Lujan Grisham skipped business forum to attend governors event in Colorado

Aug. 24—There will be no need to put a picture of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on a milk carton.

Her whereabouts were resolved Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for her reelection campaign confirmed Lujan Grisham, who declined an invitation to participate in a forum Monday hosted by New Mexico's business and commercial real estate community because of a scheduling conflict, is in Colorado on campaign-related travel.

Neither the campaign nor the Governor's Office would disclose Lujan Grisham's whereabouts Monday as part an effort to explain why she missed the candidate forum.

Her opponent in the governor's race, Republican Mark Ronchetti, capitalized on Lujan Grisham's absence.

He called it "disappointing" she didn't show up to face business owners affected by her pandemic-related restrictions and closures. And at the start of the forum, Ronchetti's campaign manager planted a 2-foot by 3-foot picture of the governor on stage before event organizers quickly took it down.

The governor "decided to not show up — so my campaign brought her with us!" @MarkRonchettiNM tweeted during the forum. The tweet included a photo of Ronchetti pointing at the governor's picture on stage.

Ronchetti has been the subject of similar criticism.

During the primary election, some of Ronchetti's Republican rivals criticized him for missing multiple forums, saying it made it difficult for voters to compare and contrast their choices.

At the time, his campaign said Ronchetti was crossing the state meeting with voters and their concerns were his top priority, "not the complaints of primary opponents seeking legitimacy."

While Lujan Grisham didn't participate in Monday's forum, which was hosted by a commercial real estate group known as NAOIP, she has appeared before the group in the past, including last year when she laid out some of her legislative priorities.

Delaney Corcoran, Lujan Grisham's campaign spokeswoman, said in a statement Lujan Grisham was in Colorado on Monday "for a long-planned event with other Democratic governors."

Lujan Grisham attended a Democratic Governors Association conference Monday in Aspen, but her travels in Colorado also include Denver. A spokeswoman for the association did not return a message seeking comment.

In a news release, Ronchetti's campaign questioned whether Lujan Grisham skipped a candidate forum "hosted by New Mexicans for ultra rich Colorado donors."

"Coincidentally, according to other news reports ... there is a wealthy donor event in Aspen, Colorado this week. Is it possible that Lujan Grisham skipped a debate hosted by New Mexican small business owners to hang out with millionaires in Colorado?" the news release states.

Corcoran pointed out Ronchetti attended a similar Republican Governors Association event last month in Colorado.

But unlike Lujan Grisham, Ronchetti didn't miss the forum, which drew nearly 400 business leaders.

Corcoran said Monday the campaign was working with event organizers on two dates for the forum, but they declined the date Lujan Grisham was available.

"Because of this long-standing commitment with other governors, the campaign accepted [the date] that worked for our schedule, which [event organizers] then denied," Corcoran said Tuesday.

Event organizers, however, said Lujan Grisham's campaign didn't respond by the time they needed to book the event space.

Enrique Knell, Ronchetti's campaign spokesman, criticized the governor for missing Monday's forum.

"The Governor arrogantly skipped out on New Mexico's small business forum to hob-knob in Aspen with high-dollar donors and got caught trying to cover it up," he said in a statement. "She failed to tell the press or the public that she was out of state, which meant no one knew the Lieutenant Governor was Acting Governor. The public has a right to know who's running the state, but covering up politically inconvenient truths is how the Governor operates."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón

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