OPINION: Northeast Heights deserves tough, effective and proactive leadership in the Legislature

Although the term “public servant” is often reserved for politicians, the true character of public service, I believe, is embodied by the thousands of hardworking professionals within a community who simply get up every day and contribute to something greater than themselves.

The educators who dedicate themselves to the well-being of our children, the police officers and firefighters who sacrifice their individual safety for the safety of our community, the health care professionals who work tirelessly to serve their patients with compassion and empathy — these public servants and so many others are the heartbeat of our great city.

My public service took a bit of a different form. I worked with the U.S. Forest Service for more than 20 years, most recently as District Ranger in the Cibola National Forest, which borders the Northeast Heights community my husband and I have called home for decades.

In that role, I couldn’t ever afford to be reactive. It was my obligation to think proactively about the problems we could face down the line — on top of managing day-to-day challenges — and organize dozens of various groups, often with conflicting interests, around comprehensive strategies and compromises.

My job was to facilitate and listen — and ultimately to lead. This kind of proactive problem-solving approach is precisely what we need to address the challenges we face in our city and state.

The laws and penalties we have for violent crime must be enforced. There is no excuse whatsoever for the “catch and release” mechanism that has put violent offenders back on our streets, endangering our children and our communities. We need tougher penalties and straightforward sentencing guidelines. And I will support long-term investments in programs that help treat addiction and behavioral health issues, so we can help at-risk youth and stop the revolving door that turns petty criminals into violent ones.

Furthermore, I will fight for tougher penalties for DWI and holding law enforcement and our court system accountable for stricter enforcement.

And I’m keenly aware of how a proactive approach to public safety must include funding for wildfire prevention and mitigation and investment in our water infrastructure, as climate change worsens the risks and threats we face.

I believe in the importance of supporting our public education system as it stabilizes. I will support strategic investments in evidence-based programs and reducing administrative bloat. And I believe if we continue to invest in higher education and career-training, our students will get the skills they need to get good jobs right here in New Mexico and build our workforce of the future, particularly in fields like health care, broadband and clean energy.

And as a state representative I will work to make sure our government is improving access to health care and driving down health care costs, supporting scholarship and loan repayment programs to get more health care professionals into our state. We need to remove barriers and provide more incentives to retain the health care professionals here in our state.

In short, I will put patients and providers first. And that includes reproductive rights, which must be protected against the radical efforts to strip women of their freedom to make their own decisions about family planning.

The issues in our city are complex. But going in circles without taking action gets us nowhere. I have spent my professional life cutting through the talk and getting to the heart of the problems.

The Northeast Heights deserves tough, effective and proactive leadership in the Legislature — and the hardworking families of House District 31 are ready for representation that is part of the solution.

Vicky Estrada-Bustillo, of Albuquerque, is the Democratic candidate for District 31 in the New Mexico House of Representatives. She faces Republican Nicole Chavez in the Nov. 5 election to represent the Albuquerque-based district. Republican incumbent William “Bill” Rehm is not seeking re-election.