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Thursday, February 28, 2008

NM-03: Fire Fighters Endorse Luján

Lujanfire

In a statement, the Luján for Congress campaign announced their latest endorsement:

Earlier this week the New Mexico Professional Fire Fighters Association announced its endorsement of Public Regulation Commissioner Ben R. Luján for the Democratic nomination to New Mexico's U.S. House District 3.

"Ben Ray Luján is well known by the state's fire-fighting community. He has always fought for the fire fighters, often behind the scenes and in ways that have had long-lasting positive effects on our profession," said union president Emily Kane.

"As chairman of the Public Regulation Commission, Luján has helped fire fighters extensively by creating a fire-fighter grant program which allows the fire departments in our state to receive special funding for projects which expand their capability and service to the public. This money would not be available if he had not had the wisdom to create legislation bringing all the excess Fire Fund money into this program," Kane said.

"Commissioner Luján is a strong supporter of Presumptive Disability for fire fighters, which is an important issue federally. The Fire Fighters Fairness Act HR 1142 is being worked on in Washington DC right now," she said. "He is well-versed in healthcare issues and will champion positive reforms to improve our nation's healthcare, a very important area of concern for fire fighters as both consumers and providers of healthcare."

"These heroes risk their lives every day for our safety. I am honored and privileged from the bottom of my heart to have their endorsement," Commissioner Luján said.

Last week, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and all 18 unions of the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council endorsed Commissioner Luján. Luján is a New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner and former PRC chairman. He has been a strong advocate for consumers' rights and better access to health care and a leading proponent of renewable-energy development.

February 28, 2008 at 02:40 PM in NM-03 Congressional Seat 2008 | Permalink

Comments

Half of the Fire Protection Fund (which is a fee on homeowners insurance) used to go to the state General Fund, why I don't know.

Lujan helped the firefighters get the full fund. Some of the volunteer departments rely on the Fire Fund for their entire budget, so getting more money should also help them upgrade and get better ISO ratings -- which in turn lowers the price our homeowners insurance.

Nice work.

Posted by: Democracy Now | Feb 28, 2008 10:48:45 PM

I think you may be confusing Ben Ray Lujan with his daddy, Speaker Ben Lujan.

Posted by: Democracy Tomorrow | Feb 29, 2008 8:50:50 AM

Actually Democracy Now is not confusing the Commissioner with the Speaker. Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan spent numerous hours working to put together a package, testifying before many legislative committees, providing accurate, reliable, and useful data to argue why 100% of the funds should go to the fire departments across the state. In addition he spent hours traveling the state and on the phone passionately gathering support for this all important measure because he understood the importance of insuring that our fire departments were fully equiped and supported. If it was not for the efforts and tireless support of Commissioner Lujan this measure would not have become law and 50% of this fund would still be going to the General Fund.

Posted by: Woodstock | Feb 29, 2008 10:39:09 AM

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