Democracy for New Mexico

Tonight: Reelection Fundraiser for Rep. Moe Maestas

Javier Benavidez, Chris Catechis, Jennifer Conn, Francie Cordova, Miguel Maestas, Naomi Salazar, Iris Guzman, Faizel Kassam, Martha Chicoski, Eric Hannum, Marshall Martinez, Kenneth Owens, Lupe H. Preciado, Angela Spieght, Laura E. Sanchez, Elaine Lopez, Mario Benavidez, Michelle Otero, Route 66 Design, Nate Tapia, Raul Torrez & Barbara Armijo

Cordially invite you to a Fundraiser for
REP. ANTONIO "MOE" MAESTAS
STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DIST. 16
Monday, March 17, 2008
St. Patrick's Day, 5:30 to 7:30 PM
Q-Bar at Hotel Albuquerque
800 Rio Grande Blvd. NW

Suggested Contribution $100. Checks payable to: The Moe Family, P.O. Box 188, Albuquerque, New Mexico  87103. For more information: antonio@moejustice.com.

2008 NM Dem Preprimary Convention: More Photos, Video

Rep. Tom Udall, Dem candidate for U.S. Senate in New Mexico, speaks out against torture at DPNM Preprimary Convention Saturday

First off, watch the video above and then head over to UdallForUsAll.com to add your name to the list of Americans who won't stand for torture.

Next, go check out some additional photos I added at Flickr from yesterday's Democratic Preprimary Convention held at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Also see my previous post on the Convention (and a later one here on the Congressional race results).

Warning: I learned that Flickr has been having a problem for two weeks with visitors who use Internet Explorer 6 as their browser. Usually the photos show up fine but the slideshow feature doesn't load and/or work properly. They're still trying to come up with a fix.

2008 NM Dem Pre-Primary Winners: Martin Heinrich, Bill McCamley, Ben Ray Lujan (with Photos)

Campaign signs line the way to Santa Ana Star Center

UPDATE: Also see my later post for a link to more photos from the event.
***********
Click for Official Results (pdf) of the pre-primary delegate voting for Congressional races, U.S. Senate and NM Supreme Court Justice.

Amanda Cooper, Jill Cooper-Udall, our next Senator: Rep. Tom Udall, former Ambassador Joe Wilson

I'm beat from spending most of the day at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho at the Dem Pre-Primary Convention but I wanted to post the Congressional results and some photos.

Rep. Tom Udall and wife Jill Cooper-Udall, who gave his nomination speech

Dems were out in force, campaign supporters were enthusiastic and vocal, the speeches were rousing (well, mostly) and competition for delegates was fierce.

2000+ Dems at Santa Ana Star Center

We had everything from a mariachi band strumming up support for Michelle Lujan Grisham to a Native American invocation, to former Ambassador Joe Wilson, now a Santa Fe resident, giving the nominating speech for Don Wiviott. I admit it -- I love waving campaign signs, being plastered with candidate stickers and schmoozing in an arena packed with Democrats. I can't help myself.

NM-02 candidate Bill McCamley with his mom


NM-01 candidate Martin Heinrich at podium with Albuquerque City Councilor Debbie O'Malley to his left, who gave his nomination speech
Martin Heinrich booth

Check in tomorrow for more on the Convention, additional photos and some videos too.

NM-03 candidate Don Wiviott


NM-03 candidate Ben Ray Lujan

P.S. Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican live blogged the entire Convention. Now THAT's dedication!

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick.

Also see my later posts on the Convention here and here.

NM Repub Senate Pre-Primary: Pearce 55%, Wilson 45%

This AP story has the details. Rep. Steve Pearce (NM-02) had predicted a "huge victory" over Rep. Heather Wilson (NM-01) in the Repub Pre-Primary for U.S. Senate, so his win by a little less than 10 points was a definite let down at the NM GOP's Pre-Primary Convention at the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel. Expect the battle between Peace and Wilson to escalate in the weeks between now and the June 3rd primary while Dem rival Rep. Tom Udall (NM-03), who has no competition in the Dem primary builds his campaign and bolsters his already strong support statewide. Kate Nash has the complete results

Saturday & Wednesday: ABQ Peace Events Mark 5th Anniversary of Iraq Invasion

Just a sample of recent carnage.

