mailingstate
NM
Campaign Phone
575-215-3190
Occupation
Social Worker/Executive Director
Filing County
Dona Ana
As a social worker with 23 years experience serving my community, I understand the needs of Las Cruces. I have a wealth of experience from working in early childhood, with individuals who have developmental disabilities, mental health counseling, case management, program development, hunger/food insecurity, inpatient psychiatric services, and suicide prevention/intervention.
I've done legislative advocacy & policy work for years, fighting for fair wages for early childhood educators, paid family medical leave, & internship opportunities for high school students. I've done much of this work in coalitions, which included restoring half a billion dollars in transformative education funding following the Martinez Yazzie education lawsuit.
My priorities are:
1) Healthcare for all through a single payer system
2) Continue being a champion for working families through advocacy and policy work for fair wages, safe working conditions, & paid family medical leave
3) A high quality & effective education system, starting in early childhood. With universal child care, we must address the shortage of infant/toddler educators through funding & implementation of an early childhood educator wage & career ladder. New Mexico loses over $586 million/year in economic impact due to the shortage. We need to make large investments in high school internship opportunities, which include mentorship & are highly effective experiences. Student engagement & graduation rates soar when we do this.
1) New Mexico needs to develop a comprehensive strategy around reducing demand, increasing supply, & developing technologies (such as desalination). Requiring agricultural upgrades such as drip irrigation & precision soil-water sensors that reduce use by 70-80%. Economic incentives to encourage xeriscaping, use of water-efficient appliances, & responsible practices will also help reduce use.
2) AI data centers like Project Jupiter need intensive scrutiny with clear guardrails to protect community resources before being approved. I would support a moratorium on AI data centers until the federal and state guardrails to protect communities are put in place, along with clarity regarding environmental impact, job creation & electricity costs.
1) The projected economic impact & specificity regarding what the numbers are based on. For projected job growth, how many short-term/long-term jobs, & how many jobs will go to New Mexicans?
2) Environmental impact on land, air, water. Project emissions need to be held to the greenhouse gas reduction targets set forth in state law.
3) Community engagement that captures the concerns and desires of the people most affected by the project
4) Meaningful community benefit agreements with specific benchmarks that projects are held to, & enforceable clawback provisions if the project developers don't keep their promises.
5) Transparency standards, including what information communities & lawmakers must have access to before decisions are made.
1) We have options for addressing provider shortages: funding residencies, housing stipends & loan forgiveness programs.
2) We need serious investments in "grow your own" initiatives that have clear career pathways demonstrating the education & hands-on experiences necessary to succeed in various healthcare fields, and then make sure students have access to those, along with mentorship and enough support to be successful.
3) In the legislature, we need to finish the interstate compact work that was started in 2026 so that providers from other states can practice in New Mexico.
4) We need to address the lapse in quality of care that occurs when our largest healthcare systems are owned by private equity. NM needs universal healthcare.
mailingstate
NM
Campaign Phone
575-312-6511
Occupation
retired
Filing County
Dona Ana
I am a US citizen and over 18 years of age. I am a graduate of NSU, a former FEMA employee, a former Dona Ana County Commissioner, a community leader, and a lifelong advocate for working families in southern New Mexico. On the county commission, I spearheaded major infrastructure improvements and helped establish the region’s Crisis Triage Center.
I would actively sponsor and champion legislation to fight for public safety, better roads, expanded healthcare access, and an education system that actually puts students first. Las Cruces deserves leadership that’s accountable to the people, not to Santa Fe politics. I believe I can meaningfully engage with my fellow legislators in the committee process to move legislation forward, since that is where the real shaping of legislation happens.
To secure our future water needs in an arid state,we must advocate for legislation that embraces a comprehensive strategy focused on robust infrastructure development and effective groundwater management. This proactive approach is essential to ensuring the sustainability and resilience of our water resources.
Economic development projects must be evaluated for their effectiveness. It is essential to demonstrate fiscal accountability to show that the project or its associated incentives are necessary. We should assess the long-term impacts and risks to the community. Furthermore, we need to determine whether the project aligns with the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy and the community or county's local infrastructure plans. Securing adequate funding, especially for rural communities, is crucial, and it is important to hold regular community input meetings.
One of the biggest problems in New Mexico is the Medical Malpractice laws, pushed by the trial lawyer lobby, that have strangled medical professionals in NM and forced them to leave the state. We are facing a crisis of healthcare access due to a lack of providers. We need to advocate for reforms to the medical malpractice system to create a more affordable practice environment to help retain physicians who might otherwise leave for states with lower insurance premiums, and we need to find ways to bring back the doctors who have left. New Mexico has the highest per capita medical malpractice payout rate of any state in the United States. The medical malpractice insurance premiums are about twice as high in New Mexico as in other states,
