Skaggs looks to upset Small in second bout for House District 36

The last few election cycles have left the New Mexico Legislature with new leadership – and Las Cruces’ Nathan Small has been a big part of that. 

Small, who’s held the New Mexico House of Representatives District 36 seat since winning it in 2016, was appointed last year as the chair of the Appropriations and Finance Committee. The panel oversees the creation of the state’s yearly budget, meaning Small has a significant role in shaping how and why money is spent in New Mexico. 

Now, he faces a familiar opponent. Kim Skaggs, the former chair of the county Republican Party, faces Small in a second attempt to unseat him. In the first round, Small pulled 5,098 votes (52 percent) to Skaggs' haul of 4,690 (48 percent). 

While around 10,000 people are expected to vote in this election, that isn’t stopping the candidates—both of whom play a role in their parties' broader efforts—from raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Campaign finance records show that Skaggs has raised about $166,000, most of it from Republican lawmakers, a Farmington-based oil company, and a few local business owners, including Marci Dickerson, owner of The Game restaurants, and Oscar Andrade, owner of Pic Quik. 

The same records show Small has raised about $253,000, much of it carried over from previous campaigns. Small has also received donations from oil companies Exxon Mobile, Chevron and Marathon, as well as a slew of smaller donations from Albuquerque and Las Cruces residents and lobbying groups representing a few New Mexico Native American tribes. 

The Bulletin asked Small and Skaggs to answer questions generated from a survey of Las Cruces Bulletin readers. Here are their answers.

Please provide any relevant experiences or background information about yourself that you believe readers should know.

Small: I’m a lifelong outdoorsman with a passion for public service.  I have served Las Cruces and Doña Ana County in the state Legislature since 2017. Working with NM Wild, I helped lead the community effort to create the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. Named House Budget Chair in 2023, I’m focused on making our state budget work for families, and making sure it reflects the values of southern New Mexico families. I’ve recently been awarded the NM Foundation for Open Government Dixon First Amendment Award.

Skaggs did not provide an answer to this question.

Do you support the governor's public safety agenda as proposed in the 2024 special legislative session? Please explain your position.   

Skaggs: What I support is a comprehensive package of bills to reign in New Mexico’s out of control crime epidemic: Bail reform, pretrial detention changes, tougher penalties for repeat offenders, more money to [the Department of Public Safety] to help stop the flow of fentanyl along our southern border and yes, changes to our competency laws.  What the governor proposed was a small but important part of protecting the public.  It however was not nearly enough to address what is going on in New Mexico.

Small: I am focused on increasing public safety and reducing crime. I helped lead the effort to invest $100 million to hire and keep more law enforcement officers and improve our courts to prosecute criminals more quickly. We’ve strengthened penalties for gun crimes, increased penalties for violent felons and murderers, and I’m open to additional state policy measures. I’m committed to continued funding to reduce homelessness through more housing, access to healthcare and strategic policies that match services with those in need.

What short-term and long-term solutions would you propose/support as a legislator to address concerns around crime in southern New Mexico? 

Small: As Chair of the Budget Committee, I ensured that the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office and the Las Cruces Police Department have funding to hire new police and sheriff's officers. I also secured new funding for Las Cruces and Doña Ana County for homelessness, drug treatment and behavioral health. The bottom line is we need more law enforcement officers, technology and strategic infrastructure to deter and arrest criminals. We need a well-resourced and stronger judicial system to stop the revolving door of repeat dangerous offenders and swiftly administer justice. Expanding drug treatment, transitional housing, and healthcare are also critical.

Skaggs: Short term, we must close the revolving door system currently in place. That means reforming our pretrial detention system to make sure dangerous people are not let out after arrest for violent offenses. Long term we must restore the profession of law enforcement in New Mexico. Albuquerque, for example, has a long list of crimes they do not arrest for. This type of policy is a disservice to the people of that city and ultimately breeds crime. Lastly, we need to make sure our behavioral health services are adequately funded.

What solutions would you propose/support to improve the finances of New Mexico residents who experience higher prices of essential goods and stagnated wages? 

