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Real News For Real New Mexicans.
The Chile Wire with Abe Baldonado. Hey, everyone. Welcome back to The Chile Wire. This week, I am honored to have my dear friend and state senator, David Gallegos, with me today in the studio. Senator, how are you?
Senator David Gallegos:Doing well, Abe. Thank you for allowing me to be here. Great timing for me. Was here in Albuquerque, so got to come by and see friends and and visit.
Abe Baldonado:Absolutely. I'm glad we connected and I'm glad it all worked out. Senator, we have a tradition here. Every one of our guests, we have to ask them the question because we're the Chile Wire. Red or green?
Senator David Gallegos:Green.
Abe Baldonado:Alright. Alright. Your colleague, senator Brantley threw me a curveball and told me red. She's a red chili fan and given that she represents the Hatch area, I thought that was pretty surprising. Well, senator, before we dive in, I just want to give you an opportunity to share a little bit about yourself, you know, just where you help from.
Abe Baldonado:You come down from Lee County, our Permian Basin, you
Senator David Gallegos:know Sure.
Abe Baldonado:Our our patch of New Mexico. But you've been in the legislature for a while now. You started off as a state rep and now state senator, and just would love for you to share your journey up to this day, what's gotten you here so far and just who you are as a person.
Senator David Gallegos:Well, appreciate that. So what started this, I've been on school board in Yenis. I'm still there twenty six years. But watching what was happening in Santa Fe, decided I'd run-in 2012. And I was actually the first Hispanic ever to be elected into Lee County.
Senator David Gallegos:And so I was in the House for eight years. I've been in the Senate for six years. But it's one of those things I enjoy going to Santa Fe and trying to give that rural and local school board type feel because a lot of things happen. You have more legislators in the Albuquerque area, so if Albuquerque wants it, they get it, but I just like giving the input from the rural New Mexico field. And I was born in Holman, so I've always been rural.
Abe Baldonado:So Yeah. Absolutely. Well, I grew up in Las Vegas, New Mexico, very rural as well. And you made a good point about, you know, the vast differences between Albuquerque and rural New Mexico. Oftentimes, we kinda see one size fits all approaches to public policy.
Abe Baldonado:Is that something you still encounter today where we just see a lot of policy decisions really tend to focus on Central New Mexico thinking that it could work in rural New Mexico when in fact can't?
Senator David Gallegos:Right. And and and that tells you straight out, we love coming to Albuquerque. My wife loves to spend our money. So you guys have a lot of opportunities here. But the reality is what happens in Albuquerque doesn't always fit in any of the rural areas.
Senator David Gallegos:My mom lived in Clayton. She was from Las Vegas area, but lived in Clayton till she passed. But it's one of those things, those smaller communities have a lot harder time. You think about the MedMow bill that we just passed Absolutely. To try to bring docs back in because those smaller communities don't have the options.
Senator David Gallegos:You have UNM here. You have a lot of different docs in the area, but it's still two fifty, two sixty miles from home to get here. Yeah. And that makes it hard. If you're needing a doc, you need it closer to home.
Abe Baldonado:And if it's a life and death situation, and I'm sure, you know, we've heard from plenty of folks who have engaged with us that have been on our podcast, but many of our viewers who have been tracking the medical malpractice issue, a lot of folks down in your region oftentimes travel all the way to Texas, go to Lubbock, go to Midland because it's closer access than what it is to coming to Albuquerque sometimes. And even sometimes in Albuquerque, there's not a specialist that's needed, so having to go to another state is just more feasible.
Senator David Gallegos:And it is harder because we've gone to a cancer doctor in Lubbock. We actually flew from Hobbs, as a direct flight to Houston, to MD Anderson for my wife's cancer appointments. But it would be so nice if we could do something in state. You wanna protect and you wanna to support your state first. But if you don't have that option, I'm four miles from Texas state line, and it doesn't take a whole lot to cross the border and go.
Senator David Gallegos:Absolutely.
Abe Baldonado:And and senator, it's gonna be disheartening, right, to leave your state knowing that there's full potential there. One of our previous guests, doctor Nathaniel Roybal, we had a really good discussion and, you know, I think we hear this very often. New Mexico is not a poor state. We're not a poor state, you know, and it's just been poorly run. And we heard other folks saying that as well, but it's a common theme.
Abe Baldonado:Those of us who have been around, we know that our state is not poor. Our our state revenues are very strong. The legislature recently passed a very big budget. So we're spending taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, we're not seeing that return on investment when we can't keep doctors here.
Senator David Gallegos:No. And and I appreciate you bringing doctor Roybal up. He's actually a third cousin, so We're all related in this We are. But it's one of those things in the discussion that we had with him is if we didn't do this, Men Mal, then he would have to look elsewhere. His brother approached me this year on a different bill, and it was a gun bill.
Senator David Gallegos:Same thing. He was looking for Amarillo to be able to move to in order to stay in business. Wow. We're bad on every not just doctors, every industry, we try to harm them instead of help them. Absolutely.
Senator David Gallegos:And it's pretty sad when you use your taxpayer money to put you out of business. Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:That's wrong. Yeah. And putting people out of business, but now we're saying, well, we're going to offer you free childcare that isn't really free. We found out that universal childcare is not going to be free because folks are going to have to pay co pays, which to me is like, if you had to pay a co pay, that's not free.
Senator David Gallegos:Sort of like our free education. But being on the school board, we've been working on this for twenty years. And twenty years ago, by income level, the people in my community would get free federal assistance. So we're in the process of building a 100 child daycare for our schools. 30% for the community, 30% for the schools, 30% for our city staff, and 10% for our students, you know, the young mothers.
Senator David Gallegos:Mhmm. But the reality is because the income levels, they get free already through federal guidelines. So who are we giving this to? The rich and prosperous. Yep.
Senator David Gallegos:So if they're saying, okay. Republicans are for the rich. Well, we're trying to keep that down because we wanna make sure what we do helps all New Mexicans. And those who can afford it can afford it. Absolutely.
Senator David Gallegos:Those that can't are having a hard time finding anywhere to accept them. Even though the federal regs are out there, they still can't get an opening because those can afford. We'll pay whatever it costs to get their childcare taken care of. So, I don't think we solved anything. I think we created more of a problem.
Senator David Gallegos:I fear for the churches and the individuals that are not gonna opt into this, because it's an opt in, but once you opt in, you have a huge set of hoops to jump through to make it work. And that's increases in wages, which is gonna pull some people out of the margin area of working. You know, we continue to do things. We shut down some of these prison systems, the three of them lost a thousand jobs during session. So, do we care about New Mexicans?
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. I mean, we put you
Abe Baldonado:out of business, but, hey, we're gonna give you free childcare that's not free. And I think most people would agree that our our most needy when it comes down to our social welfare programs, they need a system that's there, that safety net. One thing that, you know, we've always talked about is though, it's it's a trampoline, you know, it's not a hammock. It's not something that it's something to get people back on their feet because we know real dignity starts with work. Work.
Abe Baldonado:Right? And so I think we we can agree that folks living below the poverty line should have access to affordable health care affordable, child care, you know, getting their kids into the best schools. I don't think high quality instruction should be only for a certain zip code. Yeah. Right?
Abe Baldonado:It should be available for every single zip code. I've said it many times, education is the civil rights issue of our generation. Yeah. Today, right now, we are failing our kids and we are doing an injustice right now because they are not prepared for that next step.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. You look at certain areas of Los Alamos, not too far from here. They've got an excellent system. Why not in Eunice? Why not in Hobbs?
Senator David Gallegos:Why not in Zhao? And those are the sectors of my area that have less than the Los Alamos people. So education should not be a political football. Yeah. It should be an educational system that prevents us from having kids that are are just not ready to go into public society.
Senator David Gallegos:Earlier, you talked about, you know, just some of the things that we do to New Mexico and to New Mexicans. We're setting us up for failure because we're not doing the right thing for our children. Absolutely. You look at COVID. COVID was a really, really bad time for education of our children.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:We took them out of the schools. They see a lot of these in social issues now where I'm sure we've all seen it with young people is they forgot to have dialogue in person to engage in person. And it's just one of those things that we stripped away from a a large generation that, you know, got stripped away from that human connection by being, you know, held at home and, you know, not transitioned safely back into school. We just said stay home and it really impacted their mental health.
Senator David Gallegos:It did, and we've never caught up. So now we're putting money into mental health, which we needed to anyway, but we're starting to build a mental health system to try to offset some of that. But what if we would allow the parents to make the decision for their child? We had a lot of people in Lee County that moved to Texas because they're open for business. Yeah.
