A look at Ken Miyagishima’s plans if elected Gov.

Last week we looked at Sam Bregman’s policy agenda if elected governor of New Mexico. We noted Deb Haaland’s lack of a plan. Here is Ken Miyagishima’s. Ken was the Mayor of Las Cruces most recently where he was a voice of moderation (relative to MLG) on COVID. 

1. Miyagishima’s first item of interest is the medical provider shortage. Unlike Bregman he offers full-throated support for reforming New Mexico’s medical malpractice laws. He also calls for GRT reform and expanded residencies and incentives for doctors (like loan forgiveness).  He addresses Medicaid in a separate policy area and has some interesting ideas for improving efficiency in Medicaid
2. Of serious concern is his plans related to housing which involve the state of New Mexico getting involved in some kind of housing scheme. While details are limited we have serious concerns about this part of Miyagishima’s plans.
3. His education plans leave a great deal to be desired as well. There is no choice or even Mississippi Model here, just pay hikes for teachers and “free” tuition for masters degrees in the education field. He DOES offer an olive branch to rural districts on the 4-day vs 5-day school week issue.
4. In terms of the economy he has a few nice ideas including seemingly addressing the Energy Transition Act and bringing traditional sources of energy back into New Mexico’s electricity generating portfolio. That’s good news. Also, he explicitly calls out regulations and looking at reducing regulatory burdens.
5. One area of serious concern is on economic security for seniors. He proposes an ambitious plan of setting aside $1 billion each year to establish a guaranteed annuity for residents aged 65 and older who face reductions in their Social Security benefits. Sadly, no mention of eliminating the tax on Social Security is discussed.
6. Interestingly, Miyagishima offers a fairly robust defense of the 2nd amendment and gun rights including increased school security.

Overall there are several things to like and a lot that we’d like to see changed in Miyagishima’s platform.  We have major concerns about his government housing scheme and would like to see more reform/accountability in his education plan as well as on taxes.