Democracy for New Mexico

URGENT Support Requested by Dine Elders and Youth to Stop New Coal-Fired Plant

(Above) Lucy A. Willie (R) stands at the proposed Desert Rock Power Plant site outside of Burnham on Wednesday where she and several friends and family stayed overnight to stop a contractor for Desert Rock Energy Company from doing preliminary work.

UPDATE 01.04.07: An agreement was reached to permit continued protest against the power plant. See Santa Fe New Mexican article.
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From the Black Mesa Water Coalition and the Indigenous Environmental Network:

Sithe Global and DPA are proposing to build the Desert Rock Power Plant, a 1500 MW coal fired plant in the Four Corners area on the Navajo Reservation. This is an area already polluted by 2 other major coal power plants. Local Navajo residence and community members oppose this project for many harmful reasons!! This Desert Rock power plant is still in the environmental review process and has NOT yet been permitted.

However, Desert Rock company trucks have began moving onto the backyard of Alice Gilmore, an elderly Navajo woman, and her family on Wednesday to begin drilling efforts. Desert Rock officials and police have not shown any documents or permits to the local residents stating their purpose or permission to be there. Dine supporters and community members have joined Alice and her family to blockade the road. They are elderly women and youth, and they have been camped out on the road over night since Tuesday! Desert Rock trucks have repeatedly rushed them and have almost run-over people a number of times as they attempt to get by. Desert Rock power company is violating the lease rights of the local Navajo residences and is harassing elderly Navajo women and youth. This is an urgent time and support is needed!!!

Please read on to find out how you can help! And please pass this onto others! Click for press release (doc) and additional article.

What They Need:
- More People Support
- Firewood
- $$
- Attention!

How You can Help!

-More People! More people are needed to sit in support! All are welcome! Directions to the area are below:

The site is between Gallup, NM and Shiprock, NM (northeastern, NM). Take the road between Gallup and Shiprock, the 491, at the Mustang Service Station (one of the only service stations between the two), turn East on road #5 towards Burnham Chapter. From Burnham Chapter turn North onto gravel road #5082. About 10-12 miles up the road turn West until you see the encampment. There will be markers (balloons) out on the roads. (if you begin to see a dragline, you've gone too far)

- Firewood! it is cold outside and many of the resisters are elderly women. If you can get firewood to the site it is very very much needed. The directions to the site are above.

- $ Money! Resisters are in need of money for gas and food, and also for bail money if necessary. Please send donations to local resident and supporter:
Elouise Brown
1015 Glade Lane 34
Farmington, NM 87401
Email: thebrownmachine@hotmail.com

- ATTENTION! The more media and observers are present, the least likely Desert Rock is likely to run people over or harass them. Contact the media and tell them what is going on. Contact Navajo Authorities and tell them you are extremely concerned. Be a legal observer. Spread this Alert!

Media Contact: Lori Goodman, cell: (970) 759-1908, e-mail: kiyaani@frontier.net

Contact the Following Authorities! Tell them you have heard about Desert Rock's harassment of Navajo elders and youth. Tell them you are extremely concerned. If enough people contact these offices, they will know that the world is watching.

Shiprock Police Department
Phone: (505) 368-1350, Fax: (505) 368-1293

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley's Office
P.O. Box 9000 Window Rock, Arizona, 86515
Phone : (928) 871- 6352

George Hardeen,
Navajo Nation Communications Director
Office of the President
Office: 928-871-7000, Cell: 928-380-7688
e-mail: georgehardeen@opvp.org

Bureau of Indian Affairs (Gallup Office) - they are conducting the Environmental Impact Statement.

Harrilene Yazzi
NEPA Coordinator Bureau of Indian Affairs
Navajo Regional Office
P.0. Box 1060 Gallup, New Mexico 87305
Phone: 505-863-8314, Fax: 505-863-8324

-Be a Legal Observer: Get to the site and help record/witness what is happening.

Send this Action Alert Far and Wide!
Thank you for your support!!!
Enei Begaye, Executive Director
Black Mesa Water Coalition
408 E. Route 66, Suite #1
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Office #: (928) 213-9760

Jihan Gearon, Native Energy Campaign
Indigenous Environmental Network
(877) 436-2121

Terry Riley Guest Blog: Support Maggie Toulouse for Bernalillo County Clerk

From guest blogger Terry Riley:
On January 1st Mary Herrera will tender her resignation as county clerk and be sworn in as Secretary of State of New Mexico. At that point Bernalillo County commissioners will have to meet to appoint a new County Clerk.

