Luciano Varela
| Luciano Varela | ||
 | ||
| New Mexico House of Representatives District 48 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 1987-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| December 31, 2014 | ||
| Years in position | 26 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $0/year | |
| Per diem | $153/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 1986 | |
| Next election | November 4, 2014 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | College of Santa Fe, 1968 | |
| J.D. | LaSalle Extension University, 1974 | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | United States Army | |
| Years of service | 1957-1959 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | February 17, 1935 | |
| Place of birth | Pecos, NM | |
| Profession | Retired | |
| Religion | Catholic | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Varela served on the following committees:
| New Mexico Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations and Finance | ||||
| • Health, Government and Indian Affairs | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Varela served on the following committees:
| New Mexico Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations and Finance, Vice-chair | ||||
| • Health and Government Affairs | ||||
| • Printing and Supplies, Chair | ||||
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Varela served on the following committees:
| New Mexico Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Appropriations and Finance | ||||
| • Health and Government Affairs | ||||
| • Printing and Supplies | ||||
Issues
Lawsuit against Gov. Martinez
Mimi Stewart, Henry Saavedra, John Arthur Smith and “Lucky” Varela filed two lawsuits against Gov. Susana Martinez over her line item vetoes in an unemployment bill and a housing bill.
Raul Burciaga, the director of the Legislative Council Service, told committee members of the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) May 19, 2011 that in his opinion two line-item vetoes made by Gov. Martinez violate the state’s constitution.
“Some of the governor’s vetoes seem to impinge on the legislature’s appropriation powers and plow new ground in a governor’s exercise of the veto authority,” said Burciaga.
That day, Gov. Martinez firmly said she disagreed.
“I could protest any governor doing this … it’s not partisan,” Sen. Stuart Ingle. “She’s a good governor … but it’s a little bit of stretch to do this.”
Burciaga testified that the veto Martinez made in unemployment bill H.B. 59 is part of a revenue bill and “did not authorize the expenditure of state money because that authorization was already in statute and not amended in this bill.” Burciaga said the veto is “unconstitutional and, hence, unenforceable.”
The second veto came when Gov. Martinez reduced an appropriation the legislature made to budget bill H.B. 2 from $150,000 to $50,000. Burciaga said that while state courts have not addressed the issue specifically, reducing “an item of appropriation is a legislative function that the governor has no power to do.”
“I think we need to challenge this in the courts,” Rep. Luciano “Lucky” Varela (D-Santa Fe) said.
“The main difficulty I have is changing the figure [from $150,000 down to $50,000 in HB2],” Ingle said, expressing concern that if the current partisan makeup of the Roundhouse were reversed, a future Democratic governor could assume greater power at the expense of the legislative branch. ”We just can’t go there.”[1][2]
Elections
2012
Varela ran for re-election in 2012. He ran unopposed in the June 5, 2012 Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4]
| New Mexico House of Representatives, District 48, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Luciano Varela Incumbent |
79.6% | 9,655 | |
| Libertarian | Bob Walsh | 20.4% | 2,477 | |
| Total Votes | 12,132 | |||
2010
Varela won re-election to the 48th District Seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition and defeated Bob Walsh (R) in the general election which took place on November 2, 2010.[5]
| New Mexico House of Representatives General Election, District 48 (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Luciano Varela (D)
|
7,776 | 78.50% | ||
| Bob Walsh (R) | 2,128 | 21.50% | ||
Soundbites from bipartisan forum
Luciano Varela and his opponent Bob Walsh spoke at a forum in late September 2010.[6]
2008
On November 4, 2008, Varela won re-election to the 48th District Seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Varela had no challenger. [7]
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
2010
In 2010, a year in which Varela was up for re-election, he collected $46,032 in donations.[8]
His largest contributors in 2010 were:
| New Mexico House of Representatives 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Luciano Varela's campaign in 2010 | |
| New Mexico Democratic Legislative Campaign Cmte | $2,640 |
| New Mexico Realtors Association | $2,000 |
| Conocophillips | $1,250 |
| Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 412 | $1,000 |
| New Mexico Health Care Association | $1,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $46,032 |
2008
In 2008, Varela collected $24,739 in donations.[9]
His four largest contributors in 2008 were:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| New Mexico Hospital Association | $1,500 |
| Associated Contractors of New Mexico | $1,000 |
| New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association | $1,000 |
| New Mexico Medical Society | $1,000 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Luciano + Varela + New + Mexico + Legislature
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
Luciano Varela News Feed
- Carruthers tells legislators state is down 41700 jobs - Deming Headlight
- Martinez ignores tech commission - KRQE-TV.com - KRQE
- Lame-duck lawmakers get blanket approval for travel - Santa Fe New Mexican.com
- Martinez spins record as budget savior - Alamogordo Daily News
- The Legislative Council today also named members of legislative interim ... - ABQ Journal
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External links
- New Mexico Legislature - Representative Luciano Varela
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992
- New Mexico Votes profile
References
- ↑ "Lawmakers file suit over Susana vetoes," Capitol Report New Mexico, May 26, 2011
- ↑ "Legislative director says two vetoes from Susana are unconstitutional," Capitol Report New Mexico, May 19, 2011
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, Official Primary Results
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State "Primary Candidate List," Accessed March 23, 2012
- ↑ North Dakota 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ "Soundbites from candidates forum: Lucky Varela (D) vs. Bob Walsh (R)," New Mexico Watchdog, October 2, 2010
- ↑ 2008 election results, New Mexico House of Representatives
- ↑ 2010 campaign contributions
- ↑ 2008 contributions
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New Mexico House of Representatives - District 48 1987–present |
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