District 22
Merrit Hamilton Allen — Republican
Merrit Hamilton Allen, a native of Silver City and resident of Tijeras, is a public relations professional who owns Vox Optima.
Hamilton’s to-do list if elected to represent this East Mountains district that includes Sandia Park, Tijeras and Cedar Crest is topped by tax reform to lower rates and eliminate loopholes. No. 2 is attacking the state’s 71 percent graduation rate. After graduating from Silver High, she says she realized she was illprepared to master the math needed in a college engineering program, and she wants New Mexico’s students to be ready for college or the workforce, with accountability and expanded vocational and community college opportunities.
“We squander our children with low expectations and little hope,” she says, leading to a “cycle of crime and unskilled workforce.”
Hamilton is also a strong believer in connectivity, saying rural New Mexico cannot grow its workforce or economy without broadband. And she supports an Ethics Commission and says “the fact that this had to go to the voters after a decade of stonewalling by the N.M. Senate Democrats is one of the reasons I am running.”
Hamilton adds that when it comes to raising the minimum wage, “it’s counterintuitive to make it more expensive to create new jobs.” She supports merit pay for great teachers and understands that while “the financing of the Rail Runner is regrettable … abandoning transportation infrastructure is regressive and harmful to the state.”
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Jessica Velasquez in November.
The Journal endorses Merrit Hamilton Allen for House District 22 in the Republican primary.