Democracy for New Mexico

Predict the Winner of Nevada Dem Caucus

The Nevada Dem Caucus will be held tomorrow, Saturday, January 19, from Noon to 2:00 PM PST. Who do you think will win? (Pick one.) You have until Noon tomorrow to weigh in. This isn't about which candidate you support, but about the one you think will garner the most votes. Speaking of Dem Caucuses, you have until 5:00 PM Monday, January 21, 2008 to request an absentee (mail-in) ballot for New Mexico's February 5th Caucus. You'll also be able to vote that day from Noon to 7:00 PM at 184 polling places around the state. Click for more info.

Noon Saturday: Insight New Mexico Radio Returns

Weekly call-in radio show returns to the airwaves for its second year on Albuquerque's 1350 AM Progressive Talk Radio this Saturday from Noon to 1:00 PM thanks to the efforts of executive producer Suzanne Prescott. Co-hosts Heather Brewer (left) and Javier Benavidez (right) will focus on what's going on at the New Mexico Legislative Session in Santa Fe and other timely political topics. Brewer previous served as the communications director for Patricia Madrid's 2006 congressional bid and is now the executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico. Benavidez is now on staff with Conservation Voters New Mexico and formerly worked as an aide to Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich.

The special guests on tomorrow's show will be: the always indefatigable Rep. Mimi Stewart (left), who'll discuss the proposed Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act, which she sponsored; New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Pam Hyde at 12:30 to talk about the proposed health care legislation; next up Mary Feldblum, discussing the Health Securities Act; and last but not least Santa Fe New Mexican political reporter Steve Terrell (right), who'll be calling in to share his in-the-know views on the session (even if he won't share his pecans, chile or BBQ sauce).

Listeners are encouraged to call into the show LIVE with comments and questions at 505-338-4090.

Be sure to check in at the show's website and blog at for more info, including helpful links. If you can't listen live, you can stream or download a podcast (mp3) of the shows, which will be available a day or two after broadcast right here. In fact, you can still listen to last year's shows, co-hosted by Eric Griego and Suzanne Prescott, at the podcast site. There's even one show that includes yours truly. This year Eric's busy running for a state senate seat in District 14 and serving as executive director at New Mexico Voices for Children.

Support Insight New Mexico
If you'd like to help defray the costs of Insight New Mexico by becoming a sponsor or supporter, contact Suzanne Prescott at 505-304-3960 or Heather Brewer at 505-310-5957. Let's help keep the show on the air!

Guild Cinema This Weekend: How Ohio Pulled It Off

HOW OHIO PULLED IT OFF
Dirs. Charla Barker, Matthew Kraus, Mariana Quiroga - 2007
JANUARY 19 and 20 (SAT & SUN): 2:00 PM, Guild Cinema, ABQ

With the 2008 election fast approaching, interest is growing in all things political, but the real story of the next election goes beyond the parties and their platforms to the very foundations of democracy. HOW OHIO PULLED IT OFF offers sobering evidence of election fraud in the United States, and highlights the potential for future abuses. On election night 2004, across the United States and the world, citizens were glued to their televisions, waiting to discover who would win the greatest power position on the planet. The presidential decision came down to one state among fifty: Ohio.

What really happened in Ohio, on that fateful day in November? HOW OHIO PULLED IT OFF chronicles the theft of the presidency, and the public outcry that followed. Infuriated by official malfeasance and partisan indifference, citizens took swift action. Multitudes protested in the streets, the voting rights movement was revitalized, and the powers-that-be were forced to pay attention. The story continues today, casting a shadow of uncertainty on the 2008 election and beyond. More info: www.guildcinema.com

HB9-Domestic Partnership Bill Clears First Hurdle

From EQNM: House Bill 9, The Domestic Partnership Rights & Responsibilities Act, passed the NM House Consumer and Public Affairs committee today by a party line vote of 4-3. Over 80 supporters packed into the room to share testimony with committee members. The support for the bill was tremendous and the committee members took notice. The bill goes next to the House Judiciary Committee. Vote tally:

Voting for the Bill:
Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Bernalillo 18)
Rep. Al Park (D-Bernalillo 26)
Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas (D-Bernalillo 16)
Rep. Rick Miera (D-Bernalillo 11)

Voting against the Bill:
Rep. W.C. "Dub" Williams (R-Lincoln & Otero 56)
Rep. Thomas Anderson (R-Bernalillo 29)
Rep. Nora Espinoza (R-Chavez, Lincoln & Otero 59)

To see our previous posts on the 2008 New Mexico Legislative Session, visit our archive.

A Letter From The People: Touring the Realm of the Dispossessed

Since we have a certain blogger with long-time ties to the Roundhouse wall leaners and power brokers waxing poetic today about well connected insiders, hordes of lobbyists with deep pockets and martini-fueled dealings in dark bars in Santa Fe, I thought I'd take a similar tack from The People's point of view.

You know, us -- the little people out here in the wilderness who are supposed to wait silently and submissively for the word to come down from on high on what will and will not be done in our name by the powerhouses of La Politica. We're the ones who won't get real reform related to health care, ethics or campaign finance because our "leaders" in the Legislature -- and especially in the "independent" Senate -- have come to depend on the ready money and perks from people who want to preserve the status quo and the profits for themselves. The public and the common good be damned.

Citizen Lobbyists
Our citizen lobbyists travel to the Roundhouse or interim committee meetings on their own dimes. Many take vacation days to do so. They car pool to save money. Their meals come from brown bags, not the Santa Fe hot spots designed for seeing and being seen. Those who can't afford the trip or can't get time off from work have to be content with phone calls to legislative secretaries and emails to legislators that usually get little or no response. Even if they succeed in getting their needs met in committee after committee with the help of the honest members of the legislature, their bills are often killed when or even just before they get to the Senate or House floor by the "leaders" dedicated to keeping power to themselves.

With no big chunks of cash or complimentary happy hours to offer, these citizen lobbyists too often get only a blind eye and a deaf ear when they voice their concerns. After all, they have no clout. They don't buy legislators drinks or invite them to buffets and cocktail parties or throw unlimited amounts of money into their "campaign funds" or hand them tickets to boxing matches or football games, or oooh and ahhh over them when they enter casinos or racetracks.

Citizen lobbyists have to scratch for information about what's going on with bills that will personally affect their daily lives, their health, their work, their children, their futures. And when they show up at committee hearings, they're often treated like unwelcome outsiders who take up precious time demanding to be heard when everyone who's anyone knows the deals have already gone down behind closed doors.

The Result
Because this is how the system presently works, we get things like bills proposing massive tax breaks for the coal-burning Desert Rock power plant, health reform bills that ignore the overwhelming support of the people for the Health Security Act and a summer's worth of testimony at hearings, pronouncements that public funding for elections is off the table, plots to kill the Domestic Partnership Act with last-minute, shady maneuvers and inflated, "privatized" contracts to conduct or "oversee" government functions. I could go on.

This bunch won't even allow floor proceedings to be shown online, despite $75,000 having been appropriated to do so. What don't they want us to see? Wouldn't it be fun to send a phalanx of citizens with video cameras to the Roundhouse corridors and swanky lounges of Santa Fe to track the comings and goings, the whispers and handshakes, that constitute way too much of what goes on in the Capitol? A regular YouTube bonanza.

I know our reps and senators are supposed to be doing the people's business, but as is often the case these days in state capitols and the halls of Congress alike, they mostly go about doing the business of the highest bidders, of those who wield power to get earmarks and loopholes, of those with profitable rackets to protect. These days, too many consider their real constituencies to be not the people who elect them, but the brokers, the insurance moguls, the financial market manipulators, the insider stock traders, the shady real estate developers, the for-profit prison operators, the pay-day loan sharks, the "defense" contract proliferators, the fake "homeland security" money suckers, the outrageously compensated CEOs and the high and mightily titled corporate investor class.

Somehow, not one bit of poetry, not one shred of romance or nostalgia comes to mind when I think about what's going on in Santa Fe right now. Can you blame me?

The Good Ones
Of course there are any number of genuinely honest, committed, hardworking legislators who work their bodies to the bone all year long to try and get a little something for the people, for the community, for the common good, for justice, for equality. Unfortunately, in a greed-filled and close-minded climate like the one that prevails these days, they're about as well respected by the "leaders" in our government as ordinary people are. They get the shaft and the run-around just like we do. And I'm pretty darn sure they're not feeling poetic and nostalgic about it either, as our critical needs go unmet while the elite among us count their chits.

ACLU Sues Sheriff’s Deputies to Uphold New Mexico Marijuana Law

I see Sheriff's deputies in Eddy County, acting as part of the so-called Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, have nothing better to do than harrass a disabled individual who is legally allowed to ease his pain under New Mexico's medical marijuana law, which was enacted last year. I wonder who they think they are protecting, and under which state law. Can they possibly believe this is a justified use of taxpayer dollars? Thank goodness the ACLU is standing with the victim of this horrible (and illegal) treatment by law enforcement officials who apparently believe they are above the law and are certainly without compassion or wisdom.

From the American Civil Liberties Union of NM:
CARLSBARD – A paraplegic man is suing Eddy County Sheriff's Deputies for seizing marijuana plants and equipment to grow marijuana, which he uses to control pain resulting from a spinal cord injury.  Leonard French received a license to cultivate and use small quantities of marijuana for medicinal purposes from the State of New Mexico under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, which represents French, says the deputies' actions violated not only that law, but also state forfeiture laws and a constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.

"The New Mexico state legislature, in its wisdom, passed the Compassionate Use Act after carefully considering the benefits the drug provides for people who suffer from uncontrollable pain, and weighing those benefits against the way federal law considers cannabis,” said Peter Simonson, ACLU Executive Director.  “With their actions against Mr. French, Eddy County officials thwarted that humane, sensible law, probably for no other reason than that they believed federal law empowered them to do so."

On September 4, 2007, at least four Eddy County deputies, acting as members of the Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, arrived at French's home in Malaga, New Mexico and announced, "We're here about the marijuana." Thinking that the deputies had arrived to check his compliance with the compassionate use law, French presented the deputies with his state license to grow marijuana, then showed them his hydroponic equipment, including two small marijuana plants and three dead sprouts. The deputies seized the equipment and plants, and later turned them over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. French has not been charged with any violations of federal drug laws. 

A physician prescribed marijuana for French after other medications lost their effectiveness in controlling pain and severe muscle spasms stemming from a 1987 motorcycle accident.

Simonson said, "With the Compassionate Use Act, New Mexico embarked on an innovative project to help people who suffer from painful conditions like Mr. French's.  The law cannot succeed if the threat of arrest by county and local law enforcement hangs over participants in the program.  With this lawsuit, we hope to clear the way for the State to implement a sensible, conservative program to apply a drug that traditionally has been considered illicit for constructive purposes."

The ACLU’s complaint is available online at: online (pdf). For more information about the national ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, visit this page.

Editor's Note: To become a card-carrying member of the ACLU of NM, click here.

Dem Prez Race Heating Up in NM; Last Week to Request Absentee Ballot

With Gov. Bill Richardson out of the race, word is that New Mexico will be getting more attention from the remaining Dem candidates for president. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are expected to visit the state before the NM Caucus on February 5th. No word yet on John Edwards. Dennis Kucinich and his wife, Elizabeth, did some stumping in the state last year, but I haven't heard about any more scheduled visits.

Barack Obama
Obama has opened a campaign office at 1000 Second Street NW, just north of downtown Albuquerque, as well as one in Las Cruces at 212 West Hadley Ave, and plans to open one soon in Santa Fe. You can join the New Mexico for Obama group here and sign up for activities. Upcoming events include canvassing in Albuquerque this coming Saturday at 10:00 AM at the Albuquerque campaign office and a dinner and debate party on January 21 at 5:30 PM at Weck's restaurant at 4500 Osuna NE (advance tickets only, $18).

Hillary Clinton
Clinton's campaign in New Mexico is chaired by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and will be opening at least one office -- in Albuquerque -- soon. There's no New Mexico group listed yet on her campaign website.

