New Mexico News
| STATE SENATE DISTRICT 9 CANDIDATE Q&As |
| Posted by () on May 21 2008 at 5:17 PM |
Steve Komadina (incumbent)
POLITICAL PARTY: Republican
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Corrales
AGE: 62
EDUCATION: M.D., University of New Mexico School of Medicine, 1970.
OCCUPATION: Medical doctor: U.S. Navy 1970-1977; self-employed private practice of medicine, Albuquerque, 1977-present.
FAMILY: Wife, Penny, and six children and 15 grandchildren.
POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: New Mexico Senate 2001 to present.
MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: 16,000 babies delivered. Medical missionary. President, Albuquerque/New Mexico Medical Societies. Medical school faculty.
MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: 41 years marriage. Church leadership. Eagle Scout.
1. What issues would you want to work on most as a member of the Legislature Strengthen the economy and jobs. Mental and physical health awareness, better success in the classroom, swift and fair judiciary, safe environment for children and families.
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? Oppose.
3. Would you support or oppose giving the state engineer authority over the drilling deep wells for brackish water? Support.
4. Would you support or oppose opening legislative conference committee meetings to the public? I strongly believe in open government and all votes should be public. My concern with this proposal is that the majority party would simply meet in secret to make decisions prior to the conference meetings.
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? Government can expand coverage by providing tax credits to small businesses, and tax incentives to individuals so they can afford insurance. Eliminate waste and fraud in the current system. Opposed to government-run health care.
7. Would you support or oppose creation of an independent state ethics commission to oversee the conduct of elected officials, including legislators? I support a truly independent ethics commission and full enforcement of our state ethics laws. However, I have concerns that current proposals allow the majority party to select commissioners and would never be truly objective.
8. What does New Mexico need to do to see significant improvement in student test scores and graduation rates? Funding going directly to the classroom instead of bureaucracies. Early intervention and tutoring to help at-risk students. More rigorous curriculum. Teacher pay for high-performance or improvement.
9. What should New Mexico do to deal with the problem of repeat DWI offenders? Increase penalties, including mandatory jail time.
10. What do you consider the top priorities and projects for the constituents of your district? Flood control, good schools, safe communities, traffic and transportation. Preservation of families and moral values.
11. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.
12. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.
13. 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? No.
J. Barry Bitzer
POLITICAL PARTY: Republican
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Corrales
AGE: 46
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree in political science, University of California, 1985.
OCCUPATION: Currently senior vice president, DW Turner Strategic Communications; former chief of staff, Office of Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chávez, 2005-2008; policy director, 2003-2005; former deputy secretary, Human Services (1999-2002) and director, Child Support Enforcement (2001-2002); deputy superintendent, New Mexico Regulation & Licensing, 1999; communications director, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-Texas), 1998; press secretary, Congressman Steve Schiff, 1995-1998, and Washington director for Schiff, 1997-1998).
FAMILY: Wife, Susan; two sons and a daughter.
POLITICAL/GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE: See "Occupation" above.
MAJOR PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Running Steve Schiff's D.C. office; being his spokesman. He was a great public servant, mentor.
MAJOR PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT: Blessed with wonderful wife and three amazing children; member, United Blood Services "100" (donations) Club.
1. What issues would you want to work on most as a member of the Legislature?Crime/public safety, including a Kendra's Law; bricks and mortar (roads, schools, bridges, flood control, water, sewer, etc). as well as overdue improvements to government efficiency and responsiveness.
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? My wife says, "They should have to suffer like the rest of us." I must admit I agree, long as "rights" come with the same "responsibilities" everyone else has. We should treat nontraditional couples like everyone else.
3. Would you support or oppose giving the state engineer authority over the drilling deep wells for brackish water? Support. I sympathize with those who fear litigation will be misused, but on balance, Rio Rancho's, Bernalillo's and Corrales' future water supply concerns trump.
4. Would you support or oppose opening legislative conference committee meetings to the public? Sunshine is indeed the best antiseptic. Any lawmaker who says they cannot do their conference work in public should be replaced by those who know we can and should.
5. Would you support or oppose civil penalties for government officials who violate the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act? Support. In my experience, transparency has never been particularly challenging. Steve Schiff was a great tutor in open government, and I consider him a mentor in this regard, as in others.
6. How can state government expand health care coverage to uninsured New Mexicans and still adequately fund Medicaid? Refining the state's "Personal Care Option" for seniors and the disabled to get the care they need where they live, rather than being put in costly nursing homes, is part of fix.
7. Would you support or oppose creation of an independent state ethics commission to oversee the conduct of elected officials, including legislators? Support. I believe most lawmakers mean well most of the time. But protestations that they don't need any new checks and balances against constant temptation to "help a friend out here and there" ring hollow.
8. What does New Mexico need to do to see significant improvement in student test scores and graduation rates? Despite relative affluence, APS is actually weighing down the statewide averages. It's simply too big. Nationally, there are no exceptional school districts among others this large— except the exceptionally bad.
9. What should New Mexico do to deal with the problem of repeat DWI offenders?Revocation of liquor (indeed all "adult") privileges for probationers would make a huge difference. Along with a "card everyone" requirement, issue "juvenile" ID until miscreants have demonstrated lawful living for an extended time period.
10. What do you consider the top priorities and projects for the constituents of your district? Public safety is always government's top obligation. Better roads, schools, flood control, water works, can also benefit from Back to Basics focus. Existing dollars in these areas (plus others) could be much more effectively spent.
11. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens? No.
12. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding? No.
13. 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? No drunk driving arrests anywhere. Once arrested in college on burglary charge during a prank. Charges dropped. Record later cleared.
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