Over the weekend, the NM Senate’s Democratic caucus nominated Mimi Stewart (SD 17) for the top leadership position in the Senate. A retired teacher and long-time resident of Albuquerque, Sen. Stewart is well prepared. She joined the Senate in 2015, has served as majority whip for the last 3 years, and earlier spent about 20 years in the House.
Speaking with the Albuquerque Journal (https://www.abqjournal.com/1520145/stewart-wins-nomination-for-top-nm-senate-post.html), Stewart said Saturday that she would look ahead to the Senate moving forward to legalize marijuana, repeal an outdated anti-abortion law, and increase distributions from New Mexico’s largest permanent fund. She also acknowledged the challenges posed to our state by COVID and its accompanying economic impact: “People are hurting. We’ve just got a lot of work to do, and I’m hoping we can pull together to do it.”
The caucus retained Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, as Senate majority leader. Sen. Linda Lopez (SD 11) was chosen to serve as majority whip. And Sen. Brenda McKenna (SD 9) was selected to chair the Democratic caucus. Final approval of Sen. Stewart as president pro tem will be voted on by the Senate as a whole.
[JARRED: PLEASE PULL PHOTO OF MIMI STEWART FROM WEBSITE, Candidate Focus, NM Senate]