In an open letter sent to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday, 19 New Mexico mayors urged her to consider the broader destructive effects of the COVID-19 shutdown on the people of their communities. The mayors also endorsed the “safe, sensible and incremental” approach of New Mexico Business Coalition’s New Mexico Let’s Get Back to Business plan.

NMBC, who drafted the letter on behalf of and with input from Mayors, is proud to to be a voice of reason and leading advocate on behalf of businesses and employees to safely and incrementally re-open our state. The letter does not call for rash or sudden opening of the economy all at once, but points out, “When unemployment numbers are skyrocketing, local businesses are shut down across the state, and the hospitals we’re depending on to take care of us are furloughing employees and declaring bankruptcy, something’s out of whack.”  It encourages the Governor to begin to consider a broader set of factors and their consequences as she makes decisions going forward.