Gallup Sun

Dear Editor,

Welcome to week seven of nine of the 2023 Legislative Session. As we mentioned last week, many bills are “making the jump” from one chamber to another – such as HB 151, which cleared the NM House of Representatives Feb. 24. (HB 151 would extend unemployment benefits to non-tenure track faculty when class schedules are abruptly changed.)

We are still advocating around our AFT New Mexico-supported bills, and we are pleased to report two of those bills (HB 126/a and HB 181) advanced, while another HB 150 was tabled in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

While we want to see all our supported bills be enacted into law, there are always some worthy bills that...

ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico House of Representatives passed the New Mexico Voting Rights Act (HB 4) on Feb. 21. The Democratic Party of New Mexico released the following statement about House Bill 4:

“Protecting our fundamental right to vote is one of our core tenets as Democrats, which is why the Democratic Party of New Mexico is thrilled that New Mexico House Democrats passed the New Mexico Voting Rights Act. Democracy can only be as effective as we allow it, which is why this multifaceted bill is a historic step forward for voting access and security throughout New Mexico. Democrats are minimizing the hurdles people must endure to make their voices heard, empowering more New...

Dear Editor,

At the close of the sixth week of the legislative session, we are pleased to report that many of our union’s priority legislation continues to move forward. There are still three weeks to go, and many things can change, but we continue to make progress every day by advocating, educating, and agitating for the positive policies than help our students, profession, and communities.

Part of why we continue to make progress has been the efforts of our AFT NM locals who have taken the time to lobby their representatives on the issues that matter to their constituency and community.

Our latest local to lobby were the AFT NM Retirees, who were in the Roundhouse advocating for...

At New Mexico in Depth and ProPublica, we practice “no surprises” journalism: No one should read anything about themselves in our articles without first having had a chance to respond.

So journalists in our newsrooms were surprised to read in the Sun that the superintendent of Gallup-McKinley County Schools had criticized our story about his school district. We had given him ample opportunity to respond to our reporting, but the Sun did not give us that opportunity in turn.

Superintendent Mike Hyatt told the Sun and school board members that he ignored our requests to talk to him because he believed we had a predetermined narrative.

That’s not the case. ProPublica, a national...