By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. — Your state income tax is on the ballot this fall, at least in spirit. Republicans running for Rio Rancho-area House seats say New Mexico’s oil windfall can cover shrinking or scrapping it. Their Democratic opponents say that would blow a hole in schools, health care and public safety.
Candidates for House Districts 23, 44, 57 and 60 laid out their plans during a Sept. 29 forum hosted by the Rio Rancho Observer and the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce. Early voting is underway, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
District 23: Unopposed, not unopinionated
Republican Rep. Alan Martinez has no opponent on the ballot after Democrat Elise Falanga Taylor ended her campaign in August. Martinez said the state can afford to eliminate personal income tax with nearly $1 billion in extra revenue, since oil is trading well above the $65 a barrel lawmakers budgeted around. He wants surplus money spent on roads, bridges and dams. He also called for faster building permits and longer juvenile detention for violent teen offenders.
He needled Democrats who campaign on backing police but don’t vote that way in Santa Fe.
“I love election years, ’cause you guys all start to agree with us,” Martinez said.
District 57: A forum, not a debate
The District 57 segment unraveled. Democrat Chriselle Martinez is a small business owner with a background in credit unions and community development. She twice turned to Republican Rep. Catherine Cullen’s voting record. Martinez said Cullen voted against a statewide program to recruit health care providers and against utility and rent relief for low-income families.
Moderator Jerry Schalow, the chamber’s president, cut her off.
“It’s not a debate. It’s a forum,” Schalow said.
“I’m just stating facts,” Martinez replied.
Cullen, a former Rio Rancho school board member, said her caucus had offered a substitute health care bill that was tabled. She then suggested rescheduling the segment.
“I think that she wants a debate,” Cullen said.
After an audience member interjected, moderators ended their portion of the forum.
After the forum, Martinez said: “Tonight, I talked about affordability and healthcare and pointed to votes by my opponent that I believe hurt New Mexico families. Discussing our records and our differences is the whole point of an election. Voters deserve to know how we vote, where we disagree, and what we would do differently. After the first few questions, the forum was no longer livestreamed. We recorded it, and we’ll make sure voters can hear our positions and decide for themselves.”
On policy, Cullen wants to protect this year’s medical malpractice reform and eliminate punitive damages. Martinez said she would have voted for that reform, House Bill 99, but called it only part of the fix for the doctor shortage. She said repealing income tax would leave a $2 billion budget gap.
District 44: Building blocks
Republican Adam Prior, a contractor, wants to study eliminating income tax and to exempt seniors who own their homes outright from property tax. He also wants to cut the gross receipts taxes he said add tens of thousands of dollars to a new home’s price, and he called for lower malpractice caps. On business incentives and licensing compacts, Prior said he’d need more research.
Democratic Rep. Kathleen Cates said lawmakers already eliminated income tax for lower earners, so full repeal mainly benefits six-figure earners. She touted Rio Rancho’s trade school partnership with CNM as a debt-free path to careers.
“AI can’t fix your plumbing,” Cates said.
District 60: Left lane, right lane
Democrat Luke Jungmann is an engineer endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. He wants to keep the income tax, replace the gross receipts tax with a sales tax and move New Mexico to single-payer health care.
“We can become the first state with universal health care,” Jungmann said.
Republican Rep. Joshua Hernandez agreed on swapping GRT for a sales tax. He said capping government growth under 2% could phase out the income tax in four or five years. Short of that, he’d send residents an Alaska-style oil dividend check. Hernandez also wants repeat violent offenders held before trial.
Vote in Rio Rancho-area House races:
- Early voting: Underway at county clerk’s office since Oct. 6
- Expanded early voting: Begins Oct. 17
- Election Day: Nov. 3
- Sandoval County polling locations and sample ballots: https://www.sandovalcountynm.gov/countyclerk/bureau-of-elections/
- Watch the full forum: youtube.com/watch?v=d18tU_vJ8DQ&t=9511s
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