Los Alamos County Vice Chair Susan O’Leary, left, and retiring Probate Judge Chris Chandler are serving as analysts during the 30 Day Session at the State Capitol Building in Santa Fe. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
When you really need to get something done, give it to a couple of busy people with penchants for public service. Officials did just that when they tapped the expertise of Los Alamos Attorney and Probate Judge Christine Chandler and Los Alamos Council Vice Chair Susan O’Leary.
Despite everything on their plates, these women accepted the call and are lending their time and expertise to the legislative process during the 30-Day Session underway at the New Mexico State Capitol.
Dist. 5 Sen. Richard Martinez first hired Chandler in 2014 to provide analysis to the Senate Judiciary and he’s asked her back each year since.
“Christine has been a great asset to me and the legislative process and I feel extremely fortunate to have her working in my office during the sessions,” Martinez said recently.
Chandler said working for Martinez has been rewarding.
“He is very empathetic and people feel a personal connection with him,” she said. “His door is always open.”
The Senate Judiciary sees most of the bills that hit the Senate and every proposed Constitutional Amendment, Chandler explained.
“I mostly analyze bills related to economics, local government and business because of my background as a lawyer,” she said. “It has been a really great experience because it’s giving me a broader view of the interrelationship between state government and local government. Normally we tend to see our own little world but this is allowing me to see the whole spectrum of things that the entire state is focusing on.”
Chandler works in a small office on the third floor of the Round House with two other analysts and two secretaries.
“This is a job where you really have an opportunity to build relationships, especially when you come back year after year and start to see many of the same people,” Chandler said. “I really enjoy the people I work with. We have a lot to get done so I’ve learned to write in a lot of noise all around me.”
Chandler and her co-workers prepare analysis for all senators before their hearings. They look things up for them during the hearings, note any legal issues or conflicts and look to see if there are any competing bills in the House.
Chandler’s work schedule early in the session is a typical 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. day, she said, but as the conclusion of the session draws nearer and they are trying to get bills through, her days can grow to 10 p.m., midnight and even later. There are times she just grabs a hotel room in Santa Fe before rushing back to the Capitol early in the morning.
Chandler received her BA from Smith College, with a major in economics. She obtained her law degree from Boston College Law School and has a master’s degree in International and Comparative law from Georgetown University Law Center.
Chandler worked for a few years in private practice in Santa Fe before accepting a position as an in-house attorney at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She focused primarily in the areas of employment law and litigation and led the Litigation Group for 10 years before leaving the Lab in 2013. In addition to and her time sent at the Legislature during the session, Chandler maintains a private law practice with her husband, attorney George Chandler.
O’Leary is serving her first session at the Round House. She works as a Legislative Analyst for the House Democratic Leadership Office and is assigned to the House Business and Employment Committee. She analyzes legislation and provides business and public policy analysis for the committee’s democratic representatives on each bill the committee considers.
A self-described policy wonk, O’Leary likens this opportunity to a crash-course on the state’s legislative process and a chance to see first-hand the types of legislation that are being proposed to address the state’s issues.
A self-described policy wonk, O’Leary likens this opportunity to a crash-course on the state’s legislative process and a chance to see first-hand the types of legislation that are being proposed to address the state’s issues.
“I thought that working as a legislative analyst was too good an opportunity to pass up even though the hours are long and the work is intense,” she said.
O’Leary explained that the House Business and Employment Committee sees a broad range of bills. She analyzes bills on tax policy, state economic development initiatives, employer-worker issues relating to things like workers’ compensation and wage setting, and other issues that benefit from a business and public policy review.
Specific bills have ranged from:
- Creating tax incentives that encourage broadband development in the state;
- Setting a cap on interest rates charged by payday loan companies;
- Deciding whether the state’s workers’ compensation program should reimburse for medical cannabis; and
- Many, many others.
O’Leary continues to serve in her role as County Councilor in Los Alamos and said she is certain that this experience will increase her effectiveness as she serves Los Alamos County. She holds an MBA and is a seasoned manager with years of experience serving as vice president of the Washington Post Advertising Department. She is married to Tim O’Leary who works at the NNSA Los Alamos Field Office. The couple has two children.
Editor’s note: This year’s 30-Day Legislative Session ends at noon Thursday, Feb. 18 and the governor then has until March 9 to sign bills.