Latest news with #StephanieGarciaRichard
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Two candidates toss in names for 2026 lieutenant governor race
Stephanie Garcia Richard, the state's current land commissioner, is one of two candidates filed to run for lieutenant governor in the 2026 elections. (Courtesy image) Two candidates have filed to be considered for New Mexico's next lieutenant governor in the 2026 elections. Current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard — who is term-limited in that position — is running as a Democrat while Manuel Lardizabal, a former candidate for the New Mexico Senate, will seek the Republican nomination, according to state candidate filings. In the November general elections, the governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket, but each office has separate party primaries in June. The lieutenant governor has both executive and legislative roles. Lieutenant governors are second-in-command and stand in for governors during their absences. The lieutenant governor also serves as president of the New Mexico State Senate, overseeing the body's business during the legislative session and determining issues of decorum or rules. The lieutenant governor holds a tie-breaker vote, according to the state Constitution, but only in the Senate. Garcia Richard announced her bid in March. She told Source NM this week that the pending federal cuts to New Mexico spurred her to run, noting the high percentage of New Mexicans on Medicaid, along with the state's reliance on federal funds for special education. She said she hopes to enhance the office's ombudsman role. 'We need to be leaning on statewide leaders to be showing the way for New Mexico in this time, pushing back on the federal government when it's required, making sure New Mexicans are protected from federal threats,' she said. Garcia Richard said she was inspired by former Democratic Lt. Gov. Diane Denish's role on the children's cabinet and the way current Democratic Lt. Gov. Howie Morales managed unemployment requests during the COVID-19 pandemic. 'The office really can be a powerhouse for constituent services,' she said. 'I'm really running to make the office more responsive and as an agent for positive social change for New Mexicans.' Two Democratic candidates have announced gubernatorial runs in 2026: Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and former Congresswoman and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland. Garcia Richard, who served for three terms in the New Mexico House of Representatives, said she is on good terms with both of the announced candidates. 'I have great relationships with them,' she said. 'I feel like my skill sets could really complement theirs, and I understand that success is relationship-dependent.' According to the latest campaign filings, Garcia Richard has a $32,528 cash balance on hand, a combination she said of a transfer from her campaign for land commissioner and recent donations. Only one candidate, Democrat Juan Sanchez, has jumped into the race for Garcia Richard's land commission seat. Statewide candidates have until Feb. 2, 2026 to file. Garcia Richard also noted that a $600 fine assessed for a late filing from the New Mexico Secretary of State's office was due to a clerical error. 'I filed under my previous office,' she said, and then transferred the account. When reached by phone, Lardizabal told Source NM he's only submitted the initial filing paperwork and would announce his campaign launch and website soon. Lardizabal reported no expenditures or contributions so far. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State Land Commissioner Garcia Richard announces run for lieutenant governor
Mar. 20—Stephanie Garcia Richard, New Mexico's public lands commissioner since 2019, is running for lieutenant governor in 2026. After teasing a "major announcement" on social media for an event planned for Saturday in Santa Fe, the Los Alamos Daily Post broke the news of Garcia Richard's candidacy Thursday. She resided in Los Alamos during her years as a state representative. "I do have designs on (being) governor some day, but right now it seems the best path forward for me, and the next logical step, would be as lieutenant governor," she told the Journal on Thursday. The Rio Arriba County Democrat was the first woman elected as the state's commissioner of public lands, heading the office responsible for managing approximately 13 million acres of trust lands throughout the state and generating revenue from activity on it. The state's K-12 public education system is the chief beneficiary of those dollars. Garcia Richard, in launching her bid, touted an increase of $11 billion from trust lands over two terms, including a peak of $2.75 billion in fiscal year 2023 and $2.56 billion in 2024. While most of the revenue comes from oil and gas leases, the office reported that fiscal year 2024 saw a high mark in revenue — $214 million — from other uses. "If there's someone who knows how to make the most out of an obscure office, it's me," she told the Journal. It is also a year that may see a crowded field to succeed two-term Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, with Deb Haaland, the former Interior secretary, having launched her run with more Democrats expected to follow. Garcia Richard, a Tucumcari native who grew up in Silver City, was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2012 in District 43, serving three terms. She was elected commissioner of public lands in 2018 and again in 2022. The public lands commissioner's office is limited to two terms, preventing Garcia Richard from running again. The next lieutenant governor will succeed Howie Morales, a Silver City Democrat who has served two terms alongside Lujan Grisham.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NM Land Commissioner Garcia Richard bans mineral mining in a portion of the Upper Pecos Watershed
An undated photo of angler fishing in the Pecos River. Amid upheaval over federal mining policies, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard on March 12, 2025 banned mineral mining in a portion of the Upper Pecos Watershed through 2045. (Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service) An executive order banning mineral mining on approximately 2,500 acres of state trust land in the Upper Pecos Watershed will remain in place through 2045 and takes effect immediately, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard announced on Wednesday. 'Some New Mexico landscapes are just too special to carve up with aggressive mineral development, and the Upper Pecos Watershed is one of those places,' Garcia Richard said in a statement. 'Pueblos and traditional Hispanic communities have relied on the river and its watershed for everyday uses for centuries. It is as much a cultural landmark as it is a natural ecosystem. I view it as my duty to protect state lands that are part of such meaningful landscapes. The Upper Pecos Watershed continues be threatened by mining companies and federal policies that put it in the crosshairs. As I've made clear today with this executive order, those companies will not be welcome on these state lands under my watch.' Last December, the U.S. Department of Interior proposed withdrawing close to 164,000 acres in the Upper Pecos Watershed from mineral mining. President Donald Trump upon taking office issued an executive order prioritizing mineral mining on federal lands and opening the door to rescinding existing bans. The Bureau of Land Management recently postponed a meeting on a 20-year withdrawal of the Upper Pecos Watershed from mining, but will be taking comments through March 17. Advocacy groups schedule gathering on Pecos mining ban That order includes the possibility of updating the U.S. Geological Survey's list of critical minerals to include uranium. As Source recently reported, Cibola Forest supervisors recently told staff in a meeting that long-stalled uranium mining projects in the area are now a priority. The Upper Pecos Watershed, the State Land Office news release notes, has experienced deleterious impacts from past mining activities, including a 1991 runoff from the Tererro and El Molino mine sites that killed more than 90,000 fish in the Pecos River. Moreover, Australian mining company New World Resources has proposed exploratory drilling in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including at the old Terrero mine and nearby deposits. Local and state officials, farmers and environmental activists lauded Garcia Richard's order. 'The Upper Pecos Watershed is the lifeblood of our communities, sustaining our acequias, our farms, our wildlife, and our way of life, Ralph Vigil, local acequia parciante and farmer said in a statement. 'We have already seen the devastating consequences of irresponsible mining in this region, and our watershed is still healing from past contamination. This moratorium is crucial in protecting our water, our lands, and our cultural heritage for generations to come.'
