By Roger Lanse

Tuesday, May 8, the three Democrat candidates running for the Lt. Governor nomination in the June 5, primary, Billy Garrett, Howie Morales and Rick Meira, participated in a public forum at the Bayard Community Center sponsored by the Silver City Daily Press and Independent. The candidates gave opening and closing statements and fielded questions from the audience and SCDPI.

Garrett, a Dona Ana County Commisioner since 2011, opened by saying his dad grew up in Silver City. He stated this is an unsettled time and people are feeling uneasy because of what is going on in Washington DC and in Santa Fe, and people are asking me what direction should New Mexico be taking? "In response to that question, I want to say that we need to establish a sense of respect for everybody in New Mexico. I’m an advocate for more long-term transformational change in terms of education, healthcare, infrastructure, taking care of our economy and jobs. As far as the role of lt. governor, I look at it in terms of helping the governor making New Mexico work through the executive branch."

Meira, a retired New Mexico state representative, opened by stating he served 24 years in the NM legislature, chairing and co-chairing many different committees. He is retired from his position in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. Lt Governor is there to serve the governor and make sure that administration gets the support services it needs.

Morales, a New Mexico state senator, opened expressing how fortunate he was to step into the shoes of the late Ben Altamirano, 12 years ago. "I felt our ticket needed some momentum, some energy, some experience, so I decided to run four years ago for governor and this time for lt. governor. It’s how I can be in Espanola this morning and here in Grant County the same day. I have the support and endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers and many other organizations."

Question 1. Would you make or encourage our governor to make our public information as accessible as possible? Specific ideas?

Morales – This administration eight years promised to be transparent but has been anything but, whether in terms of Game and Fish, cleanup of Bill Evans, or murders that have taken place in our community. As state senator I’ve been able to get results for the people. It’s critical that the lt. governor helps to appoint cabinet secretaries who will work to get the information the people need.

Meira – Must remember getting the correct information is more important than getting all the information. We need to have a nice open conversation with the press. Also, the information coming from the state has to be accurate and not just a public information officer trying to interpret all that information, so the public can understand it. I would like to see live coverage of all that takes place in the legislature. Let’s be up front and honest about what transpires in Santa Fe.

Garrett – I would advise the governor to get as much information as possible available to the public and would advocate a strong public engagement in every office.

Question 2. Would you be comfortable disagreeing, especially publicly, if you strongly believe in something? Or, would you support all the governor’s decisions?

Meira – Of course there is going to be disagreement. We will have open conversations and when you have those there will be disagreements. Policy determinations that affect large numbers of people are better when discussed openly. You should expect there will be disagreements between the governor and the lt. governor. That’s normal.

Garrett – Primary focus of lt. governor is to keep long-term goals in view. There’s plenty of room for disagreement. Don’t take disagreements public. It’s not that you don’t have disagreements but leave the governor with the integrity of his position. If the disagreements are voiced publicly the relationship between the governor and lt. governor will be eroded. I would never give up on my values, but I would respect the difference inherent between the governor’s and lt. governor’s offices.

Morales – I believe in teamwork and working together. But, I’m not elected to be a ‘yes’ man. If there’s something I don’t agree with, we definitely have to have a discussion. Remember, as lt. governor, you’re going to have a hand in choosing those individuals who are going to be making decisions in our agencies. I will be a part of that to make sure those selections are in line with what we believe in, to make sure we have a system that works, and that is best for New Mexico.

Question 3. As president of the state senate, how will you relate to your constituents?

Garrett – Well, the function of the president of the state senate is to preside over meetings, maintain decorum and keep the process moving. Another important role of the lt. governor is to build relationships and be familiar with issues in all parts of the state so members from one part of the state can be made familiar to all members.

Morales – Of the three candidates, I have served in the state senate and served for 12 years. I won’t need on-the-job training. I understand the roles and the protocol of the Senate and have presided over it several times. I understand the importance of making sure there is a quorum and there is respect on both sides of the aisle. I want to help the governor to move the agenda and New Mexico forward.

Meira – Presiding over the Senate is expected of the lt. governor. I presided over the House for many years. I had to make sure the floor was under control. I knew the rules. I have that experience. You have to know when to move legislation and when to take breaks.

