Cedar Attanasio
Associated Press/Report for America
SANTA FE, N.M. — Prominent Democratic state Rep. Georgene Louis of Albuquerque is apologizing after being arrested and charged with drunken driving.
Louis, an attorney and rising figure among Indigenous legislators, was arrested shortly after midnight on charges of aggravated drunken driving and driving without proof of registration and insurance, police said.
Santa Fe police spokesman Ben Valdez said that Louis was driving on a main street in the state capital city of Santa Fe when a police officer pulled her over for speeding late Sunday night.
A field sobriety test and breath test “supported the suspicion of impaired driving,” Valdez wrote in an email.
“I am sorry and I deeply regret my lapse in judgment. I know I let so many people down. I am accepting responsibility for my mistake. I am prioritizing my health, and I will work hard to regain the trust of my constituents, my community and my family,” Louis said in a statement shared by her attorney, Kitren Fischer.
The arrest took place during the frenetic final days of a 30-day annual legislative session.
A legislative committee chaired by Louis canceled a Monday morning hearing just hours after Louis was booked at a local jail.
Louis was the lead sponsor in 2021 of landmark legislation that ended immunity from prosecution for human rights violations by police and other local government officials under provisions of the state constitution.
Louis, Acoma Pueblo, campaign unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination to Congress in 2021 in a special election won by Democratic U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of Albuquerque.
