Rep. Lundstrom (Daily Times)

Beware the perils of remote legislative sessions. There were major snafus when the NM Legislature did most of their business remotely during the recent special session because of the coronavirus. They continue to do so and continue to suffer technical breakdowns that are a red flag if the Legislature must continue this way of business.

At a hearing Tuesday of the House Indian Affairs Committee Gallup area State Rep. Patrica Lundstrom was embarrassed when she was called on to speak remotely before the committee that was discussing Native voting rights. Instead she was caught talking on the phone for over two minutes about a project she was pursuing in her role as director of the Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GEDC). She chatted on unaware that because of technical issues her private conversation was not private at all

The full Lundstrom conversation is here starting at about 11:57.

(After our posting the Legislature edited out the Lundstrom conversation.)

The committee chair repeatedly interrupted as Lundstrom discussed intricate details of the closing of the Escalante Generating Station in McKinley County, anxiously asking, "Representative Lundstrom, can you hear me?" But Lundstorm was oblivious that her call had an audience of the full committee and the public at large on the net.

Fortunately for her, Lundstrom, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, wasn't caught saying anything exceptionally controversial or using  coarse language. But she did get in a dig at McKinley County government that's ruffling feathers. She pointed out that GECDS "doesn't get one dime, not one dime" from the county and she wasn't going to be "pushed around" by the county.

Now imagine the entire 60 day session of the legislative session that starts in January being done remotely? If they can't get a simple committee hearing right, what about dozens of hearings? Then there’s the matter of public participation. Often because of technical issues the public was shut out at the special session.

Legislative leaders are discussing the chance that they will again be forced into a remote session. One suggestion is to have some committee hearings conducted away from the Capitol to accommodate the public, perhaps at large venues like the Convention Center. But Santa Fe first needs to better accommodate the technology that continues to baffle it--just ask Rep. Lundstorm who is thankful she wasn't embarrassed right out of her legislative seat.

By the way, in what she thought was a private call, Lundstorm was discussing the shutdown of the Escalante Generating Station in McKinley County and the loss of hundreds of jobs. She won approval of a bill in the January session that would have the county create an authority to focus on redevelopment. As the call revealed, she is having trouble getting the county government to do that.

KELLER PUSHBACK

Mayor Keller

It's been a good week for US Attorney John Anderson who pushed back against the city's accusations that 35 federal agents dispatched to ABQ by the Trump administration to aid in crime-fighting will be akin to secret police. Mayor Tim Keller took the brunt of his pushback and now a senior staffer for the Mayor does some pushing back of his own:

No surprise the former lawyer for the NMGOP is making this about politics instead of crime fighting. The US Attorney’s overblown 8-page response to our deputy city attorney is 90% bluster. The only part that matters is where he does exactly what we asked him to do: guarantee in writing that Operation Legend won’t be what we saw in Portland.

Our concern isn’t a regional Trump appointee. It’s the President’s own words. Mayor Keller stood up for Albuquerque and against those attacks on people of color, immigrants, and protesters. Keller was elected to reform APD and get back to effective community policing, and he’s not going to be intimidated by the President’s rhetoric.

The controversy over the federal agents is covered extensively on our Tuesday blog.
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Southern GOP congressional hopeful Yvette Herrell calls the endorsement of her candidacy by former southern Dem Congressman Harry Teague "huge." Is it?  Well, it could give her a little boost in the Lea County area where Teague, a former county commissioner, is best known. But he served only one term in the US House, winning election in the 08' Obama landslide and getting defeated by Republican Steve Pearce in the Tea Party year of 2010.

While Teague's endorsement touts Herrell's friendliness toward "our important energy industry," it was his vote for a climate change bill that caused him to run afoul of his fellow oil patch owners. Then there was his vote against Obamacare that alienated the liberal Dem base in Las Cruces. He succeeded in making both sides mad in the swing district.

There there is the not so small matter of the NM Oil and Gas Association putting a knife in Herrell's back by coming to the rescue of Torres Small following the Teague endorsement:

The New Mexico Oil & Gas Association, which represents petroleum producers, said the Las Cruces Democrat's record show she understands the role that the oil and gas industry plays in the state. “Throughout her first term in Congress, she has been a strong advocate for our state’s energy interests and responsible production and has stood up to those in her party who want to completely ban fracking,” said Ryan Flynn, the association's executive director.

