Governor Lujan Grisham Relies on Large SUV Instead of Electric Vehicle or the Rail Runner Despite “Clean Car” Commitment

SANTA FE - Power The Future – New Mexico is calling on Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham to live by her own standards and give up her gas guzzling SUV in favor of an electric vehicle and the Rail Runner commuter train. Since taking office, Governor Lujan Grisham has repeatedly lectured New Mexicans on the virtue of electric vehicles and other green initiatives while traveling thousands of miles on combustible engines.

According to a review by Power The Future, Governor Lujan Grisham traveled an estimated 6,000 miles by car and took 15 flights across the country from May through July while utilizing fossil fuel-based transportation. This despite her promise to “promote the purchase and use of electric vehicles in our state, in order to help make it a center of that growing industry.”

Among the Governor’s fossil fuel powered trips during the three-month span:

· Driving to Vail, Colorado, to discuss electric vehicles
· Flying to Salt Lake City to sign on to the “Clean Car Promise”
· Driving over 1,500 miles just between Santa Fe and Albuquerque including a trip to meet Tom Hanks

According to her public schedule, the Governor took at least 24 trips between Albuquerque and Santa Fe without utilizing New Mexico’s Rail Runner commuter train.

“It’s the very definition of hypocrisy for any elected official to lecture New Mexicans about the climate while they grow their carbon footprint on the taxpayer’s dime,” said Larry Behrens, Western States Director for Power The Future. “If the Governor wanted to lead by example, she could instead thank the state’s energy workers who make it possible for her to travel to distant locations and lecture New Mexicans on the climate.”

Power The Future is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy workers.