'The voters are my bosses': How 4 N.M. lawmakers look at their job

Jan. 20—Rep. John Block

Before the close of business Friday, state Rep. John Block emailed his constituents back home in Alamogordo the first of what will be a weekly update of the 30-day legislative session.

The electronic newsletter from the freshman Republican touched on various topics, from "far-left" Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's State of the State address to bills he's sponsoring — including a $1.5 billion appropriation bill to finish building a border barrier between New Mexico and Mexico.

"I try to be pretty comprehensive and really stay connected to my district even while I'm up here in Santa Fe," said Block, who at 27 is the youngest member of the Legislature.

Block said he strives to be a good lawmaker by keeping the lines of communication open and "always, always, always" listening to his constituents in House District 51.

"I love them to death and anything that they believe in, I want to champion in the Legislature, so I always am reaching out to folks back home on different bills and different issues that I see coming up the pipeline because I want to be super in tune with the people who got me here," he said.

When he's not in session in Santa Fe, his hometown, Block said he tries to keep his finger on the pulse of the community.

"I'm always at party meetings and local school board meetings, city commission meetings, county commission meetings," he said. "If I'm not at those, I'm also in all these interim committees that are meeting around the state, so I try to bring back all that information."

Block, founder and editor of the conservative Piñon Post, a no-holds-barred website of news and opinion pieces, said an effective legislator has to have a strong work ethic.

"Every night after committee or after the floor, I come back to the place I'm staying and I read my bills and I get ready for the committee the next day," Block said. "You won't necessarily ever see me at the Bull Ring every night. I think I was there one time last session, and it was like early on because I don't really have time to go partying and having a good time. I only have time to be a representative for my district. It's all about the district."

Rep. Christine Chandler

When state Rep. Christine Chandler looks at her ongoing efforts to create a statewide paid family leave program in New Mexico, she doesn't view it as five years of failing to get a measure passed.

The Los Alamos Democrat — who along with Rep. Linda Serrato, D-Santa Fe; Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque; and Sen. Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, is giving the law another try this year — sees the experience as five years of refining legislation on an important issue to make it work for more people.

"Some issues are so large, you might say, that it's going to take multiple iterations, multiple sessions to get things through," Chandler said. "... In this case, every year we have made more progress in terms of listening to people and then moving the ball forward."

Chandler, an attorney who previously worked for Los Alamos National Laboratory, said she believes the often painstaking process of listening to concerns about legislation is a key quality in a good legislator.

"I rarely ... have refused to consider other perspectives on a bill," Chandler said, adding she makes a point to reach out to a range of people touched by an issue. "... I think it's important for a legislator to do that, [and] not just speak to the people who tend to agree on a particular issue, but go to other sources to see if you're missing something."

Chandler, who first took office in 2019, said that while she doesn't think there's just one way to be an effective legislator, she used to look to former Rep. Deborah Armstrong, an Albuquerque Democrat, as a role model for how to do the job. Armstrong, Chandler said, did her homework, considered fellow lawmakers' point of view, and brought a wealth of knowledge about the health care industry in particular.

"I always thought Debbie Armstrong had a really good approach," Chandler said. "She listened to people's concerns and adapted, and as a result she was able to push her legislation through."

Chandler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said she also think it's important to try to keep a line of communication open with Republicans, with Democrats in the Senate and with people like Cabinet secretaries who can provide insight on where the governor might be on an issue.

"We do take into account what we think will fly, in terms of the executive branch," Chandler said.

A good temperament and good sense of humor also helps.

"I think we all have egos in the Legislature," Chandler said. "... A strong ego is being able to absorb the criticism and being able to put yourself out there and not letting it bother you. The bad ego is when you think you are personally responsible for accomplishing something, because that is almost never the case."

Sen. Crystal Brantley

State Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, approaches her role as a legislator as a full-time job.

"If this is my job, then who are my bosses?" she asked.

"The voters, the constituents I represent, are my bosses," Brantley answered, adding a legislator shouldn't just check in with their constituents at election time, but on a regular basis, much like an employee does at work with a boss.

As such, Brantley, 43, said she tries to maintain constant communication with the people in her district.

Brantley, who uses social media to keep her constituents informed, said she also holds legislative forums before and after the session.

"After sessions, we do an autopsy," she said. "I'll travel my district, give highlights of what just came out of the session and what didn't."

One of the reasons she approaches her role as a legislator as a full-time job is because it is, she said.

"I think there's a misconception ... we only work 30 days or 60 days a year while we're in Santa Fe, and that is wrong," she said. "Our work continues [throughout the year] back in district."

While Republicans are in the minority in both chambers of the Legislature, Brantley said she believes they're still "very effective" as representatives of their districts when they're not in session in Santa Fe.

"We are the bridge between New Mexicans and state agencies," she said. "To be very direct, a lot of our job is spent encouraging government employees to do theirs."

Brantley, who used to be the director of the Sierra Soil and Water Conservation District before becoming a senator in 2021, said her focus is on her legislative district during the session but that she considers how her votes will impact the entire state.

"While we are in Santa Fe," she said, "we work for New Mexico collectively. ... When we're here, we all work for all New Mexico."

Sen. Leo Jaramillo

It was two years ago, in a frigid December, when state Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, started getting worried about propane.

Specifically, the first-term lawmaker said, he started fretting about the many Northern New Mexicans who relied on propane for heat and who were prohibited from having their tanks filled by a competing supplier — even in the face of a weather emergency, when they might not be able to get a refill before temperatures rose again.

"Rep. [Susan] Herrera [D-Embudo] knew that this was going to put a lot of our elderly constituents in danger," Jaramillo said.

The two co-sponsored a bill later signed into law allowing other propane companies to fill tanks in emergency situations.

Jaramillo, who counts Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, as a role model, said the impetus for the measure was an example of what he considers to be the most important quality for a lawmaker to have: a dedication to being deeply in tune with the basic needs of constituents.

"If we didn't have our ear to the ground and our connection to our community, we wouldn't have seen [the need]," Jaramillo said.

A former middle school teacher who now works as a staff operations manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Jaramillo said he prioritizes getting out to community events as often as he can so he doesn't lose touch. It helps, he said, that he doesn't have children and can channel his energy into getting out to see constituents.

"[There are] parents who are at basketball and football games watching their athlete," said Jaramillo, known for taking selfies everywhere, with everyone. "I'm out in my community at different events as though that were my child."

Jaramillo said it's also important not just to work with colleagues across the aisle, but to be able to value them for what they stand for. He said in his first year as a senator, he stopped by the Republican minority office.

"I walked in not to talk policy, but to know from each of the Republican senators who they are as New Mexicans," he said. "I wanted to know about their district, I wanted to know about their personal life and what made them decide to lead."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.