The Line: Controversial Political Appointment

November 20, 2015 –  Idalia Lechuga-Tena was recently appointed to the seat for House District 21, which includes neighborhoods in southeast Albuquerque. But Lechuga-Tena, a Democrat, has publicly admitted that she voted before she became a U.S. citizen. She told the Albuquerque Journal that she didn’t know that she couldn’t vote when she was a legal permanent resident. The Bernalillo county clerk asked the district attorney’s office to review the charges but the case is outside the statute of limitations. Lechuga-Tena was sworn in this week.

Host Gene Grant and this week’s Line opinion panelists discuss news coverage of Lechuga-Tena and political challenges she might face in the future.

LINE PANELISTS:
Dan Foley, former House minority whip
Sophie Martin, attorney and editor of DukeCityFix.com
Laura Sanchez-Rivét, attorney at Cuddy & McCarthy, LLP