KRWG Public Media is covering the New Mexico State Representative race for district 38. Early voting opens October 6th. Democratic candidate David Mooney spoke to Noah Raess.
Noah Raess:
Can you tell us about yourself and why you are running for this office?
David Mooney:
Absolutely. So, I'm born and raised in southern New Mexico here and actually moved out to Radium Springs when I was three years old. I grew up right on the river here, splashing around and hanging out with my friends, trying to catch catfish with my bare hands. I definitely remember when I was a kid, the river would flow year round and that's definitely a stark contrast to the way the water flows now. And that childhood of, you know, running around and the beautiful desert nature we have here, it's definitely shaped my priorities and how I think about the world and our beautiful state and, and landscape here. I graduated from NMSU and I've worked, for the past eight years, as an organizer and field director on campaigns, in New Mexico. But, other states as well. I've been privileged to work, in 27 states and D.C. on campaigns to make the world a fairer, greener and more peaceful place. And, quite honestly, I never really saw myself running for office until the last year or so. And the reason that I am running now, running myself for office, is I think this is a very critical time in our state. And there are a lot of out-of-state corporations and special interests and private equity that I feel are really looking to take advantage of New Mexico. And we do have strong leaders in our legislature, but I think we need more. And I would like to be one of those lawmakers. The kind of arc of the last eight years that I've been involved in this kind of thing, I've seen really the priorities favor corporations over everyday working people. And I don't think that's clear anywhere else than the data centers that you see coming into New Mexico. House district 38, the district that I'm running for, it's got three counties in it. So Doña Ana County, Sierra County and Socorro County, and each of those counties is threatened by a different data center that's kind of trying to rush its way through. So I absolutely think we need a statewide moratorium for at least 18 months. If we don't take action now and really slow this down as a state, I think we're going to be dealing with the consequences of this for really generations at this point. I also and this is a bit of a related topic, but I really think we need to rein in corporate lobbying and our state. I've done advocacy work and the New Mexico State Legislature and it can be very disheartening seeing how much sway corporate lobbyists have there. And at this point there isn't a lot of transparency around what bills or issues lobbyists are actually working for. So I think that's really the first step in getting more transparency around lobbying in the state is passing a lobbying transparency bill. And additionally, especially in our rural communities but the state as a whole, we need more access to health care in the state. It's it's not controversial that I think our healthcare system is in really, really need big need of repair. I think the best way forward would be to move towards universal health care in the state, a step in that direction. You know, a few months ago, I had my appendix taken out. And it's a relatively straightforward procedure, but it was my first time, actually going under for a procedure. And I remember before the surgery I was more concerned with how much this was going to cost me, more so than the surgery itself, this potentially life saving surgery I was going to undertake. And I have health insurance through my job. And I don't think anyone should have to choose between their health and bankruptcy. I just don't, and so, that is why I'm running for office and, working, to be the next representative for House district 38.
Noah Raess:
And you kind of touched on this question in your answer, but maybe you could kind of expand on it. What are some of the top issues in your district, and how would you successfully address those issues?
David Mooney:
So I would say access to health care is definitely top of mind for a lot of folks in the district, specifically the hospitals in T or C and Socorro are going to be hit with budget shortfalls over the next few months because of the federal budget that was passed last year. So we need to shore that up, and also expand access to health care. I think specifically in rural communities, we want access to actual health specialists. Often you have to travel to Las Cruces or Albuquerque to actually see a specialist, like a dentist or optometrist or these kind of things. You're not able to actually form those connections with your health care providers in your community. So we need to bring more providers to the area. I think a tangible thing we could do to get more doctors in our state would be tuition reimbursement specifically. Also, it's a huge problem in the district, in the state, in the country, it's affordability. With the price of diesel, literally everything is more expensive. Now, we need more good, stable job opportunities. I know that proponents of data centers say that that will bring jobs, but those are temporary jobs, and they are not going to local residents in any meaningful amount. We need to invest in small businesses truly over large corporations, because when we invest in corporations that come into our community, that money often leaves the state for out-of-state shareholders. But when we invest in small businesses, that money stays in the community and gets reinvested in other businesses. So every dollar that we invest in small businesses in the district we’ll see back tenfold. Additionally, another big concern, probably what I've heard most about is concern over data centers. I think there are other places in the country with more access to water where it would be easier to build these data centers. I think, really the reason they want to build them here is because they can take advantage of us. And I hear that concern a lot, from constituents as well.
Noah Raess:
That kind of gets into my next question. Data centers have been a major topic of debate around the country and around the state. How do you think the state should handle new data centers and maybe even existing ones?
David Mooney:
So I am fully in favor of a moratorium on AI data centers for at least 18 months to really slow this down, and essentially make sure we're not being taken advantage of and that we fully understand the costs of these centers as well. And, as far as existing projects, the top of mind is Project Jupiter. And essentially, we've seen what happens when these projects get forced through quickly, which is a string of broken promises and forcing through our system. So we need to absolutely make sure that communities are involved and we have firm guidelines in place. And I do not think we should rush that. I know there is some momentum behind getting guardrails in place quickly. The developers and corporations will absolutely be the loudest voice in the room if that happens. I've seen this three times with Doña Ana County, Socorro County, and most recently, Sierra County. And the playbook is always the same. It's rushing through as fast as possible, letting the public know as little as possible. So I would say a moratorium to really slow this down and make sure that the state is negotiating from a place of strength, rather than a false urgency that they're trying to create.
Noah Raess:
CYFD has been in hot water this year because of a recent attorney general investigation and reporting showing that CYFD dropped a child off at the border, the US-Mexico border. What do you see as the best path forward for this department in the future?
David Mooney:
I know I have heard from constituents in the district about this as well. You know, really, I think that CYFD handles too much as an organization. I think it should be broken up into different departments. Especially right now, as far as the investigations go, they're essentially investigating themselves in the same department. And I think that should be broken up. And we need, essentially, we just need more social workers to work in our state. So, we need to do what we can to improve the working conditions of social workers. I have dealt directly with and known many social workers, and there is definitely a high job satisfaction rate, but it is extremely, extremely hard work. And I think we need to recognize that and compensate them effectively for that.
Noah Raess:
And New Mexico has ranked near the bottom in terms of education for many years. What do you think needs to be done to turn this around?
David Mooney:
So, I will say there are school districts in the street in the state that have seen vast improvements. I know just over the past decade, conditions for teachers have greatly improved. I remember a close friend of mine was a teacher in 2016 and essentially had to move away from the state because they couldn't they couldn't afford to live being a teacher. But now we have extremely competitive salaries for our teachers, which I think is fantastic. We need to see what these school districts are doing, to get success and then replicate that in other school districts, across the state. The thing I've heard the most from teachers is smaller class sizes. Just to really be able to connect with students, that's something that comes up a lot with teachers that I've spoken with in House district 38. And I think that's something that we can and should be able to do as a state.
Noah Raess:
Finally, what else do you think is important for voters to know about you and your campaign?
David Mooney:
I think the main driving lens, which I kind of view all issues through, is that I want to prioritize our communities and everyday working folks over corporate interests. So I think every issue that I kind of think about and, and learn more about, that's the lens that I look through it. How is this actually going to help folks on the ground? So that would be the main takeaway, community over corporations.