Herrell's primary opponent Claire Chase once chaired the NMOGA. Whether she had anything to do with raining on Herrell's parade is unknown. Perhaps the association is doing some CYA because they feel XTS is going to win. Maybe it’s some of both. For Herrell it is a near disaster that could hurt her fund-raising.

We received this statement from Chase:

I am supporting Yvette, sent her a campaign contribution, and have encouraged everyone else who has the means to do so.

The endorsement of Teague shows that Herrell is moving a bit to the center. R's fear that Trump is lagging behind Biden in the district and may not have enough mojo to pull Herrell through. (Full Teague endorsement here.)

The DC pundits rate this one "lean Dem."

Another challenger, GOP US Senate candidate Mark Ronchetti, is--like Herrell--still on the sidelines with no TV presence because of financial constraints, but he does take a shot at the latest ad from his Dem opponent Rep. Ben Ray Lujan. In the ad Lujan talks of his support for Medicare but does not mention his support for Medicare for All, a key issue for Dem progressives. Ronchetti's campaign says:

Ben Ray Luján is hiding his far-left D.C. record. . . This is further proof Ben Ray has put politics before the people of New Mexico, and his refusal to mention his support for Medicare-for-All makes it abundantly clear he knows New Mexicans won’t like his radical, D.C agenda.

Unlike Lujan's first two ads this one does not have any optic missteps. It features home movies of Lujan's father, the late and beloved NM House Speaker Ben Lujan, who died of lung cancer. And the Lujan stand-up hits the mark as he is finally at ease and connecting with the viewer.

The DC pundits rate the Senate race "solid Dem."

NORTHERN ALLIGATOR STRIKE

There's an alligator strike on freshly appointed Santa Fe Dem State Rep. Tara Lujan. It comes as the Santa Fe County Democratic Party Central Committee prepares for a crucial meeting to decide who will be their candidate on the November ballot for a full two year term to the District 48 seat.

Lujan, a former aide to Rep. Ben Ray Lujan and currently working in human resources for Dem State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, was appointed last month by the Santa Fe County Commission on an 4 to 1 vote to fill the seat of former Rep. Linda Trujillo who resigned because of financial considerations. Lujan's term runs only until the end of the year.

As the Central Committee gets ready to name their pick, questions are being raised about Lujan's residency in the district. She says flatly:

I live in my district and am registered in my district.

The Alligator strike has her only recently registering to vote in the Linda Trujillo district--and at her parents house--while she actually lives with her husband in another district--that of retiring State Rep. Jim Trujillo. Her foes say she registered in the Jim Trujillo district with plans to run for his seat but then  the Linda Trujillo vacancy occurred and she made the switch.

The Santa Fe native says that "a couple of months ago" she indeed did move into the longtime home of her parents which is in the Linda Trujillo district and where "she grew up." She is now registered at the home of her parents. She says her husband continues to live in the home in the Rep. Jim Trujillo district. Tara added:

I love living in our multigenerational home. It reminds me of how I grew up surrounded by extended family. Choosing to serve as an unpaid legislator means making changes that I am more than happy to make as I serve my constituents with honesty and integrity.

Lujan was sworn in last week and was required to give up her state job to become a legislator.

Lujan beat out four others for the commission appointment, including heavyweights Tim Garcia, a former Court of Appeals judge, and former County Commissioner Paul Campos who previously ran for the seat.

It will be up to Lujan to put any unease to rest when the Central Committee meets August 15 to make their pick.

By the way, no R's are in the running and none need apply. This district is all D all the time--like since FDR.

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US Attorney Anderson

An astounding takedown of ABQ Mayor Keller and the city's progressives by US Attorney John Anderson continues to reverberate. His eight page missive was in response to the city attorney's letter expressing deep worry over an additional 35 agents being sent to ABQ as part of Operation Legend, designed to assist local law enforcement in fighting the violent crime epidemic here.

We've acknowledged that the timing of the operation lends credence to the argument that this was a political stunt from the Trump administration, but the wild overreaction was unjustified.

