Antonio "Moe" Maestas (born July 6, 1968) is an American attorney and politician from

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

. He is currently serving as a member of the

New Mexico Senate The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state ...

from the 26th district, and previously served as a state house representative. Both districts he has represented are located in the

West Mesa 300px, View of downtown Albuquerque and the Manzano Mountains from the West Mesa The West Mesa is an elevated landmass lying west of the Rio Grande stretching from south of Albuquerque northward to Bernalillo in the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

area of Albuquerque.

Early life and education

Maestas was born in

. After graduating from Valley High School, Maestas he moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and worked at

El Centro de la Raza El Centro de la Raza in Seattle, Washington, United States, is an educational, cultural, and social service agency, centered in the Latino/Chicano community and headquartered in the former Beacon Hill Elementary School on Seattle's Beacon Hill. It ...

as a community organizer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. While attending college, Maestas worked as a sheeter operator at the Stoneway Carton Company. Maestas moved back to Albuquerque in 1995 to attend law school, earning a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Maestas became an Assistant District Attorney at the

Bernalillo County, New Mexico Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo Co ...

District Attorney's Office, where he prosecuted violent crimes. He then opened his own law practice, MoeJustice Law, in 2003. In 2022, Maestas was appointed to the

, succeeding

Jacob Candelaria Jacob Rodney Candelaria (born 1987) is an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the New Mexico Senate for the 26th district from 2013 to 2022. First elected in 2012 as a Democrat, he later left the party in 2021 to become an ...

. The Bernalillo County Commission selected Marsella Duarte to serve for the remainder of Maestas's House term. Because Maestas remained on the ballot for his House district and ran unopposed, the Commission will select another applicant to serve for the 2023 term.

Elections

*2012 Maestas was unopposed for both the June 5, 2012, Democratic primary, winning with 1,888 votes and the November 6, 2012, General election, winning with 8,162 votes. *2006 When District 16 Democratic Representative Harriet Ruiz left the Legislature, Maestas ran in the four-way June 6, 2006, Democratic primary, winning with 668 votes (34.3%) and won the November 7, 2006, General election with 5,703 votes (68.6%) against

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee Storm Field. *2008 Maestas was unopposed for both the June 8, 2008, Democratic primary, winning with 1,948 votes and the November 4, 2008, general election, winning with 9,474 votes. *2010 Maestas was unopposed for both the June 1, 2010, Democratic Primary, winning with 1,561 votes and the November 2, 2010, general election, winning with 5,875 votes. *2024 Maestas posted on X a smiley face in reference to the attempted assassination of the former President Donald J. Trump. 4

Personal life

Maestas is married to Vanessa Alarid, a lobbyist.

References

External links

Official page
at the

New Mexico Legislature The New Mexico Legislature ( es, Legislatura de Nuevo México) is the legislative branch of the state government of New Mexico. It is a bicameral body made up of the New Mexico House of Representatives and the New Mexico Senate. History The Ne ...

Law practice site
*
Antonio Maestas
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Antonio (Moe) Maestas
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics 1968 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives New Mexico lawyers Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico University of New Mexico School of Law alumni University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni 21st-century American legislators Valley High School alumni {{NewMexico-politician-stub