Zackary Quintero

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Zackary Quintero

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 7, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

New Mexico State University, 2014

Law

University of New Mexico School of Law, 2019

Other

Georgetown University, 2010

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Zackary Quintero (Democratic Party) ran for election for New Mexico State Auditor. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 7, 2022.

Quintero completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Zackary Quintero earned a bachelor's degree from New Mexico State University in 2014. He earned a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2019. He earned a degree from Georgetown University in 2010. Quintero's career experience includes working as a state ombudsman with the State of New Mexico.

Elections

2022

See also: New Mexico Auditor election, 2022

General election

General election for New Mexico State Auditor

Joseph Maestas defeated Travis Sanchez in the general election for New Mexico State Auditor on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Maestas (D)	61.9	399,810
		Travis Sanchez (L)	38.1	245,725

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 645,535
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Robert Vaillancourt (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for New Mexico State Auditor

Joseph Maestas defeated Zackary Quintero in the Democratic primary for New Mexico State Auditor on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joseph Maestas	57.3	74,701
		Zackary Quintero	42.7	55,732

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 130,433
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for New Mexico State Auditor

Robert Vaillancourt advanced from the Libertarian primary for New Mexico State Auditor on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Robert Vaillancourt (Write-in)	100.0	284

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 284
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Quintero's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2019

See also: City elections in Albuquerque, New Mexico (2019)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Albuquerque City Council District 2

Incumbent Isaac Benton defeated Zackary Quintero in the general runoff election for Albuquerque City Council District 2 on December 10, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Isaac Benton (Nonpartisan)	52.2	2,929
		Zackary Quintero (Nonpartisan)	47.8	2,681

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,610
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Albuquerque City Council District 2

The following candidates ran in the general election for Albuquerque City Council District 2 on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Isaac Benton (Nonpartisan)	42.0	4,855
✔		Zackary Quintero (Nonpartisan)	20.7	2,387
		Robert Raymond Blanquera Nelson (Nonpartisan)	14.7	1,698
	Submit photo	Connie Vigil (Nonpartisan)	11.0	1,275
	Submit photo	Steven Baca (Nonpartisan)	5.8	675
	Submit photo	Joseph Griego (Nonpartisan)	5.7	664

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,554
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released June 21, 2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Zackary Quintero completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Quintero's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Zackary Quintero and I am running to serve as the next State Auditor of New Mexico. I am a proud Democrat from Las Cruces, New Mexico. I am a graduate of New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico School of Law. If elected I would be the youngest statewide elected official in the United States. I am running to protect our public dollars and fight for everyday New Mexicans.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am the proud son of a public school teacher and plumber. I am connected to our people and their struggles, that is why I went to law school and obtained my degree.
• I want this office to keep our financial systems clear of abuse and corruption. My ideas provide targeted solutions to protect our state funds, senior citizen community, and ADA communities.
• I intend to fight for everyday New Mexicans and lead this office with transparency, integrity, and accountability

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate about elder law and healthcare law. The focus of my career has been protecting people’s rights to secure dignity and access to justice. In addition to law, I am very passionate about education funding and protecting our environment. I want this office to keep our financial systems clear of abuse and corruption. Furthermore, I would like this office to ensure our state money is going to the classroom, after school programs, and defending our natural resources.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

This office is fundamental to the safety and financial well-being of state funds. It is a constitutionally independent office that examines not just how we spend money but also how that money makes a difference. It pursues corruption, abuse, and waste but simultaneously can set forth new standards for accountability to ensure equity and justice.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Cesar Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and President Obama.

These are my heros because they fought against a brutal system of exploitation, violence, sexism, and racism. The values and focus on what America promises to be (while knowing what it has been) motivated them and motivates me daily. Apart from my family, they showed me how to organize and fight for basic dignity. Their work also showed me how to navigate a majority white political establishment while simultaneously building consensus to get things done. Ultimately they showed me how to forge ideals into reality.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am honest, experienced in the office I am pursuing, and have strong empathy that motivates me beyond words to find justice for people who need help.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe there are three core responsibilities of this office. The first responsibility of this office is protecting the public’s money by being proactive in keeping it clear of corruption, abuse, and waste. The second is providing dignity and access to justice by conducting focused and transparent investigations into areas that involve public spending or financial relationships (conservatorships and guardianships). The third is advocating to ensure public funds are not being used to further hate or discrimination.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

It is tie,

Y2K was a thing that never happened but I remember it. I was 9.

The most memorable was 9/11. I was 10.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working with my dad in construction at 4am job sites. I was twelve. I did that job off and on until my undergraduate studies.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Blink-182 All the Small Things

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

Within responsibilities, the State Auditor Office has the jurisdiction to investigate and hold accountable predatory guardianships and conservatorships. This is an incredibly important power because it can develop both administrative law and investigations to help this community, the majority of which are seniors and ADA. This office literally can help prevent exploitation and financial harm from occurring to our must vulnerable populations.

The other responsibility I view incredibly important in this office is the ability to write and carry out administrative rules that govern the reporting of public spending. On every level, be it a town council to a state division, the Auditor has the ability to require new reporting systems.

Controlling how reporting is done is a very powerful tool because that responsibility can be used to show inequalities in the state, county, or local systems and can help move funds to where people need the most help. It can fight hate and discrimination by requiring wage gap analysis in salaries and career advancements. It can show the progress of whether or not tax breaks, tax credits, or public benefits to different industries are working or being abused. And ultimately it can protect public money from ransomware and modern digital attacks by checking the system for flaws.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Yes. Two primary ones.

The first is that the State Auditor has the power to investigate ANY public money being used by public or private entities. The power to investigate, gather evidence, and fine or refer for prosecution is very powerful and can be used to fix systemic issues.

The second is the oversight ability of guardianship and conservatorships happening in the state. Within conservatorships and guardianships peoples dignity and financial well-being are on the line. It is important this office take a proactive rule in protecting people who are listed in this category of law.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

This office requires a specific skillset and experience in administrative law, healthcare, finance, and understanding from the executive side of how money moves from place to place from the local to the state level. Government service would be more important here than political experience. This office requires focused experience.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

I have a strong understanding of how to carry out investigations in fraud, abuse, and neglect. I can provide the knowledge needed for reforms and improvements to the guardianship and conservatorship systems. I have a detailed understanding of how public spending is approved from the legislature and carried out by the executive. I also have prior experience in reviewing and preparing for financial tracing, tracking, and digital attacks done to public institutions. It is imperative the person who seeks this position have no prior or existing conflicts, record of abuse in public funds, or corruption connections.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2019

Zackary Quintero did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.

See also

2022 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

New Mexico State Auditor

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Personal

Facebook