Democracy for New Mexico

ACTION ALERT: Attend CD1's Dem Platform Hearing on 2/2

Are you tired of hearing the Democratic Party doesn’t stand for anything?  Tired of reading news reports that say people don’t really like the Republicans but they don’t think the Democrats have anything to offer? Tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching the country go down the drain?

Well here is your opportunity to do something about it.

Jason Bousliman, our CD1 Vice Chair, is organizing a platform hearing on behalf of the State Democratic Party:

Thursday, February 2nd
5:30 - 7:30 PM
UNM Law School, Albuquerque
Room 2401 
Click for map: https://tinyurl.com/djdxu

This is one of three platform hearings that are required by Democratic Party Rules and motions passed at the last State Central Committee Meeting. They are to be held in each of the three Congressional Districts across the state to get input from Democrats, just like you and me, on what the Party should stand for.  A new platform is being written and will be voted on at the Democratic Party Pre-Primary Convention on March 18 and your views can be part of it.

PLEASE take the time to come to this very important hearing and let them know what you want the party to stand for.   

Pass this on to everyone you know. Tell the Party what you think! Hope to see you all there.

Members of our Albuquerque DFA-DFNM Meetup will note that this event is scheduled for the first Thursday of the month, when we hold our monthly Meetup at the First Unitarian Church. For this month only we'll be suspending the regular Meetup and encouraging all Meetup members to instead attend the platform hearing and make their views known to the Democratic Party.

For more information, email Barbara Wold or Dallas Timmons.

ACTION ALERT: NM Rep. Lujan Introduces Minimum Wage Bill

Great news: Yesterday, House Speaker Ben Lujan introduced HB258, his version of the minimum wage bill. It would raise the NM minimum wage to $7.50 as of January 2007 and permit localities to enact a higher rate. Contrary to early reports, the bill would provide automatic annual increases based on the rate of inflation.

Click to read the bill. Its provisions echo those supported by the coalition group, New Mexicans for a Fair Wage. It differs significally from Governor Richardson's proposed bill (not yet introduced), which would raise the minimum in three phases to $7.50 on January 2009 and contains no automatic increases tied to the inflation rate. The Governor's proposal also stops localities, except for Santa Fe, from enacting a higher minimum wage for five years.

HB258 was referred to the House Labor & Human Resources Committee. Democrats on that committee include Chair Miguel Garcia (D-14 Bernalillo), Vice Chair Manuel Hererra (D-39 Grant & Hildalgo), Rep. Rick Miera (D-11 Bernalillo), Rep. Harriet Ruiz (D-16 Bernalillo) andRep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton (D-19 Bernalillo).

Take Action Now: You are urged to contact Rep. Lujan to thank him for introducing the bill, and to communicate with members of the House Labor & Human Resources Committee to encourage them to pass the bill as submitted. You can also contact your legislators to express your support for Rep. Lujan's bill over that of the Governor. You can find contact information for all legislators at the NM Legislature website.

Recent polling data indicates that Americans overwhelmingly support a raise in the minimum wage. In a recent Gallup poll, 83% supported Congress passing legislation that would raise the minimum wage. Of course, with BushCo dominating Congress, it's safe to say no raise in the minimum wage will be coming anytime soon at the national level. In the interim more and more states are stepping into the breach to raise the rate at the state level.

Ruy Teixeira on has this to say about public attitudes about the minimum wage:

Public opinion on many policy issues can be very complicated; there are nuances to the nuances, so to speak. Raising the minimum wage, however, is not one of those issues. Public support for raising the minimum wage has been, is, and likely will continue to be very, very high. People just think it’s the right thing to do and decades of attempts by conservatives to convince the public otherwise have been an abject failure.

... support for raising the minimum wage is remarkably high across partisan affiliations. In the November poll mentioned above, not only did 93 percent of Democrats favor a boost in the minimum wage, so did 80 percent of independents and even 73 percent of Republicans. The public’s view couldn’t be clearer.

