Tread lightly, Gomie! Breaking Bad star Steven Michael Quezada joins heated race for Albuquerque county commissioner
- Quezada, 52, who appeared in all five seasons of the award-winning AMC drama, is seeking the Bernalillo County Commission seat
- At least three others are running for the open seat in 2016
- Quezada says New Mexico's Democratic Party needs to do more to reach out to Latino voters
Breaking Bad's doomed DEA Agent Steven 'Gomie' Gomez will live to fight another day - this time in Albuquerque's political arena.
Actor Steven Michael Quezada, who appeared in all five seasons of the award-winning AMC drama opposite Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Dean Norris, is jumping in a heated race for county commissioner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 52-year-old aspiring politician told The Associated Press Monday that he will make a formal announcement on Tuesday that he's seeking the Bernalillo County Commission seat.
Gomie's comeback: Actor Steven Michael Quezada, best known for his portrayal of DEA agent Steven Gomez in AMC's Breaking Bad, is jumping in a heated race for county commissioner in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Co-stars: Quezada (right) appeared in all five seasons of the award-winning AMC drama opposite Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Dean Norris (left)
Quezada as Agent Gomez pictured in a scene with Aaron Paul as meth dealer Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad
The actor and comedian says he's joining in the race because he feels someone like him can make a difference in the district which includes the historic Hispanic South Valley and an area where developers are seeking to build new homes.
‘I think I bring a new face to the Democratic Party,’ said Quezada, a Democrat who is a member of the Albuquerque school board. ‘We need to reach out to our young people — the young Chicanos, the young Latinos — and get them involved in this process and let them know this is important.’
At least three others are running for the open seat in 2016.
The Bernalillo County Commission recently voted to approve a planned community despite activists' fears the development would take water away from nearby communities. Concern of the development brought protests from South Valley farmers at commissioners' meetings.
The master plan for a nearly 22-square-mile development known as Santolina would rival some of the state's largest cities once completed in 50 years, and it comes during a period of heightened concerns over water following years of severe drought.
Quezada, who voted against the plan as a member of the Albuquerque Public Schools, said the plan lacked the needed schools at a time when the area is seeing school overcrowding.
Getting political: Quezada is a member of the Albuquerque school board and hopes to reach out to young Latinos in the city
Quezada is getting active in New Mexico Democratic Party politics just as the party is licking its wounds from a historic defeat in 2014 with the re-election of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and the GOP takeover of the New Mexico House.
Other Democrats have sought Quezada's support and he has lent his voice for commercials.
But Quezada said the state party needed to do more to reach out to Latino voters, especially since New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the county.
Javier Benavidez, executive director of the SouthWest Organizing Project, a group that opposed Santolina, said he was happy that Quezada and others were jumping in the commissioners' race.
‘We are seeing the consequences of irresponsible development,’ Benavidez said. ‘We need leaders who are going to commit to responsible growth and not just recruit new Walmarts and chain restaurants.’
Quezada, a life-long resident of Albuquerque, studied Theatre at Eastern New Mexico University and has been a working actor for the past decade.
Familiar face: Quezada studied Theatre at Eastern New Mexico University and has been a working actor for about a decade. His big break came in 2008 when producer and writer Vince Gilligan cast him in Breaking Bad
His big break came in 2008 when producer and writer Vince Gilligan, of X-Files fame, cast him in the series Breaking Bad, which follows the travails of Albuquerque high school chemistry teacher Walter White who turns to methamphetamine manufacturing after being diagnosed with cancer.
Quezada portrays Steven Gomez, who is the partner of Walter White's unsuspecting DEA agent brother-in-law, Hank Schrader.
Gomez and Schrader [spoiler alert] both meet a violent end in episode 13 of season 5 at the hands of a white supremacist gang.
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