Jeff Apodaca is rooted in New Mexico. The son of former Governor Jerry Apodaca, he was a high school football state champion and grew up immersed in the state’s political and cultural fabric.
Today, he is a successful media executive, and has returned to his roots to push for a more prosperous and united New Mexico. “I'm a 15th-generation New Mexican. My mom's family got here in 1580, my Dad's in 1620,” he says.
Now, he raises his twin sons in the same state that has given his family so much, while advocating for economic growth and political reform.
As a self-described “JFK Democrat,” Apodaca says he considers himself to be a “moderate conservative JFK Democrat.” He is concerned about what he says is political dysfunction and the failure of moderate voters like him to engage in local elections.
“Until the moderate Latino Democratic voter starts waking up and showing up to primary, city council, mayor races… I don't think we can turn New Mexico around,” he says.
Despite being labeled a poor state, Apodaca argues New Mexico is rich in resources and capital—just in need of better management. “We're the third wealthiest state in America,” he says, citing the state’s $61 billion in investment funds. “But we invest 99.98% of that money in California, in Austin, in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona.” This, he believes, is the core of the problem. “We will not invest into New Mexico.”
He is equally passionate about missed opportunities in industries ranging from biotechnology to film. He points out that UNM is a leader in bio research technology. “We have over 400 patents–there are eight of those companies here in New Mexico,” he says, but “38 have left the state going somewhere else.”
He points to Arizona State University as a success story in contrast. “That one president has now had three governors doing the same thing. Those three governors, two Republicans, one Democrat… They used zero state money. They created a $200 million bond.”
He also has ideas about how the film industry operates in New Mexico. While the state invests heavily in Hollywood productions, he laments that “New Mexicans are not getting those jobs.”
His solution? A world-class film school that prioritizes Latino and Native American storytellers. “We should open the film school up to everybody, but we target Latino and Native Americans. The rest of the school will be from Mexico, Central America and Spain,” he suggests. “That kind of revenue makes the school profitable in two years.”
As a cancer survivor, Apodaca’s perspective on life is shaped by hardship. “I live every day like it's the first day in my life,” he says. Diagnosed as a teenager, he doesn’t see each day as borrowed time—but rather as a fresh start. “I get to work every day,” he says, and asks himself, “Okay, what are we going to do today?”
The same drive fuels his new venture, ASG—a strategy group focused on supporting business growth and helping leaders across the political spectrum engage with economic solutions. “I'm really good at taking small or medium-cap businesses and growing them,” he says. “That's what I've done for 35 years.”
Apodaca believes there is a need for full-time, salaried legislators in New Mexico. “It would cost the state $8.2 million. I think that’s a small investment when we’ve got a $10 billion budget.” He argues that giving legislators full-time roles and proper staff would allow for meaningful change. “When you're governor, in four years you get 120 days to change things.”
In discussions, Apodaca likes to emphasize teamwork, a value instilled in him through sports and business. His approach is to “build a team environment and put people in their strengths.” He credits this mindset for his success at Univision and CBS, where he rose from assistant to executive. “My staff used to call me the ‘what if’ guy… every week I’d say, ‘What if we try this?’”
He also fondly recalls his father’s approach to leadership—welcoming debate, encouraging bipartisanship, and forcing his children to be present for it. “We had a rule in our house: someone comes in, you better get up and go shake their hand.”
“Let’s just be average,” his wife once joked. But for Apodaca, average would mean progress. “If we just got to like 30th or 25th in job creation—how great would that be for New Mexico?”
