Estancia Valley Goes To Griego
The Estancia Valley residents will have a familiar face representing their interests in the state Senate under a compromise approved last week by a state District Court judge to redraw district lines.
The new lines place much of the valley within District 39, now represented by Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose. The area has been part of District 8 — currently represented by Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas — for the past 10 years. Before that, the valley had been part of District 39.
Boundaries for New Mexico House and Senate districts are redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes according to the U.S. Census.
The new district boundaries were agreed to in a redistricting lawsuit by attorneys for Democratic and Republican plaintiffs, including Gov. Susana Martinez, as well as lawyers for Native American groups.
Retired state District Judge James Hall accepted the compromise after weighing the plan against the map passed last fall by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Martinez, a Republican, vetoed that plan, which led to the court trial.
The new map includes two new districts for Albuquerque's rapidly growing West Side.
The new districts — which would be numbered 14 and 40 — would mean more legislative representation for the increased populations of those areas.
The new boundaries also change the area in which Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Sandia Park, will represent.
Under current boundaries, Beffort's District 19 encompasses most of the East Mountains north of Interstate 40 and into some parts of southern Santa Fe County. New boundaries will push District 19 to encompass all of Edgewood and Moriarty.
Griego's district, District 39, will extend south from north of Santa Fe into parts of San Miguel, Torrance and Lincoln counties, including the communities of Estancia, Mountainair, Corona and Capitan.
Some East Mountain communities within Bernalillo County and south of I-40 will now be within District 29, currently represented by Sen. Michael Sanchez, D-Belen.
A spokesman for Martinez said the compromise on Senate districts reflects a willingness to put aside political differences.
"The governor is pleased with the bipartisan agreement that has been reached on this Senate map," Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said. "As compared to the map passed during the special session, the compromise map better equalizes population among Senate districts and ensures swing districts remain competitive so that New Mexicans have a strong voice in who will represent them."
State Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales also touted the fairness of the compromise plan but criticized Martinez for incurring additional cost to taxpayers by vetoing the legislative map.
Democrats currently outnumber Republicans in the Senate 28-14, after Democrats picked up three additional seats in the 2008 general election.
Under the compromise plan, 24 seats would lean Democratic, 17 would tilt Republican and one would be an even 50-50 split, based on recent political performance measures.