Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Congressional candidate Greer talks about economy, energy, education

Sandy Battin News-Bulletin Staff Writer; sbattin@news-bulletin.com

C. Earl Greer visited Valencia County recently, talking about issues such as water, economic development and making sure America's military is supported with pay and equipment. He is a candidate for the Republican nomination in Dist. 2 for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Raised in a farming and ranching family in Sierra, Catron and Socorro counties, Greer said New Mexico is truly his home. "I go back five generations in Socorro County. We go back to the 1500s; we're Hispanic," he said.

"Of all the candidates, we're the only ones from this part of the state. We're products of this district, and we share the diversity of this district, with me being half Hispanic."

He speaks Spanish fluently, having learned from his grandmother as a child. "I'm an only child, and I was very, very close with my grandparents. They lived down the street, and it was a natural thing for me to pick it (Spanish) up," he said.

He and his wife, Coleen, have been married for 31 years and have four children, all of whom are married. They became grandparents three times over in less than a year. "We went from zero to three in eight months," he said. "That was a pretty special time for us."

In addition to ranching, he's worked "the full spectrum" in real estate, starting with selling farms and ranches and then going on to homes and businesses as his clients called on him for those services.

He's been active in the Southwest Area Development Board, serving as its chair, and says he sees development coming to the district, including his hometown of Truth or Consequences. "We've just begun to experience it. We've been a sleepy little burg, but now we've been discovered," he said, citing a golf course at Elephant Butte Lake that's drawing new residents and a race track and the new Spaceport.

"With the Spaceport and the race track, we'll get a lot of professionals (moving in). There'll be a lot of tourism. A lot of research and development people," he said. In meeting with development consultants, he reports that one of them told him: "'Build a Spaceport plus 20 years, it is my opinion it will employ more people than Sandia Labs or Los Alamos.' I think (New Mexico) Tech and New Mexico State both will be beneficiaries of both of these institutions. Tech is already doing tests for the Spaceport. They're an integral part of it."

Greer said he's been visiting around the district and two issues have continuously arisen, including when he talks with people in Valencia County. "One is water. That is a huge issue in Valencia County. As a result of my background, out of 10 candidates — six Republicans and four Democrats — I'm the most qualified to address that issue because I've handled water rights for almost 30 years now. I understand how the State Engineer looks at it, ... how the compacts work.

"Water is a private property right. It belongs to those who have those rights, and it has to stay a local issue. It cannot become a federal issue. There is federal involvement because of the compacts. We have our agreements with Colorado, Texas and Mexico. From that standpoint, the federal government has to be involved. As a congressman, my goal would be to protect New Mexico's water and make sure it stays New Mexico's water."

He said the second issue that voters are talking about is the economy. "People are concerned; they want to make sure the economy remains strong," he said.

He said the district needs to work together for economic development. When companies explore counties in the district as possible sites for their businesses, he said he would talk with them. "How strong would it be if Congressman Greer called the CEO of the company and said, 'Thank you for considering our area.' How much pull would that be? ... If there were a coordinated effort in our district, I think that helps us," he said.

Greer said he supports making the tax cuts recently implemented at the president's request permanent. "Anyone who thinks we can tax our way into prosperity is reading from the wrong economics textbook," he said. "It's been proven, and we can go back historically and show taking less money from people, leaving people with more money, is positive for the economy."

He also advocates balancing the federal budget. "If we don't, we are saddling future generations with debt. That debt requires the government to borrow more money, which takes more money out of circulation, which drives up debt. It just has an adverse effect on the economy," he said.

Energy issues also come up occasionally in Valencia County, he said. "We have to address the energy issues. As a state and federal entity, we have to push our utilities to look at nuclear (energy)," he said. "I think there's no other way. It's been proven in France that it's clean, it's safe. I think we have to look at that. We have to get away from fossil fuels. ... We have to reduce our dependency on foreign fossil fuel."

When it comes to the border, Greer said, "we've got to seal up the border for our personal protection. I think that's a national security issue. I'm talking about all four borders — the Canadian border, the Atlantic. I think that needs to be done."

Veterans issues must also be high on the nation's agenda, he said. "I find it interesting, in our society, when people think of heroes, they think of sports heroes, who make three, six, nine figures a year. I think our true heroes are our military. I don't think we take care of them well enough. While I'm a fiscal conservative, I think it's important to open our checkbook for them, pay them appropriately, give them benefits," he said. "And that should be extended to our veterans. Our vets have not been taken care of well enough. I think that's wrong. It's unethical and immoral, ... and I think that needs to become a priority."

He said the U.S. must make it a priority for its military to be "the best equipped in the world; they have to have confidence in their equipment, that they know they're being supported by their government and that we have adequate personnel.

"We're in a different world literally ... We're in a world of guerrilla warfare that happens in the cloak of darkness, of secrecy."

He said he supports the Bush administration's monitoring telephone conversations that might involve terrorists. "For us to not keep an eye on it, be vigilant on it, is crazy on our part," he said.

How would he fund some of these projects? "You have to cut waste," Greer said. "We've all heard of the $300 toilet seat and the $600 hammer. That has to be looked at, and we've got to start trimming that back," he said. "We need to reverse the direction it's going."

Greer said he thinks education should be primarily a local matter, with decisions made by locally elected school boards.

"Zeroing in on No Child Left Behind, I think it had good intentions, but I don't think it was implemented well ... I think, from a local level, it's got to be looked at and evaluated, and I don't know that taking standardized tests absolutely does that," he said. "But I think the intention is the direction we need to know, being able to ascertain exactly where those youth are at every stage. If we're not delivering the product, we're wasting money, and that's wrong."

No Child Left Behind is "an unfunded mandate," he said. "It requires the schools and the teachers to do things, but it doesn't provide the money to do it."

If elected, Greer said he would try to work with people across the board. "Everybody worries about being blue or red (states), rather than worrying about being red, white or blue," he said. "We've got to sit down and start coming up with positive ideas about dealing with our problems.

"The bottom line is we want what is best for America. We have to have a look at the diverse ideas — we need them all. That's what made this country great.

"I want to accomplish things, sit down with people. Let's be visionary."

He said he will spend three weekends of every month in the district, talking with people, "whether it's at a matanza in Tomé, a picnic in Las Cruces or a county fair in Hobbs."

He said he would like to go to someone's house, sit down with four or five couples and talk with them about their ideas over dinner. "I'll learn from that," he said.

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