Tipping Point New Mexico
Public policy podcast of the Rio Grande Foundation
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Episodes
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860 Retired Federal Judge James Browning
Thursday, November 12, 2026
On this week’s interview Paul sits down with recently retired federal judge James Browning. Browning has been a fixture on the federal bench in Albuquerque for decades with important cases including the 2006 trial of NM State Treasurer Robert Vigil and the Sheryl Williams Stapleton corruption case (to name just two). Now, Judge Browning, despite being “retired” is in the role of hearing examiner regarding air quality permits involving Project Jupiter. They don’t discuss the merits of the data center itself, but rather the role of the hearing examiner in the process. Paul and the Judge discu...
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859 Election Recap, Lujan Grisham Signs Federal School Choice Tax Credit, Workforce Participation is Down, Permitting Reform Split
Monday, November 9, 2026
On this week’s episode Paul and Wally recap the election results. It was a blue “tsunami” election with New Mexico going bluer, but much of the country switching from GOP to Democrat. What does it mean for the nation? How about the Supreme Court? What about New Mexico? You don’t want to miss this thoughtful analysis with honest discussion, not partisan posturing. We go through it all! In other news, Gov. Lujan Grisham has signed New Mexico on to the federal school choice tax credit. RGF has been working to get the Gov. on board with this from Day 1. We are very excited about being IN the pr...
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858 Dalva Moellenberg – Surface Water Permitting Process
Thursday, November 5, 2026
On this week’s Tipping Point NM interview Paul sits down with Dalva Moellenberg. Dal is an attorney currently representing a variety of agriculture and energy interests in a Surface Water Permitting Rule process. If adopted, this new rule could have some profoundly negative effects on these and other industries making the permitting process more complicated and less certain than it is now. Don’t miss this important conversation! The post 858 Dalva Moellenberg – Surface Water Permitting Process appeared first on Tipping Point New Mexico.
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857 NM Elections, Ballot Issues Around the Region, Should NM Divest in Elon Musk Companies, NM Roads and more
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Paul and Wally make their predictions for the 2026 elections. They put forth final Senate and House numbers and discuss the winners of the Hull, and Cunningham races as well as Amendment 4. There are some important issues being voted on around the region and West. Divestment kerfuffle targeted at Elon Musk highlights peril of government ownership of businesses. The latest on discussions of our roads. There are solutions. Will Democrats who control the Legislature embrace them? The ABQ Journal releases handy and relevant scorecard. The Shuttered International District Wal Mart STILL on the m...
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856 Scott Hindman – Excellent Schools New Mexico
Thursday, October 29, 2026
On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Scott Hindman, Founder and Executive Director of Excellent Schools New Mexico. Paul and Scott discuss Scott’s decision to get involved in New Mexico education policy after being drafted to play Major League Baseball. How his organization works to improve actual schools and their approach to education, and the impacts and benefits of charter schools and how they work in New Mexico and could be improved upon further to benefit New Mexico children. The post 856 Scott Hindman – Excellent Schools New Mexico appeared first on Tipping Point New Mexico.
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855 Amendment 4 Debate, APS Looking as School Closures, $456 million in IT Cost Overruns, Voices for Children, Bringing Prosperity to NM and more
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
RGF participates in debate over Amendment 4. Albuquerque Public Schools is looking for input on school closures. $456 MILLION in overruns from various New Mexico IT projects. Is Voices for Children coming around to our perspective? Why can’t/won’t New Mexico Democrats bring prosperity to NM? Trump touted the benefit of high oil prices (gasoline) over the weekend. Here’s why Americans and New Mexicans benefit from lower oil (gasoline) prices. The post 855 Amendment 4 Debate, APS Looking as School Closures, $456 million in IT Cost Overruns, Voices for Children, Bringing Prosperity to NM and m...
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854 Cyndi Bohannon and Dr. Victor Gamiz – Judge the Bench
Thursday, October 22, 2026
On this week’s interview Paul sits down with Cyndi Bohannon and Dr. Victor Gamiz, two of the volunteers behind an exciting new project called “Judge the Bench.” You can find more details at: https://judgethebench.com/ If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the number of judges on New Mexico’s ballots. If you’ve ever wished for some objective information about the quality of judicial opinions in New Mexico and especially how they deal with repeat offenders, Judge the Bench is for you. This is a new project put together by volunteers using publicly available information along with records reque...
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853 Early Voting, A Stark Choice for Governor, Haaland’s Plan for Bringing Doctors to NM, Democrat Legislators Support Republican in HD 27
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
On this week’s conversation Paul and Wally discuss early voting and their voting plans. Both recommend voting in expanded early voting. There are some Albuquerque local ballot issues that should draw skepticism from voters. Paul and Wally analyze them. Two Supreme Court justices are up for retention. Our reasons for opposing retention are straightforward. Paul will be debating Bob Perls on Saturday from 2pm to 4 on whether voters should support or oppose Amendment 4. If you are in Albuquerque you can attend. New Mexico has a stark choice in this gubernatorial election. Do we want stagnation...
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852 Bob Perls – Debate on New Mexico Constitutional Amendment 4
Thursday, October 15, 2026
On this week’s interview Paul sits down w/ former New Mexico Rep. Bob Perls and current chair of the NM Forward Party for a friendly conversation/debate on Amendment 4 which will be on ballots this November. If passed the amendment would pay legislators an annual salary of approximately $68,000 annually. Bob and Paul agree about many reforms needed for New Mexico’s Legislature and electoral system, but disagree on the merits of Amendment 4 and paying legislators. Don’t miss this important conversation about one of the most important issues on this fall’s ballot! The post 852 Bob Perls – Deb...
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851 Gubernatorial Race, Polling, The Debate That Wasn’t, Income Tax Proposal by Hull, Will Legislators Get Pay Raises and more
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
On this week’s Tipping Point conversation. Paul and Wally discuss the polling numbers in the Hull/Haaland gubernatorial race. They also discuss the numbers in the Greg Cunningham/Gabe Vazquez numbers from the Albuquerque Journal. Paul and Wally discuss the Haaland/Hull “debate” Hull’s simple plan for eliminating the personal income tax is eminently reasonable. The “plan” for this November is for the Legislature to get massive pay raises, but for us to get nothing. A hilariously bad article in the Santa Fe New Mexican highlights the terrible arguments against reducing taxes. According to the...