This is the first in an occasional series of articles based on conversations with the Second Congressional District candidates. Articles on each candidate who agrees to an interview will run before the parties’ preprimary nominating conventions in March.
Though there are three candidates from
He visited
“We’re not going to give anything away,” Teague said in an interview during his visit.
Teague has impressed some Democratic Party insiders early on by running an active campaign. Though he isn’t the best debater in the race, Teague is personable and approachable, and he’s taking advantage of that with one-on-one meetings and in small-group settings around the district.
The other Democrats in the race are state Rep. Joseph Cervantes, retired Presbyterian minister Al Kissling, Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley and
Teague began the race with a fundraiser that netted $175,000, and topped it off with an additional $200,000 of his own money. His son runs his oil business, so he’s campaigning full-time.
About the candidate
Teague moved to eastern
After he sold his first business, Teague ran for and was elected to the Lea County Board of Commissioners, and he served eight years in that capacity, including 3.5 years as chairman. Teague says the fact that a board controlled by Republicans made him chairman for 3.5 years is proof that he is a consensus-builder, and he says his time on the commission “was the most profitable time in the history of
He cites the securing of a casino and racetrack and a uranium enrichment plant as proof.
“I generated so much economic development that the Wal-Mart (in Hobbs) has to close at 10 because there’s not enough workers (to keep it open later),” Teague said, adding that a new International House of Pancakes only seats customers in half the restaurant for the same reason – there are so many new businesses that there aren’t enough workers in Hobbs to fully staff them.
Campaign platform
Asked about the issues important in his campaign, Teague cited economic development and said he has created jobs both as a public official and a private businessman. He said in such a poor district creating jobs has to be a primary focus, and he has a proven record of doing it.
Improving people’s situations also includes increasing access to health care, he said. He is in the process of creating a clinic and hiring a nurse practitioner for the employees of his company. He can offer his employees basic services cheaper than other clinics, and he hopes it will also reduce his costs as an employer.
Teague said he hopes to create “a model that works” and show the industry how it can reduce health-care costs and reform the system.
On Education, Teague said he would scrap the No Child Left Behind Act. On
Teague said the first priority in immigration and border security reform has to be securing the border, which he advocates doing through increased money for personnel and technology, not a border fence. After that, Teague said the
Teague said he favors working to bring undocumented immigrants “out of the shadows,” but he doesn’t call that amnesty.
“I don’t like that word amnesty, because I think that’s what President Bush has given Scooter Libby,” Teague said.
He said he understands that allowing the millions here illegally to stay isn’t fair to those who have legally been waiting in line for years, but said those here illegally won’t come out of the shadows unless they’re provided a real opportunity to join society. The nation’s economy is dependent on undocumented immigrants, and most are hard-working, he said.
“I don’t think we’re going to make everybody happy, but it’s something we’re going to have to do,” Teague said.
Teague said his focus through all issues will be on building strong families with strong values.
One “strong value” he cited is combating the meth scourge. Republican Steve Pearce, the congressman Teague seeks to replace, gained attention for holding “listening tours” throughout the district to talk to residents about meth. Meanwhile, Pearce voted earlier this year against two bills that included funding for combating meth, citing other flaws in the legislation.
“We can’t have any more listening tours about the meth,” Teague said. “We’ve got to start having dome ‘doing tours’ and put some money into this.”
A history with Pearce
Teague had long been a supporter of Pearce – giving $1,000 to Pearce’s campaign in 2004 and $2,100 in 2006 – but said the congressman’s recent votes against funding to combat meth changed that. Teague said the two had been friends for some time. Pearce was two grades ahead of Teague in grade school, and Pearce’s family is close to the family of Teague’s wife.
Teague pointed out that he has given most of his contributions over the years to Democrats – including Kissling in 2006 and McCamley earlier this year – but said he’s been considering running for Congress for the last three or four years. After Pearce voted against the funding to combat meth, Teague got more serious about considering it.
When he learned that U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici was retiring, he said he had no doubt that Pearce would run for Senate, so he didn’t even wait for Pearce to make it official before he jumped into the congressional race.
Asked if the contributions to Pearce will harm his candidacy, Teague said he doesn’t believe they will.
A controversial helper
Some Democrats will find Teague’s acceptance of Apodaca’s help controversial. During his tenure on the commission, Apodaca was twice accused of bribery but never charged by the FBI. He had a reputation for ruling with an iron fist and a special audit found numerous problems with the operations of county government during his tenure.
Many Democrats in the county have openly expressed their dislike for Apodaca. When the governor appointed Apodaca to the state border authority in 2004, Democratic legislators from
Teague said he knows Apodaca through the state association of counties. They were commissioners at the same time. He said Apodaca offered to help him with his congressional run and he agreed, but hasn’t decided whether to hire him or keep him a volunteer.
Teague said he wasn’t aware of the controversy surrounding Apodaca.
“He might be (working for me) because I like him, but I want some more information,” Teague said.
Thus far, Teague’s campaign has only one employee – Steve Fitzer, who manages the campaign of Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and who Teague said is “on loan from Diane” until March to help him get his campaign going. Teague’s campaign manager will start Jan. 1.