ELECTION 2020: COUNTDOWN TO NOV. 3

Vote Ben Ray Luján and get our U.S. Senate working

THE JOURNAL’S unsurprising but disappointing endorsement of the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate is a call for the continuation of the current disastrous political status quo where Mitch McConnell has blocked every effort by U.S. Representative Ben Ray Luján and his Democratic colleagues to fight for the well-being of everyday Americans attempting to survive in an increasingly cruel environment.

The Republican candidate is a political novice who has never previously run for office at any level. His main claim to fame is that he served as a meteorologist at … Albuquerque television stations since moving to New Mexico from out of state, where he got to stand in front of a green screen wearing heavy makeup while making weather predictions. This hardly qualifies him for a seat representing New Mexico in the U.S. Senate, especially if he is unable or unwilling to use his professional experience to stand against the obvious calamitous effects of global warming and climate change. Singer Bob Dylan told us all we need to know in his 1965 classic “Subterranean Homesick Blues:” “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

I’ve known Ben Ray Luján since 2014 as a campaign volunteer and briefly as a member of his district office staff in Santa Fe. He is a tireless worker on behalf of all of his constituents, not just those who are members of his political party. He is a rare combination of policy expert and public servant with exceptional personal qualities that allow him to connect with the diverse constituents he serves. I’ve never seen an office holder with his work ethic and willingness to go the extra mile for those he represents. Ben Ray will bring these same qualities to the U.S. Senate and New Mexico will be extremely fortunate to have him working on our behalf. ...

CLIFFORD M. REES Santa Fe

It’s time for the failed Luján legacy in NM to finally end

BEN RAY Luján Sr. was a member of the N.M. House of Representatives for 37 years and speaker of the House for 11 years. The only reason Ben Ray Luján Jr. was ever elected to be a U.S. representative from New Mexico was because of his father. The only reason that we suffer with tax lightning when a house is sold is because of his father. Don’t you think that it is time to put a failed legacy behind us?

RICHARD IRLAND Albuquerque

Senate candidate Schmedes smearing Dem in House race

JESSICA VELASQUEZ is a principled candidate who stands by her community and her friends. Greg Schmedes is without honest campaign tactics (and) has committed a lame smear job using a 2018 photo of Jessica and a friend.

Velasquez’s friend is a highly respected diplomat who served the United States widely overseas. In the photo, this friend is wearing a warm hat on a cold day. The hat is a souvenir of service with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and is a reminder of an exemplary record about which we should be proud, but Schmedes has used it to create an ignorant smear job.

Schmedes’ crude tactics on behalf of Stefani Lord should invigorate New Mexicans who want a District 22 representative with decency and integrity. Velasquez is a local businesswoman deeply involved in service to her community. Stefani Lord joins Schmedes to litter constituent property with fake newspapers filled with fake ads. Reject Schmedes’ lies and go vote for Jessica.

DORANNA DURGIN Tijeras

Navy veteran asks why can’t you see Trump’s unfit to lead?

I AM a retired Navy man and until 2016 I was a registered Republican. I voted straight Republican in every election, from president down to the local government level. A man who would denigrate the wartime military service of John McCain and in the same sentence denigrate all prisoners of war — think of our N.M. 200th and 515th Coast Artillery National Guard soldiers who were ordered to surrender to the Japanese in WWII — make a derogatory statement to a Gold Star family, not to mention all of the many sexist comments made to and about female news journalists, would not get my vote, my support, or my respect.

When Trump got the Republican nomination for president, I quit the Republican Party and registered as an Independent. In the past four years Trump has proven that he is incompetent and unfit to be our president. Add to that, his negligent handling of the worst medical crisis to hit our country in over 100 years, which has probably resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans that need not have happened, his politicalization of wearing face coverings will result in more needless suffering and deaths. ...

Your non-endorsement of a presidential candidate and endorsement of an unqualified candidate for U.S. Senate shows that you are willing to overlook the serious flaws demonstrated by a political party. I am so disappointed in my hometown newspaper.

