PRIORITIES

As I’ve met with residents of Grant, Socorro, and Catron Counties, I’ve listened and learned about the pressing issues families face, and your creative ideas for how we can solve these problems together. Please continue to contact me with your experiences, your concerns, and your suggestions for improving your community.

EDUCATION

There is no more important issue for me than education, and it is abundantly clear to all of us that New Mexico must improve the quality of our educational system.  I have spent 25 years working in public education, and I feel both determined and competent to help forge significant improvements in the way New Mexican children are educated.

I support:

  • Universal Pre-K Education for all 3- and 4-year-olds in New Mexico.

  • Expansion of after-school programs.

  • Raising public school teachers' salaries.

  • Trauma-informed training for all public school teachers as part of their professional development.

  • Tuition-free college for New Mexico residents.

  • Career pathways vocational and technical training in our secondary schools.

HEALTH CARE

I feel strongly that everyone should have access to basic, affordable health care. Our health care system must address both physical and mental well-being. 

I support:

  • The NM Health Security Act, which would give all New Mexicans the same health coverage that state workers currently have.

  • A Medicaid Buy-in option for New Mexicans.

  • Developing training and incentive programs to address the shortage of health care providers in New Mexico.

  • Affordable and accessible reproductive health care for all.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & WELL-PAYING JOBS

Far too many individuals and families in New Mexico struggle financially, with often devastating physical and mental effects on both children and adults. We absolutely must develop more jobs that pay a good, solid living wage and develop new career tracks to help keep young people in the state.  I believe the need for economic development is urgent, and I also believe that we currently have some promising opportunities to improve and stabilize New Mexico's economy.  

I support:

  • Renewable energy development - wind and solar energy have great potential in New Mexico and are already growing fast. Renewable energy projects offer numerous, high-paying jobs while simultaneously helping us to transition off of fossil fuels. 

  • Expanding outdoor recreation opportunities and businesses.  It is no secret that the natural environment in Catron, Grant, and Socorro counties is a tremendous asset and can be a big draw for recreation and outdoor tourism.

  • Ensuring high-speed broadband internet access for all New Mexicans.  Clearly such access is fundamental not only to our educational system, but also to our businesses, including rural entrepreneurial enterprises as well as agriculture.

  • Facilitating our farmers' and ranchers' abilities to sell their food products locally within New Mexico as well as export them to out-of-state markets.  This means, for example, taking steps that encourage institutions such as schools and hospitals to procure their food products from local producers.

  • Workers' right to organize unions, and I oppose efforts to restrict that right. Unions are one of the principal ways that workers are able to insist on living wages and reasonable working conditions.

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

A healthy environmental ecosystem is fundamental to every New Mexican's well-being.  Not only do we need to ensure clean water and clean air for our basic physical health, we need healthy soil, healthy forests, healthy streams and lakes, and healthy wild animal populations for many of our economic enterprises (including farming, ranching, and outdoor recreation), as well as for the very survival of the earth as we know it. 

I support:

  • Keeping San Augustin Plains ground water in the San Augustin Plains.

  • Using funds from the Arizona Water Settlements Act for local water infrastructure development and conservation projects rather than for diverting water from the Gila and San Francisco Rivers. 

  • Our Governor's pledge for New Mexico to adhere to the goals of the Paris accords that seek to address the very real threat of global warming.