John Edwards
Former Attorney General Patricia Madrid has been fundraising and stumping for Edwards in several states, but that's all I know so far.

Dennis Kucinich
Local Kucinich supporters have their own website and you can also tap in via his . This Saturday there's a get-together with pizza and music from 2:00-4:30 PM at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, 7505 Kathryn SE (Louisiana & Kathryn) in Albuquerque, as well as a "Burma Shave" sign event from 2:00 to 3:00 PM at San Mateo and Central in Albuquerque. On Monday, January 28 there's a Kucinich Rally from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at the Barelas Community Center at 801 Barelas Road SW in Albuquerque with music by musicians from Nevada and Arizona. Contact: Martha at 275-0597.

Voting in the NM Dem Caucus
This is the last week for requesting an absentee (mail-in) ballot for our February 5th Dem Presidential Preference Caucus. If you submit a request by 5:00 PM on January 21, 2008, the Democratic Party of New Mexico will mail you a ballot and you must complete and return it by mail, postmarked by January 28, 2008. You must be a registered Democrat to participate in the Caucus. You can download a request form here and mail, email or fax it to the DPNM. You can also call the DPNM office to have a request form sent to you. Democratic Party of New Mexico: 505-830-3650, 1-800-624-2457 (toll-free), 505-830-3645 (fax), info@nmdemocrats.org (email).

There will be 184 Caucus locations around the state where you can vote in person on February 5th from Noon to 7:00 PM. You can read a FAQ sheet prepared by the DPNM here that explains the Caucus process.

Even though a number of candidates have withdrawn their candidacies, their names will still be on the ballot if they were still in the race as of the filing deadline. You can still vote for them, but your vote won't translate into any delegates at the Democratic Convention in Denver in August.

NM-02: McCamley Opens Las Cruces Campaign HQ

From McCamley for Congress: We're very excited to announce that we've opened our campaign headquarters in Las Cruces, and we'd like you to see it!

For those of you in the area, please come to our open house on Saturday, January 19, between 2:00 and 4:00 PM.  It's Suite #12 in El Paseo Plaza at the corner of Wyatt and El Paseo, just down from the Community Action Agency.  If you'd like to help us out, we're looking for folding tables, folding chairs, and a coffee table, as well as office supplies and decorations.

For those of you out of town, we'll post a video tour of the place soon. If you'd like to help us out, the best way to do so would be to help us defray some of the costs (e.g., electricity, phones, etc.). Your help would mean that we can focus more of our resources on staff, literature, media, and all those other key ways of spreading Bill's message of bringing commitment, results, and change to Washington.  If you would like to help us out, you can go to our online contribution site directly by clicking on this sentence. 

If you have any questions about the open house or the campaign, please don't hesitate to email me at mike@billmccamley.com or call us at (575) 525-9329. Thanks so much for your support!

Best,
Mike Ward, Campaign Manager
McCamley for Congress
www.billmccamley.com

To read DFNM's previous coverage of the 2008 Congressional race in NM-02, visit our archive.

ACTION ALERT: First Hearing Thursday on 2008 Domestic Partnership Bill

Sign the petition in support of the Domestic Partnership Act. Pass it on.

From Equality New Mexico:
The Legislative session has officially begun and we have the momentum to pass domestic partnership this year. The Legislation was pre-filed (as HB28) and has now been introduced and designated as HB 9, the Domestic Partnership Rights and Responsibilities Act, sponsored by Rep. Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque). With the help of an amazing community volunteer team; Equality New Mexico has collected nearly 10,000 postcards urging the legislature to pass domestic partnership.

Yesterday Governor Bill Richardson made New Mexico History by officially placing HB 9 on his legislative call for the 30 day session. During the State of the State, Governor Richardson said:

"...The second point of unfinished business is to fully extend domestic partnership rights. Two people, who agree to spend their lives committed to each other, deserve to have the same legal protections for their families.  As a state whose diversity is its strength, we cannot accept discrimination in any form.  All families deserve our respect no matter their race, gender or sexual orientation."

We know that we have the support it will take to pass this legislation. We must now band together in this next fight for equality.

