Policy Priorities

For a lot of us in this district, there's a chair that's empty now — a kid who took a job in Denver or Phoenix or Austin, because that's where the offer was. And there's someone who needs more help than the family can provide, and no one can find a place for them, afford one, or get anyone to return their calls.

That's New Mexico right now: squeezed at both ends. Our young people leave looking for opportunity, our parents stay and can't get care, and everyone in the middle is trying to cover the mortgage, the childcare, the premium, and the gap.

I'm asking to represent House District 31 because I think that's the whole job: make it affordable to live here, make it worth staying here, and hold accountable the interests that profit from the squeeze. 

Here's what I'd work on:

LOWERING COSTS FOR FAMILIES. Families are feeling the squeeze — groceries, utilities, healthcare, childcare, housing. Together, we can:

• Stop the price gouging and anti-competitive practices at the pump, because it lands again on every grocery shelf. 

• Regulate the health insurance companies to bring costs down and expand affordable coverage. 

• Expand the Child Tax Credit and strengthen tax credits for working families. 

• And invest our oil and gas revenues in education, healthcare, and our children.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE. We don't have enough providers, and the ones we have spend their days on hold with an insurance company instead of with patients. We must:

• Cut the prior-authorization red tape. 

• Strengthen oversight of insurers so patients and providers — not corporate interests — make medical decisions. 

• Protect independent practices from corporate takeover.

And we have to grow our own workforce, not just recruit one: 

• Pay tuition for students who commit to practicing in New Mexico, 

• Pay residents enough that they stay, 

• Expand graduate education positions, 

• Improve Medicaid reimbursement so independent providers can keep the lights on, offer loan repayment tied to service here, and

• Modernize a licensing and Medical Board process that keeps qualified doctors waiting months to start work.
  

STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. More than 90% of New Mexico businesses are small businesses, mine included. We need:

• Real access to capital and technical assistance so businesses can start and grow. 

• Apprenticeships, career and technical education, and training in the skilled trades. 

• Incentive deals that carry enforceable standards for jobs, wages, and public benefit, so we stop writing checks and hoping.

BUILDING STRONGER FAMILIES. We've made historic investments in children. Now every child has to get the benefit of them: 

• Expand high-quality childcare and support the childcare workforce,

• Reform CYFD with real staffing and caseloads a person can actually carry, and 

• Expand behavioral health and family support.

And one more, because I don't hear enough about it from anyone: Within a few years, roughly 40% of New Mexico families will include someone over 65. We are nowhere near ready — not on memory care, and not on supporting the daughters and sons and spouses doing this on top of full-time jobs. That belongs in our family agenda, and I intend to be the one who keeps raising it.

SCHOOLS THAT DELIVER. Free childcare, free school meals, free college — we did the hard part. Now make it produce outcomes:

• Recruit, retain, and support our teachers,

• Meet the mental health and trauma needs of students who are struggling,

• Expand community schools and school-based health centers

• Catch chronic absenteeism early, and 

• Build career pathways to college, the trades, or the workforce.
  
  

REDUCED CRIME & COMMUNITY STABILITY. I'd rather say this plainly than leave you guessing:

• Recruit and retain officers while expanding behavioral health crisis response. 

• Strengthen pretrial detention and monitoring for genuinely dangerous repeat offenders while protecting constitutional rights. 

• Expand addiction treatment, recovery, and supportive housing. 

• Reduce gun violence through commonsense gun safety laws and community violence prevention. 

• Address homelessness with housing, behavioral health, and real partnership with local government. 

• And deal with the sources of crime instead of creating criminals through short-sighted, sound-bite solutions.

CLIMATE, ENVIRONMENT & NATURAL RESOURCES. New Mexico is an energy state, but we can't count on oil and gas revenue forever:

• Use today's revenue to build tomorrow's economy: water infrastructure, clean energy, and a renewable buildout that's ready before the money isn't. 

• Expand renewables while keeping power reliable and affordable. 

• Protect our water through conservation and modern infrastructure — and require data centers and other large users to pay the full cost of the water and energy they use. 

• Reduce wildfire risk through forest restoration and watershed protection.

Why Lisa Curtis?

Lisa is: 

• The strongest Democrat to take on Nicole Chavez. Lisa is running because House District 31 is one of the best opportunities for Democrats to flip a Republican-held seat—and she's ready to do what it takes to win.

• Experienced and ready to serve. Lisa has spent more than 30 years as an attorney, business owner, and community leader. She understands campaigns, public policy, and the work of serving constituents.

• Deep roots in Northeast Albuquerque. A graduate of Sandia High School and the University of New Mexico School of Law, Lisa knows the district, its neighborhoods, and the issues that matter most to local families.

• A committed Democrat. Lisa has spent years supporting Democratic candidates and causes and has a long record of fighting for Democratic values.

• A proven advocate for women and families. As Chair of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women, Lisa helped advance policies that strengthened economic security and protections for women and families across New Mexico.

• Focused on the issues that matter. Lisa will fight to make healthcare more affordable, strengthen public schools, improve public safety, protect reproductive freedom, and lower costs for working families.

• Ready to build a winning campaign immediately. With an established network, campaign experience, and the ability to raise resources, Lisa is prepared to begin a competitive campaign as soon as she's selected.