May 25, 2018 • Regional News
This week in New Mexico
State representative stumps statewide for pot legalization
Albuquerque Journal
State Rep. Javier Martinez says he will travel throughout New Mexico ahead of the 2019 legislative session as he tries to build support for a proposal to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
Similar proposals have repeatedly failed to make it through the Legislature in recent years, but the push to legalize recreational use of cannabis in New Mexico is emerging as a high-profile issue in the race for governor.
And Martinez is armed with a new poll – paid for by a coalition supporting marijuana legalization – that shows public support is solidifying in favor of the idea.
A scientific telephone survey, conducted by Research & Polling Inc. in March, said that 63 percent of New Mexico adults would support a bill to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana sales to adults ages 21 and over.
That’s an increase of 2 percentage points over a similar poll in 2016, and the number of people “strongly supportive” of the idea has grown by 6 percentage points, according to the survey. It has a margin of error of plus of minus 4.8 percentage points.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1175325/nm-survey-shows-63-percent-of-adults-favor-pot-legalization.html
Land commissioner’s race: VeneKlasen offers hands-on experience
The New Mexican
Talk to Garrett VeneKlasen for a few minutes and he can sound as much like a fishing guide as a politician. He is likely to rattle off the names of species of birds or mammals or fish. A mental map of New Mexico emerges that is drawn with the contours of hikes and hunting grounds and birding spots.
It’s no act.
For much of his career, VeneKlasen was a guide.
And now, he wants to oversee a big swath of New Mexico’s outdoors.
The commissioner of public land’s job can be as much about what is below ground — 13 million subsurface acres of state trust property with lots of oil and gas to fund New Mexico’s education system. But VeneKlasen is as concerned with what is above ground — 9 million acres. And he’s got big ideas for it. He proposes more renewable energy projects, ecotourism and public access. He has said he supports a wolf refuge on state trust land, too.
“The thing that defined me as a young man and still does is the outdoors,” he told the audience at a recent forum in Eldorado.
In short, VeneKlasen proposes the state reimagine the land commissioner’s job as one more active in conservation, recreation and wildlife management.
Don’t doubt for a minute that VeneKlasen is a politician, though. He comes from the politically active world of sportsmen. He has won endorsements from environmental groups. His campaign has outspent the competition. His ads have taken on President Donald Trump and incumbent commissioner Aubrey Dunn — landing him in court on claims of defamation.
Planned repository for high-level nuclear waste in Lea County draws opposition
In a crowded hotel ballroom, a once-regional battle over New Mexico’s nuclear future evolved into a statewide showdown.
Dozens of concerned citizens and environmentalists took to the microphone at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Albuquerque on Tuesday night to voice their opposition to a project they said could put New Mexicans at risk of deadly radiation while further pigeonholing the state as the nation’s nuclear-waste graveyard.
At stake in the melee: The economy of one of New Mexico’s most profitable corners, the safety and security of the state’s residents — and the future of nuclear waste disposal in the United States.
Proponents of the plan — including Gov. Susana Martinez; U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M.; and a slew of downstate lawmakers, business owners and citizens — say the region’s geology is ideal for the proposed facility, and the economic benefits are well worth what they see as nearly nonexistent risks.
In March 2017, Holtec International, a Jupiter, Fla.-based energy technology company, submitted an application for a 40-year license to build and maintain what could be the nation’s largest interim repository for high-level nuclear waste.
If approved, the proposed 300-acre Lea County facility would house a vast cache of spent nuclear fuel rods from power plants nationwide.
The rods would be moved to the site in thousands of cross-country rail deliveries over the course of about 20 years — a process opponents of the plan said would put people at risk.
“For those concerned about security, that translates into thousands of opportunities for attacks or thefts of spent fuel,” said Barney McGrath of the Santa Fe Democratic Party. Others worried about radiation leaks and derailments during transport.
“Each rail car is like the equivalent in plutonium of what got dropped on Nagasaki,” said Karen Hadden, executive director of the Austin, Texas-based SEED Coalition, an advocacy group. “It’s not in bomb-grade form, but it’s huge.”
Santa Fe Mayor Webber endorses Romero in hotly contested House race over Rep. Trujillo
The New Mexican
Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber waded into Northern New Mexico’s most contentious primary race Tuesday and endorsed the embattled ex-director of a regional advocacy coalition whose organization became mired in controversy over public dollars spent on liquor and baseball tickets.
In a campaign email blast, Webber threw his progressive political heft behind Andrea Romero, the challenger in the explosive Democratic primary in House District 46, which encompasses an area north of the city.
She faces Rep. Carl Trujillo, who has come under scrutiny himself — as well as a statehouse investigation and calls to resign — after a lobbyist alleged he sexually harassed her in the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions. Trujillo has called the allegations politically motivated lies.
Webber, who wrote that Romero worked on his unsuccessful 2014 bid for governor, said he would endeavor to turn out voters on Romero’s behalf, calling her the kind of “good Democrat” needed in New Mexico — a not-so-veiled echo of the recurring criticism that Trujillo, elected in 2012, is too conservative for his Santa Fe County district.
“Do you know what makes a Democrat a Democrat?” Webber wrote. “It’s when she stands up for teachers who want to teach more and test less. It’s when she stands with students and parents who say the [National Rifle Association] must be stopped, and stopped now. And it’s when she stands alongside women who have experienced sexual harassment and sexual assault and have the courage to speak out.
Our View: How to become an educated voter
The primary season is winding down, with early voting taking place now in advance of the June 5 vote.
For Santa Fe-area Democrats in particular, the ballot is laden with candidates all the way from governor, near the top of the ticket, to races for county commissioner or sheriff. Locally on the GOP side, there is a contested House race in District 22 to replace retiring Rep. Jim Smith. For voters who have not been paying attention, there is a lot of information to take in before choosing candidates in the various races. The New Mexican has been profiling candidates, covering forums and doing stories about the issues — interested citizens can find election news at santafenewmexican.com.
Other news sources also have been reporting, and groups such as the League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County have put together voter guides, which contain factual information about the candidates in contested races. To read the league’s 2018 Voter Guide, go to lwvsfc.org and scroll down to the Meet the Candidates button. (The first button, New! Voter Guide, is actually a handy question-and-answer piece with information about the election.)
Another excellent way to compare candidates is to read the material on their websites and check it against claims made by opponents. Many of the debates were recorded and can be found online — watching the candidates for governor debate could help those who are undecided make up their minds. Again, a voter has a responsibility to learn more about the issues and the people who want to run our state and our counties.
With such a long ballot, early voting can save time, but only if a citizen is ready to choose now as opposed to waiting until June 5. With some hard battles being fought in the contests for state House of Representatives, we can understand why some people will want to vote at the last minute.
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