NM Gov names former Lincoln County commissioner to state Senate
—Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday appointed Rex Wilson, a former healthcare administrator and longtime rancher, to assume a vacant state Senate seat ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
Wilson, a Republican, will represent Senate District 33, following the resignation of Alamogordo Republican Nicholas Paul last fall due to health issues. Wilson will serve the remainder of the term until the Nov. 3, 2026 general election.
Because Senate District 33 covers part of Chaves, Lincoln and Otero counties, all three commissions met to consider and submit nominees to the governor.
Wilson was one of three candidates county commissions put forward for the governor’s consideration. Chaves County’s commission nominated Wilson; Lincoln County commissioners nominated their commission chair, Mark Fischer; and Otero County picked current state Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo).
Wilson told Source New Mexico on Thursday that he is eager to get to work, namely on healthcare and agricultural issues, though he did not have any plans as of Thursday to introduce legislation or co-sponsor any particular bills.
“I don’t come with a loaded agenda,” he said. “More than anything is, just get acquainted and build the right relationships in this session and make a difference.”
He also said he is eager to work with Republicans and Democrats in the majority, particularly on health care issues. “I’m a conservative, but also a realist,” he said.
Wilson was the Southern region healthcare administrator at Presbyterian Medical Service until 2024 and touts 18 years of healthcare experience, according to a cover letter he presented to county commissions. He is also a multigenerational rancher in Lincoln County who was the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association Cattleman of the Year in 2017.
He also founded Camp Sierra Blanca at Fort Stanton, a “nationally recognized alternative education model” that gives troubled young people a “second chance through non-traditional pathways,” he said in his cover letter.
Wilson’s arrival at the Senate maintains Republicans’ 16 seats in the chamber. Democrats currently hold 26 seats.
Sen. Bill Sharer, the Senate minority leader, said in a statement that Wilson’s “contributions in the Legislature will benefit every New Mexican and he will make a great addition to our New Mexico Senate Republican Caucus.”
The state Republican Party earlier this week criticized Lujan Grisham for not having filled the seat following Paul’s mid-October resignation. In a news release, the party noted the upcoming Jan. 12 deadline for capital outlay requests and said the delayed appointment created a disadvantage for whomever the governor chose “in their efforts to represent their constituents in southern New Mexico.”
Wilson told Source that he did not think the governor unnecessarily delayed his appointment.
“I do know they did their homework. I’ll just say that,” he said of the governor’s office. “I don’t think there was any strategy behind it other than just doing their homework.”
NM congresswoman celebrates House passage of health care insurance subsidies
—Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico) on Thursday called the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of a measure to renew health insurance subsidies that expired at the end of 2025 “a huge deal,” in a call with news media.
“These subsidies help to massively expand the number of uninsured individuals to actually have access to health care,” said Stansbury, who represents the state’s 1st Congressional District. The bill advanced on a 230-196 vote, with 17 Republicans joining House Democrats to send it to the Senate.
The expiration of subsidies created by Congress in 2021 for the Affordable Care Act was the main factor in prompting the longest ever federal government shutdown late last year.
Republicans wouldn’t agree to extend subsidies for the cost of health care insurance in state marketplaces, so millions of Americans as of January face increases for the costs of copays, deductibles, and premiums.
Just before the holiday recess, four Republican members joined House Democrats in forcing the vote, defying Republican leadership. On Wednesday — in a new session of Congress — nine Republicans joined Democrats on the procedural action to take up the issue.
Stansbury said the current version of the bill, which extends tax subsidies for the next three years, will likely see changes in the Senate, where similar measures failed to advance in December.
“But it does create a new political pathway and pressure in the Senate and with the White House, especially with Republican support, to get some sort of extension, hopefully, in the coming weeks,” Stansbury said.
While the sticker shock is driving declines for enrollment in other states, New Mexico earlier this week reported a third enrollment increase.
Prior to the subsidies’ expiration, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state lawmakers in a special legislative session in October, approved $17.3 million to offset the costs of tax credits, covering the portion the federal government paid for 6,000 New Mexicans whose income is more than 400% of the federal poverty level.
Stansbury on Thursday praised the state government’s “very proactive” actions during the special session, but said Congressional action for the extension would be needed to ensure the approximately 27,000 New Mexicans currently requiring state assistance can access health insurance coverage.
In her budget request for the 2027 fiscal year, Lujan Grisham proposed the Legislature allot more than $81 million during the upcoming 2026 Legislative session to “to keep health insurance affordable for New Mexicans.” The Legislative Finance Committee’s version of the budget proposal recommends earmarking $126.6 million to the state’s Health Care Affordability Fund to lower the costs for health care.
