New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has tackling the state’s rising crime rate at the top of her agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
"You want the safest community – that should be the standard in New Mexico," Grisham told KOB.com. "And in addition, Albuquerque and too many other communities in New Mexico are just not safe. If you want a priority, make it a priority, and I expect all policymakers to be more engaged in public safety issues statewide.”
To make that happen, Lujan Grisham said she is keeping an open mind about basically any proposal that has any chance of making “a difference in the quality of lives for New Mexicans."
Grisham conceded public safety bills have been proposed for the state before, only to have largely stalled in committee. She vowed this time to do all she can to make sure things have a chance of being different.
"If I set that tone that this is what I expect, I get it, I've got the votes, and I've got bipartisan support," she added. "Let's make this one count in the same way in the areas that need more attention, like public safety."
Not everyone seems ready to give the governor any benefit of the doubt considering her support of HB4, which seeks to strip officers of qualified immunity that could open up departments across in the form of lawsuits.
Allies of the governor like state Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Bernalillo) have also sponsored some of the most extreme anti-police bills in the country, namely SB 227, which would have implemented the “strongest” anti-police “use of force” standard in the country.
“Now, Lujan Grisham, amid record-breaking homicide rates in Albuquerque and some New Mexico streets looking like warzones, is trying to save face,” reads a post on PinonPost.com. “And if public safety was such a priority for Lujan Grisham, she would call a special session like she did to implement recreational marijuana in New Mexico.”