Three Dem candidates vow to be asset to new governor
All say they are uniquely qualified to do the job — and expand its mission
They are running for an $85,000-a-year job that doesn’t come with a whole lot of official responsibilities.
But all three candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor say they would use the position to be a resource and champion for New Mexico’s chief executive officer.
Under the state constitution, the lieutenant governor presides over the Senate and serves as acting governor when the governor is out of state. The lieutenant governor also sits on a number of boards and commissions and is responsible for serving as the ombudsman for New Mexico, assisting taxpayers who are struggling to navigate the government bureaucracy.
The three candidates — Billy Garrett, Howie Morales and Rick Miera — all say they are uniquely qualified to take on the duties of the job and expand its mission. While they have different goals and ideas in mind, they all say their primary purpose is to support the governor, from shepherding legislation to advocating for the chief executive’s initiatives.
“Even [former President Barack] Obama, the success that Obama had in Washington, a lot of it was attributed to what he had and what he utilized in [Vice President] Joe Biden — Joe Biden coming from the Senate and Joe Biden being able to navigate these things through,” said Morales, 45, a state senator from Silver City. “I see that as an absolute benefit for the governor who’s going to come in.”
Morales, a former public school teacher who also has worked in hospital administration and as the Grant County clerk, said he brings a “wide array of experiences” to help shape policy at the state level, especially around education. In an op-ed published in
in April, Morales called for an end to the statewide standardized tests known as PARCC, administered through a consortium of states called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.
“I love the policy side of the Legislature, and I
understand it,” said Morales, who has a doctorate in education.
Morales ran for governor four years ago, finishing fourth in a five-way primary election. He said he is the only candidate in the lieutenant governor’s race with experience running statewide. Plus, he knows how to raise money, said Morales, who leads in fundraising.
Most voters tend to focus on a candidate running for governor, but the gubernatorial contender’s running mate can be helpful in raising money and being a booster on the campaign trail.
“When I came into the race in December, I was the last person to enter this race of the current individuals running, and I had to get an enormous amount of signatures, and I had to raise money,” Morales said. “Not only did I outraise my opponents combined — and I had a 45-day blackout period — I also won 50 percent of the vote in a four-person race at the convention, so what that translates to is support across the state.”
Miera, 66, who represented an Albuquerque-area House district for 24 years, said he, too, is a known quantity in New Mexico who could help the Democrats take the Governor’s Office back from Republican control in November.
“I have a long history of legislative experience that I think can be utilized in conjunction with my ability to have worked outside in a private citizen’s role as a small-business owner,” said Miera, a retired therapist and drug counselor.
Miera, a former House majority leader who said he is the longest-serving chairman of the House
Education Committee, said serving 24 years in the Legislature gives him an advantage over his opponents.
“We are just barely embarking on some new ways of dealing with people’s problems, and I think we need to have somebody with the energy and the experience I have had to put all of that together,” he said.
In addition to serving as the state ombudsman, Miera said his main priority if elected would be to help the governor.
“Whoever it is that New Mexicans choose to be their governor, I will be there to support the ideas that the governor and lieutenant governor and hopefully the Democratic Party will be pursuing in the future with regards to policies and procedures,” he said.
Garrett, 72, a retired architect and organizational manager who has been a Doña Ana County commissioner for the past eight years, said he sees the “primary function” of the lieutenant governor as “an extension of the governor.”
“I have experience with local government. I have experience managing government agencies,” said Garrett, who had a 26-year career with the National Park Service, including 14 years as a manager.
“On top of that,” he added, “I’m an architect, so I’m used to taking problems, breaking them down into various kinds of requirements, bringing in and coordinating the people that you need to put together a successful project and then getting it done.”
During the state Democratic Party’s preprimary convention in March, Garrett fell short of the delegate vote threshold needed to automatically be placed on the primary ballot in June. But he collected enough signatures to qualify.
“In some ways, it was simply a realistic expression of the fact that I’m from Southern New Mexico, and I’m not part of the establishment,” he said. “But we didn’t have trouble getting the rest of the signatures and getting on the ballot.”
Garrett said not being part of the Democratic machine could work to his benefit.
“There are a lot of people who are not happy with the establishment,” he said. “I’m a fresh voice. I’ve got a lot of experience. I’ve got some solid ideas, and I’m willing to work hard. In many ways, that’s what people are looking for.”
Michelle Garcia Holmes, a former Albuquerque Police Department detective, is the only Republican candidate, ensuring she’ll appear on the ballot with U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, the lone Republican candidate for governor.