As of Thursday, March 13, 2008, at least 3,987 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an AP count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,238 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers. Almost 30,000 members of the U.S. military have been seriously wounded during combat, with untold thousands more severely disabled in "non-combat" actions in Iraq. And who knows how many tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians have paid with their lives or limbs?

Today, hundreds of veterans and active-duty soldiers of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are gathering for the Winter Soldier hearings. The soldiers plan to give eyewitness accounts of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War, the gathering is modeled after the 1971 Winter Solider hearings organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. You can watch live for the next three days and view clips at site, and Information Clearinghouse has live audio and video.

According to Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz , the war is now costing us $12.5 BILLION a month, up from $4.4 billion a month in 2003. He says a conservative estimate of the total cost of the debacle in Iraq is $3 TRILLION when related costs are added in. Clearly, the huge deficits and other financial costs caused by the invasion and occupation are major factors in the ongoing crash of our economy. And the so-called surge? Even Gen. Petraeus admits it isn't working in terms of the goals it was designed to further.

Take a Stand at These Events:

On Saturday, there's a Peace rally and march marking the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, organized by Stop the War Machine and other local groups:

Saturday, March 15, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Meet at the UNM Bookstore at 11:00 A.M
2301 Central NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131
Click for FLYER

Also, on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, there's a solemn peace vigil organized by MoveOn:

Main MoveOn Vigil
Where: Outside of UNM bookstore (in Albuquerque)
When: Wednesday, Mar. 19, 2008, at 7:00 PM—

There are a few nearby satellite events that same day organized via MoveOn:

New Priorities Vigil
Rio Grande and Candelaria area, Albuquerque at 7:30 PM—

New Priorities Vigil
Highway 528 and Southern Blvd, Rio Rancho at 7:00 PM—

New Priorities Vigil
Peralta NM/Mainstreet Memorial Park, Peralta at 5:30 PM—

Conservation Voters New Mexico Endorses Eric Griego for State Senate District 14

Speaking to Eric's pro-conservation record is Leanne Leith, CVNM's political director. That's Javier Benavidez, CVNM's outreach
coordinator (left), and Tim McGivern, former Weekly Alibi
editor (right) with Eric (far right).

Representatives of Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) announced the group's endorsement of Eric Griego for State Senate at last night's well-attended campaign fundraiser at Albuquerque's Artichoke Cafe. Shown are photos are from the event, and here's the statement released by CVNM on their support of Griego:

Conservation Voters New Mexico has endorsed Eric Griego in his campaign to challenge incumbent State Senator James Taylor, District 14, in Albuquerque.

“Eric Griego has a proven track record of effectively turning our state’s conservation values into successful public policies that protect the well-being and quality of life of all New Mexicans,” said Sandy Buffett, Executive Director of Conservation Voters New Mexico. “Eric has the leadership and commitment to stand up to the powerful special interests that threaten our communities,” added Buffett.

Eric speaks to crowd about the endorsement.

While serving as a City Councilor in Albuquerque, Griego sponsored many legislative initiatives important to the New Mexican values for which Conservation Voters New Mexico fights, including the Planned Growth Strategy (PGS) and efforts to protect the Sandia Mountains and the Valle Vidal. The PGS, along with its “pay-as-you-go” system of assessing new infrastructure impact fees to big developers, has helped to tackle Albuquerque’s problem with sprawl development and has helped guide public investment back into established areas of the City.

Part of crowd at Griego's fundraiser last night.

Griego also took on a tough fight to reform Albuquerque’s water policies to better meet the needs of the city’s residents without sacrificing the Rio Grande or the quality of life of future generations.

Conservation Voters New Mexico works to make the protection of our air, land, and water a top priority for elected officials, voters and candidates across the state. For more information on CVNM’s legislative priorities and accountability work, please visit www.cvnm.org.

For more information on Eric Griego’s campaign, visit his website. Whether you live in Senate District 14 or not, you can support Griego's candidacy by:

Making a donation (online or through the mail)

Hosting a house party

Encouraging your friends and family to support the campaign

Click on photos for larger versions. To read our previous coverage of 2008 NM Legislative races, visit our archive.

Video: Gov. Richardson on Clinton, Obama Endorsement

In an interview with LA Times journalist Maggie Farley at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations' second annual conference on March 11, Gov. Bill Richardson discusses his personal experiences in the Democratic presidential primary race, the role of superdelegates and whether he will endorse Sen. Hillary Clinton or Sen. Barack Obama. Click to see another video of Richardson talking about his experiences negotiating with Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro and others during his speech that day.

