Democracy for New Mexico

Catching Up After the Fourth

Dem float in Capitan NM 4th of July parade*

The long Independence Day weekend has been a welcome respite from blogging and politics, but now it's time to jump back into the fray. Here are a few items to help you do just that:

Following on rumors bubbling up over the holiday weekend, the DNCC announced that Obama will give his nomination acceptance speech on the final day of the Dem Convention in Denver at Mile High stadium (er, Invesco Field), where the Broncos play. Pepsi Center, site of the Convention, holds 20,000. Mile High 75,000. All of Thursday evening's Convention events will take place at the stadium and the public will included in the festivities.

Iraqi prime minister al-Maliki is signaling he just might want to set a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops. Imagine that.

Nathan P. Small's post on Heath Haussamen responds very effectively to Jim Scarantino's claim that Rep. Steve Pearce's phony Dona Ana County public lands bill is a widely supported and effective way to protect the Organ Mountains and other natural jewels down south. But then, passing off an anti-public lands bill as being pro-public lands is something of a GOP habit.

The New York Times profiles Mark and Tom Udall and examines the pluses and minuses of their family's history of environmental activism.

Another photo from the Capitan NM 4th of July parade*

Contrary to the talking heads, Obama has Hispanic voters solidly behind him according to polling by Gallup. In June, Obama had the support of 59% compared to McCain's 29% nationally. And in data collected by Pacific Market Research and combined for the Southwestern battleground states, which include New Mexico, Obama is leading McCain 57 percent to 26 percent. Read the New Mexico Independent by Marjorie Childress for more.

An anti-worker business PAC is backing Darren White for Congress in NM-01.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will appear at Netroots Nation in Austin on Saturday morning, July 19th to take questions. (You can submit your question at the link.) Our state should be well-represented at the blogger convention. Mary Ellen and I will be there, as will Matt of New Mexico FBIHOP and a number of other New Mexicans who participate at Daily Kos. Dem Congressional candidates Martin Heinrich (NM-01) and Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) will be panelists for a discussion on New Mexico: Case Study for the Interior West.

*Note: Photos sent along from Dem Ellen Wedum, who's running for the NM House in HD 59. She had this to say about the celebration in Capitan: "I was in the 4th of July parade in Capitan (which is actually 2 miles west of the border of House District 59 in Lincoln County) and both NM-02 Congressional candidate Ed Tinsley and his wife were there. Lots of Tinsley stickers around. Both HD 57 candidates, Democrat Mary Barron and Republican Dennis Kintigh, were there -- Capitan is in HD 57. My HD 59 opponent, Nora Espinoza, was not. She missed a fun parade. The Capitan main street is lined with trees and friendly people."

Meanwhile, NM-02 Dem Congressional candidate Harry Teague visited five communities during the holiday weekend.

Technorati Tags:

DFNM Selected as Official DNC Convention Blogger for NM (Can I Say WOW?)

How I learned of my selection. Thanks, Howard!

I'm incredibly honored (and ecstatic) to report that the Democracy for New Mexico blog has been selected by the Democratic National Convention Committee to be the official New Mexico blogger at the Democratic Party Convention to be held on August 26-28, 2008 in Denver. DNC Chair Howard Dean announces our selection in the video above, standing alongside a shot of the blog. Given my long-held enthusiasm for all things Howard Dean, stretching back to his run for president in 2004, the news couldn't come from a more admired source in my book. Yowsa.

Some months ago the DNC solicited applications from bloggers in all 50 states (plus several territories) to vie for one blogger slot per state. They'll form what's called the State Blogger Corps at the Convention. You can see a listing of all the blogs selected to be a part of the team here. And here's a description of the process from the release announcing the selections:

More than 400 applications were received from bloggers across the United States and multiple territories.  Some of the blogs selected for the State Corps are full-time, professional endeavors while others are the work of individuals, who through their own efforts have become recognized authorities on state and local politics.  Bloggers had to submit daily audience information and provide examples of posts that made their blogs stand out as an effective online organizing tool or agent of change, a demonstration of both the reach and impact blogs have had and will continue to have on the 2008 election.  The program recognizes the growth of more localized blogs and is in line with Governor Dean's 50-state strategy.