Watch Conyers' Hearing on Domestic Spying 9AM Friday

From Rep. John Conyers, via his diary on Daily Kos:
Tomorrow (1/20), I will be holding a hearing/briefing on Bush's warrantless domestic spying program. The hearing will commence at 9 AM MT, and will be broadcast live on C-SPAN, Radio Pacifica, and ABC Radio. You can listen online on Pacifica Radio. It will also be covered by CNN, the New York Times, and many bloggers. This is particularly timely since the DOJ today issued a 42 page rant that again attempts to defend the indefensible -- spying on Americans without court approval. 

... This is a Huge development. The fact that millions of Americans will be able to tune in and see House Democrats challenging this program will show that we don't need to simply sit on our hands while the Constitution is shredded.

We will have an excellent and bipartisan panel, including Reagan Deputy AG Bruce Fein, GWU Law Professor Jonathan Turley, spying expert and author James Bamford, peace activist Richard Hersh, ACLU DC Director Caroline Frederickson, and Kate Martin of the Center for National Security Studies.  I'll be joined at the hearing by my Judiciary Colleagues, Jerrold Nadler, Bobby Scott, Sheila Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Adam Schiff, and Chris Van Hollen, among others.

Much, much more will be coming on this abuse, but we need to begin with a good airing of views. See you tomorrow.

Court Permits NM Voting Machine Lawsuit to Go Forward

From Voter Action:
On January 18, 2006, New Mexico District Judge Eugenio Mathis authorized the plaintiff voters in Lopategui v. Vigil-Giron, et al. to proceed with the collection of evidence and preparation for a trial in which plaintiffs will seek a permanent injunction against use of inaccurate and unreliable electronic voting machines in New Mexico elections.

At an afternoon hearing in Las Vegas, NM, Judge Mathis denied a motion for summary judgment filed by defendant Rebecca Vigil-Giron, the Secretary of State, seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. He also lifted a stay of discovery he had imposed in December, 2005. Finally, Judge Mathis granted motions to be dismissed from the lawsuit that had been filed by the county clerk defendants, but only on the condition that they agreed to be bound by any injunction subsequently issued against the Secretary of State.

The court’s rulings are a victory for the plaintiffs, who may now subpoena testimony, documents, and voting machine inspections.  The new evidence will augment the substantial evidence plaintiffs have already amassed of the inaccuracy and unreliability of electronic voting systems used in New Mexico elections.

In the meanwhile, an agreement remains in effect that temporarily prevents the Secretary of State from spending millions of dollars on hundreds of additional Sequoia AVC Edge touch screen voting machines. The agreement was negotiated between attorneys for the plaintiffs and for the Secretary of State prior to the January 18th hearing. The agreement will remain in effect until the court rules on the matter, probably in late February or early March.

On January 12, 2006, Governor Bill Richardson announced a plan to convert all of New Mexico to voting on optically-scanned paper ballots. Plaintiffs support rapid adoption, funding and implementation of the plan. Unless and until that occurs, however, plaintiffs intend to push forward with the lawsuit as the only means to assure that inaccurate and unreliable electronic voting systems are never used again in a statewide New Mexico election.

Voter Action is a project of the International Humanities Center www.voteraction.org

ACLU Attorney to Discuss Patriot Act at Tonight's County Dem Meeting

DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF BERNALILLO COUNTY
THIRD THURSDAY MEETING
UNM LAW SCHOOL, ROOM 2401
1117 STANFORD DR. NE, ABQ
JANUARY 19, 6 PM.  ALL ARE INVITED.
Click for map

The Third Thursday Meeting of the DPBC will feature George Bach, Staff Attorney, ACLU of New Mexico, who will discuss the Patriot Act in a talk entitled, “Safe and Free? An Update on the USA Patriot Act.”

Sign Up for Minimum Wage Lobby Day

From ACORN New Mexico:
The Governor has taken a brave stance for $7.50, but we still have a lot to fight for:

• No preemption of cities’ right to pass higher wages
• Indexing to the cost of living
• Quicker implementation. Under the Governor’s phase-in, we would get to $7.50 in 2009 when the wage will be worth $6.60 in today’s dollars.

Tuesday, January 31, get on the bus, and join us for lobbying, lunch, and a rally!