In addition to the health care subsidies, Stansbury expressed condolences during the call with news outlets for the family of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed Wednesday by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis.
“Many across the United States, including in New Mexico, are feeling afraid,” Stansbury said. “We’re receiving literally hundreds of calls from New Mexicans right now, who are scared about what might happen next, what the administration might do next, whether or not they’re going to come and invade our community.”
She said she and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) will bring articles of impeachment against U.S. Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem, saying the department has “has abused its authority, as committed acts of violence,” and also cited the reports of Noem’s alleged self-dealing in violation of ethics rules.
She told members of the news media that she was not necessarily concerned about an increased presence of immigration authorities in New Mexico. “The risk is there, but we are doing all of the things that we can as both the members of Congress, state officials and local officials to make sure the New Mexicans are safe and that the legal rights of New Mexicans are protected,” she said.
Proposed legislation would prohibit book banning in New Mexico public libraries – Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
Ahead of the upcoming 30-day legislative session, a state lawmaker has introduced the first in an expected series of proposed bills that would prohibit banning books in public libraries.
State Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho) pre-filed House Bill 26 last week, which, along with prohibiting book banning, would also require publicly run libraries to establish a procedure for people to challenge library materials “believed to be obscene, unlawful or incompatible with the library’s purpose;” prohibit retaliation against library employees; and would make public libraries ineligible for state funding if they do not follow state law.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will have to explicitly include the issue in her “call” for the session starting Jan. 20, which is otherwise limited to budgetary matters. Michael Coleman, the governor’s communications director, told Source NM via email that the proposal “is one of many that the governor and her staff are reviewing prior to the 30-day session. While a decision about this bill hasn’t been made yet, the governor is staunchly opposed to banning books — a view that she believes most new Mexicans share.”
Cates sponsored a similar bill last year, the Librarian Protection Act, but the proposed legislation failed to make it to the House for a floor vote. Cates told Source New Mexico that HB26 is “almost identical” to the previous bill, but described it as “refined” due to more stakeholder input.
“We wanted some protections on employment for librarians as well, so that’s really our biggest change, is making sure that librarians are not fired or passed over because they’re following their policies rather than political whims,” Cates said.
The bill also clarifies that the state Department of Cultural Affairs’ library division is responsible for the bill’s enforcement.
Cates said she has received emails from library staff across New Mexico who shared personal stories of threats to themselves and their employment because they followed their respective libraries’ process for challenging books and other material. Local authors have also voiced their experiences with censorship of their published work and calls for removing their books from public library catalogues.
The Rio Rancho Public Library system faced a challenge to some of their books by a small group in 2023. Much of the criticism focused on books with LGBTQIA themes and characters. The city’s governing body passed a resolution later that year reiterating its support for library staff and stating the procedures for challenging books and other library resources was sufficient.
“[HB26] is aimed at assisting communities ensure their public libraries maintain free and open access to information free from political influences; and would protect librarians who have dedicated their lives’ to upholding the First Amendment,” Jason Shoup, Rio Rancho library director, told Source in a written statement.
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez (D-Albuquerque) told Source she is working on a similar bill to address prohibiting book banning in K-12 public school libraries. A third expected bill would address academic libraries tied to public universities and colleges.
Kit Rosewater, a middle-grade and young adult author based in Albuquerque, told Source that her debut middle-grade novel, “The Derby Daredevils: Kenzie Kickstarts A Team,” was challenged in Staten Island, New York, after it was added to the curriculum for all New York City public schools.
“They didn’t burn books, but basically they raided their school library and took out a bunch of books by marginalized authors with marginalized characters and content and they kind of like ceremoniously threw them into this giant dumpster,” Rosewater said. Her book was included because Rosewater identifies as queer and the novel has a transgender character.
In New Mexico, Rosewater was scheduled to host an author visit and writing workshop at a public Albuquerque elementary school in September 2025, but a group of parents disapproved and protested. “They had, I would say, about a five- or six-week harassment campaign against me that unfortunately was targeted completely at the librarian who had invited me,” she said. “I felt like the librarian was getting really nervous…so ultimately I was the one to cancel the event just for everybody’s safety.”
Rosewater described this instance as “soft censorship,” or actions taken against books and authors that are outside of the formal challenging process. “We want people to know that it is an issue here. This isn’t kind of some niche thing that we’re bringing over from some other area. All the people who are behind this legislation and this work, we’re all very deeply kind of plugged into what’s happening in New Mexico, in schools and libraries,” she said.
