Judy Young has never sought public office before, but says she sees the need to represent the people of Bernalillo County, bringing her education, experience and skills to work to foster a better, stronger, safer community.
Young is the Republican candidate for the Bernalillo County Commission District 5 Republican seat.
Young, a fourth-generation New Mexico native from Gallup, lives in Albuquerque. She received an undergraduate degree at West Texas A&M, a master’s in community program development from Columbia University and did post-master’s studies at the University of New Mexico.
At Columbia, she worked with and studied under Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, author of the acclaimed 1969 book “On Death and Dying,” as well as renowned mental health experts Albert Ellis and Donald Super. Kübler-Ross encouraged her to move to Albuquerque to be a voice for people who needed advocates, including abused children.
“I had worked with her in dealing with families that had children who were dying of cancer. That was just a wonderful experience because the people I was working with in New York City, they’ve made history,” she said. “We were all just doing the best we could to make things better for mankind.”
Young said she decided to follow a path to assist others, to be their voice and to try to make the world a better place.
“I am not a politician. I am not. I never will be,” she said. “I am just a person who wants to make the world better. That has been my motive forever for my entire adulthood - we’re to leave this world a better place than we found it."
She worked as a grant writer, educator, promoter, counselor and now is devoted to improving her community.
In 1975 Young wrote the $92 million grant that funded the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. She also initiated the nation’s first publicly funded domestic violence program with assistant police chief Phil Chacon. Every state in the U.S. subsequently adopted it, she said.
Young is a graduate of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Citizens Academy. While she has focused on social work in her career, she has strong, informed thoughts on law enforcement.
Young said Albuquerque residents demand changes to reduce homelessness, crime and the everyday dangers they face. Homeless people addicted to drugs and alcohol are making the city unsafe and residents are fed up, in her view.
“People from all over the United States are coming to Albuquerque because Health Care for the Homeless, they don’t even test them. They get automatic benefits of SSI,” she said. “And then they can do drugs. They can do anything else that they want. They don't allow that in other states.”
Young said she believes in the Campus Model, and Albuquerque already has plans for The Gibson Medical Center. The mission of the Gateway Center will be to “provide a safe and welcoming place that provides a low-barrier, trauma informed shelter along with services to the homeless using a client-centered approach.”
The campus model seeks to rehabilitate the local homeless population and reintegrate them into society through employment and social services.
“The campus model basically is, you have to be evaluated and it has to be determined with a court system, a specialized court system, that determines if you need drug rehabilitation, then you are triaged and directed to that,” Young said. “The evaluations really do that. And with individuals, when they’re mentally ill and they do not get help, the majority of them self-medicate through drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, then they become criminally mentally ill. Now they become very dangerous."
She has toured parts of the city and seen the negative impact of the growth of homeless people with substance abuse issues. She has talked with business owners and employees to learn about their personal experiences.
She has close friends who were attacked by a mentally ill homeless man with a baseball bat. Their car was seriously damaged and they were in fear for their lives.
“They called the police. The man was gone,” Young said. “At the time that the police came, the police said that they would write up a report for the damage so that their insurance would pay.”
That’s simply unacceptable, in her view.
Young, 74, lists her priorities on her campaign website. She says District 5 residents “are my only special interest group.”
“I will fight for you; I will defend your constitutional rights and call out corruption wherever I see it,” Young states.
Young is opposed to Albuquerque being a sanctuary city for residents in the country illegally, saying it leads to crime problems.
Young is an advocate of investing in infrastructure to provide water to thirsty areas. New Mexico is in a semi-arid or semi-desert climate and areas south of Interstate Highway 40 in the East Mountains are desperate for water. But there are natural barriers made of granite and limestone that present a major problem, she said.
“That’s going to be a big project,” Young said. “We’ve got some really serious water problems in different areas, and the infrastructure is something that’s got to be done and there’s got to be a study to see how to get water to the south part south of I-40 in these mountains.”
She pledges to be an advocate for small businesses, noting she has extensive experience in that area.
“I worked with Frank Crosby," she said. "We started the first home shows for show in New Mexico, and I represented small businesses, hundreds and thousands of small businesses in the home and show,”
As a commissioner, she would work to reduce the tax burden on companies.
“Number one, we need to bring the taxes down,” Young said. “You've got to have the tax structure changed. I work for Jason Harper, who is a representative, and he’s been trying to get that passed. We need to help small businesses in tax breaks as much as possible so they can make it. We also need to give them incentives."
Young said she can push for these policies without requiring higher taxes. An audit would show millions of dollars are being redirected from the programs they are intended for, in her view.
“If we actually cut the fat and and used money for what is supposed to be used for and not reappropriate it, but actually use it for what it’s supposed to be used for, we won’t have any problems whatsoever,” she said. “The problem has been is that all of this money is allocated for a certain purpose, and yet it’s appropriated and it never gets to all of the problems. And we don’t know where all of that money goes to.”
Young defeated Wayne Yevoli and Michael Eustice Jr. in the June 7 Republican primary.
Young will face Democrat Eric Olivas and independent Nicholas Bevins on Nov. 8. Olivas, a political newcomer like Young, defeated incumbent Commissioner Charlene Pystoky 53.3% to 46.7% in the Democratic primary, also June 7.
Bevins, an avowed socialist, previously ran for mayor in 2022 and Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education in 2021. He withdrew from the mayoral contest and ran a distant third in a bid for the District 7 seat on the school board.
Young said she isn’t concerned about the election outcome.
“I feel like I’m doing the best that I can do, and I know that I’m a spokesman for the people. And so I feel good about that,” she said. “And no matter what happens, win, lose or draw, I feel like it’s a win-win situation for me because I have gotten to know the most wonderful people.”