I attended a meeting of Democracy for New Mexico last week where Maggie Toulouse spoke. She told a bit about herself and she asked for suggestions for priorities for change in the county election process. She recognized that she was speaking with people who had participated in this year's election process. The input from the group was varied and her responses appeared thoughtful.

Ms. Toulouse asked for support for the nomination. She indicated that she would submit a summary of her qualifications to the Democracy for New Mexico web site. (Editor's Note: She did submit this info, which can be found in this post.) From a little experience that I have had working with her and very heavily from her presentation at DFNM I feel that she is a very good candidate for replacing Mary Herrera. 

If you are a Bernalillo County resident and you want to recommend Maggie Toulouse for Bernalillo County Clerk I ask that you contact your commissioner and indicate your support. You can also have an effect if you contact the other commissioners, be sure to indicate whose district you reside in.  The contact information for the Bernalillo County Commissioners is:

Alan B. Armijo, 505-768-4027, msalazar@bernco.gov

Teresa L. Cordova, PhD, 505-768-4448, bmiera@bernco.gov

Deanna A. Archuleta, 505-768-4108, sdanciger@bernco.gov

Tim Cummins, 505-768-4001, emckinley@bernco.gov

Michael Brasher, 505-768-4002, rdoucette@bernco.gov

Address: One Civic Plaza NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
They are located on the 10th floor. 

Please take action.  New Mexico needs the most qualified people in county clerk positions, especially Bernalillo County.

Editor's Note: This opinion piece is a guest blog submitted by Terry Riley. If you would like to submit a post for possible publication as a guest blog here, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the main blog page.

Congrats to Our New U.S House Appropriations Committee Member Rep. Tom Udall!

Congressman Tom Udall (R), his wife Jill Cooper Udall (L), and Tom's father former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall (C) voting by paper ballot on election day

Big round of applause! New Mexico's popular and progressive Dem congressman from Northern New Mexico's 3rd congressional district, Rep. Tom Udall, just got appointed to the powerful U.S. House Appropriations Committee. Apparently the move is part of incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's strategy to empower younger Dems who may have less seniority but who possess the spirit, energy and ethics needed to reinvigorate Dem initiatives in the House. This appointment will allow Udall to finally show his stuff. Until now, his time in the House has been dogged by tight Republican rule that made effective Dem participation almost impossible.

An Albuquerque Journal article quoted Rep. Udall, who just won his fifth 2-year term in the U.S. House with 75% of the vote, on his new clout:

This is a powerful, exclusive committee, and I have a much better opportunity to do good things in the state ... Udall said he will push for more money for veterans, health care, affordable education and protection of natural resources in his new role.

Rep. Udall's on a roll these days, with President Bush yesterday signing his bill protecting Northern New Mexico's Valle Vidal from oil and gas drilling. Like other members of his illustrious political family, Tom Udall has been a mighty supporter of all things environmental during his entire career in public service.

The House Appropriations Committee has been a controversial and often unethical "pork" producer in recent years. Vastly increased numbers of often secretive and questionable earmarks were passed out like candy by Repubs in order to bolster the lock-step Party discipline imposed by ex-Rep. Tom DeLay in his role as Majority Leader. However, Rep. Udall says the Dem-dominated 110th Congress will be different. According to an Albuquerque Tribune article:

Udall said he supports the decision of the new House Democratic leadership to leave earmarks - special projects included by lawmakers - off 2007 spending bills while they come up with a way to reform the out-of-control process of earmarking.

"It was a disaster the way the Republicans handled this. It's going to be difficult for everybody, but it's a new day, and we're moving in a new direction," said Udall. "This is going to be viewed very positively. We're reformers."

House rules require that Udall relinquish his Committee memberships on Veterans' Affairs and Small Business and Resources (where he was scheduled to chair a subcommittee) in order to serve on Appropriations. Again quoting the Tribune article:

I think I can do more for New Mexico and the state on the Appropriations Committee. I'm going to continue to fight for priorities I've been fighting for," Udall said. One of those is the national parks system, which has never received the money to eliminate a backlog of maintenance that the Bush administration promised, said Udall.

