That's not about to happen but growing frustration over the Governor's resistance to legislative reform of the agency--insisting that she can do it internally--has longtime GOP political consultant Bob Cornelius pushing out a stern agenda for the '24 session that he would like to see Republican lawmakers pursue--if only they had the votes. The wish list may not be realistic in a Dem-controlled Legislature but it is provocative:
1. At the '24 session the Senate Finance Committee will begin cutting all executive branch budgets 1.5% per day until the Governor adds CYFD reform to her call.
2. Call CYFD Secretary-designate Teresa Casados to testify daily (alternating committees with any oversight over CYFD).
3. Refuse to confirm the CYFD Secretary until Governor signs a CYFD reform bill.
4. Don't wait for the Governor to include reform on her Call. Introduce and pass the Child Advocate bill that provides for independent oversight of CYFD and fund the position as part of the CYFD budget.
6. Call on the State Auditor/Attorney General to investigate CYFD and where the 77% reduction in spending to prevent repeat child abuse went and if funds were misused for other expenses.
Who knows? If CYFD continues to go downhill we might see a Democrat or two take an idea from this wish list and run with it.
As for MLG and the '24 session, there is no indication yet that she will add any CYFD reform measures to her call. Stay tuned.
From the SOS:
Here's world traveler, license plate collector, former state senator and current ABQ state senate candidate Michael Wiener smiling it up this week with Tom Udall, former NM US senator and now US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
ELECTION '23 WRAPPED
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| Chief Justice Bacon |
New Mexico’s State Canvass Board met Tuesday and unanimously certified the official results of the 2023 Regular Local Election.
The Board is composed of Governor Lujan Grisham (absent Tuesday), Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court C. Shannon Bacon.
“Every New Mexican should have the highest level of confidence in these official election results and in the conduct of the statewide Regular Local Election," said Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
The official, certified results for the 2023 Regular Local Election can be viewed here.
250,582 voters out of 1,219,760 eligible voters turned out for the election (20.54%). The Board signed the certificate of canvass that makes the results official.
REDISTRICTING TAKE
Reader and businessman John Rice comes with his take of the congressional redistricting that was upheld this week by the NM Supreme Court:
The Democrats repeatedly say that the state had a thorough, fair and extensive redistricting process led by a respected judge. That is true. It is also true that the Legislature dumped our work and appears to have followed Sen. Joe Cervantes lead in designing its own map. The process and proposed alternative the Redistricting Committee went through before being ignored by the Legislature was more neutral and fair than what the Legislature installed.
The above stated, as an Independent I regard the new map as far better than I expected of the Legislature since it left the southern district competitive enough that the Herrell-Vasquez race looks like a fair fight. Also, by diluting District 2, it actually appears to have created a more slightly competitive District 1. They did put a Democratic Party thumb on the scale, but not the whole fist.
The problem we New Mexicans share with other states is that redistricting has been appropriated as a right and privilege of political parties, thus making it about political party turf and self-interest rather than the balanced the interests of all voters. Thanks Joe, for the public service and wit of your blog.
NZ AND NM
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| Ambassador Udall & Wiener |
The occasion was Wiener's visit to the South Pacific where he presented the ambassador with his own personalized NM license plate.
The New Zealanders may have trouble figuring out what that chile symbol is but Wiener says Udall likes the plate enough that it will win a spot on his office wall in Wellington.
Wiener met with Udall, 75, at the US Embassy and reports he "loves the region and the job" and when not attending to his duties is pursuing the outdoor activities (hiking etc.) that he and his famous political family are known for.
Udall told Wiener he first met President Biden, 81, who nominated him ambassador, when he was in his 20's and campaigned for him during Biden's first run for the US Senate from Delaware. Udall served in the US House before serving in the Senate from 2009-2021.
One aside: The license plate can't go on the embassy wall until it gets a going over from security to make sure it isn't bugged. Wiener assured Udall it wasn't.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023