sexual harassment

Legislators discuss draft sexual harassment policy update

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A panel of New Mexico legislators discussed a draft version of an updated sexual harassment policy Friday, a month ahead of the 2018 legislative session. This marks the first time the policy has been updated since 2008. Legislators have not undergone sexual harassment training since then, before many current legislators were even elected. The Legislative Council expects to vote on a final version on Jan. 15, the day before the start of the session.

Community Voices

It’s time for Michael Padilla to step aside

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Michelle Lujan Grisham is right. So why is everyone so quiet? Since Lujan Grisham first called on state Sen. Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, to step out of the race for lieutenant governor because of his history of creating a “sexually hostile” work environment, there’s been a deafening silence. Yes, we’ve heard from Padilla about consulting with his friends and family; we’ve seen handwringing from legislative leadership about their sexual harassment polices (or lack thereof); and we’ve even had a reporter apologize for not taking the story seriously sooner. But we have not had the chorus of amens and thank-yous that I expected.

2017 mayoral election

Political consultants see big figures in ABQ mayoral race

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During the 1992 United States presidential election, political commentator James Carville first made a name for himself as a political spin doctor who helped get Bill Clinton elected to the White House. The 1992 documentary “The War Room” shows Carville giving campaign staffers a last minute pep talk the night before the election. “There’s a simple doctrine,” Carville said with a southern drawl. “Outside of a person’s love, the most sacred thing that they can give is their labor.”

Pushing through tears, Carville called himself a “political professional.” “That’s what I do for a living. I’m proud of it.”

There’s no hyperbolic “Ragin’ Cajun” in the Albuquerque mayoral spot light, but analysis of the campaign records shows that several of the eight candidates are relying on the labor and spin of campaign managers and consultants.

2017 Albuquerque Mayoral Election

Deanna Archuleta drops out of ABQ mayoral race

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The number of Albuquerque mayoral candidates dwindled by one person Friday afternoon. Former Bernalillo County Commissioner Deanna Archuleta ended her run in a press conference, citing her 86-year-old father’s health. “I have made the difficult decision to step out of the Albuquerque Mayor’s race,” Archuleta wrote in a press release. “My heart is heavy. I love this city and I love the people of Albuquerque.”

Archuleta is caretaking for her father while he recovers from surgery.

2017 Legislative Session

Congressional panel studies ‘born alive’ problem that doctors call ‘medically inaccurate’

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A year-long congressional investigation that opponents dismissed as “an end-to-end attack on fetal tissue donation and women’s health care” criticized two Albuquerque abortion providers. Both the University of New Mexico and Southwestern Women’s Options, according to the congressional Select Panel on Infant Rights’ Final Report released earlier this month, lack protocols to “ensure the survival of infants who show signs of life following extraction from the uterus.”

Anti-abortion activists use the term “born alive” abortion to describe the scenario, which involves an infant that is alive after a botched medical abortion. But there’s one big problem with this conclusion in the estimated $1.5 million investigation: ”born alive” abortions don’t actually occur, according to medical professionals. In a written statement to NM Political Report, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) dismissed the term “born alive” as “medically inaccurate.”

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Abortion

Lawsuit alleges clinic donated fetal tissue without woman’s consent

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A woman who underwent an abortion at Southwestern Women’s Options is suing the Albuquerque clinic for allegedly not informing her and receiving permission before providing fetal tissue from her terminated pregnancy for research at the University of New Mexico. The lawsuit, filed late last month in district court in Albuquerque, also accuses the clinic’s director, Curtis Boyd, and physician, Carmen Landau, of negligence for not informing Jessica Duran the fetal tissue would be donated for medical research. Landau, according to the lawsuit, treated Duran when she underwent an abortion in October 2012. “Women are supposed to be informed, supposed to be given information about the nature of the research, the benefits of the research, and given the opportunity to decide what happens,” Elisa Martinez, executive director of New Mexico Alliance for Life, which supports the lawsuit but is not part of the legal proceeding, said in an interview. Related: GOP congressional panel wants abortion investigation in NM

Martinez described the lawsuit as “a result” of public records requests Alliance for Life made with UNM and a congressional panel’s investigation into the Albuquerque health clinic.

2017 Albuquerque Mayoral Election

For one candidate, ABQ mayoral race has already started

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There is not an official candidate for mayor of Albuquerque in next year’s election. But that’s only because there is no way for a candidate to become official yet. Deanna Archuleta, a former Bernalillo County Commissioner, announced earlier this year she intends to run for Mayor of Albuquerque in 2017. Since her announcement she has held at least one public fundraiser, but has not filed any campaign finance information—largely because there’s no place to do it yet. The Albuquerque City Clerk’s office does not currently have any procedure in place for candidates starting their campaign early.