Rodriguez not running for reelection to Senate; Serrato mulls run

Feb. 21—One of the state Legislature's longest-serving senators announced she is not seeking reelection this year.

"Truly, it's time to retire and let someone else take the helm," Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, said in an interview Wednesday.

"Decisions like this are always hard when you have served so many years and you feel like you are in a family," she added.

Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe, who had already announced her decision to run for reelection to her House seat, said Wednesday afternoon running for Rodriguez's seat is "a consideration for me right now. It's something I want to talk with my family about."

Serrato was one of the co-sponsors of the paid family and medical leave bill that passed the Senate during this year's session but failed in the House by two votes. She said Rodriguez would leave a huge legacy.

"It's like a lioness leaving," Serrato said.

Serrato said when she appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to pitch any of her bills, she knew she would "always get a fair shake" when Rodriguez was there.

Rep. Andrea Romero, D-Santa Fe, whose House district is divided between Rodriguez's and that of Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, initially said she was considering a run but said later Wednesday afternoon, after verifying with the Secretary of State's Office that she does not live in Rodriguez's district, that she will run for reelection to her House seat. Rep. Tara Lujan, D-Santa Fe, who also doesn't live in Rodriguez's district but whose House district overlaps with Senate District 24, said Wednesday afternoon she plans to run for reelection to her House seat.

Candidates running for any state legislative seat must file with the state Secretary of State's Office by March 12.

Rodriguez, who is in her late 60s, has held the seat since 1996. She currently serves as vice chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee and of the interim Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee. A New Mexico native, she has lived in Santa Fe since the 1970s and previously served as a county commissioner and county manager before being elected to the Senate.

Rodriguez said she will serve through the end of 2024. She said she has not formulated any post-session plans since "it's still quite a way to go until the end of the year."

A longtime proponent of affordable housing, Rodriguez has often pushed for more funding for the finance authority's Housing Trust Fund, which is designed to help finance projects through low-interest loans, mortgage assistance and construction loans to companies that want to build affordable housing units in the state.

She introduced a bill during the 2023 session to funnel $500 million into that fund. Lawmakers approved $50 million in the budget for that initiative; Rodriguez said on the closing day of the session she was happy with that, as she knew she would not get the larger amount but wanted to draw attention to the issue.

While she said she enjoyed having the opportunity to provide "direct hands-on opportunities" to help constituents, Rodriguez said it was also frustrating to push for legislation that didn't get passed or signed into law.

"It's natural you are sad" when that happens, she said.

Senate District 24, which includes parts of Santa Fe and Agua Fría, is the second-most Democratic in the entire state, with an estimated almost 83% Democratic vote share in recent elections according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. Rodriguez got almost 80% of the vote in her last general election in 2020, with a Republican and a Libertarian splitting the rest; she was unopposed in the 2016 general election.

She is one of two senators, both Democrats, who represent the Santa Fe area. The other is Wirth, whose neighboring District 25 is the bluest in the state and who announced late last year he is seeking reelection to his seat in November.

Wirth said in a phone interview Wednesday Rodriguez's retirement is a "huge loss" for the Legislature because of her institutional knowledge and her work on issues such as affordable housing. He said she was "ahead of her time" in recognizing that need years ago.