{"id":2954,"date":"2008-03-07T13:02:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-07T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/mckinnon-says-hes-not-just-the-anti-nuke-candidate\/"},"modified":"2008-03-07T13:02:00","modified_gmt":"2008-03-07T19:02:00","slug":"mckinnon-says-hes-not-just-the-anti-nuke-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/03\/mckinnon-says-hes-not-just-the-anti-nuke-candidate\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinnon says he’s not just the ‘anti-nuke candidate’"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the ninth in an occasional series of articles based on conversations with the Second Congressional District candidates. Articles on each candidate who agrees to an interview will run before the parties\u2019 preprimary nominating conventions on March 15.<\/span> <\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Frank McKinnon<\/a> says he\u2019s not just the \u201canti-nuke candidate\u201d in the race to replace Steve Pearce<\/a> in Congress, but he talks about combating the spread of the nuclear industry in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> and changing the nation\u2019s energy policy more than any other issues.<\/p>\n

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

\n

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\u201cIf I don\u2019t succeed at doing that then the rest of this stuff\u2019s not going to matter a whole lot,\u201d McKinnon said of many other issues that he said are also important.<\/p>\n

\n

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

McKinnon, in an interview, said he first entered the race to bring attention to the spread of the nuclear industry in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. He hoped one of the other Democrats in the race would agree to take on the issue. None would, and McKinnon now says he\u2019s going to be in politics for a long time.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cLife was good before I got into this election,\u201d said McKinnon, a Democrat. \u201cI tried to get out of it, but there are obvious good reasons for me to stay in it, in my opinion, because if I don\u2019t, we\u2019re toast.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The other Democrats in the race are retired Presbyterian pastor Al Kissling<\/a>, Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley<\/a> and former Lea County Commissioner Harry Teague<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

McKinnon\u2019s other issues<\/span><\/p>\n

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

McKinnon is an educator from Roswell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, and he and his wife own three businesses, including a locksmith outlet. In 2002, he became involved in studying an EPA superfund site on a kid\u2019s camp in Arkansas<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> that he inherited from his father. He blames the chemical company that polluted the site for the death of his father, and refers repeatedly to the situation when talking about government reform.<\/p>\n

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

He has a Web site<\/a> to educate people about that situation.<\/p>\n

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

In 2007, he became heavily involved in a fight against a proposal to put a nuclear waste reprocessing plant near Roswell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. He has a lot of information about that on his personal Web site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

In the interview, McKinnon listed other issues that are important in his campaign. He said he would vote to end the Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> war. He wants to \u201chelp veterans both with medical care and with the help that kids are going to need when they get back from Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> in adjusting to civilian life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\n

He wants to implement what he calls \u201ccivilized medicine,\u201d but what many others call socialized medicine, saying that would help meet the needs of Americans and would reduce poverty, alcohol and drug addictions and crimes that result from those problems. He said he is a strong proponent of the nation\u2019s public education system.<\/p>\n

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

But his passion is most evident when he\u2019s talking about the nuclear industry and changes he says need to be made in the nation\u2019s energy policy.<\/p>\n

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

\u2018An insidious thing\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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

McKinnon said \u201can insidious thing\u201d is happening. People, including some of his opponents, are inappropriately lumping nuclear energy into talk of alternative and renewable energy. Nuclear energy is not renewable, he said, and nuclear power plants produce toxic emissions and radioactive waste. The worst part, he said, is trying to figure out where to put the waste.<\/p>\n

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

Many of his opponents want to increase use of nuclear energy, and U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a> has been one of the leading voices in favor of what McKinnon calls the \u201cnuclear renaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

He believes the industry has a plan to turn New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> into the nuclear repository for the nation. Waste will go to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant<\/a> near Carlsbad<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. One uranium enrichment facility has already been built in Lea<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>, and area politicians are recruiting a second. There\u2019s also the proposed facility near Roswell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. McKinnon points to a recent application to store radioactive material at a landfill in Sunland<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype> as evidence that the plan includes all of Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

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

And he believes the plan spreads north to old uranium mines near Socorro and Grants.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSo that little nuclear renaissance that I\u2019m trying to stop is not just in Southeastern New Mexico<\/st1:place>,\u201d McKinnon said. \u201cThe final closing will be if we get someone elected who\u2019s been funded by the nuclear industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

