New Mexico governor seeks common ground at Lea County town hall

HOBBS — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham traveled to the southeast corner of the state Thursday for a town hall in Lea County, in the heart of New Mexico’s Permian Basin region, where most of New Mexico’s oil is produced and 33% of its gas.

She acknowledged a perception in Eddy and Lea counties, which are deeply steeped in the petroleum industry on which New Mexico’s budget depends yet struggling with aging infrastructure and gaps in services, that resources produced in the region “disappear into Santa Fe and never come back.”

“That really isn’t the case,” she said, summarizing $461 million in local projects supported with state funds. “A lot of it comes back here, as it should. … But until every family feels it, it’s not enough. Until every business thrives and expands, it’s not enough. Until we have enough law enforcement officers and safer roads, it’s not enough.”

State Rep. Randall Pettigrew, R-Lovington, critiqued the capital outlay process, saying that despite the projects underway in the region, lawmakers needed to be able to demonstrate visible wins to their constituents: “We need to find a way that the state legislators are able to bring back money to their communities.”

A Democrat, Lujan Grisham lost this staunchly Republican county by 67 percentage points in her 2022 reelection run. Yet the atmosphere at New Mexico Junior College, where a few hundred members of the public, including mayors, lawmakers, school officials and Lea County Sheriff Corey Helton, gathered in an auditorium, was mainly genial, if skeptical at times.

The governor, flanked onstage by secretaries or representatives of Cabinet agencies, fielded questions for four and a half hours in a freewheeling discussion that focused on policy and sought common ground over a wide range of issues, delving into political disputes only rarely.

Consistent with similar appearances she has made around the state since last year, Lujan Grisham underscored measures she has sought from lawmakers addressing juvenile crime, increasing pretrial detention for repeat offenders and mandating treatment for individuals with drug addiction or serious behavioral health needs. She also promised to press for tort law reform addressing medical malpractice litigation.

She said she remained undecided about calling lawmakers back to Santa Fe for a special session focused on these and other measures addressing crime and public safety.

Policy dominated the discussion as the governor took questions regarding crime prevention and penalties, which dovetailed into proposals aiming to expand behavioral health care and transitional housing. Local educators, medical professionals and homebuilders provided input on goals, obstacles and possible solutions.

Residents also requested more help for the region’s roads and water systems, while broader political issues such as climate change and abortion care waited until late in the night, after many had gone home.

Sen. Larry Scott, R-Hobbs, pushed the governor on her net-zero greenhouse emissions target, including decarbonizing utilities by 2050. He argued that the state’s Energy Transition Act inspired proposals hostile to fossil fuel industries.

“This follows a pattern that’s pretty much been consistent across your administration,” he asserted.

Lujan Grisham said she favored an “all of the above” energy portfolio including carbon and renewable sources, affirming the reality of climate change exacerbated by fossil fuel consumption and saying she wanted petroleum industries at the table for all transition planning.

Lujan Grisham expressed frustration over bills she supported, such as measures seeking pretrial detention under conditions similar to federal law, stalling in the Legislature, where her fellow Democrats hold majorities in both chambers. Throughout the meeting, she sought to recruit allies to advocate for curriculum reforms, criminal justice and career-training programs before the Legislature.

“If I’ve left you with the impression that I’m mad at the Legislature, that’s wrong,” Lujan Grisham said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to get done, and we are not all on the same page on a couple of issues I think should be easier … I’m hoping that we get more done, and I’m proud of all the people who dedicate their lives and careers to serving other people in their communities.”