Race On To Replace Stapleton In House: BernCo Commission To Make Pick; Taking Applications, Plus: Latest Candidacy Announcements And Some DC Bacon Bits

Expect a crowd of candidates to seek the vacant ABQ state House seat of former Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton. The Bernalillo County Commission announces applications are being taken from now until August 13 and a special commission meeting to name the new lawmaker is set for August 24. 

Attorney Jennie Lusk and Dem Party Vice-Chair David Montoya are two who have already said they will seek the appointment from the five member commission. If you're an aspiring politico, at least 21 and live in House District 19 you can send your resume and cover letter to the BernCo manager at manager@bernco.gov.

Stapleton, who is accused but not formally charged yet with bilking APS out of nearly $1 million, was first elected to the seat in 1994 so this is a rare opportunity. But not so much for Republicans. The commission is controlled by the Dems and the Stapleton district is heavy Dem. 

Meantime, the predictable but necessary cries for ethics reform are being heard in the wake of the Stapleton scandal. Former New Mexican reporter Steve Terrell joins forces with other New Mexico Ethics Watch members in calling for more transparency and information on financial disclosure forms lawmakers are required to file and that they believe will help avoid a repeat of the Stapleton affair. 

ON THE RUN

Also on the announcement front, former two term Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya has made her bid official for the 2022 Dem State Treasurer nomination. She's a native of Las Vegas, NM.

ABQ medical supplies salesman Louie Sanchez is the sixth candidate to announce a run for the '22 GOP Guv nomination. He came up short when he ran for the open US Senate seat in 2020 and which was eventually won by Dem Ben Ray Lujan. Political pros pick state Rep. Rebecca Dow, Sandoval County Commissioner Jay Block and financial consultant Greg Zanetti as the top three GOP contenders. 

Questa rancher Tracy Tatro Trujilo, 45, says she's running for the GOP nomination for Secretary of State in the '22 primary. She moved to Questa from Montana six years ago. Dem SOS Maggie Toulouse Oliver is expected to run again for the job she has held since 2016 but hasn't made a formal announcement. 

BACON BITS

Rep. Stansbury

She was late to the party but the ABQ area's new congresswoman still managed to bring home some bacon as earmarks were revived on the Hill this year after a decade long absence. 

Rep. Melanie Stansbury got a helping hand from Senators Lujan and Heinrich and the House leadership and was allowed to request $10 million in earmarks, even though the deadline was at the end of May and she was not elected until a June special election.

Dem Stansbury devoted the lion's share of her funding--$5.25 million--for upgrades to the Moriarty fire station. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center received $1.5 million for improvements and $1 million went to early childhood development programs.

Moriarty is in rural Torrance County, one of the small counties where Stansbury lost to Republican Mark Moores even as she was winning a 61-34 landslide districtwide, thanks to big BernCo. In Moriarty Moores bested her 54 to 34 but surely Stansbury just picked up the firefighter vote there.

Earlier, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez announced $74 million in earmarks for her sprawling northern congressional district. 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021