with a debriefing process, in which team leaders conduct a mental health check of every deputy involved with recovering a body.
"It's never easy to see — the aftermath," Armijo said. "Having to break the news to a loved one, having to break the news to families, to kids, you know, they lost a loved one. It's not easy for us. It impacts everyone as a whole, not just the people who have lost a loved one, but it also impacts us to see the aftermath and to have to relay the death notifications. It's never easy."
Serna said the design of the new sidewalks and railings is expected by June, with a goal to begin construction in July and finish by summer's end. The announcement of the project's timeline was met by applause from attendees at Friday's rally, which was organized by True Kids 1 and Help Outreach Taos.
"We are going to raise the rails," Serna said. "We are going to raise awareness. We are raising responsibility and raising our commitment to mental health and its care across New Mexico. While physical infrastructure matters, we also know that we cannot build our way out of the mental health crisis with railings alone."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The New Mexico Crisis and Access Line can also be reached at 855-662-7474 (855-NMCRISIS).
Prolonged bridge closure in Española leaves businesses on shaky ground - Santa Fe New Mexican
Espanola, communities and businesses have a new concern during this particular holiday season: The ongoing closure of the Oñate Bridge.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the state Department of Transportation closed the decades-old bridge back in early June.
Officials cited concerns about the bridge’s safety in advance of an anticipated heavy monsoon.
Specifically, engineers feared that erosion around one of the bridge’s piers had become such that a high river flow event could make the bridge unstable.
The New Mexican reports that since the June closure, locals say they’ve received little to no information about what’s going to happen next.
The New Mexican also reports that the newspaper has asked the state to provide a copy of the report outlining the state’s plans for the bridge, but still has not received the document.
As a result, the newspaper filed a formal request for the report Thursday under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.
Espanola Mayor John Ramon Vigil told the New Mexican he’s “very concerned” the bridge will remain closed permanently.
A town hall meeting on the fate of the bridge is scheduled for Monday evening, at Plaza Convento, located at 101 Calle de las Espanolas.
City and Department of Transportation officials are scheduled to be present.
Monday evening’s meeting is set to begin at 5:30.