House Democrats Demand Answers from Rep. Reeb and House Republicans amid Late-Night Resignation
After weeks of berating Rep. Romero for her short-lived, part-time employment with her local DA’s office, House Republicans attempted to bury a more substantial conflict of interest within their caucus
Santa Fe, NM - House Democrats are calling for answers and overdue apologies, following the sudden resignation of Rep. Andrea Reeb (R-Clovis) from the legislature due to a federal court ruling that her employment as a special prosecutor violated the separation of powers clause in the state constitution. This is similar to, but much longer standing than the employment arrangement that House Republicans chastised Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe) over for weeks.
When Rep. Romero resigned from her short-lived, part-time employment at the First Judicial District upon receiving updated guidance from the New Mexico Department of Justice in September, House Speaker Javier Martínez (D-Albuquerque) specifically called upon fellow lawmakers “to take heed of this clarification from Attorney General Torrez and follow Rep. Romero’s lead, if necessary.”
At the time, Representative Reeb did not acknowledge or address her own conflict of interest related to her employment with the First Judicial District and several other District Attorneys’ Offices in the state.
“Unfortunately, my appeal to our Republican colleagues ‘to uphold the high standards of transparency and accountability expected of us as elected leaders’ seems to have fallen on deaf ears,” Speaker Martínez said. “I’m incredibly disappointed that Representative Reeb refused to transparently reveal this longstanding employment conflict, especially while she and other House Republicans aggressively attacked Representative Romero. New Mexicans deserve an explanation and an apology from Rep. Reeb and House Republicans for this blatant hypocrisy.”
House Republicans announced the resignation late in the evening on Thursday, despite the fact the ruling exposing Rep. Reeb’s conflict of interest came down on Wednesday. According to public documents, Rep. Reeb has been contracting with five district attorney offices in recent years.
Rep. Reeb also served as a member of the Truth Commission, the House’s special investigatory subcommittee charged with uncovering what took place at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, alongside Rep. Romero, who serves as the Commission’s Chair.
“Not only did Rep. Reeb fail to disclose her own substantial conflict of interest while publicly attacking Chairwoman Romero; she has also spent the last couple of months undermining the efforts of the Truth Commission, raising questions about what she and her Republican colleagues are trying to hide,” said Representative Marianna Anaya (D-Albuquerque) who also serves on the Truth Commission. “House Democrats remain committed to seeking justice for survivors and we hope Rep. Reeb’s resignation now eliminates politically driven attempts to distract from that goal.”
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