On Monday Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham held a town hall meeting in Albuquerque. It鈥檚 the second event to hear from the community on issues of public safety.
Over 300 members of the community attended the meeting at Central New Mexico Community College to hear from the governor and a panel of state and local officials, including Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, Senior Public Safety Advisor Benjamin Baker, Health Secretary Patrick Allen, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, City Councilor Joaquin Baca, Albuquerque Associate Chief Administrative Officer Mariela Ruiz-Angel and Chief Deputy District Attorney Joshua Boone.
Attendees raised issues ranging from affordable housing and mental health treatment, to tougher punishment for repeat offenders and domestic violence.
Lujan Grisham told them she treats public safety the same way she treats poverty, as a nonpartisan issue.
鈥淚t shouldn't be partisan,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t should all be about everyone cobbling and pushing together any number of strategies that make a difference in our community.鈥�
This follows a recent special session that ended within hours, where the only lawmakers to sponsor the Democratic governor鈥檚 bills were Republicans.
Daniel Williams is a policy advocate for the ACLU of New Mexico, one of the groups that wrote a letter opposing many of the bills.
鈥淲e were very disappointed this summer that the governor called a special session with legislation that wasn't going to advance public safety and was actually going to harm our community,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd so we're glad that she listened to our organizations and realized that she needed to be listening more deeply to the community, and that's what she's doing here tonight.鈥�
He added that he appreciated the governor's attentiveness to the needs of the community, but disagrees with her push for tougher criminal penalties.
鈥淲hat we need to see from the Governor, from our legislators, from our leaders at every level, is a new approach where we invest in our community, care for our community, and seek alternatives to those policies that rely on prisons, police and punishment that simply won't keep us safe,鈥� he said.
Ol茅 New Mexico member Adam John Griego said one thing that was missing during the town hall were people who are unhoused.
鈥業 think for something to really be effective, you have to have the demographic that it's trying to either address or fix or repair. Those demographics have to be present,鈥� he said. 鈥淲here's the community? Where's the representation?鈥�
Erica Davis-Crump is an activist who responded to County Sheriff John Allen鈥檚 comment that he鈥檚 tired of town halls and wants more action. She said as an African American born in Albuquerque she鈥檚 not being seen or heard.
鈥淚 want to say that these town halls that the sheriff is so tired of are indicative that y'all have contact with the community but not connection,鈥� she said.
There will be another town hall meeting in Espa帽ola on July 30th starting at 5:30pm. The event will be at Northern New Mexico Community College and will be .
Source New Mexico contributed to this report.
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