About

About Christine

Christine has a long history of dedication to public service.  After two terms on the Los Alamos County Council, including serving as its Council Chair and Vice Chair, Christine was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2018.  As a member of the influential House Taxation & Revenue committee she has advocated for the reform of the tax code by eliminating tax loopholes as well as tax credits and deductions that provide no public benefit. She is proud the legislature in its 2019 session lowered the tax burden on 70% of working New Mexico families, demonstrating her commitment to promoting a tax code that is fair and equitable.  

Christine is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where she has supported initiatives to implement criminal justice reform.  This effort focuses on tough enforcement against violent and repeat offenders while seeking alternatives to incarceration for first-time non-violent offenders, treatment for drug-related offenders, and programs to facilitate the transition from prison to release for formerly incarcerated offenders.  All these are directed to the reduction of violent crime and recidivism and the enormous financial and human burden of the present system of non-productive incarceration.

Christine has had a number of first-term legislative successes with the legislative enactments that protects workers from wage theft, ensures due process in the leasing of water rights, provides consumer protections for private post-secondary students, and offers retirement security for private sector workers.  Other legislative priorities include continuing the fight to prohibit trapping on public lands and ensuring all workers have access to paid family and medical leave.

Christine has lived in New Mexico for over three decades. Her grandparents were immigrants to this country, and while neither of her parents graduated from college, they encouraged Christine and her brothers to pursue higher education. She was fortunate to have had wonderful teacher-mentors who opened the world up to her. She believes that education is the foundation of economic success and of a vibrant democracy, so she wants to see New Mexico’s education system provide the same opportunities that she had to our children. Christine graduated from Smith College with a degree in economics and earned law degrees from Boston College and Georgetown University. She recently retired from her career as an attorney and manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory and has continued to devote herself to improving the communities she lives in. Christine is married to George Chandler; they have three children and six grandchildren who live in Los Alamos, Carlsbad, and Oregon.

Advocate for Education

Christine is committed to fighting to ensure that all New Mexicans receive a high-quality education from pre-K all the way to college. Her personal success has come from opportunities and encouragement she received, and she believes those same opportunities--starting with early childhood education--should be available to every New Mexican child no matter their background.

Public Service
Christine has a proven record of community service.  She is completing her first term as House District 43 Representative and is a practicing New Mexico attorney who worked for several years for the Senate Judiciary Committee as a senior analyst. Christine is proud of her work as a Commissioner on the Access to Justice Commission whose mission is to improve access to the justice system for poor and low-income New Mexicans. She held elected and appointed offices in Los Alamos. Bringing integrity and a sense of fairness to her work, Christine will be a champion for us in the state legislature.

Building Healthy Communities

As a former county councilor, Christine knows that healthy communities are shaped through investments in public safety, infrastructure, and critical services. Clean water, safe schools, and access to medical care are just some of the issues that Christine will advocate for to make sure all families have the opportunity to prosper.

 Earlier Civic Work 

  • Los Alamos County Councilor & Chair
  • Los Alamos League of Women Voters President
  • Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation Board Member
  • Leadership Los Alamos Board Member
  • Los Alamos Charter Review Committee Member
  • Los Alamos Probate Judge
  • Los Alamos Planning & Zoning Commission Member
  • Los Alamos 60th Anniversary Committee Co-Chair
  • New Mexico Commission on Access to Justice Commissioner

Memberships

  • Los Alamos League of Women Voters
  • Los Alamos Sportsmen's Club
  • Pajarito Environmental Education Center
  • The Sierra Club
  • Los Alamos COOP Market

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center, L.L.M. International & Comparative Law, with distinction
  • Boston College Law School, J.D. cum laude
  • Smith College, A.B. Economics

Career

  • Chandler Law of Los Alamos
  • NM Senate Judiciary Committee Analyst (4 sessions)
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory, Attorney & Group Leader