1. How have your experience and education prepared you for this office?

I have spent 10 years in elected office as a Park District Commissioner, and Councilmember/Mayor of Apple Valley, CA. I have also worked in government (Ca Dept of Food and Agriculture). I know how government works. The learning curve to master Quay County government will be minimal. I am familiar with budgeting, and economic development. My family goes back to 1936 in Tucumcari. I spent most summers here in the 1960's and 70's, and a lot of time since. When I retired in 2022, I could have moved anywhere. I chose Quay County because I love it here, and see great potential, and want to make it an even better place to live, work and raise a family.

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2. What are the biggest challenges facing the county?

Economic development. Lack of same has led to stagnant/declining population. We have been through these cycles before. We can reverse this one. Focusing on our assets, which include plentiful open land, a major freeway, and historic Route 66, we should be attracting warehousing/logistics operations, tourism and industrial development, as well as green energy projects.

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3. How would you address them?

Several things. A Main Street America approach to rehabilitating aging/obsolete commercial buildings downtown and along Route 66. Get buy in from property owners, residents, and local governments for a more consistent approach than currently. Tax incentives and minimal zoning restrictions on the I-40 Corridor to attract industrial/warehouse development. Likewise incentivize large scale wind and solar power projects, as well as promoting Quay County's agricultural producers.

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4. What should the county do to support economic development?

As I said before - property tax incentives, flexible zoning/planning, and coordinating efforts by each community, civic, agricultural and business groups. We are currently updating the County's Master Plan. That effort should be concluded quickly, include all these things, and most important, be promoted outside the county and the state, to attract investment.

5. How would you propose to balance growth with water scarcity in an increasingly arid state?

While drought is a real thing, and New Mexico has the distinction of being the state with the least surface water, water issues are mostly about storage and transportation. It's about keeping the water we have rather than losing it to evaporation, and about getting it from where it's plentiful to where it's needed. While it's a state responsibility to manage overall, Quay County can certainly lobby for more and more efficient storage solutions. And for closed transportation systems.