KRWG Public Media is covering the New Mexico Otero County Commission race for district 2. Election day is November 3rd. Declined-to-State candidate Evan Lambert spoke with Serena Johnson.
Serena Johnson:
How has your background prepared you for this office?
Evan Lambert:
Well, I run a nonprofit organization called Community Power New Mexico – president and founder of that. I've been a working person all my life, and seeing the way that these offices have been managed or mismanaged, it tells me just about anybody could do it. So, I've been working really hard to serve the community for years and years, at this point, and I feel that this is just an expansion of my scope and capacity to do so.
Serena Johnson:
Can you tell me what the top issues are facing your district or county currently?
Evan Lambert:
The biggest issue that we have here is actually a lack of democratic agency for the people who live here. For instance, about half of my district is the Mescalero Apache Reservation, and they do not have their own dedicated seat on the county commission. What we're aiming to do is expand the county commission to five seats, so that the Mescalero Apache peoples have their own seat on the county commission. And then the socioeconomic issues, such as wages and crisis in housing – also a huge thing. So there's that. And then also issues with our natural resources, such as water and land. And, if I could tack a fourth one onto there, it would be digital surveillance.
Serena Johnson:
Can you speak with me a little bit more about the water issues that y'all are facing?
Evan Lambert:
A lot of our natural water resources are contaminated either via the Holloman Air Force Base, via private industry or via the atomic testing that's been done out here. One of these solutions that we're looking at is processing the brackish water. So, getting the salty water that's out of the earth and processing that into clean potable water. But there's also the impending usage of a lot of our natural resources and water by, you know, these giant data centers and stuff that are popping up all over the place. On top of that, we've also got a lot of agriculture out here that is really, like, water heavy. So, there's work to be done. Then we've also got Bonito Lake, which is not a part of the county, but it is one of the major water sources for the community here that Alamogordo City owns in Lincoln County.
Serena Johnson:
So, you listed a few of the issues facing your county and district. What are your proposed solutions to those issues?
Evan Lambert:
There's, you know, expanding democracy to five chairs as well as implementing a direct pathway for a community to the legislative agenda, budget and planning. As for the housing and wages, what we're looking at doing is actually instigating a landlord registry. So, if you're utilizing residential property as capital, then we would like to see that you are, you know, paying your fair share of taxes, supplying the amenities and stuff that you're legally required to do, and also reporting rents to us so that we can get an actual eye on one of the biggest industries here. And then I would also like to see the minimum wage increased with basically offsetting that cost for locally owned businesses. So, local businesses wouldn't have to pay a dime. It would simulate our local economy incredibly while also mitigating brain drain, so our youth wouldn't have to leave our community to find a productive and dignified life. For the Flock cameras and stuff – definitely needs an audit.
Serena Johnson:
What else is important for voters to know about your campaign?
Evan Lambert:
That it's built for and by the people. Yeah, it's probably the first time in memory that it's actually been the people on the table, not someone who's interested in being a career politician.
