Rep. Eleanor Chavez, D-Albuquerque
Chavez is the third House member to announce a run for an open Senate seat rather than seeking re-election this year.
State Rep. Eleanor Chavez announced today that she’s running for an open Senate seat rather than seeking re-election to the House this year.
Chavez, D-Albuquerque, will run for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Eric Griego, who is giving up that seat to run for the U.S. House.
“For 27 years, I have made this community my home,” Chavez said in a news release. “I have raised my four children here and am now the proud grandmother of three. I know that working families need access to the best schools, access to a quality, affordable health care, and good jobs.”
Chavez joins a primary that includes Democrat Michael Padilla, the CEO of Altivus CRM Solutions. She’s already taking a shot at Padilla, pointing this out in her news release:
“In 2007, ten female employees at the city of Albuquerque’s 311 and 911 call center filed a hostile work environment complaint against Padilla. In 2011, Altivus was also hired by MVD officials to handle calls coming in from 10,000 immigrants whose driver’s licenses were called for review by the Martinez Administration.”
Senate candidate Michael Padilla
Chavez also provided this link to an article about Padilla.
The Roundhouse shakeup
Chavez is the third House member to announce a run for an open Senate seat rather than seeking re-election this year. The others are Democrats Bill O’Neill of Albuquerque, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Dede Feldman; and Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces, who is running for the seat Cynthia Nava is vacating.
Other House members who aren’t seeking re-election – they’re all Democrats – include Joni Gutierrez of Mesilla, who is instead seeking the political position of Democratic national committeewoman for New Mexico; Al Park of Albuquerque, who is running for a seat on the Public Regulation Commission; and Speaker Ben Luján of Námbe and Danice Picraux of Albuquerque, who are retiring (read about Luján’s retirement here).
Several senators are also not seeking re-election. In addition to Democrats Griego, Feldman and Nava, they include Republicans Clinton Harden of Clovis, Vernon Asbill of Carlsbad and Mark Boitano of Albuquerque, and Democrat Steve Fischmann of Mesilla Park, who are all retiring. Read about Harden’s departure here, Asbill’s here, Boitano’s here and Fischmann’s here.
No one has yet jumped into the race to replace Chavez in the House.
Chavez’s pledges
In her news release, Chavez said she has been a “champion for increasing access to quality, affordability health care and to a quality education. She also supported and championed legislation to close tax loopholes for out of state corporations to level the playing field for New Mexico’s small businesses.”
She’s a community organizer and the former director of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees District 1199 N.M.
As a senator, Chavez pledged to work to support small businesses, increase teacher pay and school funding, oppose cuts to Medicaid, advocate for safe and fair working conditions, and increase transparency in the state budget. She sponsored a tax-expenditure budget billin 2011, but the governor vetoed it.
Update, March 6, 7:15 a.m.
Padilla sent his own announcement with a number of endorsements, including that of State Rep. Kiki Saavedra, D-Albuquerque.
Here’s how he characterized the issues Chavez raised:
“Michael is the founder of Albuquerque’s highly successful 311 Citizen Contact Center. After three years of building 311 into a world class government service, Michael was asked to fix the massive problems plaguing Albuquerque’s 911 center. He exposed massive problems at 911, and offered a series of recommendations to fix the problems. ‘It was my privilege to serve the citizens of Albuquerque by building 311 and fixing the problems at 911, and I will not back down when it comes to the challenges of Albuquerque’s South Valley, Southwest Mesa, and South Broadway areas,’ Padilla said.
“Michael’s company also fought hard to win the contract to ensure that immigrants were treated fairly and with respect while their driver’s licenses were being checked by the Martinez Administration. ‘I wanted to make sure that all immigrants were treated fairly and with respect while the Martinez administration checked thousands of driver’s licenses last fall,’ said Padilla.”