Water pipeline across U.S. 64 draws protest
A water pipeline slated for crossing under U.S. 64 west of Taos drew a small group of nonviolent protesters Monday afternoon (Feb. 22).
The group of “concerned citizens” confronted workers at the entrance to the property and refused to leave, saying if the installation continued it would put the protesters in danger. The protesters erected a teepee and set up a camp Sunday (Feb. 21) on the easement bordering the property, the same one on which local water protection protester Buck Johnston was arrested in March 2019 after climbing atop a water well derrick. Johnston was later found guilty of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest.
William Espinosa, who said he was with El Prado Water and Sanitation District, deferred all questions to the company doing the work but did confirm that a confrontation between protesters and workers took place and that deputies of the Taos County Sheriff’s Office were on the scene. But, by the time reporters arrived, law enforcement was no longer present.
The protest continued Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb. 23-24), with protestors saying they had continued to clash with workers who had dug a trench up to the highway.
The protest stems from a long running dispute between grassroots protesters who have taken issue with the ways in which the Abeyta Water Rights Settlement has been enforced and the companies hired to extract water from deep wells for proposed developments in the area off U.S. 64 west.
“There’s been threats of violence here,” Daniel Walters, one of the protesters, said. “They said they were just going to come through with their equipment … we had the sheriffs out here and tried to tell us we need to stay peaceful, but they were already threatening us and were just going to come right through.”
Walters’ accusation was unverified, as was a comment by Espinosa that one protester earlier in the day used harsh language and made verbal threats toward workers.
Mike Davis, who said he was a concerned citizen of Taos, said he was on the scene “to protect the water for the future generations.” He said the pipeline was being installed to “connect the wells. They want to go underneath this road [U.S. 64 west], so, we were in their way to try to stop it.”
For more on the Abeyta Settlement, see and search Abeyta.
In a tiny home office off her bedroom, state Rep. Kristina Ortez, D-Taos, is busy – really busy – making public policy. Ortez, a first-year lawmaker who began serving District 42 in the New Mexico House of Representatives at the start of 2021, has had to learn how to legislate, despite the pandemic.
“What I learned today was, if you’re on the floor, you cannot read from your written material,” said Ortez. “You can refer to it. But you can’t read a statement.”
She, like so many others, is working from home, dialing in to floor debates at the Roundhouse.
“The person presenting the bill is Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque,” Ortez said, explaining the action occuring on her computer screen.
“All these hands raised are folks that have questions about her bill – expanding the apprenticeship programs in the state,” said Ortez, as she sends off a text to one of her constituents.
“Right now, they’re mostly Republicans on the floor,” she said. “The Democrats seem to be working remotely or from their offices. The speaker is, of course, on the floor. There’s nobody allowed in the building except for staff and the legislators,” she continued. “So, no lobbyists, no members of the public.”
Early to rise
These days, Ortez wakes up around 5:45 a.m. She sets the alarm, but rarely uses it, because her two cats, Ming and Grayson, are the ones that wake her up.
Grayson was a campaign promise Ortez made to her two daughters, Gillian, 10, and Vida, 7. He has a habit of walking on Ortez’s desk while she works, getting in between her and the computer camera.
“We have a lot of early training for new members. I do a first read of the bills that are being heard on my committee the night before, but then I wake up really early to read them again, and read the analysis and the fiscal impact report, so that I can come up with the questions,” said Ortez.
Ortez serves on two committees, House State Government, Elections & Indian Affairs and House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources.
“What I found is that the committees are very, very active,” she said. “People from all over the state are calling in and making statements.”
Ortez has sponsored six House bills, and co-sponsored one Senate bill, in the current 60-day legislative session, which began Jan. 19.
Her bills are HB-14 Grants Administration Act, HB-15 Sustainable Building Tax Credit, HB-30 Water Lease & Use Effective Dates, HB-168 National Flood Insurance Compliance, HB-169 LEDA Priority for Certain Projects and HB-194 Acequia Help for Adjudication Settlements.
The Senate bill she co-sponsored, which was sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, is SB-14 Election Changes.
Public input
“What I think is really remarkable is – we’ve got an interpreter for any bill. There’s a little globe, right here,” said Ortez, pointing at the corner of her browser. “You hit that, and you can hear it in English or in Spanish. I think that is a really beautiful way to encourage participation.”
At a recent Saturday meeting for the climate bill House Bill 9 Climate Solutions Act, nine Spanish-speaking constituents talked about how the bill would impact them.
“It was really very moving, and I was grateful that my nonSpanish-speaking colleagues could understand what those folks were saying,” she said.
Ortez recognized that the COVID-19 restrictions at the state capital building changed how the public weighed in. Instead of dealing with weather, the cost of gas or even a hotel room in Santa Fe, people could just call in now.
“See here, there are 23 messages that have come through just now,” said Ortez. “This is what we’re managing – lots of conversations going on here, and emails that are coming through, all at the same time.”
“For me, I am grateful I can participate in this session, and keep myself and my mom and my children safe,” she said, referring to Stella Ortez, 73, who lives with them in Taos.
COVID cohort
Ortez and the other freshman Democrats in the House have running text threads where they check in with one another and keep tabs on the day’s business. “I just love my colleagues,” said Ortez. “We have our own little COVID cohort. You know, the eight of us.”
“We all have varying degrees of experience and expertise,” she said. “We have really thoughtful discussions around all of these bills, and they’re very open and vulnerable about the things that they know, the things they don’t know, the things that they don’t understand.”
As the executive director of the Taos Land Trust, Ortez brings her experience with grant support and land protection to the Legislature. “Most of my bills are related to land and water, except for these energy efficiency and utility affordability bills,” said Ortez. “But they’re all related to energy and the environment.”
“Also, a perspective of rural communities,” she continued. “When you’re in a place like Taos, we have so much poverty here. We’ve got land-based culture, but we also have increasing housing prices, increasing land values. And that needs to be communicated to the Legislature. That’s my role.”
Here to help
The six bills Ortez sponsored were not picked by either her or the leadership, but came about through an open dialogue. “I expressed my interest to a number of people that I’m really invested in land and water bills,” she said.
“I came in wanting a COVIDrelief bill,” said Ortez. “So when I expressed that to leadership, this idea to provide utility affordability and relief to New Mexicans had already been floating around. We were able to consolidate that and focus on arrears payments.”
Each House bill has a threehour time limit for debate on the floor. On that Friday (Feb.12), legislators voted on 10 separate bills.
“I think everybody has something they advocate for and care about,” said Ortez. “I’m really focused on helping people, right now, and setting the stage for the future.”
‘I’m really focused on helping people, right now, and setting the stage for the future.’
KRISTINA ORTEZ
New Mexico House of Representatives, District 42