The next legislative session is better than six months away but already emotions are ramping up over the proposed legalization of recreational marijuana. Dem State Senator Clemente Sanchez of Grants, so far a reliable opponent of legalizing pot, took to Twitter to disagree with the ABQ Journal's coverage of his position during its report on MLG's annnouncement of a task force to study legalization. That report quoted Sanchez as saying:

Just because it’s in the platform doesn’t mean all the Democrats in the state support it.

In response to his own quote Sanchez came with this enigmatic tweet:

It’s very disappointing and upsetting that I get quoted in the Albuquerque Journal when I haven’t spoken to any reporter on this issue for at least three years.

Journal capitol bureau chief Dan Boyd, author of the article, then tweeted back at Sanchez:

Hi senator, that quote was from an interview we did last year. Have your feelings on the issue changed since then?

Sanchez did not respond to the question but the conservative lawmaker is expected to face a stiff challenge in next year's Democratic primary. Both the party and the Governor are in favor of legal weed. If Sanchez were to switch sides it could be a major factor in how the bill fares next year.

BETO AND NM

He doesn't seem to have deep support here yet but former El Paso congressman and Dem presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke has considerable ties to our enchanted land as revealed in this recent profile:

--Beto O’Rourke was running for the El Paso City Council in 2005 when he asked to meet with the illustrious real estate investor William Sanders. Sanders had earned a fortune and a reputation as a brilliant businessman in Chicago before returning to his remote hometown on the West Texas-Mexico border.

--The same year O’Rourke won his city council seat, he married Amy on the sprawling Sanders family ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The former punk rocker said he and Sanders didn’t get along well at first but that he eventually became close to his hard-charging father-in-law,

--After growing up in El Paso and attending Cornell University, Sanders, now 77, founded and built the company that became the renowned La Salle Partners in Chicago. It was a one-stop shop for some of America’s largest corporations for acquiring and managing buildings, land and property. He sold his stake in La Salle in 1989 and left for New Mexico, where his daughter Amy spent most of her childhood.

NOT LONG NOW

Sen. Martinez

It shouldn't be long now as MLG pushes Sen. Richard Martinez but does not yet shove:

MLG says no one is above the law and that elected officials should be held to a higher standard. . . when asked whether state Sen. Martinez's constituents would be better served if he resigned. Martinez, a Democrat from Espanola, was accused of drunken driving after crashing into another vehicle June 28. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of aggravated DWI. Without calling for Martinez's resignation, Lujan Grisham said she hopes the longtime lawmaker thinks about his position as chair of the Senate judiciary committee as well as the message that the case sends to a community besieged by crime related to alcohol and drugs.

MLG knows it, you know it and I know it. Martinez's position in the Senate is untenable. And soon he should know it. Besides, Dem State Rep. Susan Herrera is standing by as a worthy replacement.

The Dems and Party Chair Elliston are remiss, however, in not having a number of them call directly for Martinez's resignation as the Governor continues pushing but not shoving him out the door.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019