Governor hosts Las Cruces town hall Thursday

It’s a confusing time to be an elected Democrat in New Mexico.

A stunted special session last week highlighted a divide between the governor and her fellow party members in the legislature. Democrats quashed several public safety proposals lauded by New Mexico Republicans and spurned by civil rights organizations.

On Thursday, the intra-party quarrel comes to Las Cruces. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will convene a town hall and listening session at the Las Cruces Convention Center at 5:30 p.m.

“Ensuring the safety and security of every New Mexican remains my top priority,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release. “The town hall in Las Cruces this Thursday is an opportunity to hear directly from New Mexicans grappling with the state's crime problem and collaborate as a community on effective strategies to enhance public safety statewide.”

But as the governor clamors for New Mexicans to voice their frustration about crime, local legislators again express frustration at the governor.

“I’m confused as to why she is doing this,” state Rep. Angelica Rubio, D-Las Cruces, said in an interview, arguing the governor has abandoned the Democratic Party's values and treated her party colleagues as obstacles.

“What’s been happening the last couple of years is that, rather than seeing the legislature as a partner, it’s been the complete opposite,” Rubio said.

“I think, at this point, it’s no longer about her wanting to address public safety,” Rubio said. “I think it’s personal now. It’s her trying to win. And in the meantime, our communities are the ones being impacted.”

Lujan Grisham called a special session that started and ended on July 18, lasting just five hours.

The governor sought bills that would have made it easier for judges to jail people accused of crimes in cases where competency is in question; banned panhandling in street medians – something the Las Cruces City Council will consider on Aug. 5; obligating police departments to provide better crime statistics; toughen racketeering laws; and increase penalties for selling fentanyl.

“These proposals have changed month to month, week to week, hour to hour,” state Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said during the session in Santa Fe. “In the last 24 hours, we’re seeing new proposals that were never presented, never contemplated for this special session.”

Lawmakers approved relief packages for people affected by the Salt and South Fork Fires and funds for outpatient treatment programs and competency diversion pilot programs in local courts, and then adjourned.

Lujan Grisham rebuked lawmakers, arguing that “a majority of Republicans would have passed many or all of these bills, and continuing: “The legislature should be embarrassed at their inability to summon even an ounce of courage to adopt common-sense legislation to make New Mexicans safer. For those of you who go home to the sound of gunshots, who see hypodermic needles in your parks, and the families desperate to get a loved one living on the street the help they deserve, I’m sorry that most of our elected officials didn’t even try.”

Other local legislators who agreed to interviews with the Bulletin faulted the governor for poor communications with legislators, prioritizing media coverage over sound policy and elevating herself over the party and communities affected by swollen crime rates.

“As the legislature, we showed up all summer ready to be in that space and doing right by our voters and constituents,” said Micaela Lara Cadena, D-Mesilla, “and then here we are.”

Lara Cadena, who sits on the Courts, Corrections, and Justice Committee, said she felt the governor chose to air her interests and desires via news conferences and press releases.

According to Lara Cadena, many legislators first learned of the special session through a televised interview with the governor. They then learned what would be germane for consideration through a news release.

“I mean, here we are in Santa Fe trying to be professionals, trying to be political actors ready to engage in respectful policy conversations,” Lara Cadena said. “And instead, we had a week of dueling press conferences.”

In July, Las Cruces set a 40-year record for most homicides in a single year. Eleven people, including a police officer, have been killed in Las Cruces. Typically, the city sees around seven or eight homicides a year.

Aggravated assaults – a large category encompassing events like fights and non-fatal stabbings or shootings – have also risen dramatically in recent years. Other violent crime reports have remained steady over the last decade, including robbery and sexual assault. Overall, violent crime rates grew consistently, starting in 2018, until falling in 2023.  

Rates of property crime have driven public outcry from small business owners and groups like Coalition of Conservatives in Action and Businesses for a Safer Las Cruces. Property crime reports have nearly doubled since 2017 (when reported property crime reached a ten-year low). Data shows that burglaries, larceny and motor vehicle theft are the primary drivers of this trend.

For Lara Cadena and Rubio — neither of whom face Republican opponents in the November general election — the governor’s appearance in Las Cruces is another example of prioritizing screen time over policy.

“I definitely think Thursday night is going to be performative for her,” Rubio said. “It’s going to be an opportunity for her to take up space.”

The Bulletin also contacted elected officials in competitive races this November. They did not respond to interview requests.