Contact: Erika Martinez
(505) 986-4263
Erika.Martinez@nmlegis.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 16, 2015
Statement from State Senator George Munoz
My Vote Not to Confirm Skandera was Driven by My Constituents, Not Politics
Santa Fe, NM – State Senator George Munoz (D-4-Cibola, McKinley & San Juan) issued the following statement regarding the debate on the appointment of Hanna Skandera as secretary of the Public Education Department:
“Today, on the Senate floor, we debated the appointment of Hanna Skandera as the Secretary of PED. In order to prepare, I called over 40 educators in my district this weekend to talk to them about the issue. I needed to hear directly from them to take their concerns directly to the Legislature. They spoke, and they said no! That’s why I’m surprised to hear a fellow senator speak about receiving a letter of support for Ms. Skandera from the Navajo Nation. Not one educator I spoke to from my district, which includes the Navajo Nation, was in support of Ms. Skandera. My decision to vote against the appointment of Ms. Skandera was driven solely by the students, the educators, and the parents in my district. I say ‘no’ to politically-fueled votes and ‘yes’ to the people who put me in office to do what’s right for them and their children. My constituents have spoken, and I have made their voices heard.”
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