After nearly eight years of political and investigative reporting and serving as part of the inaugural team, reporter Andy Lyman is leaving NM Political Report. 

Lyman first joined NM Political Report as a freelancer in December 2014, and went on to become a full-time staffer the following year. There are more than 1,000 NM Political Report stories with Lyman’s byline, but he contributed to many more. 

In 2015, Lyman traveled to Orlando, Florida to cover the Libertarian Party National Convention where former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson secured the party’s presidential nomination. Lyman also covered numerous political campaigns, legislative sessions and court cases. As the sole general assignment reporter, Lyman’s work took him around the state, covering a whistleblower lawsuit against the University of New Mexico, writing about lawsuits against politicians and following candidates along the campaign trail. 

During his time with NM Political Report, Lyman won numerous awards for things like a profile of former governor Johnson and an investigation into the state’s medical cannabis program. But it was cannabis coverage that established Lyman as the cannabis expert in New Mexico’s press corps. Lyman helped uncover and put into context, arguably mysterious circumstances that led to a cannabis license issued just days before the state legalized adult-use cannabis. During the past two years, Lyman was a co-host of Growing Forward, an award-winning podcast about cannabis in New Mexico he helped create. 

More recently, Lyman traveled to southern New Mexico where many small towns and cities along the New Mexico and Texas border are hoping for a cannabis boom. Lyman’s next move is to the Santa Fe Reporter.