By JODY BENSONLos Alamos
When I was on the School Board back in 2009, Rick Miera would drive all the way from Albuquerque in the evening, often in winter, to advise and consult with the School Board’s Political Committee about issues we needed to understand in order to not only improve education but better lobby the state for our survival.
Information included: How the State’s Legislative Education Committee works; the funding formula and budget; how to get optimum help from the state for constructing our new schools; issues other state schools were facing—and something especially important now—mental health.
Now for the Lieutenant Governor race. I’ll bet few New Mexicans know who our current Lieutenant Governor is. That’s because, despite that the NM Constitution doesn’t restrict the Lieutenant Governor from championing his/er causes, most just…sort of…sit on the fourth floor and do…I don’t know what.
Rick Miera, though, is a champion of education and mental health. He wants to continue improving education and mental health in NM. As the longest-serving chair of House Education, he is an expert on those issues. He has a legacy that, through his collaborative legislative skills, he was able to protect from Gov. Martinez’s cuts. He talks about going to the motor pool, “taking out a ’56 Chevy,” and touring the state to understand regional needs, and to mentor schools and community-health efforts (particularly mental health) just as he mentored Los Alamos. I say bigtime vote for Miera. Vote. Vote early.
The Primary is the most important election. This is where we choose our candidates for the general election. Get what you want. Vote for Rick Miera. (By the way, the current Lt. Governor is John Sanchez.)
