UNM senior Javier Martinez said District 6 needs a City Council representative who knows the problems facing the La Mesa and Trumbull neighborhoods.
Martinez, a 22-year-old political science major, said if he is elected to the council Oct. 28, the citizens of those neighborhoods will have exactly that - a councilor intimately versed in the everyday issues they face.
"The eastern part of the district, from the La Mesa neighborhood to the Trumbull area, that's usually the area with the most crime issues," Martinez said.
He cites violent crime, prostitution and drugs as the district's most pressing concerns.
Martinez is a product of La Mesa Elementary School, Hayes Middle School and Highland High School.
"I'm the only candidate who's a native of the district," he said. "I know the problems, I know the issues. I've worked in the area for the past seven years in various capacities, which makes it easier for me to deal with those issues."
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Martinez, who describes his campaign as a "grassroots effort," said he has no doubt he can win the election. His Latino background should serve him particularly well, he said, in a district that is 43 percent Hispanic.
District 6 is bordered by Girard Boulevard on the west, Gibson Boulevard on the south, Lomas Boulevard on the north and Eubank Boulevard on the east.
He said he spent one term in the ASUNM Senate. He works now as a community development specialist and policy analyst for Albuquerque Partnership, a nonprofit organization that works with city neighborhoods.
His parents, he said, have been the most important influences in his life.
"My dad has worked for 30 years doing drywall," Martinez said. "He's a man who works from 6 a.m. until about 7 or 8 p.m. everyday so I can go to college. That work ethic that he has, and that my mom has, that's really made an impact."
Mark Sanchez, director of City Council services, said he is unaware of any other UNM students who have run for the council in the past 10 years.
Martinez's age, Sanchez added, is also a candidate rarity.
"I'd say that's fairly unprecedented," he said.
On the issues:
Martinez said Albuquerque faces three key challenges. In order, the city needs to address: education, economic development and public safety. "The City Council doesn't really have a say in education," he said. "As a city councilor, you should be out there lobbying the State Legislature - for your school district - for comprehensive, systematic reform."
At UNM, the most important issue is diversity, Martinez said. Hiring Louis Caldera as the University's second Hispanic president is a step in the right direction, he said. He also said if he is elected to the council, he would work to make the Lottery Scholarship available to more students whose families earn less than $40,000 a year.
Martinez supported both recent constitutional amendments. One allows the governor to appoint a cabinet-level education secretary; the other allows public schools to tap the state's permanent education fund.
