Among the three Republicans running for governor in the June 2 primary is former Rio Rancho Mayor Greg Hull. He describes himself as a pragmatic leader rather than an ideological Republican, and he told New Mexico in Focus correspondent Gwyneth Doland the things that made him a successful mayor in one city will serve him well as governor overseeing a whole state.
GREG_HULL: As a governor that's had the experience as a mayor, I know how to go into these communities, work with the mayors, work with the councils, identify problems, and approach those strategically on an individual basis. And I think that's what we're missing in the state of New Mexico, is you do get a one-size-fits-all approach to many things, and there's a lot of things that do need that individual attention, and I think we can do that with communities looking for the things that they're looking for. Rio Rancho sits on the on the edge of Albuquerque. But when I first took office, our median income was at about $50,000 to $53,000 and now it's up to around, I think, over $85,000 and that was due to the fact that we really created a community that people felt safe in, and the school district there is just outstanding. So, a lot of people were coming there and moving to Rio Rancho. Years ago, it wasn't the community of choice. It was a suburb of Albuquerque, but now it's completely kind of morphed and changed. So, we'll work with communities on a local level.
NMPBS: So, what's one thing from your time there that you would apply statewide as governor?
HULL: I would take a statewide water approach where we work with the communities. We led the state in the first aquifer recharge system, and I think that that's something that, when we look at the scarcity of water in the state, we need to be utilizing every drop that we can get. So working with local communities on a statewide water policy to make that a more symbiotic relationship, as opposed to a siloed one.
NMPBS: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the legislature have used tax incentives and state investment to try to grow and diversify the economy. Your plan relies more on lowering barriers and letting the private sector lead in a state with a relatively small private sector, though. Why does that approach work better, and how quickly will voters see results?
Well, number one, I think the regulatory barriers that a lot of companies face coming into the state are critical because it's an uphill battle sometimes, getting companies to come here, and as a mayor, I've worked closely with site selectors in understanding what they're looking for when they come into the community, whether it's, workforce needs, infrastructure, the different things that they're looking for that that would make New Mexico a good fit. So, yes, from a regulatory standpoint, now, but we've also, in Rio Rancho, used tax incentives, we've had used IRBs [industrial revenue bonds], we've used what we call PIDs [public improvement districts] and TIDs [tax increment districts] to incentivize development to try to bring down costs, not only for the companies that are coming here, but for the people that are moving into the community, so pairing those tools up, so that you have a public benefit and a private benefit to the total overall relationship, is an approach that I've taken in Rio Rancho, and that's the approach I'll take for the state of New Mexico.
NMPBS: Rio Rancho leaned Republican during much of your time as mayor. As governor, you'd be dealing with a Democratic legislature in a heavily Democratic state at this point. What experience do you have working across serious political differences?
HULL: As chairman of the New Mexico Mayor's Caucus for eight years, I worked with mayors across the state, and if there's one thing that mayors know how to do is set aside those political differences and talk about the issues that matter, the things that really impact people on a day-to-day basis, whether that's public safety, health care, education, infrastructure, all of these things come front and center. And as a mayor, I've had to work with that legislature for the last 12 years, working to get certain bills passed, working to get certain bills stopped, and then I've had to work with governors from both party persuasions to try to make sure that what's happening in New Mexico benefited my city and the surrounding communities to make sure that we were being recognized for the growth that we were having, and the fact that one of the things that I fought for was local autonomy, right, is making sure that we had maximum local governance to do what I needed to do for the citizens of Rio Rancho, and that's the way I'll work. So, I've had that experience. It has been largely in a nonpartisan world for me, and that means that I have to bring everybody to the table, whether it's Republican, Independent, Democrat - doesn't matter. A lot of us are focused on the very same things, and that's the way I'll take that to the Roundhouse.
Early voting for the primary continues through Saturday and Election Day is June 2nd. For the first time, independent and unaffiliated voters can participate in the primary. Onsite voter registration is also available.
