New Mexico's Governor and Legislature, faced with by far the highest rate in the nation of deaths caused by alcohol (more than 2,000 in '22) again failed to address the crisis in the recent legislative session. Unfortunately, our neighbor to the north also has their heads in the sand. From the Denver Post:
Colorado’s quiet killer: Alcohol ends more lives than overdoses, but there’s been no intervention; Part 1: Colorado alcohol deaths surged 60% in 4 years, but there’s been no public outcry or push to save lives;Part 2: Colorado has some of the lowest alcohol taxes and highest drinking deaths. That’s no coincidence, experts say. Part 3: Beer and wine became more widely available in Colorado even as drinking deaths rose;Part 4: Alcohol addiction treatment is available in Colorado, but people struggle to get the help they need.
Here are the big letdowns of progressive politics in Santa Fe:
The failure to protect the most vulnerable New Mexicans dying from alcoholism at astounding rates; ditto for those suffering from widespread fentanyl and other drug addictions without adequate treatment facilities and the failure to protect our children from violence and abuse by ignoring the years-long collapse of the Children, Youth and Families Department.
Progressives in Santa Fe go into a frenzy over abortion rights but when it comes to the conditions of those already born and suffering their option of choice is often silence.
The public most impacted is catching on:
The Times/Siena poll also noted a dramatic decline in Biden's support among less educated working-class voters of color. Four years ago, Biden won that demographic by 50 points but the poll suggested the margin over Trump had since plummeted to just six points.
Political consequences? GOP legislative candidates have an ideal issue in the CYFD disaster to confront progressive incumbents over; the chances of Republican Yvette Herrell breaking through in ABQ's Democratic South Valley are increasing along with her chances of upsetting progressive Dem Rep. Gabe Vasquez and Republican Nella Domenici is going to keep Dem Martin Heinrich busier than he would like.
Maybe the conservative coalition of 2020 is not alive in the Legislature but a coalition of working class Democrats, independents and Republicans may be taking shape.
A CYFD COALITION?
Joe, Democratic Senator Cervantes hit the nail on the head when stating that the failure of CYFD deserves a special legislative session. Without getting into specifics, my agency was involved in the CYFD case you wrote about last week that ended in the death of 7 year old Samantha Rubio and that the state settled for $5.5 million. This is a tragedy that could have been avoided if CYFD cared more about the safety of the child than the rights of parents who abuse their children.
Children are literally dying because of the philosophy that reunification is always in the best interest of the child. At what point will legislators have the resolve to unite and be the voice for these children? At what point do we start caring about the right of a child to live in a safe home? Legislators need to realize that the presumption that parents' rights to their children trump the children's rights to safety and welfare is wrong.
Senator Cervantes and I may be on the opposite sides of the aisle, but I applaud him for having the resolve to publicly address this issue. This is a winning issue for legislators if they will unite, create bi-partisan legislation, and move forward with, or without, the governor.
Thank you for continuing to highlight our broken child welfare system. The public needs to know what is going on so more people can be a voice for these children.
Berry points out that Sen. Crystal Diamond has been among those on the GOP side leading the charge for CYFD reform and that an open alliance with Cervantes could be the springboard for a bipartisan solution.
That wouldn't be easy with a Governor resisting external reforms but she will assume lame-duck status following the November election which usually reduces the fear factor among legislators reluctant to break with a chief executive of their own party.
GOP PREPRIMARY RESULTS
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| Louie Sanchez at preprimary |
The Party held its 2024 Pre-Primary Convention at Hotel Albuquerque Saturday. . .Nearly 500 delegates voted for the GOP U.S. House and Senate candidates who will appear on the June 4 primary ballot. Three of the statewide GOP positions are uncontested.
Candidates must receive at least 20% of the delegates’ vote to appear on the primary ballot. A candidate who does not receive 20% of the vote may still appear on the primary ballot by collecting additional petition signatures.
These are the candidates that delegates chose to be placed on the primary ballot:
US REP.--1st CD: Louie Sanchez 157 votes - qualified to be on the primary ballot. Steve Jones 9 votes
U.S. Representative for 2nd CD: Yvette Herrell 152 votes - qualified to be on the primary ballot.
U.S. Representative for the 3rd CD: Sharon Clahchischilliage 183 votes - qualified to be on the primary ballot.
U.S. Senate: Nella Domenici 487 votes - qualified to be on the primary ballot.
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