Incorrect Polls, Power Trips, and Attempts to Silence Women’s Voices

This week on The Chile Wire, we’re turning up the heat with some of the most outrageous headlines in New Mexico politics. We dive into the explosive allegations facing the mayor of Española—corruption, misconduct, and a town demanding answers. Then, we unravel the fallout from Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury’s eyebrow-raising poll blunder that has both sides of the aisle asking, “Who exactly was she listening to?” Finally, we spotlight a disturbing attempt to silence women celebrating the legacy of Title IX at Her Game, Her Legacy bus tour. 

It’s bold, it’s spicy, it’s the truth they don’t want you to hear. This is The Chile Wire.

What is The Chile Wire?

Real News For Real New Mexicans.

Abe Baldonado: 00:11

The Chile Wire with Abe Baldonado. Hey, y'all. Welcome back to The Chile Wire. I'm Abenicio Baldonado, your host.

Abe Baldonado: 00:18

And for episode seven this week, we're gonna do something a little bit different. We're gonna bring you some of the main storylines that we've seen across our state and some at the national level, but just some outrageous stories. First, wanna move to the Independent Women's Forum who held a Her Game, Her Legacy Tour that kicked off in Santa Fe to celebrate women and Title IX. Unfortunately, the Santa Fe Farmers Market didn't think this was a great celebration because they voided the contract saying that the Independent Women's Forum was hosting a partisan event. When did we say that celebrating women and women's sports and Title IX and all the efforts women have made to advance fair and equal sports across our nation would be a partisan issue.

Abe Baldonado: 01:00

We should be frustrated about this, and we should look at it as this is a common sense issue. Women have fought hard for Title IX. We're celebrating it in our state, and we should be thankful to the Independent Women's Forum who decided to kick off that event right here by being bringing Peyton McNabb to tell her story about why it's so important to advocate for protecting women's sports and also protecting Title Nine. Just want to say that the same people who claim to be a voice for women are also opposed to pro women policies and protections, and we need to call that out. And we need to have honest and frank conversations about this.

Abe Baldonado: 01:37

So I want to thank the Independent Women's Forum for choosing New Mexico, choosing Santa Fe. I am glad they did not waver to continue this celebration and celebrate all our great female athletes across our state. So a big thank you to the Independent Women's Forum, and we hope you come back to New Mexico, and we hope that you enjoy your trip across our beautiful state. I want to move into some serious allegations out of Espanola, New Mexico. The current mayor, John Ramon v Hill, has been accused of sexual harassment by a current employee.

Abe Baldonado: 02:08

I just wanna say the headlines the story and the allegations that are made are very serious, and I think we need to have an honest conversation about this, but in the Rio Grande Sun, there was a quote that was made by the victim who said the mayor and her were at a bar and restaurant in Santa Fe, and he said, Yo soy chingon, I'm the mayor, I make the rules. This is terrible. This is a terrible abuse of power, it's entitlement, and we should really look into this issue. And it's also not the first time he's been accused of this. So you have to start thinking, hey, there's a common pattern here, and are we listening to these voices that are raising concerns about the way he engages with his staff, and the potential abuse that he is doing in his position as mayor.

Abe Baldonado: 03:06

And we need to have a frank conversation. And, you know, I look at this as he seems like an entitled person. And to believe that he's the mayor, he makes the rules, there's body cam where he's used the police to carry out, hit carry his water, and that's not okay. That's not okay. That's not what elected officials are here for.

Abe Baldonado: 03:29

And we need to really start looking at, are we electing the right people? Because these type of actions should be unacceptable and they should be held accountable. You know, it just makes me think about the entitlement across our nation. You know, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett recently held an event and she said the president should have hollered at her before he carried out air strikes in Iran. Well, guess what, Congresswoman?

Abe Baldonado: 03:55

The president has constitutional powers contrary to your belief. And as a former civics and government teacher, you should probably take that class to realize what the constitutional powers are of the executive, the judicial, and the legislative branch. But again, these are politicians. These are folks that we elect that maybe don't have the best interests of people in their mind and are entitled by their positions and abuse their power. And we need to really hold them accountable.

Abe Baldonado: 04:24

And the next headline, the math ain't mathing for our congressional representation out of District 1, Melanie Stansberry, who was in a committee hearing yesterday and provided some polling numbers that just didn't add up. And we're gonna play this clip for you so you could see what we're talking about. Just a point of clarification. The poll behind you, behind our ranking member, it adds up to 110%. Just wanted to clarify, is it meant to add up to 110% or is that an error?

Speaker 2: 04:50

Can you me?

Abe Baldonado: 04:51

Yeah, I do.

Speaker 2: 04:52

This is from a Quinnipiac poll that was held two weeks ago, and this is the data that was provided. There's a wealth of information, including information about Donald Trump's falling poll numbers, so you should take a look. Thanks.

Abe Baldonado: 05:05

How you doing, Beth?

Speaker 3: 05:07

The gentleman yields, and it still adds up to 110%. That's a fake poll right there.

Abe Baldonado: 05:14

That is a fake poll right there. Our congresswoman couldn't even take responsibility and some accountability for the incorrect numbers. We know that polls don't add up to a 110%, But we should be frustrated that this is our representation in Washington. Now on the national stage, people are thinking this is New Mexico. This is who we elect.

Abe Baldonado: 05:40

And we should be very disturbed that this is what's happening. And the fact that she say my apologies, our mistake, definitely need to look into that, Share the real numbers with you, whatever it may be. Instead, she deflected and said, oh, well, look at Donald Trump's poll numbers. That has nothing to do with the questioning here. And as New Mexicans, we should be frustrated because that's not a representation of who we are.

Abe Baldonado: 06:07

Our state is amazing. Our people are amazing. But unfortunately, our congressional delegation, not so amazing. And that committee was actually talking about DOGE. And a lot of the conversation was about some of the concerns that people have had with DOGE.

Abe Baldonado: 06:24

But she may have just helped some people unsure about DOGE believe that maybe we really do need a DOGE because if our lawmakers can't do simple math, God help us. Just want to thank you all for tuning in today. Thought we'd bring you some of the big headlines this week and just have an honest conversation about what's happening not only in our state but across our nation. And I just wanna thank you all for continuing to tune in to the Chile Wire. We look forward to seeing you next time.

Abe Baldonado: 06:52

Have a great one.