The Lea County Blues

Uh, oh, out in southeast NM, someone's fee-fees are hurt....:

But a proposal filed Monday by a Roswell Republican would take those divisions a step further by allowing counties to petition the Legislature to actually secede from the state – either to join a neighboring state or create a new state.

...“It’s just a response to the lack of respect toward southeast New Mexico,” Pirtle said in a Monday interview. “It seems like more and more it’s the ideals of Albuquerque that become law.”

...If approved by the Legislature and statewide voters, the proposed constitutional amendment would allow counties to launch an effort to formally disengage from New Mexico through a unanimous vote of county commissioners – or a voter petition drive.

...The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has deepened the divide between southeastern New Mexico and the rest of the state, as some law enforcement and local government officials have flouted business restrictions imposed by Lujan Grisham’s administration.

Specifically, one Roswell city councilor came under scrutiny last year for removing a temporary fence around a local basketball court. And New Mexico’s top health official warned the Lea County county manager in May about possible legal action for suggesting businesses could reopen in violation of state orders.

But the divide isn’t due solely to disagreements over COVID-19 response efforts. Pirtle, a dairy farmer who was first elected to the Senate in 2012, said bills filed at the Roundhouse this year to ban animal trapping on public lands and restrict pesticide use represent a “direct attack” on many rural New Mexicans’ way of life. 

...Stewart, for her part, also said there’s a ready alternative for residents of southeastern New Mexico who no longer want to be part of the state. “If you like Texas better, just pack up your bags and move – it’s not that far,” Stewart said.