Rio Arriba County lost true representation when U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici decided to not run for another term. That was bad but what’s worse is that we’ll lose U.S. Rep. Tom Udall in the House of Representatives. Udall could always be counted on to respond to the public’s concerns quickly and in a fair manner.
The silver lining around the cloud is that we could keep Udall’s representation, albeit as a senator, a little more powerful than a representative.
Udall’s moderate approach to Rio Arriba County issues can be counted on as a senator. Those who have trouble with his vote to cut national laboratory funding need to take a closer look at it. His vote was reflective of a changing attitude away from building more nuclear weapons and maintaining old ones. Udall would like to see the mission slowly change at the labs. His vote was not about cutting jobs. Don’t be frightened. Change is good.
Udall was a champion for the County during our musical chairs game with rural post offices. His office was responsive, decisive and fair.
Udall would like to see a change in the US Patriot Act, a law that intrudes into our privacy and daily lives. Udall would like sunset clauses and less intrusion. Steve Pearce would like to make the act permanent.
Udall voted against the recent bailout because he wanted the aid to go to those on the ground in need, not banks and Wall Street investors. He’s receptive to new ideas in health care, including some government oversight, which is badly needed. We need a sound leader and someone ready to represent Rio Arriba at the national level. Tom Udall can be counted on to do that.
Vote for Tom Udall for U.S. Senator.
Carol Miller has many advantages over her two opponents in the District 3 U.S. congressional race but the two biggest are her education and experience. We could write at length about her education and her work in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico and Washington D.C. We encourage you to go to her website www.carolmillercongress.com and read for yourself.
Miller has a Bachelors in Art from Wheaton College and a Masters in public health from the University of California at Berkeley. She has a Certificate in Bioethics from Georgetown University and studied Education and Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.
Ben Ray Lujan sprinted through classes at Highlands to get a diploma in time to run for congress.
She’s worked for Gov. Gary Johnson and Gov. Bill Richardson. She’s worked with the Bush number one administration and the Clinton administration. While politicians talk about needing to reach across the aisle, Miller has done it routinely for 20 years. She’s worked in Washington, helped draft bills and get them passed. She knows Washington and has worked in the system from a grass roots level.
Ben Ray Lujan is coming out of a political job at the Public Regulation Commission.
Miller works well with the two major parties because she’s not interested in what your party line beliefs are, she’s interested in bringing the necessary people together to get a job done, whether it’s health care distribution improvement, national affordable housing projects or a drug task force.
Miller is hands down the most qualified person to be our next Congresswoman. She knows more about the needs, shortfalls and problems in Rio Arriba County than her two opponents combined. And she knows how to solve these problems, how to fill the gaps and improve our way of life.
Lujan won the primary on Democratic favors for his dad. Should he win, he will have to repay those favors. Please look at his donors listed on page A10. That’s who he owes. He must toe the Democratic party line. That’s not true representation.
As Miller says, “I’m running against la machina.” That’s a shame. Democrats in Rio Arriba County must wake up to the fact they’re blindly voting for unqualified people and start thinking outside that narrow little “D” box. Have you noticed things don’t improve here while we continue to send the same old sad stories to the same old political positions? If we want things to change for the better, we must send qualified people to do our bidding, not political hacks with connections and the right family name.
Miller has answers for us. She can help improve Rio Arriba County.
Vote for Carol Miller for U.S. Congress. If in four years you don’t like what she’s done, then send an anointed Democrat to Washington.
Keeping with our theme of electing unqualified people because they have the correct last name, please don’t even consider voting for Jerome Block Jr. After all the run around, double talking and deceit, what would you really expect from him should he make it to the Public Regulatory Commission?
As in the congressional race, the most qualified person in the PRC race lost in the primary. Bruce Throne didn’t have the correct last name or party blessing.
Block Jr. is running against green party candidate Rick Lass. Lass is a straight up guy with a history of honest dealings with the public in the areas of voter registration and public financing for campaigns, the same act that allowed Block Jr. to receive public financing.
When Think New Mexico first fought to remove gross receipts tax from food and medicine, Lass was an advocate. He has ideas about renewable energy and helping rural communities.
Most importantly, Lass is college educated and is honest. That alone puts him light years ahead of Block Jr.
Vote for Rick Lass for PRC Commissioner District 3.