Mountainair is a small town in New Mexico about an hour and a half southeast of Albuquerque. It’s got one streetlight and one gas station. Pastor Darrell Roberts says he likes living out in the open where people look at things from a humble perspective and live a simpler—if usually less affluent—lifestyle.
As part of our Voices Behind The Vote series, KUNM talked with Pastor Roberts about what matters to him as Election Day comes down the tracks.
Health care is one of the issues on his mind. “There’s a lot of people in this community who don’t have a lot of finances, and it’s hard on them, especially when they face medical issues,” Roberts said.
His wife is an accountant, and he said they’ve seen the Affordable Care Act cause more harm than good. Roberts added that it has to be scrapped, not overhauled, as Democratic contender Hillary Clinton has been suggesting during her campaign.
He cares about local political races, too, and knows some of the candidates in his region personally. That helps people make better-informed decisions, he said.
Roberts doesn’t vote along party lines. Instead, he said he always votes his conscience, and it’s guided by his Christian faith. “From my viewpoint, the moral decay in America is real important, and I’m concerned about who can help us dig our way back to God.”
