Sen. Pope (Source NM)

Supporters of Democratic lieutenant governor candidate and current State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard see the hand of Dem Guv candidate Deb Haaland at play in the new candidacy of ABQ state Sen. Harold Pope. One of those disgruntled over Pope's entry into the light guv race sums it up this way:

It seems Deb brought Pope in to avoid having another woman run with her. 

Time will tell if that's the case but Garcia Richard's supporters aren't waiting. They don't see risk in an all-female '26 ticket which would be an historic first. In fact, they believe it would be a plus. One of them writes:

The old rules that the ticket has to have an ethnic or ideological balance no longer holds, Joe. The game is Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Dona Ana counites, all progressive and all welcoming to women candidates. If Haaland is recruiting Pope she is running scared which she seems to be getting a reputation for. 

A Haaland-Pope ticket would also be a first with Haaland as the first Native American as Governor and Pope as the first African-American lt. governor.  Such Dem identity politics also has appeal in the aforementioned major counties.

As for Haaland being "scared," she has pulled in her horns on her often uber-progressive politics in the wake of Trump's decent showing in the state's presidential race, shying away from policy specifics since announcing her bid in February.

Dem Guv candidate and BernCo District Attorney Sam Bregman is already identified as a moderate Dem and is not moving noticeably left. A Bregman-Garcia Richard ticket would be an interesting twist with the land commissioner working to bring aboard progressives put off if Haaland lost to Bregman in next June's primary. 

RACE ANALYSIS 

Garcia Richard

Garcia Richard, 51, is the front-runner in the race with Pope, having won two statewide elections and several for state representative. She is a darling of the progressives. Any infatuation with Trump is not going to leak into her political base. 

Pope, about 51 and first elected to his westside ABQ seat in 2020, is more moderate and not as affable as Garcia Richard but he does have presence. 

Who is hungrier for the job? That would be Garcia Richard. She is term limited as land commissioner and must win to continue her political career. Pope does not have to give up anything. His four year term is not up until 2028 so win or lose next year, he stays at the Roundhouse

The Garcia Richard-Pope clash, laced as it is with ethnic and ideological threads, may make some Dems uncomfortable but it could also be seen as a sign of health. While the Dems are off to a hot start for the top offices, Republicans continue to founder when it comes to fielding well-known faces.

State Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer did find the energy to blast his senate colleague upon his entry int the lieutenant governor contest: 

Harold Pope is not the type of leadership New Mexicans need nor deserve. His sponsored legislation and voting record speaks for itself, and he represents an increasingly out-of-touch ideology that New Mexicans reject: He voted for Senate Bill 258 that aimed to mandate inappropriate sexual education to students as young as 11 years old. He backed House Bill 64 which sought to use taxpayer dollars to pay for college for illegal immigrants.

Welcome to the main stage of La Politica, Senator Pope, where punches come from the right, left and in between. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

NM State Police Chief Troy Weisler has a clarification of a portion of the blog that appeared in a first draft Tuesday and was later corrected:

Joe, I wanted to make a clarification in reference to Dan Klein’s comments that appeared inaccurate. Mr. Klein stated: 

“The Law Enforcement Certification Board is currently staffed with sheriff’s and police chiefs. That needs to be changed. The Board can have a law enforcement voice but other members should be current or retired judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys and civilian professionals.” 

Those are the precise changes that were made to the Law Enforcement Certification Board a few years ago by the Legislature. The current members and the specific mandated areas of expertise they represent are listed on the website. That includes, in addition to current or retired law enforcement – a judge, a telecommunicator, multiple attorneys from different fields of expertise, a professor and a citizen-at-large.. 

The position of chairman of the LECB is listed on the site as vacant. 

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A disturbing video from August 2024 of a Grant County Sheriff's Department deputy killing a baby rabbit by slamming the small creature against a police vehicle and smiling during and after the incident has sparked outrage even among law enforcement. Details:

The relationship between the nine member ABQ City Council and Mayor Mayor Tim Keller has grown increasingly rocky as Keller has assumed more power and the Council has felt slighted and sometimes bullied by the executive who is now seeking an unprecedented consecutive third term. 

Despite having a working 5 to 4 conservative majority--four Republicans and one conservative Democrat--the Council's bark has been worse than its bite when it comes to the 11th Floor where Keller presides at downtown Government Center. Most of what he has wanted he has received albeit with intermittent adjustments by the Council.

Keller has issued at least 12 vetoes since the current Council was seated in January 2022 with the Council overriding four of them for a success rate of 33%. But the vetoes have been over low-key and often procedural matters matters that have not engaged the public. 

Keller's relationship with the Council has gone downhill but he was successful with his first Council in passing the major items of his agenda that included acquiring the Gateway Center for homelessness, approving a tax increase for public safety and reorganizing the city in a more progressive fashion by establishing departments such as an Office of Equity and Inclusion. 

CRIME STRUGGLE 

It is the city's struggle with crime where Keller is most vulnerable and where the Council has been ineffective in placing blame on him. They have not had the appetite to take him on for fear of coming across as soft on crime and anti-police while facing a public that has been reluctant to pin the cause not only on Keller but on their own councilors.

That circumstance does not appear to be in for any dramatic change as a result of elections in five of the nine Council districts this November. Our observers report the most likely outcome appears to be a Council slightly more aligned with Keller or should another Democrat succeed him. 

That's due mainly to the race in District One on the city's Westside where conservative Democratic Councilor Louie Sanchez, the most vocal Council critic of Keller, is giving up his seat to run for mayor. His most likely successors are either Ahren Griego or Daniel Leiva, both Democrats and not seen as holding animosity for Keller or being conservatives.

Presuming Keller is re-elected (he has six challengers) and one of those two District One candidate wins, the Council could return to a 5 to 4 moderate/liberal majority, diminishing the odds of overriding mayoral vetoes. 

OTHER COUNCIL RACES 

Buchanan Farmer

Another race closely watched is District 9 in the far Northeast Heights that includes the affluent Four Hills Neighborhood but also many low and middle income neighborhoods. 

The seat is held by Republican Councilor Renee Grout. Her chief challenger is progressive Dem Melani Buchanan Farmer. The district, once heavy Republican, has been getting competitive. In 2021 Grout won a runoff election with 51.7 percent of the vote. If Buchanan Farmer resists going too far to the left, she could score an upset, putting the Council deeper into Dem territory. 

Along those lines she recently made note of the layoffs (up to 500) at Sandia National Labs, the district's largest employer:

When hundreds of jobs at Sandia National Labs are at risk, silence from our elected leaders is unacceptable--especially from a City Councilor whose district includes the Labs. Renee Grout, a vocal Trump supporter, has said nothing about the looming layoffs--cuts that follow Trump’s proposals to slash funding for renewable energy. This isn’t just a budget shift. It’s hundreds of Albuquerque families facing uncertainty. And we’re getting silence from the very people elected to fight for us. .

Grout did not respond to an email inquiry about the layoffs. She is not alone in her silence. The state's Democratic congressional delegation, the Governor and Mayor Keller have all been mum about the bad Sandia news. Still, the issue hits the pocketbook, a critical one for voters of all stripes.

In other Council races as the City Clerk posts the final candidate roster, District 3 ABQ Valley Dem Councilor Klarissa Pena is seeking a fourth term and in a position to win.

In District 5 in the northwest incumbent Republican Dan Lewis is in a lively race with Dem Athenea Allen, wife of Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. Consultants say Lewis is favored but the race merits attention. 

In District 7 progressive Dem Tammy Feibelkorn drew no opposition.

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The IRS surprised La Politica this week with a ruling that could bring some prominent voices to the table to make candidate endorsements, The ruling:

In a break with decades of tradition, the Internal Revenue Service says it will allow houses of worship to endorse candidates for political office without losing their tax-exempt status. The surprise announcement came in a court document filed on Monday. Since 1954, a provision in the tax code called the Johnson Amendment says that churches and other nonprofit organizations could lose their tax-exempt status if they participate in, or intervene in "any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

Here in River City, Pastor Steve Smotherman of Legacy Church, one of the largest in the state, has flirted with endorsements while preaching to his conservative evangelical parishioners. In fact back in 2021 he openly endorsed a candidate for ABQ city council and was called out for it.

