KRWG Public Media is covering the New Mexico State Representative race for district 53. Early voting opens October 6th. Democratic candidate Sarah Silva spoke to Noah Raess.
Noah Raess:
My first question is, can you tell us about yourself and why you are running for office?
Sarah Silva:
I'm Sarah Silva, the incumbent for House district 53, and I am born and raised in Doña Ana County and just really love my community. I'm a New Mexican. I come from a family of farmers, and mechanics. And I have spent over 20 years in community organizing and advocacy work and fell into being a state representative when a Dr. John Hill, who won the primary in 2024, passed away ahe and his campaign asked me to step in before he passed to replace him on the ballot. I think I am really working hard to represent folks in House district 53. That includes Chaparral, the East Mesa of Las Cruces, Organ, and White Sands Missile Range and there's a number of things that I'm really excited about that I want to keep working on and doing for the district and so I am running for reelection.
Noah Raess:
And what do you see as the top issues in your district, and how would you successfully address those concerns?
Sarah Silva:
One of the things that needs the most attention right now is that people in the district and across the state are struggling to pay their bills. The federal government has had years of recklessness that has led folks to paying more for all sorts of things, from food to health care to gas and I think I and other Democrats in the legislature have worked to keep necessities affordable. So I successfully carried legislation that uses state and oil gas revenue, not our tax dollars, to preserve funding for SNAP and health care insurance that the feds cut. The other thing that I am really working hard to do is that corporations are continuing to manipulate our grocery bills all the time. And so I proposed legislation to ban the use of artificial intelligence and digital price tags at grocery stores. And I'm going to bring that legislation back up again this session. And then I think ultimately we need to continue to fight to get people paid time off from work to recover from illness or care for a sick family member. I'm also pushing to eliminate the income tax for most New Mexicans. And fighting to stop data centers like Project Jupiter from connecting to our power grid and making us pay for their electricity.
Noah Raess:
Yeah, and that kind of goes into my next question. You know, data centers have been a major topic of debate both in New Mexico and also nationwide. What do you think the state's role should be in handling new data centers and maybe ones that are already in existence?
Sarah Silva:
And I'll add to the complication of that is that Chaparral, which is in my district, it's the largest unincorporated community in the entire state of New Mexico, has the Meta data center in El Paso that it is contending with. One, I think that New Mexico, because of our limited water, and the years of drought that we've had, we ought to limit and restrict hyperscale data centers altogether. I do think we operate with other data centers across different institutions, like NMSU, for example, has a small data center to process its own data. But these are larger hyperscale campuses that are emitting air pollution and using up water. I think those need to be banned in the state of New Mexico. And we've got one that's already in construction. And so I think our responsibility at the state level is to regulate its emissions, regulate its water use and I'm drafting legislation that would tax hyperscale AI data centers and force them to bring their own power so that they're not hooking up to our electricity, to our electric grids. And forcing us to pay for their power. And so, in the next session, I think you're going to see a lot of legislation around moratoriums and regulations. I will support legislation to force independent power plants like Project Jupiters to comply with renewable energy rules and fight to bring transparency to lobbyists like Project Jupiters. And I'm proposing legislation, like I said, to tax AI data centers. And if we can't find a common ground for regulation, I would support a moratorium.
Noah Raess:
CYFD has been in hot water this year between the attorney general's investigation and reporting showing that CYFD dropped a child off at the US-Mexico border. What do you see as the best path forward for this department?
Sarah Silva:
That is such a big question and I know that House Democrats have been working hard during this interim to create and propose sweeping reforms of CYFD in the upcoming session, including giving oversight to an independent commission instead of the governor and increasing transparency. As a member of House Appropriations and Finance, I have seen firsthand how unruly and enormous CYFD has become. And so I would support any of these reforms that, again, increase oversight and transparency into one of the largest, most critical and significant agencies in the state.
Noah Raess:
And New Mexico has been ranked near the bottom in terms of education nationwide for many years. What do you think needs to be done to turn this around?
Sarah Silva:
You know, I think in recent years we've been really thoughtful about our approach to education and I think we need to remain steadfast in our approach, that there's opportunity in small public community schools, that help pay attention to one on one student needs. I think our home visiting programs that start by visiting parents of young children in their homes is a game changer for New Mexico and for our families. Because people can get one on one mentorship on how to parent and how to be the first educators for their kids. And investing in community health workers that can, again, go out and support families who might have older kids that need more support. I think all of these things are amazing assets for families, regardless of geography or backgrounds that are going to help us maximize our efforts across the state. I also think that we're doing really well in early education. And so when kids can start off on the right foot with early education, we have universal pre-K for all four year olds. We're going to begin to see the impact of that as those kids age in the school and and go up in their grades. So I think our early education is ranked 13th in the country. And so we're going to see some big gains over the next years for our kids and families.
Noah Raess:
And finally, what else do you think is important for voters to know about you and your campaign?
Sarah Silva:
I think what's important for people to know is that I involve constituents in communities, in some of the major decisions that I am tasked to address as a state representative. So, for example, when we had medical malpractice reforms, before becoming a sponsor of House Bill 99, I met with doctors and I met with patients that were living in House district 53 and were able to bring them to Santa Fe and bring their voices to Santa Fe, and they ultimately changed the conversation there. And I couldn't have done that alone. And in places like Chaparral, where investing in a public safety facility, $5 million and the first two years, and that came from testimonies and stories and specific needs that Chaparral is looking to address. And so I really lead with listening and discussing things with constituents. Rather than just going out on my own and making decisions. I will always consult the constituents of House district 53 and listen to the needs and stories of folks there.