He says New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>\u2019s GOP members of Congress are in the pocket of the nuclear industry. He has accused McCamley and Teague of also being bought off. Though Kissling hasn\u2019t taken money from people tied to the nuclear industry, he also supports increased use of nuclear power, so McKinnon discounts his candidacy.<\/p>\n

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

A radical new energy policy<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Instead of a shift to nuclear, McKinnon said the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> can completely eliminate its dependence on foreign oil by utilizing clean technologies. His ideas for cleaning up the environment and ending oil dependence come from in part from his experience in dealing with the superfund site at the camp and his protest of the nuclear facility near Roswell<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

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

McKinnon said the energy shift can be complete in a few years and would reduce the nation\u2019s energy costs by two-thirds. That, he said, would free up money to pay back the nation\u2019s debt.<\/p>\n

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

\n

It can be done entirely with renewable energy generated by wind, solar, hydrogen and tidal power, McKinnon said. The hydrogen power could come from several technologies, including saltwater and electricity generated by turbines that are spun by the tides of the ocean. Automobiles can affordably be converted from gas power to hydrogen power, he said.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of different ways to have renewable energy,\u201d McKinnon said. \u201cWe could provide all our energy needs with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Better oversight<\/span><\/p>\n

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

McKinnon also talks frequently about a related issue, improving oversight of the Department of Energy and other government agencies. It\u2019s another passion that comes from his experiences with the superfund site and the nuclear facility.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt\u2019s been quite an education,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 It would certainly be a better world if there was some oversight in Washington<\/st1:city>, D.C.<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThere are a lot of things that could be done in reorganizing things to better the way we spend the money of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

\u2018People are right there with me\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

McKinnon said his message is resonating with voters. He said he has more than enough support to get the 20 percent of delegates at the Democratic Party\u2019s March 15 preprimary convention that he needs to appear on the ballot.<\/p>\n

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

He has raised and spent little on his campaign, but said he could win if he had a few thousand dollars to educate people about the nuclear industry\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve found at these forums is most of the people are right there with me,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I had a couple hundred signs and a couple of thousands dollars for radio ads, I could win this thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

This congressional seat, he said, \u201chas been traditionally held by oil men.\u201d They\u2019re afraid to give it up to a candidate like him, he said, because they have a personal interest in the nation\u2019s use of oil. But McKinnon said the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> will always need oil for asphalt, plastic and other materials.<\/p>\n

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

Because of the history and makeup of this congressional district, he said, its representative is \u201cin a very strong position to determine what kind of energy we\u2019ll be using.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m going to keep making noise until I\u2019ve either protected our home or we don\u2019t have one,\u201d McKinnon said.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, March 9, 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

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

\n

After this article was originally published, McKinnon took issue with the fact that I didn\u2019t report that getting out of Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> is his top priority. That\u2019s because he didn\u2019t say that during our initial interview, but I decided to include brief follow-up comments:<\/p>\n

\n

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

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McKinnon said his top priority is ending the war. He said the world\u2019s dependency on oil for fuel and the injustice that has occurred in Israel<\/st1:country-region> and Palestine<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> for 60 years are among the causes of the war.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThese will not be easy problems to solve, but the first step in solving them will be to recognize them,\u201d he said. \u201cThen, a good step to take will be to start using something other than oil for energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\n

This posting has also been updated to clarify that hydrogen power can be generated by several different methods, and that McKinnon\u2019s \u201ccivilized medicine,\u201d in his view, is similar to what others call socialized medicine.<\/p>\n

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

Prior interviews with Second Congressional District candidates:<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Terry Marquardt<\/a>, published March 4, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Monty Newman<\/a>, published Feb. 27, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Bill McCamley<\/a>, published Feb. 20, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Ed Tinsley<\/a>, published Feb. 18, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 C. Earl Greer<\/a>, published Feb. 14, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Al Kissling<\/a>, published Jan. 28, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Aubrey L. Dunn Jr.<\/a>, published Jan. 14, 2008<\/p>\n

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

\u2022 Harry Teague<\/a>, published Dec. 20, 2007<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the ninth in an occasional series of articles based on conversations with the Second Congressional District candidates. Articles on each candidate who agrees to an interview will run before the parties\u2019 preprimary nominating conventions on March 15. Frank McKinnon says he\u2019s not just the \u201canti-nuke candidate\u201d in the race to replace Steve Pearce […]<\/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-2954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954","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=2954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2954\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}