New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham reportedly spent thousands of dollars in taxpayer money on luxury groceries, liquor, and dry cleaning, most of which was for her own personal use.
Grisham spent a total of $13,500 in the second half of 2020, including $6,500 in groceries, containing high-tag items such as Wagyu beef and tuna steaks in addition to vodka, tequila, and gin, according to financial disclosures obtained by the Sante Fe New Mexican. The Democrat spent $200 in booze in one Sam’s Club visit, reportedly used taxpayer money on her dry cleaning, and purportedly went on the spending spree as associates in her orbit received $7,500 to $12,000 salary bumps.
“It really appears in the Governor’s Office as if she really believes herself to be more privileged than everybody else in New Mexico,” House Minority Whip Rod Montoya, a Republican, said of the expenses. “I didn’t realize the governor was so underpaid that she has to use discretionary money for things that she should be paying for herself. Legislators are all up here doing our job, and we’re doing it on per diem.”
Grisham has also been accused of holding several in-person meetings in her New Mexico mansion, despite previous guidance urging residents of the state to stay apart and not mix households. Tripp Stelnicki, her spokesman, defended her conduct and said only “three or four Cabinet secretaries” had met with the governor to talk about pressing issues.
“There’s a difference between inviting someone into your house for the Super Bowl or someone’s birthday and having three or four Cabinet secretaries there to talk about their budgets amid an unprecedented economic downturn and to work out what we’re going to propose or recommend to the Legislature given the changing economic forecast,” he told the Sante Fe New Mexican.
“I mean, the governor does live there, but it’s not like she’s inviting them into her living room,” he said.
House Minority Leader Jim Townsend said the recent revelations about Grisham could cause New Mexico residents to “totally distrust” her leadership.
“Those are the kinds of things that cause people to totally distrust the government,” he said. “When they see these [messages] of, ‘You need to stay home, and you can’t have your family for Christmas, and you can’t do this, and you can’t do that,’ but I’m going to sit here and eat Wagyu beef and buy hundreds of dollars of alcohol with your tax dollars. What in the world would you expect them to think?”
Grisham’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Author: Jake Dima, Breaking News Reporter
Source: Washington Examiner : New Mexico governor spent thousands in taxypayer money on groceries, liquor, and dry cleaning: Report
