'Breaking Bad' actor running for office

Actor Steve Michael Quezada has announced he his running for a seat on the Bernalillo County Commission in Albuquerque Tuesday.

According to People magazine, the 52-year-old Breaking Bad star, who plays Detective "Gomie" on the hit show, is going against three other candidates for the 2016 seat and intends to run as a Democrat.

The Washington Post said Quezada is already a member of the Albuquerque school board. He snagged the position in 2013 while Breaking Bad was still a hit on AMC.

"People say I'm just doing this for the publicity," Quezada told the Albuquerque Journal at the time. "I don't need publicity. I'm on the No. 1 TV show in the world. The last thing I need is publicity."

He continued by saying, "if I can bring some national exposure and some national attention to our struggles here in New Mexico, then that's a good thing,"

In his new position Quezada aims to confront unemployment, infrastructure, overpopulation in schools, drug and gang issues, revitalize neighborhoods and lower the crime rate, the Post reported.

Acknowledging his own troubled past, Quezada expressed his desires to give those struggling an opportunity to turn their lives around just as he did.

"'Breaking Bad' told a story about what happens — not only in this community but also in communities across the country," Quezada said. "People try to find a way to make a living and many of them make bad decisions. I think 'Breaking Bad' did a good job showing what that gets you: It destroys everyone involved.

"There is a part of Gomez in me — wanting to do things the right way. That's what's going to be important to me when I'm gone — not what I did in 'Breaking Bad' but the legacy I leave behind."