\u201cWe need bold solutions, drastic overhauls and serious reforms,\u201d writes a candidate for the legislature in op-ed article.<\/p>\n
Bold, huh? Boy, that\u2019s new and exciting. Oh, wait. It isn\u2019t. It\u2019s a standard clich\u00e9 for everybody who runs for office.<\/p>\n
This particular candidate wrote an entire op-ed filled with platitudes and generalizations. Not a single specific policy position was stated. I\u2019m not giving this candidate\u2019s name because it\u2019s not my intent to embarrass the candidate, but rather to remind voters to look further. Lots of candidates do what this candidate did. It\u2019s political fuzzy language. It\u2019s Republicans saying all Democrats are radical and Democrats saying all Republicans are extremists.<\/p>\n
The early voting polls are open and the primary election is in full swing. It\u2019s up to us voters to do a bit of homework to find out about the candidates before we fill in the little black circles on our ballots.<\/p>\n
In a primary, we may find that candidates of the same party have similar political views, so what matters may be their prior professional experience, their competencies and their likely ability to deliver. Especially in the legislature, professional backgrounds matter because legislators bring their knowledge to their understanding of legislation.<\/p>\n
Your criteria in a primary might be quite different from your concerns in the general election. It might be to pick the candidate who has the best chance of winning in November.<\/p>\n
To oversimplify, in some Democratic primary contests the distinction is moderate versus progressive. The moderate argument is that, in a mixed district, by nominating a progressive in the primary, you may be handing the district to the Republican nominee in November.<\/p>\n
In some Republican primaries, the distinction might be today\u2019s Republican orthodoxy versus the old moderate Republican approach or any other variation.<\/p>\n
In another recent op-ed, legislative candidate Nicole Chavez identified herself as the endorsed chosen successor of legislator Bill Rehm, who is not seeking reelection. She said she will follow in his footsteps.<\/p>\n
Rehm has been an anti-crime champion. So we know what Chavez is going to prioritize. We also might note that Rehm sponsored many good bills that didn\u2019t get anywhere, so a voter in her district might ask her how she plans to improve on his track record.<\/p>\n
The candidates in this district have made it easy for voters to figure out who\u2019s who. Chavez is competing with two other Republicans. One is Sara Jane Allen, a local founder of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, a national organization that has been active in school board races. You can look up that group and find out its priorities. The third is Patrick Huested, who doesn\u2019t appear to have a web site (at least, I couldn\u2019t find one) but who has supplied answers on vote411.org.<\/p>\n
In every race you\u2019re voting for Democrat against Democrat or Republican against Republican. You could vote if you are a registered Libertarian, but I doubt there are any contests with two Libertarians running against each other.<\/p>\n
And if you are an independent or \u201cDTS\u201d registered voter, you can vote in this primary by changing your registration literally at the last minute to Republican or Democrat, then changing it back again after this election. It\u2019s a clumsy process but it\u2019s New Mexico\u2019s reluctant first step toward open primaries.<\/p>\n
Unlike the general election, the primary ballot is short. It is not cluttered with bond issues or proposed amendments to the state constitution. It shouldn\u2019t take you too long to figure out your choices.<\/p>\n
And your vote will help determine how your local community is governed.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe need bold solutions, drastic overhauls and serious reforms,\u201d writes a candidate for the legislature in op-ed article. Bold, huh? Boy, that\u2019s new and exciting. Oh, wait. It isn\u2019t. It\u2019s a standard clich\u00e9 for everybody who runs for office. This … Continue reading