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Goodman: Bardwell, Rawson Present Clear Choice In District 3 County Commission Race

      I live in District 3, where the County Commission candidates are Beth Bardwell and Ben Rawson.  Karen Perez ably represented us, but had to quit because her professional work situation changed. 

This race presents a clear choice.

Bardwell is a lawyer who has worked for the City of Flagstaff and the Navajo Nation, and  practiced labor law.  After seven years as a lawyer, she went back to school at NMSU for a Masters of Science in Biology (1999).  Since then she's been working to conserve freshwater and rivers in this area through water policy reform (at the local, state, and federal levels) and on-the-ground restoration work.  She worked with EBID to create the state's first public-private partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop a cooperative, market-based environmental water transaction program on the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico.  She's also worked with Audubon and the World Wildlife Fund's Chihuahuan Desert Program.

Rawson, placed in his seat by Governor Susana Martinez, had limited relevant experience.  Son of a conservative businessman and former State Representative, Rawson, 31, had been general manager of his father's company for ten years.  His political experience before last August was limited to working as an intern during and after high school in N.M. Governor Gary Johnson's office and some work for Michigan Governor John Engler's office while Rawson was in school in Michigan.  He has been a County Commissioner for a little more than a year. 

I should to add that I like both candidates.   If Rawson were facing a weaker Democratic candidate, I might vote for him.  I have the impression that despite his lack of experience and the common belief that Martinez and his family had ambitions to see him in higher office, he's taking his work as Commissioner seriously.  On less “political” issues, he's not hard to work with and he tries to collaborate in reaching consensual solutions. 

But he's facing a superstar.  Bardwell has extensive and very relevant experience.   We're in a water crisis, and she knows water issues.  She's spent 15 years trying to convince all sides to cooperate in finding mutually acceptable ways to conserve water and preserve a living environment.  A law degree and legal experience aren't everything, but they ain't dog doo.  And she has the kind of low-key  personality that contributes to consensual solutions.

I'll post Sunday on my blog the answers each gave to a set of questions I asked.  I won't discuss those here except to say that after Rawson mentioned that there was not yet a published budget, I asked about that.  Another commissioner said Rawson didn't understand the process, because the budget doesn't get published until it's approved.  The same commissioner said Rawson had been kind of an obstructionist on some issues. 

Bardwell has been doing for decades the kinds of things a good commissioner might do: dealing with public issues, often issues in which citizens or companies have conflicting but legitimate interests, and finding the best result for the public.

Rawson has undoubtedly learned some business skills.  Running the business, he's presumably learned something about making a profit.   As a Commissioner he has focused largely on infrastructure and on budget issues, both of which are important.   From what I've seen of him at public meetings and in private discussions, he's friendly, has a sense of humor, and seems to listen.

In short, both candidates seem personable and well-intentioned; both seem friendly, and concerned about constituents' needs; but Bardwell's politics appear more appealing to the majority of their would-be constituents, and she has an admirable wealth of experience and hard-earned wisdom we'd be foolish not to make use of.

Peter Goodman is a local writer, photographer, and sometime lawyer.   He initially moved to Las Cruces in 1969, holds two degrees from NMSU, and moved back here in 2011 with his wonderful wife.  This is his most recent Sunday column in the Las Cruces Sun-News.  His blog Views from Soledad Canyon contains further information on this subject, as well as other comments and photographs, and past newspaper columns.