{"id":1094,"date":"2007-01-12T04:58:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-12T10:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/a-surprising-victory-has-all-eyes-on-rep-cote\/"},"modified":"2007-01-12T04:58:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-12T10:58:00","slug":"a-surprising-victory-has-all-eyes-on-rep-cote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/a-surprising-victory-has-all-eyes-on-rep-cote\/","title":{"rendered":"A surprising victory has all eyes on Rep. Cote"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Nate Cote is fairly unassuming and soft-spoken. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why longtime state Rep. Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> underestimated him in last year\u2019s election. Marquardt, a Republican and 12-year representative of House District 53, lost to Cote<\/st1:place>, a Democrat, by 199 votes, or 2.8 percent. With the help of Democratic leaders in Santa Fe<\/st1:city>, Cote<\/st1:place> outspent Marquardt by about $12,000.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place>, 60, also out-hustled his opponent. Cote<\/st1:place> and a group of his supporters went door-to-door throughout the two-county district, and many homes had several visits. Residents of the district consistently received mailers promoting Cote<\/st1:place> and attacking Marquardt for several months, but didn\u2019t start receiving Marquardt-promoting mailers until a few weeks before the election.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, Marquardt told me a few weeks before Election Day, he saw no chance that Cote<\/st1:place> would beat him and wasn\u2019t worried. Cote<\/st1:place>\u2019s victory has a few Republicans scratching their heads \u2013 some saw this coming \u2013 and earns the freshman lawmaker immediate respect in his own party.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> is one of several rookie House members who will start their first legislative session on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> said his door-to-door philosophy will continue, now that he\u2019s won the election, with regular meetings in communities throughout his district.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cMy predecessor did none of these things, and I think that contributed to his downfall,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said. \u201cIf you listen to people and they feel like you are listening, that\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018Familiar with public policy\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> knows how to be an effective communicator. He spent 30 years as a human relations employee with the U.S. Air Force doing just that.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In addition to being stationed in various locations in the United States<\/st1:country-region>, Cote has worked in South Korea<\/st1:country-region>, Germany<\/st1:country-region> and Portugal<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. He has negotiated resolutions with employee unions, including working through a strike of more than 3,000 employees in South Korea<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. He said he also dealt with \u201cdiscriminatory issues\u201d at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> before he retired in 2003.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a career of implementing and administering law and regulations, all involving national security and military issues,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said. \u201cI\u2019m very familiar with public policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place>\u2019s career in the Air Force was backed up by his four years of service in the U.S. Navy, in addition to three master\u2019s degrees in public administration, human resources and human relations, and a doctorate in education.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> draws from the last degree for his second career as an educator. He has been teaching college courses for several years, and is currently the director of academics for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University\u2019s<\/a> campus at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. He also teaches courses for New Mexico<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype>\u2019s Do\u00f1a Ana and Alamogordo<\/st1:city> branch campuses, and teaches from time to time at Fort<\/st1:placetype> Bliss<\/st1:placename> in El Paso<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He\u2019ll even be doing some online teaching for the NMSU campuses while he\u2019s in Santa Fe<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> during this year\u2019s legislative session.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018So many things to be done\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That range of experience, Cote<\/st1:place> said, is reflective of his diverse interests and goals.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many things to be done,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just going to be a lot of work, and I have a lot of priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> listed higher education as a major priority. He wants to expand the lottery scholarship. He also spoke of the need to improve public safety. Cote said he is currently working with Do\u00f1a Ana County Sheriff Todd Garrison to get a substation on the mesa east of Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

With the exception of one precinct in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename> and another in Otero<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype>, Cote<\/st1:place> said the residents of his district lack basic infrastructure. That raises the topic of flooding, which he called his \u201cNo. 1 issue.\u201d There was severe flooding this summer in both counties he represents.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place>\u2019s concerns about poverty go beyond infrastructure. He specifically pointed out the one precinct in his district located in Chaparral as a place that needs a lot of help, and shared his belief that poverty has a lot to do with circumstance and a lack of opportunity.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cMy big thing is giving them the choices,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said. \u201cI want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Veterans\u2019 issues are another topic important to Cote<\/st1:place>. He said he will work on securing tax relief for veterans and free access to state parks for disabled veterans.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also talked about protecting the environment. He was raised on a family farm in Maine<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> and said he has a basic understanding of agricultural issues and how they relate to the environment. As an avid backpacker, Cote has hiked most of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> in his 11 years here, \u201cso I know its beauty and I want to preserve as much of that as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the reasons Cote and his wife of 26 years, a naturalized U.S.<\/st1:country-region> citizen from Korea<\/st1:country-region>, decided to retire in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>. They have one adult daughter who is a dermatologist in Atlanta<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at the Las Cruces<\/st1:city> area and we found five acres at the foot of the mountains that we couldn\u2019t resist,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said. \u201cI mean, how great is it to wake up every morning and look at the Organ<\/st1:placename> Mountains<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> said he understands that development is necessary, \u201cwe\u2019ve just got to move very cautiously.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He is a supporter of one major development project \u2013 Spaceport America<\/a> in Sierra<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. He said the space industry is already having an impact by bringing money into the local economy, and noted that it\u2019s generally an environmentally friendly industry.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s the future,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said. \u201cIf we can make it work, I think it\u2019s a very good thing for the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u2018The ultimate community service job\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place>\u2019s only caution about the spaceport is that a lot of taxpayer money will be spent on the project, and the state needs to guard against its misuse. He noted the recent scandals that have plagued state government as a reason to be careful.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to make sure we have the right management and oversight of the program,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On another topic that has ethical implications \u2013 the recent vote by House Democrats to keep Ben Lujan as their speaker, Cote<\/st1:place> would not reveal how he voted. He did say that he doesn\u2019t think the division revealed when Ken Martinez challenged Ben Lujan will affect Democrats\u2019 ability to work together during the session. He also said he doesn\u2019t expect there to be any retribution against \u201cthe members who wanted to run for leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Cote<\/st1:place> also said he is a big supporter of Gov. Bill Richardson.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a high regard for Gov. Richardson. He\u2019s only human and he does have his weaknesses,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said, while declining to name them. \u201cI really think that his programs and initiatives so far have pushed us in a very good direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He is glad Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> will ask the Legislature to approve the creation of a state ethics commission, and said he plans to vote to create such a body.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to hold our people accountable. We can\u2019t let them get away with corruption,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He also supports, as does Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, the proposal to ban cockfighting, but says his support for animal rights goes far beyond that.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cDomesticated animals depend on us to take care of them, not to put them in harm\u2019s way, and I intend to do just that,\u201d Cote<\/st1:place> said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Asked whether he has plans for a higher office, Cote<\/st1:place> said he has \u201cno immediate future ambitions\u201d and is excited about being a legislator.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the ultimate community service job because it doesn\u2019t pay and it takes a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize how much time and effort is required for this.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nate Cote is fairly unassuming and soft-spoken. Maybe that\u2019s why longtime state Rep. Terry Marquardt of Alamogordo underestimated him in last year\u2019s election. Marquardt, a Republican and 12-year representative of House District 53, lost to Cote, a Democrat, by 199 votes, or 2.8 percent. With the help of Democratic leaders in Santa Fe, Cote outspent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}