State Representatives sit in the New Mexico House of Representatives, which is the lower house of New Mexico. Representatives introduce and vote on proposed laws, serve on legislative committees, and participate in hearings, floor debates, fact-finding and investigations. They also may assist constituents with issues and problems the constituents may have with government agencies within New Mexico. Term: Two years; no term limits.
mailingstate
NM
Campaign Phone
505-239-1781
Filing County
Bernalillo
I have served the district for 12 years, meeting and speaking with constituents throughout that time. I understand how the Legislature works. The mentorship program in the House for newly elected Democrats, was started by me and I continue in that role. I have introduced and passed many Bills, including healthcare, education, public safety, disability issues, taxes, and much more. I currently serve as the Chair for both the House and Legislative Health and Human Services Committees. Healthcare is a major issue for many New Mexicans, and I am one of very few healthcare providers in the legislature.
My highest priority is for New Mexicans to have access and be able to afford healthcare. This is a very complicated and long-standing problem. I have carried many healthcare compacts for many years. In the 2026 Session I carried six of them, and got them further along in the Senate than ever before. I will continue this work until we get the Bills passed. My absolute highest priority, is to make the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee professionalized. As it currently stands, this Committee has oversight over all of the states’s health, and human services programs. The state spending in fiscal year 2025 was $14.4 billion including the federal match. We are attempting to oversee this with zero staff. That must change.
We must be very protective of the little water that we have. It doesn’t make sense for New Mexico to bring in industries, which demand a lot of water. The precious water must be prioritized for people, wildlife, and other such necessary uses. Using water for industrial use, such as fracking, cooling huge data centers, etc. should not be allowed to threaten our way of life.
First and foremost, really looking at the true economic development. Many times we have seen promises of large numbers of high paying jobs, turn out to be smoke and mirrors. We also must look at the effect on the environment and our precious water. Clawbacks should be built into any involvement of public dollars, when promises are not kept.
See above. In addition, investing in recruitment and retention of healthcare providers, through loan forgiveness, tax incentives, and other methods. The investment we made during the 2026 Session, to double the size of UNM’s healthcare programs, will be extremely helpful in the longer term. Making New Mexico a more attractive place to call home is also important. This would include improving our education systems, tax structures, and public perception. It does not help when entities spend hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising that New Mexico is a horrible place to provide healthcare. We must support financial and regulatory changes to provide assistance to smaller and local providers, not to out of state billion dollar corporations.
