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Candidate for attorney general

Name: Jim Bibb, Republican

Age: 35

Campaign Web site address: www.jimbibb4ag.com

Occupation: Attorney/National Guard officer

Family: Married to Kristina for 16 years; five children: Andrew, Josiah, Rebekah, Abigail, Micah. The oldest, Andrew is currently serving in the US Air Force. The younger four are still school aged.

Education: Associates, NMMI; bachelor's, New Mexico Tech; JD, University of New Mexico Law

Please list the experience you think would help you be a good attorney general.

Military leadership: Major in the Army National Guard; commander of the 717th Medical Company (an organization that is about the size of the Attorney General's Office)

Combat veteran: I have successfully led soldiers under the most stressful circumstances imaginable. I am a medevac helicopter pilot with the Army National Guard. I received the Bronze Star, Army Air Medal, and Combat Action Badge for service in Afghanistan, 2003-2004.

Prosecutor: Served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant District Attorney in New Mexico, putting violent criminals behind bars and bringing perpetrators of public corruption, to justice.

Law Enforcement: Served as an FBI Special Agent on the Violent Crimes Task Force where my work led to the arrest and conviction of many violent criminals.

Protecting our families: Served as a court appointed representative for abused and neglected children.

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a felony or misdemeanor? No.

What's the best meal you can cook from scratch? Pancakes and eggs

Last book you read: John Maxwell's "360-Degree Leadership," and "The Chronicles of Narnia" with my kids.

What was your biggest mistake in life and what lesson did you learn?

When I was serving in Afghanistan, it took a toll on my oldest son more than I would have imagined. I didn't see how badly my absence was affecting him until his grades started to fall. As a result, I recommitted to being "with him" even though I was still overseas. I found a way to have long conversations, among other things, to stay in touch. My mistake was forgetting that he still needed me even though he was almost grown, and I learned to never let it happen again.

What would your top priorities be in office? What specific steps would you take to achieve them?

My campaign is about specifics, and I have laid out specific plans for:

Getting serious about cracking down on criminals guilty of public corruption by enforcing the laws we already have on the books and dedicating specific investigators and prosecutors to a Public Corruption Division of the AG's office. No complaint or tip will go uninvestigated.

Curbing methamphetamine trafficking and addiction by establishing a Controlled Substances Enforcement Division within the AG's office where we focus on working with federal authorities on cross-border traffic, education, investigation, and prosecution.

I will advocate for tougher sentencing laws and better treatment facilities, along with better funding for our judicial system to handle the caseload.

Making our judiciary more effective and timely in dealing with DUI cases. We can no longer live with the excuse that our courts cannot handle the caseload and perpetrators are set free because of it. We should look at requiring mandatory jail time for all first time offenders.

Launching a statewide Education Initiative to deal with tough issues like domestic violence and identity theft, and drug and alcohol abuse and its related crimes.

Providing better consumer protection by involving business leaders in the process of first identifying, and then educating, New Mexicans about predatory scams.

Critique the current attorney general. What initiatives would you continue? What new initiatives are needed?

The current Attorney General has failed to give New Mexicans any confidence whatsoever that her office has made investigating and prosecuting public corruption cases a priority. As attorney general, I will do just that. I will also launch my Educate New Mexico initiative, which will provide necessary information on all issues surrounding some of our states greatest challenges, like methamphetamine abuse and trafficking, DUI, consumer protection, border security, sexual predators and domestic violence.

Should New Mexico keep or repeal the death penalty? Keep.

What can be done to protect New Mexicans from scams and identity theft?

Education, investigation, and prosecution are the keys. We also need to make business a partner in identifying and stomping out scams. My experience in federal law enforcement provides me with the understanding and ability to reach out to our federal crime-fighting partners as well.

How would you work with Mexican officials to solve crimes along the U.S.-Mexico border and to extradite fugitives from the United States?

I will work with federal law enforcement officials in protecting our borders especially when we're dealing with possible terrorists, drug traffickers, and other criminals.

The FBI has legal attaches (agents) in our embassy and consulates in Mexico to deal with issues just like this. We already have a Foreign Prosecutions Unit in the New Mexico Attorney General's office. As AG, I will continue to work with the bi-lingual and bi-cultural unit to ensure that prosecutions involving non-US nationals are expedited properly.

What specific improvements would you recommend to the state's Inspection of Public Records Act and Open Meetings Act?

We must enforce the Inspection of Public Records Act without delay and without excuses. Public officials must abide by public requests within a timely manner or face legal consequences. New Mexico's open records and open meetings laws are a crucial part of maintaining honest government.

I will work with supporters of open and accountable government to help educate the public and public officials about the law. If education proves insufficient, then my office will actively enforce our good government and open government laws.

How much authority does the attorney general have to regulate payday and title loans? What would you do about this issue?

I will enforce any constitutional law passed by the legislature and enacted into law, including law addressing predatory lending.

Both candidates say they are tough on crime. What specifically have you done to fight crime?

I served in the war on terror, leading soldiers and flying a medevac helicopter in Afghanistan in 2003-2004. I am the only candidate for AG who has actually served as a prosecutor. And I am the only candidate who has prosecuted criminals in both state and federal court. I am a former assistant U.S. attorney and a former assistant district attorney.

I also worked as an FBI special agent, where my work resulted in the arrest and conviction of many violent criminals. My professional life has been dedicating to bringing criminals to justice and protecting our families. That is why I chose to serve in the military and why I chose law enforcement as a career.

New Mexico has seen problems lately with corruption or perceived corruption in state government. How would you stop those who abuse the public's trust?

Very simply, I would investigate every tip or claim of public corruption and when the evidence warrants, prosecute aggressively. We cannot continue to sit back and allow the public trust to be eroded any further. New Mexico deserves to have a top law enforcement official whom they believe will fight for them. We have enough laws on the books to get this done - what we need to do is elect an attorney general who has the desire to prosecute. I have a proven history of bringing criminals to justice, and I will continue that work as attorney general.

Are New Mexico's anti-methamphetamine laws strong enough?

We can always look at ways to make our laws tougher, but what we really need is a court system that can handle the load of trials, and a rehabilitation mechanism that actually works for meth addicts. Both of these will require better funding and a new commitment within the law enforcement community and the Legislature to make it happen. We need to work closely with our federal law enforcement officials in protecting our borders as most meth coming to New Mexico is being brought in over state lines and from Mexico. I will also create a specific division within the AG's office to deal with enforcing drug laws.

A new state law calls for longer probation for some sex offenders, but it appears not all judges were aware of it. What will you do to make sure everyone knows about changes in state law? Are changes to the laws governing sex offenders needed?

There is no excuse for judges not understanding and being familiar with any new sentencing laws that are passed. As attorney general, I will do whatever necessary to ensure that our judges are kept up to date on this most important issue. I support tougher sentences for sex offenders convicted of crimes committed on children, like life in prison without parole. We must continue to beef up technological capabilities in tracking registered sex offenders as well as giving local law enforcement officials greater ability to notify their local communities about dangerous criminals living nearby. We need to look at GPS tracking devices, paid for by the convicted offender, as a tool for tracking offenders, but we cannot rely solely on these devices for preventing future crimes.