Each official state blogger will be credentialed for seating with the state's delegation on the Convention floor, and will be an integral part of the Convention action. That means I'll be reporting to you directly from Denver and sharing my experiences and insights day by day as the drama unfolds. I hope I can do the job justice. Lots of fun, but lots of work too. Have I said I'm excited?

The seating of bloggers on the Convention floor is unprecedented in the history of the event. It reflects the Party's embrace of the power and value of the progressive blogosphere in helping to support our candidates and causes, and the Dem's continuing dedication to establishing a two-way feedback loop with ordinary voters all over the nation.

In addition to the State Blogger Corps, the DNCC will soon credential a General Blogger Pool, to include local, state and national political bloggers, as well as niche and video bloggers from across the country. All applicants not selected for the State Blogger Corps are now eligible for selection as part of the General Blogger Pool.

Oh, did I tell you I'm excited?

Technorati Tags:Howard Dean, DNCC, Democratic Convention, State Blogger Corps, Democracy for New Mexico, Democratic National Convention Committee, DNC Chair, New Mexico

Laurie Weahkee Chooses Obama; Barack Catches Clinton in Superdelegates

I'm sure you've heard by now that New Mexico add-on delegate Laurie Weahkee, the Native American Voters Alliance Coordinator at Albuquerque's SAGE Council, has publicly endorsed Barack Obama for president. I'd like to welcome Laurie to the Obama fold -- I know there was a lot of pressure applied by the campaigns of both candidates. Weahkee was one of nine superdelegates and a union leader who endorsed Obama on Friday. Obama is now about even with Clinton in the superdelegate count, depending on the source that's doing the counting.

Laurie Weahkee's official statement released late Friday by the Obama campaign:

“Today, I’m proud to announce my support as a presidential delegate for Barack Obama. After the primary elections in Indiana and North Carolina, it is now absolutely clear that Barack Obama will be our nominee.  I’d like to applaud both Senators Clinton and Obama for their commitment and dedication. In particular, I’d like to recognize Senator Clinton for her many years of service to this country, and for laying the groundwork for women across this country to run for office.  It is time for all of us to unite behind Obama as we head into a difficult general election.  Obama has proven that he can campaign in a difficult environment and still inspire thousands of new voices to take part in the democratic process. As a Native American woman, I’m proud to support Obama, and I ask all of us to now join together and start building the movement for victory in November.”

The New Mexico Independent has an excellent interview with Weahkee, where she goes into more depth about the reasons she decided to endorse Obama and describes her reaction to the local Clinton campaign's challenge to her selection:

... I was a little disappointed by the aggressive tone of the New Mexico Clinton campaign to challenge my selection as a delegate, because I really was at that time undecided. The aggressive tone from folks here locally just added into the my overall sense that the Clinton campaign was really aggressive. It was disappointing. I was truly undecided and they were already putting me in one camp or another. I just felt it was a bad representation on Hillary Clinton and her overall campaign.

I'm sure you recall that Laurie Weahkee won the election to become New Mexico's at-large, unpledged add-on delegate at the April 19 Dem Party State Central Committee meeting, and that the procedure was challenged unsuccessfully by the Clinton camp.

One of the criteria Weahkee cited as a basis for making a decision on an endorsement was the candidate's positions on Native American issues. Here are Obama's Principles for Stronger Tribal Communities. Also check out a Native American Times article on Weahkee.

Weahkee was heavily involved for many years in working to preserve the spiritual and physical integrity of the Petroglyph National Monument on Albuquerque's West Mesa in the midst of heavy sprawl development in the area. Here's a 1999 article from the High Country News that provides good background info on the issue. Here's a statement about the Petroglyphs written by Weahkee, and this article from the now defunct Albuquerque Tribune reports on the controversial extension of Paseo del Norte through the Petroglyphs that was punched through in June 2007 despite the protests and legal challenges of Weahkee's group and others.

