VOTE411 Voter Guide

I am qualified to serve as Governor because I bring both lived experience and a proven record of results. I am a lifelong New Mexican, educated in our public schools, a first-generation college graduate, a single mom, and a small business owner who understands what it means to rely on Medicaid and WIC and fight to keep a family afloat. In Congress and as Secretary of the Interior, I delivered infrastructure and broadband investments, protected public lands, launched the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Unit, advanced major clean energy projects, led historic pollution cleanup, and managed an $18 billion budget and 70,000 employees. I know how to make government work for working people.

My top priorities are making New Mexico more affordable, strengthening education, improving public safety, and protecting healthcare. I want New Mexicans to afford groceries and rent, feel safe in their communities, see a doctor when they are sick, and ensure kids learn to read earlier. I will raise wages, expand tax relief for working families, pursue paid family and medical leave, grow affordable housing, and support job creation. I will invest in childcare, literacy, math, community schools, and educator recruitment. I will tackle violent crime, drugs, gun violence, and overhaul CYFD, while expanding behavioral health, crisis response, Medicaid, rural and Tribal access, and the healthcare workforce.

My goal is for every child’s education to open doors. My top priority is helping kids read by third grade, because early literacy 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, make early education easier to access, and grow quality childcare options. I will bring the trades into middle and more high schools, expand teacher residencies, improve pay and benefits, help with housing in rural communities, and expand community schools plus Native language and culture programs for rural and Tribal students.

I will protect New Mexico’s water, air, and land. I know 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.

We need to ensure new developments are mutually beneficial. They must: create good-paying jobs for New Mexicans, use local workers and contractors, protect families from higher utility costs, and leave communities better off. Projects should include strong community benefits agreements, accountability, and clawback provisions so the public is protected if promises are broken. They must also safeguard water, air, land, and public health, accurately report water use, and ensure high-demand industries provide clean energy and support grid stability. I want New Mexico to lead in energy, tech, film, and outdoor recreation with long-term value for our communities, not short-term gains for outside corporations that exploit New Mexicans.

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?