Madigan Ray is running for Sandoval County Commission District 4

She is a member of the DPNM Veterans and Military Families Caucus and precinct chair for the Democratic Party of Sandoval County. Here is more about Madigan:

1. Background Information
Name: Madigan Ray
Town in which you reside: Rio Rancho
Age: 38
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Occupation: Payroll for a national gym
Passions: Animal welfare, Rio Rancho Community Theater, water protection, and protection for the queer community.
Other information you would like to share: Madigan Ray is Pro-Choice, Pro-Union, and Pro-Human Rights.

2. Why are you a Democrat?

I grew up in a conservative city in California, but I am eternally grateful to have been raised by progressive parents. From a young age, I recognized bigotry as being both deeply misguided and un-American. By the time I was able to vote in my first presidential election in 2004, I knew which side I belonged on because the other side seemed to hate everything I believe in. In 2016, I was galvanized by Bernie Sanders and his fight for the working class. He highlighted that the biggest problem in this country is economic injustice, and that the Republicans use culture war issues to fuel their base with bigotry and sow division among the working class so we are too busy fighting with each other to tackle income inequality.

3. What issue(s) are you most passionate about and why?

My biggest issue is housing. My spouse and I were only able to buy a home through a combination of luck and privilege, things most people can’t count on. We need more housing, but we also need regulations on who can buy that housing and what purpose it can be used for. There is no reason corporations and foreign or out-of-state investors should own dozens, hundreds, or thousands of single-family homes. They’re pricing real people out of the ability to buy a home to live here, all so they can siphon rent money out of our state. We also have too many homes used solely for short-term vacation rentals, sitting vacant for periods of time, depriving someone of the ability to live there, in case someone who is more likely to spend all their tourist money in Albuquerque wants to rent it for a few days. We need to curtail both of these types of purchases to open up more housing for people who want to make Sandoval County their home. Additionally, we need protections for renters so those folks can make long-term plans without having to worry about egregious and sudden rent increases.

4. What can the Democratic Party of Sandoval County (DPSC) do for you?

Vote, and encourage everyone you know to vote. Millennials and Gen Z voters can decide what direction the entire country goes if they show up. Younger voters tend to be left-leaning, but social media like TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, etc. are full of insidious propaganda telling young people that both sides are the same or that voting doesn’t matter to discourage them. Wedge issues are pushed hard to divide and disillusion young people. We need to counter the disinformation and remind people not to be single-issue voters because there’s so much more at stake than any one issue right now.

5. What can you do for the DPSC?

I can help show other young people who may not always feel entirely represented by the Democratic Party that there are candidates in the party who look like them, sound like them, care about their issues, understand their generation’s struggles, and are fighting for them. I’m not a career politician. I’m a working-class millennial woman who saw a need for representation in my government. I hope I can inspire others like me to get involved and run. We are going to inherit this planet. It’s well past time we started doing whatever we can to make sure it’s the planet we want to leave to the generations that come after us.

6. Anything else you would like to share with the Democrats in Sandoval County?

I am a transplant, like many other New Mexicans. I know the Republicans believe my being from California is a negative, but I see it as a positive. I’m able to bring with me all the lessons learned from my life in California, including the things my former home state did incorrectly. I love New Mexico and I have no desire to turn it into the state I moved away from. I want to protect the natural beauty of this state and celebrate the diversity of its people. My goal is to ensure that many more generations are able to call this place home, as I have.