Senator David Gallegos:Their kids went to education in Texas, and they're not as hindered as ours that stayed in state. There again, I wanna support my state, but we have to have logical laws that benefit our students and our going back to our businesses. I mean, we can't keep doing what we're doing. I think you said it, Craig, earlier where it's we're not a poor state or a poorly managed state. Mhmm.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. And it's unfortunate because, you know, our state revenues are some of the highest we've ever seen. Now, are we seeing the dividends of those investments? And I would would argue no. Some may argue and say, well, we put so much money into universal childcare.
Abe Baldonado:We've put so much money into education. You know? And I remember back in 2017 going into 2018, had a good conversation with a former public education secretary who I ended up working for. And we talked that money doesn't fix everything. And there was this assumption that, you know, when the moonshot happened, we're going to see a big change because we invested a lot more money in education.
Abe Baldonado:And we didn't. We actually saw our students regress instead of progress. And that was problematic. And that to me right there was, we saw that from a mile away that just because you throw money at an issue doesn't mean it fixes it. And I think that's kind of been the nature of our state the last eight years is let's just invest money into it, but we're not actually gonna put in accountability to ensure that these programs,
Senator David Gallegos:these initiatives bring a return on investment. Well, that's partially our fault in the legislature. They say unattended consequences. Mhmm. We had an attorney this year vote on the gun bill and said this is unconstitutional.
Senator David Gallegos:But I'm a vote for Yes. That Yes. I vote yes. So how do
Abe Baldonado:you Yeah. How do you I'm gonna violate my oath to the constitution of not only The United States, but the state of New Mexico and go on record and say, this is unconstitutional.
Senator David Gallegos:My thing is, how do you do that math? I don't. I just can't understand it. You'd brought up a point earlier about people, you know, want dignity Mhmm. And work does that.
Senator David Gallegos:What happens is we feed these people money and we give them a crutch that when they go to stand, they can't stand. Yeah. So they limp through life because we've taken away resources, which work and and education. Now all of a sudden, they're gonna have to limp through life every year, and they'll stay on the government money because they don't have any other Yeah.
Abe Baldonado:Or incentive. I mean, what's the incentive? I've seen some of the numbers recently with a lot of the fiscal impact reports that are given to you all that if you're an individual receiving all of New Mexico social programs, that's your snap benefits, your Medicaid. If you're receiving all those benefits that are awarded to you, if you're in need, you're technically about a $70,000 employee. And you brought it up earlier.
Abe Baldonado:You said, we're seeing if those wages go up just a little bit, we're now taking people out of tax bracket where now they don't qualify for some of these services. So what we've created now is an issue where what's the incentive for people to leave these programs, you know, and it'd be that trampoline up because now chances are if I'm already living below that poverty rate, chances of finding a $70,000 job right out of that, probably very difficult in New Mexico. So what's the incentive for me to lose my benefits where I would be struggling if I were to move out of it?
Senator David Gallegos:Right. Now we have a really good example. So McDonald's in Hobbs years ago decided they were gonna give a raise. So I'm a creature of habit. I show up for my oatmeal at six morning and I honk.
Senator David Gallegos:No one comes. I finally drive up, bang on the window. She says, Sir, I'm sorry. We had nine people scheduled, only three showed up. Wow.
Senator David Gallegos:I said, You just got a raise. She says, Yeah, but they adjusted their hours so they wouldn't lose the benefits. So the owner thought he was doing them a really good deal, but they adjusted their hours because they couldn't afford the fiscal cliff. So years ago, we, as Republicans, sent a letter to congress asking to fix that cliff because if you make a dollar over what the subsidy amount is, you lose the subsidy. So what they should do in congress is do step down.
Senator David Gallegos:So if you're a mother with three kids and you get to that point, you lose a little bit. You go a little further, you make more benefits, more life, more then you lose a little more because they will do the math before they ever get there and say, I can't make a dollar more. So they change their hours without asking management. Wow. So all of sudden, they couldn't open their store, their restaurant, because they didn't have staff.
Senator David Gallegos:Because people understand what we're doing not for them, what we're doing to them. Mhmm. And that's a bad policy for me, for New Mexico, we would be hurting people instead of helping people. And it comes down to they'll figure out how to keep themselves on that taxpayer role to be able to get those benefits because they're dependent on it now. Absolutely.
