Representative Christine Chandler Contact information

Christine Chandler serves as State Representative for New Mexico House District 43, which encompasses Los Alamos, Sandoval, and Santa Fe Counties. She was first elected to the NM House of Representatives in 2018 and was re-elected in 2020.

As a representative, she serves as Chair of the influential House Judiciary Committee and as a member of the House Taxation & Revenue Committee. During the interim (June - December) Chris chairs Courts, Corrections & Justice and is a member of the Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee.

Since being elected Chris has focused on the state’s employment laws with the aim of leveling the playing field between the employer and employee. She was the lead co-sponsor on the Healthy Workplaces Act that successfully passed in 2020. This transformative piece of legislation ensures that every worker in the state receives paid sick leave. Chris has been a long-standing champion for paid family and medical leave and is committed to seeing its successful passage by the legislature.

In the 2021 legislative session, Chris co-sponsored HB11 which provides $200 million in direct financial support to small and mid-sized New Mexico businesses affected by the COVID pandemic. Chris led economic development efforts to create a funding mechanism for the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) for larger construction projects. Chris co-sponsored HB291 to expand tax credits and rebates to provide more support for low-income families and was the lead sponsor of the Healthy Workplaces Act to guarantee workers the right to earn sick leave.

Chris has also worked extensively on the Connect NM Act to expand broadband access to New Mexicans and ensure there is a cohesive program to expand the access across the state. $100 million was allocated for the program. In her first session, Chris advocated for reform of the tax code by eliminating tax loopholes as well as tax credits and deductions that provide no public benefit. The efforts lowered the tax burden on 70% of working New Mexico families to promote a tax code that is more fair and equitable.

She has led efforts to protect workers from wage theft, ensure due process in the leasing of water rights, provide consumer protections for private post-secondary students, and offer retirement security for private sector workers. And, Chris worked with her colleagues to pass Roxy’s Law to prohibit trapping on public lands.

Chris lives in Los Alamos and has a long history of dedication to public service. She served as Probate Judge for Los Alamos County and for two terms on the Los Alamos County Council, including as its Chair and Vice Chair. She is an attorney, retired from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Office of General Counsel.

Christine Chandler was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Smith College, Juris Doctor from the Boston College Law School, and Master of Laws in international and comparative law from the Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to serving in the House, Chandler was a probate judge for the Los Alamos County Probate Court from August 2013 to February 2016. Chandler was a member of the Los Alamos County Council and has operated a private law practice. She served as chair of the council in 1999 and vice chair in 2018. She served as senior counsel at Los Alamos National Security. Chandler took office on January 15, 2019, succeeding retiring Democratic incumbent Stephanie Garcia Richard, who was elected New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands.