INTRODUCTION

On July 20, 2018, Santa Fe District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled in the landmark case of Yazzie v. State of New Mexico and Governor Suzanna Martinez (Yazzie v. Martinez) that the state of New Mexico has a constitutional obligation to provide every student with an equal opportunity and a sufficient education, especially Native American students, English language learners, students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students,  all of whom make up around 70% of New Mexico’s student population.  Subsequent to the court  ruling,  the court approved formal plans to reform the state’s Public Education System. Over subsequent years the New Mexico Legislature has enacted millions in funding each year to carry out the mandated public education reforms. The main question is why has New Mexico rankings not improved?

THREE YEAR GOALS MET

The Albuquerque Public Sch00l (APS) system is the single largest school district in New Mexico  overseen by the elected Albuquerque Public School Board of Education. Dr. Gabriella Durán Blakey is the Superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools.  As the state’s largest district, APS accounts for upwards  of  22% of New Mexico’s public school students.

On July 15, 2026, it was reported to APS School Board that the Albuquerque Public Schools has met its three-year goals for underserved and economically disadvantaged students in first and second grade reading but fell short in middle school math. APS District officials presented interim academic assessment results to the APS Board of Education showing that students identified under the Yazzie v. Martinez education lawsuit, along with African American students, exceeded literacy benchmarks while falling short of math proficiency goals. However middle school math proficiency goals lag annual targets. In reading, over 29% of first graders scored at or above grade-level proficiency with 33% of second graders reaching proficiency. In math, middle school students had modest improvement, but district officials said not enough to meet annual benchmarks.

PROFFICIENCY  SCORES OUTLINED

According to assessment data from the end of the school year presented to the APS School Board,  34% of first graders and 38.6% of second graders were proficient in reading.  These are the highest scores reported since at least 2021, even though the statistics mean the majority of students in both grades  did not meet the benchmark. At the end of the 2024-25 school year, 28.5% of first graders and 32% of second graders were proficient in reading.

In first grade, Native American students showed some of the biggest gains of any demographic.  27.4% of Native American first graders were proficient in reading, compared with 15.3% at the end of last school year. At the end of the 2021-22 school year, the share of Native American first graders proficient in reading was just 7%.

First graders included as  economically disadvantaged students and Black first graders, who are not specifically named in the Yazzie v. Martinez lawsuit, but are included in the group by APS,  scored a reading proficiency rate of 29.2%, up from 23.2% the year before.

The scores means the  APS school district has met the goal it set for itself three years ago which was to raise first grade reading proficiency among students named in the  Yazziev v. Martinez lawsuit  as  economically disadvantaged students and Black students from 17% in May 2023 to 23% in May 2026.

Second graders reported similarly positive gains. A share of 38.6% of second grade students were proficient in reading, compared with 32% at the end of last school year. The only group across both grades to see a decline was English language learners in the second grade, whose reading proficiency dropped by 0.8% since the end of last school year.

Among the Yazzie v. Martinez students  included as  economically disadvantaged students and Black second graders, reading proficiency was 32.6%, up from 25.7% the year before, indicating the district has again exceeded its goal which was to raise second grade reading proficiency from 18.3% in May 2023 to 24.3% in May 2026. APS officials have said reading proficiency for third grade students is measured using the state assessment, for which results have not yet come back.

For first and second graders, reading assessments are taken using the artificial intelligence-powered software Amira, of which some teachers and staff have questioned the accuracy.  APS staff members have said they have  concerns over the program’s inconsistent scoring and inability to decipher the speech of children with impediments or foreign accents.

Among sixth grade students in the targeted groups, 21.2% achieved proficiency on the district’s i-Ready assessment, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the previous school year. However, that result fell 1.4 percentage points below the district’s interim goal of 22.6%.

Among seventh graders, math proficiency dropped by 0.1% since last school year, for a total proficiency rate of 25.1%. Yazzie v. Martinez economically disadvantaged students and Black students reported a proficiency rate of 17.9%, indicating the district had fallen just short of its goal of 19% proficiency by May 2026. These students were in first and second grade during the COVID pandemic  meaning they missed crucial school years early on.  APS  Superintendent Dr.Durán Blakey said the   so-called “COVID slide” of pandemic learning loss impacts student learning forever and she said “It’s never just going to go away.”

Yazzie v. Martinez economically disadvantaged students and Black sixth graders showed marginal gains in math.  These students scored 0.8% higher than at the end of last school year, but the progress wasn’t enough for the district to meet its goal of 22.6% proficiency by May 2026.

Before this school year, students used Istation, a testing software without AI. The company was acquired by Amira.  In math, students did not show the same progress. Of sixth graders, 30% were proficient in math, the same as last year.

Though results indicate a majority of the tested students at APS are not proficient in reading and math, the scores are still better than the dismal statewide results from fourth and eighth graders, who scored 50th in the country on a national exam.

New Mexico ranked last in a 2024 report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed only 20% of fourth graders were proficient in reading and 23% were proficient in math. In middle school, scores were worse: 19% of eighth graders showed proficiency in reading and 14% in math.

To improve math achievement, APS plans to implement more intensive classroom interventions during the upcoming school year.

REACTION TO GAINS

Superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools Dr. Gabriella Durán Blakey told the APS School Board the gains were the result of a district-wide effort to improve reading outcomes through classroom instruction, summer reading institutes for struggling students and more professional development for teachers. Dr. Durán Blakey said this:

“In education we often want something to be a singular answer  but there are so many different factors that really influence what happens in the classroom. The primary is the teacher, so I think a lot of the work that our teachers have been doing, particularly focused on reading [in] elementary [school], has really shown results.”

APS School Board member Rebecca Betzen said  that she was cautious to accept positive results because of the issues with the testing program, adopted this year and required for evaluations by the Public Education Department. Betzen said this:

“I am a little apprehensive because we changed the test, so I’m still not 100% on board that it is aligned. I’m hoping it is, because that would be great news.”

NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE ACTS

During the 2026  thirty-day legislative session that convened from January 20, 2026, to  February 19, 2026, the New Mexico Legislature passed a pair of bills designed to bolster reading and math instruction that took  effect when the new school year started in August.

Senate Bill 37, the first of the two measures, mandates that teachers use an instructional method called “the science of reading,” which uses an approach similar to phonics, and places literacy coaches at low-performing elementary schools.

Senate Bill 29, the second bill passed,  requires teachers to take additional coursework in math instruction before getting their teaching license. Both bills require regular assessment and progress reports to parents.

As the state’s largest district, APS accounts for about 22% of New Mexico’s public-school students.  Thomas West, the APS  Executive Director of the  Office of Accountability and Reporting,  said in order for New Mexico’s test scores to climb, APS will need to play a significant part and he said “If numbers go up in APS, numbers go up in the state.”

Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/aps-surpasses-3-year-reading-goal-but-falls-short-in-math/3083257

https://www.koat.com/article/aps-report-progress-reading-challenges-math/72490360

https://www.newsradiokkob.com/2026/07/16/reading-and-math-scores-presented-to-aps-board/

REVSISTING YAZZIE V. MARTINEZ V. STATE OF NEW MEXICO

In 2016, Families and school districts, represented by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and families represented by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, sued the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) and the state legislature for failing to provide a sufficient and uniform system of education to all New Mexican children as guaranteed by the education clause of the New Mexico State Constitution. The consolidated lawsuit, Yazzie v. Martinez v. State of New Mexico challenged the state’s failure to provide students, especially low-income, Native American, English language learner (ELL), and students with disabilities, the programs and services necessary for them to learn and thrive, and challenged the state’s failure to sufficiently fund these programs and services.

On July 20, 2018, District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that all New Mexico students have a right to be college and career ready and that the state was failing to meet this obligation. As evidence, the judge pointed to New Mexico’s low graduation rate (70% which is the lowest in the nation),  low proficiency rates in reading and math (70% of New Mexico students cannot read or do math at grade level) and high rates of college remediation (almost 50% who do attend college need remedial courses).

Judge Singleton ruled that:

• The state had until April 15, 2019 to take immediate steps to ensure that New Mexico schools have the resources necessary, including sufficient funding, to provide all students with a uniform and sufficient education that prepares them for college and careers.
• The state had failed to comply with state and federal laws regarding the education of Native American and ELL students, including the New Mexico Indian Education Act, Bilingual Multicultural Education Act, and the Hispanic Education Act, which has resulted in an inadequate education system for New Mexican students.
• In violation of the state constitution, the state has failed to provide students with the programs and services that it acknowledges prepare them for college and career. Such programs and services include: quality PreK, K-3 Plus, extended learning, dual language, culturally and linguistically relevant education, social services, small class sizes, and sufficient funding for teacher recruitment, retention, and training.
• Lack of funds is not an excuse for denying New Mexico’s students a sufficient education. The state must come up with the necessary funding to meet New Mexico students’ right to a sufficient education.
• The Public Education Department (PED) failed to meet its oversight functions to ensure that all students are receiving the programs and services they need.

Click to access Graphic-Yazzie-Martinez-Decision.pdf

ACTION PLAN RELEASED

On May 14, 2022 the New Mexico Public Education Department released a detailed plan to address the landmark public education court case of Yazzie v. State and Martinez and mandated reforms to improve the New Mexico’s failing public education system and offer better and equal opportunities for all students.  The release plan by the Grisham administration is and includes improvements for every aspect of the education system. The link to review the plan is here:

https://mcusercontent.com/fe07174c30216027e5fab1fde/files/8d56cdcc-64d5-1494-dd06-04dfb8209cfd/Martinez_Yazzie_Discussion_Draft_2022.05.09.pdf?link_id=0&can_id=bd62d9bf2703bf57b545d3ed888c0bab&source=email-feedback-requested-nm-ped-releases-draft-plan-to-address-martinezyazzie-ruling&email_referrer=email_1541133&email_subject=feedback-requested-nm-ped-releases-draft-plan-to-address-martinezyazzie-ruling

The action plan is to be considered as a companion to the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) 2022 Comprehensive Strategic Plan which offers remedies to the Yazzie/Martinez decision embedded throughout. According to the plan, the work that lies ahead for NMPED and schools will require systemic change to address the needs of the students and families impacted by decades of neglect and underfunding, including students with disabilities, Native American students, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students. These students account for over 70% of the population in New Mexico’s public schools.

The action plan states that for New Mexico students and their families to realize their full potential, it is incumbent upon both NMPED and its partners, especially the school districts, to do their part in ensuring educational equity, excellence, and relevance for all students. By implementing the recommendations in this plan, all of New Mexico’s public school students will benefit.

According to the plan of action, NMPED is planning a future in which students are engaged in a culturally and linguistically responsive educational system that meets their academic, social, and emotional needs.

To that end, this action plan is focused on the following long-term goals:

1. Assuring external factors like race, language, economic status, and family situations do not equate with lower rates of success in educational achievement and career prospects.
2. Increasing academic proficiency in math, science, and languages to ensure that all students graduate well prepared for the ever-changing world of college, career, and civic engagement.
3. Eliminating achievement gaps among New Mexico students, particularly English learners, economically disadvantaged students, Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans, and students with disabilities.
4. Respecting, honoring, and preserving students’ home languages and cultures by implementing culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and learning for all students.

BIG-PICTURE GOALS

The action plan contains  big picture goals for public education in New Mexico.

Graduation rates have been in the low to mid-70s. The education department wants the statewide graduation rate to get to 90% by 2027. Education leaders also want to close graduation gaps between ethnicities and disadvantaged students.

Another target is improving reading and math proficiency rates. PED leaders want those up by 50%.

The plan also focuses on teachers, class sizes, and building on recent successes, including increases in funding. Just this year, the state legislature passed pay raises for teachers and more money for Pre-K programs.

Since the lawsuit, the state has boosted help for economically disadvantaged students, those with disabilities and English learners. It’s also upped funding for more reading programs, extended learning time and more and better internet access.

Outside of funding, PED leadership points out the launch of equity councils and the work to create a response team just for the lawsuit.

The link to the quoted or relied upon news source material is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-metro/ped-releases-plan-addressing-martinez-yazzie-lawsuit/

NEW MEXICO’S FINANCIAL  COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION AND CHILD WELL BEING

During the last 8 years since the 2018 landmark education ruling Yazzie v, Martinez , the New Mexico legislature has been very aggressive when it comes to increased funding to turn things around for New Mexico’s children when it comes to education and their wellbeing.  Much of the legislatures efforts  have been as direct result of the Yazzie v, Martinez  ruling that the State of New Mexico violated students’ fundamental rights by failing to provide a sufficient public education mandated by the state constitution.

In fiscal year 2019, public education funding spiked dramatically. The biggest accomplishments of the 2019 Legislative session were the increases in public education funding, creation of the Early Childhood Department (CYFD), the mandates to Children, Youth and Families and Public Education departments and  raises for educators and increasing CYFD social workers by 125 .

2019 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

Funding spiked in 2019  and was up to $306 million, including the following:

• $64 million for Pre-K to better prepare children for elementary school.
• $45 million for family, infant, toddler programs to help families with children with developmental delays.
• $30 million for K-3 Plus to add 25 days to the school year.

New Mexico is 1 of  4 states with a stand-alone department dedicated to services targeting children through age 5. The initial operating budget for the new department was $419 million for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The new department is tasked with overseeing the state’s growing investment in prekindergarten, home visiting programs for new parents, childcare and similar services that previously were scattered across several departments. One of the key goals is to better coordinate the state’s network of early childhood services by housing them in one department rather than having them overseen separately by other departments.

2020 AND 2021 FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS

In 2020 the New Mexico Legislature created a $320 million early childhood education trust fund. In 2021, lawmakers and the governor agreed to up the spending on early childhood programs to $500 million.

2022 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

During the 2022 New Mexico Legislative session, a trio of bills were enacted  to fund programs to help Native American students succeed in school. The house bills provided more than $70 million to tribal entities to help offer culturally relevant lesson plans and access to virtual and after-school programs for those students.

The first bill appropriated $20 million from the state’s general fund to the Indian Education Act to be used to create culturally relevant learning programs, including Native language programs, for students in the K-12 system.

A second bill appropriated $21.5 million to help tribal education departments develop learning plans and programs for students, extend learning opportunities and support tribal school libraries.

The third bill was aimed at higher education and  appropriated $29.6 million to four state colleges and three tribal colleges for 53 initiatives.

In the summer of 2022, the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) released updates on the progress made in response to the Yazzie-Martinez ruling. The report highlights various initiatives undertaken by the state, including increased funding, expanded access to pre-kindergarten programs, and targeted support for struggling schools.

“According to the report, the state’s spending on public education has received a substantial boost. In fiscal year 2018, New Mexico’s education system was funded at the tune of $2.69 billion; in fiscal year 2024, the education system is being funded at $4.17 billion. That is an increase of $1.3 billion over five years. State funds have been channeled toward reducing class sizes, hiring additional teachers, improving professional development programs, and enhancing resources for English language learners and special education students.”

In November 2022, voters approved tapping the state’s Land Grant Permanent Fund for roughly another $240 million annually for early childhood education and K-12 schools. The additional distribution of funding from the Permanent Land Grant Fund goes into effect on July 1, 2023.

2023 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

The enacted 2023-2024 New Mexico State budget contains major expenditures for  education and child wellbeing. Those expenditures include:

• $220.1 Million for extended in-classroom learning time by increasing the number of minimum instructional hours per year in public schools.
• $30 Million to provide healthy universal school meals and to eliminate school meal costs for every New Mexico child.
• 9 Million to the Children, Youth and Families Department for 60 new protective services staff, to be supported by additional federal matching funds.
• $277.3 Million for continued investments in affordable, high-quality child care.
• $131 Million to maintain and expand access to high-quality pre-k education.
• $40.4 Million for the continued expansion of early childhood home visiting.
• $111.1 Million to provide a four percent salary increase for all school personnel.
• $157.4 Million for the Opportunity Scholarship program.

2023 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

The 2024 enacted New Mexico budget includes the following funding  for public education:

• $4.43 billion in recurring funds for public schools. Annual spending on K-12 education increased by 6.1% to $4.43.
• $19.6 million to expand Pre-K
• $50 million to the tribal Educational Trust Fund
• $20 million to pilot and evaluate evidence-based strategies to improve the Children, Youth and Families Department
• $49 million for literacy, career technical education and community school programs
• $14 million in early literacy support
• $55 million for culturally relevant and bilingual materials
• $62.7 million for 2% salary increases, bringing all school personnel up to $15 per hour
• $43 million to expand early childhood care
• $750,000 to support adult literacy programs
• $2 million for attendance programs

2024 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

On February 12, 2024, the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year state budget was passed by the New Mexico Legislature. It contains  a 6.5% increase in recurring funds from the  2023-2024 fiscal year. The largest slice of the general fund goes to public schools, which are slated to receive about $4.3 billion for the fiscal year. That includes more than $94 million to give a flat 3% raise to all public-school employees, an amount that was trimmed by a Senate Finance Committee. Before public school employees were looking at a total average of 4% raises. The final version the budget approved by the Senate includes $30 million for summer reading intervention programs, $14 million for early literacy and reading support and $5 million to train secondary educators in the science of reading.

2025 EDUCATION BUDGET FUNDING

During the 2025 legislative session, several bills were approved during the 60-day legislative session that will likely benefit New Mexico’s children and their well being. The legislation includes a $10.8 billion budget bill that directs over $100 million to transitional housing and the state’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department. The legislature also  created a new state Medicaid trust fund that could help the state weather federal funding decreases, legislation expanding childcare assistance for prekindergarten children and established an outside oversight office to review complaints involving CYFD,

2026 APPROVED PED BUDGET

The 2026 New Mexico Legislature approved the Public Education Department (PED)  Executive Budget of $10.9 billion in recurring general fund appropriations, which represents an increase of $720 million, or 7.0%, over the fiscal year 2025 operating budget. The approved budget essentially maintains the status quo of the department and programs.

Click to access FY26-Exec-Rec-Budget-in-Brief-FINAL-12-17.pdf

“2026 KIDS COUNT DATA BOOK” RANKINGS

On June 8,  2026, the New Mexico Voices for Children released the “2026 Kids Count Data Book, State Trends In Child Well Being.” The annual “Kids Count” Data Book is prepared by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Casey foundation is a nonprofit based in Maryland focusing on improving the well-being and future of American children and their families. The Kids Count Data Book provides an annual detailed report of how children are faring overall compared to other states  and in the four major categories of Education, Health, Family and Community and Economic Well Being. By providing policymakers and advocates with benchmarks of child and young adult well-being, the Foundation seeks to enrich local, state and national discussions concerning ways to enable all kids and youth to succeed.

Following are New Mexico’s rankings contained in 2026 Kids Count Data Book compared to all other states in all five categories:

1. Overall:        49
2. Education:   50
3. Health:          41
4. Family and Community:   50
5. Economic well-being:       47

Links to review the 2026 Kids Count Data Book are here:

https://www.aecf.org/resources/2026-kids-count-data-book

The Education Ranking of 50 and the Economic Well-being ranking of 47 are the two main critical rankings when it comes to the topic of the state’s financial efforts to improve the state’s national ranking overall for children.

47^th ECONOMIC WELL BEING RANKING

New Mexico ranked 47 in Economic Well-Being. The report measured economic outcomes using data on child poverty, parental employment status, housing cost burdens and the number of teenagers not in school or working.  While the authors of the Kids Count Data Book  said  data from 2024 doesn’t reflect today’s economic or social realities, New Mexico made some of the largest advancements in childhood economic well-being of any state that year, according to the data.

New Mexico has one of the lowest median household incomes of any state in the nation and one of the highest rates of child poverty. A whopping  22% of children in New Mexico live in poverty which is well over the U.S. average of 15%, but still the lowest number recorded in more than 15 years.

Emily Wildau, the Policy Director at New Mexico Voices for Children, said this of the number of children in New Mexico living in poverty:

“It’s still high. It’s still something that we as a state can continue to work on, but it is moving in the right direction pretty consistently, and the overall improvements that we saw in economic well-being were really, really positive.”

Wildau suspects the economic gains are due in part to the lingering effects of the state’s minimum wage increases in 2022 and 2023.

New Mexico has also amended several tax rebates and credits, including its child tax credit, which allows families to claim anywhere from $26 to $637 per child in income tax refunds  which likely has a residual effect on poverty rankings.

Stephanie Schardin Clarke, Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department,  said this:

“[Tax credits for parents and working families]  are making a difference to really move the needle on poverty in families in New Mexico, especially for lower income families and families with children. ”

One of New Mexico’s biggest investments into the well-being of its children is the state’s universal childcare program, launched late last year by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and fully funded by the New Mexico Legislature.  New Mexico’s universal child care program is the first and only such program in the United States. Since the data book is two years behind, it also won’t show the full impacts of the program until later. It’ s more likely than not that Universal Childcare might mean fewer children in households with a high housing cost burden because families could have more money to spend on housing or more young children who are enrolled in school.

50^th EDUCATION RANKING

New Mexico ranked 50^th, dead last, in Education in the Kids Count data book which is consistent with its performance in the last decade.

The Kids’ Count Data report  assigned each state a score from 1 to 1,000, which compared states to their own education statistics from five years prior. New Jersey, in first, scored 731 points. New Mexico scored one point, showing that not only does the state have the worst test results, it has made the least amount of progress from 2019 to 2024.

Amanda Aragon Bernabe, Executive Director of Education Policy Group  of New Mexico Kids Can said this:

“I think those two things together are the most alarming data points I’ve seen out of our education system in the entire time I’ve run this organization, which is eight years. … When I look at that data, I think it causes a glaring siren for the adults who are in charge of New Mexico’s education system.”

Aragon Bernabe said she’d like to see sweeping education policy changes at the state level, like requiring schools to tutor students who are falling behind.

POOR RANKINGS DUE IN LARGE PART TO  STATE’S POVERTY

Merranda Marin, a child psychologist and professor at New Mexico State University, attributes New Mexico’s historically poor rankings in part to its high rates of poverty and vast rural pockets, where access to certain services is difficult. Marin said this:

“When people are stressed out and when they’re having financial difficulties, it’s hard to really focus on nurturing healthy relationships with one’s child. ”

Though the numbers paint a bleak picture, Marin said, they indicate an abundance of opportunity and she said this:

“I think sometimes when researchers look at some of these issues, they look at it from a deficit perspective, and I think we’ve got to change that narrative a little bit.”

Despite the troubling statistics, Emily Wildau, the Policy Director at New Mexico Voices for Children, contends there is much to love about New Mexico that is unquantifiable in data and she said this:

“I think [the Kid’s Count data] is  a very useful piece of the picture, and it’s good information to have and understand. … It also doesn’t account for our culture here, our beautiful communities, the resilience of our people, and a lot of those things that do draw people to move here, whether or not they’re aware of the rankings.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

For years, the ranking are harped upon by  government officials, elected officials, politicians running for office, politcal parties, business leaders and civic organizations on how New Mexico is a failure and coming in dead last despite its repeated efforts to improve. There is no doubt that the states rankings will be a major topic of discussion in the 2026 race for  governor and legislative races. Hope springs eternal that voters will see through all  the negative political rhetoric and realize significant progress is being made.

The 2026 Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book does a real disservice to the State Of New Mexico by simply spewing out its rankings without any detailed  analysis on what the state is doing to turn things around and with no substantive  discussion of funding commitments made by the state implying nothing is being done at all.

The 2026 rankings offer no real change in the state’s rankings. The most glaring problem that discredits the 2026 rankings is the fact they are  based on data from two years ago and since then great strides have been made in improving our education system. The Annie E. Casey Foundation makes no substantive recommendations on what the state needs to do to improve rankings.

The bottom line, it’s New Mexico’s poverty rates and child well being rates that are the primary driving forces behind New Mexico’s poor rankings. The Albuquerque School System is in fact making progress, but sooner rather than latter the school system needs to recognize far more progress needs to be made and the school system must be held accountable  in order to justify the states financial commitment.

Links to related articles are here:

Public Education Plan To Deal With Landmark Case Mandates Of Yazzie v. State Announced; Critics Speak Out; APS Board Enacts $1.936 Billion Budget; State Windfall Makes Implementation Possible

 

2026 Kids Count Data Book: New Mexico Ranks 49th Overall, 50th in Education, 41st In Health, 50th In Family And Community, 47th In Economic Well Being; Rankings Skewed Because Based On Data From Two Years Ago And Failure To Take Into Account Recent Gains And Major Funding; Poverty Continues To Be State’s Biggest Liability

After Over 3 Years, Court Mandated Education Program Funding Advances In 2022 NM Legislative Session; Yazzie v. Martinez Court Ruling Revisited

On August 11 , New Mexico Speaker of the House Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque accompanied by New Mexico House Representatives  Michelle Paulene Abeyta (D-To’Hajiilee), Meredith Dixon of Albuquerque, Pamelya Herndon of Albuquerque, Christine Chandler of Los Alamos, Eleanor Chávez of Albuquerque and Janelle Anyanonu of Albuquerque, held a news conference to announce child well-being priorities for the 2027 legislative session  and to announce major reforms to overhaul the Children, Youth and Family’s Department (CYFD).   Amid growing frustrations among lawmakers that CYFD has continually failed to protect children in its care, House Democrats announced a slate of proposals aimed at reforming the agency, ranging from further empowering the department’s newest watchdog office to tightly regulating the use of group homes and other facilities to completely overhauling the agency’s governance.

Five months ahead of the state’s 60-day legislative session, House Democrats are proposing a sweeping overhaul of the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), an agency they say has been plagued by a two-decade crisis. The House Lawmakers are pushing for a total culture shift focused on accountability, arguing that past reforms to the agency were watered down. Currently, there are about 2,220 children in state custody. House Speaker Javier Martinez says the state is failing those children and he said this:

“There are still too many children today — the most vulnerable amongst us — who are supposed to be cared for by the state of New Mexico, and yet the state has been failing them … House Democrats stand ready to, for once and for all, fix this agency. … This caucus is really thinking outside that box in an effort to make this agency what it once was in the 90s, which is a model for the rest of the country. …  A lot of people are elevated to management for whatever reason, and caseloads are incredibly hard to manage for the people on the ground.  I do think you need leadership, and you need a shift in culture. These stories, unfortunately, repeat themselves over and over and over again, and our children deserve better.”

The New Mexico House Democrats will be introducing  a set of bills in the 2027 legislative session aimed at reforming the state’s embattled Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), which oversees both child protective services and juvenile justice. The announcement comes soon after the news that the department had dropped off a 15-year-old American citizen at a border crossing last month in El Paso, Texas, where he was told to travel to Mexico to meet his estranged mother, who was involved in an abuse case.

The New Mexico House Democrats are proposing five sweeping reforms to CYFD. The proposed legislation includes:

1. Reintroducing legislation to strip the governor of control over CYFD in favor of placing governance of CYFD  into the hands of a independent, three-person commission. The  independent, three-member commission would  oversee daily operations and policy. Rep. Eleanor Chavez said the commission “would be made up of child welfare and juvenile justice experts, who would be responsible for hiring the secretary or superintendent of CYFD.” The proposal for a 3 person commission comes after years of turnover, with CYFD going through five secretaries in six years.
2. Granting the Office of the Child Advocate access to case records, interviews with CYFD staff, and the power to subpoena witnesses. The Office of the Child Advocate was created by a 2025 bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Michelle Abeyta, D-To’hajiilee. Giving the Office of the Child Advocate, which is the independent watchdog over CYFD, more authority is a key component. Abeyta said this: “This new legislation will rightly provide the child advocate with full, real-time access to the agency’s case management system. It’ll make clear that there should be no redactions or manipulation of records prior to sharing. It will give the office authority to interview CYFD staff regarding pending investigations.”
3. Regulating the use of congregate care, such as group homes, by banning its use for children under 12 years old, requiring independent clinical certification to ensure it is necessary, and mandating a higher burden of proof every 30 days for the state to justify keeping children in facilities. CYFD has long struggled to protect children in its care in a number of ways. Children in congregate care facilities, like group homes, have reportedly not had access to necessary services, like in-person therapy, and some have died or come to other serious harm while staying there. Christine Chandler said this:  “Young children are best cared for in family settings and are especially vulnerable to the trauma of being held in congregate care.”
4. Requiring CYFD investigators probing child abuse allegations to wear body-worn cameras, like police, and maintain digital notes, while also establishing a statewide child maltreatment registry. The proposal would require investigators to wear body cameras during interviews and maintain digital notes. It would establish a statewide abuse and neglect registry and require sworn testimony from all CYFD employees, placing them under oath and subject to perjury. Additionally, the legislation would create a dedicated team within protective services to investigate fatalities and critical incidents involving children in state custody. All findings from this team would be provided to the CYFD secretary, the child advocate, and the attorney general.
5. Revising state confidentiality laws to expand access of information to researchers and members of the news media.

Speaker of the House Javier Martínez said Democrats have not yet determined if the reform will be introduced as one massive bill or several smaller ones. There is no official price tag for the proposal, though Martinez said they will not spare no expense when it comes to protecting children.

GOING FOREWARD WITHOUT GOVERNOR LUJAN GRISHAM

House Democrats say they have faced obstruction from both the state Senate and from  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. They have cited House Bill 5, the 2025 measure creating the Office of the Child Advocate, which state senators ultimately watered down. Lujan Grisham also later used her power to veto specific provisions from the state budget to strip nearly $1.7 million from the office. During the August 11 news conference, House Democrats said they see  a far more optimistic future for the proposals they presented.

As for clearing the hurdle on the other side of the state Roundhouse, Martínez said he has observed a shift in culture in the state Senate over the past year that he believes will help “get this over the finish line in the most meaningful and impactful way.” Some powerful state senators have long criticized the chamber’s failure to stand behind efforts to get tough on CYFD. Sen. Joseph Cervantes, a Las Cruces Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, last month decried the decision by Democratic and Republican leaders of the chamber to agree to water down HB 5. But he added, “sometimes we have to maybe do things governors don’t want to do, and we won’t be working with this governor any longer.”

REPUBLICANS EXPRESS SKEPTICISM REFUTED BY DEMOCRATS

Not at all surprising, House Republicans are expressing skepticism about the proposals, questioning why Democrats are waiting until now to implement these changes. Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow said this:

“House Republicans and I have been introducing [similar legislation] for years and Democrats have refused to move forward. So their promises for changes in the future, it’s empty promises.”

Dow said hiring highly qualified staff should be the immediate priority. She asserted that blanket programs will not fix the problem, and that only targeted interventions will bring real change. Dow said this:

“That means early and immediate interventions, no loopholes around confidentiality, only reunifying children when their safety is the first priority and they can be safe,”

Democratic lawmakers say they have been pushing for these comprehensive reforms for years, but that the political environment has recently shifted. Speaker  Javier Martinez said the renewed push comes down to “an executive that will be supportive of these fixes. And quite frankly, I think that the culture in the state Senate has shifted over the last year or so, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

CYFD BECOMES ISSUE IN GOVERNORS RACE

What to do with CYFD has become a key issue in the race to become New Mexico’s next governor. That has intensified after recent reports that alleged CYFD staffers dropped a foster teen at the U.S.-Mexico border and instructed him to walk alone into Ciudad Juárez to reunite with his estranged mother.

Lawmakers are saying that reforming CYFD will ultimately boil down to who is the next governor. House Speaker Martinez said this:

“Some of this stuff we’ve run in the past. It’s run into problems in the other chamber. It’s run into opposition from the executive. …What [will] make it different is that we will have an executive that will be supportive of these fixes. … No matter who the governor is, we would expect them to support these reforms if they, in fact, are serious about doing the hard work of improving the state”

Both candidates to succeed Lujan Grisham have indicated they are more on board with significant overhauls of CYFD.  Both Democrat Deb Haaland and Republican Gregg Hull  candidates have overlap with what they think is needed: they want to replace the department’s secretary, ensure CYFD isn’t short staffed and that those employees are qualified. They also want more transparency.

Democratic nominee Deb Haaland  has  expressed support for the idea of relinquishing control of the agency in favor of governance by an independent commission and empowering the Office of the Child Advocate.  In a recent interview with the Santa Fe New Mexican, she Haaland said this:

“It’s pretty clear that CYFD … needs to be reformed. It needs to restart from the ground up. We need to make sure that we are essentially rebuilding that department.”

Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull has also said that if elected, he would “go in, identify the failures, and look at what we can do to make those corrections.  And then, ultimately, if we need to do a complete overhaul of the system and rebuild CYFD from the ground up — well, then we’ll take that approach.”

Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/house-democrats-propose-sweeping-cyfd-overhaul-ahead-of-legislative-session/73406340

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/its-time-for-action-state-lawmakers-outline-cyfd-reform-plans-five-months-before-2027-session/

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/new-mexico-house-democrats-release-plans-for-next-years-legislative-session-to-improve-child-welfare/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/new-mexico-house-democrats-announce-plan-to-reform-embattled-cyfd/3100445

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/legislature/new-mexico-house-democrats-hope-to-majorly-overhaul-troubled-cyfd-next-year/article_06a81263-f641-4e20-b23e-2fef7d2622bc.html

https://sourcenm.com/2026/07/24/new-mexico-department-of-justice-recommends-50-legislative-policy-reforms-for-child-welfare-agency/

https://www.newsbreak.com/source-new-mexico-1589738/4823421353696-new-mexico-house-democrats-announce-plans-to-overhaul-cyfd-in-2027-legislative-session

REVISITING NMDOJ INVESTIGATION INTO CYFD

On April 8, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez released a scathing 224 page report on the investigation by the New Mexico Department of Justice  (NMDOJ) of the New Mexico Children Youth and Family’s Department (CYFD) and its handling of abused and neglected children placed in CYFD care. The investigation report is entitled “Systemic Failures: How CYFD Endangers The Children Its Meant To Protect”.  The link to review the entire 224 page report is here:

https://nmdoj.gov/publications/cyfd-report/

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The NMDOJ investigation into the CYFD identified systemic failures that have repeatedly endangered the children CYFD is sworn to protect. According to the report, these failures are not isolated but are pervasive, deeply entrenched, and all too often result in preventable harm to children.

The NMDOJ  investigation report contains the following Executive Summary that has been  edited for clarity and brevity:

“New Mexico’s child welfare system is in crisis. The New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) investigation into the Children, Youth and Families Department (“CYFD”) …  identified systemic failures that have repeatedly endangered the children CYFD is sworn to protect. These failures are not isolated [and] they are pervasive, deeply entrenched, and too often result in preventable harm

State law is unequivocal: CYFD should strive to preserve and reunify abused and neglected children with their families whenever possible, but when that goal conflicts with a child’s health and safety, the child’s interests must prevail. The NMDOJ investigation makes one fact unmistakable: CYFD has completely inverted that legislative mandate and abandoned its core mission to protect children as its highest duty.

Instead of safeguarding vulnerable children, the Department has prioritized family reunification at virtually any cost—returning children to dangerous caregivers with histories of substantiated abuse or chronic neglect, and who refuse treatment or services to address those underlying issues.

This misalignment between mandate and practice has had devastating consequences, including the deaths of at least seven children since [the] investigation’s inception. And this scale and severity of harm to children over the past year is not an anomaly. New Mexico has long faced disproportionately high levels of maltreatment, repeat maltreatment, and child fatalities compared to national averages.

Interviews, case reviews, and consultation with child welfare experts reveal a troubling pattern: CYFD selectively enforces its own rules—rigidly enforcing these rules when convenient but disregarding or misinterpreting them when compliance requires decisive intervention to protect children. Policies and protocols are often wielded as shields against accountability or disregarded altogether.

When children are injured or killed, CYFD’s instinct is not transparency, but self-preservation—deflecting blame, concealing poor decisions, and protecting its image instead of confronting mistakes and embracing lessons that could prevent future harm.

 In addition to routinely delaying removals of children from dangerous environments and prematurely reunifying them with unfit caregivers, other systemic failures have emerged, including:

CYFD’s leadership has lacked the qualifications and commitment necessary to uphold its obligations, fostering a culture of insularity and resistance to oversight. Rather than embracing accountability and reform, the Department has repeatedly deflected scrutiny, degraded internal guardrails, and misused confidentiality protections to obscure its failures.

CYFD has systematically de-professionalized its workforce, forgoing the hiring of licensed social workers and relying on staff that are ill-equipped to handle the complex demands of child welfare practice. Combined with crushing caseloads, inadequate training, and absent supervision, this approach fuels burnout and turnover.

Investigative practices are deeply flawed. CYFD investigators skip essential interviews, neglect mandatory home visits, apply safety and risk assessment tools inconsistently, and rely on hollow safety plans. These flaws are compounded by a misunderstanding of evidentiary standards, allowing obvious abuse and neglect to go unsubstantiated.

Permanency practices are wholly deficient, driven by chronic understaffing, lack of access to trauma-focused services, inaccurate court reports, hearing delays caused by employee unpreparedness, and case management breakdowns that jeopardize child well-being.

Failed implementation of the state’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) law leaves over 1,200 drug-affected newborns at risk each year. Untimely guidance, lack of training for medical providers, unenforceable plans of care, and poor oversight have led to repeated tragedies, including preventable deaths from narcotics exposure.

CYFD impedes criminal investigations and devalues the expertise of law enforcement. The Department ignores requests for protective holds or intervention, even amid escalating danger. As a result, children are returned to unsafe environments, leading to repeated police involvement. CYFD’s actions delay or prevent forensic interviews and necessary medical exams, obstructing criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Foster families receive inadequate support, poor communication, and face retaliatory tactics, even as CYFD confronts a critical shortage of non-relative foster homes. These practices erode trust, increase turnover, and jeopardize outcomes for children in state custody.

Instability in the foster care system is worsening, with children experiencing placement moves at nearly twice the national average—with some enduring dozens of disruptive relocations. Beyond breaching legal mandates, the inability to ensure stable homes derails support systems, impairs formation of healthy attachments, and compounds trauma.

CYFD has heavily relied upon office buildings as makeshift placements for children in state custody, exposing them to physical injury, sexual assault, drug use, and severe psychological harm. Housing children in office buildings strips them of privacy, therapeutic care, and the stability of a family setting, while overwhelming staff who must manage chaotic conditions and balance a child’s supervision with daily tasks.

CYFD’s excessive dependence on congregate care facilities—designed only for short-term clinical placements—has led to unsafe conditions characterized by violence, misuse of restraints, staff mistreatment, chronic understaffing, lack of supervision, and even suicide.   

The child welfare crisis is not an unavoidable reality, but the direct result of poor leadership, indefensible choices, missed interventions, and a widespread lack of transparency. CYFD’s shortcomings go beyond mere bureaucratic mismanagement—they represent a systematic moral failing—measured in children continuing to be abused, neglected, and lost. The following case studies, documented throughout this report, offer a window into the human cost of that failing.

The Department’s history of empty assurances and half-measures in safeguarding children are no longer acceptable—the price for delay and denial has been too high.

The path for CYFD to restore public trust is clear: acknowledge the depth and impact of their failures, institutionalize accountability, and embrace meaningful, lasting change. CYFD’s future legitimacy—and the safety and well-being of those it serves—depends on a renewed and unwavering commitment to its highest duty: putting children first.”

NMDOJ CONCERNS HIGHLIGHTED

The NMDOJ investigation  report highlights the following major concerns:

“CYFD’s failures to make timely and common-sense decisions that prioritize child safety has been a central driver of New Mexico’s child maltreatment crisis.  In many cases, CYFD’s chronic inaction has led to extended delays in removing children from dangerous environments or not removing them at all.”

Justice Department investigators found that in many of the most severe abuse and neglect cases discussed in the report, CYFD made efforts to hide its failures, including by doctoring investigators’ accounts. The report states:

“When children are injured or killed, CYFD’s instinct is not transparency, but self-preservation — deflecting blame, concealing poor decisions, and protecting its image instead of confronting mistakes and embracing lessons that could prevent future harm.”

The Justice Department alleged that CYFD also obfuscated its investigation over the past year, resisting requests for child abuse and neglect records and releasing only some of the information requested. CYFD often cited an “inappropriately broad reading” of state laws protecting children’s privacy in abuse and neglect proceedings. The report states:

“CYFD’s approach was consistent: deflect, delay, and withhold. … CYFD’s application of confidentiality operates more as an impediment to transparency and accountability than as a genuine safeguard for the privacy of children and families.”

DAMNING REPORT CONCLUSION

The NMDOJ report ends with the following conclusions:

“The NMDOJ’s investigation points unmistakably to one conclusion: CYFD has wholly abandoned child safety as its guiding principle. The witnesses interviewed and case studies highlighted show the grave harm that can result when CYFD delays removing vulnerable children from dangerous environments or reunifies them with families before underlying safety threats are resolved. Reunification should be the goal, but only when caregivers have meaningfully addressed the conditions that led to removal. A more deliberate child-centered approach is essential to ensure that reunification supports—not undermines—long-term family stability and child well-being.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

EDITOR’S DISCLOSURE: In the interest of full disclosure, Pete Dinelli served as an Assistant District Attorney  with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office in the  mid 1980s and was  assigned to the Violent Crimes Division by then District Attorney Steve Schiff. Dinelli was one of two prosecutors that did a grand jury presentation and investigation of the state’s negligent handling of child abuse cases and neglect cases before Children, Youth and Family Department was created.  Many years later as Chief Deputy District Attorney appointed by then District Attorney Jeff Romero, Dinelli’s duties included supervision of the “Crimes Against Children” division that prosecuted child neglect and abuse cases.

 The five sweeping reforms the New Mexico House Democrats are proposing are long overdue and need to be enacted. They need to be given serious consideration by the Republicans. Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow said this about the proposals:

“House Republicans and I have been introducing [similar legislation] for years and Democrats have refused to move forward. So their promises for changes in the future, it’s empty promises.”

Republicans need to knock it off with their never ceasing complaints and harping about their past failures with legislation they have sponsored to reform CYFD and make  House Speaker Martinez Speaker’s efforts to reform CYFD bipartisan.

The  Investigative Report  by the New Mexico Department of Justice of CYFD provides more than enough justification for enactment of all the legislation. The NMDOJ’s investigation points unmistakably to one conclusion: CYFD wholly abandoned child safety as its guiding principle to preserve the family unit at all cost. The NMDOJ investigation into the CYFD identified systemic failures that have repeatedly endangered the children CYFD is sworn to protect. The investigation found the failures are not isolated and they are pervasive, deeply entrenched, and too often result in preventable harm.  According to the NMDOJ report,  the rampant dysfunction within CYFD largely comes down one major issue: prioritizing reunification of children with families at the expense of the child’s safety.

The safety of any child, especially those of tender years who cannot defend themselves against physical abuse or sexual abuse by their own parents, must always take precedence over trying to preserve a family unit that in reality is none existent or so dysfunctional as being incapable providing child care and protection and that is the source of child neglect and abuse.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez has said he plans to work with state lawmakers to pursue legislative reforms of the child welfare system, but he believes the Roundhouse must rebuild CYFD from scratch. Torrez said this:

“I am of the view that the Legislature should start with a blank piece of paper. … Instead of trying to redesign a broken house, start with a blank sheet of paper and build what you think needs to exist from the ground up, and then see if you can map that on to the existing structure. … I’m not sure that you can, to be perfectly honest with you, in part because it’s not only a structural problem, it’s a cultural problem.”

House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said he did not disagree with Torrez’s suggestion to rebuild CYFD from the ground up.  Speaker Martinez  has sponsored legislation in the last 3 years  to move control of the child welfare agency out from under the governor to an independent commission. He has said CYFD is spread too thin to be effective, given it manages both protective services and juvenile justice programs, a point also made by the Justice Department in its report. Speaker Martínez said this:

“The truth of the matter is, the agency has long outlived its usefulness, quite frankly. The fact that we have the same agency dealing with foster children also dealing with criminal justice is insane, and that has to change.”

Upon release of the report, CYFD and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham made excuses and claimed progress over the last several  months. The claims of progress were offensive in comparison to the preventable mental and physical damage that has been inflicted upon New Mexico’s children over so many decades because of poor performance and dereliction of duty by CYFD.

Enough is enough!  The level of corruption and dereliction of duty by CYFD to New Mexico’s children is so extensive over so many decades that the time has come to remove CYFD from control of the Governor and create a governing commission.  All the suffering of New Mexico’s children was preventable and must be stopped immediately.

The 2027  New Mexico Legislature needs to proceed with enactment of the proposed legislation in a bipartisan manner  mandating a complete overhaul of CYFD.

Link to related article is here:

Two Conflicting Opinions On What To Do To With Failing Children Youth And Families Department; COMMENTARY: Status Quo Of CYFD Cabinet Secretary Fails To Solve Crisis Of Negligent Handling Of Child Neglect And Abuse Cases; Legislature Must To Act To Establish Independent Agency

It was on May 19, 2025 that  TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM), announced it had entered into an agreement where Blackstone Infrastructure would acquire TXNM Energy. PNM is the largest electricity provider in New Mexico serving nearly 550,000 customers.

PNM issued a press release on the sale that said in part:

“The acquisition agreement keeps PNM headquartered in New Mexico and retains local management and employees, while providing financial strength for long-term investment to support New Mexico’s transition to carbon-free electricity and to serve growing electricity demand. … Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone Infrastructure will acquire TXNM Energy for $61.25 per share upon closing, reflecting a total enterprise value of $11.5 billion, including net debt (excluding securitization debt) and preferred stock. TXNM Energy’s stock would no longer be publicly traded.”

https://www.pnm.com/documents/d/pnm.com/news-release-blackstone-infrastructure-acquisition-05-18-2025

On Sunday July 26 and August 6, the  Albuquerque Journal published on its editorial opinion pages the below 600 word “Local Columnist” opinion columns. The July 26 column is by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. The August 6 column is by Jaemes Shanley, a retired businessman and President of the Mark Twain Neighborhood  Association.  Read together, the articles reflect a truly remarkable contrast of opinions regarding the Blackstone Infrastructure Partners proposal to buy TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico.

July 26, 2026

OPINION: Private capital, public oversight: The case for letting the PRC do its job

By New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Should New Mexico buy its own utility?

This question has nipped at the state’s heels for years and has resurfaced in full force as Blackstone Infrastructure Partners proposes to buy TXNM Energy, the parent company of Public Service Company of New Mexico — the state’s largest electricity provider. New Mexico’s climate goals, electricity rates and energy reliability are at stake in the answer. New Mexicans deserve a full accounting of the facts.

Start with the most basic fact: New Mexico already has an answer to who decides the future of the state’s utility landscape. The Public Regulation Commission is a public, independent body created to objectively review cases exactly like this one, account for public comment and protect the state’s energy consumers.

In 2023, New Mexico strengthened the PRC to ensure independent oversight, transparency and accountability. The commission enforces consumer protections, reliability standards, renewable energy requirements and long-term planning obligations. Those authorities remain fully intact regardless of who owns our utilities. If a transaction is approved, the PRC can impose enforceable conditions, backed by law, to protect the public interest. And this commission has shown it will use its teeth: Just this month, the PRC found that PNM and Blackstone violated state law by executing a $400 million stock transaction without the commission’s approval and recommended maximum penalties.

The commission ordered the companies to reverse the transaction and prove that ratepayers won’t bear the cost of the reversal.

Weighing complex evidence, evaluating public comment and issuing enforceable rulings is what the commission exists to do. We need to let it do its job.

Second: The PRC — and the PRC alone — sets electricity rates statewide. In New Mexico, neither utilities nor their owners exercise authority on rates. Any proposed adjustment is subject to rigorous financial review, public hearings and formal approval. This means that whether the utility sells, and to whomever it is sold, New Mexico’s consumers will remain protected by the PRC.

Third: We need the investment of private partners to ensure a reliable energy grid and achieve our climate goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045. Whoever the private partner is — Blackstone today, Avangrid in 2020, or other deals in the future — we must be pragmatic about what significant, well-regulated capital could offer us. Grid reliability is fundamental to public safety, economic stability and quality of life for New Mexicans. Extreme heat, wildfire risk, population growth and rising electricity demand strain our infrastructure. Meeting those challenges and our climate mandates will require meaningful investment in new energy generation, transmission, storage and grid modernization. When properly regulated, long-term private capital can help build out our clean energy grid while preserving public oversight through the PRC. New Mexico should send a clear signal that we welcome responsible investment and the jobs that come with it — and an equally clear signal that the PRC will hold any partner, in this deal or the next one, to the same high bar of ratepayer protection.

Some have proposed that the state purchase PNM using permanent funds. Legislative analysts have noted that the State Investment Council’s roughly $75 billion in assets could, on paper, cover the cost of such a purchase.

The reality is more complicated.

A state acquisition would strain the general fund, diverting resources from education, healthcare and public safety. It would demand higher taxes or increased debt to fund both the initial purchase and the ongoing technology investments needed to maintain grid reliability.

And the assumption that public ownership means better management doesn’t survive a look at the closest real-world example: In Los Angeles, the city-owned Department of Water and Power’s botched 2013 billing system rollout triggered years of litigation and cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Public ownership is not a guarantee of accountability.

This is why New Mexico separates ownership from oversight, so an independent PRC can hold any owner, public or private, to account without conflicted interests. We do this to strengthen — not weaken — accountability to ratepayers.

The PRC must determine whether Blackstone’s proposed purchase of PNM serves the public interest and whether any commitments made are sufficient and enforceable. This process should be allowed to play out. My administration will continue to ensure the regulatory framework is strong, independent and accountable to the people of New Mexico — not to any ownership interest.

Should New Mexico buy its own utility? I say no. We already have a regulatory body that has proved it will protect New Mexican ratepayers. We need well-regulated private capital to realize our energy goals. And a purchase with state funds would be much more expensive and complicated to execute than its proponents have acknowledged.

Whether or not you agree with me, I think we can agree on this: The path forward requires informed debate, respect for our regulatory institutions, and a clear-eyed commitment to reliable, affordable and clean energy for every New Mexican.

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-private-capital-public-oversight-the-case-for-letting-the-prc-do-its-job/3088152

August 9, 2026

OPINION: The governor doesn’t get it, let’s hope the PRC does

BY  Jaemes Shanley, retired business executive and president of the Mark Twain Neighborhood Association in Albuquerque.

In her column published by the July 26 Sunday Journal, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham admonishes us to “let [the Public Regulation Commission] do its job” and implies it is adequately empowered to regulate any owner of Public Service Company of New Mexico or its parent company to protect and ensure “reliable, affordable and clean energy for every New Mexican.”

In telling us “we need investment of private partners to ensure a reliable energy grid and achieve our climate goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045,” she reveals her understanding of “capital” does not differentiate between sources that loan money to independent public companies and those that leverage their funds to fully acquire and privatize those public companies in order to extract into their own accounts every penny of future value growth.

The former is an unrestricted standard business practice. The latter is what has allowed Blackstone to become a formidable global financial titan since its modest inception in 1985 and has made its principal owner, chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman personally worth an estimated $50 billion and a consequential campaign funder and adviser to Donald Trump.

The governor’s naivety on this score appears to be shared by New Mexico’s chambers of commerce and various unions. As evidenced by outspoken citizens in multiple open public meetings since February, it is not shared by the general public, whose interests the PRC is mandated to serve.

The PRC’s decision on Blackstone’s acquisition of TXNM Energy must be based purely on whether it serves the public interest — not on whether it is legal, and not on whether a few million dollars in trivial community benefits justify handing over billions in future company value to private hands.

Texas utility regulators have shown their true colors by rolling over without a whimper. Let’s hope New Mexico’s regulators are made of better mettle.

Electricity will be the most essential energy resource for the future march of human progress. It will matter enormously how New Mexico navigates its electrical energy priorities, infrastructure development, allocation and rates. The critical bottleneck will not be capital availability, regardless of who owns PNM. It will likely be transformers, an essential enabler of the grid and one that is already constrained in the U.S. by inadequate manufacturing and critical component supplies controlled by China.

Whether needed capital for PNM infrastructure comes from private equity or borrowing from private capital markets, it will be financially managed the same way, as a balance sheet asset expensed through amortization. Blackstone is not a charity. Any portion of its upfront sprinkling of “community benefits” will be recouped down the road and, if its well-documented history is any guide, in spades.

The public understands quite clearly the challenges the Public Regulation Commission  will face in regulating a PNM that is fully privatized and buried in Blackstone’s investment portfolio, no longer subject to the financial transparency and reporting requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The army of financial engineers, lawyers and quants working for and within Blackstone will be able to run circles around the comparatively meager staff resources of New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission.

It cannot be in the public interest for an essential utility monopoly to be privately owned. New Mexicans should not be deprived of the opportunity to directly acquire and own shares of a publicly traded company whose value growth is driven by the rates they pay.

When their “job” is to serve the public interest, it is not enough to just let regulators “do it.” The public must demand what the job actually looks like. 

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-the-governor-doesnt-get-it-lets-hope-the-prc-does/3095896

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The sale of PNM  electric utility to Blackstone was to be completed in 2026. However, the sale was delayed earlier in 2026 when opponents objected to Blackstone’s purchase of $400 million in stock of TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM, without pre-approval from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission (PRC). The $400 million stock sale was publicly reported by both companies, but regulated utilities must receive Public Regulation Commission (PRC) consent for large stock purchases.

In July, the PRC voted 2 to 1 confirming a hearing examiners determination that the $400 million stock purchase was illegal and had to be reversed completely with no financial consequences to ratepayers.  PNM has moved to do that although there is some question as to whether or not Blackstone received dividends while they held the shares which have not been reimbursed.

PRC ordered the companies to undo the stock sale transaction and allowed the parties to continue their application process for the sale instead dismissing the application outright as opponents had hoped. PNM said  it had secured funding to reverse the  problematic $400 million stock sale to the buyer without PRC regulatory approval.

On Friday, July 17, 2026 Blackstone said it had extended the acquisition timeline until May 31, 2027 “to allow for further time to obtain regulatory approvals.” The transaction has received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). New Mexico PRC approval remains the last major hurdle.

New Energy Economy, a Santa Fe-based group opposed to the deal, had hoped the improper stock sale would end the purchase attempt. New Energy Economy said this in a statement:

“We are pleased that the Commission adopted the Hearing Examiners’ findings that Blackstone and TXNM violated New Mexico law and that the unlawful $400 million stock transaction must be unwound at shareholder — not ratepayer — expense… However, the Commission should also have denied the merger application.”

Blackstone’s purchase of $400 million in stock from TXNM Energy, the parent company of PNM, without pre-approval from the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission (PRC) should have gutted the acquisition. It is evidence of  the type of bad faith conduct the state and the PRC can expect in the future once Blackstone takes over PNM and has  complete control over all of its assets. Corporate profits always Trump’s what is in the best interest of the public.

Any argument that New Mexico is too poor and cannot afford to buy PNM is difficult to believe. New Mexico is the second largest oil and gas producer in the country with historic revenues in the billions of dollars boosting its economy. For the last 3 years, New Mexico has experienced dramatic surplus revenue from oil and gas production. Recent reports indicate that the state is projected to collect unprecedented revenues, with estimates reaching billions of dollars alongside general fund surplus’ also in the millions of dollars.

The New Mexico Land Grant Permanent Fund (LGPF) is a significant financial resource for the state. The LGPF is one of the largest permanent funds in the United States, providing over $1 billion in revenues annually.  It serves as a permanent fund that generates revenue primarily for public education, including schools and universities, among other beneficiaries, and it could also be used in part to acquire PNM which would also generate revenue for the state.

The New Mexico Legislature should explore the acquisition of PNM especially now that the state is experiencing very historic and very dramatic increases in revenues from the state oil and gas revenues that could be used to acquire the the utility.

The links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://abq.news/2026/07/pnm-blackstone-to-reverse-problematic-400m-early-stock-sale-and-extend-acquisition-timeline-to-2027/

https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2026/07/19/pnm-blackstone-to-reverse-problematic-400m-early-stock-sale-and-extend-acquisition-timeline-to-2027/

“Upzoning” is a land-use planning tool that changes existing zoning regulations to permit and increase population density in specific areas already zoned and developed. Zoning laws govern how property can be used, including housing density, minimum lot sizes, building heights, and parking requirements. Upzoning alters these rules to increase permitted density or intensity of use, allowing more units per acre, taller buildings, or different uses like commercial establishments in residential zones. This process does not directly create new housing but removes regulatory barriers, incentivizing new construction.

https://legalclarity.org/what-is-upzoning-and-how-does-the-legal-process-work/

CITY AND STATE EFFORTS TO ENACT UPZONING

On February 18, 2026  the Albuquerque City Council voted 5 to 4 to reject a series of sweeping amendments that Mayor Tim Keller sought to the city’s zoning laws known as the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) mandating upzoning in all established residential areas of the city. Voting NO were Democrat City  Counselor Klarissa Peña and Republicans Councilors Dan Lewis, Renée Grout, Dan Champine and Brook Bassan. Voting YES were Democrat Progressive Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquín Baca and Stephanie Telles.

Residential zoning covers 27% of Albuquerque’s land with 68% of the city’s existing housing being single-family detached homes with 120,000 existing residential lots having  already built homes. The goal of the amendments was to double or triple housing density in established neighborhoods by allowing duplex, condominium or apartment development in all 120,000 residential lots in established and built out neighborhoods. The mandatory upzoning would allow for the development of apartment or commercial use, such as bodegas, on all corner lots in residential areas bordering main thorough fares. The proposed amendments to the IDO included a mandate for “upzoning”  to double or triple density in established neighborhoods as a permissive use requiring no city applications with no rights to contest nor appeal the upgrading by adjoining property owners.

During the 30-day session of the 2026 New Mexico Legislature, Senate Bill 131 was introduced that would have repealed and eliminated all real property zoning authority and regulation authority from local governments, including all municipal governments and county governments and initiate uniform statewide zoning to allow for more residential development in an effort to increase affordable housing. The legislation was sponsored by Democrat Senators Antonio “Moe” Maestas and Heather Berghmans. The legislation was voted down in committee. Albuquerque Democrat City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn testified during the legislative committee hearing that she “strongly” supported SB-131 that would have repealed and eliminated all zoning authority of the city, prompting one legislator  to express dismay that and elected city official was advocating repealing the city’s zoning authority and laws.

STEVEN HOLMAN GUEST OPINION COLUMN

Steven Holman is a resident of City Council District 7 which the mid heights city council district. The district includes the uptown retail business district including the Commons, Winrock and Coronado Shopping Center. The District boundaries are generally Montgomery Boulevard on the North, I-25 on the West, Lomas on the South and Eubank on the East.

Steven and his husband Jesus decided to permanently set their roots in Albuquerque in 2023 and purchased their first home in the Bel-Air neighborhood. They are both everyday working-class citizens who have overcome obstacles like poverty and homelessness to achieve their home ownership.

Steven is a strong believer in accountability in government, having been involved in progressive marches in Washington DC against the Iraq War, for Women’s reproductive rights, for Marriage Equality, and with the Occupy and BLM Movements. In writing this piece Steven and Jesus want the voices of local communities and their advocates to not be suppressed or silenced.

Steven Holman submitted the below guest column to be published on www.PeteDinelli.com. He was not compensated for it and his column is being published as a public service to promote discussion:

ALBUQUERQUE AND NEW MEXICO ARE UP FOR SALE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

There is a lot going on in our state that many are unaware is happening. To put it simply, New Mexico is up for sale to the highest bidder, and many prominent State Democrats are largely okay with allowing it to happen.

 In January and February, we had Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, in conjunction with Mayor Tim Keller, State Senator Moe Maestas, and State House Representative Heather Berghmans, all tried to legislate upzoning.  The idea behind upzoning  is to deregulate the housing industry by removing almost all zoning rules in the hopes that developers will densify and hopefully lower housing costs.  In every city where upzoning  has happened, it has led to gentrification, displacement, and at most a 3% price impact on housing.  This is touted as a free market solution to the housing crisis, but it is essentially Reagan-era policies hoping the free market will trickle down affordability.  Additionally, it would have allowed for massive property tax increases that would have displaced and unhoused many.

The city-level fight against this was led by a coalition of neighborhoods and community activists who were both indigenous and local multigenerational Burqueños.  Councilor Fiebelkorn tried to disparage them by crying racism and classism, demonstrating how truly out of touch she is.  When the city-level fight appeared to not be going her way, she brought legislation to the state with Senator Maestas and Representative Berghmans headlining an attempt to leverage upzoning statewide.  It was stopped at the state and city levels.

Local chapters of National organizations supporting upzoning, like StrongTowns, cried foul.  Meanwhile, Strongtowns members themselves have attempted to stifle the voice of non-white community activists by showing up at their doorstep and attempting to dissuade opposition.  Through all of this their local chapter founder, Brandi Thompson, as well as members were following a social media account making racially charged disparaging remarks about protecting the petroglyphs and insulting anyone else who stands in the way of urbanization efforts. 

The Strongtowns local chapter are predominantly made up of white, upper-middle-class transplants to the city who want to shape it in their own image, without a care or concern for destroying history and communities.  They are backed by business organizations and pro-developer groups and given a platform by politicians like Mayor Tim Keller.  They’re the new yuppies, but with a false social justice narrative masking their pro-corporate agenda to ensure their white guilt can let them sleep at night.  I guess that’s why Councilor Fiebelkorn defended Strongtowns, projecting her own racial and class insecurities on the opposition.

UPZONING LIE IS EVERYWHERE

These groups are still persisting and pushing because they don’t really want Albuquerque to have affordable housing (zoning doesn’t do that, and the legislation never guaranteed any).  Even Mayor Tim Keller is still perpetuating the lie that types of housing are illegal because of zoning, recently stating this on a local social media influencer account.  No type of housing is illegal as long as you follow the standards of how and where it is constructed.  This isn’t about affordability; it’s about a handout to developers to build what they want, wherever they want it.

This is happening everywhere:

•  Look at the great gentrification project that the state fairgrounds has become. New Mexico’s state fair is held in the most crime-ridden area of Albuquerque.  The solution?  Gentrify and possibly remove the State Fair from the location.
•  Look at the new developments getting green lit right near the Petroglyphs.
•  Look at the city taking land away from historic and consistently marginalized neighborhoods like Martineztown.
•  Look at the rail trail project and how it adversely impacts and gentrifies communities in and around Old Town.
•  Look at the old town hotel proposal.
•  Look at private equity firms buying up our utilities and homes.
•  Look at the push for data centers, with Senator Moe Maestas giving an impassioned speech last legislative session against data center utilities being regulated, asking if this was the 1800s and if we are fighting for water rights. News flash Moe, we are fighting for water rights.
• The city of Albuquerque says it has 68 acres near the Air Base it can annex for a data center and fast-track the zoning. The city can do that for a data center no problem, but they can’t do the same for permanently affordable housing?

In fact, the affordable housing being touted by our elected representatives consists of public-private partnerships and is in no way permanently affordable.  Once the tax breaks and subsidies end, it’ll all be market-rate housing that will lead to further displacement and increase unhoused populations.

DEMOCRATS UNWILLING TO LEARN HARD LESSON OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Some within the New Mexico State Democratic Party have extremely hard lessons to learn, but seem unwilling to hold anyone accountable.  The state legislative sessions feel like a Dickensian nightmare, with everyone running to Santa Fe asking for money or legislation like Tiny Tim.  Successful governance should not look like this, but this proves how out of touch these people are. 

For politicians, it is easy to use President  Trump as the boogie man and stand with social justice causes to garner votes and support from various puppet organizations.  But what meaningful legislation gets passed by these people that truly uplifts marginalized groups?  So much of it is lip service.  Sure, MAGA is infinitely worse, but what’s presented as the alternative is Neo-progressivism that is afraid to actually regulate and legislate.

What the public doesn’t see are the tactics behind the scenes majorly impacting the lives of working-class people.  Many don’t know Senator Moe Maestas’s wife is one of the most powerful lobbyists in Santa Fe.  Meanwhile, you have strategic power players like Neri Holquin, running political campaigns as a “strategist,” but she is widely known as a political kingmaker, having run Mayor Tim Keller’s campaigns as well as so many others in power.  These so-called Democrats are calculated and ruthless to ensure their people hold the reins of power and special interests get what they want.

CORPORATE DEMOCRATS PERPETUATING UNREGULATED FREE-MARKET CAPITALISM

Many of these New Mexico State Democrats are perpetuating unregulated free-market capitalism that keeps our state poor and struggling.  If they had a backbone in any capacity, we would see regulatory action taken. Things like rent control, transparent statistics on Gateway Center contracts and their care outcomes, empowering communities instead of dictatorial top-down governing, revitalization of the millions of square feet of unused space along city corridors, permanent protection of sites like the petroglyphs, ending corporate investment from buying homes, permanently affordable housing, and regulation of real estate market pricing and speculation.

People are crying out for these things, but it falls on deaf ears with elected representatives like City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn insisting she “knows what’s best” for her constituents.

Unfortunately, what we have are many opportunists, looking to get their piece of the pie and put on a good show for the cameras.  They’re too afraid to take regulatory action because it could cost them their political power.  It is no coincidence that these things are all happening at once.  They want this.

We need to send a strong message to our elected leaders they are public servants and demand accountability. The hypocrisy is ripe and it is real. Just because someone has a “D” next to their name on the ballot, that doesn’t mean they are always well intentioned.  True progressivism and positive change starts with pragmatism, policy, and accountability instead of fear baiting while using progressive talking points to virtue signal and accomplishing nothing. 

Unfortunately these corporate democrats have decided New Mexico is for sale, but we will be paying the price for many years to come.

DINELLI COMMENTATY AND ANALYSIS

It’s a real disappointment to find out that a number of Progressive Democrats on the Albuquerque City Council and in the New Mexico legislature are showing their true colors. On the city level, they will jump behind social justice causes but do the bare minimum in passing legislation against ICE, declaring the city an immigrant friendly city or vote for increasing the minimum wage. They leave us on our own to fight zoning changes that only help developers and investors and lead to gentrification. On the state level, they leave us on our own to fight against uranium mining near Mt. Taylor, to fight for water rights, to fight data centers, to fight missile test sites, and fight against the corporate buyout of PNM.

ADVERSE AFFECTS OF UPZONING IN TWO CITY COUNICL DISTRICTS

The two City Council Districts that would have been the most affected by the mandatory upzoning changes in city zoning laws would have been District 2 and District 6. District 2 is the city-center district encompassing downtown, old town, and includes the most historical areas of the city, part of the west mesa, and the entire valley east of the river and is represented by City Councilor Joaquin Baca.  District  6 includes Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights encompassing the University of New Mexico, and the International District and is represented by City Councilor Nichole Rogers.

Both Districts 2 and 6 have the highest concentration of minorities and lower income residents. It is these two districts that would have been the biggest targets for upzoning development by investors, speculators and developers to buy up properties from generational family’s for redevelop leading to gentrification. Both City Councilors voted for Mayor Keller’s up zoning changes believing the change in city zoning law would lead to “affordable housing” when in fact it would have resulted in the displacement of many of their constituents as investors sought to buy up residential properties for high end developments and not affordable or low income housing.

The proposed amendments by Mayor Tim Keller and the four Progressive Democrat City Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquín Baca and Stephanie Telles voting to  mandating upzoning was a pathetic attempt to address the city’s “housing crisis.” They argued that “flooding the market” with more housing will result in making more affordable housing available for sale or rent. They argued existing property owners wanted and could afford to build on their own properties whether they own their home outright or if there is a mortgage. Their arguments were false or very misleading. Very few existing homeowners can afford to add a 750 square foot “casita” or addition to their existing  homes at the average construction cost of upwards of $175,000 to $200,000 without taking on a second mortgage. These elected officials  simply ignore market forces motivated by profits that will only benefit investment developers and that will lead to neighborhood gentrification and not lead to affordable housing.

ONE SOLUTION TO ADDRESS AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS

The term “affordable housing” is about as misleading as it gets. It is a term way too often used by elected officials and politicians to simply declare a crisis with inflated numbers that shows there is not enough housing that allows the poor or low-income people to rent or buy a home and call their own. Housing prices and rental costs never come down. The more appropriate term that should be used is “subsidized” housing where it’s clear what is needed is subsidized funding for those who cannot afford to buy outright or rent and need assistance.

The housing shortage crisis declared is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans. The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. It is clear that the City of Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico are suffering from a shortage of housing, but that does not mean it is all affordable housing.

Simply put, Mayor Keller, the Albuquerque City Council and affordable housing activists, investment speculators and developers  need to keep their hands off established neighborhoods to solve the affordable housing crisis with more density. Instead, they should direct their attention to the use of vacant commercial properties or buildings for conversion to affordable housing as opposed to forcing the doubling or tripling of neighborhood density, destroying historical neighborhoods and leading to gentrification.

FINAL COMMENTARY

Elected officials concerned about the  impacts to their communities with the changing of laws are the true progressives. People like State  Senators Cindy Nava  and Senator Linda Lopez and City Councilor Klarissa Pena  who essentially agree that yes, we need housing and ways to address affordability, but a developer handout and a power grab by city officials to mandate upzoning and change city zoning laws and the legislature to repeal zoning authority is not the way to achieve these goals. A true elected public servant listens to the will of their constituents and believes in empowering communities instead of taking away their ability to affect or determine their own future.

Links to previous Steven Holman columns and Dinelli related columns are here:

Steven Holman Guest Opinion Column: “The City Has Taken Underhanded Efforts To Forcefully Rezone Nearly All Single Family Properties; Homeowners And Community Groups Will Have No Recourse To Prevent Harmful Zoning; Property Taxes Can Be Raised”; Dinelli Commentary: “Only Developers And Investors Can Afford Upzoning Construction!”

Steve Holman Guest Opinion Column: “Upzoning” Changes To City Zoning Law Is Corporate Urbanization That Doesn’t Address Housing Costs”

2026 New Mexico Legislature Update: House And Senate Bills Promoting Statewide Real Property Upzoning Wrong For New Mexico; Favors Developers And Investors; Promotes Gentrification; Contact Your Legislators And Tell Them To Vote NO on HB-0103, SB-0131 And HB-0138

ABQ Journal Dinelli Local Columnist Opinion Column: “Council Was Correct To Reject Forced Upzoning”; POSTSCRIPT: Commentary On The Votes of City Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, And Joaquín Baca 

 

On July  22, APD Police Chief Cecily Barker presented to the Albuquerque Economic Forum the city’s  midyear crime statistics based on reported offenses comparing crime totals from January to June 2025 with the same time frame in 2026.

The  Economic Forum was founded in 1982 and it is considered  the most influential business organization in the city that provides a network for major business owners, investors, developers, banking interests and real estate investors and developers and government, education, and community leaders. Its monthly breakfast  meetings are not open to the public but are reported on by news agencies.

STATISITICS SHOWING DECLINE IN CRIME

APD Chief Baker reported  that most major crime categories, including homicide, burglary and vandalism have declined. Motor vehicle theft saw the largest drop, falling 36% compared with 2025. Homicides fell from 36 in 2025 to 29 in 2026, a 19% decrease.

According to the Albuquerque Police Department, the city’s Mid-year Albuquerque crime statistics show crime is down in the  following  major  categories:

• Homicides: DOWN 19% (36 homicides in 2025 and 29 in 2026 mid year)
• Sex offense: DOWN 4%
• Burglary/Breaking and Entering: DOWN 25%
• Destruction/Damage/Vandalism: DOWN 29%
• Fraud Offenses: DOWN 10%
• Larceny/Theft Offenses: DOWN 12%
• Motor Vehicle Theft: DOWN 36%
• Robbery: DOWN 15%
• Stolen Property Offenses: DOWN 32%
• Weapon Law Violations: DOWN 22%

Chief Barker acknowledged, despite statistics showing crime has decreased in major categories, public perception has not necessarily followed. Barker said this:

“One thing I’ve always said is I can throw crime stats at you all day long and say how great we’re doing as a city, but one thing that we recognize is the perception of crime. …  Over the last few years, our homicide detectives have seen a solve rate at or above 90% every single year.  … In fact, our detectives are two cases away from solving every homicide case in 2025.”

Barker credited APD’s expanded use of technology for the decline in crime while addressing community concerns about tools such as drones and automated license plate readers. Barker said this:

“I know that drones make people nervous, but I assure you, we are only interested in criminal activity.”

Barker said officers using automated license plate readers must enter a case number and explain why they are searching for a specific vehicle. Officers who fail to meet those requirements lose access to the system.

STATICS SHOWING INCREASES IN CRIME

While Chief Barker highlighted declines across many crime categories, she addressed increases in other areas.

According to the Albuquerque Police Department, the city’s Mid-year Albuquerque crime statistics show crime is UP  in the  following areas:

• Aggravated assault: UP 3%
• Simple assault: UP 4%
• Kidnapping/Abduction: UP 14%
• Drugs/Narcotics Offenses: UP 76%

Chief Barker noted that Drug and Narcotics offenses, which can include charges such as drug possession, trafficking or manufacturing, have increased a whopping  76%. Barker said this:

“We see the most open-air drug usage on the Central corridor. … We have our proactive response teams that are out there every single day. We really are trying to make an arrest of the people who are supplying the drugs.”

Aggravated and simple assaults also increased 3%-4% since 2025, while kidnappings offenses  which often committed in domestic disputes  are up by 14%. Barker noted that crime operations have been underway to focus on specific areas to address the increase in assaults. A knife-wielding man was shot by police in the North Valley during one such operation.

POLICE OFFICER SHOOTINGS

Chief Barker noted that Albuquerque police have shot 7 people this year, compared with 10 shootings during the same time in 2025. Notwithstanding the decline in police shootings, Barker cautioned and said this:

 “As our officers are being proactive, we might see an increase in uses of force.  … But our goal is to make arrests of the right people, and I believe that we are doing that.”

The link the relied upon or quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/apd-crime-drops-in-most-categories-but-drug-offenses-surge-76/3087131

https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics

RAW DATA DOWNLOAD

Following are the city’s  mid-year raw crime statistics reported by APD for the  period of January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026 compared to the time period of January 1, to June  30, 2025:

PROPERTY CRIMES OF INTERST (MID-YEAR)

PROPERTY CRIME OFFENSES 

• Auto Theft (APD Unit):    2026:  937      2025:  1,406   Change:   -33%  (Auto Theft based on APD Auto Theft number)
• Auto Theft (Reported)      2026: 1,209     2025: 1.907   Change : -37%  (Residential and Commercial burglaries based on Location Category which is identified by reporting officer.)
• Auto Burglary:   2026: 1,647    2025:  1,767    Change:   -7% 
• Residential Burglary:   2026:    848     2025:   1,020   Change   -17%  (Residential and Commercial burglaries based on Location Category which is identified by reporting officer.)
• Commercial Burglary:   2026:       522       2025:    801   Change:  -35%
• Shoplifting:                     2026:    2,961      2025:   3,638    Change:  -19%

TOTAL PROPERTY CRIMES: 2026:  7,187  2025:  9,133  % Change: -21%

VIOLENT CRIMES  (MID-YEAR)

• Agg. Assault          2026:    2,260         2025:   2,081        Change:    + 9%
• Sex Crimes            2026:       246         2025:      259        Change:     – 5 %
• Robbery                 2026:       323         2025:     376         Change:    – 14%
• Total                        2026:     2,829       2025 :  2,716         Change:     + 4%

HOMICIDES (MID-YEAR)

HOMICIDES:    2026: 27       2025: 35       Change:  -23%

ARRESTS (NEW CHARGES, MID-YEAR))

EDITORS NOTE: Arrests include all arrest types (taken into custody, on-site, cited, summoned).

• Felony arrests:     2026:  3,540       2025: 2,583    Change: +37  (Felony Warrant includes arrests with felony warrant charge.)
• Misdemeanor arrests:  2026:   6,656        2025:  5,805   Change: +15% (Misdemeanor Warrant includes arrests with Misdemeanor warrant charge.)

WARRANT ARRESTS (MID YEAR)

• Felony warrants                 2026: 3,808           2025: 3,271     Change: 16%
• Misdemeanor warrants      2026:  1,658          2025:     996    Change:  66%

QUALITY OF LIFE OFFENSES (MID YEAR)

EDITOR’S NOTE: These are offenses involving the unhoused and include Criminal Trespass, Erecting Structure Park, and Littering and are based on arrests (citation, summons, taken into custody) and TraCS citations. Median City Code citation numbers are based on Field Contact Cards where “median” definition is used. CT Notices are based on Field Contact Cards where “criminal trespass notice” or “CT notice” are issued. Median Citations Include citations (TraCS and Mark43) for all 8-2-7-2 ordinances.

• Criminal Trespass               2026:    3,111       2025:   1,653      Change:   +88%
• CT Notices (CC)                  2026:    1,710       2025:   1,670      Change:    +2%
• Median City Code (CC)       2026:       48        2025:        46       Change:    +4%
• Median Citations                 2026:      288        2025:     141       Change:  +104%
• Erecting Structure Park     2026:        21        2025        21        Change:     0%
• Littering                               2026:        48        2025        66        Change:    -2%

 PRIORITY CALLS FOR SERVICE

The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) categorizes emergency calls into five priority levels, each indicating the urgency and response required. These priorities help the APD allocate resources effectively and ensure that the most critical situations receive immediate attention. The 5 priority call midyear statistics and definitions are:

• Priority 1 2026: 2,903               2025:    3,078                Change: -6%

(PRIORITY 1 CALLS are immediate threats to life or serious injury in progress requiring the highest the highest urgency response.  APD police units to be dispatched immediately.)

• Priority 2 Calls:      2026:  66,663       2025:  61,442       Change: -8%

(PRIORITY 2 CALLS  are  serious incidents that require prompt response but are not life-threatening. APD police units respond as soon as possible, typically within a few minutes.

• Priority 3:      2026:    35,790         2025:  36,050            Change: -1%

(PRIORITY 3 CALLS are  non-emergency situations that require police presence but do not pose an immediate threat.  APD police units respond when available, often with a longer wait time.

• Priority 4:    2026:     20,574         2025:   22,175            Change: -7%

(PRIORITY 4 CALLS are situations that require police attention but are not urgent, such as reports or follow-ups. APD police Units may respond as resources allow, often scheduled for later.)

• Priority 5:    2026:    60,075         2025:     6,922           Change: -12%

(PRIORITY 5 CALLS are administrative or informational calls that do not require police action.  No immediate APD police unit  response is requires and are handled through other means or scheduled for follow-up.)

The link to the quoted or relied upon source is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics

HISTORICAL DROP IN HOMICIDES 

The most significant statistics reported by APD is that the city’s homicides went down 19% from 120 in 2022 to 93 in 2023 and again went down to 89 homicides in 2024 and dropped further to 65 in 2026. This marks Albuquerque’s largest decrease since 2010, when homicide totals hovered in the 30s.

According to APD, the downward trend in homicides is a result of better staffing, making more arrests in violent crime and solving cases.  APD has attributed an improving solve rate to increasing the assigned  homicide unit and  improve training of homicide  detectives.

Following are the number of recorded homicides for the last 10 years:

• 2017:  70 homicides
• 2018:  69 homicides
• 2019:  80 homicides
• 2020:  78 homicides
• 2021: 110 homicides
• 2022: 120 homicides
• 2023:   93 homicides
• 2024:   98 homicides
• 2025:   65 homicides 
• 2026:   36 homicides (MID YEAR STATISTIC: JAN. 1 to JUNE 30, 2026)

 https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics/homicide-statistics

https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/albuquerque-police-investigated-89-homicide-cases-with-96-victims-in-2024/

AGGRAVATED ASSAULTS

Following are the Aggravated Assaults numbers for the past 10 years that also reflect a  decline:

• 2017: 4,213
• 2018: 5,156
• 2019: 5,337
• 2020: 5,592
• 2021: 5,669
• 2022: 5,399
• 2023: 4,961
• 2024: 4,407
• 2025: 3,905
• 2026: 2,260   (MID YEAR STATISTIC: JANUARY 1, 2026 to JUNE 30, 2026) 

Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics/nibrs/nibrs-2024-annual

https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics

https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/albuquerque-police-investigated-89-homicide-cases-with-96-victims-in-2024/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

ARRESTING AND WAREHOUING HOMELESS IN JAIL

The 2026 midyear crime statistics revealing a 104% increase in “Median Citations” from 141 to 288 and the 88% increase in “Criminal Trespass Citations” from 1,653 to 3,111 are clear evidence that APD and  Mayor Tim  Keller are removing  the unhoused from the streets of Albuquerque and jailing them as a solution.

On March 4, ProRepublica, online and  non-profit investigative journalism organization,  published an investigative report entitled “Albuqurerque’s Mayor Said Arrests Were “Not the Solution” to Homeless. Yet Bookings Have Skyrocketed”. The article was written by ProRepublica reporters Nicole Santa Cruz and Ruth Talbot. The link to read the full unedited article is here:

Albuquerque’s Mayor Said Arrests Were “Not the Solution” to Homelessness. Yet Jail Bookings Have Skyrocketed.

According to the ProRepublica report in 2025, people were charged 1,256 times for obstructing sidewalks, nearly six times the number of cases in the previous eight years combined. More than 3,000 trespassing charges were handed out last year, the highest for any year since 2017. And cases of unlawful camping increased to 704 from 113 the year before, according to previously unreported county data provided to ProPublica by the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts.

Over the four years during Mayor Keller’s second term, the number of bookings in Bernalillo County’s jail classified as “homeless” or “transient” has skyrocketed to nearly 12,000 in 2025,  from 3,670 in 2022, with much of  the increase in numbers attributed to  repeat offenders.  The share of people booked who are transient have made up about 49% of the jail’s population.

Last year, 1,256 people were charged with sidewalk obstruction misdemeanors which is nearly six times the number of cases from the previous eight years combined.  This has occurred as the average daily population at the jail from July 2024 through June 2025 reached its highest point in a decade. On some days last year, the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center held more homeless people than the Gateway Shelter on the west side which is the  largest local shelter.

The city’s homeless population has more than doubled from 2022 to 2025, while the increase in homeless people jailed by the county has more than tripled during the same time period. Police and court records and interviews with homeless people show the increase in their incarceration is primarily driven by the cascading effects of repeatedly citing people who are experiencing homelessness.

More must and can be done by the courts mandating unhoused people off the streets and ordering them into the mental health or drug addiction treatment programs they desperately need. The city attorney and the district attorney should form a specialized unit to initiate civil mental health commitments in Metro Court to secure court orders to get chronically mentally ill and drug-addicted people off city streets.

KELLER’S NEW DIVERSION PROGRAM FAILS TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL MENTAL HEALTH COMITMENTS

During her July 22 Economic Forum presentation, Chief Barker said that Mayor Keller’s newly created  diversion court program and proactive policing tactics may be the key to bringing the city’s crime numbers down further, particularly in cases involving people who are homeless in Albuquerque.

It was on Friday, May 5, 2026 that Mayor Keller announced his new Diversion Program aimed at offering services and treatment to the unhoused who are cited, and often eventually arrested, for blocking sidewalks and similar city code violations. The proposed Fiscal Year 27 City Budget line item  submitted to the City Council by Mayor Keller for the Diversion Program  was originally for  $400,000,  but the City Council reduced the amount to $200,000 in the approved F/Y 27 budget as a compromise after the City  Council demanded further specifics on the diversion program.

Mayor Tim Keller has spent $300 million over the last four years to build five shelters known as the Gateway System. Keller is spending $85,283,471 in the 2027 fiscal year on 122 service contracts for unhoused services and shelter. Upwards of 75% of chronically unhoused people refuse city shelter and services.

The most recent Point-In-Time Survey of Albuquerque’s unhoused people found an 8% increase in the city’s homeless population, going from 2,740 to 2,960. Service providers estimate the actual number of unhoused people approaches 5,000. A 2025 report by the city found 30% of individuals experiencing homelessness self-report having a serious mental illness, 25% self-report having a substance use disorder and 66% experience some form of mental health condition. The New Mexico Justice Reinvestment Working Group found 65% of all individuals who enter the state’s criminal justice system have a behavioral health need.

Keller’s new diversion initiative is  designed to address the cycle of low-level, non-violent offenses that often result in brief and ineffective periods of detention without treatment or long-term resolution. The approach shifts the City’s response from a system that cycles individuals through arrest and release to one that uses legal intervention as a pathway into services, while maintaining accountability for participation.  Mayor Keller has said that since February the Albuquerque Police Department has diverted 85 people into services of some kind.

The City’s new diversion initiative deals with voluntary  “legal intervention” without addresses mandatory measures.  Absent from Mayor Keller’s new city diversion program is any involvement with  civil mental health commitments of the unhoused who pose an immediate danger to themselves or others or who are suffering from drug addiction.

On January 6, the Metropolitan Court Diversion Court was launched. The court redirects people with serious mental illness into voluntary treatment as an alternative to criminal prosecution for minor and nonviolent crimes. The court deals with people who previously have had criminal charges dismissed because they were found incompetent to stand trial. Eligible defendants are assessed by a social worker or case manager at the point of prosecution and offered on a voluntary basis a structured diversion option, including shelter intake, case management, substance use or mental health treatment, or other supportive services.

More must and can be done by the courts mandating unhoused people off the streets and ordering them into the mental health or drug addiction treatment programs they desperately need. The City Attorney and the District Attorney should form a specialized unit to initiate civil mental health commitments in Metro Court to secure court orders to get chronically mentally ill and drug-addicted people off city streets and get them the medical or mental health counseling help they desperately need.

FINAL COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

After a seven year period from 2017 to  2024 in spiking homicide rates, aggravated assault rates and other major crime rates, it can now be said with a degree of certainty that the City’s crime rates are indeed going down.  Albuquerque’s  downward trend in the most serious categories of crime mirrors those seen nationally, even in the most violent cities. Across the country, the decrease has been attributed to an easing of the societal impacts of the pandemic.

APD  says the reductions is a result of better staffing and making more arrests for violent crime. Hiring additional homicide detectives and leveraging data and technology have had an impact. Increased funding  on new technology and concentration on increasing personnel for violent crime investigations and analysis to solve more crimes, and making  more arrests resulting in prosecutions have been major contributors to reducing the city’s crime statistics . In other words, it has been APD returning  to basic, “tried and true police practices”  that have had an impact on reducing crime. (See POSTCRIPT for further news article analysis.)

APD Chief Barker concluded her presentation to the Economic Forum  by telling  attendees that her ultimate goals for APD are:

1. Reducing Violent Crime
2. Strengthening trust within the community and
3. Having victim-oriented policing strategies. 

The most troubling statistic in the mid-year report is that Drugs and Narcotics Offenses are up by a whopping 76% no doubt reflecting the fentanyl crisis. Chef Baker essentially glossed over the 76% increase in drug and narcotics offenses and what APD is actually doing to bring the statistic down by merely saying “We really are trying to make an arrest of the people who are supplying the drugs”. Chief Barker did not elaborate on what APD needs in resources to get the job done and if APD is cooperating and coordinating efforts with the Bernalillo County Sherriff’s Office or the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA is likely a sore spot with the City given the recent controversy with the DEA and its handling of cases that flooded the city with fentanyl, resulting in death overdoses, in an attempt to make cases against major dealers.

What is very disappointing is that Chief Baker chose the Economic Forum to make her crime statistics report when such a presentation should have been made to the City Council or at least in a more public forum to educate the public as opposed to trying to educate the city’s movers and shakers to ingratiate herself to them by going over her resume with a big scene presentation. She already has the job and by all accounts is doing a respectable job. While city residents can take comfort that crime is going down, we still must deal with the “in your face” homeless crisis as a daily reminder what is going on in the city as well as the 76% increase in drugs and narcotics offenses.

______________________

POSTSCRIPT

The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization. CAP focuses on a wide range of issues, including economic opportunity, social policy, national security, environmental protection and law enforcement trends.

On August 5, 2025  CAP published an article on the released 2024 data from the FBI show historic lows in the national murder rate, violent crime rate, and property crime rate.  The report was entitled Nationwide 2024 Crime Data Demonstrate the Value of Violence Prevention and Local Law Enforcement. Following are edited outtakes from the report followed by the link to the full report:

On August 5, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released crime data confirming that the overall rates of violent and property crime in the United States declined in 2024, recording the lowest property crime rate and lowest violent crime rate since at least 1969.  These data support a trend of sustained and historic declines in the nation’s crime rate since 2022.

These significant public safety gains follow a catastrophic surge in the nation’s murder rate between 2020 and 2021, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge that saw a 44 percent increase in firearm-related homicides nationally between March 2020 and October 2021. Not only does this newly released data support the finding that the country has returned to pre-pandemic levels of crime and violence, but many communities across the country, including Baltimore, Detroit, and Philadelphia, are now much safer today than before the pandemic started.

This positive trend is a testament to the successful coordination between community-based organizations; law enforcement; and local, state, and federal policymakers that have maximized federal funding opportunities and policies from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), and the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) to make all American communities safer.  … .

Key findings from 2024 FBI Reported Crimes in the Nation Statistics report include:

• The national murder rate again recorded the largest one-year decline in homicides, down 9 percent from 2023 to 2024. This means that there have been back-to-back years of historic declines after the murder rate declined by 10 percentfrom 2022 to 2023.*
• Gun homicides are down 16.7% in 2024 compared with 2023, and assaults with a firearm are down 8.6% in 2024 compared with 2023. When the national murder rate surged in 2020 and 2021,homicides with a gun were the primary driver while other types of homicides remained flat.
• Overall violent crime declined by 4.5% from 2023 to 2024, the lowest recorded rate since 1969.
• Overall property crime declined by 8.1%, the lowest recorded rate since 1961. Motor vehicle thefts decreased by 18.6 percent from 2023 to 2024. However, reported shoplifting nationwide went up by 8.9 percent in 2024 compared with 2023.
• Alabama, the District of Columbia, and Iowa each showed double-digit percentage decreases in violent crime rates, and 18 states showed double-digit percentage decreases in property crime rates in the 2024 FBI data compared with 2023.
• While cities with a population of greater than 1,000,000 saw the largest declines in murders on average, down 19.1% communities of all sizes experienced significant declines, and no group category of community saw an average increase in violent crime compared with 2023. Nonmetropolitan counties saw a 4.6% decrease in overall violent crime and a 16 percent decline in murders. Similarly, suburban areas saw a 5.7 percent decrease in overall violent crime and a 12.4 percent decline in murders.
• Nationwide, law enforcement agencies reported  clearing 43.8 percent of all violent crimes and 15.9 percent of all property crimes in 2024.

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES HAVE MADE COMMUNITIES SAFER

Progress in 2024 followed the first major gun reform bill passed by Congress in more than 30 years—the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The BSCA made historic investments in violence intervention strategies and improved commonsense gun laws across the country by closing loopholes in the gun purchasing background check system, establishing federal criminal offenses for straw purchasing and trafficking, addressing dating violence loopholes, supporting implementation of extreme risk protection orders, and funding a 21st century pipeline of mental health professionals.

Jurisdictions that have experienced some of the most significant decreases in their gun victimization rates since 2021 have invested in violence reduction strategies that emphasize coordination with and investment in community-based organizations and can include improved data sharing practices and additional funding for community violence intervention (CVI) programs. CVI programs connect individuals at the highest risk of being involved in violence with resources and services to stop violence before it starts. Evaluations of CVI models consistently show that CVI programs are one of the most effective tools to interrupt cycles of violence. These gains were made possible because of vital federal funding support from ARPA, BSCA, and CVIPI grants.

The latest FBI data also estimate small increases in the rates at which murder, violent crime, and property crime are solved, known as clearance rates. After falling to a historic low of 49.4 percent in 2021, the clearance rate for murder increased to 61.4 in 2024 but has not surpassed pre-COVID rates. Cities such as Houston and Garfield Heights, Ohio, spent federal ARPA funds on new technology and on hiring police investigators and analysts to solve more crimes. While recent increases in clearance rates are encouraging, far too many crimes go unsolved in cities and rural areas alike, enabling many people to avoid accountability for the harm they cause.

Cities should follow the lead of cities such as Boston, which increased its homicide clearance rate by 19 percentage points by hiring additional detectives and leveraging data and technology, and Denver, which increased its nonfatal shooting clearance rate from 39 percent to 65 percent in the first seven months after establishing a specialized unit dedicated exclusively to solving nonfatal shootings. BSCA also contributed to reductions in gun crimes by giving law enforcement additional tools to stop illegal gun trafficking, preventing individuals convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence from possessing firearms, expanding background checks, and investing in CVI programs.

The link to the unedited article is here:

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/nationwide-2024-crime-data-demonstrate-the-value-of-violence-prevention-and-local-law-enforcement/

 

City Council Passes Ban On Sitting, Sleeping On Sidewalks To Deal With Unhoused; Safe Outdoor Spaces To Be Offered At Gateway West Shelter; City Announces New Diversion Program; COMMENTARY: New Diversion Program Needs To Include Civil Mental Health Commitments Of Unhoused Who Are Danger To Selves And Others Or In  Need Of Addiction Medical Treatment

 

 

It was on June 2 that Maggie Toulouse Oliver won the Democratic Party nomination to be New Mexico’s next Lieutenant Governor in a landslide primary election victory over her opponent State Senator Harold Pope. Toulouse Oliver garnered 80% of the vote (168,109) to  Pope’s 20% (42,127). On June 18  Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced she was suspending her campaign and dropping out of the race due to health concerns.

On June 25, Maggie Toulouse Oliver officially withdrew as the Democratic Party nominee for  Lt. Governor. On the same day the Democratic Party of New Mexico sent out the official call to the Democratic Party State Central Committee to fill the Lieutenant Governor ballot position. Both State Senator Harold Pope and Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced almost immediately that they would seek the Democratic Party’s nomination from the Democratic Party State Central Committee.

PROCESS USED TO FILL VACANCY

Under New Mexico primary election laws enacted by the New Mexico legislature, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run independently in the primary. The winners of these races who share the same party affiliation are then paired on a ticket for the general election. Under the state’s election code, when a candidate is elected in by a political party, Democratic or Republican, and then drops out, there is no special election to fill the vacancy.  It is the political party that has the exclusive authority to nominate and select candidates to fill the vacancy.

Within the State Democratic Party, it is the State Central Committee (SCC) that fills the vacancy. SCC membership are elected every two years by individual County Democratic Party Organizations. Registered voters and members of the county party can attend to elect the SCC membership. Any New Mexico Democrat in good standing is a member of their local county party organization and can run or vote for SCC. Currently, there are 480 SCC members statewide.  The 480  SCC members hail from every county in the state and include elected officials, as well as party officials. Approximately 40% of SCC membership are  from Bernalillo County.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL GUEST OPINON COLUMNS

The Albuquerque Journal Editorial Opinion pages feature 5 types of opinion columns submitted for publication with a 600 word policy limitation: those by the paper’s Editorial Board, those by the paper’s Community Council, those by Syndicated Columnists, those by Local Columnists and those by Local Voices. According to Journal editors:

“Local Columnists are tasked with carrying a heavy load of responsibility to help readers scrutinize issues impacting them, their community and their country. It is the Journal’s goal to publish columnists from all walks of life and varying political viewpoints to give readers exposure to all sides of local issues.”

NM REPUBLICAN STATE SENATOR DAVID GALLEGOS

David Gallegos is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of New Mexico. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, represents District 41 in the New Mexico Senate.  On Sunday, July 26, the  Albuquerque Journal published on its editorial Opinion pages the following Local Columnist article by NM State Senator David Gallegos:

OPINION: “New Mexicans deserve better than a backroom deal for lieutenant governor” By DAVID GALLEGOS

“New Mexicans don’t get a vote on who becomes the other lieutenant governor candidate, one of two people who will compete for election in November. Only about 500 people do.

That’s the reality Democrats are living with this week, as roughly 500 members of the state Democratic Party’s State Central Committee prepare to cast votes between July 25-29 to pick a replacement nominee. Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who won the Democratic primary, dropped out last month. Now, instead of returning to voters, the party is settling the matter internally, and even Democrats are admitting how ugly that process has become.

State Sen. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, a Democrat from Albuquerque, didn’t mince words this week describing his own party’s process. He called it a “power grab by the ultra-left” — his words, not mine — and said it “does not serve the party or the state.” A sitting Democratic state senator, on the record, calling his own party’s selection a power grab.

He’s not wrong.

The two contenders are state Sen. Harold Pope, who lost the Democratic primary to Toulouse Oliver by 60 points last month, and Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, endorsed by gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland. Pope is backed by the Albuquerque and Santa Fe chapters of the Democratic Socialists of America. Garcia Richard just picked up an endorsement from Jane Fonda, who told supporters it’s time for two women to lead New Mexico.

A candidate who lost his own primary by 60 points. A socialist organization’s hand-picked favorite. A celebrity commie from California. None of that is New Mexico voters deciding who should be one heartbeat away from the Governor’s Office. It’s insiders and activists deciding for them.

Maestas also raised a substantive question: While Pope has been positioning himself, in Maestas’s words, as a “progressive deity,” he hasn’t distributed any of the roughly $4 million a year in discretionary capital outlay funding available to him for his own district’s schools.

I don’t have a preference for which Democrat wins this selection process. I plan to run the best race I can against any of them. But either way, my message is the same: This is what one-party rule looks like up close. No primary voters weighing in. No public debate. A closed vote among 500 insiders, while socialists and Hollywood celebrities fight over who gets to claim the mantle of “grassroots.”

New Mexico’s real economy runs on oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, on ranching families who’ve worked this land for generations, on the law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe, and on innocent and vulnerable people we have a responsibility to protect. It doesn’t run on which candidate the DSA prefers or who gets Jane Fonda’s seal of approval.

I believe leaders should answer to the people who elected them — not to 500 party insiders in a room in Santa Fe. That’s the choice this November: leadership accountable to New Mexico voters, or leadership accountable to whoever wins this week’s backroom fight.

New Mexicans are watching. And they will remember in November who trusted them with a vote — and who didn’t.”

The link to the Albuquerque Journal guest column with photo is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-new-mexicans-deserve-better-than-a-backroom-deal-for-lieutenant-governor/3087919

REPUBLICAN PARTY GETS  INTO ACT OF BASHING DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S PROCESS FOR FILLING VACANCY

As if not to be outdone by their Lt. Governor nominee Senator David Gallegos, Republican Interim Party Chairman Mike Nelson just had to get into the act of  bashing the Democrat Party’s process used for selecting Stephanie Garcia Richard as their nominee for Lt. Governor by issuing the following press release after she was elected by the State Democratic Pary State Central Committee:

“IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2026

Albuquerque, NM — The Democratic Party of New Mexico finally selects Stephanie Garcia Richard as their nominee for Lieutenant Governor. The Republican Party of New Mexico releases the following statement:

“With the selection of Stephanie Garcia Richard as the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor, I am even more confident in our ability to flip New Mexico red in 96 days,” said Interim Chairman Mike Nelson. “Our slate of Republican candidates, led by Gregg Hull and David Gallegos, brings more experience than any other Republican ticket in years. Unlike any of the Democratic candidates on the ballot, Gregg Hull and David Gallegos are ready to change the direction of our state on day one.

“As for the selection process by the Democratic Party of New Mexico, this was a complete sham from the beginning. Their ranked-choice voting process ignored more than 42,000 voters who voted for Harold Pope in the primary election and conveniently erased all the work Pope did to obtain enough signatures to file on March 10. Never again can New Mexico Democrats call themselves the party of ‘democracy.’”

https://newmexico.gop/2026/07/30/after-using-ranked-choice-voting-nm-democrats-make-the-selection-for-their-nominee-for-lt-governor/

The New Mexico Republican Party should start calling itself  the “Trump Fascist Party” in that its is in no way the “party of democracy.”

Senator Harold Pope should seriously think about thanking the Republican Party for going to his defense in their press release seeing as no Republican would ever vote for him.

NM SENATOR ANTONIO “MOE” MAESTAS  

Senator  Ant­o­nio “Moe” Maes­tas, D-Albuquerque, rep­res­ents Dis­trict 26 in the New Mex­ico Sen­ate. On Sunday August 2 , the  Albuquerque Journal published on its editorial Opinion page C1  the below  600 word “Local Columnist” opinion column by New Mexico State Senator Antonio “Moe” Maestas:

OPINION: Setting the record straight on NM’s Democratic process

BY  ANTONIO “MOE” MAESTAS

 

State Sen. David Gal­le­gos, R-Eunice, argues that the Demo­cratic Party sub­ver­ted demo­cracy. The facts tell a dif­fer­ent story. His column (July 26 Sunday Journal) asks read­ers to over­look New Mex­ico law, estab­lished pre­ced­ent and the full con­text sur­round­ing the Demo­cratic Party’s law­ful selec­tion of Stephanie Gar­cia Richard for lieu­ten­ant gov­ernor.

It’s rare but not unpre­ced­en­ted for a primary-win­ning can­did­ate to with­draw from the gen­eral elec­tion bal­lot. When that occurs, New Mex­ico law provides a clear pro­cess: The appro­pri­ate party gov­ern­ing body selects a replace­ment nom­inee.

In 2012, Daniel Ivey-Soto defeated Vanessa Alarid by one vote to replace Demo­crat Tim Eichen­berg in Sen­ate Dis­trict 15. In 2024, Demo­crats in House Dis­trict 53 selec­ted Sarah Silva to replace their nom­inee. The last time the full Demo­cratic State Cent­ral Com­mit­tee (SCC) met for this pur­pose was in 2006, when it selec­ted then-state Rep. Hec­tor Bal­deras as the Demo­cratic nom­inee for state aud­itor.

Last week, Demo­cratic Party Chair Sara Attleson con­vened a meet­ing of the SCC, and the pro­ceed­ings fol­lowed the law in an open and trans­par­ent man­ner. Describ­ing that meet­ing as a “back­room deal” dis­torts the facts. The SCC is com­posed of Demo­crats elec­ted by fel­low Demo­crats, and its votes were cast pub­licly and trans­par­ently — the exact oppos­ite of a back­room deal.

Gal­le­gos also mis­char­ac­ter­ized my com­ments by remov­ing them from their con­text. He wrote that I “didn’t mince words this week describ­ing his own party’s pro­cess,” quot­ing my state­ment that there was a “power grab by the ultra-left” that “does not serve the party or the state.”

As Source NM repor­ted, my com­plete state­ment was:

“It’s just indic­at­ive of the con­tra­dic­tion that sur­rounds his (Albuquerque state Sen. Har­old Pope’s) can­did­acy. When you com­pare their accom­plish­ments, there’s no com­par­ison. So instead of Deb Haa­land and Stephanie Gar­cia Richard barn­storm­ing the state this past month, there’s this power grab by the ultra-left, which does not serve the party or the state.”

The full con­text makes it clear that I was dis­cuss­ing Pope’s can­did­acy and the polit­ical dynam­ics sur­round­ing it — not ques­tion­ing the Demo­cratic Party or the leg­al­ity or legit­im­acy of the nom­in­a­tion pro­cess.

Polit­ical debate should be groun­ded in an accur­ate descrip­tion of the facts. Claims that a law­ful pro­cess was some­how ille­git­im­ate under­mine con­fid­ence in demo­cratic insti­tu­tions.

The Demo­cratic SCC is com­posed of grass­roots Demo­crats from every corner of New Mex­ico who volun­teer their time to organ­ize local activ­it­ies, recruit can­did­ates and ful­fill respons­ib­il­it­ies assigned by state law and party rules. Sug­gest­ing these mem­bers acted improp­erly simply because they car­ried out those respons­ib­il­it­ies mis­rep­res­ents both the pro­cess and the people involved.

The party made the right choice. It chose proven, pro­gress­ive lead­er­ship over a can­did­ate whose appeal res­ted largely on ideo­lo­gical pur­ity rather than a record of res­ults. Too often, pur­ity tests reward ideo­lo­gical con­form­ity over demon­strated lead­er­ship, leav­ing long-stand­ing Demo­crats with proven records of deliv­er­ing res­ults labeled as insuf­fi­ciently pro­gress­ive and sent to the pro­ver­bial guil­lot­ine.

Stephanie Gar­cia Richard has spent years serving New Mex­ic­ans in elec­ted office. As a legis­lator and com­mis­sioner of pub­lic lands, she has demon­strated an abil­ity to gov­ern, build con­sensus and achieve mean­ing­ful res­ults. The SCC recog­nized that exper­i­ence and selec­ted a nom­inee with a proven record of lead­er­ship and the skills to lead on day one.

Adding Stephanie Gar­cia Richard to the Demo­cratic ticket gives voters a clear choice. Ulti­mately, New Mex­ic­ans — not party lead­ers or polit­ical com­ment­at­ors — will decide who is best pre­pared to serve as lieu­ten­ant gov­ernor. They deserve to make that decision based on accur­ate inform­a­tion, not mis­lead­ing char­ac­ter­iz­a­tions of a law­ful and trans­par­ent pro­cess.

The rule of law — not polit­ical rhet­oric — is what pro­tects demo­cracy. The voters deserve an hon­est debate about the future of New Mex­ico.

The link to the Albuquerque Journal guest column with photo is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-setting-the-record-straight-on-nms-democratic-process/3092230

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Republican State Senator David Gallegos’ opinion column is a disingenuous as it gets. It  is  downright hypocritical, especially coming from and elected official who should know  better and who likely knows the law because he is a legislator, especially when he essentially claims the Democratic Party has engaged in “back room” politics and says in part:

“New Mexicans don’t get a vote on who becomes the other lieutenant governor candidate, one of two people who will compete for election in November. Only about 500 people do. …  I believe leaders should answer to the people who elected them — not to 500 party insiders in a room in Santa Fe.”

Simply put, Republican State Senator David Gallegos and the NM Republican Party are hypocrites condemning the Democratic Party’s process for filling the Lt. Governor candidate vacancy when the Republican Party has relied upon and used the identical process to fill candidate vacancies in the past. In fact, the Republicans  will be using the same process to fill a vacancy for a State Representative position in Albuquerque caused by the Republican candidate dropping out  of the race after being nominated.

STEPHANIE GARCIA RICHARD BEST CANDIDATE FOR LT. GOVERNOR

The 2026 Democratic Party ticket for Governor and Lt. Governor is now set. Deb Haaland is the party nominee for Governor and Stephanie Garcia Richard is the party’s nominee for Lt. Governor. Both have made history with their nominations by being  the very first time that two women have been nominated by the Democratic Party for Governor and Lt. Governor.

When Senator Pope ran against Maggie Toulous Oliver he  lost to her in a landslide 80% to 20% in the primary. The race between Stephanie Garcia Richard and Harold Pope with the State Central committee was  nothing short of a “slugfest” between Garcia Richard and Pope. Senator Harold Pope did far better than he was expected with the State Central Committee coming in a close second securing 46% of the 477 State Central Committee Members who voted.

Deb Haaland’s endorsement of Garcia Richard contributed to the slugfest. Many Democratic Party State Central Party members strenuously objected to the Haaland endorsement saying Haaland should have stayed out of the race and said that Harold Pope deserved to be nominated simply because he ran in the primary. They ignored the fact that Garcia Richard also ran in the primary, she raised over $171,000, more than what Pope raised, but dropped out of the race because of her husband’s cancer battle and her need to assist him with his cancer treatment. Pope ran on a highly populous agenda calling it “Pope for the People”. The Pope platform was more of a platform for Governor and not Lt. Governor. Pope relished embracing the far more progressive, some would say socialist, wing of the Democratic Party.

The Pope-Garcia Richard slugfest revealed a nasty, divisive conflict between party regulars and the highly progressive, some would say socialists, wing of the Democratic Party. Pope’s progressive supporters went after Deb Haaland with a vengeance labeling her a “corporate Democrat” to damage her and her endorsement of Garcia Richard. The attacks on Haaland were an embarrassing turn of events given that Haaland was elected to the ABQ congressional seat and in 2018 immediately caucused with the progressive “Squad” in the United State House of Representative.

Pope’s supporters ignored the fact that Haaland herself was elected in the primary in a landslide victory garnering  72.3% (156,861 votes) of the votes to Sam Bregman’s 27.7% (60,189) cast around New Mexico. Deb Haaland had every right to endorse a candidate.  She is the Democratic Party’s nominee for Governor and the two candidates must run as a ticket. Deb Haaland needed to make her thoughts known as to who she wanted as her running mate for Lt. Governor and especially who she feels she can trust. She needs a team player, something Harold Pope is not known to be in the New Mexico Senate because of his independence. With her endorsement of Stephanie Garcia Richard, Deb Haaland made her feelings known as to who she believes is the most compatible with her, who she feels she can trust and who she will be able to work with once they are elected as a ticket.

Stephanie Garcia Richard is clearly the most qualified candidate to be Lt. Governor, including being far more qualified than Republican David Gallegos.  She will bring a sense of stability and full cooperation and communication with Deb Haaland to the table that will ensure the election of the Democratic Party ticket for Governor and Lt. Governor come November 4. Stephanie Garcia Richard is more than capable and will perform the duties and responsibilities of Lt. Governor. More importantly, she is far more qualified than Harold Pope and she can assume the office of Governor should Haaland for some reason leave office before her term ends.

A difficult question that must be answered is given the slugfest between Stephanie Garcia Richard and Harold Pope and the divide it created, will Pope supporters and the extreme progressives within the Democratic Party simply decide not to vote at all in the general election and abandon the Democratic Party? This would be reminiscent of what happened to Hillary Clinton when Bernie Sanders supporters refused to support Clinton for President after Sanders lost to her and they simply stayed home.

At this point, both Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard running as a team, need to immediately reach out to all factions of the Democratic Party, especially the most progressive Democrats. They need to reunite the party once again and make assurances they will work with them on Democratic core values and on hot topic areas such as Universal Child Care, reforming the Children’s Youth and Family Department, dealing with solutions for the unhouse crisis, addressing affordability issue and housing shortages and  addressing health care and opposing Trump and all of his policies.