Now Smotherman could get in the endorsement game legitimately but Democrats need not apply for the Pastor's nod of approval. Smotherman isn't going to endorse any candidate who is pro-choice. 

The watch is on for other state religious leaders who may want to dip their toes in the political waters with no threat of crossing the IRS. But they may have second thoughts. Their endorsement could be sought in a Republican primary but could then backfire in a general election featuring a more moderate electorate.  

SUMMER VIBE

From the NYT travel section on Taos:

“There’s a vibration there that’s stunning and moving and just makes your heart feel good. The landscape is raw and it’s wild and you just want to get up close to it,” says the architect Rick Joy. “You feel enchanted, and you kind of even feel like you might be enchanting.” 

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Clark's Kitty

The '26 race for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State featuring Dona Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin and Santa Fe County Clerk Katherine Clark is off to an early and nasty start. 

ABQ Dem state Sen. Katy Duhigg, who has had differences with Clark over state legislation, unloaded on Clark on the socials, posting a snide remark about Clark's description of what the SOS job encompasses:

Tell me you don’t know the job you’re running for without telling me you don’t know the job you’re running for. 

Then came this comment from a poster supporting Askin and in the process playing the race card: 

I am so happy we have a NATIVE New Mexican Hispanic woman who is ready to take over the reigns from our current rock star SOS Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

Clark and Askin have both capably presided over elections in their home counties and are hungry for advancement. 

It's also clear that Clark understands the job she is running for and that not being a "native Hispanic woman" is certainly not a disqualification. After all Secretary Maggie, who has done ten years as SOS and is now leaving, is Anglo. Perhaps Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who has already endorsed Askin, should urge everyone to pull the claws in a bit? 

Clark has so far held her fire. Her latest social post is about her new foster cat: 

Meet Luna, my new foster kitty for the next 4 weeks. Española said they have kittens and some are injured and well, I couldn’t resist. 

Well, at least Clark doesn't have to contend with any serious clawing from Luna. 

DATELINE ABQ

In the ABQ mayoral race former US Attorney Alex Uballez was first out of the gate in criticizing Republican Darren White over the news that White took a Florida tax exemption that he wasn't entitled to. Now Mayor Keller has piled on:  

Dear ABQ Neighbor, Did you catch the story. . .about Republican Darren White claiming a $50,000 tax break meant only for full-time Florida residents?. . . White declared his beachside house as his primary residence--even while voting in New Mexico and now running for Mayor. He submitted a Florida driver’s license, utility bills, and bank records to make it official. That’s not just a “simple oversight.” It’s classic tax-dodging--and it raises real questions about Darren White’s honesty, integrity, and legal compliance. And let’s be honest: it’s straight out of the Trump playbook. Dodging taxes, playing both sides, and expecting no consequences.

White dismisses the attack, asserting he committed a "technical" violation and has contacted Florida officials to correct it.  

Also in the seven way mayoral derby, Keller says he has been endorsed by AFSCME, the labor union that represents a fair amount of city government workers. The union says: 

Mayor Keller has always shown up for the workers who show up for Albuquerque. From Day One, he’s fought to protect good union jobs, raise wages, and invest in the people who keep this city running. AFSCME is proud to stand with a mayor who stands with us — and with the workers who provide the services every Albuquerque resident relies on, from cleaner parks to timely trash pickup.

HIBERNATION OVER 

Bill McCamley, former Las Cruces state rep and Secretary of Workforce Solutions under MLG, has emerged from a long political hibernation to assume the role of campaign manager for Dem US Rep. Gabe Vasquez also of Las Cruces and who is seeking a third term next year. The lone Republican who has announced for the southern congressional seat, which also includes a sizeable swath of BernCo, is talk show host Eddy Aragon. McCamley lived in Austin after resigning his cabinet post in 2021. 

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The pounding of the table can cease. Finally the state will have satellite broadband as an option for internet stranded households--not just expensive fiber optic lines that will take years to rescue them from the information desert. 

