District 39 Representative Candidate Questionnaire: Terrazas and Begay – Part Two: Gabby Begay

By Frost McGahey



[Editor's Note:The Grant County Beat asked Candidates questions so voters can determine who they want to vote for. Early voting starts Tuesday, October 8th and Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. The replies are posted in the order received.]

Luis Terrazas’s answers are in Part One.

Gabby Begay

1.If a local, how long has your family been here?
Begay: I was born and raised in Silver City and Arenas Valley. My family has been in Grant County for four generations.

I grew up in a working class family where my parents worked every job they could to keep a roof over our head. We lived paycheck to paycheck, but we served our community as best we could. My mom is from Silver City and is the Principal at Cobre Consolidated Public Schools. My dad was raised in Bayard and is a twenty-year special education teacher at Silver Consolidated Schools. And my family, like so many of yours, served our country with honor. Both of my grandfathers served in Vietnam, one in the Marines, the other in the Navy, and my two cousins served in Afghanistan.

2. This is an unpaid job that requires a long day’s commute, why did you decide to run?
Begay: I know this community well, as a lifelong resident, a teacher, and a Little League coach. I learned how to safely shoot at the Grant County Shooting Range and love to eat enchiladas at Nancy’s Silver Cafe. I know that people in our community are struggling to find good paying jobs, wondering how to pay for their prescription drugs that keep getting more expensive, and worrying about their kid’s education. I get it, because that’s my reality as well. With student, car, and credit card loans, we all feel immediately when gas, food, and rent go up.

I believe most of these concerns can be addressed with better leadership —leadership that truly understands what it takes to have to make ends meet and actually votes for our community’s best interest. That’s why I decided to run. I think we deserve better.

3. Why do you think voters should vote for you?
Begay: I hope to earn voters’ trust. There is a lot at stake in this election. Last year, NM had $3.5 billion of surplus, and they passed a $10.2 bIllion budget. How this money gets allocated and who makes those decisions matters. Does it go to schools or does it go to legislator pet projects? Do we protect the Gila and our water or do we allow corporations to pollute our rivers? I want to make sure that we’re bringing those resources back here to HD39.

There’s more than that. Public Safety is on everyone’s mind. Do we expand behavior healthcare and addiction services? Do we finally pass Paid Family Medical Leave?

I decided to run for office because our current representative is out of touch with our district. A lot of his ideas are from the past - our district is itching to move forward. That’s why I hope voters support me.

4. What would be your number one priority if elected?
Begay: Education is my top priority. As a first grade teacher and President of the Cobre Consolidated Board of Education, I know New Mexico has made great strides in funding early childhood, K-12, and secondary education. We must continue this trend and also double our efforts to recruit the best teachers to teach in our Southern New Mexico public schools. Education has and always will be the pathway to economic success.

My Republican opponent sponsored voucher legislation. This is legislation to take money away from our public schools and fund private school vouchers instead. Vouchers would decimate our public schools, where most kids in our district attend. Our public schools need more funding, not less.

5. Number Two priority?
Begay: Here are two other priorities: Create better-paying jobs: The best way to combat the rising cost of living is to have better-paying jobs. I will work to ensure Southern New Mexico gets our fair share of jobs in education, clean energy, film, and tourism, and I will support local small business owners to train and hire new workers here.

Healthcare freedom, especially for reproductive rights: I know firsthand the importance of informed personal choices in healthcare and the need to lower prescription drug prices and healthcare premiums, pass Paid Family and Medical Leave, and expand mental health and childcare services to make them available to any family that needs them.

Regarding reproductive choice: regardless of your faith and how you feel about abortion, I think we can all agree that we don’t need state politicians—especially my Republican opponent—in our doctor’s offices, telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies. I will always stand up for a woman’s right to choose what to do with their own bodies.

6. Addressing the crime issue is a big concern of voters. Some of the proposals that came up in the Special Session may come up again. One was allowing a judge to mandate outpatient treatment including involuntary commitment. Where do you stand on that?
Begay: I think the details on this matter. The bottom line is we need to get as many people into treatment as possible. Judges should incentivize treatment options if they can't order treatment.

7. Some legislators believe that eliminating cash bail has caused an increase in crime and are trying to get it re-implemented. Where do you stand on that?
Begay:I think the bottom line is that we want to make sure that dangerous and violent offenders are not only held accountable for their actions, but prevented from causing more harm to our community. We need to increase penalties for certain violent crimes, and work with the judicial system on how to best address the revolving door of crime.

8. Many businesses are having a hard time hiring employees because no one is applying. Do you have any solutions to that problem?
Begay: Some of the problem is that the wage scale for some jobs hasn’t kept up with inflation. I support raising the minimum wage to ensure it’s truly a living wage and I support paid apprenticeships to ensure we’re training our workforce to be ready to apply and step into jobs. We need to work with our small businesses on incentives for workers and policies that attract more people to get back to the workforce, such as Paid Family Medical Leave which will ensure that a worker doesn’t have to choose between their loved one and their wages in times of emergency.

9. Are you a member of any organizations?
Begay: My campaign has proudly been endorsed by many labor unions such as AFSCME, Building Trades, International Brothers Electrical Workers (IBEW), the Carpenters, American Teacher Federation, National Education Association, the AFL-CIO and other critically important organizations like the Sierra Club, Conservation Voters NM, Planned Parenthood and proudly the Veterans Caucus.

I am the President of the Cobre Consolidated Board of Education; a Commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women; a member of the National Education Association-New Mexico; and a former member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. I was part of the coaching teams for the Silver City Little League and the Silver High Girls’ Golf Team.