Becky Corran, City Council District 5

Q: Can you provide us with a quick bio which includes your age and current job/ job prior to taking office?

A: I’m 45, an advocate and educator committed to serving Las Cruces with an emphasis on equity and health.  I am also Professor of Public Health at Doña Ana Community College, teaching about ten courses a year for the last 17 years focused on personal and community health.

Q: Why are you running?
I am running because I am committed to the people and environment of Las Cruces, and the significant progress we’ve made in making a more livable Las Cruces. I am the kind of courageous leader necessary to face the challenges of the next four years. Housing, healthcare and climate resilience are all at stake. I will keep fighting for Las Cruces to be a vibrant, healthy and safe community for all of us.

Q: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Las Cruces?

A: The biggest near-term challenge is making sure that our budget is resilient and continues to move forward in addressing poverty, community safety and livability. In the slightly longer term, the City will need to proactively counter federal policies and funding changes that will reduce residents' access to food and health care. At the same time we need to build systems that can withstand economic instability and climate threats. We will need to create new approaches to workforce development, accessible transit and energy production to expand prosperity into the future.  

Q: What do you hope to do to address these issues?

A: I hope to continue working towards Las Cruces’ success in diversifying funding sources (including state capital outlay, grants and federal funds) while also ensuring that CLC employees (our most valuable resource) are supported with salaries and benefits to protect them against economic volatility. We can also expand/shore up our partnerships with educational institutions, businesses and organizations and leverage those partnerships to make Las Cruces more livable for all.

We will need to proactively analyze the likely impacts of federal funding and policy changes that close medical facilities, reduce coverages that will reduce access to care, and eliminate supplemental nutrition funding that will bankrupt our farmers and grocery stores. We can work with the affected industries to shore up care and services, using whatever alternative funding streams we have. We need to update our Welcoming City resolution to protect residents’ movement and information. We need to continue to work on the goals outlined in our Climate Action Plan (which includes a number of targets related to transportation pollution and utility infrastructure.)

Q: What policies would you champion or support to help address concerns around high crime rates in the city?

A: As a Councilor and public health professional, I've learned a lot about what makes Las Cruces safer and the most impactful solutions to build real safety.  Community safety comes with economic security, access to health care and affordable housing, education, behavioral health services, and vibrant public spaces.
We can leverage city revenues to expand access to mental health services for youth and adults through community agencies and ensure the Crisis Triage Center remains available. I support funding reforms at Municipal Court that channel resources to the most effective forms of accountability. Further expansion of youth programs, including sports (boxing, rec leagues, summer programs) and access to expanded library programs. I support LCPS programs to guard our youth against violence and help heal their trauma.

I'm also committed to productive community conversations around the perceptions and realities of crime in our City. While overall crime statistics are trending downward, residents may not feel safer. Understanding what feeds these concerns and how we can come together to understand what drives narratives about crime is critical in addressing how we feel about community safety.

Q: Discussions around how to address homelessness have been common in the city. How would you go about solving this issue?

A: Homelessness, as a visible symptom of years of political decisions (restrictive zoning, limited access to mental health care, corporate takeovers of housing, termination of pandemic supports) is not something that can be solved overnight. The best solution for homelessness is housing, which the City is consistently working to expand.
Additionally, the city works collaboratively with Community of Hope to address unsheltered homelessness and near-homelessness through City-funded street outreach teams and Mano y Mano day labor programs. Community of Hope also does Rapid Rehousing, Veteran’s housing, permanent supportive housing, Camp Hope and Landlord Risk Mitigation, which all deserve continued support. Community of Hope has helped thousands of people transition out of homelessness, and we should expand our support for their work, including the completion of Amador Crossing.  

Q: The city has been investing in many affordable housing projects in recent years. What do you hope the future of affordable housing looks like in the city?

A: The City’s Housing and Neighborhood Services team is considered the most dynamic and sophisticated housing office in New Mexico, and we need to continue to support their efforts to address attainable housing at every level. Voters (through the $6 million GO Bond), the Governor (through $11 million appropriation) and legislators (through annual capital outlay) support the City’s work on addressing the 5,600 unit housing shortage. These investments have leveraged tens of millions of dollars in private investment in affordable housing (Peachtree, Three Sisters); senior housing (Pedrena); and single family home ownership (with Tierra del Sol.) In the coming years, the City needs to continue to tackle housing insecurity along the housing spectrum, including through infill development and mixed-use neighborhoods in the metropolitan redevelopment areas.  

Q: As the city continues to grow, what infrastructure improvements do you see as necessary in the future?

A: The City has many unmet infrastructure needs, and many demands for new infrastructure as we grow. The City must ensure existing buildings are fully functional and updated for ongoing and future uses including fire stations, Municipal Court, library and museums. Additionally, the City needs to address a number of roads that need a full reconstruction or traffic calming improvements for neighborhood safety. The libraries (Branigan, Sage and Munson) have a plan for expansion, and thriving spaces like libraries will improve the city’s livability for all. Meerscheidt is always busy, and people have to wait to use recreational space. It is critical for the youth programs we want to grow, so a new recreation center (or expanding Meerscheidt) would be a great use of funds.. There are NM-DOT plans for a new exit off I-25 at Engler, which will significantly improve traffic on Sonoma Ranch Boulevard and US 70 and improve emergency response. Finally, all of our infrastructure improvements need to be geared toward reduced dependence on fossil fuels, including bike and pedestrian infrastructure, electrification and alternative energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal.

Q: How would you attract new businesses and investments in some of the metropolitan redevelopment areas like El Paseo and Solano?

A: The City can expand small business workshops and consultations, and further streamline and support permitting processes while leveraging Local Economic Development Act money to encourage redevelopment. We need to make sure that all infrastructure (including utility service and road design) is ready for business, especially in areas that may have been built more than fifty years ago. We can expand the City’s assistance with businesses to write grants, apply for incentives (in addition to city incentives). Partnerships with DACC and NMSU are key to help grow a workforce that meets future demands.  

The work at the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park that has led to business-readiness and targeted marketing, along with infrastructure expansion can also work to attract  larger companies that are looking for the quality of life Las Cruces offers.