New Mexico News
| STATE SENATE DISTRICT 17 CANDIDATE Q&As |
| Posted by () on May 21 2008 at 5:25 PM |
Tim Keller
POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Albuquerque
AGE: 30
EDUCATION: BBA, Public Service, Art History and Finance, University of Notre Dame, 2000; MBA with honors, Harvard Business School, 2005.
OCCUPATION: Business and Planning Consultant, Katzenbach Partners
FAMILY: Parents, two brothers
POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: Parliamentarian and ward chair, Democratic Party of Bernalillo County
MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Co-founded a nonprofit that created hundreds of jobs for land mine victims and women who have been exploited
MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I helped raise over a million dollars for small business development in New Mexico.
1. What issues would you like to work on most as a member of the Legislature? Reforming health care to cover all New Mexicans; bolstering small businesses and creating new 'green collar' jobs; increasing funding for our schools for more teachers and resources for classrooms; and championing ethics reform in government.
2. Would you support or oppose a state law creating domestic partnerships that would give heterosexual and homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as married couples? Support. State-sanctioned discrimination against an entire class of caring and responsible people needs to end.
3. Would you support or oppose giving the state engineer authority over drilling deep wells for brackish water? Support. State management of this precious resource is in New Mexico's best interests. However, I prefer that the NM Oil Conservation Division retain jurisdiction over produced water from oil and gas operations.
4. Would you support or oppose opening legislative conference committee meetings to the public? Support. Open government leads to better government. It means that our citizens can hold our elected officials more accountable to their votes at the Legislature.
5. Would you support or oppose civil penalties for government officials who violate the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act? Support. In addition to the current fines allowed for in wrongful withholding of public documents, public watchdogs must have leverage to conduct their valuable work.
6. How can state government expand health care coverage to uninsured New Mexicans and still adequately fund Medicaid? The two are connected; fully capturing federal matching for Medicaid is a component of expanding health care for all citizens. Pooling public purchasing of health care will bring more effectiveness, efficiency, and reduced costs.
7. Would you support or oppose creation of an independent state ethics commission to oversee the conduct of elected officials, including legislators? Support. Government ethics reform is a keystone of my campaign. We need a commission to investigate complaints by concerned citizens. There must be consequences for public officials who violate ethic rules.
8. What does New Mexico need to do to see significant improvement in student test scores and graduation rates? We need to better fund all aspects of education. We need make sure we have the best teachers, extend the school year and pre-kindergarten programs, and expand curriculum options for students and teachers.
9. What should New Mexico do to deal with the problem of repeat DWI offenders? Habitual DWI is a scourge on our state and unacceptable. In addition to a get-tough no-nonsense approach for our criminal justice system, I want to see treatment options for addicts expanded.
10. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.
11. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.
12. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state? In High School, I was cited for a petty misdemeanor for underage drinking. The charge was later dismissed by the state.
Shannon Robinson
POLITICAL PARTY: Democratic Party
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Albuquerque, New Mexico
AGE: 60
EDUCATION: BA Philosophy major, journalism minor, University of New Mexico, 1971; juris doctorate, University of New Mexico, 1974
OCCUPATION: Attorney, 1975 to present, private practice
FAMILY: Wife, Karen
POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: New Mexico State Senate District 17, 1988 to present
MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I have been to the N.M. Supreme Court on five occasions and won all five cases.
MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: I married my lovely wife in 2000 and stopped drinking alcohol in 1996.
1. What issues would you like to work on most as a member of the Legislature? We must clean up the election process so that candidates cannot hide behind illegal Political Action Committees and use unidentified money in negative smear campaigns. Candidates shouldn't switch party and then immediately run for office.
2. Would you support or oppose a state law creating domestic partnerships that would give heterosexual and homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as married couples? Support.
3. Would you support or oppose giving the state engineer authority over drilling deep wells for brackish water? Support.
4. Would you support or oppose opening legislative conference committee meetings to the public? Support.
5. Would you support or oppose civil penalties for government officials who violate the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act? Support.
6. How can state government expand health care coverage to uninsured New Mexicans and still adequately fund Medicaid? We must fully fund Medicaid which gives the state a four to one match for our dollar. We then must fund health care coverage for children in the state to 300 percent of the poverty guidelines.
7. Would you support or oppose creation of an independent state ethics commission to oversee the conduct of elected officials, including legislators? Support.
8. What does New Mexico need to do to see significant improvement in student test scores and graduation rates? We have to lower class size for a better teacher to student ratio or have two teachers team teach in a classroom. Raise educators' salaries.
9. What should New Mexico do to deal with the problem of repeat DWI offenders? There are over 100,000 outstanding magistrate and metropolitan court warrants. We must first arrest people who don't comply with the courts' orders.
10. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? Yes. All liens were paid and I am now in compliance with state and federal tax obligations.
11. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.
12. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state? In 1974 I was arrested for DWI, pleaded guilty and attended DWI school. In 1985 I was arrested for DWI and the charges were dismissed. However, my driver's license was suspended for 90 days. The Journal has accurately reported the number of misdemeanor arrests or charges I incurred as over a dozen arrests on charges prior to 1988 when I was elected to the N.M. Senate. The list includes criminal damage to private property, obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct, speeding, careless driving, losing traction and jaywalking.
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