Former state Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim said Monday he will run for state treasurer."I've been looking at all these economic headlines, about New Mexico being ranked 50th for child welfare and New Mexico being the only state in the Rocky Mountain region with negative job growth," he said in an interview. "All this stuff is unacceptable.
He said he would use the treasurer's office as a "bully pulpit" to push progressive economic policies. He pointed out that the treasurer is the only state official to sit on all state economic boards and commissions — such as the state Board of Finance, the state Finance Authority and the State Investment Council — which means the treasurer has influence in several areas dealing with economics.
One priority, he said would be to promote a proposed constitutional amendment to fund early childhood education by taking more money from the state's permanent fund. Such proposals have been derailed in the Legislature in recent years.
A Santa Fe native, Wertheim, 45, is a lawyer. He's a 1990 graduate of Yale University who earned his law degree at the University of New Mexico in 1995.
Other declared candidates for treasurer include Democrats Tim Eichenberg, a former state senator and former Bernalillo County Treasurer Pat Padilla.
Here's a campaign video:
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