Thursday, November 19, 2020Final Hours Jockeying By Senate Dems Underway For Top Leadership Post, A Covid Disparity And Our Bottom Lines The final hours positioning is over who the Dems name to become the next Senate President Pro Tem. Supporters of ABQ Dem Sen. Mimi Stewart argue she's the best choice among the five contenders for the post which is key in determining committee assignments of senators. They cite Stewart's stewardship of the Dem state senate campaign. Dems picked up one senate seat in November and now control the chamber 27-14. That doesn’t reveal the leftward shift the Senate has taken as a result of primary elections that saw several conservative-leaning Dems lose their seats. Stewart's backers also argue that Pro Tem hopeful Pete Campos, the senior member of the Senate, should not get the job because he was among the senators who voted against repealing an outdated abortion law. That vote was a major reason progressive groups targeted conservative senators with primary challengers. Campos supporters argue that Stewart, 72, is a liberal firebrand who would be divisive as Pro Tem. They add that she has baggage of her own, noting that she flipped from her long held position of supporting a measure to use a small portion of the $20 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund for early childhood education. They say she flipped to appease Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith. Besides Campos and Stewart, ABQ Sens. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, Linda Lopez and Daniel Ivey-Soto are also seeking to become Pro Tem. The pick of the Dem Senators will then be voted on by the full Senate at the legislative session in January. Insider betting now has Ortiz y Pino showing strength, but a caucus is not known for its predictability. COVID DISPARITY There's quite an ethnic disparity in NM Covid cases. The Health Department says 43 percent of the cases have been among Hispanics, 18 percent among Native Americans but only 14 percent among Whites. About 20 percent of the cases are said to be among individuals whose ethnic identity is "unknown." Thirty-seven percent of the state's population is White. Hispanics make up 49 percent and Native Americans 11 percent, according to the Census Bureau. Racial disparities are also common in the state's eduction system and income levels. THE BOTTOM LINES There's a new conservative blogger on the block. On the big issue of the day Joaquin Roibal calls it "the Lujan lockdown" and says: In an attempt to further her own political ambitions as US Health and Human Services Secretary, Michelle Lujan Grisham has instituted a second, more restrictive “Lujan Lockdown” on the great people of New Mexico who have been battered and bruised by 8 months of economic, social and spiritual restrictions." Not that the Governor doesn't have her share of supporters. Cynthia Schanwald, writing on MLG's Facebook page, says: Heartfelt condolences to all the families whose loved ones have passed on. I’m sure you miss them. Thank you Governor for shutting us down and doing the best that you can for our state. Now it’s up to us to slow the spread of this invisible terror wreaking havoc on humanity throughout the world. Foes of the latest Covid restrictions will rally at the state capitol at noon Saturday. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   |
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