Democratic lawmaker announces party affiliation change on first day of special session
The first day of New Mexicos special legislative session blasted off to a dramatic start Monday.
Saying hes done playing partisan games, state Sen. Jacob Candelaria, D-Albuquerque, announced he is changing his party affiliation from Democrat to declined to state.
His surprise announcement came just moments after the Legislature convened for a special session that was supposed to focus on redistricting, or redrawing political boundaries, but now also includes the allocation of more than $1 billion in federal pandemic aid an issue Candelaria and a Republican senator took Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to court over and won.
Earlier this year, Candelaria and Sen. Greg Baca filed a lawsuit against the governor to settle which branch of government had the authority to allocate federal funds. The two lawmakers argued the governor had violated the state constitution by appropriating federal funds without legislative approval.
Read more: https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/democratic-lawmaker-announces-party-affiliation-change-on-first-day-of-special-session/article_c2566a4c-56cd-11ec-b0b6-775c089eb24e.html