New Mexico
New Mexico groups have mixed reactions to Harris as presumptive nominee – NM Political Report
Some New Mexico-based reproductive justice and LGBTQ groups express mixed reactions to Vice President Kamala Harris as Democrat’s presumptive nominee for president. Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico, said he was “very excited” about a woman of color campaign for president. But Indigenous Women Rising founder and Executive Director Rachel Lorenzo, a Mescalero […]
Some New Mexico-based reproductive justice and LGBTQ groups express mixed reactions to Vice President Kamala Harris as Democrat’s presumptive nominee for president.
Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico, said he was “very excited” about a woman of color campaign for president. But Indigenous Women Rising founder and Executive Director Rachel Lorenzo, a Mescalero Apache/Laguna Pueblo/Xicana, said they are neutral right now about Harris being the likely candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Martinez said Harris has some history as both a prosecutor when she was the California Attorney General and when she was senator for the state of California that “we don’t love,” but he said every candidate will likely be “problematic for us in some kind of way.” He said that he is excited because given the community Harris comes from as a woman of color from California,“ she comes with an innate understanding of our struggle.”
Lorenzo, who uses they/them pronouns, said IWR’s primary concerns are tribal sovereignty and reproductive rights. While some have spoken of Harris as an advocate for reproductive justice because she has raised the issue of Black women’s high rates of maternal mortality, Lorenzo said they respectfully do not agree with that interpretation of Harris as a candidate.
“We always talk about our movement being intersectional. Reproductive justice isn’t just about abortion access, it’s about safe communities, access to good education, clean environments to raise our families in and it also includes sex worker rights,” Lorenzo said.
Lorenzo said they are concerned about Harris’ record during her time in California on sex workers and that “actions speak louder than words.” During her time as a prosecutor and a senator, Harris worked to shut down internet sites that allowed sex workers to advertise services more safely.
“That’s why we’re more concerned about what she does versus what she says and especially since this country was founded on racism and taking Indigenous lands, it’s hard to validate a system founded on so much violence, even if a woman of color is at the top of the ticket,” Lorenzo said.
Martinez said that President Joe Biden was “really good on most LGBTQ issues” and both by virtue of experience and the community she comes from as a woman of color, “Harris is likely a little bit better.”
Martinez also said that Harris as the presumptive nominee for the Democratic presidential ticket has given voters who care about LGBTQ issues a “reason to be positive about showing up to vote in November.”
Martinez said he thought that Harris’ age, at 59, was also a plus for LGBTQ voters. She was more likely to have known individuals who are out as LGTBQ individuals than the previous generation.
Under the Biden administration, the Department of Health and Human Services established new rules for Title IX that expands protections for students who are LGBTQ, as well as other expansions. Some advocates have said that Biden intended to establish another rule that would have expanded protections for transgender students in a second administration.
Biden administration rolls back Title IX restrictions put in place by Trump
Martinez said that EQNM is relying on the idea that Harris will at least have the same position on LGBTQ protections under Title IX that Biden had as well and “the same drive to get it done.”
“I think the nature of her being a vice president, there’s some stuff we don’t know yet. But I’m hopeful she would go even further,” Martinez said.
One of the reasons he has hope is because Harris did a series of town halls on reproductive rights and she mentioned the intersection of LGBTQ issues and reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.
“What we know is, we don’t have to teach her what those intersections are, she already gets it. From there, when she was in the senate and when she was running for president [in 2019], she spoke a lot about LGBTQ issues and she attended many Pride festivals,” Martinez said.
He said he was impressed because Harris didn’t just ride in a car in the parade in order to be seen, but that she did an onstage rally and a question-and-answer session at the Pride festival she attended. He said she really engaged with the community and “to me, that’s how you show up for the community.”
“Harris was never the person who shows up to walk in a parade of one,” Martinez said.
Martinez said he is also hopeful that Harris can beat former Pres. Donald Trump in November. He said that when Biden endorsed Harris, “the excitement really changed.”
“In that last few days, we’ve seen a lot more affirmative ‘I’m with her’…we talk about the enthusiasm gap. The best indicator of that gap, early on, is whether or not the base communities are motivated to volunteer and give money to do the work. We saw that motivation drastically increase,” Martinez said.
Lorenzo, however, said they want to know what Harris’ plans are specifically for reproductive health in Indian country. They said the Biden administration would address the Hyde Amendment and it didn’t.
The Hyde Amendment is a decades-old measure that prohibits federal funding to be used for abortion services. This means that for decades, Indigenous individuals cannot access abortion through Indian Health Services.
Lorenzo also said they would like to have seen Harris spend more time engaging with abortion funds, midwives and doulas. Lorenzo said that while IWR has been invited to various meetings and listening sessions with Harris in the past, the meetings were not always accessible due to a lack of internet platform participation and because the meetings were held only in major cities.
Lorenzo said they want to see action from Harris, not words. “We heard great words from Biden on the campaign about protecting abortion access. One of the most basic things he could have done was recodify Roe v. Wade. While I don’t agree with recodifying Roe, we haven’t seen much action. We haven’t seen action on Hyde but he talked about it,” Lorenzo said.
New Mexico
14 indicted in alleged Permian Basin crude‑oil theft scheme spanning New Mexico and Texas, prosecutors say
A federal grand jury in Lubbock has indicted 14 people accused of stealing crude oil in eastern New Mexico and hauling it into Texas to resell at cut‑rate prices.
Prosecutors say the scheme targeted the Permian Basin’s vast production network, the oil‑rich region spanning southeastern New Mexico and West Texas that covers more than 86,000 square miles and accounts for the majority of U.S. crude oil production.
