By ROBERT WELLSLos Alamos Democrats (plus others in House District 43) have to choose in the upcoming New Mexico primary election for State Representative (June 5, with early voting open through June 2) between two Los Alamos County Councilors, Pete Sheehey, a retired LANL scientist, and Christine Chandler, an attorney.
I have supported both Pete and Chris in each of their previous campaigns, but my choice in this election is Pete Sheehey. In making this choice I asked myself: (a) Who will make the greatest effort needed to address a complex range of diverse citizen concerns across a widely spread district (i.e., from Santa Fe and Rio Arriba County in the East through Los Alamos County into Sandoval County in the West); (b) Given that these concerns typically involve some combination of technical, financial and public value components, who will make the consistently concerted effort to obtain a balanced resolution of governmental initiatives; and (c) Will the candidate have the personal fortitude needed to sort through conflicting political agendas both within the District and in the House of Representatives itself.
Pete has consistently made an effort to seek out constituents and listen attentively to their concerns. He has worked well with the Council to build consensus on difficult issues, such as the Aug. 28, 2017 “Proclamation Celebrating the Contributions and Just Treatment of Immigrants and Refugees in the County of Los Alamos.” He negotiated this Proclamation carefully to get a unanimous bipartisan 7-0 vote from the Council and turned a potentially divisive issue into one that earned widespread community support.
Pete has had no difficulty in voting against legislative proposals that he felt were wrong in terms of technology or the public good. I have complete confidence that Pete will continue to do what he thinks is right, rather than going along with “business-as-usual” so common in public governance. This is why I support Pete Sheehey for our District 43 State Representative.
