KRWG Public Media is covering the New Mexico State Representative race for district 36. Early voting opens October 6th. Republican candidate Julia Ruiz spoke to Noah Raess.
Noah Raess:
Can you tell us about yourself and why you are running for this office?
Julia Ruiz:
So I was born in Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico, and I became a U.S. citizen in 2018. I really wanted to give back to my community. I wanted to be involved. And, again, I saw our education system. I saw a lot of our taxes were just very high and I wanted to learn more about it and how I could help to shed some light, bring accountability and serve and serve the people. Serve my community. I'm here to serve.
Noah Raess:
And what do you think are the top issues in your district and how would you successfully address those issues?
Julia Ruiz:
Well, as I've been knocking doors and talking to the community members, I hear a lot about our high taxes. I hear crime, the homelessness, small business, not friendly and our education system is broken. We've got parents that want to be part of their students' education and they can't. And people before politics, it seems like we're more involved with politics before the people. We're not thinking about what's best for the community, for our constituents, for New Mexicans.
Noah Raess:
Data centers have been a major topic of debate around the state, both around the country. What role do you think the state should play in handling new data centers and maybe even existing ones?
Julia Ruiz:
Well, I think we need to be very careful. We need to be very transparent moving forward. We need to understand who's going to be using this data, how is it going to be used. And we've got to take care of our water system. We need transparency. We need to understand how it's going to affect New Mexicans.
Noah Raess:
And CYFD has been in hot water this year between the attorney general 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?
Julia Ruiz:
We've got to start all over again. We've got to remove the people that are there now, and we've got to start all over. It's been going on for so long that it's just got to be dismantled and restarted.
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?
Julia Ruiz:
So I'll tell you a little bit about myself and my education. So, as you know, I was born in Mexico. My first language was Spanish, and I was put back in kindergarten because I didn't speak a language. Right now, our students are being passed from grade to the next grade to the next rate to the next grade without being proficient in any subjects. And I think we need to start holding our children back until they are proficient, until they learn the subject, instead of saying, oh, we're just we're just going to go ahead and pass you along. We need to make sure that our children are proficient in the subjects before we pass them along to the next grade level.
Noah Raess:
And what else do you think is important for voters to know about you and your campaign?
Julia Ruiz:
Voters need to know that I am here to serve them. I will always put New Mexicans first before politics, and I'm here to serve. I'm here to end wasteful spending, fight for accountability, be an unwavering ally for the working class. Stand for safe neighborhoods, prioritize students and parental voices. And again, always put New Mexicans first.