10:30 AM  Brief Rally on the Capitol’s West steps and break into district delegations for lobbying.

12:00 AM  Rally in the Rotunda

1:00 AM  Box lunch provided at the capitol

2:00 PM  Early departure or continued lobbying at the capitol

From Albuquerque: bus leaves at 9:00 AM from the ACORN office at 411 Bellamah NW, map

From Las Cruces & Carlsbad: buses and vans leave the afternoon of January 30. Overnight stay in Santa Fe, dinner, and lobby training provided Monday night, as well as return transportation Tuesday afternoon.

From Grants: car or van departing Tuesday morning, 8:00 AM

Everywhere Else: If you want to come, let us know, and we will help you get there.

Santa Feans: Please let us know if you want a box lunch on Tuesday.

To reserve a spot on the bus, reserve a lunch, sign up for lobbying on the 31st, or to get more information, email Matthew Henderson at nmacorn@acorn.org, or call 242-7411.

Editor's Note: For background on this issue see our previous post or visit the website of New Mexicans for a Fair Wage.

ACTION ALERT: Two Proposals Will Shape NM Minimum Wage Legislation

The dueling plans to raise the minimum wage in New Mexico:

Governor Bill Richardson has proposed raising New Mexico's minimum wage to $7.50 an hour in three phases, starting at $6.50 an hour in January 2007 and reaching $7.50 in January 2009. There would be no automatic increases tied to inflation. He'd leave intact Santa Fe's local minimum wage plan, but prohibit other municipalities from imposing local minimum wage laws for the next five years.

Speaker of the House Ben Lujan, however, intends to introduce a bill that would increase the minimum to $7.50 in one fell swoop in January 2007, as well as preserve the ability of localities to pre-empt the state law with a higher rate. His proposal, like the Governor's, fails to include a provision to automatically link future increases to inflation rates.

Except for a missing link to the inflation rate, Rep. Lujan's bill matches the proposal made by New Mexicans for a Fair Wage, as well as a resolution on the minimum wage passed by the Democratic Party of New Mexico at its meeting this past November.

Here's the response on behalf of the coalition urging a minimum wage increase in a Santa Fe New Mexican article that provides detailed coverage of this issue:

Carter Bundy, speaking on behalf of New Mexicans for a Fair Wage, a coalition of groups seeking to boost the state’s minimum wage to $7.50 an hour, said the coalition wants that increase as soon as possible and opposes any local pre-emption provisions [that would stop them from having their own minimum wage laws]

However, Bundy also said the coalition was pleased Richardson backed its proposed pay floor.

“On balance, we are very proud of this governor for coming to $7.50,” Bundy said

Given the pressure that will be applied by the likes of Albuquerque's Chamber of Commerce, which conducted a misleading campaign against Albuquerque's unsuccessful minimum wage increase effort this Fall, it is imperative that we contact our legislators by phone and email to urge their support of Rep. Lujan's bill. Also a good idea: contacting Rep. Lujan to thank him for standing by the people in the face of pressure to water down the wage increase.

Reports indicate lawmakers will be lining up on this issue over the next few days. Kate Nash of the Albuquerque Tribune has the story. Now is the time to make your views known. Check out the NM Legislature website to find your legislator.

Local MoveOn Petition Drive to Focus on Government Corruption

Editor's Note: Here's an important message from Garrett Monaghan, MoveOn's Operation Democracy Field Organizer in Albuquerque. Many of you met Garrett at our last DFA-DFNM Meetup in Albuquerque. Let's get behind this effort on the crucial issue of corruption in government.

Hi everybody!
MoveOn is going to be putting on a very large petition drive towards the end of this month, asking members of Congress to take a strong stance against the corruption that has been plaguing our government. We're going to be doing some good old-fashioned street petitioning for this event, and we'd love the help of anyone who feels like helping us out. We'll be setting up shop in public areas with lots of foot traffic, and we'll have volunteers with clipboards asking passersby to sign on.

All MoveOn members should be getting an e-mail by the end of the day with a link where you can sign up to come out and lend a hand.  If you're not a registered MoveOn member but you'd still like to help us out, please contact me with the information below.

