[LWVNM Action] ABQ JOURNAL on last night's Senate floor session

[Richard Mason]

*Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal*

SANTA FE — A special session on redistricting careened into a political
standoff late Wednesday, as minority Senate Republicans used a
parliamentary maneuver to block a floor vote on a Democratic-backed map.

The late-night drama cast uncertainty on the possible end date of the
special session, with Democrats facing the possibility of having to round
up missing GOP senators or make political concessions.

Senate Minority Whip Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, accused Democrats of
breaking promises in the redistricting process.

“This map is a travesty to our state,” said Brandt, who made the motion for
a “Call of the Senate,” which requires all unexcused senators to be brought
into the chamber and for doors to be barred.

When one GOP senator — Sen. Crystal Diamond of Elephant Butte — could not
be immediately tracked down, Senate Democratic floor leader Peter Wirth of
Santa Fe ended the floor session without a vote, saying it would be resumed
Thursday.

The Senate redistricting plan had been in limbo for several days this week
after a proposed amendment unpairing two incumbent GOP senators was
advanced by a Senate committee in defiance of a delicate consensus reached
by more than 20 tribal groups.

But Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said earlier
Wednesday that Senate Democrats were planning to back away from the
amendment after lengthy closed-door meetings with Native American leaders.

She also said top-ranking Democrats were able to reach an agreement with
tribal leaders about minor changes to boundary lines in two Gallup-area
Senate districts. Those districts are currently held by Sens. George Muñoz
and Shannon Pinto, who are both Gallup Democrats.

“It’s really like a jigsaw puzzle — you move one line and you have to
adjust three or four districts,” Stewart told the Journal.

While Native American leaders said they were willing to make minor changes
to the Gallup-area districts, they have adamantly opposed changes to the
tribal consensus plan when it comes to two other Senate districts —
currently held by Senate GOP floor leader Greg Baca of Belen and Sen.
Joshua Sanchez, R-Bosque.

Regis Pecos, a member of the Cochiti Tribal Council and former Cochiti
Pueblo governor, gathered with other tribal leaders in a Roundhouse
corridor after Wednesday’s fireworks in the Senate and exhorted them to
stay strong.

“Our people deserve us to remain steadfast,” Pecos said.

Earlier in the day, he told reporters that protecting incumbents was not
one of the priorities the independent Citizens Redistricting Committee was
tasked with following in crafting maps for legislative consideration.

He also said tribal leaders were more inclined to walk away — as they did
during a Sunday committee hearing — than compromise on maps that would
dilute Native American voices and reduce their ability to elect legislators
who would focus on fixing education inequalities and other priorities.

“These are sovereign nations and not special interest groups,” Pecos told
reporters.

But Republicans, who are outnumbered in the Senate by a 26-15 margin,
argued the new proposed Senate map would hurt New Mexico’s Hispanic
population.

They also lodged similar criticism against a plan to redraw the boundary
lines of the state’s low-profile Public Education Commission, which passed
the Senate on a party-line vote.

“I will continue to object to these maps that are based on diluting the
Hispanic population and ignoring the Hispanic population in the state,”
Baca said.

Meanwhile, the leader of a New Mexico open government group raised concerns
about the Senate’s commitment to transparency — or lack thereof — during
its redistricting discussions.

Melanie Majors, the executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for
Open Government, told Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, in a
Wednesday letter that voters want to see a more open process.

“We request that all negotiations and deliberations regarding redistricting
be conducted in an open and transparent manner that is accessible to the
public,” Majors said in her letter.

She also pointed out the independent redistricting commission, which
lawmakers created during this year’s 60-day session, held public meetings
and gathered input in more than 20 cities and towns around New Mexico in
the run-up to the special session.

Since the session began Dec. 6, legislators have already approved new
political boundaries for New Mexico’s three congressional districts for the
next decade. That proposal was awaiting approval from the governor on
Wednesday.


Albuquerque Journal and its reporters are committed to telling the stories
of our community.

• Do you have a question y
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.swcp.com/pipermail/action/attachments/20211216/763d4e37/attachment.htm>