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Republican challenges NM House speaker on public safety and tax policy

New Mexico Speaker of the House Javier Martinez (left) is being challenged this election by Republican Bart Kinney for the House District 11 seat Martinez has held since 2015.
Martinez: Andres Leighton, AP
/
Kinney: Courtesy Kinney Campaign
New Mexico Speaker of the House Javier Martinez (left) is being challenged this election by Republican Bart Kinney for the House District 11 seat Martinez has held since 2015.

New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez is the only Democrat in legislative leadership being challenged this election. Republican Bart Kinney is running a longshot campaign to oust the five-term lawmaker in the heavily Democratic district in Downtown Albuquerque and the North Valley. He is taking aim at the Speaker’s approach to public safety and taxes.

'The most vulnerable'

This summer, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called lawmakers into a special session on public safety. Speaker Martínez said at a news conference ahead of it that he and his fellow Democratic leaders did not agree with the move.

“We have deep concerns about the potential impact these proposals will have on New Mexicans, especially the most vulnerable among us,” he said.

The session adjourned in a matter of hours with Democrats blocking the bills from being heard. They included expanding involuntary commitment for those deemed incompetent to stand trial and increasing penalties for people convicted of felonies in possession of firearms.

On the campaign trail this week at Cutbow Coffee, a local cafe he said he frequents to meet with constituents, Martínez did not waver in that decision.

Speaker Javier Martinez at Cutbow Coffee, a local business in his district's Duranes neighborhood, on Oct. 29, 2024.
Nash Jones
/
KUNM
Speaker Javier Martinez at Cutbow Coffee, a local business in his district's Duranes neighborhood, on Oct. 29, 2024.

“The proposals were not fully baked,” he said. “We cannot pass legislation that can ultimately negatively impact the very people we’re trying to help, or that we say we’re trying to help.”

Kinney did not respond to multiple KUNM requests for an interview, but he did speak to News Radio KKOB host Bob Clark last month. He told Clark that he, his neighbors and several family members had recently “been subject to crimes.”

“We’re the most vulnerable in our district,” he said, referencing Martínez’s statement ahead of the special session. “So, that’s who I’m concerned about.”

He accused Martínez of inaction.

“I don’t think that there’s any willingness by the Speaker of the House, or anyone who thinks like the Speaker of the House, to address our crime problems,” he said.

Martínez refuted that, saying the Legislature’s public safety discussions did not start or end with the special session.

“Public safety is an issue we will continue to work on, as is addressing the root causes of crime: Housing, drug addiction, mental and behavioral health, poverty,” he told KUNM. “These are all areas that we have been investing in and working in over the last few years and will continue to over the next few years. “

'Across the board'

Kinney proposes on his website increasing criminal penalties “across the board.”

The Legislature did increase some penalties this year under Martínez’s leadership, including for second-degree murder and people accused of a second felony while awaiting trial. Last year, Martínez carried a bill to impose penalties for organized retail crime.

“So, we’ve done — surgically and strategically — those types of criminal penalty enhancements,” he said. “Now, “across the board?” That is not effective.”

One place Kinney does not want to look to curb crime is restricting gun access. The 2nd Amendment advocate said on his website that the state’s recent efforts “disproportionately burdened law-abiding citizens without effectively addressing the root causes of crime.”

Martínez said Kinney’s position is out of touch.

“Spouting the Donald Trump position on gun safety is not the way to attract voters in this district or in this state,” he said.

While the Speaker describes New Mexico’s gun laws as “very strong,” he said “there’s more work to do” if he is reelected. 

Tax relief for workers

Kinney characterizes the New Mexico tax code unfair. On his website, he accused the Legislature of not sharing the state’s historic revenues from oil and gas production with New Mexico taxpayers. He calls for tax policies that, “Provide relief to hardworking individuals and businesses.”

That includes reducing and reforming the Gross Receipts Tax. Though, when asked on KKOB, he did not specify how.

“Other states have figured it out,” he told Clark. “And you go figure out what they’re doing, how they did it, and look at it, and make sure it makes sense and make sure it’s easy to implement.”

He told the Albuquerque Journal he would like to, “Make it a true sales tax levied on the final sale.” While major reforms to that tax have stalled, the Legislature did lower it for the first time in decades in 2022 and again last year.

Martínez sits on the House Tax Committee and reassigned the chairs of the chamber’s tax and budget committees when he became speaker. He said he is proud of his role in reforming the tax code in recent years, like creating a Child Tax Credit and expanding the Working Families Tax Credit and Low-Income Comprehensive Tax rebate.

“This is all relief that is targeting working families,” he said.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy boosted New Mexico’s ranking 18 spots into the top 10 for equitable state tax structures based on the recent changes.

Kinney has raised only about 7% as much as Martínez, who is one of the top fundraisers in the state this election, according to state campaign finance records. 


This was the last story in a 3-part series about Legislative leaders being challenged this election. Previous stories included challenges against the House minority whip and Senate minority whip. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting in New Mexico ends Saturday, Nov. 2.

Nash Jones (they/them) is a general assignment reporter in the KUNM newsroom and the local host of NPR's All Things Considered (weekdays on KUNM, 5-7 p.m. MT). You can reach them at nashjones@kunm.org or on Twitter @nashjonesradio.
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