Lujan Grisham visit to DC, NY paid for by campaign – Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is traveling to New York and Washington, D.C., this week for a mix of personal, professional and political events.

She plans to return Friday.

During the trip, Lujan Grisham, a Democrat up for reelection this year, is meeting with federal officials in Washington to advocate for “additional wildfire relief for New Mexicans” amid a devastating fire season, a spokeswoman for her office said.

The largest wildfire in state history – the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire near Las Vegas – was started by U.S. Forest Service burns that grew out of control. The agency paused prescribed burns, which are designed to clear out brush and reduce fire risk, for three months after the New Mexico fire.

Lujan Grisham spokeswoman Nora Meyers Sackett said the governor met Tuesday with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and asked him to “expedite the deployment of teams to bolster capacity for forest restoration work and to process applications for federal assistance.”

At President Biden’s invitation, Lujan Grisham also attended a celebration of the major climate and health care legislation passed by Congress last month, Sackett said.

Some personal and political activities are also on the agenda.

Lujan Grisham, who has been wearing a knee brace in recent public appearances, will visit a Washington orthopedic surgeon from whom she received previous treatment, Sackett said.

Later in the trip, the “governor will be attending some political meetings with advocates, supporters,

and donors during her visit to DC and New York, campaign spokeswoman Delaney Corcoran said.

The campaign covered the governor’s travel costs.

CAMPAIGN FUNDS: Democratic attorney general candidate Raúl Torrez maintained a healthy fundraising advantage over his Republican opponent, Jeremy Gay, in the last two months, according to finance reports filed this week.

Torrez, now the district attorney based in Bernalillo County, reported about $308,000 in cash contributions during the reporting period – more than twice as much as the $129,000 collected by Gay.

Gay, a Gallup attorney who served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps, announced this week that he launched his first television ad of the campaign, a piece that highlights his prosecution of felony offenders during his military service.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit challenging whether Gay has lived in New Mexico long enough to meet a five-year residency requirement to serve as attorney general is set for a hearing Friday in the state’s 1st Judicial District Court.

Dan McKay: dmckay@abqjournal.com