Sen. Feldman announces re-election bid

State Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, has announced that she is running for re-election in District 13, which includes parts of the North Valley, mid-Heights and West Side of the city.

Feldman currently serves as chair of the Senate Public Affairs Committee and the legislature’s interim Health and Human Services Committee.

Feldman is the sponsor of two of the only health care reforms to pass in this year’s session – reforms that will to prevent insurance companies from turning down people with pre-existing conditions and attack chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, according to a news release announcing her candidacy. For years, she has spearheaded the effort to promote alternative energy, successfully sponsoring both the solar and the green-building tax credits.

A steadfast supporter of ethics and campaign-finance reform, she has pushed for public financing of elections, campaign contribution limits and open legislative committee meetings. In 2003, she was the successful sponsor of a requirement that candidates file reports electronically so they can be posted on the Internet to allow public scrutiny.

Feldman polls her active constituency every year before the session to ask for opinions on the difficult health and education issues facing the state.

“I try to listen and educate the folks back home on what is happening in Santa Fe,” she said.

Feldman often works with the Attorney General’s Office on consumer protection issues, and she has passed bills allowing consumers to freeze their credit reports and restrict unwanted telephone solicitations. She is also the architect of the state’s graduated drivers’ license program and off-highway vehicle restrictions.

“I’m trying to save lives,” Feldman said of her interest in public health. “You can do that in many ways – by training kids to be operate vehicles safely, by extending health insurance coverage, or providing access to care through a nurse hotline, or even peer counseling programs to prevent suicide.”

Feldman’s legislative work has been recognized nationally by the Women Legislators Lobby; the National Recycling Coalition, which named her “Best Elected Recycling Official;” and by her fellow legislators, who gave her the Milagro Award in 2007.

A former high school and university teacher, Feldman is the owner of a small marketing and communications company and is a former journalist. A resident of the North Valley for 32 years, she is married to Mark M. Feldman, a custom homebuilder. They have been married for 39 years and have a 25-year old daughter.