Rep. Tom Udall is now the only so-called superdelegate in New Mexico who hasn't yet chosen sides. Until Udall makes his endorsement, it's a 6-5 split for Clinton among New Mexico's supers:

Governor Bill Richardson (Obama)
Lt. Governor Diane D. Denish (Clinton)
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (Obama)
Congressman Tom Udall (Undecided)
DPNM Chairman Brian S. Colón (Obama)
DPNM Vice Chairwoman Annadelle Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeeman Raymond G. Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney (Clinton)
DNC Committee Member Fred Harris (Obama)
DNC At-Large Member Mayor Martin Chavez (Clinton)
DNC At-Large Member Christine Trujillo (Clinton)

Add-On At-Large Unpledged Delegate Laurie Weahkee (Obama)

A complete list of New Mexico's 42-member delegation, which includes four alternates, is here. Clinton won 14 of New Mexico's 26 pledged delegates as a result of our presidential preference caucus on February 5th. She won the state by about 1000 votes, although she lost both the First and Third Congressional Districts to Obama. All the margins were tight.

Petroglyph photo by Isaac Eastvold.

Technorati Tags:Laurie Weahkee, Barack Obama, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Democrats, superdelegates, SAGE Council, Native American Voters Alliance, Petroglyph National Monument, Hillary Clinton

(Updated) NM Clinton Camp Challenges Election of Laurie Weahkee as Unpledged Add-On Delegate

John Wertheim (second from left) and Mark Fleisher (far right)
complaining about add-on delegate election at SCC Meeting last Saturday

UPDATE: Click for a copy of the letter (pdf) submitted to Chairman Brian Colón by John Wertheim and nine other members of the DPNM Executive Committee regarding the process used to elect New Mexico's unpledged add-on delegate to the DNC Convention.
**************
As I reported previously, the Clinton camp in New Mexico raised a ruckus over the way Democratic Party of New Mexico Chair Brian Colón handled Saturday's election of the unpledged add-on delegate to the Dem National Convention. When Colón nominated two Native American women who hadn't endorsed either of the presidential candidates, former DPNM Chair John Wertheim and Clinton delegate Mark Fleisher led a rowdy effort to make an additional nomination from the floor, claiming Colon wasn't following the Party's Delegate Selection Plan.

The Clinton camp's attempt was eventually ruled out of order, and Laurie Weahkee was elected by the Party's State Central Committee to fill the NM delegation's last unpledged slot. Weahkee has said repeatedly that she hasn't yet made up her mind whether she will support Clinton or Obama for the presidential nomination.

Now Wertheim and others have submitted a letter to Colón complaining that he didn't follow the rules. The Clinton camp is saying there should be a run-off election for the slot between Weahkee and Heather Townsend, who received write-in votes from Clinton supporters on the SC-- despite the fact that she wasn't an official nominee. Townsend is an acknowledged Clinton supporter. According to an article in today's Albuquerque Journal:

In a letter this week to state Democratic Party Chairman Brian Colón, 10 ranking party members— including four Clinton superdelegates— accused Colón of breaking the delegate selection rules. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, another Clinton superdelegate, told the Journal that she thinks Barack Obama backers put "tremendous" pressure on Colón about the selection plan.

"I don't think the governor personally would have done it," Denish said of Gov. Bill Richardson, who has endorsed Obama. "But people associated with him would have worked very hard at that on his behalf."

Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said Wednesday that no governor's associates put the heat on Colón, adding that Richardson played no role in the outcome of Saturday's election. Colón said Wednesday that backers of both Obama and Clinton were pressuring him heavily before his nomination of the 12th superdelegate, Laurie Weahkee, who has said she is still uncommitted to either Clinton or Obama. Colón added that the party broke no rules in the selection process, which led to Weahkee's election.

