New Mexico Democrat gubernatorial nominee Michelle Luan Grisham is once again getting called out for her blatant hypocrisy and insincere political posturing.

A new editorial from the Albuquerque Journal at https://www.abqjournal.com/1223522/lujan-grisham-earns-red-card-for-unm-pandering.html  blasts Lujan Grisham for “pandering” to different audiences on the University of New Mexico’s recent athletic program budget cuts.

At a recent gubernatorial forum, Lujan Grisham pledged to provide new “oversight” of the University to “restore” the cuts. But “just days later,” when speaking to the Albuquerque Journal, Lujan Grisham completely changed her tune, calling for “independent” regents who “work without political goals.”

Lujan Grisham’s phony rhetoric on education cuts shows once again that she can’t be trusted to “make tough calls” or to keep her word to voters.

Albuquerque Journal reports:

“During a gubernatorial forum last Friday, both Lujan Grisham, and Congressman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Pearce blasted UNM for the decision to cut the sports programs.

But Lujan Grisham took it a step further and cut the new president of the state’s flagship university, and the head of its athletics programs, off at the knees.

‘It’s outrageous,” she said at the forum. ‘I will work immediately with the Legislature to provide whatever oversight and investment we need to immediately restore those programs and to hold universities like the University of New Mexico accountable.’

But isn’t that what Stokes and Nuñez were doing – trying to finally make Athletics accountable after a decade of not living within its budget? Isn’t that integral to their jobs and what they are paid to do?

…

What’s truly ‘outrageous’ is a gubernatorial candidate trying to dictate policy decisions at UNM six weeks before the election is even held.

What’s ‘outrageous’ is Lujan Grisham promising an endless stream of state money to prop up UNM’s hemorrhaging Athletics Department, while in the next breath promising to hold universities accountable.

What’s ‘outrageous’ is Lujan Grisham taking UNM officials to task for finally doing what their predecessors didn’t have the guts to do.

And what’s hypocritical is Lujan Grisham pledging to reverse the sports cuts on a Friday, and just days later telling the Journal, ‘I believe we need regents who are going to be independent, transparent about budgets, and will work without political goals seeing students as their constituents and customers.’

If Lujan Grisham wins, she will be able to carry through on her promise because the new governor will be able to replace as many as five of UNM’s seven regents. She appears to be setting the stage to do exactly what our governors have been criticized for, for years – meddling in the policies and personnel decisions at the state’s universities.

In order to thrive, New Mexico universities need regents who look out for the best interests of their institutions – as the state Constitution mandates – and not political sycophants who merely carry out the campaign promises of the governor who appointed them.

Even worse is the message Lujan Grisham is sending through her comments at the forum: That, should she become governor, officials in her administration shouldn’t try to make the tough calls; their governor won’t have their backs, no matter what the ledger says, if public sentiment turns against them.

"Pandering may be a good way to campaign; it’s certainly no way to govern.”