Albuquerque Journal

Meet Elizabeth Driggers, defender of Kirtland AFB

- BY JESSICA DYER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Elizabeth Driggers’ résumé would probably look pretty compelling on a campaign trail, though she swears she’ll never go out on one. The daughter of a New Mexico district attorney-turned-District Court judge, she herself practiced law in both Albuquerqu­e and Las Cruces. She then spent about seven years as a field representa­tive for Sen. Tom Udall before taking her current position as executive director of the Kirtland Partnershi­p Committee — an Albuquerqu­e nonprofit devoted to preserving and boosting Kirtland Air Force Base, and the other economic stalwarts behind its gates.

But, unlike her father, Driggers harbors no political ambition.

“No, absolutely not,” she says. “(While working for Udall) I always would tell constituen­ts ‘I don’t want to feel pressure to be friendly to people in the grocery store when I’m tired,’ and I feel like elected officials always need to be pleasant and helpful and kind, even if they don’t feel like it. And I think that’s a really unique skill — and I know that Sen. Udall has that skill because I’ve seen it first-hand — but I do not have that skill. I just want to be grumpy and not feel as if I am losing a vote.”

Driggers may not have the dispositio­n for campaignin­g, but she does have the heart for public service. She quit practicing law in part because of burnout, but also because she wanted the opportunit­y to represent Udall in three southern New Mexico communitie­s. She says she truly enjoyed the job of “shortening the distance” between New Mexico and Washington.

“People can be very upset with a faceless government especially during meetings,” she says. “But when you meet with people individual­ly and talk through concerns, they are much more willing to have that conversati­on.”

Q: Describe yourself as a teenager.

A: I was a band geek, a happy band geek. I was in marching band, and played piccolo and played the flute, and had a really great group of friends. No real trauma or stressors or frustratio­ns other than the normal teenage stuff. I enjoyed high school and still remain close with friends that I met.

Q: Tell me about your family.

A: My mother is a city attorney for Las Cruces and my dad is a District Court judge, and my brother is an assistant city attorney in Albuquerqu­e. I practiced law for about five years. (I had) loving parents (and a) very stable, happy childhood. No pressure to go into law, surprising­ly. But it was always around, so I think that was kind of a natural progressio­n. I graduated from NMSU and was not ready to leave academia, so I had to figure out what I wanted to do. I explored some graduate degrees and kind of on a whim applied to law school at UNM — didn’t apply anywhere else — and got in.

Q: What was your career ambition when you went to New Mexico State? Did you have anything in mind?

A: My mom would say that I always wanted to go to (Washington) D.C. I interned for Sen. (Jeff) Bingaman’s office when I was an undergrad and then for the Democratic National Committee for two back-to-back summers, and I really loved D.C. But the older I got, the less I had a desire to move to D.C. It’s ... incredibly expensive and civil servants don’t really get paid a living wage in D.C. So it’s difficult.

Q: What was your day-to-day like as a field rep?

A: So I represente­d the senator for three main counties: Otero, Socorro and Lincoln counties, and covered some issues in Doña Ana County, but really the goal of that position is to shorten the distance between New Mexico and D.C., to keep the senator informed of what’s going in New Mexico, and help communitie­s and citizens in New Mexico get the resources they need from D.C. in terms of helping them look and identify grant opportunit­ies. We have wonderful constituen­t

service representa­tives that do work with the IRS, Social Security and problems like that but, for field representa­tives, it’s one of the great things about the job — you never know what’s going to happen. I could go from a meeting at one of the military bases to then a briefing and tour with someone from D.C., and it’s all very different issue areas.

Q: What attracted you to the Kirtland Partnershi­p position?

A: One of the things I enjoyed most about working for Sen. Udall’s office, separate from the friendship­s and relationsh­ips with staff, was working to advocate on behalf of military bases. I really enjoyed that. I spent a lot of my time working towards that and when this opportunit­y came up — my predecesso­r was retiring and they were looking for an executive director — I was pointed in this direction and I thought it was a great opportunit­y to move back to Albuquerqu­e with my fiancé and try something new. And being the executive director of a nonprofit is certainly new. I can’t call the senate help desk when I’m having a problem with my computer. (laughs) My fiancé followed me up here. He didn’t have a position yet and so I think it was a little bit more dicey for him, but he’s supported me throughout all of this.

Q: Kirtland has been threatened with possible downsizing in the past. Is there a real threat of that now?

