{"id":22930,"date":"2010-10-29T10:36:49","date_gmt":"2010-10-29T16:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=22930"},"modified":"2010-10-29T10:36:56","modified_gmt":"2010-10-29T16:36:56","slug":"a-career-prosecutor-or-a-career-politician","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/10\/a-career-prosecutor-or-a-career-politician\/","title":{"rendered":"A career prosecutor or a career politician"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Matthew Chandler<\/p><\/div>\n

I am a prosecutor by choice. I\u2019m not in this job for a pat on the back; my gratitude comes only from knowing that I am taking on a tide the size of a tsunami, filled with crime and corruption, which, if left unchecked will rob\u00a0New Mexico\u00a0of it\u2019s true potential. This tide has stripped us all of the ability to trust public officials in our state.<\/p>\n

All my opponent manages to do is talk, but if you compare our records, only one of us has been in the trenches with law enforcement fighting the good fight. That\u2019s why\u00a0law enforcement groups\u00a0across the state are backing my candidacy, and I am honored by their support. I know that if we do not restore faith in our government,\u00a0New Mexico\u00a0will never be able to progress where it needs to the most \u2013 the economy, jobs, and our education system.<\/p>\n

With only a few days left in this election, my opponent has launched a nasty, unprovoked attack. He\u2019s running a mud-slinging ad attempting to rewrite history by maligning my record as a district attorney, which includes convicting more than 30 killers. There\u2019s one reason he\u2019s doing it: because he\u2019s about to lose his job. If you are interested in my response to these outlandish claims, and my involvement in each of these cases, read more\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a career prosecutor, I can tell you that it takes a strong team of police and prosecutors to convict a killer. It\u2019s not easy to respond to a crime scene\u00a0and view the lifeless body of another person, and set it all aside to gather the proper evidence needed to sustain a conviction. Telling someone that one of their family members has been murdered is one of the most difficult tasks I\u2019ve ever been forced to do. Signing a\u00a0death penalty notice\u00a0was no easier.<\/p>\n

And asking a jury to convict a group of cowards that shot and killed a 10-year old boy in his sleep and pleading with a judge to send the defendants to prison forever is a no-win situation – because at the end of the day the victim doesn\u2019t get the justice he deserves, and neither do the defendants.<\/p>\n

All of which my opponent has never experienced, which is why he is so quick to try and discredit our efforts.<\/p>\n

The choice is clear<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

I am the only candidate in the race who has built my career as a prosecutor. I am not leapfrogging up the ladder of political opportunism as my opponent has made a habit of doing. Remember his unsuccessful run for governor? Remember when he moved to\u00a0Southern New Mexico\u00a0so he could make a play for the state\u2019s Second Congressional seat? Ask my opponent if he has ever personally prosecuted a felony case \u2013 the answer is no.<\/p>\n

Roger Grah, captain of the\u00a0Clovis\u00a0Police Department and commander of the state\u2019s Ninth Judicial District\u2019s major crime unit, was so appalled at the attorney general\u2019s accusations that he stated, \u201cMatt Chandler has personally worked every homicide case he claims to have worked \u2013 from the crime scene to the courtroom. Shame on Gary King for calling into question Matt\u2019s tireless service on behalf of victims. And shame on him for attacking Matt\u2019s character in such a vicious, public and unfounded manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is clear that my opponent\u2019s last-ditch attempts to disparage me are what many have come to expect from career politicians, but they are nevertheless unbecoming of New Mexico\u2019s attorney general.<\/p>\n

Thousands of New Mexicans have yet to decide whom they will vote for in the AG\u2019s race, but the choice is clear: a career prosecutor or a career politician.<\/p>\n

Chandler<\/em><\/a> is the Republican candidate for attorney general.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My opponent is running a mud-slinging ad attempting to rewrite history by maligning my record as a district attorney for one reason: because he\u2019s about to lose his job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1583,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-22930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-2010-election","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22930","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\/1583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}