Sen. Wirth and Sen. Trujillo

There will be a new power player in Santa Fe come November and their rise to prominence will have little to do with the election.  

Sen. Peter Wirth, who has served in the powerful position of Senate Majority Leader since 2017, is leaving leadership and indications are that Sen. Linda Trujillo of Santa Fe could be the new face managing the rush of vital legislation introduced in the upper chamber of the New Mexican Legislature. 

The majority Democrats hold 26 seats and the Republicans 16. Dems will chose their new majority leader at a November caucus after the general election. Sen. Bill Sharer of the Four Corners is expected to again be selected by the Republican caucus as their Minority Leader.

While Trujillo is favored there could be a contest for the prestigious job when senate Democrats meet to select all of their leadership for the '27 legislative session and beyond. ABQ Senator Linda Lopez, Las Cruces area lawmaker Bill Soules and northern Senator Pete Campos are being mentioned as possible contenders for majority leader. 

But Trujillo, who was elected to two terms in the state House from District 48 and won election last year to the Senate District 24 seat vacated by Nancy Rodriguez, appears to be the odds-on favorite. 

Said a longtime Roundhouse lobbyist of Trujillo's prospects:

Besides her House service she is a licensed attorney, was a Head Start teacher, an elected member of the Santa Fe School Board and is a former Superintendent of the State Regulation and Licensing Department. That covers a lot of bases. Her main attribute is her level-headed approach. While progressive in instinct she is able to build bridges between the factions now dominant in the Senate. 

Wirth, a trial attorney, was also a bridge builder but those bridges started to burn last year when his resistance to medical malpractice reform overwhelmed him. It was clearly time to head for the exits. He resigned from leadership but will stay in the Santa Fe senate seat he was first elected to in 2008 until 2028.

Trujillo, 67, who earned an associate degree in early childhood education, a bachelor’s degree in public administration and a law degree from Seattle University School of Law, came to New Mexico from her native Washington state in 2000. Her husband worked for the City of Santa Fe. They have five adult children.

If Trujillo is tapped for Senate Majority Leader it will keep the important role with a Santa Fe lawmaker. ABQ Sen. Mimi Stewart occupies the top leadership position of President Pro Tem. ABQ also holds the majority whip position with Sen. Michael Padilla. 

WOMEN AND POWER 

Trujillo would be the first female Majority Leader, building on the gains women have made at the capitol in recent years. There are now 45 women in the state House--a majority of the 70 seats. In the Senate they hold 16 seats or 38 percent. In total women hold 61 of the 112 seats in the legislature, making New Mexico one of only a few states with majority female governance. In addition, the state has had 16 consecutive years of women governors.

This large female presence is no longer a novelty. In fact, if Trujillo does take power expectations will be high for her to help finally harness the progressive female majority and implement badly needed changes at the troubled Children, Youth and Families Department and also pursue education reform that has stagnated and left the state the worst performing in the nation. 

In the House Trujillo was one of the creators of the Early Childhood Education Department. She also championed historically large pay raises for state teachers, bringing them up to par with neighboring states and then some. She was a sponsor of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Act that passed the Senate unanimously but not before it gave Wirth and the trial lawyer lobby headaches.  

TAKING THE HEAT 

Trujillo endured criticism when she abruptly resigned her House seat in 2020 just one month after winning the primary election. She cited financial hardship brought on by the pandemic during which her hours as a working attorney were shaved and her husband was furloughed from his city job. 

She said these hardships gave her no choice but to give up the seat. Today she says she is financially comfortable and receiving a government pension.

As head of the State Regulation and Licensing Department under MLG, Trujillo was responsible for building the regulatory framework for adult-use cannabis, a framework that has received mixed reviews and continues to be overhauled.

HAALAND'S HOPES  

Haaland and Hull

The next Senate Majority Leader will set the floor agenda and lead parliamentary strategy during debate. That leader will be one of the keys to success for the new governor to be elected in November, widely predicted to be Democrat Deb Haaland with Republican Gregg Hull fighting that narrative. Said one Roundhouse veteran: 

Haaland has already established a relationship with House Speaker Javier Martinez. The Senate's factionalism makes that more challenging. But like Senator Wirth, Trujillo knows the ins and outs of policy snd the senate which is going to be crucial for the incoming administration. There is wariness about the transition because some senators felt bullied by MLG and her relationship with the senate suffered. They don't want a repeat.

