Jeff Steinborn was elected to the New Mexico State Senate in November of 2016 after serving eight years in the New Mexico House of Representatives. Jeff represented House District 37 from 2006–2010, and House District 35 from 2012–2016.
During his time in office, Jeff has passed a diverse range of legislation including establishing webcasting for House of Representative committee meetings, campaign contribution limits, greater support of New Mexico’s veterans, protection of our water resources and legislation to establish the historic “Rio Grande Trail.”
Jeff also serves as the Southern New Mexico Director for the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, where in 2005 he helped develop a campaign for the protection of the Organ Mountains and surrounding public lands. After nearly ten years of tireless advocacy, Jeff successfully helped lead a national coalition of organizations to establish the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. On May 21st, 2014 Jeff was invited by the White House to join President Obama for the formal proclamation signing, creating the new monument.
Jeff has received various commendations for his service, including the Best in Government Award from Common Cause New Mexico, 1st Amendment Freedom Award from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, “Medal of Merit” by the American Legion, “Top Supporter of Education” by the New Mexico Coalition of School Administrators, Luminaria Award by Conservation Voters New Mexico, and “Legislator of the Year” by the New Mexico Recycling Coalition.
Jeff grew up in Las Cruces where he attended University Hills Elementary School and Lynn Junior High School. He attended High School at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, and was in the Junior ROTC. Jeff earned a degree in Political Science from the University of Texas, Austin, and completed graduate level coursework at the Institute of World Politics in Washington DC. While in Austin, Jeff gained a solid background in public policy and legislation, fighting for tough consumer protections working for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen as a Policy Specialist.
After two years with the Texas Legislature, Jeff became an aide to then-U.S. Congressman Bill Richardson in Washington D.C., where he worked on international affairs, education and urban issues. After a few years in Washington, Jeff entered the private sector. He also continued to champion national issues as the founder, organizer and moderator of the Fall Conference on Reducing the National Debt in Washington, D.C. In 1998, Jeff returned to public service by working for Congressman Tom Udall’s first successful campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 2001, Jeff was tapped by U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman to serve as his Field Representative to southwest New Mexico. As the Senator’s chief liaison to the region, Jeff worked on a diverse range of issues including economic development, water resources, border affairs, energy and veteran services. Jeff also served as a liaison to southwestern New Mexico’s Native American community and military bases. Working for Senator Bingaman, Jeff founded and coordinated the Southwest New Mexico Border Security Task Force and co-founded and obtained federal funds for the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico.