Congressional District 3 Candidate Joseph Sanchez
Editor’s note: This is the seventh in a series in which the Los Alamos Daily Post presents the same set of questions to each of the candidates running for Congressional District 3, which serves the northern half of New Mexico.
Democratic candidate Joseph Sanchez provided the following answers:
POST: Why do you believe you are qualified to represent New Mexico in Congress?
SANCHEZ: I have over 20 years of experience working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. No candidate understands how important the mission of LANL is to our country more than I. Eight of those years were as an engineering manager where I helped oversee projects with budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. I also managed the largest electric cooperative in the state of New Mexico, Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, which serves five counties and over 30,000 meters. During this time, I took the cooperative from near bankruptcy to the best financial position in its history. As an engineer with an MBA, I know how to listen, and solve problems. I currently serve as the State Representative for District 40, representing Rio Arriba, Colfax, Mora and San Miguel counties. As a legislator, I helped appropriate funding for a homeless shelter in Española, and a rural health clinic in Colfax County and many other projects. I also have experience passing various pieces of legislation including bills related to helping locate missing persons as well as bills related to renewable energy. In September, while my opponents were busy raising millions in out of state money for their campaigns, I was working to make sure New Mexicans could collect firewood for the winter and pushing for funding Veteran Support Officers to assist our veterans and reduce veteran suicide. I support the Santa Fe Prevention Alliance, which is a community-based addiction prevention alliance that is helping to draft legislation that I’m introducing this session which will provide drug addiction treatment during incarceration. The difference between myself and other candidates is that I am already working for New Mexico to deliver real results.
POST: What is your overall governing philosophy?
SANCHEZ: I am a centrist Democrat and am willing to open my ears to hear what every New Mexican has to say regardless of party affiliation. My governing focus is to represent New Mexico first. I will work across the aisle to help move our country forward in this divisive time. Our campaign slogan is “New Mexico Matters” and that is my priority as a congressional candidate. An example of working with conflicting parties was when I worked with both the US Forest Service and WildEarth Guardians to encourage cooperation and to have the injunction lifted blocking the use of US forest lands in New Mexico, particularly firewood. This was a problem that could not be solved quickly with litigation, legislation or executive order. Cooperation by these parties was the only way for many rural New Mexicans to get access to this critical resource to heat their homes and feed their families. Winter is here now, and it makes me so happy that many New Mexicans are warm thanks to this cooperation.
POST: What would you do to promote the interest of Los Alamos National Laboratory in Washington?
SANCHEZ: LANL has been vital to the economy of Northern New Mexico for generations, and to the security of our nation. I will aggressively support and facilitate the ongoing success and operation of the lab. As an employee who has friends and family members who work at LANL, no one will be a greater champion for Los Alamos National Laboratory than I, which is particularly important now at a time when certain organizations in Santa Fe and Taos are working to undermine and shut down LANL altogether.
POST: How would you balance arms proliferation with national defense?
SANCHEZ: National Defense is a pillar of peace and prosperity for our nation. Maintaining our world leadership in defense technology has enabled America to ensure global peace. LANL and Sandia National Lab play a vital role in maintaining this global leadership.
POST: In general terms, what would your foreign policy goals be?
SANCHEZ: We need to grow and maintain relationships with our friends around the world to ensure peace and security around the world and at home. This will enable us to minimize the need for America to get involved in foreign conflict. We need to pursue fair trade policy that benefits both our economy and our partners.
POST: What do you think should be done about the growing income inequality in the United States?
SANCHEZ: We need to work our way out of this inequality problem in America. We need to ensure that corporations pay their fair share of taxes. Also, vocational training is another part of the solution to income inequality in the United States. Many students do not want to pursue a university education and we should create vocational training career options within our high schools for these students so they can begin a vocational career on the day they get their high school diploma as an apprentice. We can work with trade unions to create this pipeline of skilled labor and prosperity for future generations.
POST: Do you have a plan for increasing access to healthcare in the U.S.?
SANCHEZ: We need to investigate options for offering affordable healthcare to those who do not qualify for Medicare, Medicaid, or who are not covered by employer insurance. Single-payer proposals do not give options to those who are happy with their current insurance plans.
POST: Where do you stand on increased regulation of firearms?
SANCHEZ: Many Americans, particularly those in rural areas, use firearms to secure their homes and feed their families. I support commercial background checks but do not want to negatively impact one’s rights provided under the 2nd amendment. We need to investigate the root cause of any violence occurring in our country and address what is leading to these situations.
POST: What programs do you support on immigration to deal with the situation at the border?
SANCHEZ: I support securing our borders, but I also support the immediate deployment of thousands of work visas to immigrants, separate from the citizenship process. This would enable law-abiding immigrants to work and travel between the US their home country legitimately. For example, in New Mexico, we currently have approximately 65,000 undocumented Mexican immigrants living and working here and yet our country only issues less than 400 work visas per year in New Mexico. Visa holders pay taxes and must obey laws and do not need to become citizens as part of the Visa process. If Visa holders want to become a citizen, they can apply through the existing citizenship process without fear of being deported.
POST: What would you do to combat climate change?
SANCHEZ: As an Electrical Engineer with experience running a rural electrical coop, I have an advanced understanding of energy and renewable energy. Most politicians have only an elementary understanding of energy technology and it is a mistake to allow unqualified people to set energy policy. I am focused on the long term, high impact solutions that will radically reduce the global carbon footprint in our lifetime. For example, the conversion of the world’s coal energy production to liquified natural gas will reduce the global carbon footprint by 50 percent. This will require technology advances in the efficient storage and delivery of liquified natural gas. A bigger leap to near-zero carbon footprint would be possible with the implementation of technology like Bill Gate’s “Terra power plant”, which actually utilizes spent nuclear fuel rods to produce electrical energy. There is enough intrinsic energy stored in existing spent nuclear fuel rods to produce electricity for the world for centuries. It would be a dream for me to have our national labs be a part of this long term mission to develop near zero-carbon footprint energy.
