VOTER'S GUIDE

Climate Science-Based Policy

1. Do you agree with climate scientists that we are facing a climate emergency?

   1. Yes

2. Do you agree with climate scientists that the brunt of the impacts we face due to climate change will be put on those who contributed the least emissions? (The global South, Indigenous, and low-income communities)

   1. Yes

3. Do you agree with climate scientists that greenhouse gas emissions must be reversed within 6 years in order to achieve carbon neutrality in time to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees and to avoid catastrophic runaway climate disruption? https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ - IPCC Report

   1. Yes

4. If elected, what specific policies will you initiate in your first year of service to begin transitioning our state economy from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy within the timeframe set by the world's leading scientist?

   1. We are going green in our office already - EV vehicles in our fleet, eliminating paper, plans for going solar on our new warehouse to minimize fossil fuel impacts. I support the need to build housing so folks don’t have to commute. I support creating a middle class with a diverse economy if we want to get away from the extractive industry.

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Community Engagement Questions

1. What are the current needs or issues you see across the state, city, or county and how do you plan on addressing those issues if you are elected?

   1. In Santa Fe County income inequality is increasing the need to commute due to lack of housing and more and more folks are locked into relying on the extractive industry rather on a diverse economy.

2. What is your vision of the ideal relationship between communities and environmental/climate justice?

   1. We need to examine the true cost of having more than 50% of the workforce commuting through some of our most historically vulnerable communities.

3. What role do you believe communities actively play in policy development? Especially when addressing issues that have been inherited and faced for generations?

   1. Without the county and city being forced to examine the true public health and environmental impacts of lack of housing access, we will continue to see symbolic rather than structural changes to our long term planning.

4. What changes will you propose so that community driven solutions have equitable influence over policy-making, and are valued as much if not more than private profit driven solutions?

   1. Public funding for campaigns. We continue to see large donors driving campaigns rather than publicly funded campaigns. The city must increase the amounts they distribute based on grassroots support rather than a set amount that cannot compete with private dollars. They same would be great for the legislature and county commission who are the policy makers. We also need to make policy makers have to be paid enough to do the job full-time so there are less conflicts of interest and a more diverse group of people can serve.

5. How do you plan on engaging communities and youth in policy development or proposals?

   1. I would love to create a youth voters or voter outreach board to work with our office on getting younger voters engaged in the electoral process.

6. Describe your previous experience working on social/health/environmental justice issues, do you have experience working with impacted communities to co-develop solutions?  How will you use this experience to tackle the climate crisis?

   1. In college I worked on blocking NIMBY ordinances which would have furthered gentrification and lack of affordable housing options. We built coalitions of impacted voters to fight these issues. Yes, I have sat on a police review commission and worked with impacted communities on better community policing practice. In college I also worked on asking our UC Berkeley retirement funds to divest from oil and gas.

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A Just Transition

1. What connections do you believe exist between our state/local economy and budget and environmental and climate impacts? How will you work to ensure that the state/local budget fosters economic, environmental, and climate justice?

   1. 53% of our state budget is based on the extractive industry and unfortunately that system is self perpetuating as it is energy and self protective, strategically suppressing other industries that may want to grow. We have to build a middle class and grow smaller businesses into an ecosystem of medium sized businesses, and work on access to education so those businesses can grow in order to move away from extractive industry as our main economic industry. I personally believe that an educated, empowered electorate will vote for better and just economic policies and the implementation by a clerk that believes everyone should vote is an important step in electing representative government that will work towards climate justice.

2. How do you see the role of oil and gas corporations in New Mexico’s future as a result of the climate crisis?

   1. Oil and gas is currently 53% of our state budget. We have to replace extractive energy with sustainable energy industry. Some stakeholders are already investing in a green future and incentives need to be created so the industry moves that way. I believe this is attainable but needs to be structured so that the poor do not suffer in the transition.

3. Define environmental racism in your own words and provide an example in NM.

   1. Environmental hazards and impacts that disproportionately affects populations that are from typically socially stigmatized racial group. In Santa Fe we have allowed the housing crisis to grow therefore allowing many people to commute from rio rancho, those folks are commuting over tribal land and therefore our tribal communities disproprotionately suffer from all the pollution from the commuters.

4. How will you be playing a role in a just transition away from fossil fuels for NM?

   1. I would like to raise salaries in my office to a true living wage (so there aren't long commutes), I plan to work on reaching out to populations that do not vote to engage them, and I would like to make the operations of the office as green as possible.

5. Do you believe climate action is an issue of intergenerational justice? What is the responsibility of your generation to the youth and future generations if elected? Explain.

   1. Yes, the younger generation will disproportionately suffer from the impacts of climate change. Our generation should not leave a environmental bill that will be paid by the next generation.

6. How can pollution and contamination impact our youth and communities?

   1. Lead, pollution, water issues rob the future of many vulnerable populations impacting long term health.

7. How will you include Traditional Land Based Knowledge when developing policy?

   1. We work closely with our tribal communities on voter registration, polling locations, culturally relevant voter information, etc.

8. If elected, will you support investing some of the money from oil and gas revenues to fund A) dedicated resources for a Just Transition Study to model alternative economic pathways for our state including oil and gas revenue replacement and phase-down B) create a just transition fund to invest in community-driven climate planning for local economies to divest from harmful industries and build alternative economic visions and investments that effectively contribute to climate mitigation and community health?  Explain.

   1. Yes

9. Name specific alternative sources for state/local revenue that you'd pursue and propose if elected

   1. Geothermal, agtech, non weapons lab spin-offs

10. Do you support the development of Hydrogen energy, nuclear energy, and/or carbon capture and sequestration in NM? Why or Why Not?

    1. green hydrogen only. nuclear seems a necessary component for a sustainable energy portfolio. carbon capture and sequestration will be necessary until we can fully transition away from extraction.

11. Do you support community ownership of energy where Cities/Counties/Indigenous Nations are able to own, produce, and sell electricity to residents and keep energy dollars local?

    1. Yes.

12. What do you believe is the fossil fuel industry/utility’s responsibility for cleanup and how as an elected official in the public office for which you are running do you plan to hold industry accountable for pollution and cleanup?

    1. clean up should be a requirement for use of a communities natural resources. PFAS and other pollutants need to be monitored.

13. Do you support the State Land Office’s moratorium/prohibition on new oil and gas leasing on state trust lands within one mile of schools or other educational facilities? https://www.nmstatelands.org/2023/06/01/commissioner-garcia-richard-bans-new-oil-and-gas-leasing-within-one-mile-of-schools/ Would you support legislation to create  a public health buffer zone prohibiting oil and gas drilling within one mile of schools on ALL NM lands?

    1. Yes

14. Have you accepted any donations from fossil fuel companies or utilities? 

    1. No

15. Can you commit to not accepting donations or funds from fossil fuel companies if you are elected?

    1. No

16. What are your ideas to loosen the grip of industry on the state legislature and strengthen our democracy?

    1. modernize the legislature by paying them; doubling the analyst pool; lengthening the leg sessions so that lobbyist written bills cannot be jammed through, public financing for local and legislative office, end the pocket veto