Santa Fe, Las Cruces No Kings events focus on early voting
– Matt Mondschein and Leah Romero, Source New Mexico
In Santa Fe, organizers estimated close to 1,000 people attended the “No Kings: Vote Early” rally outside the Roundhouse on Saturday morning.
As with previous No Kings events, participants such as Santa Fe Raging Grannies sang protest and folk songs reworked to criticize the Trump administration, and the crowds ballooned as more and more people lined the sidewalks, holding anti-Trump signs as passersby in cars honked and waved.
But Saturday’s No Kings event, iterations of which took place across the state and the country, differed in some ways by centering on the upcoming Nov. 3 general election.
Ellen Hill, chair of Indivisible’s Santa Fe chapter, told Source NM that the event aimed to spur early voter turnout.
“Vote early, bank your vote, protect your vote,” Hill said.
While early voting in New Mexican began Oct. 7, Saturday marked the start of expanded early voting locations. As of Friday, 4.3% of all registered voters across New Mexico cast either absentee or early ballots.
Hannah Wetovsky attended the event and performed before a crowd a rendition of Chumbawamba’s tune “On the Day the Nazi Died.”
She told Source NM that she and her husband Nicholas planned on voting early after the event’s conclusion, and noted the importance of voting in a world that is “scary, where people are getting kidnapped and the rich keep getting richer.”
Wetovsky, a millenial, added that she hopes to see more of her generation at the polls for the midterms. Many millennials, she said, feel disconnected from politics and that voting does not matter — a sentiment with which she disagrees. The Trump administration “wouldn’t be trying to suppress the vote if voting didn’t matter,” Wetovsky said.
Speakers during the event expressed concern that the Trump administration might interfere with the midterm elections and presented early voting as a way to combat that fear.
“Every vote gets banked the day that it’s voted,” Shari Hirst, an Indivisible organizer, said before a gathered crowd, adding that early votes “cannot be stolen by shenanigans.”
Will Schmidt, a member of Santa Fe’s Indivisible chapter, handed out anti-fascist pins and buttons to attendees. He also expressed concern over the “monkey business” that the Trump administration “and his regime have tried with the post office. They’re trying to throw wrenches into the process wherever they can.” He urged people to vote early in order to “give the fascists as strong of a gut punch as we possibly can.”
Over the past several months, the Trump administration has launched failed efforts to obtain voter rolls from New Mexico and other states, and is currently pushing California to remove voters it says are non-citizens from its voter rolls. The administration has also raised concerns about mail-in ballots, raising ongoing concerns by states about federal interference during the midterm elections. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on Oct. 13 issued a voter advisoryreinforcing practical information and voter rights.
Hill told Source NM that based on online registration and participation, organizers expected just under 1,000 to attend the event. She added that she casted her ballot the first day early voting started because she is eager to see change.
While speaking to the crowd outside the Roadhouse, Hill highlighted wealthy political donors, such as Elon Musk, who has been backing Republican midterm campaigns with $276 million in donations.
“But here’s the thing — he’s just one guy,” Hill said. “We’re a lot of people.”
In Las Cruces, several hundred protestors flocked to Albert Johnson Park for the No Kings: Vote Early Day of Action, with more than 50 people walking over to cast early ballots at Las Cruces city hall Saturday morning.
Protestors lined the streets surrounding the park in downtown Las Cruces and drivers honked car horns in support of sign-holders, while protest songs sung by local group Volunteers of America could be heard in the background.
Many attendees told Source New Mexico that they were motivated to participate Saturday to call out authoritarianism in the White House.
“[President Trump] started an insurrection and still people voted for him. He was convicted of a number of felonies and it’s unbelievable what’s happening in this country,” Las Cruces resident Dean Williams told Source NM at the protest.
He said if Democrats could take back control of Congress, it would be a “step in the right direction” as Republicans have shown that they will not “hold their people to account.” And having voted on both sides of the aisle in his time, Williams said he will be voting Democrat this election because the “Republican Party at the national level has just gone loco.”
Williams added that he is waiting to see if the negative impacts of rising prices across the country will be enough to motivate people to change how they vote.
