(3 of 4)
If Baca can unseat Joe Skeen, she will become New Mexico's first Hispanic Congresswoman. But she'll have to work very hard to beat a 16-year incumbent who won by 31 points in 1994, even in the Second, which, after a 1990 redistricting, is 42% Hispanic. Baca speaks out in favor of preserving public land and against using immigrants as scapegoats.
THE ISSUES Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays YES Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "It is not cost-effective to take child care and all the support systems away and giving a tax break to a family with an income of $210,000."
JOE SKEEN (R) District 2
BORN: June 30, 1927, Roswell EDUCATION: Texas A&M U, B.S., 1950 FAMILY: Wife, Mary; two children RELIGION: Roman Catholic MILITARY: Navy, 1945-46; Air Force Reserve, 1949-52 OCCUPATION: Sheep rancher; soil-and-water engineer POLITICAL CAREER: New Mexico Senate, 1961-71; New Mexico Republican Party chairman, 1962-65; U.S. House, 1980- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 2446, Roswell 88201. Tel.: 505-623-8323 After two runs at the governorship, Skeen won the House on a write-in vote and has been sent back ever since. Serving as chair of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he protects the rural interests of his district, including Holloman Air Force Base and the White Sands Missile Range.
THE ISSUES Budget YES Medicare YES Defense NO Abortion YES Guns NO Gays YES Bosnia YES NAFTA YES Welfare YES Medical Leave NO (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "Spending on rural development has been reduced...but we have consolidated programs and given the Administration the flexibility it requested to better meet the requirements of each individual state."
BILL REDMOND (R) District 3 (North and east central--Farmington; Santa Fe)
BORN: Jan. 28, 1954, Chicago EDUCATION: Lincoln Christian College, B.A., 1979; Lincoln Christian Seminary, M.Div., 1988 FAMILY: Wife, Shirley-Raye; two children RELIGION: Christian MILITARY: Army, 1984-92 OCCUPATION: Minister; teacher; roller-rink manager POLITICAL CAREER: New Mexico Republican Party central committee, 1994- ADDRESS: 1640 16th Street, Los Alamos 87544. Tel.: 505-661-2335 A part-time minister, Redmond represents a clear alternative to the Democratic incumbent. He promotes a Christian-conservative platform of balanced budget, voluntary school prayer, tuition credits for private and home schools and strong anti-gay positions: he would reverse the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, deny adoption rights to homosexual couples, and prevent immigrants with AIDS from entering the country.
THE ISSUES
Budget YES Medicare YES Defense NR Abortion YES Guns NO Gays YES Bosnia YES NAFTA NO Welfare YES Medical Leave NO (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "America's problem with crime is not a lack of gun control, but a lack of justice in the courts."
BILL RICHARDSON (D) District 3