She craved the national spotlight when she sought an appointment to the Biden cabinet. But that never happened. Now that spotlight is shining on New Mexico's governor in a most unwanted fashion.
After it was disclosed Tuesday that James Hallinan, a former spokesman for MLG received $62,500 in cash payments from her campaign fund to settle his sexual mistreatment charges, the headlines hit the Drudge Report, the well-known news aggregating site with a bent toward the sensational and that is a popular stop on the Internet.
She got the full Drudge treatment, pictured in a pink "pussy hat" from the 2017 Women's March in DC, and her trouble getting the #MeTo movement turned upside down on her.
In case you were in a cave, Hallinan accused MLG of throwing a bottle of water on his crotch and then grabbing his crotch through his pants, while she laughed. He said the incident occurred during a 2018 campaign meeting as she sought the governorship.
She denied the charge as did other staffers who Hallinan said were at the meeting. MLG's attorneys said the settlement was done to "avoid distraction" and the "cost of litigation." But the settlement delivered a blow to her national image and the national R's took the bait with their Governors Association coming with this blast:
$62,500 is a lot of money for a sexual harassment scandal that Lujan Grisham originally called 'bizarre,' 'slanderous' and 'categorically false. The payments certainly suggest that there must be some truth to the story, and Governor Lujan Grisham should publicly apologize to her victim for her behavior.
One unanswered question is whether the $62,500 is the ultimate cost of settling the Hallinan case or whether the Governor has also agreed to pay him personal funds to make the mess go away.
Politically, MLG may be out of the running in national politics (did the Hallinan incident hurt in that regard? The first payment to him was made last November when she was being vetted for the Biden cabinet). But the Republican bench for the 2022 Governor's race remains weak, giving her something to hang her pussy hat on as she seeks re-election.
Meanwhile, you've been Drudged, Guv. Congrats. . . or something.
While Drudge was a downer for MLG, she did get a shot in the arm from this positive Politico piece titled:
The Unlikely State Setting the US Vaccination Pace.
EXPUNGE THIS
How many New Mexicans will have their arrest and conviction records for marijuana related offenses expunged now that the legalization bill that includes such expungements has been signed into law? Let's start with this item that left some readers confused:
. . .An initial state Department of Public Safety review has identified roughly 150,000 people who will have their records reviewed for possible expungement.
That does not mean there have been 150,000 folks arrested for pot related offenses. That number, says ABQ Dem State Rep. Moe Maestas, a key player in the cannabis legislation, represents the approximate 150,000 residents who have criminal records.
Maestas estimates the total marijuana expungements under legalization will total anywhere from 5 to 10 thousand. That straightens that out, but that there are 150,000 New Mexicans who have criminal records is another story.
THE BOTTOM LINES
Joe,
If New Mexico government really wanted to help seniors, or anyone on fixed incomes,
they should place a freeze on property tax increases. Don't hear much about that though,
why?
Property taxes are relatively low here compared to the rest of the nation but so are incomes. There is a property tax break for low income seniors 65 and over that freezes the value of a senior's property. From the Sandoval County Treasurer.
The income cap to qualify for the limitation on property tax valuation, also called the “Property Valuation Freeze” (is) $35,000. . . The value freeze is for a single-family dwelling occupied by a person who is sixty-five years of age or older or disabled, and whose modified gross income for the prior taxable year did not exceed $35,000.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021