Senator David Gallegos:And you have to find some way to wean them, some way to help them, like you said, a trampoline, to give them a hand up and not a handout.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah, Absolutely. Senator, also just kind of one of the big things that happened this session as well. We talk a lot about these issues, but there was also a constitutional amendment that on the ballot this year, we're gonna see legislator pay. Can we get your thoughts on that? Well, actually, I've
Senator David Gallegos:been looking into this. So Senator Charlie that did the bill, she's, I think it's Acoma Pueblo, and I talked to someone the other day and asked them how much tribal money they get and they only get $300 a year. What I was trying to find out is what their average income is and to see if Senator Charlie, all of a sudden, at $67,000 a year, would be the rich person in her community, I have a real problem with that. Because if the median income is what we're asking for, two things. Where do you get that money, and why are we deciding that we get a raise?
Senator David Gallegos:Should not that be the people of the state of New Mexico deciding we have value? Now I volunteered to run for the house and run for the senate knowing there's no pay. The other side of that coin, they still wanna keep the per diem. So the per diem is what it takes for us to stay in Santa Fe while we're there, drive, Yeah. Hotel, gas, And why would you have both instead of just one?
Senator David Gallegos:So I would rather myself keep where we're at and have pride in we're the only state in the nation that's not paid. So you look at the lumps of money that we have in the capital, where you can take it from? Education? We're last in the nation. Public safety, we're in Albuquerque.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. And the hotel I stayed at last night asked me to stay under the Sally Port so I'd have a truck today. Oh, wow. Does that not tell you there's problems? That that I've never Public safety is So an when you take money, where do you take it from?
Senator David Gallegos:Our kids need education. Our public needs safety. And I'm not taking a raise because I value the Mexican. And if the Mexicans need the money, why would I take that from them? But that's my opinion.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. And I've always every time it's come up, I've always voted no. Now it is gonna go before the people. I think they just need to understand, because it passed, they just need to understand what they do in that ballot box that day is gonna cost them forever. So if they choose to pay us $6,067,000 dollars a year, come directly out of money that they provide.
Senator David Gallegos:Rate because in Santa Fe, we do not make anything. All we do is take and spend.
Abe Baldonado:Well, and that's kind of been my frustration with it. Also to bring up the legislative pension. The legislative pension is very, very generous. Ten years, you have a vested pension. I mean, it's really, really, really good.
Abe Baldonado:There were no changes made to that. So not only are you keeping per diem, you're keeping your legislative pension, and now you're getting a salary while Yeah. Keeping your regular day job on top of that. So if you're a $8,590,000 dollar level three teacher potentially, you're making that salary plus your 60 some thousand dollar salary from the legislature to work thirty or sixty days. That to me is the problem.
Abe Baldonado:And and and I'm conflicted because I do understand the other side of it and we've seen this. We have trial attorneys wreaking havoc on our legislature, creating policies that benefit their pocketbook. I even have an issue. I am a former teacher, but I will tell you it is the conflict of interest for teachers giving themselves raises at the roundhouse is problematic with me. It's not good governance.
Abe Baldonado:You should abstain from those votes. They don't. But I think to me that's very problematic. I think that's where you see a lot of corruption tend to happen. And so I would love to see it really cleaned up that if we are gonna pay our legislature, I I think it it it is a very, very selfless thing to do to give up your life to, you know, represent the people of New Mexico.
Abe Baldonado:It's not easy. There's a lot of late nights. There's a lot of work that goes into it. And I and I don't disagree that there should be some sort of salary there. I find the problem that if okay.
Abe Baldonado:If we're gonna make our legislature and hold it to the highest levels of accountability, we should say, okay, well then your full time job is to be a legislator.
Senator David Gallegos:Right.
Abe Baldonado:You can't be a trial attorney, one or the other. That's just my take. Some people that would probably disagree with me. I just I really worry about the corruption because corruption exists. As much as people there there are many people out there that will try to argue and say, corruption doesn't exist.
Abe Baldonado:It's not that bad. Or snap. There will be people trying to tell you, there's no people getting snap that don't deserve it. No. There there's some fraud.
Abe Baldonado:We have some of the highest error rates. I can tell you that some of that is probably fraud. And that's why we need to audit. We need to investigate. We need to ensure that public monies are being held by responsible hands.
