Democratic Primary

State Representative, District 38

Ravi Bhasker

Ravi Bhasker

Age: 75

Current occupation (If retired, from what field): Family physician

Highest level of education: Medical degree

Previously held public office: Socorro Mayor, current

Have you ever been arrested, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

DWI 2003

What qualifications/experience do you feel you possess that will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities of the elected office you are seeking?

As a parent, medical doctor, businessman, farmer, and mayor I have the experience to stand up in Santa Fe for our newly formed rural district 38. I will carry the wishes of our citizens to Santa Fe and not the lobbyist agenda!

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

I hope to pass legislation to lower medical costs, protect private property from flooding, end catch and release of chronic criminals, and lower corporate and individual state income tax.

What are the most important challenges facing your district, and how do you propose to address them?

Our district has been underrepresented. We face challenges in infrastructure, flood control, and mental health services for young and old. I will work with each of the rural municipalities to regionalize services to best use our budget dollar, as I have a very good working relationship with them as mayor.

Tara Jaramillo

Tara Jaramillo

Age: 52

Current occupation (If retired, from what field): CEO, Positive Outcomes, Inc.

Highest level of education: Masters in Speech Language Pathology

Previously held public office: Socorro Consolidated. School Board

Have you ever been arrested, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

No

What qualifications/experience do you feel you possess that will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities of the elected office you are seeking?

At my core, I’m an advocate for others.  What drives me is bringing opportunities to New Mexico’s children and families—especially for our rural communities and small towns where the need is greatest.  I’m an experienced business owner, but more than that, I am able to build relationships.  A lack of compromise and ability to work with others is a detriment to our growth.  HD 38 needs a leader committed to helping the entire community prosper.

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

Accessible Healthcare- expand access to affordable, quality healthcare and social services like mental health and treatment programs for rural communities.

Fully Funding Education-focus on at-risk and rural students and recruiting and retaining the best teachers.

Putting New Mexicans back to work

Support local small businesses and expand needed broadband infrastructure.

Safeguarding water for future generations

Improve watersheds for flood prevention and safeguard our water for current and future families.

What are the most important challenges facing your district, and how do you propose to address them?

As a result of the pandemic, we saw that core foundations are weak. We lack infrastructure to support economic development, education, mental health, and drug treatment programs. Our communities are struggling.  We now have an opportunity to get things on the right track. With significant federal and state infrastructure funding we must invest wisely in broadband, our schools, local small business, and mental health and addiction support services.

Republican Primary

State Representative, District 38

Melba Tajallieh Aguilar

Melba Aguilar

Age: 31

Current occupation (If retired, from what field): Science Teacher at Socorro High School

Highest level of education: B.Sc. Chemical Engineering

Previously held public office: None

Have you ever been arrested, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

No

What qualifications/experience do you feel you possess that will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities of the elected office you are seeking?

I’m a science teacher, chemical engineer, mother of 3, and proud New Mexican. It is a heavy thing as a teacher to watch kids full of potential made small by hardship and victimization. I grew up in and escaped deep poverty, and I know what breaking the cycle looks like. Giving our kids the security and opportunity they deserve requires leaders ready to rebuild broken systems. I’m running to fight for what our kids need.

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

Practically every system in New Mexico is in need of major reforms. Briefly, my priorities are to restore power to individuals and communities; reform child welfare, our criminal code, pre-trial detention, and diversion programs to reduce violent crime; simplify taxation and make smart investments in infrastructure and emerging markets to diversify the economy; and give parents choice and a voice in education. Each of these separate crises must be addressed together to effectively make progress.

What are the most important challenges facing your district, and how do you propose to address them?

Addiction is our most pressing problem. We now have middle school children overdosing on opioids, even fentanyl. This is the inevitable consequence of simultaneously offering few opportunities for success, minimal access to mental health care, failing to protect child welfare, and forgetting victims in favor of protecting criminals. Keep kids safe from harm, educate them well, and build a thriving economy around them, and this problem will all but disappear in a generation.

Sandra Hammack

Sandra Hammack is running against Aguilar in the Republican Primary. Hammack failed to return the questionnaire by the deadline, so we were unable to publish it.

The Chieftain has run standalone stories on all four District 38 candidates over the last several months, including Hammack. All four stories are available at dchieftain.com

State Representative, District 49

Gail “Missy” Armstrong

Gail Armstrong

Age: 55

Current occupation (If retired, from what field): Business Owner/Mother/Grandmother

Highest level of education: High School

Previously held public office: School Board

Have you ever been arrested, charged with or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony offenses in New Mexico or any other state? If so, explain.

No

What qualifications/experience do you feel you possess that will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities of the elected office you are seeking?

Having served on the Magdalena School Board for 15 years I have proven my dedication to the people. The past six years as State Representative for District 49 I have a track record to show my dedication to District 49 and the people of New Mexico. Raised in rural New Mexico and creating jobs in both urban and rural areas I have a unique perspective and can bridge the urban-rural divide.

What do you hope to accomplish if elected?

Continuing to work with my colleagues across the aisle to make New Mexico a better place to live for all.

What are the most important challenges facing your district, and how do you propose to address them?

I will continue to work toward New Mexicans having access to broadband, jobs, healthcare and water.  Water is the biggest crisis facing all of New Mexico, I cosponsored the Water Data Act which centralizes all the water information across the state. Currently, I am working with local and state entities to bring broadband access to all New Mexicans. We need to remove barriers for job creators to ensure a strong economy for New Mexico’s future.

Incumbent Armstrong is the only candidate for District 49 and is running as a Republican.