3/24 Candidate profile

Republican David Pfeffer is campaigning to win the U.S. Senate seat held by Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. Pfeffer, 61, is a self-employed architect from Santa Fe, where he has served on the Santa Fe City Council since 2002. Born in upstate New York, he has lived in New Mexico for more than 30 years.

Pfeffer visited eastern New Mexico and talked with the CNJ:

Question: When did you decide to run for the U.S. Senate and why?

Answer: I made the decision more than a year ago. If I stayed in public service, I’d be more useful not running for re-election on the Santa Fe City Council, because it’s clear this (Senate) is where I could do the most good.

The issues are huge — the war, our borders and America’s core values, which are at risk.

Q: Do you support the war in Iraq?

A: We are doing the right thing in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are giving people of the Middle East real choices for their own lives, aside from finding it attractive to join a suicide brigade. This is an ideological war, an ideology that declares war on us. Radical Islam is being terrorized by our ideological weapon called freedom.

Q: What will you do if you are elected?

A: I will fight to protect America and our core values that make America worth fighting for. I will prosecute the war on terror; it’s a long-term thing. I will secure our borders, especially in a time of war, by any means necessary.

Q: What can you say about our water woes in eastern New Mexico?

A: We need to fund and finish the Ute Water Project and solve issues with Texas over the aquifer. We need to look for new resources, not assume that everything is limited and nothing can change. Agriculture is a major user of water. We’re a rural state, and we need to protect that way of life.

Q: Where do you stand on the courts, abortion and gay marriage?

A: Abortion needs to end. Marriage is between one man and one woman. Congress writes the laws, which courts interpret. We need tort reform; doctors are paying outrageous fees for insurance.

Q: What should be done concerning our borders?

A: I have a five-point plan (posted on his Web site at http://www.pfeffer-for-senate.org):

One, secure our borders and end illegal immigration. Two, conduct a census of illegal aliens in our country. Three, hold a fundamental national debate about security, borders, immigration, citizenship and national identity. Four, focus the debate in Congress to determine what principles will guide us, what laws will change and how they will be enforced. Five, decide who stays and who goes and enforce our laws.