Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 38

BUSINESS OUTUOOK '4 MONDAY, MAY 13, 2002 District 2 The Candidates District 2 David W. King Rory McMinn Date of Birth: June 28, 1946 Residence: Alamogordo Political Party: Republican Education: New Mexico State University, master's degree in agricultural economics Date of Birth: Feb. 19, 1948 Political Party: Republican Residence: Chaves County Education: bachelor of business degree, West Texas State University (now West Texas 'v MCMINN KING Occupation: president and broker-owner of King Griego Realty Inc. Government Experience: New Mexico state treasurer, 1991 to 1995, deputy state treasurer, 1986-1990, cabinet secretary general services department, 1983-1986, cabinet secretary department of finance and administration, 1979-1981, state director farm home administrator, 1977-1978, director of state planning, 1971-1975 Other Experience: board of South Central Colfax County Special Hospital district, board of New Mexico Osteopathic Foundation Occupation: commissioner, District 2, New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Government Experience: chairman, Chaves County Republican Party. Chaves County commissioner 1992-2000, twice elected chairman.

Other Experience: Represented oil and gas industry during the rewrite of the New Mexico Workers' Compensation statutes; represented Chaves County on the Water Defense Association; member of the National Association of Regulatory and Utility Commissioners' natural gas committee Fire safety, insurance for small business and better Internet service for District 2 are areas of immediate concern, King said. McMinn said the commission should improve procedures for ensuring oil and gas pipeline safety to prevent fires and loss of life. PRC authority over wireless phone companies: Wireless phone companies should have the same level of regulation and be held to the same service standards as landline phone companies, King said. McMinn said he wants minimal regulation of wireless companies but that the PRC should continue to have authority to receive and resolve wireless customer complaints. Renewable energy: King wants the PRC to focus on creating options for developing wind and solar energy sources.

McMinn favors federal and state tax credits and other direct incentives to encourage utilities to invest in renewable energy. He opposes a standard requiring utilities to derive a specified percentage of their energy from renewable sources, as Texas and Arizona do. Such portfolios may drive up prices, McMinn said. Electric competition In 2007: Competition in the electricity market can bring more choice and better service to the state, King said. But the commission needs to ensure smaller rural electric cooperatives can compete on fair terms with such giants as Public Service Company of New Mexico.

McMinn said changes need to be made in the la that allows electric competition to accommodate state and federal energy initiatives and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules. Should commissioners' first loyalty be to the state or their districts? There is a duty to the district, but you have to have a vision of where the state is going as a whole," King said. McMinn said, "You can look from a global perspective, but ultimately you represent your district You have to try to balance that." By Rosalie Rayburn Journal Staff Writer The Republican primary for the Public Regulation Commission's District 2 pits incumbent Rory McMinn of Roswell against former state Treasurer David King. The winner will take a seat on the commission because there is mo Democratic candidate. A former Democrat, King has spent more than 20 years in public office.

He currently is chief financial officer for New Mexico State University's Alamogordo branch. In a long career in politics, the 56-year-old King, the nephew of former Gov. Bruce King, has been state treasurer, state secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration and a state planning officer. King changed his political affiliation in 1995, saying he differed with the Democratic platform on family and other issues. He is no stranger to controversy.

In the 1980 general election for Congressional District 2, King was appointed by the state Democratic Central Committee to be its candidate after the death of primary winner Harold Runnels. King was beaten by write-in Republican candidate Joe Skeen in the general election. It was the third time in U.S. history a write-in candidate had won a congressional race. During a stint as state treasurer in the mid-1990s, King testified against department employee Joseph 0.

Garcia, who was on trial for federal bribery charges. Garica's attorneys said during the trial that King had solicited a bribe from Garcia and set him up. Eventually, Garcia was acquitted of the charges. In 1998, as a board member of Edgewood Water King was accused of a conflict of interest by groups involved in the proposed sale of the company. King owned water the co-op planned to buy for its customers.

King agreed to resign from the board, but the sale eventually fell through. In 1999, Angel Fire Mayor Barbara Cottam ousted King from his job as village administrator, saying he had failed to meet the demands of the job. "There is a duty to the district, but you have to have a vision of where the state is going as a whole." believe the marketplace should regulate itself by virtue of competition." DAVID KINO RORY MCMINN commission is to protect small business and the consumer in the smaller towns as well as in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He wants hearings held outside the major metro areas to give rural New Mexicans a voice. "There's a feeling that we're not being heard in Santa Fe," said King.

McMinn wants the PRC to relax or eliminate regulation in fields that have competitive markets, particularly telecommunications. Competition already exists in the local phone marketplace, but fewer regulations could increase competition, he said. "I believe the marketplace should regulate itself by virtue of competition," McMinn said. Areas that need Immediate attention: King sued over the dismissal, and a federal jury in Albuquerque awarded him $238,000 in compensation and punitive damages in 2001. King says his chief political achievements were during his time as state treasurer.

He implemented a new statewide accounting and purchasing system and reduced capital expenditures on prisons. McMinn was appointed to the District 2 commission seat by Gov. Gary Johnson on May 1, 2001, after the resignation of Commission Chairman Bill McMinn drew almost immediate attention when he cast the swing vote in the PRC's controversial decision to make Albuquerque and Santa Fe adopt a new area code. New evidence has since shown the state may not need a new area code until 2014 and the plan has been scrapped. McMinn, 54, has been chairman of the Chaves County Republican Party and, for two terms, a Chaves County commissioner.

Before his appointment to the PRC, McMinn was a part-owner of MBF Operating which provides construction management and gas and oil pipeline inspection services. McMinn's interest in MBF is in a blind trust for the duration of his time on the PRC. McMinn is a member of the National Association of Regulatory and Utility Commissioners' natural gas committee. s. Goals: King says the role of the.