All 14 defendants are charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property across state lines, and several also face counts of interstate transportation and receipt, possession, or sale of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Indictment outlines alleged operation
Returned April 8, the indictment alleges the group stole crude oil in eastern New Mexico, some stored on U.S. government-leased land, and resold it to co‑conspirators at prices below the standard U.S. market benchmark.
Prosecutors say the conspirators transported the stolen oil into Texas for resale at a profit, knowing it was stolen.
Texas, New Mexico defendants identified by prosecutors
Texas defendants are James Darrell Reid, 65, and Randell Wayne Reid, 41, owners of Texas-based Reidco Enterprises and both of Electra – about 25 miles northwest of Wichita Falls and 115 miles from Fort Worth – along with Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole, about 80 miles west of Midland.
The remaining 11 defendants are from Lovington, a southeastern New Mexico community of about 11,690 people, roughly 20 miles west of the Texas state line and squarely inside the Permian Basin.
They include:
- Louis George Edgett, 68;
- Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25;
- Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43;
- Gyardo Gonzalez, 47;
- Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, 51;
- Diana Marquez Rojo, 45;
- Jose Luis Rojo, 49;
- Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, 37;
- Miguel A. Soto, 41;
- Tavares Montrail Cole, 48; and
- Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42.
Potential penalties outlined by DOJ
According to prosecutors, the defendants face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years per count for interstate transportation, possession, or sale of stolen property.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Land Management, the FBI, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigation Division, and sheriff’s offices in Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.
CBS News Texas will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
New Mexico
Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid – Office of the Governor – Michelle Lujan Grisham
SANTA FE — Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham today signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council to address the rising cost of electricity in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
The Council will convene state agency leaders, utility executives and experts in rural cooperative utilities, tribal energy, consumer advocacy, and energy policy and infrastructure to develop strategies for keeping energy affordable while ensuring the grid can meet the demands of a growing, modernizing New Mexico economy.
“At a time of dramatically rising energy prices, it’s imperative that we do everything we can to protect New Mexico ratepayers while ensuring abundant clean energy supply,” said Governor Lujan Grisham. “The experts I’ve appointed to the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council are well-positioned to make smart, insightful recommendations and I look forward to their findings.”
The Council will evaluate and recommend strategies across four interconnected areas:
- Ratepayer protection: Ensuring that large-load growth — including data centers and onshore manufacturing — does not disproportionately increase costs for residential, rural, tribal and small business customers.
- Grid modernization and reliability: Recommending rate designs and financing strategies that enable prudent infrastructure investment while minimizing long-term rate escalation.
- Clean energy progress: Advancing New Mexico’s net-zero goals under the Energy Transition Act by expanding zero-carbon generation and storage while maintaining affordable access.
- Permitting efficiency: Identifying opportunities to streamline and coordinate state and local permitting for electricity infrastructure — accelerating deployment of clean energy projects without compromising environmental review, tribal consultation, or regulatory safeguards.
The Council will deliver a final report — including legislative, regulatory and administrative recommendations — to the Governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2026.
The Council consists of 13 members representing state government, utilities, rural cooperatives, tribal communities and independent experts:
- Erin Taylor, acting secretary, Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
- Rob Black, secretary, Economic Development Department
- Cholla Khoury, chief of staff, Public Regulation Commission
- Lynn Mostoller, executive director, Renewable Energy Transmission Authority
- Sunalei Stewart, deputy commissioner for operations, State Land Office
- Don Tarry, president and CEO, TXNM Energy (PNM)
- Kelly A. Tomblin, president and CEO, El Paso Electric
- Zoe Lees, regional vice president, regulatory policy, Xcel Energy
- Vince Martinez, CEO, New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Javier Bucobo, vice president of markets and regulatory affairs, Avangrid (grid infrastructure expert)
- Joseph Yar, attorney, Velarde & Yar (consumer/ratepayer advocate)
- Sandra Begay Keeto, retired, Sandia National Laboratories; member, Navajo Nation (tribal energy expert)
- Rep. Meredith Dixon, New Mexico House of Representatives, District 20 (energy policy expert)
The Council is administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration. Members will serve without compensation, other than per diem and mileage as permitted by law.
The executive order can be viewed here.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Republican candidate for governor Duke Rodriguez is suing Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham over her executive order that started universal free child care before a new law takes effect.
The governor enacted the program through executive order in November.
Lawmakers passed a universal child care law during the past session, but that law does not take effect until May 20.
Rodriguez says he objects to some of the rules and to how the governor started the program. The suit asks the Second Judicial District Court to prohibit further enforcement of any regulations tied to the program.
“You could understand an outgoing governor trying to do it for political capital, for expediency just to say, I’m first in the nation.” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez says he is confident he will win and that the rules he is challenging will be struck down.
“We also now have what we call pre emptive eligibility, which means you don’t even have to prove you’re eligible and you’re covered the moment you walk in,” Rodriguez said. “All of those things individually and collectively that have been proposed and changed probably invite fraud, waste and abuse and you know it.”
The governor’s office responds
The governor’s office sent a statement saying the program was properly implemented and that the governor is confident the lawsuit will be rejected.
A spokesperson for the governor sent KOB 4 the following statement:
“This lawsuit makes clear that Mr. Rodriguez has a fundamental misunderstanding how state government works. He states that ECECD did not have the authority to undergo rulemaking regarding universal childcare. They do. He states that ECECD did not have the funding to implement the program when they did their rulemaking. They did. That is why the program was operational in December – before the 2026 Legislative session started. Perhaps more importantly, the lawsuit ignores that the legislature passed SB 241, which codified the program and its future funding into law. The governor is confident that the courts will reject his meritless claims.“
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