Small: The best way to combat the rising cost of living is to have better-paying jobs and to put more money in the pockets of hardworking New Mexico Families. We cut income taxes for working families and expanded the working families tax credit. We need to lower the costs of prescription drugs and expand the Child Tax Credit, and continue to make our tax system more fair. Our state government has an unprecedented amount of resources. We can invest in the future of our economy while also making sure hard-working people are able to meet their day-to-day needs right now.

Skaggs: Excessive inflation is due to overspending by the federal government.  While we cannot control irresponsible federal spending, we can make New Mexico a leader in tax reform. Lowering the overall GRT rate and broadening the base would bring fairness back to the tax code while also letting New Mexicans keep more of their money.  I would also look at eliminating the personal income tax or at least reducing it to a low flat tax.  New Mexico has record revenues from oil and gas, there is no reason we should be taxing New Mexicans on top it to the degree that we are.

What solutions would you propose/support to create more access to mental health resources, particularly for people accused of crimes, in southern New Mexico?

Skaggs: I am in favor of increasing funding for mental health resources and believe that those services must be part of our state’s prevention, interventions and rehabilitation efforts. 

Small: We are rebuilding our behavioral health infrastructure, and Las Cruces is leading the way. La Clinica de Familia has New Mexico’s strongest behavioral healthcare programs, and with more support we can expand access to healthcare. Access to treatment is vital, and by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates and using the Healthcare Affordability Fund, we can bring more healthcare professionals here. School based health centers along with pre-K and home support services are also important.

What solutions would you propose/support to access/restrict access to reproductive health, such as abortion? 

Small: I support a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, especially healthcare decisions, without the intervention or imposition of the government.

Skaggs: I am in favor of ending the practice of elective late term abortions. What I also support is giving women access to every piece of information that is available when it comes to an unexpected pregnancy. Too often women are only given one option when in this situation. There are numerous resources and resource centers for women who are pregnant as well as post birth assistance.  Women should, at the least, be well informed when making these decisions and know what alternatives to abortion, and what resources are available to them, exist.

New Mexico has consistently ranked lower in education standings than the other 49 states. Why is this the case, and what steps would you take to improve education outcomes in New Mexico?

Skaggs: New Mexico has increased funding for public education by almost 60 percent over the last 5 years.  This historical investment into public education, however, has unfortunately not moved the needle on outcomes. New Mexico is still last in the nation when it comes to educational outcomes and our state, and our kids are suffering as a result. I support giving parents options when it comes to their kid’s education. No one should be forced to attend a failing school because of income or zip code. I would like to see the dollars follow the student, wherever they choose to go.

Small: Career technical education, summer internships and expanded extracurricular options increase student engagement, achievement and graduation rates. I’m proud to have led record state investments in these and other areas, with another $500 million in 2024. Teacher salaries are at an all-time high, we have debt-free college and trades school for students who work hard. We need to focus on recruiting the best teachers and retaining them. We can enhance incentives for educators across the board by providing more resources to support their work in the classroom and after-school programming, and addressing infrastructure and technology needs.

What is the legislature's responsibility in addressing human-caused climate change in New Mexico – especially considering the state’s reliance on oil and gas to generate revenue for state government and employment opportunities? 

Small: We’re growing our economy by tackling climate change’s challenges head-on. NMSU’s world class research in water efficiency and water reuse is helping save fresh water and find new water resources. I passed the Energy Transition Act to develop our renewable energy resources and retrain former fossil fuel workers. I passed the Healthy Soils Act to support farmers, ranchers, and watershed restoration. We’re investing in clean technology, apprenticeships and workforce development. New tax credits are making energy efficient home upgrades and electric cars affordable for families, and we are cracking down on polluters with stronger rules and more workers to enforce them. 

Skaggs: New Mexico and the United States are one of the cleanest producers of natural resources in the world. By restricting development and extraction here, we are pushing oil and gas extraction into countries with significantly lower environmental standards. This is cutting off our nose to spite our face, especially when New Mexico’s oil and gas industry is delivering billions of dollars to New Mexico’s budget every year. We have a responsibility to the people of this state to make sure we do not harm the industry that funds our public education system and that employees thousands of New