Incumbent Republican Jason Harper and Democrat Donna Tillman, both of Rio Rancho, are vying for the New Mexico House District 57 seat — as they did in 2012.
That year, Harper, a research engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, emerged with about 53 percent of the vote to win his first term. Tillman is a retired professor who worked in education for over 40 years.
Both candidates were unopposed in the June primary election.
District 57 incorporates much of the northern half of Rio Rancho.
Each candidate was asked to provide biographical information and to answer these questions:
1. What do you believe is the most pressing need in your district that could be addressed with legislative help?
2. What are your priorities for capital outlay funding and why?
3. What is your view on water availability in New Mexico, and what would you like to see done in that area?
4. Do you favor the tax cuts and reforms that have been adopted the past few years to attract more business and industry to New Mexico? Is there a better approach?
5. Do you believe the state is taking the right steps to improve schools and student achievement in New Mexico? What would you do differently?
6. What is your view of bipartisanship in the Legislature and what assurance can you give that you will work for what’s best for New Mexico, even if it means crossing party lines?
7. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?
8. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?
9. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state?
Donna I. Tillman.
Donna I. Tillman
Age: Old enough to receive Social Security. Didn’t your mother teach you that this is an impolite question?
Party affiliation: Democrat
Residence: Rio Rancho
Education: B.S., Education; M.A. Research; Ph.D. Social Psychology; MBA; JD
Occupation: Retired professor
Family: Daughter in Farmington, son in Rio Rancho, two grandkids.
Political/government experience: Chair of Academic Senate, CSU Pomona, Calif.
Major professional accomplishment: 40 years of teaching, experience at all levels
Major personal accomplishment: Five advanced degrees
Responses to questionnaire:
1. Education and jobs.
2. Sufficient schools from early childhood to college.
3. We are in a drought situation and must do a better job to conserve. Not fund more golf courses.
4. No. Yes, a better approach is to pay employees more so they create demand for goods and services.
5. No. All these tests do is make the test makers rich. They don’t improve learning.
6. Bipartisanship works only if both sides are willing to compromise.
7. No.
8. No.
9. No.
Jason C. Harper.
Jason C. Harper
Age: 36
Party affiliation: Republican
Residence: Rio Rancho
Education: Ph.D., University of New Mexico; master of science, Purdue University; and bachelor of science, New Mexico Tech; all degrees in chemical engineering.
Occupation: Research engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, for 10 years. I develop technology to protect our soldiers from biological weapons.
Family: Married 15 years to my Cibola High School sweetheart, Mary; we have 3 boys and 1 girl.
Political/government experience: State representative 2012-present; volunteer campaign worker in municipal elections.
Major professional accomplishment: 2014 R&D 100 Award. R&D 100, the “Oscars of Innovation,” named my anthrax detector one of the most innovative technologies of 2013.
Major personal accomplishment: I believe in investing in the future, and as a scoutmaster, I helped nine young men earn the rank of Eagle Scout over the last three years. These young men have grown and matured through the hundreds of community service hours they have contributed, as well as through the life skills and experiences they have acquired. With future community leaders like these good young men, I know our future is bright.
Responses to questionnaire:
1. Many of our educational and social problems have their roots in struggling families. It’s difficult for parents to help their children learn to read, assist with their homework, or participate in enrichment activities when they are struggling to put food on the table. That’s why I’m fighting to completely overhaul New Mexico’s tax structure. We need to undo decades of special-interest perks and encourage businesses to grow and provide high-paying, high-quality jobs for families.
2. Rio Rancho is the third-largest city in the state, but has tax revenue that is smaller than cities half our size. This makes it challenging to keep our roads fixed, our water mains flowing, and our libraries, parks, and pools open. The wisest use of our limited capital outlay dollars is economic development. Bringing good-paying, permanent jobs to Rio Rancho will increase our city’s tax base, solving the root of our municipal budget problems.
3. Our water is precious. As a scoutmaster and avid outdoorsman, I strongly believe in wise stewardship of our natural resources. I support common-sense regulation that ensures we don’t waste water. We should also be investigating new water-saving technologies. And since Sandoval County has recently discovered a brackish (salty) water aquifer that can maintain the greater Albuquerque area for about 100 years, I strongly support greater research efforts into desalinization.
4. Using tax policy to pick business winners and losers is not the government’s job. Every carve-out for one business results in other businesses paying more than their fair share. I’ll continue to fight for fair, uniform, simple, and low taxes for all businesses and individuals.
5. My children attend Rio Rancho Public Schools, one of the highest-ranking school districts in the state. Their teachers work tirelessly to give my kids a great education, and they have my deepest appreciation. These great teachers should be rewarded for their hard work. While I support making student achievement part of teacher evaluations, the current evaluation procedure needs to be modified. Criteria should be reasonable, and measurements should be valid, reliable and fair.
6. As a research engineer, I solve problems for a living. When searching for solutions, I’m analytical, not partisan. I don’t care if the answer comes from a Republican or a Democrat, a conservative or a liberal–I’ll support it if it works. This has earned me credibility from both sides of the aisle. In fact, I was selected as our New Mexico House freshmen class president, even though there were many more Democrats than Republicans.
7. No.
8. No.
9. Nothing besides a minor traffic violation, which was dismissed.