Three Republicans hoping to break Democrats’ stranglehold on New Mexico’s congressional delegation visited Artesia Monday, April 27, touting their qualifications during a “get-out-the-vote” rally at the Ocotillo Performing Arts Center.

The event was hosted by the Republican Party of Eddy County.

District 63 State Rep. Martin Zamora of Clovis and retired Albuquerque police officer Greg Cunningham said they are working to attract a diverse group of voters as each takes aim at an incumbent Democrat seeking reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives – Zamora targeting Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez in the 3rd Congressional District and Cunningham looking to take on 2nd District Congressman Gabe Vasquez.

Both Republicans are on the June 2 primary ballot, running unopposed for the right to challenge the incumbents in the Nov. 3 general election. Cunningham initially faced opposition from Jose Orozco of Albuquerque but Orozco announced in early April he was withdrawing from the race and endorsing Cunningham. Orozco’s name will remain on the ballot, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, because the office did not receive a statement of withdrawal from the candidate in time to remove him.

Leger Fernandez and Vasquez are unopposed in their party’s primary.

New Mexico voters have not elected a Republican to serve in Washington since former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce left office in 2019.

“To win this seat, I have to get crossover voters,” said Zamora, 65, who is serving his fourth term in the state Legislature. “I believe I can get votes out of Clovis.”

Zamora “comes from a long line of farmers, ranchers and cattlemen,” according to his campaign website. He is a member of the Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

The 3rd Congressional District includes parts of northern New Mexico near Albuquerque along the eastern border of Texas and reaches parts of southeastern New Mexico, including Artesia and Hobbs.

Zamora said if he’s elected to Congress he will work to protect agricultural interests and water rights, create good jobs in rural communities and crack down on crime.

Cunningham, 59, said he believes his 22-year career in law enforcement and his past service in the U.S. Marine Corps qualify him as a problem solver who’s ready to serve in Congress.

“That’s in my wheelhouse. I think politics needs a lot more of that,” he said.

The 2nd Congressional District covers portions of central, western, southern and southeastern New Mexico.

Cunningham said the district needs someone who can stand up for New Mexico’s energy workers, including those in the oil and gas industry.

“It’s vital to our economy that we are energy independent,” he said.

Like Zamora, Cunningham said he would be a voice for New Mexico’s farmers and ranchers if elected to Congress.

Also on hand at the rally was Larry Marker, a 63-year-old Roswell resident who is running as a write-in candidate for the Republicans’ U.S. Senate nomination. No Republican gathered enough signatures from GOP voters to qualify for the primary ballot.

Democrat Ben Ray Lujan is seeking reelection to the U.S. Senate but first must fend off challenger Matt Dodson of Farmington in the Democratic primary.

Marker needs 2,351 write-in votes June 2 to qualify for the general election ballot, according to Leticia Munoz, executive director of the Republican Party of New Mexico.

“Larry Marker is a grassroots candidate, and we are very excited to have him run for the U.S. Senate seat, Munoz said in an email. “He is well-versed in the needs of New Mexico and will serve New Mexicans well in D.C.”

Marker told the audience at the Artesia rally that his campaign platform revolves around God, family and country.

“I will fight every day to make this government smaller and accountable,” he said. “This state is right for unbelievable political upheaval. We’re unified in one single cause – to turn this state red.”

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 extension-2361.

LUBBOCK, Texas — A third major bust in the Permian Basin’s ongoing battle against oilfield theft since September is wrapping up with federal investigators leveling charges against 14 defendants from Texas and Lea County.

The indictments were announced Wednesday, April 22 by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould on charges of conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. Several of the accused are also charged with interstate transportation of stolen property and receipt, possession or sale of stolen property.

The indictments were filed April 8 in federal court in Lubbock, alleging the defendants “stole crude oil from oil producers in the eastern New Mexico region of the Permian Basin, some of which was then stored on land that one of the conspirators leased from the United States government.”

According to the release, the alleged conspirator then sold the stolen crude oil to others in the conspiracy at prices significantly below West Texas Intermediate pricing.

The charges further state the conspirators, knowing the crude oil was stolen, then transported the oil across the New Mexico-Texas border for further sale at a profit.

The defendants listed in the case are:

Texas defendants

• Randell Wayne Reid, 41, of Electra, Texas, owner of Reidco Enterprises, a Texas-based company.

• James Darrell Reid, 65, of Electra, owner of Reidco Enterprises.

• Christopher Frederick Harris, 22, of Seminole.

Lovington, New Mexico defendants

• Louis George Edgett, 68.

• Brenden Floyd Strickland, 25.

• Sixto Herrera-Estebane, 43.

• Gyardo Gonzalez, 47.

• Jesus Martin Hernandez-Borja, 51.

• Diana Marquez Rojo, 45.

• Jose Luis Rojo, 49.

• Jose Mario Rivas-Mendoza, 37.

• Miguel A. Soto, 41.

• Tavares Montrail Cole, 48.

• Danny Dale Brown Jr., 42.

If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy charges and up to 10 years in federal prison on each count of interstate transportation of stolen property, and receipt, possession or sale of stolen property.

The Bureau of Land Management, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Texas Department of Public Safety-Criminal Investigation Division, Lea County Sheriff’s Office and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Howey is prosecuting the case.

The case is the third major oilfield theft bust in the region in recent months.

In September, federal authorities charged five men in a large-scale theft operation in Eddy County that involved a Mexican cartel and stealing from crude oil pipelines in New Mexico and West Texas.

According to court documents, Special Agents with the Bureau of Land Management opened the investigation in June after receiving information Maxwell Jensen, Thomas Rees, Christopher Ortega, German Ortiz-Santillano and Christian Jesus Contreras Varela allegedly were engaged in a scheme to steal crude oil from Plains All American Pipeline facilities in New Mexico, store it at a yard in Carlsbad, and transport it into West Texas for resale.

If convicted, Jensen, Rees, Ortega and Ortiz-Santillano face 10 years in prison and Contreras Varela faces 15 years in prison.

In November, six more men were arrested in an oilfield theft scheme on allegations they stole steel rods, pipe and other materials from an oilfield location. Ricardo Flores, David Holguin, Juan Jacquez Sanchez, Etuid De La Cruz, Luis Medrano Rubio and Fernando Ortiz were all arrested and charged with property theft more than $30,000 less than $150,000 and engaging in organized criminal activity, both second-degree felonies.

In an interview with the News-Sun in October, Fleetwood described oilfield theft in the region as a “booming business” for organized criminal groups that circulate throughout the Permian stealing everything from oil to pumpjacks.

“For 2024 and up to the first few months of 2025, I have 59 oilfield theft cases on my desk in Lea County alone,” Fleetwood told the News-Sun in October.

Fleetwood said most thefts of oil run around 300 barrels — or about $17,000 a load at current prices — but the thefts are occurring in multiple locations over the course of days and weeks to the point it is beyond some smaller oil companies to contend with.

“I know one independent (oil company) that had to sell out because of theft,” Fleetwood said. “I was working two different cases involving this company as a victim. Someone stole $1 million worth of pumpjacks off their wells.”

A survey conducted last year of 33 oil and gas executives by the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank showed 41 percent had their operations affected by oilfield theft in the past year.

Crude oil theft topped the list of items stolen with 61 percent of respondents stating they’d had crude oil stolen in the past year. Piping, valves and wiring was the second-most reported target, with 58 percent of respondents identifying those items being taken.

“I have a case now where we are looking at $7.5 million in oil theft and that’s just one person,” Fleetwood said. “Some of these cases are much bigger. It is a lot more organized than people realize.”

Levi Hill’s email is reporter1@hobbsnews.com.

A plan to crack down on overgrown plants could cause “government overreach,” county officials worried as they delayed a decision to do so.

Eddy County commissioners voted unanimously during their Tuesday, April 21, meeting in Carlsbad to table a proposed revision to the Vegetation Nuisance Ordinance. The revision of the ordinance would expand properties subject to its rules and add multiple county agencies to the list of those tasked with enforcement.

Notably, the rewrite would remove exemptions for vegetation more than 300 feet from any structure on properties three or more acres in size while granting Eddy County Fire & Rescue and the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office authority to enforce the rule.

The vote to table the changes followed a public hearing mandated by county regulations when an amended ordinance is proposed. Commissioners voted at their March 10 meeting to hold the hearing.

No residents spoke for or against the proposal.

During commissioners’ discussion of the ordinance, Commission Chair Bo Bowen argued the proposal would lead to undue government interference in private land management.

“This in my opinion gets into property rights and the issue of government overreach,” Bowen said. “It’s your property. I don’t believe that the government should be able to tell you what or how to maintain it.”

The rewritten ordinance would still require the removal of any plants more than 12 inches tall that could pose a fire or public safety hazard, impede traffic or obstruct views for motorists. This does not include agricultural vegetation, rangeland grasses or “ornamental grasses or plants” used in landscaping, according to the ordinance.

If vegetation is deemed a nuisance, the revised ordinance reads, the county can issue a notice of violation to the property owner and ultimately remove the vegetation if no response is given, billing the property owner for the expense.

Continual noncompliance can result in a $300 fine per day of violation and up to 90 days in jail. County staff would respond to the property within 10 days of the notice if the property is still noncompliant and could place a lien on the property if the owner refuses to pay for removal.