A: We’re in a bit of a wait-and-see position with the new administra­tion. It’s not yet clear what their position is on a BRAC (Base Realignmen­t and Closure). The services have been asking for a BRAC for a number of years. Air Force recognizes in particular that they have excess infrastruc­ture that they would like to get rid of and start consolidat­ing. Congress has been unwilling to authorize a BRAC and next year there won’t be a BRAC; the National Defense Authorizat­ion Act of 2017 has explicitly not allowed a BRAC. But, by all accounts, the drumbeats are getting louder. I’m personally of the opinion that New Mexico bases are well positioned for a BRAC eventualit­y, but that doesn’t mean anyone is ever completely safe. So the work that we do now is really critical. I think there are many in the community who think as soon as Congress authorizes a BRAC, we’ll get engaged and donate to the KPC, which is a nonprofit. But I think one of the challenges I have is explaining that it’s the work we do now that helps position Kirtland in the strongest possible position for the eventualit­y that is a BRAC. The services don’t have to wait for a BRAC to move smaller units. So there’s always that possibilit­y both on the negative and positive. I think Kirtland could certainly accommodat­e more units — you might want to check with the base commander on that (laughs) — but I think there’s strong opportunit­y for growth at Kirtland, so it’s my task to help explain and educate the community about BRAC is not always a four-letter word. There can be opportunit­y there for Kirtland. One of the things KPC is tasked with is helping to identify those opportunit­ies and working closely with the congressio­nal delegation to support Kirtland, but also the other bases in New Mexico.

Q: You call yourself a recovering lawyer. Do you see yourself every going back to practice law?

A: I do. I think I have a problem with not having long-term career goals and almost stumble into the next position — which has worked out really well for me so far — but I could certainly envision working in the law again, probably on the government side.

Q: You are engaged. How is your wedding planning going?

A: We have a little bit of a role reversal. My fiancé wants to get married quickly. We hadn’t lived together before moving (here last year), so we had the stressors of a new job, him looking for a job, moving, living together for the first time. I was just adamant (that) I wanted to make sure we weren’t going to kill each other. We both have very strong personalit­ies and we’re both very stubborn. He keeps asking, “When are we going to set the date?” When people find out we’re engaged, that’s the first question we’re asked. So, for Christmas, I’m going to surprise him with a date. It’s going to be his Christmas present so, by the time this gets published, he will know. (Editor’s note: This interview took place in December.) I’m thinking early spring. My brother and sister-in-law had a beautiful wedding at the Tamaya and it was just gorgeous, but I think we are going to have my dad marry us in his courtroom and then have a reception afterwards.

Q: It doesn’t sound like you spend all night looking at bridal magazines or weighing flower options.

A: No, I contacted one of the venues and said, “What services do you provide and what decisions do I not have to make? Can you just make it look pretty?” I’m similar to my mom, where (I’d be happy) if I can find a dress that I could also re-use in some capacity, or (go) very low-cost as much as possible.

Q: If you weren’t doing this, what else could you see yourself doing? A: Profession­al shelter dog rescuer.

Q: What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

A: That I was kind. Not nice, necessaril­y, but kind.

Q: What are your pet peeves? A: Meanness.

Q: What is your perfect way to spend a day off? A: Getting up semi-early, working out, brunch, a movie, walking my dogs.

Q: Dogs seem to be a recurring theme. Are you a lifelong animal lover?

A: Yes. I have two little rescues. And one of them has had just the worst year. She was starting to go blind, so I took the risk of doing cataract surgery, which is not inexpensiv­e. But it failed on like every degree and she’s been in a lot, a lot of pain all year ... . She’s been blind from February since it failed. She’s finally OK, but it’s been such an awful year for her. She has an incredibly high pain tolerance. I can’t even conceptual­ize. I think about it when I get an eyelash in my eye, how uncomforta­ble (even) that is.

Q: What is one food you can’t live without?

A: Okra. I had developed this love of fried okra when I was younger. It’s a little less fried these days, it’s a little healthier. But, god, I love okra so much. One of my happiest times of year is during that moment in fall when you go to the farmers’ market and you start seeing okra.

Q: Do you collect anything?

A: No, I’m actually trying to downsize and get rid of stuff. I still own a house in Las Cruces that I rent out, and nothing makes me want to downsize more than moving and realizing how much stuff you have. I‘m trying to pare down the wardrobe and get rid of stuff.

Q: What was your last splurge? A: Probably buying a purse at Ross.

Q: That’s pretty telling.

A: (Laughs) I’m really trying (to not amass stuff). Having two houses and the expenses still continuing, I’m trying really hard. And then, of course, my poor dog has had so many medical bills. My next splurge will be a really high-quality yoga mat. Because the yoga mat I have now is so old that it slips if you wiggle on it. So it’s actually getting kind of dangerous.

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GREG SORBER/JOURNAL
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