Las Cruces resident Laurel Brandi told Source NM Saturday’s No Kings protest had a different feel compared to previous ones, but said she believes it is important to keep showing up.
“Maybe I’m just projecting it, but it just feels a little less explosive and a little more dug in, like rooted in for the work,” she said. “Less reactive and more like grinding through.”
Brandi has a 5-year-old son and pointed to the recent fatal school shooting in Bend, Oregon as another motivator to get to the polls so she can send her child to school safely without worrying. “What can we do? What is there besides this, voting?” she said. Her son joined her at the polls when she cast her ballot on Oct. 6, the first day early voting opened.
At 11 a.m., organizers invited protestors to walk to city hall and cast their ballots early. Over 50 people lined up in the city hall lobby. Las Cruces resident Davena Norris told Source NM that her husband predicted there would be a line to vote, which she happily welcomed.
“I was like, great, I’d love to stand in a long line because it means that there’s a lot of people that are getting out to vote,” Norris said. She said she “strongly” supports Daisy Maldonado for Doña Ana County Commissioner for District 1 because of her work in bringing the voices of the southern county to the table, particularly in regards to the controversial AI datacenter Project Jupiter under development in the area.
PRC examiners won’t probe sale of TXNM stock to Zimmer
– Justin Horwath, Albuquerque Journal
Hearing examiners for New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission said Friday they would not investigate the legality of a stock transaction associated with the proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy by New York private equity firm Blackstone.
The nonprofits New Energy Economy and the New Mexico Consumer Protection Alliance asked the commission to investigate a 2025 sale of roughly $200 million in TXNM shares to a New York investment management firm, Zimmer Partners, and its associates.
The request to investigate the transaction followed a July ruling made by state regulators that declared the sale of $400 million in TXNM stock to Blackstone illegal. In a 2-1 ruling, commissioners said the stock sale violated state law and ordered the companies to unwind the transaction and pay fines.
Nonprofit organizations opposing the purchase of TXNM, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico, said the stock sale to Zimmer was illegal for similar reasons. They pointed to a stock purchase agreement between Zimmer and TXNM, which says Zimmer should use its beneficial shares to vote in support of the Blackstone takeover.
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
New Mexico judge tosses charges against actor Timothy Busfield, citing prosecutor misconduct
– By Susan Montoya Bryan and Savannah Peters, Associated Press
A New Mexico judge has dismissed an indictment against "West Wing" and "Field of Dreams" actor Timothy Busfield that accused him of criminal sexual contact with a child, citing prosecutorial misconduct and errors that undermined the grand jury process.
State District Judge Joseph Montano granted a defense motion to toss the charges in a decision released Friday.
Busfield has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing them as lies motivated by revenge. In an email Friday, Busfield's attorney Amber Fayerberg said he was "relieved and grateful" after reading the judge's decision.
Prosecutors said Friday they had not yet decided whether to pursue another indictment.
The case stems from when Busfield was directing the TV series "The Cleaning Lady" from 2022 to 2024. The parents of two twin boys who were let go from the show claimed that Busfield inappropriately touched the children on the set in Albuquerque.
According to a criminal complaint filed in January, an investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department said a boy reported that Busfield touched him on his private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy's twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but he did not specify where and didn't say anything because he didn't want to get in trouble, the complaint said.
Busfield turned himself in and was released from jail pending trial by a judge who found no pattern of criminal conduct or similar allegations involving children in Busfield's past.
The grand jury indictment followed just weeks later, reiterating allegations that Busfield "touched or applied force to the intimate parts" of one of the boys on several occasions. The indictment allowed the case to proceed without a preliminary hearing on evidence.
Busfield's attorneys noted that the children told police during initial interviews that Busfield didn't touch them inappropriately and accused the boys' parents of coaching their children to give incriminating statements after the boys lost lucrative roles on the show.
In June, Busfield's attorneys officially asked the court to throw out the indictment, alleging in a motion that prosecutors were "willfully blind to the lack of evidence" and "invented procedural hurdles" to keep grand jurors from hearing witness testimony.
During a September hearing, Fayerberg played audio recordings of grand jurors asking to hear from additional witnesses. She said prosecutors wrongly informed jurors that subpoenas would be needed, even though those witnesses were "present, available and willing to testify."