"The Clintons are fighting for every single delegate, and the Obamas are fighting for every single delegate," Colón said. "At the end of the day, what I did was follow the rules."

Here's what the Clinton camp is claiming:

Former state party Chairman John Wertheim, four Clinton superdelegates and several others said in a letter to Colón on Tuesday that he broke the rules in the nominating process by failing to meet with the party's executive committee before making his two nominations. The letter also called for a runoff between Weahkee and Townsend, who received five votes fewer than Weahkee.

"It is neither democratic nor Democratic to fail to hold the required runoff," the letter said, pointing out that none of the three received a majority vote.

I don't know what, if anything, happens next, but Colón and the Party's Executive Director are insisting that the election process followed the rules of New Mexico's Delegate Selection Plan:

Colón said he abided by party rules by consulting with several members of the executive committee before making his nominations. Party Executive Director Josh Geise said that, because Townsend was not nominated by Colón, she was not eligible to take part in Saturday's election and there will be no runoff. Shipley said Richardson backs the way Colón handled the election.

Click for the official listing of New Mexico's 42-member delegation to the DNC Convention.

New Mexico's unpledged (superdelegates) and their announced candidate affiliations are as follows:

Governor Bill Richardson (Obama)
Lt. Governor Diane D. Denish (Clinton)
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (Obama)
Congressman Tom Udall (Undecided)
DPNM Chairman Brian S. Colón (Undecided)
DPNM Vice Chairwoman Annadelle Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeeman Raymond G. Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney (Clinton)
DNC Committee Member Fred Harris (Obama)
DNC At-Large Member Mayor Martin Chavez (Clinton)
DNC At-Large Member Christine Trujillo (Clinton)

Add-On At-Large Unpledged Delegate Laurie Weahkee (Undecided)

Technorati Tags:Democratic Party of New Mexico, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Laurie Weahkee, New Mexico, Brian Colon, Bill Richardson, Diane Denish, unpledge delegates, John Wertheim

NM Dems Elect Final Unpledged Delegate and More; Clinton Camp Protests

DPNM Chair Brian Colon calls meeting to order

Click to see our complete photo album on this event at Flickr.

The State Central Committee of the Democratic Party of New Mexico met in Albuquerque yesterday at the Barcelona Suites to elect its add-on unpledged delegate to the DNC Convention, as well as its DNC Committeewoman and Committeeman who will represent NM Dems within the Democratic National Committee structure next year. Mary Gail Gwaltney easily beat Mary Helen Garcia to retain her Councilwoman position and incumbent Raymond Sanchez also kept his seat on the DNC, emerging victorious over challenger Bruce Barnaby. The SCC also unanimously approved the State Party's 2008 Platform.

Crowd stands for Pledge of Allegiance

Afterwards, the SCC members in attendance (no proxies allowed) split into separate caucuses for Obama and Clinton and selected a number of other pledged delegates to complete the New Mexico delegation. A total of 42 Dems, including four alternates, four Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO) delegates, 11 unpledged or superdelegates and one unpledged add-on delegate, will be heading to Denver for the Party's Convention on August 25-28, 2008. I'll have a complete list of the delegates elected yesterday as soon as the DPNM releases the official list.

DPNM Executive Director Josh Geise

The Party had previously elected its Congressional District pledged delegates at its April 19 CD Conventions, an official listing of which you can see here.

Dominique Aragon, Benny Aragon, House Speaker Ben Lujan and wife

Clinton Camp Protests
Controversy erupted over the process used to elect the unpledged add-on delegate. The process is governed by the State Party's Delegate Selection Plan (DSP). The State Plan must conform to a number of requirements stipulated by the DNC and its Rules and Bylaws Committee, and be approved formally by both the SCC the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee. New Mexico's DSP had been duly passed by the SCC, reviewed by the DNC, made to conform to all necessary DNC requirements and released publicly in its final form.