Question 4. A great amount of time is wasted in each session with late starts and unnecessary ceremonies. What can you do to run things more efficiently?

Meira – Yeah, we run a little bit late sometimes. You know why I have always started on time in my committees which I chaired? Because you were sitting in those seats having come a long way to participate. You didn’t come from a long way to sit there for an hour or an hour and a half to see if your legislator was going to come in. I make sure we start on time. A good lt. governor is going to plan activities and make sure those committees are out on time.

Morales – I believe the committees should start on time every time. Many times, when committees run late, it causes legislators to be late to form a quorum down on the senate floor. We must mandate that every committee start on time. But, we need to have time also for activities such as veterans bringing in the colors and time for, say, the Silver Stompers to perform or to recognize Grant County Days.

Garrett – It’s about respect. Respect of people and respect of their time. But, it’s also about efficiency. The point of this is working together. We’re here for the people of New Mexico.

Question 5. How will you share some of the state’s resources with rural areas and not just metropolitan areas?

Morales – It has been a frustrating thing that we’ve dealt with. Biggest issues in the state are the economy, jobs and crime. I come from a rural area. Rural New Mexico is shrinking. Resources are coming down to less and less. Yucca Lodge was taken away from us to be consolidated in Roswell. We were told we were going to have a veteran’s wing here in Fort Bayard. To this day, Yucca Lodge is still not open in Roswell. That’s where the lt. governor has the experience to make sure we don’t get ourselves in that situation once again.

Garrett – We need to be working on reform of health care and part of that has to do with mental health services. We have institutional bias against people living in rural areas, against the poor, against people of color. We need to call that bias out. We need to have a lt. governor who can work together with the executive branch to have significant public involvement in what we roll out. I have that experience.

Meira – I understand the whole concept of behavioral health issues. How will we get mental health services out statewide? After we have those needed talks about mental health statewide we need to have those facilities provided statewide. I will advocate for mental health clinics throughout the state.

Question 6. Can you point to one plank of the Democratic platform that kind of guides you?

Meira – The biggest plank I think is important is the one that says health care for all. Not only physical health but mental and behavioral as well.

Garrett – The party platform is a visionary document. The issue of picking a plank has a real danger because it fragments the whole process. Saying that Native American issues are more important than healthcare is an unfair tradeoff. We need to consider the platform as a whole to make life better for all New Mexicans.

Morales – I’m proud to be the sponsor of the Health Security Act to overall change our healthcare system. We here in Grant County, more than any other place, have a hospital that is facing major decisions because of issues that have been plaguing our healthcare system. The HSA gives people the right to access health care.

Question 7. What can you do as lt. governor to curb the practice of placing additional funding burdens on local governments such as eliminating hold harmless funds?

Garrett – Well, that’s asking the question about how do you corral the legislature. And that might be an almost impossible task for any one person to do. Lt. Governor should help the governor to take a more active leadership role in this.

Morales – What happened to hold harmless funds is, to me, a cop-out by state government. When we gave tax breaks to millionaire companies we said that lost revenue has to come from somewhere and we said to local governments you guys are going to have to raise taxes. We need to protect local governments. We talk about that all the time in the Finance Committee. We can’t be forcing unfunded mandates on local governments.

Meira – I know how the system works – been doing it for years. I will seek relief for local governments.

Question 8. What is your philosophy regarding the state’s involvement in the economy?

Meira – When I decided to run for lt. governor I went to all the MainStreets in New Mexico. These represent the small businesses in those communities. Small businesses are the economic driver in this state. Small businesses need as much support as the bigger businesses. We should support them not only financially, but policy-wise.

Morales – Economic development is tied into the economy we have. We’ve seen the ups and downs in our community when the price of copper goes down or up. We need to move away from depending on economic benefits from the extractive industry. We should work from the inside out. We need to be helping our small businesses. We often go for the quick-fix, giving tax breaks to entities like call centers, which turn out to not be long-term solutions. When you have a light from within by youngsters having a quality education, that attracts good businesses.

Garrett – To attract good businesses for New Mexico, those businesses want people to be healthy and well educated. They want a good infrastructure and policies that make living in New Mexico desirable. Anytime we cut programs that deal with these aspects we lessen the incentive for businesses to locate here.