After Dem victories in November, Udall was also named to the Steering and Outreach Committee of the Democratic Caucus, which deals with committee assignments and other Party business. Looks like it may have given him a well-deserved leg up.

Pelosi's other appointments to Appropriations include Rep.-elect Ciro Rodriguez (Texas) who just won a runoff against Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-Texas), Reps. Ben Chandler (Ky.), Michael Honda (Calif.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Betty McCollum (Minn.), Tim Ryan (Ohio), C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger (Md.), Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.).  The Committee will be chaired by Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin).

New Mexico's one and only member of the potent House Appropriations Committee was the late Joe Skeen, a Repub who represented NM-02 from 1981 through 2003, when he passed away. On the Senate side, Repub Sen. Pete Domenici has long been a powerhouse on the Senate Appropriations Committee, although with Dems taking over he'll lose his chairmanship of the Committee's Energy & Water Development Subcommittee.

State Sen. Ortiz y Pino to Sponsor NM-01 Redistricting Bill?

Democratic State Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino wants to introduce a bill when the Legislature convenes in January that would redraw the boundaries of New Mexico's first congressional district. Repub Heather Wilson recently beat Dem Patricia Madrid in the NM-01 congressional race by only 862 votes.

Sen.Ortiz y Pino is proposing two different configurations meant to consolidate the area's urban and Native American components and make the district more cohesive as a metro area voting bloc. Proposed changes would include moving more rural parts of Torrance County, in the East mountains, to the second district and including more urban parts of Valencia County, south of Albuquerque, into NM-01. The district currently consists primarily of Bernalillo County, but also encompasses portions of Sandoval, Santa Fe, Torrance and Valencia counties. According to an Albuquerque Tribune article:

"The last election showed how uncohesive our current district is," Ortiz y Pino said.

"We'd like to not be splitting the Native Americans as we are now and we'd like metro Albuquerque to be metro, not urban and rural."

Sen. Ortiz y Pino's introduction of a redistricting bill appears contingent on gaining the support of Governor Bill Richardson and his fellow State Senators:

Ortiz y Pino said he hasn't talked to Senate leaders about the plans and hopes to present them to Gov. Bill Richardson soon. Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the governor will consider Ortiz y Pino's plans.

"The governor would prefer to wait until the next round of redistricting in 2010, but is willing to listen to Sen. Ortiz y Pino," he said.

However, Ortiz y Pino said he won't push the issue if Richardson doesn't want to. Redistricting in 2000 dragged on until a court ordered the current districting map in 2001.

"I would hold off if he (Richardson) asks me, but I'd like us to begin talking about it," Ortiz y Pino said.

Predictably, New Mexico's Repubs are against the plan. NM Senate Minority Whip Leonard Lee Rawson of Las Cruces said, "I think it's wrong-headed. I think we do redistricting once in a decade, not right after an election." Pretty funny, considering that the now discredited Repub Tom DeLay hatched a non-census year plan that resulted in a nice gain of seats for his Party in Texas. Thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision on DeLay's plan, it's now been ruled constitutional (with limitations) to redraw boundaries in non-census years. I guess Repubs can't bring themselves to believe that what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

There's reportedly also some grumbling coming from several Dems in NM's southern second district, an area currently represented by Repub Steve Pearce. They believe Dems have a chance to win a congressional seat in the district given that voter registration figures there actually favor Dems. They claim adding more Repub-heavy areas to NM-02 could end those hopes.

Note: DFNM guest blogger 'Land of Enchantment' recently advocated for redistricting of NM-01 in this post. What do you think?

Bernalillo County Gets a Raise!

From NM ACORN: The Bernalillo County Commission (NM) passed a new minimum wage law last night that will raise wages almost immediately for thousands of workers.

"It's been a long, hard struggle," said ACORN leader Mike Taylor, "But that's how it is with important victories. We and all of our union brothers and sisters and allies were not going to go away until we passed this thing."

Thanks to Commission Chair Alan Armijo for carrying the legislation and Commissioners Teresa Cordova and Deanna Archuletta for supporting the increase, which will take effect January 13, 2007 with a wage of $6.75. Commissioners Brasher and Cummins were not present.

