Nearly three weeks into 60-day session, one NM state House seat is still open

SANTA FE — Nearly three weeks into the 60-day legislative session, a House seat in west-central New Mexico remains vacant.

But that could change soon, as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is weighing two county-endorsed nominees for the seat previously held by Democrat Eliseo Alcon.

A Lujan Grisham spokesman said Friday the Governor’s Office was in the process of setting up interviews with ex-Sen. Clemente Sanchez of Grants and former Cibola County Commissioner Martha Garcia of Pine Hill.

The governor would like to fill the seat as “soon as possible” but wants to thoroughly vet both candidates before doing so, Lujan Grisham spokesman Michael Coleman told the Journal.

Sanchez and Garcia were nominated by county commissioners in Cibola and McKinley counties, respectively, to fill the House District 6 vacancy.

Previously, both counties had nominated former state Rep. Harry Garcia, D-Grants, for the seat.

But the governor said last month she would not appoint Garcia, after an investigation by Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s office determined Garcia did not appear to actually reside at the address he’d listed on his revised voter registration form.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said Friday he’d met with Lujan Grisham this week and urged her to appoint Martha Garcia, whose term as a Cibola County commissioner ended last year.

“This legislative seat must be filled as soon as possible for Navajo interests, and I strongly encourage the appointment of a Navajo individual who will uplift the voices and priorities of Cibola and McKinley counties throughout this 60-day legislative session,” Nygren said in a social media post.

He also said that if Garcia is appointed to the seat, it would bring the number of Native American lawmakers in the Legislature to nine.

New Mexico has one of the nation’s highest percentages of Native American residents, as about 11.4% of the state’s population identified as Native American in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

The House District 6 seat stretches from Grants west to the state’s border with Arizona. Alcon had held the seat since 2009 but stepped down in November due to health issues. He died last month at age 74.

Meanwhile, the governor’s looming decision on whom to appoint to the vacant seat will not alter the balance of power in the House of Representatives, as Democrats currently hold a 43-26 majority in the 70-member chamber.

Per the state Constitution, vacancies in legislative seats that encompass more than one county are filled by the governor. However, the governor is limited to choosing from a list of names submitted to her by the local county commissions.