ABOUT MOE

Rep. Maestas is serving his 9th term representing Albuquerque’s west mesa.  Moe is an 11th generation New Mexican whose dad is the late Frank Maestas, former Albuquerque Journal sports journalist, and his mom is Emma Maestas who is a descendant of the Romero family that helped found Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1835. Moe began his interest in politics and public service early in life and was Valley High School’s senior class president in 1986.

SEATTLE

After high school, Moe moved to Seattle, Washington, to work as a community organizer at El Centro de la Raza. El Centro was founded by Moe’s Uncle, Roberto Maestas in 1972 and is one of the most prominent community-based civil-rights organizations in the northwest United States.

While living in Seattle, Moe put himself through college by working nights as a union factory worker at Stoneway Carton Company.  Rep. Maestas graduated from the University of Washington in 1995 where he studied political economy with renowned economist Dr. Paul T Heyne. Moe returned home to attend the University of New Mexico, School of Law graduating in 1998. As a student at UNM Law, Moe served as President of the Mexican American Law Student Association (MALSA) and co-founded the first ever National Latina/o Law Student Association (NLLSA) Conference in 1997.

LAWYER

Moe served as a violent crimes prosecutor for five years as an Assistant District Attorney at the Bernalillo Co. District Attorney’s Office. He then founded MoeJustice Law which focuses on personal injury law. Moe has served on the District Court & Metropolitan Court Judicial Selection Committees; and is currently a member of the Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Pretrial Release Committee and the Uniform Law Commission.

LEGISLATION

In the legislature, Moe has focused on economic development, public safety & education. As a freshman, Rep Maestas passed legislation to put financial literacy classes in NM high schools and for the passage of New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana legislation. In 2013, Rep. Maestas championed the “Breaking Bad” bill which welcomed back the film industry to New Mexico and NM’s model Sex Offender Registration Law.

Moe is a leader in criminal justice reform pushing for alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders so police officers and prosecutors can focus limited resources on reducing violent crime. Rep. Maestas has passed two criminal justice constitutional amendments; an independent Public Defender’s Office and a preventative detention measure so New Mexico’s most dangerous offenders can be held without bond.

Currently, Moe is pushing for a constitutional amendment to invest 1% of New Mexico’s $17 Billion Land Grant Permanent Fund (approximately $150 million) for early childhood education programs.

PERSONAL

Rep. Maestas is married to Vanessa Alarid and has three children; daughter Gabriela Alarid (18), Mateo Maestas (6) and Isadora Maestas (5).