Melanie Stansbury

New Mexico’s economic strength starts with its people, but advancing the state’s businesses will require coordinated, comprehensive growth plans.

That’s the message that Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., had for business leaders at a New Mexico Chamber of Commerce event held in Albuquerque on Wednesday.

“Our greatest asset, truly, in New Mexico is our people. New Mexicans are just inherently smart and creative and innovative,” said Stansbury, a native New Mexican who represents the state’s first congressional district.

But people alone — and what the congresswoman described as “ad hoc” investments from the state — aren’t enough to power New Mexico’s economic opportunities, she said. The state needs robust plans regarding workforce development and infrastructure to support economic growth, she added.

“We need a plan, and we need to invest in our people,” Stansbury said.

In recent years, the state has pushed to grow its tech, energy and aerospace sectors, attracting large companies such as Kairos Power and Mantis Space. But those companies require a skilled workforce that is shrinking in New Mexico and across the country.

“What happens is we tend to have an economic development opportunity that happens in New Mexico … and because we haven’t invested in the long-term pipeline from pre-K all the way through higher ed. For our workforce, we have to look outside of New Mexico for those skilled workers,” Stansbury said.

“Well, that’s ridiculous,” she added. “We have the smartest people on planet Earth who grew up right here in these communities.”

Bringing federal investments to pipeline programs in New Mexico is a priority for Stansbury, she said. She also urged industries to partner with the state to support those programs.

With workforce development investment, the congresswoman said she sees the technology, clean energy, defense and manufacturing sectors as key areas of opportunity for Albuquerque, which she called a “powerhouse” for the state and the world.

For the state’s rural areas, where small businesses and family operations are the heart of economic opportunity, Stansbury said infrastructure is the greatest need. In those areas, investment in broadband, housing and water infrastructure ultimately leads to growth.

“The federal investments in infrastructure in rural communities are essential to even create the physical places for people to live and thrive,” Stansbury said.

She also cautioned against the strategy of bringing large companies to rural areas to spur economic growth, citing a lack of water and basic infrastructure. Her comments come as a data center, Project Jupiter, is being constructed in Santa Teresa, a small town in Doña Ana County.

“We are going to have to build industries that rely on water in places where water exists in the state, and we should not be building industries in places where there is not water,” Stansbury said.

With the election coming up in November, Stansbury also said it’s important for the business community and organizations like the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce to ensure continuity and help execute the state’s long-term economic vision, creating plans that span across sectors and rely on partnerships and shared nonpartisan ideas.

“Things that every New Mexican can agree with and be on board with, and the chambers and nonprofits and others can help sort of hold that work as there’s transition across politics,” said Stansbury, who is up for reelection in a race against Ndidiamaka “Didi” Okpareke, a pharmacist from Rio Rancho.

In today’s polarized political landscape, Stansbury said she has hope in New Mexicans and their abilities to innovate and map out approaches to economic growth that are true to New Mexico.

“I think that New Mexico has all of the ingredients for building a truly thriving and sustainable economy for our communities,” Stansbury said. “I’m excited about the future.”