Senator David Gallegos:Right.
Abe Baldonado:And and being used responsibly. And that's just, again, me personally, there would be people who would counter that. I just, you know, really looking at it and your colleague in the house, representative Alan Martinez made a great point. He said fiftieth in education, fiftieth in child well-being, you know, first in crime among other things. We don't deserve a raise.
Abe Baldonado:We don't deserve to get paid right now. We have not done our part. And I thought that was a very powerful message for a legislator to get up and say that to say, look, we have not held up our end of the bargain here. We have not delivered for New Mexico. We have spent a lot of money.
Abe Baldonado:We put it out there, but we have not seen the return on investment in that. And so where do the problems exist? And I thought it was I thought it was a very powerful message by him on the House floor.
Senator David Gallegos:Well, him being veteran, military, he understands rules and regulations. Yeah. So for him, he has insight that a lot of people don't. Talking about our retirement, I did not know we got that, but it's a blessing. But you you still look at being in this position.
Senator David Gallegos:I've gone to to China with John Sanchez when we negotiated over there. This year, I went to Alaska for energy council. There's a blessing. I I've been to DC to speak on behalf to explain some of the issues in New Mexico, and there's opportunities out there that I would have never received if I was just still junkie public. Right.
Senator David Gallegos:So there's a benefit being here. And and to pay me to do that is ridiculous. I mean, I take pride in who we are as a state, who I am as a legislator, and I don't want your money. Yeah. I think it's an honor to serve, not a job.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. I have a job back home. I do construction. And when I'm home, I'm doing work. But this is an honorable task.
Senator David Gallegos:Absolutely. And it's not a job. That's right.
Abe Baldonado:And senator, I and that's what makes you a true statesman. I do, however, believe that there are people in the roundhouse, and I've seen it, our trial lawyers amongst others who love the special interest money. There there's some love there for the lobbyists, the the money that comes in from those folks, which again, just kinda adds to that level of corruption. And so I think it is amazing and refreshing to always hear a statesman say, hey. I'm here for the right reasons.
Abe Baldonado:Yes. I'm volunteering, but I knew that going into it, and it's an honor for me to represent my constituents and being a voice for them because it's them who I represent. It is.
Senator David Gallegos:And early on, 2013, I had a cousin that's attorney in Colorado, and he was actually in the house in Colorado for two years. And when he found out I'd run and won, he tells me, he says, you're in the oil and gas company area. He says, just tell them you want x number of dollars to do this service for the state. Can't do that. I mean, there again, knowingly, I volunteered.
Senator David Gallegos:Why would, even with his, there again, his background, he's an attorney, so they understand what it is to cut corners and do things, but it's just one of the things I couldn't do. And he's family. And I'm just thinking, I I can't do that. No. That's not who I am.
Senator David Gallegos:No. No. I'd I'd rather be true to me than have to owe someone. And I think what I do now, I go home with a clean conscience, I sleep good, and I love my family, and I don't have to regret any of it.
Abe Baldonado:That that that's beautiful. Senator, I have to brag on you a little bit because I know you won't do it to yourself. But senator Gallegos is also the steward of our state's safe haven baby boxes. And senator, I'd love for you to just share a little bit more about that story and how that came to be, but also sharing how you led that initiative because it is a great thing. And we've been by your office before at the Roundhouse, and we've seen some of the pictures taken, some from some of the babies who have been rescued through these baby boxes.
Abe Baldonado:But it has been an incredible initiative that is continuing to grow. And I wanna just say thank you for leading I know you won't brag about it, but I will brag for you that I think that was a tremendous policy issue that you led.
Senator David Gallegos:Well, I appreciate it. It's actually a joy. You know, it's one of those things where out of despair, that young lady throwing that baby in the baby box, and I actually told her uncle throwing the baby in the dumpster, I told her uncle that if they needed me, I would go to court on her behalf. Because in 2013, when we changed the safe haven law, we gave the task to CYFD to educate. Nine one one, when they pushed nine one one out, it was in school, and they did it with the young kids.
Senator David Gallegos:So that way, in the point in time they needed an emergency, they knew what to dial. Our failure was not to teach the kids that they have opportunity to and at that time, it was just at a live surrender at a fire station. So, originally, it was at the hospital. In '13, we added the fire station. Well, when we did the safe haven box, we should have gone back.
Senator David Gallegos:And still, we need to educate. I'm wondering if Ms. Avila knew there was an option, would she have taken it? Yeah. Fast forward to now, this session, a young lady had a baby in a porta pot outside of Las Cruces twenty eight minutes from a safe haven box, and she chose to cut the umbilical cord, lay the baby, the little girl, in the blue solution in the porta pot, and that baby drown.
Senator David Gallegos:So my whole reason to come in on this is I can't understand why we would hurt a child for any reason. Yeah. And it's one of those things, the benefit to this is those three young men actually know who I am. And to me, it gives me great joy. We had Mikey from here in Albuquerque.
Senator David Gallegos:He'd come up in the capital, and he knows who I am. He hugs me. I've met him four times. And the young man gives me a hug you wouldn't believe. Matter of fact, his mom says he's thanking you for life.
Senator David Gallegos:I didn't do that. His mama placed him in the box, gave the biggest gift she could ever give. You think about the torment in her heart to give that child away, But it gave this couple, the Martinezes, a child they wanted. Yeah. That they couldn't have.
Senator David Gallegos:So, in a roundabout way, it's a circle of life. The mama gave up the child in a controlled environment. The parents picked that child up. So he's a fireman, took him to the hospital, then they got to adopt him, and he went from a safe haven box to a forever home. That's incredible.
Senator David Gallegos:But in the process, I know all three of the young men. Now, the little girl from Hobbs is somewhere here in the Albuquerque area, and I do not know her. But that's because of CYFD. They have to sort of harbor her from And the I'll let them do what they wanna do. But my thing is the ones that have been adopted, I have on a regular basis.
Senator David Gallegos:I get to see them, and that's it's pretty cool. It's pretty it's outstanding. And it brings tear to my life. One of the young men that he's two. He's little over two.
Senator David Gallegos:We've got a lot more. So I'm gonna work on him to give him some manly insight, and so he'll cut my grass one day. Get the hands dirty. Yes.
Abe Baldonado:Put in a little labor. Yeah. I love it. Well, Senator, it is truly amazing thing that you led to provide struggling mothers who feel like they have no choice, but they have an opportunity to save their child's life by giving it a life that maybe they felt like they couldn't provide while also not going after them criminally
Senator David Gallegos:And for we're still working on that because I can't seem to get that part passed. But last, not this session, but the prior session, the governor even asked me to make sure it got on a secondary bill, emergency bill, because she wanted it taken care of. I had one this year, but never got a message. But it's critical that that mom, or even the dad, if they're in a couple relationship and they can't handle the child for whatever reason, that they know as long as the baby's not battered or injured, then it's not a thing where CYFT has to look for them. To give them the comfort to do the right thing for the right reason and not have any kind of fear.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah. That's what we owe them. We owe that mama and that daddy the opportunity
Abe Baldonado:to do the right thing without fear from retribution. Absolutely. Well, senator, moving along and to be cognizant of your time, there's some big news that you have declared for candidacy as to be New Mexico's next lieutenant governor. Would love to give you an opportunity to share a little bit more what how that decision came along and just some of the top issues that you're keeping in mind as you now start traveling around the state of New Mexico. Just, you know, what are the things most important to you, and what are the things that you're hearing that are keeping people up at night across our state?
Senator David Gallegos:Well, I appreciate that, and I love the opportunity. We've got three individuals, actually friends of mine that are running, One's an attorney, one's a pastor, and myself. And I told them early on, I don't want to look for skeleton in the closet. Yeah. I just wanna run on who I am and what I've done.
Senator David Gallegos:And a lot of it is because the lieutenant governor has a lot of responsibility, going back to where I got to go with lieutenant governor Sanchez to China, negotiate for New Mexico. I watched him closely. I love the man. He's a dear friend. Watched him take lemons and make lemonade.
Senator David Gallegos:And he did some really extremely good decisions for our state. And I wanna carry on that history and that legacy. It's one of those things that, for me, being from rural New Mexico, it's important that we have someone in that governor's office that actually understands rural life. On my Facebook stuff, it's all about workers. You know, we've got a couple of posts out, and it's talking about, I need to be able to support and be the voice for the working class.
Senator David Gallegos:I am not rich by any means. I work currently for my wife's fifth generation construction company, and it's one of those things I have to work. Yeah. Because I don't have the wherewithal. And so thinking from that point, I'd like those that are out in the working class that they would be able to say, okay, we have someone we can go to.
Senator David Gallegos:As you know, that ombudsman for the lieutenant governor's office is to bring problems to the governor's awareness. Yeah. And how do we fix problems without people coming to us? To a central point. But there's also a lot of constitutional jobs, different appointments and committees that the lieutenant governor has to be on to be able to
Abe Baldonado:make sure that the state functions right. Mortgage Finance Authority, Space Port Authority. Yes, sir. I mean, military base and planning.
Senator David Gallegos:Really cool opportunity. Absolutely. You think about that. I've never been state center. I've never been to the Space Port.
Senator David Gallegos:I will as lieutenant governor because that's part of the function of and just think how cool that would be to understand what's going on out there. It's not my area. It's outside Las Cruces. But it's one of those things to have that as your mandate to make sure those places are operating and justified for what they go. You think about the bases.
Senator David Gallegos:We've got them all over the state. If Clovis goes away, or and them starts, it hurts the whole state. You think about Alamacordo without base. You know, so there's things that the responsibility falls on the lieutenant governor. And I'm just one that likes the opportunity and the chance to make a difference statewide.
Senator David Gallegos:And I really think this is the next step, you know, in what I do in order to say there again, that's a paid position. And I'm saying, okay. But the reality is that's a function that's already on the books as a paid position. Same thing with the governor. But they put in a lot more hours than a state legislator would ever do.
Senator David Gallegos:Because I know Lieutenant Governor Sanchez worked himself to death. Howie Morales, he and I I get have no problem with him. He'd asked me not to be hard on him. And I said, no, he actually tries to be very fair, and I appreciate that. Because when you're presiding over the Senate, you want the process to work.
Senator David Gallegos:Absolutely. And his being the midpoint of everything, he keeps things going. When I first came over from the House, I was used to the fight in the House. And so, they had to direct me to calm down because right away I was writing down things to actually tell the Secretary of State, but they said, that's not how we do it. The decorum in the senate is totally different, and you have to be respectful.
Senator David Gallegos:You have to understand the process. You have to do we lose luck? I'm in the minority. We do. But the reality is you do it in a way that justifies the position you're in.
Senator David Gallegos:And so that person in the presiding officer, the president, lieutenant governor, that's his job. He needs to understand what's going on and be able to manage people and process. You know, I've done for years, been able to build coalitions to get good legislation out. And so, you need to be able to do that. And the Capitol's a little bit different.
Senator David Gallegos:You actually get dizzy because you go
Abe Baldonado:round and round. Well, use the bull, right, on the 3rd Floor. The bull will tell you where you
Senator David Gallegos:need
Abe Baldonado:to That's one thing that I've learned.
Senator David Gallegos:Yeah, that's where you know where you're at. So, it's like, but it's just one of those things, being at the Capitol for all these years has given me some insight, and I just hope to take that to that next level and just make Howie proud and Lieutenant Governor Sanchez proud because Absolutely. They did some critical work for the state, and I think we need to continue that going Absolutely,
Abe Baldonado:Senator. And having worked for former Lieutenant Governor Sanchez as well, I've experienced firsthand how much camaraderie there is in that small circle of lieutenant governors and the mutual respect that goes on between all those folks that have held that office. It is a beautiful thing, and it's something that I am glad to hear you say that you wanna keep going because that's the way only way we get things done is through relationships and through those tight circles where a mutual common respect for one another because we are human and we are people. And I think that is a great thing. I will tell you, you and your caucus are not losers.
Abe Baldonado:This legislative session, you all had some amazing victories. Mean, David versus Goliath, but you all prevailed and stopped bad policy and also helped spearhead and get across the finish line, good policy as well.
Senator David Gallegos:We worked hard as caucus chair, it's my job, sort of, to manage 16 leaders. And that's really hard because everyone's got their own agenda or thought process and or where they live matters. Yeah. Where I live, I can make my vote because that's oil and gas, and I understand that. I don't totally always understand other pieces of the puzzle, but it's a whole state.
Senator David Gallegos:So you have the obligation to do what's right by all of New Mexico, not just UNES. Right. And it's pretty incredible to watch, but our team really gelled this year and they really came together, made some really good decisions, and fought really hard. We've got some incredible debaters now, some of our new members. Jay Bloch from here in Albuquerque are each Rio Rancho.
Senator David Gallegos:But to watch him, I'd give him a signal in committee, and I playing with a pencil one day trying to be able to get 11, but I do like this to him and he knows he had to go till 10:00 at night. Larry Scott tells me, he says, stop that. So, but it's just interesting to watch just the interactions of caucus. And I was pretty proud of what we were able to accomplish. Our leader, our foyer share, to give him some credit, I had never heard a long term plan be given out.
Senator David Gallegos:It was sort of you worked through the struggles playing defense all the time. And Senator Scherer wants to play offense. So he's got a plan. He explains the plan, and we move on the plan. And I appreciate that because that's real leadership.
Senator David Gallegos:I mean, you've got a group of people and they have to follow. Do we always follow? We don't. But the thing is, you have a general premise, here's what we're gonna do, here's how we're gonna save New Mexico, and here's what we're gonna do to change New Mexico. And I feel confident that even the next session, the sixty day, which I hope to be on the lieutenant governor's seat.
Senator David Gallegos:But I know that they're gonna be even more prepared for what's next. And it's a good group of people. In the House and in the Senate, I did tell the floor leader, we had someone offended, so she changed chairman to chair. So I went to him, and I tell him, okay. I'm offended.
Senator David Gallegos:I'm no longer a minority. In New Mexico, I'm a majority. So if you call me minority caucus chair, then it offends my grandfather and my great grandfather. So I want something that doesn't say minority. So I have a plaque that says Senate caucus chair.
Senator David Gallegos:And and that's all they need to do, just kick out the word minority.
Abe Baldonado:That's
Senator David Gallegos:right. Put in Republican, and I'm happy. But it's just one of those things other offenses seem to take some priority, but it's just one of those things that I think New Mexico needs to realize. We as Hispanics are no longer the minority. Yep.
Senator David Gallegos:We're the majority and we should be proud of that. We have to be. And it goes back to, this is our state. We need to take it back.
Abe Baldonado:We do. We do. Our culture, our values are too important to lose to outside interests who want to strip us away of our cultures here in our state. And it's a beautiful mix of cultures in our state that have blended together over the years from our Spanish roots to also our native American roots. We can't lose that.
Abe Baldonado:We have to preserve that at all costs.
Senator David Gallegos:If we go back to that, there's Democrats. I've got family members. The traditional values, they're Democrats, but traditional values matter to them. That crosses even the barrier of repulsing Democrat. Just common sense values.
Senator David Gallegos:It is. But we have to do that. To get New Mexico back on track, we need to start thinking about what we do to New Mexicans. Yeah. And change that and make it for New Mexicans.
Abe Baldonado:I couldn't agree more, senator. I couldn't think of a better note to end on. Senator, we wish you and your fellow candidates for lieutenant governor all the best. May God bless. We know it's not a easy decision to make when running for those offices.
Abe Baldonado:It takes a lot of time, a lot of patience, a lot of grace, and also permission from your families to Yeah. To take on that role because it is a lot of work. And so our prayers are with you and your fellow candidates as you all just strive to fight for New Mexico and take New Mexico back to our our values and our traditional ways. And so just wanna wish you all the best and just thank you for taking that step. We know it's not an easy one.
Abe Baldonado:So but just know that here at the Chili Wire, our whole team is wishing the best for all of you.
Senator David Gallegos:Well, I appreciate it. It's a great opportunity to come here to Albuquerque and just to visit. Open my heart and just go wherever the storyline goes. That's That's good for us. So thank you.
Abe Baldonado:Yeah. My pleasure, Senator. We look forward to seeing you on the campaign trail and seeing how it turns out and wish you best of luck. And we hope to get you on the Chili Wire next time. Perhaps next year, we'll be talking to you as Lieutenant Governor David Gallegos.
Senator David Gallegos:I'd be honored for that. And thank you, New Mexico, for giving me the chance even to be a state senator. A house member, state senator now, onto lieutenant governor. God bless you, thank you. Thank you, senator.
Senator David Gallegos:That's it for this week's Chile Wire, y'all. We'll provide a link
Abe Baldonado:to senator David Gallegos' page for lieutenant governor so you can learn more about the senator and his candidacy for lieutenant governor. With that, we'll see you next time on the Chile Wire.