Jonas Moya has a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.

Over the weekend, the Democratic Party of New Mexico held its pre-primary convention where party delegates voted to designate candidates for the June ballot. Candidates needed to receive at least 20% of the vote to earn a spot on the ballot. Those who failed to meet the threshold need to submit additional petition signatures by next week to run in the primary.

As a Democratic candidate for state land commissioner, Moya received about 7% of the vote at the convention. On Thursday, Moya said he needs about 1,700 more signatures to qualify for the primary.

On the latest episode of “Around the Roundhouse,” Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón speaks with Moya about why he’s decided to keep fighting to stay in the race and discuss what his priorities would be if he were to be elected state land commissioner.

A fourth-generation rancher from Tucumcari, Moya is a former Joe Biden-appointed state director of the Farm Service Agency. He talks about his experience working in the agency and his other relevant experience.

Moya shares what he would focus on if elected, including addressing an incoming “tidal wave” of retirees at the State Land Office, building and diversifying revenue streams, and using state land for affordable housing projects. He also talks about how he would address dumping on state land.

Jonas Moya has a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.
Over the weekend, the Democratic Party of New Mexico held its pre-primary convention where party delegates voted to designate candidates for the June ballot. Candidates needed to receive at least 20% of the vote to earn a spot on the ballot. Those who failed to meet the threshold need to submit additional petition signatures by next week to run in the primary.
As a Democratic candidate for state land commissioner, Moya received about 7% of the vote at the convention. On Thursday, Moya said he needs about 1,700 more signatures to qualify for the primary.
On the latest episode of &ldquo;Around the Roundhouse,&rdquo;&nbsp;Santa Fe New Mexican&nbsp;state politics reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n speaks with Moya about why he&rsquo;s decided to keep fighting to stay in the race and discuss what his priorities would be if he were to be elected state land commissioner.
A fourth-generation rancher from Tucumcari, Moya is a former Joe Biden-appointed state director of the Farm Service Agency. He talks about his experience working in the agency and his other relevant experience.
Moya shares what he would focus on if elected, including addressing an incoming &ldquo;tidal wave&rdquo; of retirees at the State Land Office, building and diversifying revenue streams, and using state land for affordable housing projects. He also talks about how he would address dumping on state land.

The Santa Fe New Mexican’s weekly podcast hosted by state government and lead politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón features the policies, politics and personalities at the state Capitol during New Mexico's 2025 legislative session.

The Santa Fe New Mexican&rsquo;s weekly podcast hosted by state government and lead politics reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n features the policies, politics and personalities at the state Capitol during New Mexico's 2025 legislative session.

Around the Roundhouse

The Santa Fe New Mexican&rsquo;s weekly podcast hosted by state government and lead politics reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n features the policies, politics and personalities at the state Capitol during New Mexico's 2025 legislative session.

Fighting to stay in the primary, Jonas Moya says he'd champion rural New Mexico as state land commissioner

Albuquerque-based radio host Eddy Aragon has spent several years looking into what went on at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch and has received calls from listeners who he says have provided insight about the workings of the property south of Santa Fe.

In 2019, Aragon received an anonymous email alleging the bodies of two foreign girls were buried near Epstein’s property. “Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex,” the anonymous email said. The writer claimed to be a former staff member at the ranch. Aragon forwarded the email to the FBI, and the email is among the millions of documents released in the Epstein files.

Aragon, who hosts “The Rock of Talk” on KIVA 1600 AM, spoke with Santa Fe New Mexican reporter Daniel J. Chacón on the latest episode of the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast to discuss his history with the Epstein case. He talks about how the public’s curiosity spurred his early interest in the case. He also expresses his frustration with the lack of attention Epstein’s wrongdoings received from state officials and the media until the release of the Epstein files.

Aragon says he knows who the sender of the anonymous email is and that he relayed that information to an FBI agent. He also claims to know who many of the people who were employed at the ranch were and their relationships with each other.

Aragon shares his thoughts on the new Epstein “truth commission” that was formed during the state’s recent 30-day legislative session to investigate what went on with the ranch.

“We need to get this stain off of our state of New Mexico,” he said.

Albuquerque-based radio host Eddy Aragon has spent several years looking into what went on at Jeffrey Epstein&rsquo;s Zorro Ranch and has received calls from listeners who he says have provided insight about the workings of the property south of Santa Fe.
In 2019, Aragon received an anonymous email alleging the bodies of two foreign girls were buried near Epstein&rsquo;s property. &ldquo;Both died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex,&rdquo; the anonymous email said. The writer claimed to be a former staff member at the ranch. Aragon forwarded&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00067066.pdf">the email</a>&nbsp;to the FBI, and the email is among the millions of documents released in the Epstein files.
Aragon, who hosts &ldquo;The Rock of Talk&rdquo; on KIVA 1600 AM, spoke with&nbsp;Santa Fe New Mexican&nbsp;reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n on the latest episode of the &ldquo;Around the Roundhouse&rdquo; podcast to discuss his history with the Epstein case. He talks about how the public&rsquo;s curiosity spurred his early interest in the case. He also expresses his frustration with the lack of attention Epstein&rsquo;s wrongdoings received from state officials and the media until the release of the Epstein files.
Aragon says he knows who the sender of the anonymous email is and that he relayed that information to an FBI agent. He also claims to know who many of the people who were employed at the ranch were and their relationships with each other.
Aragon shares his thoughts on the new Epstein &ldquo;truth commission&rdquo; that was formed during the state&rsquo;s recent 30-day legislative session to investigate what went on with the ranch.
&ldquo;We need to get this stain off of our state of New Mexico,&rdquo; he said.