Rosewater connected with the anti-censorship organization Grandparents and Allies for Truth and began reaching out to other advocacy groups to form a coalition. Freedom to Read New Mexico officially launched in November 2025 with Rosewater as chair. She and representatives of other coalition members have since worked with lawmakers to shape HB26 and the other two pending book banning bills.
“New Mexico is an extremely diverse state in terms of how different counties, regions, towns all operate. And so we really needed to kind of connect with each other about what was going to work best for New Mexico as a state versus any one particular school or library or even city,” Rosewater said. “We feel that [HB26 is] extremely timely and there’s just no way we can just sit on our hands and let this session pass us by without at least trying to get it on the call list.”
She added that states across the country have acted recently to pass anti-book ban legislation. According to American Libraries, nine states have passed such legislation since 2023, with an additional five states passing bills in 2025.
Meet Chrissy Baines, the next general manager of the Albuquerque Isotopes – Sean Reider, Albuquerque Journal
For the first time in nearly a quarter-century, the Albuquerque Isotopes have a new general manager.
Chrissy Baines has been named the club’s third general manager as her predecessor, John Traub, moves on to an advisory role, the Isotopes announced Wednesday.
Baines, a Georgia native, is the first woman to be GM for the Isotopes and will be the 15th active female GM in minor league baseball, per the club. She replaces Traub after the latter served 22 years overseeing the Colorado Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, a franchise that’s regularly led the Pacific Coast League in home attendance.
In an emotional news conference Wednesday, Traub made it clear he is not retiring. He will serve as the team’s president going forward. He will also advise the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, as part of a “path to wind down my career” through club owner Diamond Baseball Holdings.
“They would let me do this for another 20 years if I wanted to,” Traub told the Journal on Wednesday. “I just don’t have it in me, you know?"
He said he and his wife Liz "want to travel, want to do all kinds of things that we just have not had time to do.”
A West Georgia University graduate, Baines started her career as Single-A Savannah Sand Gnats’ director of operations in 2002 before joining the Isotopes in 2004. Initially serving as the club’s director of merchandise, she held a variety of roles before being promoted to assistant general manager for business operations in 2015.
Baines said she had aspired to be a general manager early in her career, but “went away from that for a really long time” and found contentment in her most recent role. But as she added more responsibilities, the GM position seemed like a “natural progression,” especially with Traub mulling a reduced role.
“A lot of people have known that John has been going back and forth about retirement for the last few years – it was just a matter of when he was going to make that decision,” Baines said. “I think everything probably (became) more true to life over the last couple of months, and that’s when we started going a little deeper into the conversations.”
Baines said she wants to build upon the club’s “tremendous foundation,” from continuing successful theme nights such as the Mariachis de Nuevo México while selling season tickets and corporate sponsorships at a high rate.
“The legacy that John Traub has built here has been amazing,” she added. “ … It’s not to say that this is going to be an easy job, but the most important thing for me in taking this job is the staff that we have. I certainly would not be in this room if it weren’t for all the other people that I’ve worked with for the last 22 years.”
Baines and her wife, Kerry, have two dogs, Toby and Sable.
Selecting Baines as the team’s next general manager, Traub said, was a decision made solely by DBH, which took over ownership of the Isotopes in October 2023.
“(Baines) has learned from John, she has the respect of the staff … Chrissy is, without question, the right person to take the day-to-day reins from John,” DBH regional vice president Ben Taylor told the Journal. “Because she’s going to continue everything great that John was doing and add her own flavor.”
A Los Angeles native, Traub began his 38-year career in baseball as a public relations intern for the California Angels in 1988. He then spent 11 seasons with the Calgary Cannons, serving as the club’s general manager when it was moved to Albuquerque in 2003.
Traub was repromoted to general manager at the end of the Isotopes’ inaugural season, kickstarting a 23-year tenure that’s seen the Isotopes welcome millions of fans through the gates and win multiple awards. Under his stewardship, the club was named Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year in 2018 while he received the PCL Executive of the Year award in 2007.
While Traub will still be around the club, he said it’s in good hands with Baines, citing her experience and leadership skills.
“She was ready for a GM job 10, 15 years ago,” he added. “She’s had opportunities to be a GM in other markets and she’s elected to stay here. We’ve got a great staff and she’ll be relying heavily on that staff, just like I always have.”
Last season, the Isotopes were the only team in professional baseball to finish last place in their league standings and first in their league’s attendance.
The club — which finished with a record of 62-87 — attracted about 6,765 fans per game, leading the PCL in average home attendance for a fourth straight year. In the penultimate game, the Isotopes welcomed their 12 millionth fan over 22 seasons.
The Isotopes' 2026 season begins March 27 on the road in Oklahoma City. The club's home opener is March 31 against Reno.