Keeping the momentum going ... This legislative session is only last 30 days, and will be extremely fast paced. We now know that the bill will be heard in House Consumer and Public Affairs on Thursday, January 17th, at 1:30 PM in the Roundhouse room 315.

It is extremely important that we mobilize as a community and get to this hearing to show our support for the HB 9. Last year supporters of Domestic Partnership outnumbered the opposition at least 3 to 1 at every hearing. This year we are aware of an opposition movement determined to spread their language of hate throughout the Roundhouse (click here to view opposition alert). Help us show Legislators that New Mexicans support fairness in overwhelming numbers.

Please let us know if you can make Thursday’s committee hearing by calling 505.224.2766 (We are trying to track how many supporters we will have so we can mobilize quickly if needed)

SAVE THE DATE: FEBRUARY 4TH 2008 EQNM Lobby Day February 4th

Equality New Mexico is planning the largest lobbying effort for Equality in our history. It is our goal to gather 300 New Mexicans. It is our hope to have passed the House and be in the Senate around this point, this will be a critical time for us to build on our energy and help HB28 pass the full senate. With your help 2008 will be a historic year for All New Mexico Families.

Contact Chris Salas at chris@eqnm.org or 505.224.2766 to sign up for this important action.   

Equality New Mexico is fighting for full civil rights for ALL New Mexicans. Please help us continue the fight.  Make a donation today at our secure website at https://www.eqnm.org/donate.html or send a check to EQNM 1410 Coal Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87104.

Editor's Note: This ain't marriage, folks. As stated on EQNM's website:

Couples who register for domestic partnership would be entitled to most of the legal protections of marriage under state law. However, domestic partners get none of the federal protections of marriage. Equality New Mexico does not contend that this legislation provides equality, and we will continue to fight until all New Mexicans are treated equally under the law.  However, this legislation goes a long way toward making sure all families have access to the basic protections all families deserve.

NM-01: Heinrich Pulling Away in Money Race

Wow. I heard from someone close to Martin Heinrich's campaign for Congress in NM-01 that his end-of-year fundraising total will come close to $500,000. That's almost half a million dollars, folks. The Heinrich campaign ended the third quarter last year having raised more than $318,000 since he entered the race in April. To date, he's raised more than $112,000 of his campaign funding online via ActBlue from 664 supporters -- always a good sign.

The others contending for the NM-01 Dem nomination are Michelle Lujan Grisham, who's a former Secretary of the New Mexico Public Health Department, and Albuquerque attorney Robert L. Pidcock, who entered the race this week as a long shot. I don't know how much Grisham has raised to date overall, but she's received a total of $17,850 online at ActBlue from 58 contributors -- well below Heinrich's totals there.

Two other Dems who were in the running in NM-01 have left the field. Attorney Jon Adams withdrew to run instead in NM-03, while teacher and activist Jason Call withdrew when AFSCME unanimously endorsed Heinrich's candidacy.

Despite Heinrich's prodigious fundraising and widespread support in the first district, former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron is reportedly now testing the waters and pondering entering the race. According to an item in today's Santa Fe New Mexican:

Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron said Tuesday that she is considering running for Congress in Albuquerque's 1st Congressional District. Vigil-Giron, a Democrat who left office last year after serving two terms as secretary of state, said, "It's not official. I'm feeling the waters."

... Vigil-Giron applied last year for the job of executive director of the state Democratic Party. She previously said she'll run for lieutenant governor in 2010.

There was an uproar last year when Gov. Bill Richardson said he would appoint her as director of the state Film Museum. Critics said she had no background in film. Richardson put the nomination on hold, and Vigil-Giron later said she was no longer interested.

Given Heinrich's successes and momentum to date, it seems unlikely that Vigil-Giron could raise adequate support or funding for a serious bid this late in the game, with the Dem pre-primary convention set for March 1st. Unless the current law is changed this Legislative Session, candidates will need to garner the votes of at least 20% of delegates to get on the primary ballot. The deadline for filing as a candidate in the race is February 8th, only weeks away.

To read our previous coverage on the 2008 NM-01 Congressional race, visit our archive.