2018 NM Governor's race: on Tax Reform


Michelle Lujan-Grisham: Trump tax cuts reward the wealthy & special interests

Q: Support President Trump's tax cuts?

Michelle Lujan-Grisham (D): No. They resemble failed past policies that "reward the wealthiest people & special interests, while adding as much as $1.5 trillion to our national debt."

Steve Pearce (R): Yes. Will "give a shot in the arm to all manufacturers, & small businesses will be able to become a little more stable."

Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on New Mexico Governor race Oct 9, 2018

Jeff Apodaca: Invest $1.4B from NM Permanent Fund in jobs plan

Jeff Apodaca also supports investing in small businesses. He said his jobs plan will create 225,000 new jobs for the state. That plan includes investing in industries like agriculture, technology and renewable energy. He also said he wants to increase training in trade skills.

Apodaca said he wants to use $1.4 billion of New Mexico's permanent funds to help accomplish that. "All we're asking as governor, I'm going to take 5% of your money, it's New Mexico's money and we're going to invest it back into New Mexico. We're not going to spend it, we're not going to dip it and take it out, we're just going to invest it, they're investment funds," Apodaca said. "So all we're saying is let's invest it into our cities, our states, our small businesses. 95% of our economy is small business. In fact we do nothing in our state to help small business. We penalize small business. We overtax them, we overburden them, and then there's no private capital."

Source: KRWG TV on 2018 New Mexico governor debate Feb 9, 2018

Jeff Apodaca: Failed to pay property taxes for eight consecutive years

Jeff Apodaca failed to pay his property taxes for eight consecutive years--accumulating nearly $15,300 in back taxes that didn't get paid until he sold the vacant lot in Las Campanas last year.

Apodaca, who acquired the 2.68-acre parcel in 2004, also racked up a number of liens for delinquent subdivision assessments and fees and unpaid utilities. His communications director acknowledged Apodaca didn't pay his property taxes for years but said that it happened amid a dispute over the value of the land. "When the market crashed, the county of Santa Fe continued to raise property taxes on those properties," he said. "Many people disputed with the County to assign a property tax that reflected what the property was worth after the market crashed." Apodaca paid everything in full "once the county reflected the proper appraised value of the property."

Records show Apodaca paid the property taxes in full from 2005-07. But starting in 2008, Apodaca failed to pay the taxes on the property.

Source: Las Cruces Sun-News on 2018 New Mexico governor race Nov 29, 2017

  • The above quotations are from 2018 New Mexico Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Susana Martinez on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R)
Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R)
Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Mar 08, 2019