From: Sackett, Nora, GOV Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2020 12:17 PM To: Jessica Garate Subject: Re: Story we are working on and seeking comment. Hi Jessica, I don't believe that sequence of events as you describe it is fully accurate. The governor did call that store and asked them whether she could make an order and pay for some merchandise online or remotely – as was permitted under the prevailing health order at the time, see Page 6, Section (3) of the April 6, 2020, public health order. To be clear, none of the state's public health orders have "otherwise restrict[ed] the conduct of business operations ... in which an employee only interacts with clients or customers remotely." An employee of the store left the merchandise outside the home of a campaign staffer – the transaction was entirely contact-less and remote. The store was never "opened" and a good safe process was followed. The governor has of course in both her personal and professional lives adhered to all of the public health measures the state has enacted for the duration of this pandemic – her office and state government been working from home for more than two months, she and her staff wear facecoverings at all times in public, she has not (though many have claimed otherwise online) gone to get her hair cut or colored or anything of that nature – and that will remain the case. All of us need to be doing our part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Thanks, Nora Meyers Sackett (she/her) Press Secretary Office of the Governor Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham P: (505) 476-2237 C: (505) 690-7313 E: nora.sackett@state.nm.us t: @GovMLG f: GovMLG governor.state.nm.us From: Stelnicki, Tripp, GOV Sent: Monday, May 25, 2020 1:00 PM To: Jessica Garate Subject: Questions/answers Hi Jessica, I've tried to compile all of the answers you were seeking into one place here ahead of your deadline tomorrow. Tomorrow is looking like an insane day for me so if you have follow-ups over the phone I will do my best to make some time. Thanks, I hope you had a good weekend. Tripp Overall: The governor did call an employee of the retailer, where she has a longstanding personal relationship, and asked them whether she could make an order and pay for some merchandise online or remotely – as was permitted under the prevailing health order at the time, see Page 6, Section (3) of the April 6, 2020, public health order. To be clear, none of the state's public health orders have "otherwise restrict[ed] the conduct of business operations ... in which an employee only interacts with clients or customers remotely." An employee of the store left the merchandise outside her home (the home of the employee) – and a personal friend of the governor's went there to pick it up. The transaction was entirely contact-less and remote. The store was never "opened" and a good safe process was followed. The governor has of course in both her personal and professional lives adhered to all of the public health measures the state has enacted for the duration of this pandemic –her office and state government been working from home for more than two months, she and her staff wear face-coverings at all times in public, she has not (though many have claimed otherwise online) gone to get her hair cut or colored or anything of that nature -- and that will remain the case. The governor has not set foot inside a business for many months -- though she is a long-time dedicated local shopper who has endeavored all throughout her adult life to support New Mexico businesses and not big online out-of-state retailers. All of us need to be doing our part to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. --What is the date the items were ordered? The week before Easter. I don’t have a record of it and the governor can’t recall the exact date. April 5 is the best guess. --What is the name of the person she called at the business? --What is the address the items were delivered? --What is the name of the person who picked them up from the store? They were not picked up from the store. They were left outside the home of a store employee, where a friend of the governor’s picked them up. I don’t feel comfortable providing names and addresses of people I don’t know given this was conducted in the governor’s private capacity as an individual and I don’t speak for the company. --Did the Governor pay for home delivery of the merchandise? No, because it wasn’t delivered. --What is the name of the person who picked up the merchandise for the Governor? Is this person a state employee? It was not a state employee, it was a friend of the governor’s. I don’t feel comfortable asking for or providing her name because this was conducted in the governor’s private capacity as an individual. --Was it clear to other non-essential businesses they could do home deliveries? This was not a home delivery. Businesses have been consistently encouraged to find creative ways to conduct remote and online business safely during the course of the pandemic. --Which store was the merchandise taken from? The Paseo del Norte location. --All along the governor has been urging New Mexicans to stay home, stay safe -- while at the same time for this transaction an employee and a personal friend of the governor's left home to do this. What do you have to say about that? This was an unusual transaction in that it was conducted over the phone and remotely but it was safe and permissible. The safety part is the key here. Of course the governor has been hammering home the message that people need to stay home to the greatest extent possible, but it's also true that during the course of this awful pandemic, she's been urging New Mexicans to find ways to support local businesses, which have been hit so hard by this virus. So it's a balancing act, always, and like I said on the phone last week, it's sometimes more of an art than a science. We certainly have followed the science in all of the state's public health orders, in particular the stay-at-home instruction, but we know people have gone out all throughout this crisis, whether it's to walk the dog or get takeout from a local business, or any number of other things. The key takeaway is that people need to be safe when they're out, they need to be wearing a face covering and keep their distance from other people. The state doesn't have the authority to actually physically "lock" people "down," or keep them in their homes, so we have navigated that as best we can while following and recommending a good public health policy to keep everyone as safe as they can be. --Most New Mexicans can't just call up a store and get this kind of service. What do you have to say about that? Again this is a bit of an unusual personal circumstance because the governor has a longstanding personal relationship as a customer with this store. So in this instance yes she could call them up and ask them what kind of business they are conducting right now and what can be done safely. If a New Mexican has that kind of relationship with a local business, and local businesses are trying to operate creatively to keep themselves and their employees afloat (while also staying safe), certainly this kind of transaction could occur. --Was it made clear to other businesses -- particularly mom-and-pop local New Mexico stores -- that they can do this kind of business during the pandemic? Businesses have been encouraged to find creative ways to operate remotely and safely from the beginning. Of course it’s been very difficult. The governor has said this repeatedly at her news briefings and in all her public comments and communication throughout this pandemic -- we're all playing under a brand new set of rules here, rules dictated by the virus, and we all have to be creative to stay safe and get through this as best we can to the other side. So businesses absolutely have been encouraged to find novel ways to operate while keeping employees and customers safe and I think to an overwhelming degree you've seen businesses adapt as best they can. --(This was the one you texted) The shop was closed -- doesn't the employee going to the store to open it and get this merchandise violate the public health order that stores have to remain closed? The store wasn’t opened. Turning the key inside a door to “open” a store wouldn't violate the order -- that has happened every day at non-essential businesses all across the state when employees would have to go in and do inventory, clean, do maintenance work, etc. That doesn’t mean the store was “open” at any point. Tripp Stelnicki Director of communications, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tripp.stelnicki@state.nm.us 505-476-2242 (o) 505-690-7667 (c)