New Mexico Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wants state residents to drive cars with an average of 52 miles per gallon (mpg). Her own car, however, possesses an average fuel economy of less than 13 mpg.
According to gas logs released from an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) between July 2020 and June 2021 filed by the energy non-profit Power the Future and shared with The Federalist, the average fuel economy for the governor’s car was 12.65 mpg. That fuel mileage is far short of the 52 mpg goal set in 2019 when Grisham committed New Mexico to energy-restrictive car regulations adopted by 14 other states.
“To combat climate change, to keep New Mexico’s citizens safe, to protect the air we all breathe, it’s essential we adopt more stringent clean car standards that increase fuel economy and reduce emissions,” Grisham said in a September 2019 statement as the Trump administration removed burdensome regulation to drive innovation. “New Mexico will stand up and deliver on our commitment to environmental leadership.”
But the New Mexico governor’s office hasn’t.
Grisham’s office did not respond to The Federalist’s repeated requests for comment.
Refusing to adhere to their own environmental standards has become a routine practice among politicians who aggressively promote a left-wing climate agenda. Earlier this month, the New York Post reported President Joe Biden climate czar John Kerry’s private jet has taken 16 trips this year alone. Private jets emit 5 to 14 times more pollution than commercial planes per passenger, and 50 times more than trains.
“While not as bad as John Kerry’s private jet, Governor Lujan Grisham’s actions surely deserve an Honorable Mention for the most green hypocrisy in the country,” said Larry Behrens, the western states director for Power the Future. “Make no mistake, her eco-left allies will stay quiet about her gas-guzzling ways because they care more about political power than being honest.”
Grisham also celebrated Biden’s initiative announced in early August for 50 percent of all new cars on the market to be electric. The campaign is a big win for Beijing without new mines to harvest materials needed to manufacture the vehicles.
Grisham’s tenure as one of the farthest left governors in the country has featured similar hypocritical privilege displays on lockdowns. In May last year, the local outlet KRQE News 13 exposed Grisham opening a shutdown jewelry store to purchase expensive jewelry while “non-essential” businesses remained closed under her orders.
“We are in really tough financial times as a state,” Grisham said a month prior when lecturing New Mexicans to stay home. “It mirrors the incredible, personal sacrifices that happen every single day because people have limited ability to work, telecommuting and many people in fact, have lose their jobs.”
Jewelry stores, however, were apparently essential, as long as they opened for her.
Grisham’s office also landed in hot water in February when a review of six months’ worth of invoices, receipts, and expense reports revealed thousands of dollars in groceries purchased from the governor’s contingency fund. As New Mexicans waited outside capacity-limited grocery stores in lines during the winter, more than $6,500 in groceries were delivered to the governor’s residence, according to the Albuquerque-based KOB 4 Investigates Team.
“According to receipts made public through an Inspection of Public Records Act request, the items include anything from laundry detergent to Wagyu beef, tuna steaks, top sirloin and hundreds of dollars in alcohol purchases,” KOB 4 reported.
The governor’s office said the gourmet food was primarily for staff in meetings.
“They are sporadic, but they last a long time and so there’s food at those meetings often prepared,” Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki told the outlet. “There are people at the residency who are all masked.”
