New Mexico Governor Fails the Truth Test in Key Speech

January 27, 2021

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham delivered her annual “State of the State” speech yesterday and negated one key element when talking about her energy agenda: the truth.

During the Governor’s address, she said her energy efforts are “driving down energy costs.” This is far from the truth as one New Mexico utility is seeking to raise electric bills for over 100,000 customers to pay for infrastructure that is compliant with the Governor’s Energy Transition Act.

New Mexicans deserve the truth, but they didn’t get it from Governor Lujan Grisham. The Governor’s anti-energy agenda is causing electric rates to go up, unemployment to go up and energy jobs are tied for the lowest in over a decade. The Governor’s remarks are so out-of-touch she didn’t even mention her plan to deal with President Biden’s order to stop energy production permits on federal land in New Mexico.

The Governor’s remarks come on the same day the latest employment numbers were released. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, New Mexico ranks 45^th for employment and lost 7,500 jobs between November and December of 2020.  The state’s unemployment rate increased from 7.2% to 8.2%, representing the 5^th highest jump during the same time period.

In fact, the number of jobs in the “mining and logging” sector which encompasses energy workers now matches the October 2020 ranking for being at the lowest point since June 2010. Meanwhile, neighboring Texas added jobs in the same sector at the same time.