“We made these changes hoping it would alleviate some of the problems we have enforcing this ordinance, maybe give it a little more teeth,” County Attorney Cas Tabor told the commission. “It’s quite a bit different from what was in place.”

‘Bad actors?’

Bowen, who serves as District 4 commissioner, said the proposed changes would give the county too much control of private properties, whether they are “10 acres or 10,000 acres.”

“Removing the 300-foot buffer means that we now regulate the entire acreage,” Bowen said. “Three hundred feet is safety. Safety around property, safety around structures, safety for people.”

He also said the 12-inch limit was unrealistic for the county, and that the requirement was “putting a giant burden” on the county’s enforcement agencies.

The 10-day window to respond before county enforcement begins, Bowen said, was “terrifying” as he worried many landowners would be unable to comply within that time frame.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach,” Bowen said.

District 3 Commissioner Philip Troost said the revised ordinance was needed because there were several “bad actors” in the county. He said these were largely non-agricultural landowners who have acquired rangelands for various industrial uses but failed to cut down overgrown vegetation.

“They have taken over farmland that is fallowed. They have no desire to do anything with it,” Troost said. “There’s properties that are so overgrown; you can’t see a pickup drive through it.”

Fire Chief Joshua Mack said the county’s approach to enforcing the ordinance would be that of “partnerships” with landowners, working with responsive owners to address overgrown vegetation and avoid using the penalties provided by the regulation.

“We are looking at taking all these factors into account and creating something that is not overreach but also addressing negligence,” he said.

Commissioners said they would gather additional feedback and possibly reconsider the ordinance at a future meeting.

Managing Editor Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

LOVINGTON — New Mexico has its 16th Safe Haven Baby Box, marked with a dedication ceremony Monday.

Lovington Fire Chief Skip Moorhead was joined by city, county and state leaders, and local religious leaders for a ribbon cutting and blessing of the new addition at Lovington fire station 2, 1424 N. 17th St.

“This is a big day for Lovington Fire Department, the city of Lovington and even the county,” Moorhead said. “We couldn’t do this without everybody working together. I just want to say thank you.”

Safe Haven Baby Boxes is a nation-wide organization dedicated to providing an anonymous surrender option for mothers in crisis. The organization was founded in 2016 by Monica Kelsey, who learned in adulthood she was abandoned as an infant. Lovington’s Baby Box is the 430th installed nation wide.

Lovington is the second Lea County community to install a Baby Box. A Baby Box was installed May 9, 2023, at Hobbs Fire Station No. 1, 301 E. White Street, in Hobbs. Three babies have been safely surrendered since it became operational.

Jessi Getrost, executive assistant for Monica Kelsey, CEO and founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, said Kelsey brought the idea for baby boxes to the United States after visiting a church in Cape Town, South Africa, where the minister had one installed at his church.

Since Kelsey started Safe Haven Baby Boxes in the United States in 2016, 24 states have boxes installed. The boxes have helped 77 parents surrender infants safely and legally, according to Getrost.

“It’s a great way for parents to have that anonymous option, should they choose it,” she said. “You know, we like to say it’s better to bless a box in the side of a wall than to have to bless a box going into the ground.”

In attendance at Lovington’s baby box ribbon cutting and blessing ceremony were Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, and Rep. Randy Pettigrew, R-Lovington.

“I’m very privileged and honored that you would take the time and make the effort to set this box here,” Gallegos said. “We need to go ahead and get to the point that we can educate them (the youth) that they know, firsthand, they have an option.

Dee Ann Kimbro, Lea County Commissioner, District 1, said she is proud Lea County tax dollars helped pay for the baby box, and is honored to have another one installed in the county.

“What an honor it is to be here today to see this box,” she said. “This (is about) babies here, and ‘this mother and this baby need help.’ I was honored when they asked me for the funding for it, but here’s the thing, this wasn’t my money. This is your money. This is your county tax dollars that helped pay for this.”

Mayor Robbie Roberts said having a baby box installed in Lovington was a “no brainer” decision for him and city commissioners.

“What a wonderful day for Lovington,” he said. “It was a no brainer when it came here, when it came to us. You know, while everyone has a view and a feeling about this, there’s one thing that I stand by, it’s better to have it and never need it than to not have it and need it.”

First Methodist Church Pastor Robert Gasman and Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces Bishop Peter Baldacchino blessed Lovington’s baby box.

“Lord, we pray that this box is a symbol of hope and compassion,” Gasman prayed. “Lord, we pray it provides a safe sanctuary for those in need and also a reflection of your unending love for all of your children.”

If you are a parent in need of immediate help call or text the Safe Haven Baby Boxes crisis line at 1-866-99BABY1 (9922291).

Denise Marquez’s email is reporter@hobbsnews.com.