Public Employee Shortage in NM & Indigenous Leaders React to Española Shooting

This week on New Mexico in Focus, KUNM reporter and first-time In Focus correspondent Nash Jones sits down with a special roundtable to discuss why government agencies continue to struggle with hiring and retaining employees in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first of two conversations, Jones asks the panelists to identify the scope of the employment problem and detail what it’s like to work at hollowed-out agencies throughout New Mexico. In their second discussion, Nash asks the roundtable how residents are impacted by the short-staffed public sector and how government agencies can best compete against the private market. 

A 23-year-old man wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat is accused of shooting Native American activist Jacob Johns during a prayer event last week in Española, where local officials were planning to reinstall a statue of Spanish conquistador and war criminal Juan de Oñate. Ryan David Martinez is charged with first-degree attempted murder, as well as a fourth-degree felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. New Mexico in Focus correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with two indigenous community leaders about the shooting and the violent history surrounding colonial monuments like the Oñate statue. 

The Legacy Project is a new archival endeavor from the National Hispanic Cultural Center to preserve a dying Spanish dialect spoken in Northern New Mexico. Senior Producer Lou DiVizio speaks to center director Zack Quintero about the project. 

Host: Lou DiVizio 

Segments: 
Public Employees Shortage in New Mexico  
Correspondent: Nash Jones 
Guests: Dylan Lange, acting director, New Mexico State Personnel Office 
Casey Padilla, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 18: New Mexico and Colorado 
Sarita Nair, secretary, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions 

Searching for Solutions to Staffing Problems in NM State Agencies 
Correspondent: Nash Jones 
Guests: Dylan Lange, acting director, New Mexico State Personnel Office 
Casey Padilla, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 18: New Mexico and Colorado 
Sarita Nair, secretary, New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions 

Indigenous Community Leaders React to Española Shooting at Planned Oñate Statue Site 
Correspondent: Antonia Gonzales 
Guests: Janene Yazzie (Diné), Southwest Regional Director, NDN Collective 
*Nathana Bird (Ohkay Owingeh and Kewa Pueblo) 

Saving a Dying Spanish Dialect in Northern New Mexico 
Correspondent: Lou DiVizio 
Guest: Zack Quintero, director, National Hispanic Cultural Center

Correction: This post originally identified Nathana Bird with Three Sisters Collective. Bird is not affiliated with the group.