The good news comes because of the Trump administration edict that $42 billion in federal broadband funds including $675 million for New Mexico be reworked to include satellite and other nonfiber options:

The new criteria includes “technology neutrality,” with no preference for fiber, fixed wireless or low orbit satellite service, as long as it meets performance benchmarks, because “the full force of the competitive marketplace must be utilized,” the policy notice says. The new requirements allow broadband providers to set their own price for a “low-cost option” and no longer prioritize fiber technology. 

The state Broadband Office and certain legislators have been dragging their feet on satellite, arguing that fiber is faster and more reliable. There has also been intensive lobbying for fiber from the telco companies who are major campaign donors. 

The most obvious satellite hook-up is via Starlink owned by the polarizing Elon Musk. But in this case he has the technology that can rapidly deploy internet for some of the 40,000 underserved areas in the state, many of them remote households where kids can't get the education they need and deserve because of the lack of broadband. 

NEW BROADBAND BOSS 

Jeff Lopez

The previous director of the broadband office was bounced by MLG and replaced by Jeff Lopez who one might think is a fiber-only advocate because of his previous employment by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband. Lujan has shunned satellite (wrongly and quizzically) for years. But Lopez has a new boss now and suddenly sees the federal handwriting on the wall and the satellites in the sky: 

There's little joy here over passage of the Big Beautiful Bill and its substantial cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, but there is a long ignored lesson. New Mexico has far too many of its citizens reliant on the welfare state and vulnerable to the whims of Washington. 

Forty percent of the state's residents receive Medicaid--the highest per capita rate in the nation. Twenty-three percent receive food stamps. Any place else these are outlandish numbers but here they are expected, acknowledged and little debated. 

The punishing cuts planned for the programs will not take full effect until after next year's midterm elections so the Republicans can practice dodging the bullet. That also allows time for the state to absorb the shock. 

Significantly, massive surpluses in Santa Fe totaling billions are available to ease the pain of the reductions.

There is little discussion of the hard work and game changing approaches that would be needed to change the state economic dynamic and begin putting on line much better paying jobs and finally disrupt the addiction culture that keeps so many sidelined. But there are shreds of hope that the dependency on the social safety net may ease  in the long term.

Santa Fe District Judge Mathew Wilson has laid out a court-ordered plan for the administration to fulfill the promise of the 10 year old Yazzie-Martinez lawsuit that found the state is failing to provide adequate public education to a wide swath of students--mostly Native American and Hispanic--which is thwarting their social advancement and creates generational dependency on the welfare state. 

The other is the passage of a constitutional amendment to fully fund early childhood education for ages 0 to 5, critical years for brain development. The measure providing over $150 million annually took effect in mid-2023 and will take years--not months to deliver the desired results.  

Even with those green sprouts, the legendary inefficiency of the state bureaucracy in implementing them and the traditional lack of aggressive legislative oversight is a major concern. 

Meanwhile, the enduring irony of the state's political narrative continues. With over $60 billion in a myriad of reserves we continue to languish, with a too large proportion of our citizens remain stuck in a quality of life long ago surpassed by the rest of the nation. 

SHOULDERS SHRUGGING 

Here's an update on that other bout of economic turbulence that recently hit the state. 

For Sandia National Labs where as many as 500 layoffs are underway, the labs overall budget will actually move up a smidgen next fiscal year--less than 1 percent--while Los Alamos and its weapon modernization programs mean that budget will skyrocket a stunning 17 percent. 

For Sandia and ABQ the trend is the issue. The subdued response to the layoffs here by the public, press and congressional delegation--(or no response at all) is in sharp contrast to earlier generations who bolted from their chairs at any mention of a budget threat to the labs.

The collective shrugging of shoulders over the layoffs sends a message that they are no big deal and that New Mexico may not be ready for a fight. Future budget-cutters could use that as a guide on deciding whose bread gets buttered. 

Don't say we didn't tell you.

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We've often bragged about ABQ's airport over the years, citing its convenience, cleanliness, aesthetic beauty and overall excellence. (And with our state's rankings so often in the cellar we are thankful for the talking point).  

