The roundhouse in Santa Fe. (Eddie Moore/)
SANTA FE — A proposed no-confidence vote against Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart fell through on Sunday during a private caucus of Senate Democrats.
The extent of disagreement within the caucus is not necessarily clear as caucus meetings are held privately.
But the motion came less than a month after a contentious special retrial session, when Democrats squabbled over how to redraw the boundaries for their chamber.
Stewart, D-Albuquerque, supported a bipartisan plan that would have ensured two Republican incumbents would not have ended up in the same district.
The chamber eventually passed another map — co-sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque — that honored the wishes of Pueblo governors and other Native American leaders.
It left Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca of Belen and Senator Joshua Sanchez of Bosque in the same district, forcing them to either relocate or compete to retain a legislative seat in 2024.
Stewart said Sunday Lopez proposed a no-confidence vote to her on Sunday, and the motion failed.
Stewart said she could say no more about internal affairs of the caucus.
The Journal was unable to reach Lopez late Sunday.
Caucus meetings are not public. They allow members of a political party in a chamber — Senate Democrats, for example — to meet in private to discuss leadership positions and plan strategy.
A spokesman for the Democratic Group said he had nothing to report on the meeting.
Lawmakers will meet starting Tuesday for a 30-day legislature session focused on budget and tax legislation, crime, energy and the electoral law.
Stewart, a retired educator, served as Senate President for a year pro tem. The post is voted on by the full chamber, but she won the Democratic nomination last year, having previously served as majority whip.
The president pro tem presides over the Senate under certain circumstances and exercises influence over the membership and leadership of the chamber committees.
Comments are closed.