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DOREEN GALLEGOS

Gallegos: senior member of county’s state House delegation

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With her re-election in New Mexico House of Representatives District 51 in November, state Rep. Doreen Gallegos, a Las Cruces Democrat, will become the senior member of the Doña Ana County House delegation next month.

Gallegos, 52, won a fifth two-year term in the state House of Representatives with 65 percent of the vote, and was re-elected by fellow House Democrats as majority whip.

While many things about the 2021 legislative session are uncertain because of the pandemic and state public health orders, Gallegos said the 60-day session that begins Jan. 19 needs to move forward as planned, with legislators either meeting safely in person or remotely.

Gallegos said she does not favor holding a short session in January, with legislators meeting only long enough to pass a budget and then adjourning until later in the spring when state public health orders may be relaxed.

As a legislator and legislative leader, Gallegos said she has “an obligation to make sure we’re governing.”

Gallegos said she participates in “very regular conversations” with New Mexico House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, and other House leaders “to make sure we are prepared, that we’re ready to govern. I want New Mexico to get that,” she said. “We’re ready to move forward in any shape that takes.”

There are constitutional questions at issue about the upcoming session, Gallegos said, including if legislators must meet in the state capital or at least meet somewhere in the county of Santa Fe to conduct the session in person, or if it can held remotely or if a hybrid is possible. Some legislators have said the Santa Fe Convention Center could be an alternative to meeting at the state capital because it would provide more space.

Meeting virtually isn’t ideal because “people may not feel like their voice is being heard,” Gallegos said. Constituents are used to being present during committee hearings, she said, and that helps to give legislators “a real sense of the public view of (a) bill.”

However, Gallegos said, “we may not be able to get that same sense with Zoom. We’re not going be happy conducting legislation over Zoom, but if that keeps people safe and gets people the services they need, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

At the same time, she said, “we need to be able to pivot. We should not put ourselves in a box.” The legislature should have a definite plan for how the session will be conducted but should also have one or more fallback plans to make sure its work gets done, Gallegos said.

“I think the most important piece is for everybody to try to abide by the health rules that are being put forward,” Gallegos said.

Cooperation between the legislature’s majority Democrats and minority Republicans will be important in 2021, she said.

“We’ve got to find where we can work together,” Gallegos said. “I don’t want to be like Congress, where everything is so divided. We’re more alike than different. We’re in a time of crisis.” Legislators should “look at all possibilities to help as many constituents as possible. Reaching across the aisle is part of that.”

Democrats lost two seats in the House in the 2020 General Election. They will hold a 44-25-1 majority during the 2021 session.

As majority whip, Gallegos could face a particularly difficult task trying to line-up the votes of 44 Democrats on bills as they come up, especially if legislators are meeting remotely.

If she isn’t able to meet face-to-face with other House members, Gallegos said she will rely on phone calls, emails and texts.

The 70-member House will welcome 12 new members in January. As part of House leadership, one of Gallegos’ functions is to help make sure they are mentored and guided through the legislative process.

“Some of our more experienced legislators have got to make sure we work with the new ones, the freshmen,” she said.

The 2021 session will be an open call, with legislators able to introduce whatever bills they want.

Doreen Gallegos

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