New Mexicans deserve better results

As New Mexico prepares for another legislative session, we must confront a simple but uncomfortable question: Are we getting the results we are paying for?

Year after year, state government grows. Budgets expand. Programs multiply. Yet many of the challenges facing our communities remain unresolved or are getting worse. Crime continues to rise. Juvenile crime is increasing. Homelessness remains visible and persistent. Families struggle to access timely, quality health care. And taxpayers are left wondering why greater spending so often fails to translate into better outcomes.

This is not an argument against the government. It is an argument for effective government, one that focuses on results rather than intentions.

I was reminded of this reality during a recent crime task force meeting in Albuquerque, where law enforcement officials, community leaders, and policymakers came together to discuss public safety challenges. What stood out was the shared recognition that no single agency or political party can solve these problems alone. But it was equally clear that continuing to fund programs that are not delivering meaningful results is not compassion, it is avoidance.

New Mexicans deserve honesty about what is working, what is not, and what must change.

Too often, when faced with complex problems, government responds by creating new initiatives without fully evaluating existing ones. Over time, layers accumulate, but accountability fades. Programs continue despite limited evidence they are reducing crime, preventing recidivism, or helping people transition out of homelessness.

Juvenile crime is a clear example. Early intervention, family support, education and accountability all matter. But when young people cycle repeatedly through the system, we must ask whether current approaches are truly helping them succeed. Reform is not abandonment. Reform is responsibility.

The same principle applies to public safety more broadly. Communities cannot thrive when residents do not feel safe in their neighborhoods. Supporting law enforcement, strengthening prevention, and ensuring accountability are not competing goals. That requires collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and the courage to adjust course when policies fall short.

Every dollar the state spends belongs to the people who earned it. That reality should guide every decision we make this session.

Being responsible with taxpayer funds does not mean doing less for New Mexicans. It means doing better. It means measuring outcomes, sunsetting ineffective programs, and reinvesting in strategies that demonstrate real success. It also means resisting the temptation to equate higher spending with better solutions.

Fiscal discipline and compassion are not opposites. In fact, wasteful spending undermines public trust and makes it harder to sustain programs that truly make a difference.

Health care highlights this challenge clearly. New Mexico faces one of the most severe provider shortages in the country, especially in rural and underserved areas. Patients wait months for appointments, and emergency rooms are stretched beyond capacity.

We must be willing to consider practical solutions. Medical licensure compacts can allow qualified providers to practice across state lines more easily, expanding access without lowering standards. Medical malpractice reform deserves serious, good-faith discussion; not as an attack on patients, but as a way to retain doctors, reduce defensive medicine, and stabilize our health care workforce.

Avoiding these conversations does not protect patients. It limits their options.

This legislative session should not be about politics or posturing. It should be about solving problems.

That requires dialogue, collaboration and a willingness to challenge assumptions, including our own. Republicans, Democrats, independents, advocates and professionals all have a role to play. Collaboration only works, however, if we are honest about outcomes and open to change.

New Mexico stands at a crossroads. We can continue to grow government and hope results follow or we can reset our approach, focus on what works, and demand accountability for what does not.

I am committed to the latter. Not because it is easy, but because New Mexicans deserve nothing less.