Abigail Salas:
Can you tell us about how your background has prepared you to serve as commissioner?
Daisy Maldonado:
So first I'll say, you know, I do have a, well, I have several bachelor's degrees in government and communication studies as well as economics and then, from NMSU, and did my career at NMSU with a master's degree in economics. So, I definitely have a background in terms of in my education, in terms of government and economics, obviously. But then I've also spent the last 20 years, you know, in service to the community, most notably the last eight working as the Empowerment Congress Director, where we served the unincorporated communities. You know, we were in just a handful given the capacity and just how much we wanted to really directly impact those areas and those communities. Serving in Southern Park in particular in Santa Teresa around the water issues with CRUA with the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority understanding the dynamics of that water provider you know what the agreement looks like and how the city and the county came together to create this new entity and then how they were functioning to provide water to the residents in that area. So that's just one example of me working with community and sort of deciphering governmental laws and agreements to help folks understand, and then of course advocate at a governmental entity for the needs and concerns of their constituents.
Abigail Salas:
And why are you running for commissioner?
Daisy Maldonado:
I made the decision to run for several reasons, but again, in particular because of serving over the last eight years, I can see all the needs and gaps that the constituents and residents are really experiencing because the current county commission has prioritized tech and corporations and big businesses as opposed to the needs of everyday folks. And obviously because of the decision around the industrial revenue bond to finance Project Jupiter, that's really sort of catapulted this idea that government is well, I'll say corporations are trying to marry themselves with government and make decisions for communities, especially ours that is very small. We don't really have the like sophisticated knowledge and experience, you know, working with large corporations. And so, I just want to bring the voice of the community to the commission and really serve and represent the people first instead of the current decisions and the direction that the commission has gone in the last couple of years.
Abigail Salas:
What are the top issues in your district?
Daisy Maldonado:
In the district, definitely it's around infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure. You know, paved roads, wastewater, also water security is a big concern and issue for folks. Health care has come out as a need. And actually, that's not just district one, but that's obviously for the whole county. But people are concerned about access to good health care as well as emergency services, which the county obviously works with. And so, I really want to work to address those. And again, do it in such a way that really addressing it from the constituent perspective and not a company or business perspective.
Abigail Salas:
How would you successfully address those issues?
Daisy Maldonado:
Again, bringing the voice of the community, you know, looking at what are the needs. You know, one thing too, and just going back into my background and how I function is I'm not only tenacious, but I'm also a problem solver. And so if I do end up on the commission and they say, oh, we don't do things like that or that's not how it's done or, you know, this is how it's always been, I would say those are excuses or those are reasons to not figure out something that can make things work. And so that's the, again, the piece that I want to bring on to the commission and say, okay, look, this is the actual lived experience of people in our county, and this is the reality at the county. Now, how do we figure out, how do we bridge those two things, right? How do we meet people's needs? You know, while not necessarily like busting the budget or, you know, obviously not violating any of our policies or regulations, but how can we be creative and innovative so that we can actually meet people's needs? As opposed to just accepting the status quo and then really having very poor customer service, right, and poorly serving our community. I really want to flip that. And so, I just want to say that how I'm going to do that is through innovation, through collaboration, and really thinking out-of-the-box.
Abigail Salas:
What else do you think is important for voters to know about your campaign?
Daisy Maldonado:
I think the last thing I would say that's most important for voters to know about my campaign is also who believes in my leadership and who has been supporting me this whole time. And that's other local electees who are longtime organizers and who care deeply about the community and have been in community in a very real way. Including, you know, Representative Angelica Rubio and City Councilor Johana Bencomo. I think we're cut from the same cloth in the sense that our deep concern for our people is where we start and that's how we lead. And I think that's probably the most important piece of leadership is knowing your constituents yourself, right? Having those personal conversations, understanding their concerns. And then taking that and then again seeing like where in your leadership, where in your leadership position can you meet those needs and address their concerns.