Bilingual Production of 'The Vagina Monologues' to Benefit Enlace Comunitario

LAS MEGANENAS & FRIENDS PRESENT
A Bilingual Production of Eve Ensler's
The VAGINA MONOLOGUES
ONE NIGHT ONLY!
South Broadway Cultural Center
1025 Broadway SE, ABQ
Thursday, March 20, 2008 / 7:00 PM
Reception to follow

All Proceeds Benefit Enlace Comunitario / www.enlacenm.org
Tickets $15.00 thru Enlace Comunitario / 246-8972
Tickets purchased thru SBCC $1.00 surcharge / 848-1320
Co-Sponsored by UNM Women's Resource Center

Bingaman, Udall Rated Tops in NM Delegation on Middle Class Issues

Short clip of Tom Udall talking about the disastrous economic policies of the Republicans and how Democrats are dedicated to serving the middle class (3.1.08 Bernalillo County Dem Convention)

The nonpartisan Drum Major Institute for Public Policy just released its ratings of members of Congress based on their voting on legislation that impacts the middle class. The letter grade was given for voting in 2007 and the percentage number applies to votes so far this year:

Here's DMI's explanation of their analysis and grading system and why they utilize it. Even though Republicans like to pretend they're for the ordinary folks, almost across the board their votes say otherwise. With economic woes exploding this year, especially for middle class workers, the economy consistently appears at or near the top of the list of what's important to voters this election year. Democratic candidates should fare extremely well, including Rep. Tom Udall, the Congressman with the A plus rating who's running for U.S. Senate against whoever wins the Heather Wilson - Steve Pearce dustup on the Repub side.

(Video clip by M.E. Broderick.)

Gov. Richardson Skips Out on Dem Pre-Primary Convention

According to an AP article, Gov. Bill Richardson will be vacationing with his wife, Barbara, at an undisclosed location in the Caribbean this Saturday when the Democratic Party of New Mexico holds its day-long Pre-Primary Convention at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. I guess he doesn't need anything from NM's Dems at the moment -- so he doesn't feel compelled to attend the year's largest Party event or help energize the delegates for what will be one of our most important election seasons in decades.

Who are the delegates to the Convention? They're more than 1,900 Dems who've been elected at county conventions all over the state. They're State Central Committee members, county, ward and precinct chairs. They're elected officials, grassroots workers and donors. They're folks who canvass and make phone calls and do the grunt work of the Party, candidate campaigns and the election process. The delegates are a diverse cross section of active Dems who'll be pivotal this November when getting out the vote will be the top priority. Many of them toiled for untold hours before, during and after last month's presidential caucuses -- under often trying circumstances. They'll travel to the event from near and far at a time of incredibly high gas prices, pay for their own accommodations and meals and dedicate another weekend to the Democratic cause.

2008: Make or Break Year
This year, our three Congressional seats are up for grabs, there's a hotly contested, nationally spotlighted U.S. Senate race, elections in every State Senate and House district, judicial contests and more. Doesn't it seem odd that the titular head of our Party has apparently decided he has better things to do than mingle with the Party's rank and file to thank them for their time, efforts and donations and help inspire them for the battles to come?

Many NM Dems donated significant amounts of money and volunteered many hours of time to support Richardson's presidential campaign bid. Many even traveled to Iowa or NH in the dead of winter and paid for it out of their own pockets to help out his campaign. Now, when Dems from all over the state are gathering to hear our candidates speak, approve a platform, build momentum and renew acquaintances, Gov. Richardson will be hanging out in the tropics.

I don't begrudge the Governor some rest and relaxation after a long and grueling presidential run and a combative legislative session. But as they say, timing is everything.

Party On, Dems
I'm sure the Convention will go on just fine without Richardson. We've got an abundance of excellent candidates and enthusiastic delegates. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and State Chair Brian Colón will no doubt do a great job rallying the troops. Rep. Tom Udall will welcome delegates to a festive breakfast event. The Young Dems are hosting a gathering Friday evening. There'll be barn-burner speeches by candidates and treat-filled booths lining the hall. Dems in each Congressional District will vote for their favorite Congressional candidate -- determining who gets on the ballot without having to gather more petition signatures, as well as the order of names on the June primary ballot.

There'll be lots of NM Dems hugging and clapping and meeting and greeting. But I find it sad that Bill Richardson won't be among us, cheering us on and thanking us for our activism.