Garrett Rand Monaghan
Operation Democracy Field Organizer
MoveOn.Org Political Action
330-412-3357
Garrett.Monaghan@operationdemocracy.org

Contact Legislators on Common Cause NM Ethics Reform Proposal

From :
New Mexico has had its own ethics scandal recently, with the indictment of the past two state treasurers over an extortion and kick-back scheme. Ethics and accountability in government have been core Common Cause New Mexico issues for years. As you know, clean elections are also important to us. But, before we can have a binding clean elections law at the state level, like we now have in Albuquerque, we first need ethics reform. That's why we've developed our own proposals for ethics reform legislation for the upcoming 2006 legislative session. But to be successful, we need you to contact your legislator and tell them you support reforming the ethics process during the upcoming session. Click here to find your legislator.

Here are the details of the Common Cause New Mexico ethics reform proposal:

1.  Our state needs a general ban on gifts to public officials. Gift bans in other states prohibit contributions to public officials from persons having a financial interest in their official actions (with the notable exception of campaign contributions). Currently, only persons registered as lobbyists with the Secretary of State's office have to report non-campaign gifts to public officials.  Everyone else is allowed to make non-campaign gifts, such as meals, sporting event tickets, or trips without reporting the gifts.  As we've learned from watching the Abramoff scandal, corrupt individuals do attempt to bribe lawmakers, and a gift ban is necessary to prevent even the attempt to influence a public official in this way.

2.  New Mexico needs stronger financial disclosure requirements for lobbyists. Specifically, Common Cause believes the public has a right to know who lobbyists are being paid by, how much they are being paid, and what bills they are interested in influencing during each legislative session.  Currently, lobbyists are not required to disclose this information, and thus the public does not have a clear picture of what takes place during any given legislative session.

3.  We need stronger campaign finance disclosure laws. We ought to require public officials to report campaign contributions more than one time per year, outside of campaign cycles. Contributors should be required to list their employer on campaign finance reports. They currently are not required to do so.

Call, write, or email your legislator today and tell them we need ethics reform during the upcoming session. The governor is proposing a good reform package, but our reform package would go further in the areas of lobbyist disclosure and the creation of a gift ban. And remember, you can always find the Common Cause New Mexico ethics reform proposal on our website .

Thank you for all that you do for democracy in New Mexico!

Sincerely,
Matt Brix
Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico

Conservation Voters NM Endorses David Coss for Mayor of Santa Fe

From Conservation Voters New Mexico:
CVNM is pleased to announce its endorsement of David Coss for Mayor of Santa Fe.

“David Coss is a conservation champion who has demonstrated a commitment to protecting the qualities that make Santa Fe special,” said Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of CVNM. “We look forward to having a true conservationist as our next Mayor here in Santa Fe.”

As a city councilor and chair of the City’s Water Conservation Committee, David co-sponsored the ordinance requiring real estate developers to bring water rights to the community’s system before beginning new construction.  David also helped develop a long-range water plan for Santa Fe with emphasis on sustaining Santa Fe’s water supply sources for the next 100 years.

“I am so proud to have the support of such a leading environmental group. CVNM is a strong voice for protecting New Mexico’s natural environment and way of life,” commented Coss after being informed of his selection. He added “I hope to work with them closely as Mayor of Santa Fe.”

Conservation Voters New Mexico, a nonpartisan organization, works to protect New Mexico's natural environment and our cherished way of life. CVNM’s mission is to make sensible conservation policies a top priority for elected officials, political candidates, and voters across the state.

Sandy Buffett, Executive Director
Conservation Voters New Mexico
320 Aztec Street, Ste. B
Santa Fe, New Mexico  87501
tel:   505.992.8683   cell: 505.270.5743
sandy@cvnm.org

Support CVNM's efforts to hold NM elected officials accountable for their environmental decisions and to elect a pro-conservation majority!!  https://www.cvnm.org

Editor's Note: David Coss has also been endorsed by the Democracy for America (DFA) Meetup group in Santa Fe.