Interview with Rebecca Vigil-Giron

In keeping with my word I am giving each of the congressional candidates for NM-01 a interview so that they can present their view to the voting public as to why they should receive the most votes. I wanted to give each candidate a fair and honest interview. Three of the four candidates took me up on that offer and I have one more interview to post this afternoon,

The Interview:

Do you have a campaign website or some way for people to contact you if they are interested in volunteering for your campaign?
http://www.rebeccaforcongress.com/index.asp

Tell us about your family. Rebecca has a twenty one year old son that she is very proud of and is engaged to a man that she clearly loves very much. She is one of nine children with three sisters and five brothers. She has very strong ties to the community because she has a large Hispanic family that has been in New Mexico since 1695 during the Pueblo Revolts.

Where did you get your education and why did you decide to work here in Albuquerque, New Mexico?

1991– Bachelor of Arts – French and Social Science – New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

1989– Graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program – J.F.Kennedy School of Government – Harvard University.1978– Associates of Arts – Elementary Education – New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico.

1977 – Schiller College – Summer French Program, Strasbourg, France.

1972 – Taos High School Graduate, Taos, New Mexico.

Rebecca Vigil-Giron has close family ties here in New Mexico and has never seriously given any thought to living anywhere else.

What is your career history?

2006-Present Commission on accreditation for law enforcement agencies Commissioner
2004-2005 National association of secretaries of state President
1999-2006 State of New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Secretary of State
1994-1998 Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Senior Sales &
Marketing Representative and Corporate Relations Coordinator
1987-1990 State of New Mexico Santa Fe, New Mexico, The Secretary of State
1978-1986 Public Services Company Of New Mexico Project Monitor, Customer
Service Representative, Secretary

Unlike any of the other candidates in this race Rebecca Vigil-Giron has the most name recognition because she was secretary of state twice over her career.

Tell us the experience and qualities you think would make you a good Congresswoman. Rebecca Vigil-Giron feels that she would be a good congresswoman because of her past job experience in New Mexican politics. She is a female Hispanic who has first hand experience of what it is like to be a single mother here in New Mexico. She has lived in Albuquerque for the past thirty years and is an active member of her community. She would maintain a close relationship with her community including her church if elected to congress.

What is the biggest issue(s) facing woman here in New Mexico and how would you resolve it if given the opportunity? Rebecca Vigil-Giron sees a number of interrelated issues such as income, child care, healthcare and general supports systems such as educations that could be improved to help women here in New Mexico.

You have come under a lot of political heat because of the Help America Vote Act money that your office received during your time as Secretary of State. What is your response to the charges that your office did not handle those funds correctly? Rebecca Vigil-Giron feels that the Federal auditor has not given her a fair chance to give a response to these charges. She has written a response to the auditor and I have post a copy of it here for the voting public to read and decide for themselves. .

Clyde William Demersseman: Democrat or Republican

The first question most people ask: I thought that he was a republican? The answer is no! he is a democrat. Clyde Demersseman is just as much a democrat as you or I. I don’t like that some of our candidates are telling people their rivals are republican even when they have changed parties years ago.

Tim Keller, Clyde Demersseman, and Bob Schwartz are democrats. Truth be told they had democratic values all along and for one reason or another they ended up in the wrong party at first. They come to our party with an understanding of just how wrong the Republican Party has become over the last eight years. These are men of honor who care about the voting public and who want to do good for their party. They have values and morals that can not be traded for public office. They are finding that most of us will talk to them and then welcome them to the democratic family. Some of our long time democrats who are running for public office are asking why him over me. The answer is because they have the passion and the knowledge to move the voters. They are willing to reach out to the voters while these long time democratic candidates display a reaction of entitlement. These new democrats take the time to show up to the party events. They are working hard to fit in and that counts. The voters are not children they look carefully at these new democrats and ask more questions then with any long time democrat. We are willing to give these men a chance to prove that they are true democrats. No candidate should every display a sense of entitlement toward the voting public when running for office. Voters want public servants not Prima Donnas. Maybe the long time democratic candidates should be asking what can I do to get your vote and start telling voters their vision of how they want to fix the problems we face rather then speaking ill of their rivals.