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| Pamelya Herndon |
The latest hopeful is attorney and longtime Dem activist Pamelya Herndon. She joins Michelle Peacock, a 13 year US Army veteran and nurse practitioner, in seeking the appointment from the Bernalillo County Commission to fill out Stansbury's unexpired term which runs through 2022. We profiled Peacock May 6.
Also seeking the post is Bunnie Cruse who would be the first transgender woman in the state legislature.
Herndon has worked as a deputy cabinet secretary in the state General Services Department and in the litigation division under Attorney General Madrid. More recently she was executive director of the Southwest Women's Law Center.
Herndon would be the first Black woman to represent an ABQ NE Heights district. Dem Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, who is also Black, represents a SE ABQ District and is the House Majority Floor Leader.
The commission will begin accepting applications for the House seat after Stansbury takes her congressional seat. A Democrat is almost sure to get the legislative appointment The commission is 4 to 1 Democratic.
House District 28 in the ABQ NE Heights was a longtime GOP bastion held by Rep. Jimmie Hall. But as the county turned more blue Stansbury ousted Hall in 2018 and was easily re-elected in 2020.
LEMON INTO LEMONADE
Working to turn lemons into lemonade the MLG campaign comes with a fund-raising video that puts her ill-fated re-election announcement at the ABQ Museum last Thursday in a better light.
It uses video of the protesters to show that many were extremists who likened the Governor's pandemic actions to Nazi Germany and even painted a Hitler moustache on her. "These are not New Mexico values," says the video. It then switches to a strong part of MLG's speech in which she says she would not be intimidated:
We're going to protect New Mexico and no amount of noise will deter, intimidate leadership that makes a difference for every single New Mexican.
However, the video does not show the controversial portion of her speech in which she refers to the protesters as “QAnon Lizard People." The video concludes: "We cannot let extremists stop our progress. Donate now."
ABQ AS THIRD WORLD
One of the Gators took on former Democratic Public Regulation Commissioner Karen Montoya Wednesday for signing up to help BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales beat Tim Keller in the mayoral race this year. Her comeback:
Tim Keller campaigned on promises to fix crime, homelessness, mental health and the economy but each have spiraled so far out of control most of us don’t recognize our beloved city anymore. Record-breaking murders and violent crime are so bad that third world countries warn their citizens not to visit Albuquerque. Homelessness has exploded. . .and thousands of Albuquerque small businesses have been decimated by the unchecked property crimes, shoplifting and burglaries. No more marketing campaigns. . .We need a leader to clean up Keller’s war zone.
BEST NM RETIREMENT
College town Las Cruces (population 102,000) leads The Land of Enchantment. Median home price $164,000. Cost of living 10% below national average. PROS: Low serious crime rate. CONS: Low ratio of physicians per capita. Poor air quality. NOTED: Elevation 3,900 feet. RUNNER-UP: Trendy state capital Santa Fe (population 84,000). Median home price $349,000. Cost of living 17% above national average. Good rank on Milken Institute list of best cities for successful aging. Good air quality. Elevation 7,200 feet. TAXES: No state estate/inheritance tax. State income tax on Social Security earnings. Top marginal income tax rate 4.9%.
Las Cruces and Santa Fe have alway had a laid back, senior feel. More so now as the state's population ages.
THE BOTTOM LINES
We blogged this week that the only announced GOP 2022 gubernatorial candidate is Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block. Karen Bedoni is also an announced candidate for the GOP nod.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021