Sidebar discussion over add-on delegate voting rules

Regardless, several top-level Clinton supporters, including former State Party Chair John Wertheim and former Arizona State Party Chair and CD1 Clinton delegate Mark Fleisher, tried and failed to change the add-on delegate selection process midstream during yesterday's meeting.

The rules for electing the pledged add-on were clearly set out in the NM Delegate Selection Plan, and were summarized this way on the DPNM website:

This delegate will be nominated by the State Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee. The State Chair must nominate at least two names. The entire SCC will elect the unpledged add-on delegate.

No allowance for floor nomination of add-on delegate candidates is contained in the New Mexico DSP.

Clinton and Obama camp reps discuss add-on delegate election

Rumors had spread throughout the crowd early on that the Clinton camp might be mounting a challenge. Sure enough, Wertheim and Fleisher stepped to the microphone when the agenda item was announced to assert that additional nominations for the add-on delegate slot should be allowed from the floor. Despite being ruled out of order, they persisted in verbally protesting the way the process was structured. Much murmuring had been heard among Clinton supporters that the two nominees chosen by DPNM Chair Brian Colon might not really be undecided, and instead just might have been nominated because they were Obama supporters.

Some heated exchanges followed, including a contentious mini-caucus to the side of the podium between representatives of the Clinton and Obama camps. A call was also reportedly made to the DNC to double check the rules that applied to the process. Obama campaign reps in the discussion included State Rep. Al Park and Santa Fe attorney John Pound, both co-chairs of the Obama campaign here, and CD-3 Obama delegate Patsy Trujillo.

DPNM Chair Brian Colon

Laurie Weahkee Elected as Add-On Delegate
Ultimately, the challenge was ruled out of order and SCC members voted to elect Laurie Weahkee over Charlotte Little by a margin of 71 to 59. The two Native American women had been nominated by Colon to help fulfill the Party's goal of having a diverse delegation representatives of all segments of the Dem population in the state. Weahkee is a member of the Cochiti and Zuni Pueblos, and is also half Navajo; Little is a member of Taos and San Felipe Pueblos.

Meeting room as SCC members start to filter in.

As reported in the Albuquerque Journal,

Weahkee ... said she has yet to commit to either candidate, adding that Native American issues, including sovereignty and health care, are her top concerns. "My first loyalty is really to the Native American agenda. I'm really going to be listening to both candidates to find out what their positions are ... how hard they're willing to go to bat for the Native American people," Weahkee said.

Write-In Votes
Although there were more than 200 SCC members credentialed for the meeting, only 130 voted for either Weahkee or Little. The diminished vote totals were the result of Mark Fleisher grabbing the microphone after being ruled out of order and urging Clinton supporters to refuse to vote for either of the Colon nominees so that neither would receive a majority of SCC votes. He encouraged Clinton supporters to vote for a write-in candidate seen as being on Clinton's side, and some apparently did just that. The Clinton camp suggested they might attempt to challenge the selection method used to elect Weahkee as NM's final unpledged delegate, but no news has emerged yet regarding any action on that front.

New Mexico's superdelegates and their expressed candidate preferences are:

Governor Bill Richardson (Obama)
Lt. Governor Diane D. Denish (Clinton)
U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (Undecided)
Congressman Tom Udall (Undecided)
DPNM Chairman Brian S. Colón (Undecided)
DPNM Vice Chairwoman Annadelle Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeeman Raymond G. Sanchez (Clinton)
DNC Committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney (Clinton)
DNC Committee Member Fred Harris (Obama)
DNC At-Large Member Mayor Martin Chavez (Clinton)
DNC At-Large Member Christine Trujillo (Clinton)

New Add-On At-Large Unpledged Delegate Laurie Weahkee (Undecided)

Obama table from above the action

You can see the split of pledged delegates awarded by Congressional District according to vote totals for each candidate in New Mexico's March 3rd Presidential Preference Caucus here.

Click on photos for larger images. All photos by M.E. Broderick. See our complete album of photos from this event at Flickr.

Technorati Tags:Democratic Party of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, presidential caucus, Democrats, Brian Colon, John Wertheim, Mark Fleisher, Democratic National Committee, DNC, Mary Gail Gwaltney, Raymond Sanchez , John Pound, Al Park

NM Congressional Districts Elect Pledged Delegates to Denver Convention

Crowd gathering at National Hispanic Cultural Center

See the entire photo album on this event at Flickr. UPDATE: Also see this diary at Daily Kos that reports on what happened in NM-03 and has some terrific photos.

Here's the official list of winners in all three CDs.

Today a Democratic Party convention to elect pledged delegates to the DNC Convention was held in each of our state's three Congressional Districts. Excited Democrats again turned out in droves. I attended the packed NM-01 convention at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, where members of the State Central Committee and those who had previously registered to vote in the process selected delegates pledged to either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Attendees signed in as supporters of a certain candidate, and then got to vote for delegates to represent that candidate from among a crowded list of candidates for the slots.

Standing room only before splitting into two caucuses

The crowd hears how the process will work

Obama's NM presidential caucus win on February 5th in CD1 entitled him two female and one male delegate and a male alternate. Clinton's second place finish in the District caucus earned her one male and one female delegate along with a male alternate. There were 62 candidates approved to run for the Clinton delegate slots 53 candidates for Obama's and competition was lively. A number of candidates plastered signs inside and outside the hall and lots of electioneering was evident for several hours before the voting began. The CD1 winners are:

Three of four Obama Winners: Dory Shonagon, Brad Lyua, Pamelya Herndon

Pledged Obama Delegates NM-01
Female Delegates: Dory Shonagon and Pamelya Herndon
Male Delegate: Brad Lyau
Male Alternate: Brian Eagan

Two of three Clinton winners: Terri Holland, Richard Cooley

Pledged Clinton Delegates NM-01
Female Delegate: Terri Holland
Male Delegate: Richard Cooley
Male Alternate: Mark Fleisher

Brad Lyau campaigning at event

Those elected as pledged delegates and alternates will all be representing their candidates at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August, as will the winners in NM-02 and NM-03.

Pamelya Herndon working the crowd

I don't yet know who won the pledged delegates slots at today's elections held in NM0-02 at the NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum and in NM-03 at the Taos Convention Center. If you attended one of these meetings, please report on your event in the comments thread.

Counting the votes on stage for all to see

Next Saturday, the State Central Committee will elect other Convention delegates including those known as PLEO (elected official) and at-large delegates (based on statewide caucus totals), as well as a DNC Committeeman and Committeewoman to serve starting next year. These pledged delegates will be joined by New Mexico's contingent of super (or automatic) delegates who are free to support either candidate at the Convention. As we've learned as we've watched the caucus, primary and delegate election process unfold nationwide, it's a complex undertaking indeed.

New Mexico will have a total of 26 elected pledged delegates at the Denver Convention, including 17 at the district level, 6 at large and 3 PLEOs (filled by party and elected officials). In addition, we'll have 11 unpledged super delegates and 1 unpledged at large, for a total of 38 delegates, plus 4 alternates, or 42 Democrats who will all be traveling to Denver to decide the presidential nominee.

See the entire photo album on this event at Flickr. All photos by M.E. Broderick. Click on photos for larger versions.

Technorati Tags:Democratic Party of New Mexico, Democrats, pledged delegates, NM-01, Albuquerque, New Mexico Barack Obama Hillary Clinton

Tonight on We The People: Grassroots Delegates

WE THE PEOPLE

Dory Shonogan & Bradford Lyau

Choosing Delegates for

National Conventions

April 16, 2008

Comcast Cable - Channel 27

1st and 3rd Wednesday - 6 PM
or
ON THE WEB:  www.quote-unquote.org
On the right - Click for Channel 27's Media Stream
Mickey Bock, Host; Judith Binder, Producer

Thursday Reading: Courting the Low Information Voter, One Lama at a Time

La O-Bamba

Another great post over at What Do I Know? by Democrat Abroad Kathy Flake, this one about the swirling myths surrounding a certain Dem prez candidate. Many of us know (and miss) Kathy and her nonstop activism that used to be a fixture in the progressive Dem community here in Albuquerque back in the Deaniac-Miles Nelsoniac era. She's been living outside London for -- how many years is it now? Too many. At least from our point of view. But we do have her wide-ranging, enlightening and often very funny blogging from overseas to hold us over.

