Meet ME

Growing up in a Mesilla Valley farming community instilled in me the values of honesty, integrity, hard work, and optimism.

I’m fighting to protect the freedoms that help us turn our hopes into reality — like the freedom to decide whether and when to grow our families, to support and enjoy time with our loved ones, to care for them when they’re sick without losing jobs, and to let our kids be kids and come home safely from school.

As your state representative, this means, after meeting a woman whose mother died in Chaparral while waiting for help, that I secured $5 million to build a new public safety facility that will include an ambulance bay. And I worked with doctors who live and work in Las Cruces, Chaparral and beyond to successfully reform our state’s medical malpractice laws so they can keep their practices open and serving you.

I also got officials from the school districts, Doña Ana Community College and trade unions in a room and helped them work out an agreement that gets people into careers in the building industry. And I fought for higher wages for early childhood workers who are providing care for our youngest kids.

As a community organizer, I’ve worked tirelessly alongside others to organize successful campaigns to hold big banks accountable, protect more than 200 families from foreclosure in Southern New Mexico, raise the minimum wage in Las Cruces, designate the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks as a national monument, support young immigrants applying for legal status through DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), and incorporate Anthony, N.M., as a city.

Today I own and operate my own small business; through it I train and coach community-oriented people and organizations. I am also a board member for the Native Land Institute.

I have lived in House District 53 for more than nine years with my spouse Heath, my daughter Eva, and his daughter Lily. In my free time I enjoy music, Star Wars, gardening and spending time outdoors hiking, birding and hunting.

It’s been an honor to serve you in the N.M. House of Representatives for nearly two years. I’m excited to keep doing it, and I hope you’ll vote for me on Nov. 3.

We have so much more to do – together.