Doña Ana County clerk sets sights on Secretary of State’s Office
Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin is out of the gate as the first candidate to announce a bid for secretary of state.
Her candidacy drew swift criticism from the Republican Party of Santa Fe County, which wrote in a Facebook post López Askin is “no different” than the current secretary of state, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who is term limited.
“She doesn’t believe in securing our elections, she doesn’t believe in voter ID, and she labels anyone that has questions about our electoral process … an election denier and a conspiracy theorist,” the local GOP wrote. “She’ll only maintain the status quo of insecure elections throughout the entire state of New Mexico!”
López Askin did not immediately return a message left at her office.
López Askin has served as Doña Ana County clerk since September 2018. She was initially appointed to the seat after the resignation of the previous clerk and then was elected in 2020.
López Askin told Source New Mexico she doesn’t plan to step down as she campaigns to be New Mexico’s top election officer. The news outlet reported López Askin said she will “work more and lean on Deputy County Clerk Caroline Zamora.”
“I’ll be working double-time evenings and weekends,” she is quoted as saying. “But I will continue to lead the office in Doña Ana County.”
071824_GC_HB1SpecialSession03rgb.jpg (copy)
State Rep. Randall T. Pettigrew, R-Lovington, speaks during a House Appropriations and Finance Committee meeting Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Pettigrew takes top spot in ‘Freedom Index’
No need to hold the presses.
Republican lawmakers have once again scored the highest in the Rio Grande Foundation’s so-called Freedom Index, a legislative tracking tool that scores lawmakers on individual liberty and limited government by how they vote during a session.
“We rate bills from minus eight to plus eight — bad bills being minus, good bills being plus — and legislators get points when they vote on the floor,” Paul Gessing, president of the Albuquerque-based free-market think tank, said in an interview.
With a score of 202, Rep. Randall Pettigrew, R-Lovington, earned the top spot in the House. In the Senate, Sen. Jim Townsend, R-Artesia, was the top performer with a score of 62.
Gessing said Republicans typically score better in most areas of the index, although “eleven, twelve years ago, you had a lot more what I would call conservative, moderate Democrats.”
Asked if there were any surprises in this year’s index, Gessing said the scores in the Senate were “significantly lower” than in the House, though he noted both chambers don’t always vote on the same bills.
“I was expecting the Senate to become significantly more conservative” with the addition of Sens. Jay Block of Rio Rancho, Candy Spence Ezzell of Roswell, Larry Scott of Hobbs and Townsend, he said.
“The scores don’t reflect that this year, and there’s votes … that made an impact on those scores, but it’s one session,” he said. “I’m hopeful that the Senate will kind of move in a more conservative direction, at least among the people who are likely to vote in a conservative fashion.”
Gessing said the foundation has been doing its Freedom Index since 2014 and that it’s often a topic of conversation.
“I know both personally and from talking to other people who I know who go up to Santa Fe and work with the Legislature that it does get talked about,” he said. “I was pretty regularly asked during the session when I was there, ‘What’s going on with your Freedom Index?’ “
State treasurer sounds alarm on Trump tariffs
State Treasurer Laura Montoya was among a handful of Democrats who last week warned of severe impacts President Donald Trump’s tariffs will have on the agricultural industry.
“New Mexico and the American Southwest are right at the center of this conversation,” Montoya said during a press call hosted by Americans for Responsible Growth, which describes itself as a national advocacy group that helps state financial officers fight back against economically destructive policies from the federal government.
Laura M Montoya.jpg
Laura Montoya
Montoya noted Mexico, “a major target of Trump’s trade war,” is not only the United States’ but New Mexico’s greatest agricultural trading partner.
“New Mexico’s ports of entry process nearly one third of cattle imported from Mexico every single year,” she said. “Our agricultural industry is going to face blows as tariffs on cattle will result in a slowed food production and increased food insecurity.”
Montoya said New Mexico farmers and ranchers will face higher costs on equipment, machinery and vehicles from international trade partners as a result of Trump’s tariffs.
“Retaliatory tariffs on American crop exports are leading to business and income losses as more countries boycott American-grown produce,” she said. “On top of these economic pressures, Trump’s aggressive, inhumane, hateful and cruel deportation is [decimating] the workforce that keeps our farms and ranchers operating efficiently and effectively.”
Celebrating Arbor Day
Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber, city councilors and students from Chaparral Elementary School will be planting trees Thursday at Ragel Park in celebration of Arbor Day.
The tree planting will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, and the public is invited to participate.
Participants can also take home a drought-resistant tree, though supplies are limited.
While the tree planting is Thursday, Arbor Day is Friday.