What will Governor-elect Michelle Lujan Grisham do for Bernalillo County? It's not as if something special shouldn't be in store. The final certified election results reveal just how pivotal Big BernCo was to MLG's victory and thus the expectation that while she serves the entire state, the ABQ metro has a special calling card with the soon-to-be 32nd New Mexico Governor.

For starters, she carried the state's largest county by a margin of 62% to 38% over Republican Steve Pearce. That landslide translated into an astounding margin of victory of 58,259, the largest here in gubernatorial history. Put another way: Lujan Grisham won the governorship by100,277 votes statewide. If only her BernCo victory remained intact and her lead outside the county had completely vanished she would still be headed to the Fourth Floor. That's BernCo power talking.

The ABQ metro which former Mayor Marty Chavez dumbed the "economic engine that drives the state," has many needs and problems after a grueling decade long recession/stagnation. Crime and drugs top the list; a mostly listless economy is a close second. Here's a list of projects the city council is planning to propose for state funding,

Will MLG effectively team with Mayor Keller and the metro's legislative delegation and think big for the state's big city? There are 58,259 reasons why she should.

COUNTIES CARRIED

If the Guv election were decided by the number of counties a candidate won, Republican Pearce would be the one announcing transition team members. Pearce carried 19 of the 33 counties. Those numbers reveal the widening split between the rural areas of the state and the major population centers on the Rio Grande--ABQ, Santa Fe and Las Cruces that went heavily for MLG.

BANNER COUNTIES

Taos, also on the Rio, was her banner county, giving her 81 percent of the vote. Pearce's home county of Lea was his sweet spot. He corralled 78 percent of the vote in his home county.

NOT QUITE RIGHT

We glanced at a newspaper article that put the total voter turnout for the November election below 700,000 and the projected state surplus for the next budget year at about $1 billion. But the SOS reports the final turnout number is 701,654 and the budget surplus projection is actually at $1.2 billion and expected to increase when the next projection is made.

STEPHANIE'S SILENCE

The woman about to become the next state land commissioner has clammed up and that has one of the Senior Alligators out on patrol. Look out. Here comes a Gator strike:

Concerning the transition of Democrat Stephanie Garcia-Richard to Land Commissioner. Why is she standing silent on the methane regulations when the out-going Republican Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is shouting from the rooftops about egregious environmental violations, the lack of enforcement and the lack of cleanup by oil companies? Why did she have no comment in the front page story about NM ranking at the bottom in methane emissions control? Her silence is not only curious but deafening.

Could it be that Patrick Padilla, former NMOGA employee and EOG Resources (an oil and gas company in Midland) lobbyist is driving the ship and is a key member of her transition team? Why the change of heart from her progressive policy of clean up and clean energy to a retreat to the status quo of what oil and gas wants, oil and gas gets?

Well, we don't know if Stephanie is retreating but she is pretty darn quiet for a candidate who had some of the loudest environmental supporters on the campaign trail. And they gave her big money while her GOP foe was mostly financed by the oil boys.

Her mum is the word stance might be okay if she were still a state representative, but won't cut it when you're in charge of the state's second most powerful constitutional office:

Garcia Richard has not responded since the election to repeated ABQ Journal inquiries by phone and email to discuss her position.

One would expect Garcia Richard to soften somewhat her most ardent progressive stances as she is now supervising a once in a generation explosion in oil production that will add billions to the state's coffers in the coming years. But the folks who brought her to the party still want to dance, not watch her play wallflower.

And there you have your first Gator strike, Stephanie. Congrats, or something.

INDIAN COUNTRY (CONT.)

Leonard Tsosie

Our coverage of the Navajo Nation election brought news to our e-mail that former Dem NM State Senator (1993-'07) and Navajo Nation Council delegate Leonard Tsosie was defeated in his bid for re-election to the council Nov. 6. Tosise, 63, was first elected to the council in 2006. So what went wrong? We call once again on Navajo Gator:

Joe, his opponent Daniel Tso had previously served on the council and has been very active with the progressive arm of the Democratic Party, opposing drilling near Chaco National Park and fracking. Tsosie has also made enemies on the council by objecting to issues on the council floor, most notably trying to raise the council salary by referendum. It’s been interesting to see Tsosie become more alienated from his peers and having his home chapters see him as an obstacle. Moreover, he just seemed to lose the passion for his place on the council, hence his haphazard campaign— few radio ads and a few signs posted near his chapters. A new rumor: Tsosie is running for his old NM senate seat held by Bennie Shendo.

Shendo vs. Tsosie would be a 2020 Democratic primary. No R's need apply in the heavy Dem district.

MORE FOUR CORNERS

From reader Gordon Glass in Farmington, we get this:

Joe, Thank you for mentioning the Navajo influence on Democratic election successes in both NM and AZ. I encourage you to comment on how the Senators, US Reps and even the new local State Rep. Anthony Allison might immediately address the challenges of declining coal and related power production including a shift to renewables. These candidates received strong support AND need to work together in visible ways to address these difficult challenges that also affect the Hopi people as well.

Thanks for the note, Gordon. Dem Rep.-elect Allison, a retired electrician, pulled off one of the biggest Election Night upsets when he defeated fellow Navajo and popular three term GOP State Rep. Sharon Clahchischilliage in the Four Corners district as the blue wave flowed over and around the Rez.

As for the switch to renewables, PNM is set to close down its coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in 2022 which will mean hundreds of lost jobs. Reader Glass is involved in the San Juan Citizens Alliance, an enviro group working to limit the economic damage that will be caused by the closure.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2018