{"id":1095,"date":"2007-01-12T05:02:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-12T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/though-a-rookie-steinborn-sounds-like-a-veteran\/"},"modified":"2007-01-12T05:02:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-12T11:02:00","slug":"though-a-rookie-steinborn-sounds-like-a-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/01\/though-a-rookie-steinborn-sounds-like-a-veteran\/","title":{"rendered":"Though a rookie, Steinborn sounds like a veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Though it wasn\u2019t until November that he won his first election, Jeff Steinborn comes across as a seasoned politician. <\/p>\n

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

A look at his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 reveals that Steinborn, the newly elected District 37 state representative and a Democrat, has about as much experience as is possible without holding elected office. Steinborn has worked in many areas in politics \u2013 as a congressional aide, a campaign worker, an activist and lobbyist, and as chair of the Do\u00f1a Ana County Democratic Party.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn is one of several freshman House members who will start their first legislative session on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn, whose father is former Las Cruces Mayor David Steinborn, said he first got involved in politics while a student at the University<\/st1:placetype> of Texas<\/st1:placename> at Austin<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>. He spent his high-school years in a controlled environment at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, but began paying attention to politics a couple of years later during the 1988 presidential race. He said it was, for him, the discovery of a whole new world.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSuddenly, my eyes were wide open to this race and the differences in each candidate,\u201d Steinborn said.<\/p>\n

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

After that, he became an avid watcher of American politics, and in particular the work of Congress.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019d watch C-SPAN for hours and watch these guys debate on the floor,\u201d he said. \u201cThe overwhelming thing that drew me into it was how unique and how important our country is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

An internship with Public Citizen<\/a> and a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science helped the young, idealistic Steinborn see the \u201cpotential for tremendous good\u201d in a life dedicated to public policy.<\/p>\n

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

Now 36, Steinborn still has that idealism, but his vast experience in the political arena has made him more seasoned. Before his first run for office in 2004, Steinborn worked as a legislative aide for Bill Richardson when he was a congressman and as an adviser and staffer for Sen. Jeff Bingaman, in addition to working on Tom Udall\u2019s 1998 congressional campaign and with several non-profit activist groups.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cA person shouldn\u2019t really run for office until they have the experience to do that and know they can do a good job,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t do it for a title or paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u2018An agent of change\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Steinborn said his work for politicians and activist groups gave him the experience to know this was his calling.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m an agent of change,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cI\u2019m not here because I think the status quo is hunky dory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn\u2019s ambitious, tireless drive may be his most criticized attribute, but it\u2019s also what earns him the most praise. As a Democrat who is fairly liberal on most issues, Steinborn is an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce and many other high-profile Republicans. He\u2019s a strong environmentalist who works for a non-profit conservation group, the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

His ambition rubs many the wrong way. Some see him as being overly partisan. At the same time, some party insiders don\u2019t like that he enters a situation and immediately pushes for change, at times stepping on the toes of more veteran politicos in the process.<\/p>\n

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

Others say more politicians should challenge the status quo in that way. Die-hard environmentalists and other liberals living in Steinborn\u2019s district were among the most passionate supporters of any House candidate in the state last year.<\/p>\n

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

He is often painted as a partisan player, but Steinborn insists he is not. One example he cites is his commitment to reducing the national debt \u2013 a topic that is currently hot among Democrats but that Steinborn has promoted for years. He also pointed out his \u201cA\u201d rating from the National Rifle Association.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m a new Democrat, a new leader who understands that we all have to work together,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ll do at every turn. I\u2019m not interested in partisan solutions. I\u2019m interested in good legislation and good solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn said that\u2019s why he is an enthusiastic supporter of Gov. Richardson.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWe have an incredible governor who, while I may not agree with him all the time \u2013 and I will certainly be independent \u2013 is on the right track,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cHe\u2019s concerned with solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Narrowly winning election<\/span><\/p>\n

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

It wasn\u2019t until his third try in November that Steinborn was elected to public office. He spent more than $100,000 \u2013 a massive amount for a state legislative race \u2013 to defeat Republican Scott Witt by 309 votes, a margin of 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n

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

But it wasn\u2019t just money that won him votes. Steinborn was a tireless campaigner. On June 7, the day after last year\u2019s primary election, there wasn\u2019t much campaign activity going on. General election campaigning hadn\u2019t really started, but Steinborn, who didn\u2019t have a primary opponent, was knocking on doors in the Las Colinas subdivision off U.S. Highway 70.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004, losing in the June primary to Democrat Gary King, now the state\u2019s attorney general. Fresh off that loss, the Democratic Party put Steinborn on the ticket to run against Republican William \u201cEd\u201d Boykin for the House District 37 seat in November 2004 after Ray Storment dropped out of the race.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn lost by 344 votes.<\/p>\n

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

He said he was pretty certain at the time he would run for the seat again in 2006. Though he nearly won in 2004 despite not having much time to organize, Steinborn knew securing victory would be difficult. The district is a moderate one that both parties expect to be hotly contested for years.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn outspent Witt by about $50,000 to win by only a few hundred votes. He\u2019s the first Democrat to hold the seat in 14 years.<\/p>\n

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

\u2018Really honored to be a state representative\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

With that in mind, Steinborn said he plans to use his time wisely. In addition to environmental issues, Steinborn said he has many other passions, including improved border security, accessible health care, veterans\u2019 issues and ethics reform.<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn said it\u2019s hard to say whether he\u2019ll carry legislation that relates to environmental issues, but he doesn\u2019t see a conflict with his job. For starters, the Wilderness Alliance works mostly on the federal level.<\/p>\n

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

Beyond that, Steinborn said, he has a general problem with legislators who \u201ccarry legislation related to their industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019ve always found that personally distasteful,\u201d he said, adding that he\u2019ll recuse himself from votes if necessary, but will make such decisions on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n

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

On another topic that has ethical implications, Steinborn would not reveal how he voted in last month\u2019s contest for speaker of the House. Democrats opted to keep Ben Lujan as speaker despite questions about his relationship to a lobbyist and former housing authority director, and the way he has handled capital outlay and procedural issues.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI feel that I voted in the best way for my district, and the state of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>, and it was an ethical vote,\u201d Steinborn said. \u201cI just don\u2019t feel that it\u2019s appropriate to discuss it beyond that at this time. \u2026 I have to work with all these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Steinborn said he knows he has a lot to learn and a team with which he has to work. He said he is anxious to start the session next week and get his feet wet.<\/p>\n

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

When asked if he has future ambitions to run for Congress or another higher office, Steinborn wouldn\u2019t say.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe old axiom in politics is you never say never and you keep your options open,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know what the future brings. For now, I\u2019m just really honored to be a state representative.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though it wasn\u2019t until November that he won his first election, Jeff Steinborn comes across as a seasoned politician. A look at his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 reveals that Steinborn, the newly elected District 37 state representative and a Democrat, has about as much experience as is possible without holding elected office. Steinborn has worked in many areas […]<\/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-1095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095","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=1095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}