Water is at the top of Gallup’s list of legislative priorities this year.

The city is asking the state to budget for $30 million for water infrastructure, and that’s the McKinley-Gallup Chamber of Commerce’s top legislative priority, said Executive Director Bill Lee, who spent the week carrying the region’s banner, meeting with legislators in Santa Fe.

The issue surfaced at the city’s water rate hearings late last year: the city has been asking for (and getting some) state and federal funding for water projects for years, but most often the ask has been for water itself, often in the form of new wells to keep water flowing until the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is...

The new legislative session started with Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup, being removed from her position as chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.

The new Speaker of the House Javier Martinez, D-Albuquerque, stripped Lundstrum of her title during an evening floor session on committee assignments on Jan. 17.

Lundstrom will be succeeded by Rep. Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces.

More information about this change in the state legislation and what’s next for Lundstrum will be featured in next week’s issue of the Sun.

Staff Reports

A new year brings a chance for people to get a new start and set goals for the upcoming year. The Sun recently sat down with city leaders to discuss their goals for 2023.

The biggest shared goal among the city council was improving the city’s infrastructure.

“Infrastructure affects everything else,” Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, said. “If we don’t have money for infrastructure and we don’t put more money in the budget for that, then how can we build on top of it? How can we build anything if we don’t have infrastructure?”

Councilor Michael Schaff, Dist. 2, agreed with Piano.

“We need to get new infrastructure for the water and sewer lines. We’ve got some...

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. – The 25th Navajo Nation Council convened for the opening day of the Winter Council Session on Jan. 23 and elected Council Delegate Crystalyne Curley to serve a two-year term as the new Speaker and head of the Legislative Branch. This marks the very first time a Navajo woman has been selected to serve in the role of the Speaker.

“I extend my appreciation to my colleagues of the 25th Navajo Nation Council for having the confidence in me to lead the Legislative Branch and to serve as the Speaker of the Council,” Curley said in a press release published on Jan. 25.  “We have many challenging issues to address and I look forward to working collectively with my...