Rep. Heather Wilson (R): Dirty Dozen 2002
New Mexico's 1st District
2001 LCV Rating = 7%
LCV Lifetime Rating = 14%
View Heather Wilson's Race At A Glance page.
Heather Wilson has proven she is out of step with 1st District voters by siding with corporate polluters and earning one of the worst environmental records in Congress. She has consistently worked against reducing toxic pollution, ensuring strong public health standards and protecting public lands. Her poor environmental record, the absence of a Green Party candidate and predictions of heavy turnout on Election Day, make Wilson one of the most vulnerable incumbents in the country.
Opposed Cleaning Up Toxic Mercury
Wilson supported policies that could exacerbate mercury contamination in New Mexico. She voted to delay the clean up of mercury from power plants and fought for a bill to provide coal interests with $5.8 billion in taxpayer subsidies. Power plants account for roughly 64 percent of the total mercury emissions in New Mexico and two of the state's dirtiest coal-fired plants, San Juan and Four Corners, are among the top 50 mercury polluters in the nation. A mercury-free environment is vital to the state's high quality of life and strong economy. Last year, over 300,000 people spent more than $175 million in the state on fishing-related activities, yet 26 of the state's lakes, rivers and reservoirs have fish consumption advisories due to high levels of mercury. Eating fish is the most common way for people to become exposed to mercury since it accumulates in fish and animal tissue in its most toxic form. Even in small amounts, mercury is known to cause neurological damage in children and infants.
Sided with the Uranium Industry over Public Health
Despite clear environmental and human health risks, Wilson wanted taxpayers to prop up the uranium industry. Part of the $30 million provided in the 2001 Wilson-sponsored proposal was targeted toward a mining technique that injects chemicals into groundwater sources to release uranium from the surrounding rocks. An environmental health specialist described the resulting mixture as �ic soup.�ntamination from uranium mining has caused major environmental and public health risks in northern New Mexico; as many as 100 homes were built with uranium-tainted bricks and at least 400 uranium miners have died from lung disease.
Against Protecting Water Quality & Farmland
Wilson voted against providing New Mexico farmers with a $58 million increase in conservation funding over the next four years, despite the state's growing need to improve water quality and protect farmland. The intense demand among New Mexico farmers for voluntary land and water protection programs in New Mexico has created a $15 million backlog in enrollment requests as of 2001. Under the farm bill that Wilson supported, 4,600 farmers in the state would be denied assistance to implement conservation practices. Meanwhile, only 18 percent of the more than 14,000 farms in New Mexico currently receive any benefits from federal farm programs. The state loses thousands of acres of farm and ranchland each year to development and suburban sprawl, and contains 166 impaired waters, many of them due to soil erosion and variety of pollutants.
Voted to Weaken Protections for Our Public Lands
New Mexico's wealth of public lands are constantly at risk. Yet, Wilson voted against critical land protections on 16 of the 17 major public lands votes included in LCV's National Environmental Scorecard since she came to Congress in 1998. She worked to allow unlimited mine waste dumping on public lands and to weaken laws forcing mining companies to pay for pollution cleanup. As New Mexico's largest polluter, the hardrock mining industry released nearly 114 million pounds of toxics into the state's land and air, accounting for more than 90 percent of the total pollution reported in 2000. Wilson also supported oil and gas drilling in national monuments, the Otero Mesa grasslands and the Alkali Lakes. She voted against increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that has benefited areas like Petroglyphs National Monument, Cibola National Forest and the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.
The Race
Heather Wilson has never earned more than 50 percent of the vote in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District and will face a tough challenge from State Senator Richard Romero (D). Redistricting had a minimal impact, adding only three GOP-leaning precincts to the traditionally swing 1st District, and Romero is expected to run an aggressive campaign if he is able to raise enough money. Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg recently moved the race from �n Republican� �s up/tilt Republican.�trong>The absence of a Green Party candidate, who in the past has garnered as much as 15 percent of the vote, coupled with the heavy turnout expected for gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson (D), makes Wilson one of the most vulnerable anti-environment incumbents in the country.