Question 9. What is your opinion of the legalization of marijuana?

Morales – When I ran for governor four years ago I said we should explore this and make this a possibility in New Mexico. But, with that we understand the impacts that could take place, but the revenue that could come in, as in Colorado, could be tremendous. This revenue could help with substance abuse treatment, homelessness, and suicide prevention. We’ve cut these programs for lack of funds. I’m in support of it.

Garrett – I don’t think it’s right nor is it possible to legislate morality. We can regulate marijuana just as we regulate alcohol. We need to recognize that there are health and safety issues with legalization. We need to get out of the way of people's choices.

Meira – I voted for medical cannabis and am very supportive of the legalization of marijuana. Once we legalize it we can start doing the necessary research that is not available right now.

Question 10. What is your strategy to fighting addiction, specifically opioid use?

Garrett – I would bring the right people to talk about this health issue. Opioid addiction is a health issue, and we shouldn’t criminalize people for opioid addiction. We should go after companies and medical practitioners who perpetrate the opioid crisis.

Meira – I know the system well. There is a difference between the opioids and the cannabis we discussed earlier. We need to provide help for what people need without prescribing opioids. A jail is the worst place to be getting behavioral health services, but that’s what’s happening now.

Morales – This is a crisis in our state. Prosecution and incarceration don’t work. The thing that works better than incarceration is early intervention. We have to make an investment in early childhood services, to teach from pre-birth all the way through – education as well as activities. The one main thing we can do for teens is to offer them activities. They need to be offered something they are interested in, something they love, so they won’t go to that which is not good for them. The benefits may not come immediately, but we will see the benefit.

Question 11. Would you prioritize effecting a change in the six-year statute of limitations on murder?

Morales – When I see families who haven’t had answers to the disappearance or murder of their children I get emotional about that. I have advocated and tried to get the AG’s office involved. The reality is we have to work with law enforcement and push them at times. I will advocate for change in these limitations.

Meira – Telling the families that time has run out is not the right answer. There should be no time limitation. We now have DNA we can look at to try to solve these cases.

Garrett – Solving homicides has to be top priority of the criminal justice system. Trouble is that the criminal justice system is flawed. If you deviate at all from certain kinds of standards you end up in jail. By doing that we’re pulling resources away from serious crimes. We shouldn’t be locking people up who have behavioral health issues.

Question 12. What would you do as lt. governor to prevent a shortage of affordable housing?

Meira – It’s a problem statewide. We have to look at zoning laws that allow that to happen. We can’t let companies to come in and buy those properties saying they will replace with low-income housing and then they don’t.

Garrett – The Mortgage Finance Authority could explore ways of increasing their funding and tax credits to support affordable housing programs. Counties need to develop plans. Zoning can be used in a constructive way. It’s a huge problem.

Morales – We need to make sure we have the resources available for affordable housing. The lt. governor chairs the Mortgage Finance Authority, so you can direct many of those kinds of discussions. That’s key. Lt. Governor also sits on the board of the State Board of Finance. That’s how the lt. governor can set policy that will protect homeowners who never have to come home to find their home has been sold out from underneath them.

Question 13. What is the role of lt. governor in formulating education policy?

Garrett – Lt. Governor doesn’t have specific role in education. I would provide support to the executive branch – to the governor.

Morales – Education has been very good to me. I want to be a change-maker. I’ve always been a fighter for education and, with the governor, hope to reshape education.

Meira – You have to understand how the money flows – about the budget. I know how dollars can be spent effectively. Why can’t we have vocational as well as other forms of education? I have solutions based on experience.

Question 14. What do you see as your accomplishments, if elected, four years in the future?

Meira – Because I came to the office, all people were able to interact with the lt. governor.

Morales – Proud I was part of the team that turned New Mexico around. I brought energy, experience and momentum.

Garrett – That progress has been made in clarity and direction. That we have long-term focus.

Closing statements.

Morales – My term will be filled with energy, momentum and experience. I am going all around the state to take us to another level. Please come out and support me.

Meira – I am a proud union member. I have experience and knowledge to move our agenda forward, which is healthy communities. I want your vote.

Garrett – I was asked to run because others respected my commitment to social justice and ethics. I’m a problem solver. Make an informed decision.