Rio Rancho's freshmen legislators share about first days in office

SANTA FE — Two weeks of the 2025 legislative session have gone by, and the Rio Rancho area has three new faces serving its residents.

Sen. Cindy Nava (D-District 9), Sen. Jay Block (R-District 12) and Rep. Catherine Cullen (R-District 57) shared about their first days in office recently.

“My first days in the Roundhouse have been equal parts hectic and hopeful,” Cullen said. “It has been a pleasure meeting my fellow representatives and hearing their policy priorities, not to mention learning to navigate around the Capital building.

“I am thankful to be part of the House Republican Caucus and work alongside some of the most passionate and hard-working legislators in our state’s history,” she added.

One of the surprises for Cullen has been the amount of power committee chairs have and “how they can dictate how much time we must look at some of these proposals. Understanding the rules has been critical to learning how to navigate the complex environment we are in.”

“Honestly, when you step on the Senate floor, it’s an honor to be representing the people who trust you to do great things for the people, so I’m very humbled and honored to be there,” Block said. “It’s certainly more formal than the county commission, so it’s another adjustment, but being a county commissioner for eight years, working a lot of issues at the county level and with the state, has really prepared me on a lot of these issues as a state senator.”

He did say that he wished the days were laid out a bit better, such as an agenda on what bills are being discussed in committee and what they’ll be doing on the floor. “Retired military officer, so you know, everything’s got to be a certain way, and I’m just learning to adjust to that.”

For Nava, being at the Roundhouse is nothing new. “I’ve really spent a fair amount of time ever since I was 17 years old in this building. It sort of feels like an old home, but with a different title now,” she said.

In fact, she said, as an advocate and analyst, she taught members of the Legislature she’s now serving with. “Now, sitting as a legislator and one of the two youngest members in the Senate makes for a very different ride. Getting to do things such as bill introductions that I never was actually able to do, all of those things are monumental.”

On the possibility of bipartisanship, both sides spoke of working across the aisle.

“I deeply believe that we certainly can (work across the aisle),” Nava said. “I deeply believe that we understand the issues and priorities of the communities, and I think as public servants it is part of our responsibility to be able to worth with one another, regardless.”

While the parties may not see eye to eye on every issue, she expressed optimism that legislators can come together to find solutions on health care, education, and crime.

Cullen described the mood as hopeful, “especially with the Democrats willing to work on crime, I am optimistic we will be able to find real bipartisan solutions this session. We have worked across the aisle, and we are presenting common-sense legislation to secure our streets and put an end to the public safety crisis.”

“I gotta tell you, we’ve been working very, very well together on bipartisan bills on the Public Health Committee, and it’s been really nice to see that,” Block said. “The other side has really welcomed me with open arms, and I appreciate that we’re going to have disagreements, but they’ve treated me very, very nice.”

Block also spoke to crime and public safety, saying Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is “finally” pushing tougher legislation on the issue.

But, he said, the outlook depends on which side of the aisle you’re on and your position on certain bills. “There’s a lot of passion up there,” he said. “There’s some bad bills up there that will just really put New Mexico in the hole, and we’re fighting as hard as we can to save the oil and gas industry and save small businesses.”

Nava pointed to the tension from the national political scene that is making its way to the state level, particularly on immigration. “I think it’s important to know that as a state government, our ability to legislate is very different to Congress, but we as a state have the ability to protect our community members, so I think that makes a vast difference,” she said.

As the first former DACA recipient to win a legislative seat, she said the issue is a personal one for her and, while immigration is a federal issue, “we have the ability, as elected officials, and a responsibility more than anything, to protect and to share information that supports our communities.”

She has also introduced a bill on the issue. “I just produced a piece of legislation yesterday (Feb. 3), Senate Bill 250, which essentially prohibits the usage of state funds to work with ICE, so it prohibits state and local agencies from providing resources to enforce federal immigration laws,” Nava said.

Block, on the other hand, spoke about a bill he’s co-sponsoring for New Mexico law enforcement to cooperate with federal law enforcement “to get these violent criminals out of our neighborhoods, off our streets.”

He said that bill has yet to be heard in committee and that he expects to get some pushback on it.

But, more than anything, the legislators are all just looking to work for the good of their constituents.

“I think New Mexico is, in contrast to the national space, I think we have an understanding of what collaboration really means, and I am hopeful that I can work with some of our colleagues across the aisle to ensure that we move things forward in a tangible manner, not just in rhetoric,” Nava said.

“I just want to let them know that I’m doing everything I can, working on capital outlay projects in my district and even outside my district in Rio Rancho and Albuqueque,” Block said. “There’s a lot of requests, so that’s challenging, trying to prioritize the capital outlay projects as best I can.”

“I am thankful to be part of the House Republican Caucus and work alongside some of the most passionate and hardworking legislators in our state’s history,” Cullen said. “We are all united on the same front and fighting the same battle for the people of New Mexico, and all of us from Sandoval County are joined together to continue pushing our community forward.”