Question and Answer

Allen Weh will announce his candidacy for governor of New Mexico at noon today in the SUB Atrium. In a Sept. 4 interview, Weh said the main issues he wants to tackle as governor are government corruption, education and New Mexico’s budget.

Daily Lobo: Why did you decide to announce at UNM that you’re going to run for governor?

Allen Weh: I am an alumnus of the University of New Mexico — the University of New Mexico that brought me to New Mexico in 1963. Had I not accepted the invitation that they extended to attend UNM, then I wouldn’t be in New Mexico today. I wouldn’t be running for governor. I thought it would be appropriate to announce in a location which was the reason I came to New Mexico.

DL: If you were to become governor, what do you think the role of UNM would be in
Albuquerque and the community?

AW: You cannot have a great state without great universities. I think that there has been some luster lost at UNM due to reasons that we can talk about on Tuesday, and I will talk about that. The fact of the matter is that the University needs to be given the proper support and the proper funding. It needs proper guidance through regents that are there for the right reasons and that have the best interests of the University and the state of New Mexico at heart. We should have clear guidelines as to what the University is supposed to be doing with its money in order that the University becomes a center of excellence. We should be doing far more. I’d like to see the day when the Anderson School of Management is on the top 50 of business schools in the United States.

DL: How will you make sure there are jobs for UNM students after graduation?

AW: What we absolutely have to do is revitalize our economy in order that we can create better jobs and the kind of jobs that will keep our young people home because they want to be here. You just can’t blame them for leaving if there isn’t a job for them. I have a plan to revitalize this economy, and we are going to revitalize the economy in New Mexico within a couple of years. I’m going to say that we’re going to be able to see effects within two years and it will have a momentum that will carry forward. I can’t guarantee that the class of 2011 — if I’m elected governor next year — will have a quick fix. I can’t do that, but I can begin to take those steps where people will see a light at the end of the tunnel.

DL: Does your campaign and your platform involve sustainability?

AW: What you may not know — what a lot of people don’t know — is that I’m an organic farmer. I got into organic farming in 1992, and we raise organic raspberries. If you were to go to La Montanita Co-op at Nob Hill or down on Rio Grande during raspberry season, you’re going to be buying my raspberries. I have a keen appreciation for the environment, for sustainable agriculture, and for things that we need to fix. We know we need to fix (it), only what do we do about it? Can you imagine the number of plastic bottles that go into a landfill in every community? It is enormous. We are creating problems for ourselves. One of the programs I’ve got is to put a deposit fee on plastic bottles and then turn around and incentivize people to return bottles. We can create incentivized plans to reduce stuff going into our landfills and back into recycling.

DL: Can you tell me about some of your main platforms, such as New Mexico’s education system or the public safety priority?

AW: I’ve seen two studies in the last three months. One said 46 percent and one said 54 percent of kids drop out. Well, let’s just take the two, 46 and 54; that averages to about 50 — we’ll call it half. You’ll hear that in my comments on Tuesday, too. Half the kids don’t graduate from high school in this state. You know they’re not going to UNM or Eastern. They just don’t go to school. Here’s what’s worse — and I’ve had government personnel directors tell me this: All they’re looking for is people who are literate to drive a pickup truck. They have to turn those people who don’t graduate away. The schools are failing, and we’re spitting out almost half our kids who are virtually illiterate. So that’s why we lose these companies to other states. They are inextricably linked together — economic development and education — and you’ve got to fix it. There is always an escape, but not for those who are left behind.