For the second time in less than a month, the Bernalillo County Commission has appointed a teacher to fill a seat in New Mexico House of Representatives.
And while it’s the same position, it’s now a different teacher.
The commission on Monday chose Flor Yanira Gurrola Valenzuela to serve West Side Albuquerque-based District 16 in the legislature.
Gurrola, 48, spent much of her career as a bilingual and math teacher at Washington Middle School and is currently a professional development coordinator for Dual Language Education New Mexico. A Mexican immigrant, Gurrola said she sees her appointment as an opportunity to give voice to the low-income and immigrant populations she has worked with in Albuquerque.
“(There are) kids who no matter how good they are at school or the dreams they have, sometimes they don’t have opportunities when they finish school,” she said in an interview after Monday’s virtual meeting. “That’s in my mind right now. I’m shaped by them.”