The new law will mirror the City of Albuquerque's, which was passed last spring and will take effect January 1. The law allows no exceptions or exemptions for small businesses or teenagers. The raise will increase to $7.15 in 2008 and $7.50 in 2009. For more information, contact Matthew Henderson at nmacorn@acorn.org.

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More on this story: According to an Albuquerque Journal article, Bernalillo County is the lone county in the United States that has passed its own minimum wage law:

Bernalillo County is moving into rare company ... The bill makes Bernalillo County the first county in New Mexico to have a wage law and one of the few counties in the country to have one, several local officials said.

... Bernalillo County officials said they know of no other county in the United States that has its own minimum-wage law, though San Francisco, a combined city-county government, has one.

ACORN, AFSCME, Governor Bill Richardson and others will be working hard to get a raise in the minimum wage passed statewide when the NM Legislature convenes in mid-January 2007. An amended minimum wage bill stalled at the last minute in the NM Senate at the 2006 Legislature after being passed in the House. The current federal minimum wage is $5.15 an hour and hasn't seen an increase in ten years.

Incoming Speaker of the U.S. House, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, has promised to introduce a bill to raise the federal minimum wage in the first 100 hours of the new Congress that convenes in January.

Guest Blogger Mike Smith on My Strange New Mexico

This post was submitted by guest blogger Mike Smith:
My name is Mike Smith, and I write a weekly column of strange New Mexico history and lore, “My Strange New Mexico.” For now, the column appears every Thursday in the New Mexico Daily Lobo, though I do have aspirations for it to someday soon be read by a wider audience. 

I also post all of my columns on a website, www.mystrangenewmexico.com, along with photos and relevant links. 

I’ve been writing the column so far for just over three months and, despite its constant demand for research and time and late-night writing, it has been incredibly rewarding for me. At last, I’ve been able to give my attention to subjects that I’ve been interested in for years but have never had the time or the motivation to check out. I’ve been able to research and write about everything from stories of a dead Santa Rosa SCUBA diver turning up in Lake Michigan, to New Mexico’s role in the development of the space elevator, to New Mexico’s first serial killer—and his alleged killer—and how his killer was killed.

It’s also been a great way for me to find out strange New Mexico stories that I never would have heard before. Because of the strange subject matters of my column, people have come to me with all sorts of bizarre stuff—escaped monkeys living in a cave near Tijeras, Pterodactyl sightings in the Antelope Wells area, strange cases of the bubonic plague, and a cult of marathon runners near Datil, just to name a few of the subjects I haven’t even gotten to yet.

It’s made me love New Mexico even more than I already did, because it’s made it seem like a place where anything is possible.

People have asked me how I come up with a new subject every week, but the state we live in really makes it pretty simple. I have a list of about seventy or so topics that I still haven’t written about, and the list grows almost every day. If any of you reading this have any additional suggestions, e-mail me at antarcticsuburbs@yahoo.com, include a mailing address, and I’ll send you a free “My Strange New Mexico” cabbit button. (Cabbits are legendary half-cat/half-rabbit hybrids said to have been bred by the government near Dulce—see my website for more details.)

I eventually want the column’s subjects to have covered every New Mexico county, the top five or so New Mexico cities, and every 25-year-period since the state’s European history began, with several pieces about before then as well. 

I’ve always been interested in the strange, and I blame it mostly on my family. My older brother Rob had a superhero alter-ego well into his teens, and would often walk across the bottom of our swimming pool in a homemade plastic diving bell. My older brother David, before he was even ten years old, frequently stole my dad’s car.  And my younger brother Jeff had a longtime hobby of badgering Wal-Mart employees and customers while pretending he was mentally handicapped, a hobby that fit well with his other favorite pastime—getting physically removed from Wal-Marts.

Moving to New Mexico as a kid only increased my exposure to strangeness, and I liked that. I’ve walked across America before on a year-long charity hike, I’ve traveled the world, and I don’t think I’ve ever found such an intense concentration of strangeness as I’ve found in New Mexico. Maybe that’s just because I’ve spent more time here, or because I’m more in tune with it, but I like to think that the state—whether because of the landscape or the atomic program or attention from the Roswell Incident—is just a little bit odder than everywhere else.

And if that ever changes…I’m moving.

Check out "Towns of the Sandia Mountains," by Mike Smith, now available from Arcadia Publishing. Or read about New Mexico's strangest history and lore at https://www.mystrangenewmexico.com/.

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Mike Smith of Albuquerque. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, please contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of our main page.

Bingaman Slips On Oil: Watch Out for More Business As Usual

Read this Daily Kos diary and Senator Jeff Bingaman's public response to Speaker of the House Pelosi's stated intention to repeal oil company tax giveaways in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress. Excerpt:

House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi's plan to repeal tax breaks for oil companies in the first 100 hours of the new Congress could face roadblocks in the Senate.

Trying to do it in the first couple of weeks would be rushing things, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the coming chairman of the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told the Associated Press on Friday.

Yeah, we wouldn't want to rush things, now would we? The corporate masters of way too many Senators might get upset. With the industry's monstrously massive windfall profits as a backdrop, why would we want to work expeditiously to stop handing them taxpayer dollars like there's no tomorrow? Do you know of any other industry that is literally paid hundreds of millions of dollars to do what it's already doing for its investors? Think what we could do with the billions in big oil tax breaks if we used them to fund research on renewables, as Pelosi and other Dems have proposed.

Defining What We Stand For
Instead of following Pelosi's lead, Bingaman apparently intends to continue the Senate's recent pattern of tip-toeing and delay on issues like this one. He wants to hold what would no doubt be drawn out hearings on the tax cut rollback because he's reportedly afraid that oil companies might drill overseas rather than in the U.S. Does he really believe oil companies would pursue an either - or strategy on oil drilling when prices are as high as they are and with demand soaring? And since when is it considered prudent to bribe corporations to do what's right? What Bingaman doesn't seem to get is this:

Passing the rollback of oil subsidies is an important signal on at least two fronts: it shows that Democrats aren't going to bow down to corporations over the interest of tax payers, and it indicates a real interest in moving beyond oil as a single source of transportation energy.  Failing to pass these rollbacks will be a powerful signal of business as usual on capital hill.

Bingman also voted the other day for a humongous, last-minute combo bill that was finally passed at 4:00 AM on the last day of Congress. It included opening up the Gulf Coast to massive oil and gas drilling with the royalties going to only four states rather than all of us, as current law requires. These are oil and gas reserves that are owned by all Americans, not just the residents in four states. As usual, Bingaman defends his vote by saying the bill also has tax breaks for renewable energy. Yeah, Jeff, we know. But the point is that with Dems coming into control in the Congress, we want Dems like you to propose such measures on their own, up front and not attached to other incredibly damaging measures ginned up in lobbyists' offices. This is a time to forcefully define our values, not accept damaging provisions to get some small concession we want.

Feet to the Fire
I think it's vital that we keep a close watch on Senator Bingaman generally and especially when he assumes the chairmanship of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in January. We need to keep him informed of our views about what he does and how he handles the Committee and its business. Bingaman has a tendency to behave as if the Senate were still a congenial debating club run according to genteel rules and polite decorum. Civility and bipartisanship are fine when merited. But given the incredibly corrosive effects of big money on the process, and the often brutal legislative strategies employed by right-wing Repubs, I hope he wakes up and decides to fight, not capitulate right out of the gate

Bingaman apparently sees little value in taking the lead on issues, in being persuasive and bold. Instead, he all too often has his finger to the wind to see if something will fly before taking a stand. With voters around the nation positively aching for Dems to clearly define what they stand for, now is not the time for talking softly and compromising at the get go. Let's start proposing measures we strongly back and that make perfect common sense -- and then challenge Repubs to go on record fighting them. That's the way minds can be changed as we move closer to the 2008 presidential race.

Bottom Line
We can't let Bingaman begin his chairmanship with capitulation and weak-kneed compromise already dominating the process. If we start out strong, there's at least a chance we can get more of what's important to ordinary Americans passed. If we start out signaling fear of the Repubs and Bush, we have nowhere to go but down. Senator Bingaman has been an excellent steward of the environment in many respects, and has often employed a progressive approach to energy policy. However, I think it's crucial that we hold his feet to the fire to counteract his tendency to backslide in the face of Repub threats and powerful lobbies. Symbolism matters. Let's start out drawing lines in the sand, not backtracking at the first whiff of controversy.

Let Senator Bingaman know what you think about windfall profits, oil and tax policies.

RSVP Now for Conservation Voters NM Holiday Open House

From Conservation Voters NM:
Please join us at our CVNM Member Appreciation & Holiday Open House Party on December 17th. Help us celebrate a great year for conservation with some informal holiday cheer, food, friends, and awards at the home of:

Marie Wilkinson and Cyril Christo
3880 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe
Please park on Old Santa Fe Trail, enter home via Tatum Lane
December 17th, 2006  4-6 PM
Our open house is a great way for you to hear about CVNM’s 2006 victories and get a glimpse into our 2007 priorities.  We will be celebrating the 91% success rate of our endorsed legislative candidates in the recent election and honoring our invited 2006 Conservation Champions.

Please RSVP no later than Friday, December 15th to RSVP@cvnm.org  or by calling 992.8683. Host Committee: Mayor David Coss, Representative Peter Wirth & Carol Romero-Wirth, Marie Wilkinson, Tammy Fieblekorn, Alan Hamilton,  Jenny Parks, Gregory Green

REMINDER: Bernalillo County Wage Vote Tuesday 12/12

From NM ACORN: Let's Finish the Year with One More Wage Raise! Don't forget the Bernalillo County Commission's vote tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th, at 4:30 PM in the Commission chambers in the basement of 1 Civic Plaza.

After victories this year in Albuquerque, Arizona, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, and other places, we have a lot to celebrate. Let's keep the momentum going with another increase that will make sure workers in the South Valley and East Mountains enjoy the same wage increase in January that those in the City of Albuquerque will. Come join us!  For more information, contact Matthew Henderson at nmacorn@acorn.org.

Guest Blog: Maggie Toulouse, Candidate for Bernalillo County Clerk

Editor's Note: When Maggie Toulouse spoke at our DFA-DFNM Meetup last week she promised to send us more information about her qualifications and goals related to her campaign for the position of Bernalillo County Clerk. The Bernalillo County Commission will appoint a candidate on January 1, 2007 to fill the vacancy created by Mary Herrera's election as NM Secretary of State. Here's what Maggie sent:

Maggie Toulouse is the only candidate for Bernalillo County Clerk who has the academic and hands-on experience to improve our electoral system and has a clear agenda to make our elections more transparent, efficient and accessible. 

As the State Director for the non-partisan League of Conservation voters, Maggie led public education campaigns that registered thousands of voters and mobilized hundreds of volunteers to turn out the vote on Election Day.  She has successfully managed several statewide conventions with elections, including the 1996 Democratic Pre-Primary Convention.  As an appointee of the Bernalillo County Commission to the Board of Voter Registration, Maggie pushed for improvements to the voter registration process.

A UNM Phi Beta Kappa with a Masters in Political Science, Ms. Toulouse is a recognized academic having published in the Critique Journal of Politics on New Mexico voting behavior.  She serves as faculty at the UNM Political Science Department and teaches Political Science 200: Introduction to American Politics.

Maggie is running on an agenda for improving our elections process.  As Bernalillo county clerk she will:

• Create new efficiencies and streamline the process of absentee and hand-tallied ballot counting for future elections to ensure reliable results in a time-sensitive manner.

• Implement an election worker retention program and expanded election worker training in order to ensure that Bernalillo County has the best-trained and experienced election team in the nation.

• Work to ensure safeguards against voter fraud and voter intimidation and further protect the privacy of the paper ballot system.

She currently serves as a consultant to Common Cause New Mexico.  Maggie is the proud mother of Christian Toulouse, age 9.

If you have questions or suggestions, please contact Maggie Toulouse at magtoulouse@hotmail.com or 505-833-2023. Click for a Word document version of this resume, should you want to share it with others.

Editor's Notes: If you'd like to contact your Bernalillo County Commissioner to express your views on the candidate they should appoint as Bernalillo County Clerk, . To determine which Commission district you reside in click here and enter your street address.

This post was submitted by guest blogger Maggie Toulouse. If you'd like to submit a post for possible publication here as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of our main page.