Now as the peak vacation travel season gets going, we're glad to see that view shared by the Washington Post as they rank the ABQ International Sunport the nation's seventh best on their top fifty list. An excerpt:

Few airports embody their location more than the Sunport, a study in the Southwestern aesthetic. The adobe-style terminal feels like it belongs in a local pueblo rather than the gateway to New Mexico. Take a moment in the Great Hall after check-in to soak in the vibe on one of the airport’s wood-and-leather chairs or benches. It’s “totally New Mexico,” as one reader put it. 

Look up and take in the ceiling’s decorated wood beams, or vigas. Check out the Cavalcade of Wings’s more than 900 aircraft models before going through TSA. Stop in the new food court after TSA for a cup of piñon coffee, a brew flavored with the nut of the tree that grows in the high desert. Drink it under Lincoln Fox’s impressive “Dream of Flight” sculpture. Then pick up some red or green chile before heading to the gate. 

Fliers love ♥ Murals in the Great Hall from Native American artist Pop Chalee that depict buffalo and horses. Close to the city, it’s 5 miles from Albuquerque’s city hall.

Congrats to all the Sunport staff, especially the maintenance division whose work is consistently outstanding. We could not ask for a better gateway to the Land of Enchantment and now the nation knows. 

BOTTOM LINES & HAPPY FOURTH

About those layoffs at Sandia National Labs that we reported of this week and where we said that they appeared to be the first in "living memory," we get this from reader Michael Emerson: 

Joe, see page 11 of this report this on Sandia's history: 

. . .From 1970 to 1974, national budgets for research and development declined by nearly a third.” Federally funded nondefense research and development had undergone a 22 percent reduction from 1966 to 1975 due to the costs of the Vietnam War. This reduced funding resulted in three personnel layoffs at Sandia in 1970, 1971, and 1973.

Those layoffs were massive (something like 15-20% were let go) and traumatic for the city. I was in elementary school at the time and vividly remember hearing of fathers of classmates losing their jobs. The handling of the layoffs led to class action age discrimination lawsuits resulting in Sandia rehiring employees in the early 1980s. 

As a result of the 1970s layoffs, Sandia has avoided the practice and the use of the term “layoffs."

Great stuff, Michael. In this case "living memory" is for those under the age of 60. . .

In a first draft Wednesday we stated that Dem land commission candidate Juan Sanchez did not mention Sen. Martin Heinrich, who has endorsed his candidacy, on his website. That was an oversight. The senator is mentioned on Sanchez's bio page as well as the endorsement section. 

That's it for now. Happy Fourth, New Mexico.  Frank, fly us out of here. . .from the Sunport.

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Sanchez, McQueen & Moya

How about that race for the '26 Dem nomination for state land commissioner? Two up and coming thirtysomething Hispanic candidates are facing off with an accomplished state legislator old enough to be their father. 

Six term Santa Fe county state Rep. Matthew McQueen, 56, is giving up the HD 50 seat he has held since 2015 to make the run. He is a House committee chairman, an attorney and equipped with a resume longer than the train on Lauren Sanchez's wedding gown. 

Tucumcari area rancher Jonas Moya, 34, served as executive director of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, is a former Biden-appointed state director for the Farm Service Agency and has an air of confidence about him.

Juan Sanchez, 32, has deep family roots in Socorro and Valencia counties and experience as natural resource specialist and ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. However, he is best known in political circles as a former top political aide to US Sen. Heinrich who has already endorsed him.

If elected, any one of this trio is set to be an aggressive administrator of the State Land Office which oversees some 9 million acres of state trust land benefiting the public schools, universities and hospitals.

RACE OUTLOOK 

McQueen came into the race this week with good timing, becoming the solo Anglo candidate against the two Hispanic hopefuls. His background is rock solid with progressives. That record includes the break he made with MLG over hydrogen development, a bane to the enviros.  

Sanchez's endorsement by Heinrich is a mixed blessing. It should help with fundraising but Heinrich's flirtation with a possible run for the Dem Guv nomination against Deb Haaland stings with some progressives. Also hovering is Heinrich's unsuccessful endorsement of a Dem primary candidate for land commissioner in 2018. Sanchez is also making note of his service as vice-chairman of the NM Dem party when Haaland was chair. 