Anderson, appointed by Trump, pushed back in no uncertain terms against progressives who labeled the operation "stormtroopers" or "gestapo" that would be infiltrating crime-soaked ABQ and robbing people of their civil liberties. And he called out the Keller administration for accusing the Feds of holding up a promised $10 million grant to hire more police.

Anderson's letter to Keller reads like a wake-up call to him, Sen. Heinrich and others in the progressive bubble when it comes to crime and what most of of the population here thinks. Excerpts:

Operation Legend was not conceived or announced in response to the events in Portland. As I informed you in our telephone conversation Operation Legend is not directed at protecting federal monuments, policing assemblies, or enforcing immigration laws. Operation Legend is. . . to identily and remove the most dangerous violent offenders from our communities.

One reason that Albuquerque was selected for Operation Legend is because, according to statistics published by the FBI, Albuquerque's violent crime rate is 3.7, or nearly four times the national violent crime rate. While we have been eagerly awaiting current, year-to-date statistics, I am sure you will agree that the pace oflethal shootings in Albuquerque from 2019 into 2020 is conceming. Of course, in 2019, the City experienced a record high number of homicides. Now in 2020, in one weekend this month alone, APD has opened four separate homicide investigations And a survey of APD officers at the beginning of this year suggested that those surveyed believed Albuquerque's crime problem was "getting worse."

As for the $10 million the city says it has not collected from federal Operation Relentless Pursuit, Anderson wrote:

You  (Keller) are quoted as saying, "We've had a lot of challenges where the federal govemment will work with us, say. 'Yes' to a program and then either the check never comes in the mail, which is the case with we think roughly $10 million with this past operation."

. . .These funds are the same Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) funds that I have been imploring the City to accept for several months. As further enticement to accept these funds, the Department of Justice even waived the standard 25 percent local match that generally accompanies COPS Hiring Program (CHP) funds. So I am confused by statements. . .that clearly suggest to the public that the City has said "Yes" to these funds, but that the Department of Justice has failed to honor its promise to deliver them.

My office. . . sent the City the grants award package. (It) instructed, in bold lettering on the first page, that the City needed to officially accept the awarded funds within 45 days of receipt of the award package. To date, the COPS Office has received no communication from the City. 

Obviously, no federal funds can be sent to Albuquerque unless the City officially accepts the award. In other words, the ball has very much been in the City's court for more than a month. So it is confusing to the public, and certainly unfair to the Department of Justice, for any City official to represent or suggest that the Department has somehow failed to follow through on its promise to get these funds to Albuquerque.

The newspaper reports:

Anderson and city officials had previously told the Journal that the city’s “immigrant-friendly” resolution did not allow it to agree to some of the grant conditions.

So it is city politics holding up the $10 million. 

After being taken to the woodshed, the Mayor had a mild response:

We asked the US Attorney to give us assurances in writing about Operation Legend, and we got them for our city. Specifically, the US attorney has provided a written guarantee that Operation Legend will not be what we saw in Portland. However, we remain concerned about the President’s own words that contradict these assurances, and we will hold the appropriate people accountable if this is not true.

Even the NM branch of the American Civil Liberties Union lost its way and called for the resignation of BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales simply because he showed up at the White House when Operation Legend was announced and offered support afterwards. What happened to the ACLU NM sacred pledge to protect free speech? Apparently it's been undone by the racket from their progressive donors who see a stormtrooper behind every tree, but don't seem to see the hundreds of people of color being maimed and murdered here nor the general lawlessness that has come to define their "Burque."

Progressives truly get our education and environmental challenges but too many appear tone deaf or worse when it comes to the crime and violence that has cost so many lives, caused thousands to flee and businesses to shun us as as we become known as a lawless, dusty border town. The US Attorney will be called a Trump political hack and maybe he is but when it comes to crime he has the truth on his side and for many of our progressives that truth hurts.

THE BOTTOM LINES 

In our first draft Monday we identified Cobre High School as being in Deming. The correct location is Bayard.

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As often happens in New Mexico politics, you heard it here first. Heck, that's our shtick. So no one around here dropped their iPhone when word came Friday that sources "familiar with her thinking" told the NYT that MLG is interested in becoming the cabinet secretary for the Health and Human Services Department--should Biden defeat Trump in November: