KRWG Public Media is covering the District Court Judge race for the Third Judicial District in Doña Ana County. Democratic candidate Dania Gardea spoke to Noah Raess.
Noah Raess:
Just to start stuff off, can you tell us about your background and how that has prepared you to serve in this office?
Dania Gardea:
Of course. So I've been an attorney in the state of New Mexico for 21 years now. I started off my career at the state, Las Cruces Public Defender's Office and then worked for the federal Public Defender's Office. I then was on the CJA panel of attorneys that are appointed in federal court, and began my private practice then. I started doing family law about 15 years ago. And that's been the majority and focus of my practice for the last 15 years. I practice family law throughout the state of New Mexico and currently, I am practicing in a law firm out of Albuquerque. And I have cases, as I said, throughout the state of New Mexico. This is a position where you can potentially hear cases with criminal law, civil law, but the docket is primarily for family law. And so, given my extensive history with family law as well as all other areas of law, I do believe that I'm very qualified to sit in this position, and serve our community.
Noah Raess:
And why are you running for this office?
Dania Gardea:
It's personally a passion of mine. I have a strong commitment towards the families of our community, and certainly, those who are stuck in family court. I believe very passionately that their needs should be met with someone who has extensive experience and someone who's committed to stay in the family law docket.
Noah Raess:
What do you think are some of the top issues that your district faces for this office?
Dania Gardea:
I think the biggest issue is certainly timeliness. There's been a great deal of delay, and this is this docket in particular, people have been assigned different judges and, unfortunately, that's just sort of what has happened. But it's caused a great deal of delay, and it's my number one priority to get to work right away. I believe that justice delayed is justice denied. People need to have access to court and access to judges. And so timeliness and, you know, really moving this docket along is really my top priority.
Noah Raess:
Going off of that, how would you successfully address those issues?
Dania Gardea:
So as I've said, I practice throughout the state of New Mexico. And I see what judges do in other jurisdictions. Primarily, in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, there are judges who handle their dockets, very effectively with pretrial orders and scheduling orders. And I'd really like to implement that process in our family law docket. I think that it would be extremely beneficial for everyone, including the lawyers and the people themselves coming before the court. It would help organize and put everything on a much more timely and efficient schedule.
Noah Raess:
Finally, is there anything else you want voters to know about you or your campaign?
Dania Gardea:
Well, I can say I'm a proud mother of five children that I've raised my children here in Doña Ana County and I am looking forward to serving this community and giving back, since our community has really given my family a lot and I'm very dedicated to the families in our community.