THE GOP VIEW 

Trujillo seems acceptable to Republican senators even if they have no say in who is selected. Sen. Jim Townsend of Artesia served with Trujillo when they were both in the House. He said of her when she resigned her House seat:

She is polite, nice and professional. We have not always agreed on policy and procedure but I always looked forward to working with her and I hope she has the same feelings across the aisle working with us.

FOLLOW THE MONEY 

Sen. Muñoz

It is the Democratic senators who will make the pick and signs are good for the first term Santa Fe senator. 

Moderate Dem Sen. Moe Maestas donated $1,500 to Trujillo's 2024 campaign fund and progressive Senator Stewart came with $2,500. Outgoing leader Wirth contributed $3,500. Sen. George Muñoz, a moderate Dem and chair of the influential Senate Finance Committee on which Trujillo serves, was another donor to her campaign kitty. He gave $1,500. 

Those senators or their committees donated cash to other senators as well, but if those who donated to Trujillo are with her at the November caucus she would not need many more votes (Sens. Duhigg and Sedillo Lopez?) to take the prize.

The business community is closely watching the coming shift of power in the Senate and Trujillo is not discouraging their support. Her 2024 donors include $11,000 from oil giant Chevron, $1,500 from tobacco company Altria and $3,000 from Anheuser-Busch.

Those donations from corporate America and certain senators may draw heat in some quarters but Trujillo's boosters say it's all part of building those bridges. 

Veronica Garcia, a longtime NM education leader who served as Superintendent of Santa Fe public schools when Trujillo sat on the school board, says of the woman who may become the state's newest power player: 

Over and over she’s demonstrated finesse and diplomacy and is able to get things done.  

READER VOX POPULI

Reader Bob Ferguson writes: 

I want to thank you and the ABQ Journal's Dan Boyd for your political commentary at the recent AARP town hall meeting in ABQ. 

For most races, I vote for the least objectionable candidate--the lesser of two evils. And while I am a lifelong moderate Republican, I vote for the person and not the party. For our gubernatorial election, I am firmly in Gregg Hull’s camp. I know Hull has a steep climb to defeat Deb Haaland as she has name recognition going for her as a former US House representative and Secretary of the Interior. But I see her as an “empty vessel” and not very smart. She can’t seem to think on her feet very well and has her team do all her talking. I think she will win the election, but for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would vote for her. Hull describes himself as moderate and as such I think he needs to publicly distance himself from Trump and the far right MAGA. This state is so deeply blue that unless he does so, I don’t think he has a chance. I give his campaign money every month, something I have never done before and which shows how badly I want him elected. 

Reader John Locke writes: 

Hi Joe, I read your Aug. 17  post and my reaction to the “poll numbers games”  was “I knew it." I got the text from the Haaland campaign like others but didn’t scratch my head. I read your post and knew that the campaign citing a six point deficit for Haaland was BS. My second reaction to the text was annoyance. Is this how it’s going to be, Ms. Haaland? You are going to lie to us when it suits your fancy? I know politics is a dirty business but this deliberate lie looks like an unforced error. Let’s hope we see no more of this kind of nonsense. 

TRY 17 NOT SIX 

From the Archive: 2008

Haaland's campaign continues to hammer away in fund-raising missives about that purported six point polling deficit but reality is catching up. The first independent public poll--although conducted on line and not with in person phone calls--shows what is obvious to the political community--Haaland has a considerable lead over Republican Gregg Hull, 

The BSP Research survey has her 17 points ahead of Republican Gregg Hull--41% to 24% with 27 percent undecided. 

The poll among 800 registered voters was conducted July 22 to August 8 and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent. BSP focuses on reaching Hispanics and immigrants. In that regard Haaland had about 40 percent support from both Anglo and Hispanics. Hull was at 30 percent with white voters and 16 percent with Hispanics. 

The killer for the Republicans remains the ABQ metro where the survey showed Haaland ahead of Hull by 26 percent. Until the GOP can start cracking that nut their fortunes for any statewide victories remain dismal.

Nothing seems to stop Haaland's fund-raising mavens from fudging the numbers as they troll for out-of state dollars where news of the lopsided race in Haaland's favor doesn't penetrate but still annoys many of her supporters here. Soon after the survey was released the money chasers were again using the GOP poll showing her behind. Maybe the rigorous and comprehensive ABQ Journal poll set to be released this Sunday will change their tune. The melody is getting old. 

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