[LWVNM Action] NM House leadership nominated by Dems

[Nandini Kuehn]

What do you think,  Dick? I don't know Javier Martinez.

N

On Sun, Nov 13, 2022, 3:48 PM Richard Mason via Action <
action at mailman.swcp.com> wrote:

> *Martínez nominated to serve as House speaker*
>
> *BY DAN MCKAY / JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
> <https://www.abqjournal.com/author/dmckay>*
> PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, 2022 AT 5:20PM
> UPDATED: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, 2022 AT 9:56PM
>
>
> <https://www.abqjournal.com/2549128/martinez-nominated-to-serve-as-house-speaker.html?fbclid=IwAR01nVx3Jr26WQ1-0RhAqLXHS5BxoJtFDWIil2ZLuRDgnJ_RIUYJjST28R8>
>
> House Majority Leader Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, walks through the
> tennis courts at Mesa Verde Park in the neighborhood where he grew up.
> (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)
>
> SANTA FE — Democrats on Saturday agreed to nominate Javier Martínez — a
> progressive whose district covers Downtown Albuquerque and Old Town — to
> serve as the next speaker of the House, widely considered the most powerful
> legislative post at the Capitol.
>
> Martínez, 41, was picked in a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic
> caucus, a group that includes incumbents who won reelection Tuesday and
> winning candidates set to start their first term next year.
>
> The group also chose Rep. Gail Chasey of Albuquerque as majority floor
> leader, Rep.-elect Reena Szczepanski of Santa Fe as majority whip and Rep.
> Raymundo Lara of Chamberino as chair of the caucus.
>
> In an interview, Martínez listed public safety, help for working families
> and education as immediate priorities for the 60-day session that begins
> Jan. 17.
>
> His leadership, he said, will be informed by his childhood growing up in
> Albuquerque and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, as the son of immigrants who had
> jobs in construction and janitorial work.
>
> “My upbringing and my life experience have shaped the vision that I hope
> to implement as the speaker of the House,” Martínez said. “With that comes
> really continuing to target the needs of working families, as well as the
> diversification of our economy.”
>
> The election of Martínez as House speaker will require a full vote of the
> chamber when the session begins next month. But Democrats are set to hold a
> 45-25 majority, according to unofficial election results, making their
> nominee well-positioned to take the top job.
>
> Martínez would succeed Speaker Brian Egolf, a Santa Fe lawyer who didn’t
> seek reelection to the Legislature. Egolf has led the House since 2017.
>
> Martínez won a three-way race for the speaker’s nomination. Reps. Miguel
> P. Garcia and Patricia Lundstrom were also candidates.
>
> The caucus chose other leaders, too:
>
> — Chasey, the longest-tenured member of the House, having served since
> 1996, will become majority leader. The job puts her in position to help
> determine legislative strategy, manage the flow of bills during floor
> sessions and communicate with the Republican leader.
>
> Chasey had been chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee.
>
> — Szczepanski, who’s about to start her first term, will become majority
> whip. It’s a position involved in strategic decisions, counting votes and
> building support for Democratic bills.
>
> Szczepanski is a familiar face at the Roundhouse as chief of staff to
> outgoing Speaker Egolf.
>
> Like Martínez, her parents were immigrants, from India.
>
> — Lara will serve as caucus chairman, presiding over the internal meetings
> of the Democratic caucus.
>
> *‘Working New Mexicans’*
>
> The next legislative session will come as New Mexico enjoys an enormous
> revenue boom driven by the oil and gas industry.
>
> Martínez said lawmakers will work to address public safety and direct
> education funding to help children and students. Economic concerns, he
> said, will be a priority.
>
> “We have to make sure we protect the pocketbooks of working New Mexicans,”
> Martínez said. “There’s a lot of widespread support we can give.”
>
> In the last session, Martínez served as majority leader. He is also a
> former chairman of the House Taxation and Revenue Committee.
>
> He has carried legislation on cannabis legalization, expungement of
> cannabis-related charges from court records and tax policy. He was a
> driving force behind the push to tap more heavily into New Mexico’s largest
> permanent fund to make more money available for early childhood education
> and public schools.
>
> Outside the Roundhouse, he serves as executive director of the Partnership
> for Community Action, a nonprofit group that works with immigrant families.
>
> Martínez was born in El Paso but spent much of his childhood in Ciudad
> Juárez until he was 7. He spoke only Spanish — other than the English he
> picked up in cartoons — when his family moved to Albuquerque.
>
> He joined the House in 2015.
>
> Even while maintaining 45 seats, the Democratic majority will have some
> new faces. Seven newly elected Democrats are set to serve in their first
> legislative session next year, and another, Joseph Sanchez, is returning
> after having run unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020.
>
> Women make up two-thirds of the Democratic caucus, or 30 of the 45 members.
>
>
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