REUBEN V. APODACA Albuquerque

Candidate Schmedes plain wrong on herd immunity

I AM writing to express my exceptionally serious concern about Dr. Greg Schmedes’ support of the Great Barrington Declaration. I live in Senate District 19. I find it unconscionable that a physician who is running for Senate in my district would support such an dangerous and immoral proposal. I have been a registered nurse for 55 years and have been following reports about COVID-19. The world has already lost over 1.1 million people to this disease. And we are seeing a spike in the number of cases. Our hospitals and their staff are already being pushed so very hard caring for our currently sick neighbors. If this proposal goes into effect, I suggest we will have to refuse to admit ill people to the hospitals because as we have again stopped admitting people for “elective surgery.” Eighty percent of hospital beds and 75% of ICU beds are currently full.

The idea of exposing numerous more people to this awful illness is ludicrous. The concept of “herd immunity” has not been proven in terms of what percent of the population must contract this disease in order to achieve this nebulous goal. In addition, we don’t even know how long a person’s immunity will last so it may not even help us even if massive numbers more get sick.

Finally, I need to say from a public health perspective how could we isolate all the people who are at risk? There are many young people who have had no known co-morbidities or preexisting conditions who have died from COVID-19 and many others who have developed long-term health problems. There is so much more research we need to do into this dangerous yet not fully known disease. Please do not support this bizarre, unsubstantiated concept.

VALERIE BARKLEY Tijeras

I second the call to keep Judge Flores on the bench

I WOULD readily repeat every word that David Peercy wrote in the Oct. 28 Journal: “I was a juror in Judge Flores’ court; I say retain her.”

Therefore, I commend him and add my same request that everyone vote to retain Judge Jacqueline Dolores Flores in her quest to remain a judge. I also was a juror in her court and was impressed by her professional manner in dealing with the issue on hand. That is the kind of judges we need, and we need her.

CHARLES GRIEGO Albuquerque

Ronchetti is no more than a GOP yes-man for McConnell

IF MARK Ronchetti wins the Senate seat, I am just featuring his first meeting with Sen. Mitch McConnell. Congratulations — You will vote as you are told or you will be primaried. Has anyone noticed the entire Republican Party is lock, stock and barrel in rigid compliance with McConnell, who then decides what President Trump needs to do?

The Affordable Care Act was fashioned after the highly successful health care plan initiated by then-Republican Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Mark has no plan and his solution is vague and lacking any substance. Since the beginning of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the Republicans have tried to repeal, modify or change it 70 times without ever offering a plan of their own. That is malpractice. The ACA was a start and needed revisions which could have been worked on with bipartisan effort, but the Republican Party was absent. The pandemic with its loss of jobs has magnified and illustrated the shortcomings of employee-based health care. ...

Ronchetti’s tough-on-crime stance has some merit but does not address some of the basic root causes of crime — poverty, education and drugs. No mention of that so just “lock them up.” Re: climate change, the Republicans continue to support oil and gas even though they are phasing out. They ignore that huge job creation that will come from progressively changing to renewable energy. ...

I feel the Journal’s endorsement was naive and wishful thinking.

DONNA WALKER Albuquerque

Look at Rep. Hochman-Vigil’s votes before you cast ballot

HOW DO we as voters know the truth about the candidates? There’s only one source: the voting record of the incumbent. District 15’s current House Rep. Day Hochman- Vigil has a voting record that needs to be exposed: She voted to increase our taxes three times in her term in spite of record surpluses in government revenue before the COVID pandemic. House Bill 6 was the largest tax increase in New Mexico history; House Bill 131 was a 300% increase in the health insurance tax; House Bill 148 and Senate Bill 57’s House version were also tax increases voted for by Hochman-Vigil.

Probably the worst vote she cast was to approve legalizing marijuana. This will kill our children’s chances for good-paying jobs and severely damage our workforce. Most employers require a drug test, and the better paying jobs require a clean test. The National Institute of Drug Abuse states that critical thinking skills, IQ and ambition/motivation are all damaged by using marijuana. ... Colorado spends $4.50 for every $1 of tax revenue to deal with the social problems created by legalizing marijuana. Another good investment for the voters and taxpayers?

Just complete the list: Hochman-Vigil voted for up-to-birth abortions, House Bill 51; red-flag gun laws, House Bill 83; and finally a bill to take over sexual education from parents, House Bill 133. ...

If the truth from her voting record doesn’t match your values, consider voting for her opponent, Ali Ennenga. Her positions are the opposite of what you read above.

BRADLEY DAY Los Ranchos