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A few weeks ago someone asked me what I've learned as a commissioner. I told them that the most important thing I've learned is how difficult it is to incorporate public input into county decisions. 

That's something that we need to fix. Your input should be incorporated into every decision. 

Simply put, Your Input Matters.

The county has started comprehensive planning and we need to ensure that meaningful public participation is involved in the process. If your representative is effective, it will happen. 

With your help I will make your opinions a priority to the county. As a Commissioner, I’ve done it before.

In the last ... Continue Reading

This morning we woke up to rain, and while I love the rain, I couldn't help but be concerned for the lives of the people who suffer from a lack of adequate storm water control.

Over the past 3 years I've met too many people who, when it rains, rather than curling up on the couch with a good book, put on their coats and dig berms or move sandbags to keep their homes from flooding. And when the rain is gone, they face the challenge of removing standing water so that their kids don't get hurt playing in it.

I think ... Continue Reading

Since being elected to the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners in 2008, I've made plenty of difficult decisions. In each case, I strove to put the greater good of my constituents above any personal feelings I might have had about the issue at hand. A lot of politicians say they do this, but to me they were never empty words.On July 6, the Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners met in work session to hear the recommendations of our Redistricting Advisory Committee. That committee was appointed precisely to take the political interest of the commissioners out of the redistricting ... Continue Reading

Our frustrations regarding the recent rolling power outages are justified. It is clear that El Paso Electric was not prepared for the worst case winter scenario.

They built their facilities for the environment they function in and focused on what was perceived to be the most likely weather crisis. In this part of the world, that is a heat crisis not a cold one. Obviously, we rarely see a severe cold crisis like the one we recently experienced. We now know that was a mistake, and as dramatic shifts in weather patterns continue, we must address it.

From my point ... Continue Reading

Common Cause is urging us to appoint a community committee to take on redistricting. Take a look at their presentation below and let me know what you think.