Moya would seem to come at the office with a slightly more moderate approach than his rivals, given his background as a rancher and former head of the cattle group. If McQueen and Sanchez start splitting votes up maybe he could pass them by. He is not a lightweight.

McQueen is the only one of the three with a political base and it's in important Santa Fe. He also has stature among state and national environmental groups for being the real deal and that aforementioned independent streak. He could be positioned to win the pre-primary convention.

Stephanie Garcia Richard has completed two terms as land commissioner and is now running for the Dem nomination for lieutenant governor. Skeptics questioned her credentials for the land office job but she proved capable over her eight year run.

As for the Republicans, none has announced a run yet. With three notable entrants the Dems don't appear likely to loose their grip on the office. 

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Darren White

The most prominent Republican in the seven candidate race for ABQ mayor has been busted for misrepresenting his residency and taking a property tax exemption on his Florida home that only Florida's full-time residents are eligible for and that he wasn't entitled to. The development could change the complexion of the contest. 

Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White brushes aside taking advantage of the Florida Homestead Property Tax Exemption to get a $50,000 tax exemption on his Port St. Joe house since 2022, asserting that "voters care more about crime in Albuquerque than property tax technicalities in Florida,"

But do they?

After decades in public service White had already accumulated more than his fair share of political baggage. That includes his forced resignation as ABQ's Public Safety Director under GOP Mayor Berry after intervening in the police investigation of a serious auto accident involving his then wife. (Our comprehensive coverage of that 2011 drama is here.)

There are many other examples of White's public troubles but the addition of the tax scheme of claiming he was a resident of Florida is fresh meat foe his opponents. Besides damaging his integrity, the incident  could slow White's fund-raising as potential donors hesitate over his candidacy. 

White and other candidates tried and failed to qualify for public financing and are now trying to resuscitate their campaigns by going private. City finance reports come out July 14. 

Mayor Tim Keller is the only contender to quality for the $756,000 in public money. Several political consultants we interviewed believe that it will take at least $500,000 for a Keller foe to have a fighting chance, barring any major mistakes by the incumbent. 

Conventional wisdom has had White a favorite to finish second behind Keller and perhaps get in a run-off with Keller.  If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote at the Nov. 4 election a month later a run-off election would be held between the top two vote-getters. It's no longer clear that White would be the natural to come in second behind the Dem mayor.

UBALLEZ POUNCES 

Keller & Uballez

Dem progressive candidate Alex Uballez could be a beneficiary of the White disclosure if it causes the conservative vote to become even more split. Uballez, a former US attorney, came with this on the heels of the front-paging of White's woes: 

While our neighbors are struggling to afford rent or keep up with property tax, Darren White was avoiding paying his fair share on his beachfront home in Florida. Especially right now, we need a mayor with a track record of serving the public good, not dodging their responsibility to contribute to it. Among a long list of disqualifications, this raises the question of whether this is the quality of leadership we deserve. 

The Journal reported the disclosure of White's now ill-fated tax exemption came first from "an outside source affiliated with a Republican political consulting firm."

We broke the news here last month that well-known national GOP consulting firm Axiom has been signed by Daniel Chavez, the parking lot businessman, who is running as an independent and put up $100,000 of personal funds to ensure he collected enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. 

It is not known whether Rockville, MD based Axiom was the behind the scenes player busting White. Those that could benefit from it in addition to Chavez are conservative Democrats Louie Sanchez, Mayling Armijo and retired firefighter Eddie Varela, the only other Republican besides White in the race.

That's music to the ears of Uballez, the other progressive in the race in addition to Keller and who needs all the breaks he can get. A former Sheriff claiming residency in another state that he doesn't have while condemning Keller for being a failure on crime is just that kind of break.

THE BOTTOM LINES 

Houses in Port St. Joe, located on Florida's westside with a population of 4,200, sell for around $500,000, according to Zillow. The $50,000 tax exemption White claimed would save him around $1,000 a year, according to the state. White now rents out the house. 