Epstein's Zorro Ranch: New Mexico radio host discusses email he received alleging buried bodies

An opportunity to connect with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein prior to the State of the Union address Tuesday had a powerful impact on Andrea Romero, a New Mexico state representative who co-sponsored a resolution to create a so-called “truth commission” to investigate Epstein’s activities at Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County.

The Santa Fe Democrat, who was a guest of U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury at the State of the Union, shared her experience in the latest episode of the “Around the Roundhouse” podcast, saying the survivors told her that out of Epstein’s operations in various states, “New Mexico was basically the worst.”

During the episode, Romero speaks with Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón about the formation of the Epstein “truth commission,” its mission, its members and how it plans to operate as it creates its reports over the next year. “This isn’t about politics, it’s about bringing justice to survivors,” Romero said.

Romero also discusses the recently completed legislative session and two pieces of contentious legislation she co-sponsored — the Clear Horizons Act and a bill that would have banned the sale of some “extremely dangerous weapons” in New Mexico. Both bills failed to pass.

An opportunity to connect with survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein prior to the State of the Union address Tuesday had a powerful impact on Andrea Romero, a New Mexico state representative who co-sponsored a resolution to create a so-called &ldquo;truth commission&rdquo; to investigate Epstein&rsquo;s activities at Zorro Ranch in southern Santa Fe County.
The Santa Fe Democrat, who was a guest of U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury at the State of the Union, shared her experience in the latest episode of the &ldquo;Around the Roundhouse&rdquo; podcast, saying the survivors told her that out of Epstein&rsquo;s operations in various states, &ldquo;New Mexico was basically the worst.&rdquo;
During the episode, Romero speaks with Santa Fe New Mexican state politics reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n about the formation of the Epstein &ldquo;truth commission,&rdquo; its mission, its members and how it plans to operate as it creates its reports over the next year. &ldquo;This isn&rsquo;t about politics, it&rsquo;s about bringing justice to survivors,&rdquo; Romero said.
Romero also discusses the recently completed legislative session and two pieces of contentious legislation she co-sponsored &mdash; the Clear Horizons Act and a bill that would have banned the sale of some &ldquo;extremely dangerous weapons&rdquo; in New Mexico. Both bills failed to pass.

'New Mexico was basically the worst,' Epstein survivors told lawmaker of abuse at Zorro Ranch

The 2026 30-day legislative session came to a close Thursday with Democrats largely touting it as a success following an overhaul of the state's medical malpractice law, the funding of universal child care and more. 

One of the bigger news items to come out of the final full day of the session was an omnibus tax package with 1% raises for state employees. Rep. Derrick Lente and other House Democrats helped get the raises across the finish line after they had been previously removed from the budget in the Senate. 

In the latest episode of "Around the Roundhouse," Lente joins Santa Fe New Mexican politics reporter Daniel J. Chacón to talk about how it took a creative solution to reinstate the raises for state employees. Lente, who chairs the House Tax committee, also shares his thoughts on the power of the Senate Finance Committee, which had previously stripped the raises.

Chacón also asks Lente about his position on a measure that will go before voters to determine whether state legislators will receive a salary, how he feels about what lawmakers accomplished during the session, and how he decompresses at the end of a session.

The 2026 30-day legislative session came to a close Thursday with Democrats largely touting it as a success following an overhaul of the state's medical malpractice law, the funding of universal child care and more.&nbsp;
One of the bigger news items to come out of the final full day of the session was an omnibus tax package with 1% raises for state employees. Rep. Derrick Lente and other House Democrats helped get the raises across the finish line after they had been previously removed from the budget in the Senate.&nbsp;
In the latest episode of "Around the Roundhouse," Lente joins&nbsp;Santa Fe New Mexican politics reporter Daniel J. Chac&oacute;n to talk about how it took a creative solution to reinstate the raises for state employees. Lente, who chairs the House Tax committee, also shares his thoughts on the power of the Senate Finance Committee, which had previously stripped the raises.
Chac&oacute;n also asks Lente about his position on a measure that will go before voters to determine whether state legislators will receive a salary, how he feels about what lawmakers accomplished during the session, and how he decompresses at the end of a session.

Fighting to stay in the primary, Jonas Moya says he'd champion rural New Mexico as state land commissioner

In 1 playlist(s)

Around the Roundhouse

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips