I don’t usually agree with the Governor. Over her tenure, I have objected to most of Governor Lujan Grisham’s policies including her disastrous Covid lockdown and school closures (from which we’re still struggling to recover), her electric vehicle mandates (which will hit the poor the hardest), and her tyrannical use of emergency powers to disarm law-abiding citizens.
But right now, I find myself siding with the Governor: Our state Senators and Representatives have failed us. Both Democrats and Republicans refused to work together on crime legislation in the Special Session. Across the state, repeat offenders are destroying our communities, but the legislators wouldn’t even try to address it.
The Democrats refused to engage, saying that increased criminal penalties would be too harsh on the homeless and repeat offenders. The Republicans dragged their feet, saying the Governor’s previous policies led to increased crime. They also complained that crime bills were largely disregarded in previous legislative sessions. Some Republicans finally got engaged just before the Session started, but it was too little, too late.
Regardless of their justifications, the bottom line is that both Democrats and Republicans had the chance to work towards improving New Mexico’s crime situation in the Special Session. They had several months to get engaged and work towards solutions. Instead, they spent their efforts criticizing the Governor and urging that the session be canceled. I don’t know what caused the Governor to finally recognize that crime is out of control, but when she did an about-face and was ready to actually make some progress, the legislature should have jumped at the chance.
The lack of engagement by our Senators and Representatives makes me wonder: Do the legislators live in glass castles? How do they not realize the urgency of our situation? Why wouldn’t they come together to help us, regardless of what the Governor has done previously? Are they more concerned with getting re-elected than actually serving the people of New Mexico? It seems like they have forgotten who they were elected to represent.
Take Patricia Jimenez, for example. She is a petite Hispanic woman who has suffered tremendously while trying to operate her Little Shop on Main in downtown Las Cruces. She suffered over 60 incidents at her store, including vandalism, theft, and harassment. A repeat offender (with over 20 arrests) stalked Patricia numerous times. Another repeat offender barricaded Patricia in her store for over 2 hours. Men on drugs behaved erratically in her store and left behind dangerous needles right outside. Patricia had to deter a man covered in blood and another man with a hatchet from entering her store. She had to clean up spit, vomit and urine outside her store.
Finally, Patricia's life was threatened which forced her to relocate to another town in order to protect herself. Just recently, the felony and misdemeanor charges against Patricia’s stalker were dropped, yet again, because he was deemed "incompetent" to stand trial. Until the New Mexico legislature enacts laws to allow “incompetent” offenders to be directed into treatment, people like Patricia will continue to suffer.
Yet, the Legislature refused to even consider the Governor’s proposal to direct criminals who were repeatedly found “incompetent” into court-ordered behavioral health treatment. It is not compassionate to allow these people to continue destroying their own lives with drugs. It is the duty of government to ensure that these people are not allowed to continue destroying our communities. But in an election year, that didn’t matter. Your Democrat and Republican state senators and representatives couldn’t be bothered to let go of the past and move us to a better future.
Sarah Smith is Vice Chair of the Coalition of Conservatives in Action in Las Cruces as well as co-leader for the New Mexico Freedoms Alliance statewide coalition. Sarah is also a homeschooling mother of two teens, natural healthcare practitioner, and former NASA aerospace engineer.