Transcript:
Jonny Coker:
How do you feel your campaign has gone as a whole?
District Attorney Gerald Byers:
Fabulously. I've been very, very impressed and pleased with our performance and also, most importantly, significantly with the reaction and response we've gotten from members of the public who've been very gracious, very supportive and, you know, very enthused about what it is that we're doing.
Jonny Coker:
Certainly. And, you know, speaking of those voters, what issue do you feel resonated most with the voters that you've been speaking with throughout this campaign process?
District Attorney Gerald Byers:
A lot of the voters were really impressed with the ability of the office to partner with law enforcement, to focus in on public safety, on the recidivists, as well as the initiative to keep children safe, [and working] with the Border Patrol on the migrant issues. And those people who are trying to smuggle and manipulate migrants and, you know, keeping the focus on the people who are committing the crimes, not the people who are victimized by the crime. Right? Focusing on holding those individuals accountable and supporting the victims.
Jonny Coker:
And District Attorney, if you continue to hold office, if you win this primary election and go on to win the election in November, what is your top priority as district attorney moving forward?
District Attorney Gerald Byers:
We're going to continue to capitalize on the gains that we've made. We've implemented a new software program that puts us in a unique position within the state. There's no other DA's office in the state that has this prosecution support software. We're also going to continue partnering with our law enforcement partners to facilitate more efficient prosecution and will be working with the legislature to look at the implementation or the development of a human smuggling law. Because right now, New Mexico does not have one. And I can share with you that this Thursday I will be meeting with other law enforcement partners, federal and state police and Homeland Security, to solidify our partnership on working to interdict these types of crimes.
