Dem chair won’t seek reelection; optimism on early childhood bid

SANTA FE — Marg Elliston, chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said Monday that she won’t seek reelection and will instead step down at the end of her term in April.

She is leaving after about three years, leading the party through the 2018 and 2020 election cycles.

During her tenure, Democrats swept every statewide race — flipping control of the Governor’s Office, for example — and made gains in the Legislature.

“It’s been an honor to have been part of the effort to elect outstanding Democrats to our highest offices and to inspire activism in every county in New Mexico,” Elliston said in a written statement.

The party’s State Central Committee will meet in late April to elect a new chair to a two-year term.

Elliston, a retired state employee from Corrales, took over in 2018, filling the unexpired term of Richard Ellenberg, who had resigned amid criticism over his response to sexual misconduct allegations levied against a prominent union leader and a county official.

Elliston won reelection to a two-year term in 2019.

GOV. CONFIDENT: Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed optimism Monday that state lawmakers this year will authorize a constitutional

amendment to withdraw more money from the Land Grant Permanent Fund to expand early childhood programs.

The proposal would also require voter and congressional approval.

“I feel very good about getting this resolution over the finish line,” Lujan Grisham said in an online news conference Monday.

The state House has passed the measure in each of the last four years, only to have it blocked in the Senate.

But voters substantially reshaped the composition of the Senate this year and handed Democrats a 27-15 majority. Altogether, 11 of the Senate’s 42 members will be new this session.

The proposed legislation, House Joint Resolution 1, would boost the amount withdrawn from the state’s largest permanent fund each year to 6%, up from 5% now.

It would generate about $180 million a year, the bulk of it dedicated to early childhood education services, such as prekindergarten, home visiting programs for new parents and similar programs.