Get ready
By the end of the night—we hope—Santa Fe will have a newly selected mayor and four city councilors, all of whom won a majority of the vote. It's the city's first ranked-choice voting election and politicos from across the state are watching if for no other reason than to see how the process goes. Of course, this has been a big-money election as well, with the mayoral candidates raising in excess of $500,000 so far. SFR will be tracking the vote all day and has you covered as results come in this evening. Polls are open now; here's where you can vote.
ICE detains four in Santa Fe
A federal immigration crackdown over the past week in New Mexico and West Texas resulted in 23 detentions of people in the country without documentation. Four of those detentions were in Santa Fe at businesses where agents audited employment records and took people into custody. Santa Fe Public Schools Superintendent Veronica Garcia said the immigration actions sowed fear in families about not just deportation but economic security and called the actions "just plain wrong." (Editor's note: This text has been changed to reflect that ICE cannot arrest people, only detain them.)
Short-term rentals hit downtown housing
One glance at the map of short-term rentals in Santa Fe shows two things: The city's change to the law governing such vacation rentals has helped legitimize a largely illegal market, and that change means it's harder for locals to find a place to live near the heart of the city. A recent report by city staff on the changes shows the city raked in $1.3 million in lodger's tax last year from short-term rentals. But it's undeniable that the boom in such lodging has driven long-term leasing rates up across the city.
Albuquerque raises taxes
Faced with a looming budget deficit and a cry for more cops on the street, Albuquerque city councilors voted 8-1 last night to raise the city's gross receipts tax. It's a stone-cold shot of reality for new Mayor Tim Keller, who promised during the campaign that any tax increase would be a last resort and would go before voters. Judging by rhetoric from city councilors, he got one of those right. It's worth noting that Albuquerque has spent tens of millions of dollars over the last decade settling lawsuits against APD officers, often for civil rights violations.
Court sides with PRC
The state Supreme Court has sided with the Public Regulation Commission in an appeal brought over plans to shut down part of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. Environmental and economic justice advocacy group New Energy Economy challenged the commission's decision to approve a settlement agreement reached by power company PNM and other environmental advocates. The decision means the plan for replacement power generation will stand.
Republicans challenge archbishop
State House Republicans want Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester to address comments made by the executive director of the church's political arm in New Mexico. Allen Sánchez, who heads the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, said there was an "element of racism" involved in the vote after the Legislature once more defeated a proposal to take money out of permanent funds for early childhood education. Sánchez says he wasn't calling individual lawmakers racist, but pointing out institutional and systemic racism.
Teacher pay bump gets nod
Gov. Susana Martinez says she'll sign a bill ($) that raises the minimum salaries for teachers by $2,000 across each of the state's three pay tiers for educators. The bill, which was championed by teacher's unions and administrators, enshrines the new minimums into state law. The newest teachers will now have a pay floor of $36,000.
Angry driver sends bicyclist to hospital
Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a case of road rage involving a driver who backed into a group of bicyclists—Santa Fe Seniors on Bikes—after he passed them on a highway and became angry. Accounts of what happened differ, but it both the driver and the cyclists say he stopped in the road and backed toward the group, hitting a bicyclist.
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