White received a medical cannabis license during the administration of GOP Gov. Susana Martinez. He served as co-owner and CEO of PūrLife from 2015 until the company was sold in September 2021. The company gave $11,000 to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham's 2018 campaign. As Governor she successfully pursued legalization of marijuana that was approved by the legislature in 2021. 

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The word layoffs is an indecipherable hieroglyph at Sandia National Laboratories. 

They probably need an anthropologist to tell them what it means, because in Sandia's nearly 80 year history even old timers can't recall the nuclear weapons research and development institution using that dreary noun. But there it is, against all odds and splashed across the headlines for all to guffaw at. 

(A reader now informs there were layoffs in the early 70's and we'll follow up on that.) 

Like so many other norms under Trump, this one died a public death with the Labs announcing that 1 to 3 percent of its workforce--as many as 510 well-paid employees--would be let go due to a "restructuring" at the place where nuclear weapons are born and raised.

Say what? doesn't come close to describing the surprise this has been greeted with. 

Most everyone missed or didn't take to heart the recent congressional testimony of Sec. of Energy Chris Wright where he detailed a sharper definition for the mission of the nation's 17 national laboratories and forthcoming budget cuts. 

Sen. Martin Heinrich, the senior Democrat on the Senate Energy Committee where Wright made his case, did see it coming, saying Wright's new paradigm would mean slashing $2.75 billion and 7,700 jobs.

Months ago the New Mexican raised a red flag over funding for Los Alamos Laboratories but it turns out that the budget for that nuclear weapons outpost will actually grow under Wright's plans--not so Sandia. 

Los Alamos is so busy they have placed employees in Santa Fe because of a lack of space as they focus on nuclear weapons modernization. Sandia's mission is broader and more vulnerable.

ABQ'S SPINAL CORD 

Heinrich and the rest of the state's DC delegation, always ready to boast of  how they "protect the labs," had not a word to say as Sandia dropped their bombshell (thankfully not a live one). Perhaps being made speechless by the seemingly unprecedented news is their excuse. 

Sandia, the spinal cord of the ABQ metro economy, has a workforce of nearly 17,000 with 13,000 of them in ABQ and the remainder in California. The annual budget is around $3.5 billion. That is major moolah in a state of a bit more than 2 million souls and not much of a private business climate.

When the Alligators were done choking on their tortillas, they posed the all-important question: Is this a one and done deal or are we in for something more disturbing?

DOWNSIZING CAUSE  

The downsizing appears to be driven not only over cost concerns but the administration's antipathy toward renewable energy research. 

We see where $49 million is being stripped from the Lab's budget for research for the Holy Trinity of the environmental left-- solar, wind and geothermal--seen on the right as a triple waste of time.  

And that line item to have Sandia look into methane mitigation? Forget it. It's gone and to the applause of the oil boys. 

The hit on renewables comes with the support of the now notorious Project 2025 whose manifesto reshaping the federal government was circulating even before Musk and the DOGE cutters came along.  

A PEAK IS REACHED 

The one and done believers on the layoffs are getting the benefit of the doubt because the target is nonnuclear items which is the lion's share of the budget. And while the layoffs stunned the city, there has been an explosion (pun intended) in employment at Sandia.

Looking at the 2020 numbers, total jobs skyrocketed to 14,000 with 1,100 new positions amid the start of the updating of the nation's nuclear arsenal.That compares with the aforementioned 17,000 employees today, so even if the full 3 percent layoff target is implemented, Sandia's recent rapid growth is hardly negated. 

A former aide to Senator Jeff Bingaman, who chaired Senate Energy as did Senator Pete Domenici and who were were known for safeguarding the lab budgets for decades, was cautious about the future, telling us:

Let's face it. After Trump the federal government will never be the same. The peak of many programs has been reached. For Sandia that peak was high. Scaling new ground above it is probably not in the cards. 

