Daisy Maldonado

Infrastructure and basic services: District 1 includes communities with significant needs involving roads, drainage, wastewater, water systems and other basic infrastructure. What should the county’s highest infrastructure priorities be, and how would you pay for them?

Doña Ana County’s highest infrastructure priority must be addressing failing systems that threaten human health and public safety. Every resident deserves access to safe water, reliable wastewater management, flood protection, and roads that allow people to travel safely to work, school, medical appointments, and emergency services.

That means prioritizing communities where inadequate water and wastewater systems pose health risks, flooding threatens homes and property, and unpaved or deteriorating roads, missing sidewalks, and insufficient street lighting create safety concerns. Infrastructure investments should be guided by the severity of the risks, the needs of underserved communities, the people who have been waiting the longest and the number of residents who would benefit. Addressing these longstanding gaps will require a diversified funding strategy.

As commissioner, I would evaluate the county’s existing budget to identify opportunities to redirect funding toward essential infrastructure. I would aggressively pursue state and federal grants, coordinate with municipalities and regional partners, and ensure that developers pay their fair share of the infrastructure costs associated with their projects.

I would also advocate for transparent, community-informed capital improvement plans that identify priorities, establish realistic timelines, and track progress. Residents should be able to understand which projects are funded, why certain projects take priority, and how public dollars are being spent. We cannot address every infrastructure need overnight, but we can establish clear priorities and make measurable progress.

Economic development: What should the county require in return when it provides tax incentives, industrial revenue bonds or other public support for private economic development projects, and howwould you determine whether a proposed project provides enough benefit to county residents to justify that support?

Economic development should improve the lives of Doña Ana County residents, not simply increase investment figures or benefit private companies. When the county provides tax incentives, industrial revenue bonds (IRBs), or other public support, residents deserve a clear accounting of what they are being asked to contribute and what they will receive in return.

Before approving public incentives, I would require transparent, independent cost-benefit analyses that evaluate projected public revenue, the quality and number of jobs created, local hiring commitments, infrastructure costs, water use, environmental impacts, and potential risks to public health. These analyses should be available to the public before decisions are made, with meaningful opportunities for community input throughout the process. Public support should come with enforceable commitments, including local hiring, prevailing wage jobs, environmental protections, and community benefit agreements that reflect residents’ priorities.

Agreements should include measurable benchmarks, public reporting, and clawback provisions that allow the county to recover benefits when companies fail to meet their commitments. I would not support industrial revenue bonds for data centers or projects that would pollute our environment or threaten human health. Nor should the county approve a project when its long-term water, environmental, and infrastructure costs outweigh its demonstrated public benefits.

My experience leading community-based initiatives has reinforced the importance of involving residents in decisions that directly affect their lives. Economic development must be evaluated by more than the size of a company’s investment or the promises made during an approval process. Our goal should be sustainable economic opportunity that supports local workers and businesses, protects public resources, and strengthens our communities for generations.

Water and growth: Water availability is a growing concern throughout Doña Ana County. How should water availability factor into county decisions about new residential, commercial and industrialdevelopment, and what should the county be doing now to protect the region’s long-term water supply?

Water is essential to our families, farms, businesses, and future. Doña Ana County cannot make responsible decisions about growth without first considering whether sufficient water will be available over the long term and what that growth will mean for existing residents and our region’s water resources.

I believe large industrial developments should face stricter water requirements than residential projects because of their potential scale of demand and the cumulative impacts they can have on local water supplies and infrastructure. Before supporting major development, I would expect credible, independent assessments of water availability, projected consumption, impacts on existing users, and the sustainability of the proposed supply. 

I would support a moratorium on new data centers until adequate safeguards are established to evaluate and address their water, energy, environmental, and infrastructure impacts. We must have the information and oversight necessary to understand the consequences before approving additional projects.

I would also advocate for requiring major industrial water users to contribute to a countywide water resources fund. These contributions could help support water infrastructure improvements, conservation, system repairs, and other projects that strengthen long-term water security throughout the county. The program would need clear rules, transparent accounting, and measurable outcomes. Beyond individual projects, the county should work with municipalities, irrigation districts, water utilities, state agencies, and regional partners to improve water planning, conservation, and coordination.

Development decisions must account for cumulative demand, not just the needs of one applicant at a time. Protecting water means protecting our quality of life, agricultural heritage, and economic future. Growth should be guided by what our region can sustainably support, with the long-term well-being of residents taking priority.

County priorities and spending: If elected, what is one area where you believe Doña Ana County should spend more money and one area where it could spend less or operate more efficiently? What would you change and why?

If elected, I would prioritize greater investment in essential infrastructure and underserved communities while pursuing a more transparent, accountable, and efficient approach to county spending. Doña Ana County has communities with significant unmet needs involving water quality, wastewater management, flood mitigation, roads, sidewalks, and street lighting. I would work to direct more resources toward addressing these gaps, particularly where failing infrastructure presents the greatest risks.

I would also pursue state and federal grants and partnerships that allow the county to address more needs without relying exclusively on local revenue. At the same time, I believe every public expenditure should be evaluated for its effectiveness and value to residents. The county should examine opportunities to reduce duplicative administrative work, improve coordination between departments, strengthen procurement practices, and evaluate whether economic development incentives and other publicly funded initiatives deliver their promised results. Programs that do not meet their objectives should be reviewed, and resources should be redirected when evidence demonstrates a better use of public funds.

However, responsible budgeting requires facts, not assumptions. Before proposing specific cuts, I would carefully review the state audit findings, examine county expenditures and contracts, and work with staff and fellow commissioners to understand existing obligations, operational needs, and opportunities for improvement.

Residents deserve to know how their tax dollars are being spent, what results those expenditures produce, and where improvements are possible. I would support transparent reporting, measurable performance goals, and meaningful public participation in budget decisions.

The Bulletin asked each Dona Ana County candidate four questions to allow voters to assess where the candidates stands on important issues heading into the election. The questions vary for each office, but are the same for every candidate running for the same office.