Gov. Eyes ‘Silver Alert’ for State

Gov. Susana Martinez is looking to apparent state Rep.-elect Paul Pacheco — who faces a required recount of his razor-thin lead over Democratic opponent Marci Blaze — to push legislation that would expand use of statewide missing person alerts for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease.

If approved by the state Legislature, the new alert system would mirror the city of Albuquerque’s “Silver Alert,” which widely distributes information about a missing senior with Alzheimer’s or dementia who wandered away from home and may not be able to find his or her way home.

Pacheco, a Republican, received campaign donations from Martinez’s PAC and was backed by a political group run by Martinez adviser Jay McCleskey in his run against Blaze for a vacant state House District 23 seat representing Corrales.

Updated counts of general election ballots found Pacheco leading Blaze by 66 votes, a margin that triggered an automatic recount of the race, the Secretary of State’s Office said Monday.

Although Pacheco was unaware of the recount, Martinez said she still anticipated Pacheco to be the representative sworn in for the district and to be sponsor pushing the “Silver Alert” legislation in Santa Fe.

“Even with a recount, we’re confident he will be the state representative and will be the sponsor of this bill,” Martinez told a news conference Monday.

The state already issues “endangered person” alerts for seniors with Alzheimer’s, but the governor said more must be done to require law enforcement agencies around the state to work together and draw the level of public awareness for seniors that missing-child Amber Alerts receive.

“This is a critical, critical issue,” said Pacheco, a former police officer. “Information needs to be made available statewide.”
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal