By Ryan Floersheim
Daily Lobo
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson once again made a campaign appearance at UNM Thursday, this time to a crowd of about 40 republicans, democrats, students, faculty and area residents.
The crowd's size, which Richardson said he expected to be larger, was symptomatic of what he believes to be one of New Mexico's biggest problems - young voter's turnout.
"The governor race is probably the single most influential determinate in this generation's lives," Richardson said. "It is a nationwide problem trying to get young people involved in voting and taking an active stance in their future."
Richardson began his discussion by addressing the problem of a low wage economy that exists throughout New Mexico, having a domino-type effect on the quality of life.
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"We are 50th in the country in per capita income," Richardson said. "Quality professors leave New Mexico for better paying jobs, leaving a severe lack of trained educators that eventually leave us with an uneducated population."
Richardson also blamed the epidemic on the universities in the state, which he claims compete against each other for sheer student enrollment instead of making education their number one priority.
Richardson then began to run down his list of the three most important things that students could do at this time for him, including bumper stickers, yard signs and early voting. Several people in the crowd openly criticized him for this move, claiming that he was more concerned with political strategizing than addressing political issues that most affect students.
The rest of the discussion was devoted entirely to a question and answer session.
Richardson said that he sees water as being the number one long-range issue facing New Mexico.
"There are entirely too many policies regarding the water in New Mexico which will eventually cripple our very existence unless something is done to change it," Richardson said.
He added that if elected governor, he would set up special "water courts" designed specifically for disputes over water rights that would help expedite the process instead of leaving them tied up in court for months. He said he would also push for water banks to help New Mexico ensure a future water supply and funding for advanced technology to find new ways to preserve what precious water is left within the state.
He went on to address the college faculty in the crowd, vowing to give them an immediate salary increase once he becomes governor. He also proposed a new scholarship, much like the Lottery scholarship, that would provide free tuition or interest-free loans to students who commit to becoming teachers.
"There are over 400 teacher vacancies in the public school systems in the kindergarten through 12th grade levels right now," Richardson said. "We need to take immediate steps to ensure the education of generations to come in our state."
Richardson said that Indian gaming is a facet of New Mexico that is here to stay and that should be researched to work more efficiently. "The social costs are high for many people involved with casinos," Richardson said. "We need to find ways to make the gaming revenues help people in the state."
He concluded his discussion by saying what an incredible feeling he gets from running for office.
"There is nothing like looking at the polls on election night and seeing the thousands of people that voted for you, knowing that all the shit you had to do to get there was finally worth it."
