ALBUQUERQUE, AUGUST 25 — Today the Republican Party of New Mexico again calls on Gov. Lujan Grisham to do the right thing and reopen New Mexico. The Chief Executive continues to stall any economic growth by neglecting the needs and the financial suffering of New Mexicans. For months, the governor’s “science” has proven to be nothing but “political” science, cherry-picking winners and losers in an economic crisis.
The governor has now turned her back on New Mexico despite the state meeting vital COVID-19 goals. She refuses to lift restrictions that are choking our economy, even though her own mandated health criteria have been satisfied. There has been a dramatic fall in COVID-19 cases, but the governor doesn’t make a move to get New Mexico back on track.
New Mexicans have been patient. New Mexicans have, for the most part, complied with her decrees. So what’s stopping her? Businesses are begging to fully reopen, and working parents are anxious for in-person school classes to resume. New Mexicans have done their job throughout this unprecedented health crisis.
“The governor’s poor leadership and bad decisions during this pandemic have thrown the state into economic turmoil,” said Republican Party of New Mexico Chairman Steve Pearce. “Hundreds of businesses have permanently closed, and livelihoods have been shattered. Local economies and mom-and-pop stores have been crushed while big box stores—allowed by the governor to remain open– reap healthy profits during this pandemic. In addition to the business turmoil, our education system is now in chaos. Students, who have no computer or internet access, will be shortchanged because of the governor’s online schooling policy. She never thinks things through.”
The economic destruction under the governor’s watch may not see a full recovery for years. New Mexico’s unemployment has risen to 12.7% (some counties in the high teens), and our tourism industry is in tatters. Even when crippled businesses eventually reopen, jobs will vanish. And on top of this economic collapse, New Mexico also faces more than a billion dollar deficit.
Still, it’s not just economic ruin. There are mental health issues. Nerves are frayed from waiting. Working parents face uncertainty, and thousands of New Mexico students risk falling further behind in a state that sits at the back of the class nationally in education.
Governor, there are many reasons to reopen our state.
It’s time.
