Monica Christina Youngblood is an American politician and a former member of the

New Mexico House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , ...

. She represented District 68 (northwest

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

) from January 15, 2013 to January 15, 2019. During her three terms in the state legislature, she was known for being tough on crime, sponsoring legislation to bring back the death penalty and supporting tougher penalties for people suspected of driving under the influence.

Elections

*2012 Youngblood ran for the New Mexico House of Representatives: District 68. A seat that incumbent Democratic State Representative Thomas Garcia left open to run for the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the stat ...

. Youngblood ran in the four-way June 5, 2012 Republican primary and won with 763 votes, (44.7%). Then won the November 6, 2012 general election with 6,908 votes (55%) against Democratic nominee Eloise Gift. *On November 6, 2018, Youngblood lost re-election to Democratic challenger Karen Bash. Monica Youngblood was arrested on May 20, 2018 at a

sobriety checkpoint A random checkpoint is a military and police tactic. In a military context, checkpoints involve the setup of a hasty roadblock by mobile truck- or armored vehicle-mounted infantry to disrupt unauthorized or unwanted movement or military activit ...

under suspicion of driving under the influence. According to police, Youngblood smelled of alcohol and her speech was slurred. She was placed under arrest after performing poorly on field sobriety tests and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. As a legislator, she had been a vocal supporter of harsher DUI penalties. She also introduced legislation to bring

Lyft Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dyn ...

and

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...

to New Mexico, due to the drunk driving problem in the state. Youngblood maintained her innocence and requested a

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

, which was denied by the judge. After a

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

which lasted nearly four hours, she was found guilty of aggravated drunken driving. She was represented in court by

Paul Kennedy Paul Michael Kennedy (born 17 June 1945) is a British historian specialising in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He has published prominent books on the history of British foreign policy and great pow ...

, a former justice of the

New Mexico Supreme Court The New Mexico Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is established and its powers defined by Article VI of the New Mexico Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court which reviews civil and criminal decisio ...

. She was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail (with credit for one day served), in addition to one year of probation, mandatory use of an ignition interlock for one year, attendance at DUI school, completion of 24 hours of community service and payment of court costs and fees.

References

External links

Official page
at the

New Mexico Legislature The New Mexico Legislature ( es, Legislatura de Nuevo México) is the legislative branch of the state government of New Mexico. It is a bicameral body made up of the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate. History The N ...

Campaign site
*
Monica Youngblood
at Ballotpedia
Monica C. Youngblood
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Republican Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Women state legislators in New Mexico Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women politicians New Mexico politicians convicted of crimes {{NewMexico-politician-stub