New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham fields in the ballpark of 50 phone calls and 50 text messages a day from her constituents. “I’ve been advised that I shouldn’t do it, but I give my phone number out to people,” she says. “You can always reach me.” The 64-year-old considers it a privilege to serve the state and is always ready to roll up her sleeves, whether that’s supporting communities after a natural disaster, figuring out a public health response during the COVID-19 pandemic, or meeting with contractors about infrastructure projects.
Grisham represented the state’s First Congressional District for three terms before making history in 2018 as the first Democratic Latina to be elected governor in the U.S. These days, she’s juggling zooming across the state for constituent events with traveling around the country to campaign for Vice-President Kamala Harris. She sleeps very little and admits that relaxing is not her forte; there’s simply too many things to accomplish. “I’m always wound up and constantly moving,” she says. Grisham lives with her husband and an array of animals that they’re raising at the governor’s mansion in Santa Fe. Here’s how she gets it done.
On her morning routine:
I typically wake up around 6:30. I get up and I make a beeline for hot coffee. I drink coffee until I’m asleep — cold, hot, lukewarm. I don’t typically eat breakfast. We have a little space downstairs, and I try to work out around 7:15. I work out with a girlfriend and we do it via video with a trainer. He makes me do weight training for good bone health, which is what women my age, and frankly women of all ages, should do. I’d like to do it two or three times a week, but these days it’s once or twice a month.
On her journey to working in politics:
I cannot stand injustice. I probably inherited it from my parents, who had to work through many injustices — for my sister who was sick, for my dad’s patients. In New Mexico, almost no one had dental insurance. We had a dental office in our garage, and he paid all their bills for their dental labs. He never charged people. I don’t know how he made a living, but he was just worried that people didn’t have access to care.
When I went to law school, I thought I might do intellectual-property law, but I didn’t like it. When I passed the bar, I didn’t have a job or clients. I was fighting over paying bar dues because I thought it was unjust I had to pay them — $275 might as well have been $275,000 to me at the time. I had two little kids at home and a mortgage. The executive director of this organization said to me, “We have this program that provides free and reduced legal services to seniors, and you could volunteer for a week in that program. Instead of paying you, we’ll pay off your bar dues.” I went, “Done! I’ll do that.”
Six months later, I was running that program. Hundreds of people would need legal help for their Social Security, Medicare, private insurance guardianships, landlord issues. Senior citizens were being taken advantage of, and I was upset that the federal government could change all of it in one stroke but did not do it. I decided we would start at the state level. So, I marched into the office of Governor Bruce King. I told him I could do it better than anyone in his Cabinet. You should learn to be careful what you ask for, because he put me in charge as director of the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. I was 31 and it changed my whole career trajectory.
On her hectic day-to-day schedule:
I first meet with my senior staff about whatever happened the night before, or whatever is happening in the morning, and we shift our focus to that for the start of the day. Whether it is a fire, a flood, a shooting, a wonderful award, or a grant, we make sure that we do what we need to get done. Then I typically get updates on everything else in five buckets: the environment, health care, economic development, public safety, and education. Then we talk about any of my special projects, including the political work that we’re doing. Am I traveling as a surrogate for the Harris-Walz campaign? When am I doing National Governors Association work? I’m going to Climate Week next week, do I have all of the research? It’s frenetic. We’ve got about 33 individuals who routinely come for meetings that should take about an hour, and you’re doing it in 15-minute increments. I also have events in the evening. It could mean a dinner, a cocktail party, or maybe there’s a gala. On a typically robust day, I don’t get home until 9 or 10 p.m.
On managing her team:
I’ve been working with some of the same people for 30 years. A lot of them have my frenetic sense of urgency. No idea is too big. We want to be bold and change people’s lives. I also make sure that if I’m asking you to do 20 constituent calls, I’ll do 20 myself. We’re gonna catch up together. I don’t just dictate and direct.
People can come in and see me. I walk around my offices. A lot of people in my position don’t do that, because you need to stick to your schedule. But I wander around. I like to go into your office, see pictures of your family, and ask about them. We also have very robust policies about comp time and administrative leave, around flexible hours and child care. I want people to have what they need for stable families. I get mad if I find out you were worried about work and canceled your primary-care appointment. If you’re sick, or you need some time for your loved ones, I will throw you out of the office. I need you to take care of your family. We’ll get your work done.
On raising animals at the governor’s mansion:
My husband, Manny, who’s semi-retired, has a robust garden. He spends a couple hours every morning feeding our chickens, goats, rabbits, pheasants, dogs, and a cat. He takes pretty damn good care of those animals in my stead, and I get to enjoy their beauty and their love. During tours, everyone wants to see these animals. We let you go in and pet them. The goats are so cute I can’t stand it, but their mucking is harder to clean up. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to vacuum up goat pellets. If I have a spare moment, my husband sends me out to do it. Can you do me a solid and write that I’m really too busy to muck the stalls and that should be my husband’s full-time job?
On her evening routine:
I’m rotten about unwinding. I don’t eat dinner very often. I try to eat everything I’m going to eat for the day by about 4 or 4:30 p.m. By the time I get home from work, the animals are fed and put to bed. I don’t care how late it is, I often like to take walks. I also make a lot of phone calls at night. When I’m ready to go to bed, I take a nice hot shower and read. I usually go to bed between midnight and 2 a.m.
On what she’s reading right now:
I’m really interested in women in powerful positions, and I think because we’re in an election, I’m gravitating toward political memoirs. Right now, I’m reading Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer’s memoir, True Gretch. She gave it to me at the convention. I just ordered Hillary Clinton’s new book, Something Lost, Something Gained. I want to ask her to sign it.
On the people who help her get it done:
You need a really good scheduler. Mine is brilliant, hardworking, fast-paced. She keeps the wheels on the bus and gas in the tank. My family and close friends also keep me sane and make me happy. I bring my grown children and grandchildren to work, and then I have them spend the night. Same with my friends; I have a girlfriend who will just show up here at 8 p.m. and say, “I’m spending the night at your house!” We’ll do arts and crafts — I’m terrible at it, but I would never say “no.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.