近距离内射合集

SANTA FE 鈥� The status of a recently vacated state House seat in southern New Mexico has ignited a simmering political dispute between the chamber鈥檚 top Democratic and Republican leaders.

House Speaker Javier Mart铆nez, D-Albuquerque, and House Minority Leader Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, have both sent letters to Do帽a Ana County Commission members in the days since former Rep. Joanne Ferrary of Las Cruces announced she would step down early from the seat she had held since 2017.

Ferrary is one of two House Democrats to resign this summer before the scheduled end of their terms, along with Rep. Susan Herrera of Embudo. Additional outgoing House members could also resign before the end of the year.

While no Republican is running for the House District 41 seat that Herrera held, there is a contested race for the House District 37 seat that Ferrary occupied.

For that reason, Armstrong urged Do帽a Ana County Commission Chairman Manuel Sanchez to avoid 鈥渢ipping the scales鈥� by appointing Democrat Lori Martinez to the seat in advance of this fall鈥檚 general election.

Rather, she said county commissioners should either leave the seat open through Election Day or appoint someone who is not running for it this year. Lori Martinez, who has been endorsed by Ferrary, won a contested Democratic primary race in June and is set to face off against Republican Isabella Solis in the Nov. 3 election.

鈥淚 find this entire process to be not only suspect, but highly unethical,鈥� Armstrong said in her letter last week.

However, House Speaker Mart铆nez responded with a letter of his own that challenged that assertion, saying Armstrong was conflating two separate issues 鈥� this fall鈥檚 election and the process for filling vacant legislative seats.

鈥淭he vacancy appointment process does not in any way alter or diminish the public's right to choose its representative for the next full term,鈥� Mart铆nez said. 鈥淓ligible voters will cast the same ballot, regardless of your appointment, and every vote will carry the same weight.鈥�

Instances of legislators stepping down early before the end of their terms have been increasingly common in recent years, in part as a way to give their successors a head start in legislative seniority. Seniority is typically among the criteria used to decide legislative committee assignments.

Five Republican senators stepped down early in 2024, though most of those seats were ultimately not filled before newly elected senators were sworn into office.

The wave of early retirements prompted a bipartisan group of legislators to draft a bill in 2025 that would have required the Secretary of State鈥檚 Office to notify county commissioners when a legislative seat becomes vacant. But the legislation ultimately stalled in the House after passing the Senate.

While legislative seats that span multiple counties require the governor to pick from a list of names submitted by county commissioners, the process is different in single-county districts.

House District 37 is entirely contained in Do帽a Ana County, meaning it鈥檚 up to county commissioners to decide who to appoint 鈥� and whether to even fill the vacancy.

The five-member county commission did not include discussion of the vacant House seat on the agenda for its last meeting, but the commission is scheduled to hold at least before early voting begins Oct. 6.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.