NMPolitics.net (https://nmpolitics.net/index/category/guest-columns/page/74/)
Learning begins at birth. We need to ensure that parents have the supports and resources they need to make the best of their children’s earliest years. We need to ensure that children are ready to start school by the time they reach kindergarten. Continue Reading
Public officials and employees must embrace the idea that providing the public with public records is an important and integral part of their jobs, and not an extra duty to be fulfilled only when it is convenient. Continue Reading
As a lifelong resident of New Mexico and a small business owner, I believe in necessary community programs and services such as police and fire protection, public education and roads – and I am more than willing to pay my fair share to fund them. It is unfortunate that many out-of-state corporations do not feel or do the same. Continue Reading
Last year the Legislature passed landmark reforms of the State Investment Council (SIC) in response to conflicts of interest, legal investigations and governance challenges at the SIC. Now it is time to finish the job of reforming our state’s $15 billion investment funds. Continue Reading
Open access to the Gila has always made this a treasure to be enjoyed by all. Now, the Forest Service wants to take away that freedom. Continue Reading
I am not writing this post to report something you may or may not know, but to send a message to the House leadership. The fact of the matter is that Andy Nuñez is not the only one of his colleagues who is more than upset with his leadership. Continue Reading
State government is going on a diet, and like any successful diet, it will take dedication, time and a lifestyle change to see long-lasting results. Continue Reading
We had a golden opportunity with Joseph Cervantes to put an honest, ethical individual in power who could bring us into a new era of transparency and ethics in government. Both parties blew it. Continue Reading
If New Mexico taxpayers are smart, they’ll phase out or abandon welfare payments for movies, provide the limited exemptions necessary to attract Union Pacific, and work to make the state’s tax and regulatory climates more attractive to generate more growth at home. Continue Reading
New Mexico’s combination of natural resources, transportation infrastructure and technological know-how puts our state in a great strategic position to pursue the development of a biofuels economy. Whether we are talking about communities like Columbus or Portales, our rural communities stand to benefit. Continue Reading
As a school nurse, I suspect there are some legislators who consider me, and others providing support services, expendable. Perhaps this is because they have no idea how I directly impact a student’s ability to succeed in school. Continue Reading
I hope our new governor will not turn her back on the opportunities the Affordable Care Act opens up for New Mexicans, and the jobs it has already created here in the state.
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As Chinese President Hu Jintao completes his state visit to the United States, my fellow New Mexicans should consider this key fact: For four of the last 10 years, China was New Mexico’s number one export market, supporting thousands of jobs. Continue Reading
In a recent piece, Paul Gessing gets it wrong when he states that New Mexico public services can continue to be slashed. Where Mr. Gessing, where? Continue Reading
The last election showed that social media was a predictor on a national level and played an important part at the local level here in New Mexico. But now that the election is over, is it affecting the ways in which we interact with our elected officials? You bet. Continue Reading