This past year has seen politicians turn toward small business and the Chamber for input.
All three of our representatives in Washington have come to town or sent their staffs, and some of those visits were exclusively to hear from business people- Senator Tom Udall visited with us in September, and Senator Bingaman’s staff, including health care reform expert Andrew Black, has visited Los Alamos several times. Black has given two briefings on health care legislation to the Chamber.
Congressman Ben Ray Lujan has been seen visiting Chamber members in Los Alamos regularly. He has lots of local ties, both business and family.
On the state level, Rep. Jeannette Wallace attends nearly every Chamber function, from ribbon cuttings to FAN Clubs, and every meeting in between. Jeannette was re-elected in November, bucking a state and national trend to vote out incumbents.
Lieutenant Gov. elect John Sanchez visited on Thursday, November 18, representing the transition team for Governor-elect Susana Martinez. The Lt. Gov-elect spent the night at the Best Western Hilltop House, enjoyed breakfast at Ruby K’s while meeting with county officials, toured SMSI and met with nearly 40 chamber members for a listening session.
Sanchez heard from Chamber members from the retail, real estate, building contractor, environmental contracting, education and non-profit sectors. Sanchez invited us all to visit him in the Roundhouse once the new governor is inaugurated.