State Rep. Joni Gutierrez
The Democrat from Mesilla joins a growing list of lawmakers who are retiring from public office this year or running for other positions instead of seeking re-election.
N.M. Democratic National Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney announced Friday evening that she’s stepping down from that post; State Rep. Joni Gutierrez said she will seek to replace Gwaltney rather than running for re-election this year.
Both women made their announcements at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Las Cruces. Neither could immediately be reached for comment, but NMPolitics.net confirmed their announcements with multiple sources who were present.
Many considered both announcements to be surprises.
Gutierrez, D-Mesilla, will finish her current term as the representative for House District 33 but will leave the position at the end of the year. She has held the seat since 2005.
She joins a growing list of lawmakers who are retiring from public office this year or running for other positions instead of seeking re-election. In the House, they include Speaker Ben Luján, D-Námbe, and Danice Picraux, D-Albuquerque, who are retiring; Al Park, D-Albuquerque, who is running for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission; and Bill O’Neill, D-Albuquerque, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Dede Feldman.
Senators who have announced they’re not seeking re-election include Feldman, D-Albuquerque, who, as NMPolitics.net reported Friday, is retiring; Republicans Clinton Harden of Clovis and Vernon Asbill of Carlsbad, who are also retiring (read more about Harden’s departure here); and Eric Griego, D-Albuquerque, who is giving up his state Senate seat to run for the 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House.
The departure of so many House Democrats is especially significant because of the party’s narrow majority in that chamber. Democrats have 36 seats to the Republicans’ 33. One seat is held by an independent, Andy Nuñez of Hatch.
This is the closest Republicans have been to holding the majority in the House in about eight decades.
House redistricting is currently being deliberated in the courts and remains up in the air. However, Park’s seat is likely to be consolidated with another; Luján’s may be as well. And while the seat O’Neill is leaving will likely be heavily contested, those being vacated by Picraux and Gutierrez are expected to be fairly safe Democratic seats.
Democrats in each state elect a national committeeman and national committeewoman to the DNC every four years. In addition to being charged with representing the state’s issues to the national party and communicating national issues to the state’s Democrats, both are superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Gwaltney, who is from Las Cruces, has held the committeewoman position for 17 years. Raymond Sanchez is the national committeeman.
Others could join Gutierrez in seeking the committeewoman post. An election will be held in the Spring.
Updated, Feb. 25, 7 p.m.
Former Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley, a Democrat, announced today that he’s running for the seat Gutierrez is giving up. Some were speculating that former Las Cruces City Councilor Dolores Connor, a Republican, would also join the race, but she announced today that she’s running for Doña Ana County clerk.
As I’ve disclosed in the past, McCamley is my friend. Click here to read more.