"The state engaged in egregious prosecutorial misconduct," Fayerberg said.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Greer Staley countered that the defense hadn't followed the correct process for submitting evidence to a grand jury and that Busfield himself improperly and "excessively" tried to steer grand jurors toward favorable witnesses and exhibits during his three-hour testimony.
According to the transcripts of the proceedings submitted by Busfield's attorneys, the actor also known for appearances in "Thirtysomething" told jurors that the case had turned his life upside down and affected his entire family. He testified that he had been "canceled," meaning he lost work and was fired by his agency.
Busfield also testified that he had nothing to hide and when asked about the allegations that he had caressed the children, he answered: "I'm saying that is absolutely one gazillion percent untrue. Never ever."
Prosecutors had said each count in the indictment carried a possible penalty of six years in prison that could be enhanced.
"We know this may not be the end," Fayerberg said. "If the State chooses to try again, Tim is ready, and so are those witnesses."
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This story was first published on Oct. 16, 2026. It was updated on Oct. 17, 2026 to correct the name of Busfield's attorney. Her name is Amber Fayerberg, not Amanda Fayerberg.
New Mexico early voting locations expand on Saturday
– Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
Early voting locations for the Nov. 3 general election will significantly expand across New Mexico starting Saturday.
This year’s general election marks the first time New Mexicans will elect a new governor in eight years. The ballot will also feature contested races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as several races for the state Legislature, along with constitutional amendments and ballot initiatives.
Early voting began on Oct. 6 at county clerks’ offices across the state, and will expand to additional early voting locations on Saturday that will remain operational through Oct. 31. The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office’s website offers a comprehensive list of early voting locations, as well as sample ballots customizable to each user’s address.
As of Friday morning, just more than 63,000 registered voters across the state had cast either absentee or early ballots — about 4.3% of all registered voters in New Mexico.
Of those, nearly 37,000 were Democrats, about 17,000 were Republicans and nearly 9,000 registered as independent or “decline to state” voters, according to data from the Secretary of State.
Across the U.S. and New Mexico, a series of non-partisan No Kings rallies will also focus on early voting efforts. While past No Kings events have typically been protests, organizers say Saturday’s events are instead meant to educate attendees about registering and voting early.
The new focus comes amid ongoing concerns by states about federal interference during the midterm elections. On Tuesday, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Raúl Torrez issued a joint advisory to reinforce voter rights.
On Saturday, No Kings events are scheduled for more than two dozen New Mexico communities, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces.
Rayellen Smith, the president of the progressive group Indivisible Albuquerque, told Source NM that from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, volunteers will set up outside Bernalillo County’s busiest early voting locations waving large red arrows with messages such as, “vote early this way.”
A No Kings rally at Montgomery Park, off of San Mateo and Montgomery boulevards in Albuquerque, will also feature a giveaway. Smith said hundreds of attendees will receive a tote bag full of flyers, buttons and door hangers with early voting information. It’s designed to send people back into their communities, where they can educate their families, friends and neighbors about early voting resources.
“It is so critically important to get out there and get our votes counted,” Smith said, adding that national organizers hope Saturday’s effort will go down as the largest get-out-the-vote initiative in U.S. history.
On Oct. 30, 31 and Nov. 3 — the final two days of early voting in New Mexico and Election Day — Smith said residents can call 1-888-858-3421 to request a ride to the polls, as well.
Belen approves pay plan for police, fire
– Clara Garcia, Valencia County News-Bulletin
Facing competition from neighboring agencies and struggling to retain locally trained first responders, the Belen City Council voted unanimously this month to approve a new salary plan for the city’s police and fire departments.
The vote came before a packed council chamber filled with uniformed officers and firefighters. Officials said uncompetitive starting pay and stagnant wages had made recruitment and retention increasingly difficult.
Starting pay for Belen firefighters had fallen as low as $14 an hour, prompting concern during recent budget workshops.
“We start out very low, and what happens is they cherry-pick, and they take our officers. And we’re tired of it,” Councilor Rudy Espinoza said. “In order for us to retain and to attract new officers, we have to be competitive.”
For more information on this story, visit the Albuquerque Journal website.
