Between Aug. 10 and Sept. 2, Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington announced new indoor mask requirements for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. In Illinois, an indoor mask requirement for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals went into effect on Aug. 30. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced the policy on Aug. 26. Illinois had previously lifted its…
Ryan Stewart resigned as New Mexico’s secretary of education on Aug. 20, citing health issues in his family. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) first appointed Stewart to the position in August 2019. Stewart said he would continue serving at the Public Education Department in an advisory role. Lujan Grisham announced on July 29 that former Los…
Representative Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D) resigned on July 30 following allegations of racketeering and money laundering. In July 2021, a federal grand jury subpoena was served on the Albuquerque Public Schools district where Stapleton was working as the district’s director of career and technical education. According to the Albuquerque Journal, the investigation was triggered by…
In this week’s Redistricting Review, we cover news out of New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. New Jersey: On July 20,New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner asked Democrats and Republicans to reconvene and pick a consensus candidate for the 13th member of the state’s congressional redistricting commission. According to state law, the majority…
The filing deadline to run for city council in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was on July 5, 2021. The seats in districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are up for election on November 2. As of July 2, 19 candidates have filed across the five districts. In addition to the city council seats, the mayor…
New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Barbara Vigil retired on June 30. She joined the court in 2012 after winning election to an open seat on the court against Paul J. Kennedy, 55% to 45%. Vigil won a retention election for a full eight-year term in 2016, with 72% of voters retaining her. Before that, Vigil…
New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Vigil on June 28 affirmed a lower court’s ruling to allow an effort to recall Couy Griffin (R) from his position as the District 2 representative on the Otero County Commission to move forward. Once the recall petitions are signed by the lower court justice who initially approved…
The Bernalillo County Commission appointed Pamelya Herndon (D) to District 28 in the New Mexico House of Representatives on June 22. Herndon replaces Melanie Ann Stansbury (D), who was elected to New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District on June 1 of this year. The Bernalillo County Commission voted 4-0 to appoint Herndon, who was one of…
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) was sworn in to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District on June 14. Stansbury defeated Mark Moores (R), 60% to 36%. to win a special election for the seat on June 1. The seat became vacant when former Rep. Debra Haaland (D) left office to become secretary of the interior. …
The filing deadline to run for mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is on June 19. A separate filing deadline for five of the nine Albuquerque City Council seats is on July 5. There will be no primary elections for the mayoral race. Instead, all candidates will appear on the same general election ballot regardless of…