mailingstate
NM
Occupation
Mayor of Rio Rancho, New Mexico 2014-2026
I have been a New Mexico resident for more than 40 years, an entrepreneur, and Rio Rancho's longest-serving mayor, elected three times beginning in 2014. Before entering public service, I built and operated two businesses, gaining direct experience with job creation and regulatory challenges. As mayor, I doubled the police budget, helped Rio Rancho earn recognition as New Mexico's safest city, and attracted more than $6 billion in investment. In 2024, Rio Rancho was named a Best Place to Live for Families and the state's most affordable city. I am ready to bring that same record of results to all New Mexicans.
My top priorities are public safety, economic growth, education, infrastructure and water security, and protecting children. I will increase police presence and enhance border security to address crime and the fentanyl crisis. I will attract high-paying jobs through targeted business incentives and energy expansion. I will hold schools accountable for outcomes while expanding career training. I will invest in brackish water treatment and aquifer recharge for long-term supply. And I will reform CYFD with clear standards, oversight, and stable caseworker staffing.
New Mexico's reading and math scores rank among the nation's lowest, yet the state has responded by lowering standards rather than raising them. I will reverse that trend by tying a portion of school funding to measurable gains in literacy, math, and graduation rates. I will expand career and technical education so students graduate with industry-recognized skills, establish accessible tutoring programs, and give parents transparent access to curriculum and progress data. I will also address chronic absenteeism and reform the Public Education Department to focus on results.
Water security is not optional — it is the foundation of economic growth, agriculture, and stable communities. Rio Rancho led the state with the state’s first-ever aquifer recharge system. As governor, I will invest in brackish water treatment to create new sources of supply, reducing pressure on rivers and freshwater aquifers. I will upgrade aging infrastructure to cut leaks, expand advanced wastewater treatment for safe reuse, and support modern irrigation systems to protect farmers' livelihoods. I will meet our interstate obligations to deliver water downstream and pursue transparent negotiations to resolve outstanding Tribal water rights. Long-term certainty for every water user starts with planning ahead and acting now.
Projects should be evaluated on the quality and wages of jobs created, their alignment with New Mexico's existing strengths — research, advanced manufacturing, energy, and defense — and whether they support workforce development. Incentives must be tied to measurable results and fiscal accountability. Projects should benefit both rural and urban communities, avoid placing undue burdens on infrastructure or public services, and strengthen long-term economic resilience. My core question: does this investment leave New Mexico more diversified, more self-sufficient, and better positioned to grow?
mailingstate
NM
Occupation
Consultant
I will bring lived experience and a proven record of results to the Governor’s office. I am a 35th-generation New Mexican, educated in our public schools, and a first-generation college graduate. I’m also a single mom who owned a small business and understands what it means to rely on Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC to keep a family afloat. I was a member of Congress and the Secretary of the Interior, where I managed an $18 billion budget and 70,000 employees. In both positions, I worked across the aisle to deliver infrastructure and broadband investments, protect public lands, launch the Missing and Murdered Unit, advance major clean energy projects, and lead historic pollution cleanup. I know how to make the government work for working people
New Mexicans deserve to be able to afford groceries and rent in the same month, feel safe in their communities, see a doctor when they are sick, and for kids to have a quality public education.
To put more money in people’s pockets, I will raise wages, expand tax relief for working families, pursue paid family and medical leave, aggressively build and grow affordable housing, and support job creation.
To ensure our kids are able to read by third grade, I will prioritize literacy outcomes and expand investment in universal childcare, community schools, and educator recruitment.
Finally on public safety and healthcare, I will tackle violent crime, drugs, and gun violence, while overhauling CYFD and expanding behavioral health service.
My goal is for every step of a child’s education to open doors. My top priority is helping kids read by third grade, because reading sets them up to succeed in every subject. I will invest in literacy support, coaches, summer learning, math screening and intervention, and stronger instruction. I will protect and expand universal childcare with quality childcare options, and make early education easier to access. To support kids who might not want to go to college, I will bring the trades into middle school and more high schools. For educators, I plan to expand teacher residencies, improve pay and benefits, help with housing in rural communities, and expand community schools plus Native language and culture programs for Tribal students.
I will always protect New Mexico’s water, air, and land. Water is precious—I carried it as a child from the community spigot to my grandmother’s house. Our water future must be built on conservation, infrastructure, accountability, and partnership. I will help Tribal nations, rural towns, acequia communities, and colonias repair aging systems, reduce leaks, and grow the workforce needed to keep water flowing. I will strengthen the Water Trust Board, prioritize communities with unsafe drinking water, hold polluters accountable, and require high-water-use industries to conserve so economic growth does not come at the expense of our limited water supply.
New developments must be mutually beneficial, creating good-paying jobs for New Mexicans using local labor while protecting families from cost increases. Projects must prioritize community well-being, utilizing transparency, community benefit agreements, accountability, and clawback provisions to ensure promises are kept. Investment must safeguard water, air, land, and public health, require accurate water reporting, and ensure industries support clean energy and grid stability. I aim for New Mexico to lead in energy, tech, film, and outdoor recreation with long-term value for our communities, preventing exploitation by outside corporations seeking short-term gains.
