Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Gloria Tristani, made her third and final visit to UNM yesterday before the Nov. 5 vote, campaigning for the support of UNM students and discussing her stance on a number of issues that are important to college-aged and N.M. voters.
"I feel that it is important to visit the campus because as a graduate of UNM's law school, I owe a large measure of my success to the superb training I received here," Tristani said. "I am also here to urge students to realize just how important their vote is and how big of an impact the results of these elections have, especially on them."
Tristani, who was a guest speaker in an Election 2002 Honors class, spent a portion of the class discussing her opponent, Republican Senatorial incumbent Pete Domenici, who she described as "too right-winged" in his platform on issues facing New Mexicans.
Tristani, who served on the Federal Communications Commission since 1997, resigned from her appointment last year to come back to Albuquerque and run for the Senate, a race that she believes she can win.
"I picked this race because I think my opponent has lost touch with New Mexicans, and that he does not represent their best interests," Tristani said.
Tristani noted, however, the poor track record of people trying to oust incumbents from their seats.
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"Ninety percent of the time the candidate with the most money wins," Tristani said, pointing out the odds she is up against. "Over the course of this race, I have been out-raised 10 to one as far as campaign funds."
She went on to stress her belief in the importance of having constituents hear candidates' and political parties' positions on issues pertinent to them.
She pointed out that she has had to resort to small classroom settings to be heard with Domenici's unwillingness to schedule public debates, which she said would showcase the extent of the problems with the current situation in the Senate.
Tristani said that while she feels that her viewpoints and position are important, the larger issue is the composition of the Senate, which if the Democrats lose the majority of, would throw off the system that currently keeps power between Democrats and Republicans balanced.
Granddaughter of the late U.S. Senator Dennis Chavez, Tristani outlined five major issues that she is concentrating on, which she feels deserve the utmost attention by whoever should fill the Senate seat after the election Nov. 5. These include corporate accountability, raising the federal minimum wage, safeguarding social security, lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and gaining more federal dollars for use in a number of critical areas.
"Our country is in a bad economic condition," Tristani said. "However, if something is not done to correct these problems, things can get a lot worse."
She said the solution is people gaining enough information to vote for the security of their future, and elected officials that are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the happiness of the people they are representing.
Tristani received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College at Columbia University and her law degree from UNM's School of Law. She is a member of the New Mexico and Colorado Bar Associations. A resident of New Mexico since 1982, Tristani moved to Washington, D.C., for her election as the first woman to the New Mexico Corporations Commission in 1994. In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Federal Communications Commission, where she remained until 2001 when she returned to New Mexico to begin her campaign for Senator.
"Of course I want people to get out and vote for me, but more importantly than that, I just want them to get out and vote for their future," Tristani said.