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Councilor Garcia

In covering Monday's large Santa Fe protest to oppose the sale of federal public lands we mentioned that there does not appear to be a clear front-runner for the large progressive voting bloc in the city's November mayoral election. Not that the hopefuls aren't trying. City Councilor and mayoral candidate Mike Garcia sends this: 

It was amazing to participate in the rally. As a frequent recreational user of our state’s extraordinary public lands, I could not sit idle. I made my own sign and marched with others to advocate that public lands are to be protected and not sold off to the highest bidder. 

Meanwhile, Garcia has more competition with the addition to the race of first term Santa Fe County Commissioner Justin Greene. His campaign says: 

Crumbling roads, rising rents, and a worsening housing crisis have left residents frustrated and eager for change. . . is launching his campaign to bring fresh energy, real solutions, and accountability to City Hall. Greene is committed to delivering effective solutions that improve infrastructure, strengthen public safety, and address homelessness and the housing crisis — all with transparency, urgency, and integrity. 

Seven candidates are now running to succeed two term Mayor Alan Webber. Most of them seem reasonably informed and the City Different can look forward to an interesting campaign. 

That big surprise in the New York mayoral race Tuesday where underdog and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani came out on top in the Democratic primary shows how the unexpected can happen in a mayoral contest. Of course, in the Santa Fe race the expectations in the early going are kind of a blank slate-- although with an established base of voters Garcia and Greene are in the top tier. 

DATELINE ABQ 

In the ABQ mayoral campaign Mayor Tim Keller is blasting opponents who are blaming the city's public financing system for being too complicated as an explanation for why they did not qualify for $756,000 in public money. Keller was the only candidate to qualify and defends the process:

Qualifying for Albuquerque’s public financing system isn’t meant to be easy. It requires hard work and the ability to build a team of volunteers. . .That means thousands of humble face-to-face conversations about the future of our city. . .Candidates signed on to pursue public financing knowing the rules, and now they are complaining about the system when they can’t make the cut— let’s be clear: the rules haven’t changed in twenty years, and candidates from both parties, incumbents and challengers, have made the cut in the past. What’s changed is that, this year, we have hardly seen any other candidates personally ask voters to support their public financing because some of my opponents were either too arrogant, slow, or ineffective.

Pretty rough language for Keller's opponents there. If Keller wins a third term it appears the City Council would need a veto proof majority--six of the nine councilors--to make any major changes to the current financing system.  

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.        

A massive Monday protest in Santa Fe against that Republican proposal to sell off two million acres of federal land for development--including some in New Mexico--and that drew a crowd variously estimated at two to three thousand--was a potent reminder that the nationalization of New Mexican politics is alive and well and will continue to reverberate at the state's ballot boxes.

First came Trump's election in 2016 that started the backlash, then came the debate on abortion rights and now there is the general displeasure with Trump's second term motivating robust political protest and voter participation. 

The crowd that jammed the streets outside the El Dorado Hotel where a Western Governors Association meeting was in session and that included a speech by Trump Interior Secretary Burgum, was quintessentially progressive. They decorated the scene with colorful signs (GOP Land Steal--No Bueno) filled the air with loud chants and created an overall 60's vibe that has never really disappeared from the fortresses of state liberalism that are Santa Fe and Taos.

The national dominance of the local agenda is already noticeable in the ABQ mayoral race where incumbent Tim Keller is reminding whoever will listen that Trump is the poison and that he is the antidote. That's the familiar path he took in 2017 when he won his first term and when Trump also loomed large. 

In the Santa Fe mayoral race, also on the ballot this November, there is less clarity on who will benefit from progressive enthusiasm to vote. There is no clear front-runner yet in the field of six hopefuls who want to succeed two term progressive Mayor Alan Webber. But if any one of the candidates can capture the fervor on display Monday they are sure to be formidable. 

In the still embryonic Governor's race, Deb Haaland needs all the progressive support she can get for next June's primary as Sam Bregman works to consolidate other wings of the party. Haaland had to be gratified by the enthusiastic Santa Fe crowd. If she can capture that kind of energy among progressives there and  in ABQ and Las Cruces denying her the Dem nomination will be problematic.

Meanwhile the US Senate parliamentarian ruled Tuesday that the provision to sell off those federal lands can't be included in the big budget bill under consideration. For New Mexico Republicans that's not a defeat but a favor. 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.