There are three Republican candidates running for governor in the June 2nd primary, which for the first time will allow independent or unaffiliated voters to participate. Duke Rodriguez is a cannabis entrepreneur and former health care executive. He was also secretary of the Human Services Department under former Gov. Gary Johnson. Rodriguez told New Mexico in Focus correspondent Gwyneth Doland why he’s unlike his competitors.
DUKE_RODRIGUEZ: I don't think any of them can tell you how many Medicaid recipients we have, how much it costs the state. I don't think they could tell you what the split between the federal dollars and the state dollars are in the SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance] program. I know those things because that's what I grew up with, and not as being a cabinet secretary, as being a provider of health care services. As being an individual recipient of food stamps, or living in the housing projects in Alamogordo. I am not your blue blazer country club Republican, but I've lived the New Mexico experience.
NMPBS: So, how would your approach as governor be different?
RODRIGUEZ: It would be very decisive. This state has gotten very good at spending. I don't think we've gotten very good at investing, and so our budgets grow. We have very little accountability, and I'm more based upon, you know, what do the numbers really say? How can we benefit the most number of people? We've got plenty of resources. Everywhere I go, I tell people New Mexico is not a poor state. We are absolutely a poorly run state. My vision is to fix that second half and be a well-run state where New Mexicans can not only be proud but benefit from the largess that is New Mexico.
NMPBS: I want to talk to you about immigration. Your grandparents emigrated from Mexico, your parents were migrant laborers, and you've said you support stronger border security, but you disagree with President Trump's mass deportation agenda. You've even suggested a modern Bracero program.
RODRIGUEZ: That's correct.
NMPBS: In today's Republican party, how do you balance border enforcement with the reality that many industries in this country depend on immigrant labor?
RODRIGUEZ: It is hard for any New Mexican from any city, town, or village in New Mexico to deny the cultural significance, the tie we have to Mexico, the fact that we need workers, whether you're an oil worker in southeastern New Mexico or involved in our green chile, we need to have able-bodied workers in the US. We all agree on the concepts of protecting our borders. We don't want fentanyl, we don't want criminals in our country, but I still believe we are compassionate people that want to do what is right. I just think the difficult part, which is what we need, is not an attitude of saying “I'm fierce, I'm going to stop the White House, I'm going to be a brick wall.” That's the absolute wrong attitude. We need to say, okay, I lived this experience before you all on the East Coast decide what's right for New Mexico. Let us tell you how we are, why we need and what we do.
NMPBS: You've sued Gov. [Michelle] Lujan Grisham over the state's universal child care program, but you've also talked here today about how your family benefited from public assistance when you were young. Supporters say without universal child care, they can't afford to, they can't work. In your view, where is the line between helping families get up on their feet and creating a culture of dependency?
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RODRIGUEZ: When you talk about universal child care, I believe in child care assistance. I also believe in doing it lawfully and doing it right. I also believe about being transparent. Most of your listeners would be shocked if I told them the current version of what was crafted unlawfully announced prior to the legislature even meeting or funding it, which will get overruled by the Supreme Court and set aside. That's a strike on the governor, not on the program. It has to be done lawful, which means we have to have public input, which means we have to have feasibility studies, which means we have to know how much it costs. Right now, I would tell you what is designed today irrationally, irresponsibly, and unlawfully is going to cost more from the state budget than what we from the state budget provide SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid combined, and that should scare everyone. That's just plain old irresponsible.