Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, has spent most of her life in Albuquerque and said her values remain rooted in her native traditions.
Haaland has been involved in political campaigns for the past 10 years. In 2004 she worked as a full-time volunteer for the John Kerry campaign. She also worked for the Barack Obama campaigns of 2008 and 2012 alongside her daughter, who has assisted with political campaigns since she was nine years old.
During the 2012 election, Haaland was the state Native American director for Organizing for America-New Mexico, an organization that supported the Obama campaign. Her efforts bolstered the vote in Native American precincts by 60 percent, she said.
Not only does Haaland want to represent Native Americans, she wants to set an example for women and girls.
“There are not a lot of women in leadership roles in Native American communities,” Haaland said. “I would like to see more Native American women run for office and have opportunities to make decisions.”
Being elected as the first Native American lieutenant governor would not be Haaland’s first mark on history. She is currently the first chairwoman of the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, a group in charge of the economic development of the Laguna pueblo.
“The lieutenant governor is the president of the state Senate, so they preside over what’s going on in the state Senate of New Mexico,” said Timothy Krebs, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico. “They will act as governor when the governor is not in the state ... beyond that, they have a fairly limited portfolio of responsibilities.”
Haaland said she expects her cultural values to influence her leadership. She said her father would take her fishing and they would walk along the banks and beaches, which taught her to appreciate nature.
“I feel like I have certain values I have learned from my culture, like respect for the environment,” Haaland said. “I would love to bring that with me to the lieutenant governor’s office.”
As an elected official, Haaland said, she would like to spotlight environmental issues and solutions. For example, she said, New Mexico could use a stronger anti-littering program.
Haaland is paired on the ballot with Democrat Gary King. The duo is running against Republicans Gov. Susana Martinez and Lt. Gov. John Sanchez.
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So far, Krebs said the race is looking difficult for King and Haaland.
“It’s a tough road for them right now,” Krebs said. “They’re behind in the polls, and they’re certainly behind in terms of raising money for their campaign. It makes it difficult for them to compete with an incumbent governor who is well-funded ... its going to be a tough climb for them I think, but anything can happen. ... Something big has to happen in the next three weeks to turn this around.”
Martinez’s campaign has raised more than $6 million, in contrast to King’s campaign, which has gathered around $1 million.
Haaland said her mother and grandmother taught her the importance of working hard.
Part of her work ethic stems from her work as a 14-year-old after school for Zinn’s Bakery in southeast Albuquerque. After graduating high school she worked at the bakery for 10 years. It wasn’t until she was 28 that she entered the University of New Mexico, where she later graduated with a degree in English with a focus on professional writing. Four days after her graduation, Haaland’s daughter was born.
As a single mother, Haaland wanted to find some way to support herself while staying home with her daughter, so she started a salsa company out of her home kitchen. She said that while the company did not do very well, it was enough to support herself and her daughter.
After Haaland received her first degree, she decided to attend UNM Law School and graduated in 2006. She took her daughter to all of her classes.
“She grew up in front of college professors and lectures,” Haaland said.
Haaland is looking forward to elections this year and still wants to get Pueblo districts involved in voting.
“Indian vote is very important to me this time around,” she said.
Micaela Eldridge-Lane, Kyle Tomasi and Hayley Mitchell are journalism students. Eldridge-Lane and Tomasi are also freelance reporters for the Daily Lobo. This story first ran on newmexiconewsport.com.
