- Martinez's victory
- could have been the largest margin by a Republican gubernatorial candidate ever
- .
- Martinez
- sat down to talk to KRQE
- .
“That was a plus,” Martinez said. “That was something we worked really hard for so that we wouldn’t have those obstructionists that kept holding back some of the reforms that were really needed for New Mexico to move forward.”
But she acknowledges she’ll have to work with a state Senate still controlled by Democrats. A big theme of Martinez’s victory speech was bipartisanship and working across the aisle. Wednesday, Martinez made it clear that would be the plan going forward.- She also
- shot down a potential vice presidential run to KOB
- .
- Voter turnout was abysmal this year in New Mexico. Of the registered voters in the state, less than 40 percent turned out to vote, the
- lowest rate since at least 1990
- . In terms of raw numbers, there were fewer voters in 2014 than in either 2010 or 2006.
- Pollster Brian Sanderoff
- analyzed the campaign win
- . New Mexico Telegram will have some more analysis but will wait until the final vote counts stop bouncing around.
- It looks like there will be an automatic recount in the race for commissioner of public lands. Aubrey Dunn currently leads Ray Powell 246,301 to 244,058. Out of 490,359 votes cast, Dunn leads by just 2,243 votes. That is within the 0.5 percent threshold for an automatic recount, but barely.
- Powell
- says he will not concede until the vote-counting is done
- .
- A preview of the legislative session:
- Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle says that right-to-work will get a renewed push in New Mexico
- . Democrats still control the State Senate, but conservative legislation has at times been able to pass the chamber because of a large cadre of conservative Democrats.
- Michael Coleman at the Journal
- takes a look at what challenges Senators Udall and Heinrich will face as members of the minority in the Senate
- . Something that Coleman doesn't mention? Vetoes. Tom Udall was a huge proponent of reforming the veto and said he would support the efforts even while in the minority. That may be put to the test.
- Buried on the day after the election,
- Human Services Department Secretary Sidonie Squier admitted the department did not follow procedures to make changes to SNAP benefits
- .
Squire admitted she could not implement the work requirements under state law, as the Human Services Department failed to follow proper procedures, according to the Center on Law and Poverty.
Previous work requirements that are in place requiring non-disabled, childless adults between ages 18-50 to be employed or searching for work will remain in place.- Sandy Jones
- won the race against Ben Hall for a spot on the Public Regulation Commission
- .
- Advocates
- want the state Supreme Court to rule on the green energy codes
- . One of Susana Martinez's first initiatives as governor was to roll back the energy codes put into place during the Richardson administration.
- Navajo Nation presidential candidate Russell Begaye
- chose his running mate
- . Begaye is now on the ballot after Chris Deschene was kicked off the ballot for not being fluent in the Navajo language.
- Even if Susana Martinez doesn't choose to run for vice president—I think the public has a right to be skeptical of such statements from politicians—expect to see her on the national stage more going forward. She will
address the 2013 National Summit on Education Reform along with former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
It is hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education (which faced some controversy last year) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush is a rumored Republican presidential hopeful.- Speaker Ken Martinez
- says that Democrats came up short this year in a statement
- .
- Supporters of a marijuana initiative
- want the city to take to take action on marijuana decriminalization
- . And in the state legislature as well.
Democratic State Senator, Jerry Ortiz y Pino told KRQE News 13 he plans to introduce once again, a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
“I’m pretty confident that there are going to be some Republicans who will take a look at this in an honest and fair way, and reach their own conclusions,” said Ortiz y Pino.- APD Forward
- says the agreement between the DOJ and APD doesn't go far enough
- . One reason thing that the group things should have been emphasized more is the use of body cameras by police and enforcement of the use.
- The agreement came after years of use of force incidents by APD.
- There is
- more information on what preceded Brooks' ouster from as superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools
- .
In response to a public records request from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, the school district released a prepared statement that board President Analee Maestas read to board members over the phone in July, telling them of her plans to hire attorney Agnes Padilla to investigate the allegations.
“If we fail to do this and should any employee who has been subjected to this intimidation and retaliation, we would honestly have to admit that we had been made aware of these issues. YES we are indeed aware of these incidents, including to one of our own board members, and we would be liable for not taking any action,” Maestas said, according to the document posted on FOG’s website, nmfog.org.- There were four Republican judges who lost election this year. The Albuquerque Journal
- says that they may apply for the two vacant positions
- . With Martinez in office for another four years, the judges could all get more appointments to the bench.
- Republicans
- were dominant in Sandoval County
- .
- New Mexico
- could grow in the amount of energy provided to the United States
- . New Mexico currently sits at third on the list. The reason? Hydraulic fracking.
- A project
- in Bear Canyon Arroyo is designed to help replenish the aquifer
- .
- A proposal to change school elections to coincide with other elections
- failed to get the 75 percent needed to pass
- . Many think the misleading wording on the question didn't help.
- There still
- are no announced plans for the former Sunland, Inc. peanut factory
- . The plant was closed after Sunland, Inc. went out of business but Golden Boy Foods ended up buying the property. Peanut farming is a big part of the agricultural community in the area.
- Democrat Manuel Gonzales
- won the race for Bernalillo County Sheriff
- despite highlighted ballots from Legacy Church, the church of James Scott Baird.
- A judge says that parts of
- the Mora County community rights ordinance banning oil and gas drilling is illegal
- , but he hasn't decided if the whole ordinance has to be scrapped or not.
- Seems like
- no one knows what is going on with the proposal to put armed officers in Santa Fe schools
- .
- Innovate ABQ
- will probably expand its board
- . The selection of the board was criticized for a lack of diversity.
- The unearthed Atari games
- that came out of a landfill in southern New Mexico are getting big bids on eBay
- .
Santa Fe Reporter