Hello, fellow political junkies!

Public safety is getting increasing amounts of attention after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham held a press conference about a border operation and U.S. Rep Gabe Vasquez visited the Albuquerque Police Department Real Time Crime Center during the congressional recess.

“Crime, being one of the top issues in my district and across the state, having the right technology and the ability not just to solve crimes but to prevent crimes,” Vasquez said. “I think, like everything else, it’s figuring out what works.”

The visit included a presentation by the APD Real Time Crime Center’s command team prior to a tour of the call floor including the “Big Board” that showed traffic cameras, shot tracker data, locations of all of the Albuquerque city public safety and transportation vehicles (buses and police cars) and other information.

Facial recognition is not a technology being used, APD Deputy Chief J.J. Griego said.

During the visit Vasquez, a Democrat representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District, said that he was trying to be visible in his district which includes much of the southern half of the state with some of Bernalillo County that was added during decennial redistricting.

Lujan Grisham held a press conference Sept. 3 to announce the results of a border operation done in August that netted 16 arrests and 91 rescues.

Operation Disruption also identified 33 stash houses, conducted 735 traffic stops and found nine people in the desert including a woman suffering from severe heat illness who is expected to survive.

For more on Operation Disruption read my story here.

Also of note

• Lujan Grisham appointed Rob Black as Cabinet Secretary of the Economic Development Department. Black, who hails from Lovington, has more than 25 years of experience in both New Mexico and California in both the public and private sectors. Black most recently served as president and CEO of the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Black will begin service as Economic Development Department secretary on Sept. 16.
• Lujan Grisham also appointed Manny Barreras as Cabinet Secretary of the Department of Information Technology (DoIT). Barreras has more than 26 years of professional experience. He will begin service on Sept. 9.
• Both positions require confirmation from the state senate, but Black and Barreras can serve as secretary-designates until the Senate votes.

Upcoming interim committee meetings

Interim Economic And Rural Development And Policy Committee will meet Sept. 9-11 at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine 3501 Arrowhead Drive in Las Cruces.

Interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee will meet Sept. 9-11 at  Northern New Mexico College 921 North Paseo de Oñate in Espanola.

Interim New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee will meet Sept. 9-10 at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology Joseph A. Fidel Center, Ballrooms B and C 1 Olive Lane in Socorro. 

Interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee will meet Sept. 13 at  Zia Park Casino Hotel and Racetrack 3901 West Millen Drive in Hobbs.

Legislative Council will meet Sept. 16 via video conference.

For more information about interim committee meetings, visit nmlegis.gov and click the Committee’s tab at the top of the screen.

Election information

This week marks the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. ABC will moderate the debate on Sept. 10.

The Associated Press has more information on the debate and what to expect here.

The debate comes a little less than a month before New Mexico early/absentee voting begins on Oct. 7.

The New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office posted a list of bond questions and constitutional amendments that will appear on statewide ballots. 

These can be seen here. For more information about what will appear on your local ballot contact your local county clerk’s office which can also help you check on or update your voter registration, a process that can also be done online at NMVote.org. 

To see who the candidates are please visit the New Mexico Secretary of State’s 2024 General Election Contest/Candidate List.

The Election Results 2024 will be posted to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office website after polls close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5. It currently lists the 2024 primary results.

Meanwhile on the Hill

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI.

Heinrich founded the Artificial Intelligence Caucus in 2019 which aims to help the United States remain at the cutting edge of ethical, safety and privacy standards in AI.

Heinrich has done other work such as his Creating Resources for Every American to Experiment with the Artificial Intelligence Act (CREATE AI Act) which passed in July. The CREATE AI Act establishes the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource as a shared national research infrastructure that provides AI researchers and students with greater access to the computational resources, data, and tools needed to develop safe and trustworthy artificial intelligence. 

• Heinrich, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury, all Democrats, welcomed $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to help working families in New Mexico lower energy costs by making their homes more energy efficient. The funding was made possible through the DOE Weatherization Assistance Program’s Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) grant.  This federal grant will fund weatherization projects for 85 housing units across New Mexico. These projects will include installing energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, solar panels, and electrical upgrades. At least half of the funds will be directed to disadvantaged communities through a partnership with Central New Mexico Housing Corporation (CNMHC), a minority-led nonprofit. 
• Stansbury authored a letter urging the Federal Reserve to protect workers in Wells Fargo branches and demand banking institutions follow the laws. It was sent to Michael S. Barr, Vice Chair for Supervision on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and Michael J. Hsu, Acting Comptroller for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It was signed by24 members of Congress. On December 20, 2023, workers at Wells Fargo’s Eldorado branch in Albuquerque voted to become the first branch in the bank’s history to unionize. Since then, a majority of workers in at least 18 additional Wells Fargo branches in 11 different states have voted to form unions, a press release about the letter stated. There have been 16 Unfair Labor Practice charges filed against Wells Fargo alleging arbitrary discipline, coercion and unilateral changes in the terms and conditions of employment, according to the press release.

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-Nicole Maxwell