Jon Barela campaigns on less regulation, taxes

Running for Congress isn’t something that Jon Barela sought out on his own. Instead, he was encouraged to run for New Mexico’s first congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, he told The Independent in an interview. That encouragement,  he said, came from folks throughout the district who he says don’t believe the country is heading in the right direction.

“It goes without saying that members of my party encouraged me, but it’s also key that Democrats independent of my party encouraged me to run,” he said.

That the country needs to turn a corner is a sentiment that Barela shares.

“I believe our country is off track, lots of families are hurting,” he said.  “I have a general philosophy that entrepreneurs and businesses are going to get us out of this, not government.”

A Republican who is running against current U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, Barela was short on specific proposals during an interview with The Independent. But the philosophy that threads through his ideas, at least on economic issues, was clear throughout the conversation. Regulation needs to be minimal and predictable, taxes should be low.

When it comes to spurring economic development, Barela says that both the banking industry and companies need a stable regulatory and lending environment. Without those two things, government can issue all the tax credit incentives it wants, but businesses aren’t going to grow, he said, and banks aren’t going to lend.

Barela believes that the current political environment is creating uncertainty; that people are sitting on capital rather than investing until they see how any new regulatory or tax policies are going to affect them.

He emphasizes the need to “streamline” the regulatory environment. Barela didn’t provide specifics on what regulatory changes he would seek, but charged that both the current Congress and the President have exceeded their regulatory authority.

“I’m not saying we have to have a wild west environment, but this Congress has acted beyond its statutory authority, all these czars have been created to regulate sectors. We have to streamline regulations and get off the backs of small business.”

Private sector job creation is key

Barela said that U.S. political leaders need to generate a “laser beam focus on private sector job creation,” that moves beyond government tax incentives.

“Businesses aren’t going to hire just for the sake of a tax credit,” he said. “Those would be fine if the demand for your product exists.”

One of the first things Congress has to do is pass a budget, he said, so it can “get its arms around the deficit.” Barela is “stunned” that the current Congress failed to pass a budget, which is the first thing a government has to do in order to grapple with budget deficits.

“This government spending, with $1.2. trillion in additional debt, isn’t going to lead us out of this recession,” he said.

Barela worked for Rep. Skeen, helped Intel get IRB

His professional background makes him ready for Congress, Barela said, due to the breadth of experience he’s accumulated.

“I have a unique background,” Barela said about his qualifications for public service in D.C. “having worked on Capitol Hill, for a Fortune 500 company, as a small businessman, and with the attorney general.”

His work began as a staff person to former New Mexico Rep. Joe Skeen, while Barela was at Georgetown University in the 1980s, first as an undergraduate and then in law school. That work began in 1981 as a legislative assistant, and led to a position as a senior staff person in D.C.

After he graduated and moved back to New Mexico, he briefly worked from 1989 to 1993 as an attorney, both in private practice and for a brief period as assistant attorney general. Then he began a 12-year stint with Intel Corporation, heading up its government and community affairs area.

According to a resume he submitted to Albuquerque Public Schools in 2008, when he was appointed to the School Board, Barela’s work for Intel included “an important role in negotiating largest IRB issuance in New Mexico history. Duties included federal, state, and local issues advocacy.”

An IRB is an industrial revenue bond, one of the primary economic development incentive used by local governments in New Mexico. Basically, the end result is that a company is exempted from paying most property taxes on their investments in property or equipment, which provides them with an incentive to relocate, expand, or stay in the community issuing the bond.

Since leaving Intel, Barela has been engaged in several business ventures. He’s currently an owner of a high-tech company called Cerelink, in conjunction with other former Intel managers.

From 2004 to 2008, he was President of The 1789 Group, a real estate development entity. He didn’t mention that to The Independent, but it is at the top of the resume he submitted to APS. His campaign spokesperson told The Independent that The 1789 Group “…is inactive and has been inactive since 2008,” but did not answer our question regarding what property the group owns or has developed.

Barela ended by saying that a key thing voters in the district should know about him is that he is “independent minded,” which stems from his heart being in New Mexico, and doing what’s right for the state and the district.

“I’ll always stay true to my philosophical roots and values, but always strive for independence,” he said. “I won’t be a rubber stamp for any party or person. I take great pride in that.”

Like others who have held New Mexico’s first congressional seat, including his opponent Martin Heinrich, Barela would commute back and forth between Albuquerque and Capitol Hill. His family is here, and one of his three children is still in high school.