THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
OF LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO

CANDIDATES FOR STATE AND DISTRICT OFFICES

Public Regulation Commission, Third District

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) regulates the public utilities, telecommunications companies, motor carriers, and insurance industries to ensure fair and reasonable rates, and to assure reasonable and adequate services to the public as provided by law. The PRC also has responsibility for the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Firefighter Training Academy, Pipeline Safety and the registration of all corporations doing business in New Mexico.

Commissioners are elected in staggered four-year terms from five districts. Five persons serve on the PRC.

The Third District includes Los Alamos County and the northeastern part of New Mexico.

Candidates were allowed 65 words to respond to each question below.

Jerome D. Block Jr. (Democrat)

1. Describe your qualifications and pertinent experiences that have prepared you for this position.
   
   My training and work experience are in finance. I have started from scratch and managed bank branches and supervised multiple employees. I have also worked in the industry, which gives me a perspective of a regulated entity, as well as being a regulator. I believe that my financial experience will be invaluable in evaluating the many complicated issues that come before the PRC.


2. What do you see as the most significant issues, short term and long term, for the PRC?
   
   The PRC deals with utility costs and services. Energy costs are volatile and subject to high prices. Telecommunications services are important; it is paramount that the customers are able to access services to connect to the outside world to advance their personal and professional growth. I will work to make sure that medical services are properly covered and that home and auto policies are fair.


3. How would you assure that you and your staff are independent of the industries the PRC regulates?
   
   In my role as commissioner, I will always keep the public interest in mind when evaluating all issues before the PRC. I plan to do this with fairness, integrity, and accountability. I will take office with an open mind and never be submissive to special interest groups or large corporations. As commissioner, all decisions made will be closely evaluated, and in the best interest of ...


4. If elected, do you intend to be employed in another capacity?
   
   I have no outside interests that will prevent me from being at the office daily. I plan on being a hands on, "full time" commissioner. I do do not intend to be employed in any other capacity.

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Rick Lass (Green)

1. Describe your qualifications and pertinent experiences that have prepared you for this position.
   
   I have worked as membership director for the Santa Fe Independent Business Alliance, and understand the difficulties facing our local businesses. As director of Voting Matters, I advocate for good government and democracy. I lobbied to repeal the tax on food and to raise the minimum wage. I am dedicated to being a true public servant, not just another rubber stamp for the big corporations.


2. What do you see as the most significant issues, short term and long term, for the PRC?
   
   The most important thing for the PRC is to protect everyday New Mexicans against unchecked corporate greed. Keeping utility and insurance rates affordable for consumers, working people, and small businesses is one way to do so, and making sure that insurance corporations provide comprehensive coverage is another. One long term goal is making New Mexico a national leader in renewable technologies like wind and solar.


3. How would you assure that you and your staff are independent of the industries the PRC regulates?
   
   I am committed to representing my constituents and all New Mexicans. As a publicly financed candidate, I am not taking money from regulated industries, or any other private money. As an Independent Commissioner, I will not be beholden to corporate interests nor to pressures brought by the state's major political parties.


4. If elected, do you intend to be employed in another capacity?
   
   No, being a Public Regulation Commissioner will be a full time job, and then some. I do intend to continue to stay abreast of activities of Voting Matters, the nonprofit election reform organization of which I am a founder and director.

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N.M. Senate

There are 42 members in the N.M. Senate. All seats will be filled in the 208 General Election. The Legislative sessions begin on the third Tuesday of January. In odd-numbered years, these last 60 days; in even-numbered years, 30 days. Senators are elected for four-year terms.

Los Alamos is split into three Senate Districts, none of which offers a contested race in 2008.

N.M. Senate District 5

Senate District 5 includes the part of the Los Alamos townsite north of the Pueblo Canyon landfill bridge (precincts 12 through 17, including Quemazon), together with parts of Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties.

Richard C. Martinez (Democrat)

Unopposed

N.M. Senate District 6

Senate District 6 includes White Rock proper (precincts 2-6), together with parts of Taos, Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties.

Carlos R. Cisneros (Democrat)

Unopposed

N.M. Senate District 39

Senate District 39 includes the part of the Los Alamos townsite south of the Pueblo Canyon landfill bridge (precincts 7-11) and Pajarito Acres, La Senda and Karen Circle (precinct 1), together with parts of Taos, Mora, San Miguel, Santa Fe and Sandoval Counties.

Phil A. Griego (Democrat)

Unopposed

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N.M. House of Representatives, 43rd District

There are 70 members in the N.M. House of Representatives. All seats will be filled in the 2008 General Election. The Legislative sessions begin on the third Tuesday of January. In odd-numbered years, these last 60 days; in even-numbered years, 30 days. Representatives are elected for two-year terms. The 43rd District includes Los Alamos and parts of Sandoval and Santa Fe Counties.

Jeannette Wallace (Republican)

Unopposed

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District Attorney, First Judicial District

New Mexico District Courts handle civil suits involving real estate or claims over $10,000, juvenile cases, divorce and child custody, criminal felony cases, and appeals from lower courts. The First Judicial District of New Mexico includes Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties.

Angela R. "Spence" Pacheco (Democrat)

Unopposed

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Justice of the Supreme Court

The five justices on the Supreme Court justices are elected by all voters in the state and serve eight-year terms. The Supreme Court is located in Santa Fe and serves as the administrative head of the New Mexico judicial branch of government. It is the "court of last resort" for state appellate actions, regulates attorneys and judges, and has superintending control over all lower state courts. It has jurisdiction over civil cases where jurisdiction is not specifically vested in the state Court of Appeals, appeals from criminal cases imposing the death penalty or life imprisonment, appeals from decisions of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, certiorari review of state Court of Appeals decisions, and cases certified to it by the state Court of Appeals or any federal court. To be eligible to hold the office of Justice of the Supreme Court, a person must be 35 years old, have practiced law for at least 10 years, and have resided in New Mexico for the last 3 years.

Candidates were allowed 65 words to respond to each question below.

Charles W. Daniels (Democrat)

Unopposed

1. How have your training, professional experience, and interests prepared you to serve on this Court?
   
   Before being appointed to the Court, I spent over 38 years as a courtroom lawyer, law professor, researcher and writer. See www.keepjusticedaniels.com. I also have experienced a wide range of personal and community activities that help me appreciate how the law affects real people in their day-to-day lives. I have learned the importance of being a problem solver, instead of a problem maker.


2. What programs and changes to improve the New Mexico Supreme Court do you plan to implement?
   
   Without reasonable access to the justice system, people do not have reasonable access to justice itself. I will work toward making our processes fairer and our courts more accessible. We must correct the things that should be corrected and help communicate a better understanding and appreciation of the fundamentally important protections in our law that should be safeguarded.


3. What ethical practices are critical to keep the judiciary independent from political influence?
   
   Judges should separate themselves from even the appearance of being affected by political influence. Despite the fact that the law currently requires that judges undergo their first election as a political candidate, I firmly believe that I must be a Justice for all citizens, regardless of political or other extraneous considerations. Without justice for all, there is no true justice.


4. What role do personal beliefs play in your judicial decision-making?
   
   I believe in the concept of equal justice under the law, and that personal commitment should never be forgotten. Personal beliefs must not override the rule of law, however. Judges must respect the important roles of the executive and legislative branches in our constitutional system of government, and to the inalienable right of the people to govern themselves.

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