Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
mailingstate
New Mexico
Campaign Phone
575-551-6850
Occupation
Volunteer, Public Servant, Driver, CNA
Filing County
Otero
I'm a lifelong Alamogordo resident, wife, mother, grandmother, and former Mrs. New Mexico, but what qualifies me is that I have lived the problems District 51 faces. I've experienced homelessness, survived domestic violence, been a caregiver for family members, and worked as a CNA at Casa Arena. I founded Royal Angels, inspired by my granddaughter Melanie, and have served at Mountain View Church for more than a decade. My father served in the Air Force and my brother in the Army, so Holloman and veterans' issues are family issues to me. I'm running as an Independent because this district needs a representative who answers to neighbors, not a party. I know which systems work, which don't, and what it feels like to depend on them.
My highest priorities are water and infrastructure, protecting Holloman's mission, and fixing CYFD. Alamogordo and Otero County have spent four years catching up on two decades of neglected roads, water mains, and sewer lines. Now it's the state's turn. I will treat my capital outlay share as a public commitment to the district's highest-need water, road, and drainage projects and publish every request and its status. I'll pursue Water Trust Board and Colonias Infrastructure Fund money that has gone unawarded. For Holloman, I'll work across party lines on housing, childcare, spouse employment, and PFAS accountability. For CYFD, I'll fight for sustained caseworker funding and rural-county reporting so Otero families aren't forgotten.
Alamogordo is one of the few New Mexico cities that relies mainly on surface water, and we learned in 2012 what one wildfire can do when the Little Bear Fire took Bonito Lake offline for years. The Legislature should fund resilience, not rescue. That means finishing the pipeline so the Alamogordo Regional Water Supply desalination plant finally comes online, backing brackish groundwater projects statewide, and rewarding cities like ours that cut per-capita use from 260 to 165 gallons a day. It means reforming capital outlay so $5.9 billion doesn't sit unspent while pipes break, and fully deploying Water Trust Board and Colonias funds. And it means protecting the water rights Holloman and the City share; their futures are inseparable.
Otero County's economy lives or dies by a handful of employers, so my first test is whether a project diversifies us or deepens that dependence. Second: can our infrastructure carry it? A large project that strains water we don't have, or roads we can't maintain, is a liability, not a win. Third: who gets the jobs? I want projects that create careers for military spouses, transitioning veterans, and NMSU-Alamogordo graduates, not just construction jobs that leave. Fourth: does it support existing small businesses on White Sands Boulevard and MainStreet or undercut them? Finally, transparency. Incentives should come with clear, public commitments and clawbacks if promises aren't kept. Taxpayers here have absorbed enough surprise bills.
Health care access in District 51 breaks down in three places: workforce, distance, and crisis response. I've worked as a CNA, and I know rural Otero County can't keep in-home care workers and nurses without better pay and training, so I'll support state investment in direct-care wages and NMSU-Alamogordo's healthcare pipeline. Seniors in Tularosa and the Sacramento Mountains need transportation to appointments and pharmacies, and families need respite care so caregivers can keep working. For behavioral health, I'll fund co-responder models like Alamogordo PD's Mobile Crisis Response Team and expand rural treatment capacity. I'll also push for PFAS testing for well owners near Holloman and fight for the VA access our veterans have earned.
