THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM IS 6TH MOST UNPOPULAR GOVERNOR IN THE NATION
This is not surprising.
From the Albuquerque Journal:
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s net-approval rating slipped over the last three months and she is now ranked among the 10 least-popular governors in the country, according to a survey by the national firm Morning Consult.
The poll said 44% of New Mexico voters surveyed in the last quarter approved of Lujan Grisham’s job performance and 43% disapproved.
Her net-approval rating of 1 percentage point is down from 8 points in the first quarter of 2019, according to Morning Consult.
The firm said Lujan Grisham’s 43% disapproval rating was the sixth-worst in the country.
What might be contributing to her low approval ratings? While the polling report does not offer specific details, perhaps it might be decisions like...
Being a lead advocate for decriminalizing all abortion in New Mexico
Infringing upon the 2nd Amendment rights of New Mexicans
Failing to acknowledge the border crisis that is severely affecting our border communities and beyond
2. GOV. LUJAN GRISHAM ADVISES 2020 DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO STOP SCARING PEOPLE; SAYS ABOUT HERSELF "SHE'D NEVER WIN RE-ELECTION"
While in Washington last week at the Democrat Governors Association meeting, Gov. Lujan Grisham offered some advice for those seeking the 2020 Democrat presidential nomination.
From the New York Times:
On eliminating private health insurance:
“Some governors are alarmed that their party’s presidential candidates are embracing policies they see as unrealistic and politically risky. And they are especially concerned about proposals that would eliminate private health insurance.
“I don’t think that’s good policy or good politics,” said Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association.
“I think it scares people,” added Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
And when the conversation shifted to immigration, Gov. Lujan Grisham had more advice:
They were just as emphatic about immigration, warning 2020 candidates that their support for decriminalizing illegal migration would allow Republicans to cast Democrats as the party of open borders. At the last debate, many of the leading candidates — including Ms. Warren and Mr. Sanders — raised their hands when asked if they would make unauthorized border crossing a civil, rather than a criminal offense.
“That just scares too many people who don’t know anything about immigration,” said Ms. Lujan Grisham
Gov. Lujan Grisham even had some thoughts on her re-election prospects:
Ms. Raimondo and Ms. Lujan Grisham both urged the candidates not to become consumed by the affirmation or opprobrium of Twitter.
Ms. Lujan Grisham said she faced similar criticism online and still does today.
“If you looked at my social media right now you’d think, ‘She’d never win re-election,’” she said.
Well, Governor, given that you're only 6 months into the job and already the 6th least popular governor in the nation, perhaps you WON'T win re-election.
3. CORRUPTION WATCH: DEMOCRAT LAS VEGAS MAYOR FACES VOTER FRAUD INVESTIGATION WHILE TAXPAYERS FOOT HER LEGAL BILLS
Last night, KOB Eyewitness News 4 led their newscast with an investigative report on Democrat Las Vegas Mayor Tonita Gurule-Giron.
Already under investigation by the attorney general for rigging bids for city contracts to her boyfriend, Democrat Gurule-Giron now faces charges of voter fraud, specifically, using absentee ballot request forms to defeat a political rival vying for a seat on the city council.
From KOB:
David Romero, who ran for Las Vegas City Council in 2018, filed a complaint with the New Mexico Secretary of State's Office, alleging Mayor Tonita Gurule-Giron committed voter fraud and tampered with the 2018 municipal elections in an effort to get her friends elected to the City Council.
“She was supporting a candidate that I was running against,” Romero said. “She got very involved in [the race].”
Romero alleged that city employees witnessed Gurule-Giron take an alarming number of absentee ballots.
When those ballots were returned to the city clerk’s office to be counted, they came from two Las Vegas homes. One home belonged to the mayor’s sister, the other home to two women who have campaigned for the mayor in the past.
“It was her way of trying to manipulate the election,” Romero said.
Romero, narrowly won his seat in a run-off election, but filed a complaint with Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver anyway.
The reporter asks the mayor if she's paying her own legal bills. After repeatedly dodging the question, she finally says on camera that she is paying them herself.
However, it was determined this is not true.
An invoice shows [attorney] Quinones billed $19,000 in legal fees for what appears to be legal consultation and work for the mayor. The bill was not paid by Gurule-Giron, but by Las Vegas taxpayers.
This is a classic case of corruption, the type we see over and over in New Mexico. And yet where are the calls by Democrats for her to resign?
Watch the full report HERE where you will see the mayor's sister get nasty and vulgar with the reporter when confronted on her participation in the voter fraud.
4. DEMOCRAT AG BALDERAS FACES CRITICISM FOR HIRING PARTISAN "ECO LAWYERS" FROM NEW YORK
The editorial page of the Albuquerque Journal admonishes AG Balderas for his hiring of out-of-state lawyers to promote a partisan agenda.
From the Albuquerque Journal:
According to a Journal article published Monday, the AG’s Consumer and Environmental Protection Division has two outside attorneys employed through the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at the NYU School of Law – an entity established two years ago with a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
At first blush that might seem OK; after all, isn’t everyone in favor of energy and the environment? But a second look should raise the concern that these attorneys have an agenda that puts something other than N.M. taxpayers first.
... this is the same former New York Mayor Bloomberg who poured $1.13 million into a failed effort to impose a sin tax on sugary beverages sold in Santa Fe and $400,000 into New Mexico Democrats’ campaigns with the (successful) goal of a universal background check on firearm purchases.
…The top prosecutorial office in the state needs to be above reproach, and Balderas has to recognize this arrangement is not. While it added two attorneys to his staff, it did so at the expense of his office’s independence and impartiality – even if it’s in appearance only. It’s essential Balderas takes a step back and remembers who elected him and whom he works for.
Republican Party of New Mexico