Like me, she's a big fan of Obama and Martin Heinrich. The Dean People of yore have a tendency to be attracted to the same candidates, for similar reasons. Kathy posted a fab piece on Martin last week. If you get a chance, go read Solar Cars, Homegrown Broccoli, and Martin Heinrich.

And Kathy -- the DNC Convention bunch has yet to receive an application from Democrats Abroad to be the group's credentialed blogger at the August convention in Denver. You know what to do.

DPNM Needs DNC Delegate Applicants TODAY for Affirmative Action Status Groups

I posted earlier today about the 5:00 PM deadline for applying to be a delegate to the Democratic Convention in Denver this August and/or for registering to vote for these delegates at the April 19, 2008 Congressional District Conventions to be held in each of our Congressional Districts.

Now I've learned from Lynn Jacobs, Chair of the DPNM Affirmative Action Committee, that the Party is short of applicants for several affirmative action status groups. Such applicants are needed in all three CD's. Click to download a delegate application.

THE SIGNED APPLICATIONS MUST BE FAXED, EMAILED OR HAND-CARRIED TO NM DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS BY 5:00 PM TODAY. THE FAX # IS 505-830-3645.

We especially need applicants, both male and female, who are NATIVE AMERICANS (all CD's); AFRICAN-AMERICANS (all CD's); HEARING (all CD's), SIGHT(all CD's) and MOBILITY (especially in CDs 2 & 3); and DISABLED. 

We would like to see more applications from LGBT - Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (all CD's);  ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLAND AMERICANS (all CD's); YOUTH - Under 40 (all CD's - could be combined with other status groups).

Currently, the largest number of affirmative action status groups applications are from Hispanics. All Democrats registered to vote in New Mexico are eligible and encouraged to apply to be a Delegate.

Please contact any friends and relatives who might be interested and have them fax a signed form to headquarters by 5:00 PM today.

More Info:

Democratic Party of New Mexico
1301 San Pedro NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
info@nmdemocrats.org
Fax (505) 830-3645
Phone: 505-830-3650 (main) · 1-800-624-2457 (toll-free)

Register TODAY to Vote for NM Delegates to Denver Convention

If you want a say in who represents your Congressional District as a pledged delegate or alternate to the Democratic Convention in Denver on August 25-28, of if you want to run for a delegate slot yourself, you must act today. On April 19, 2008, Conventions will be held in all three of New Mexico's Congressional Districts to elect pledged delegates and alternates. In order to vote for pledged delegates and alternates to the DNC Convention who will represent the presidential candidates as allocated by our Dem Presidential Preference Caucus last month, you must either be:

• a current member of the Party's State Central Committee, in which case you automatically get to vote and don't need to file an additional form, or
• a delegate to last Saturday's State Preprimary Convention, in which case you must submit a form to register to participate, or
• a registered Democrat who participated in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Caucus on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 by casting a vote at a caucus site or by mail, in which case you must file a form to register to participate.

The district delegate registration form, available here for download, must be completed and received by the Democratic Party of New Mexico by 5:00 PM TODAY, March 20, 2008, indicating you wish to serve as a delegate or alternate to the District Convention. (See below for email address and fax number.) In order to vote at a District Convention, you must do so in person. No proxy voting will be allowed. A total of 17 pledged delegates and 3 alternates will be elected at the District Conventions, and will be equally apportioned by gender and by Congressional District.

Click for more info on each of the three District Conventions to be held on April 19, 2008:

• First Congressional District, Highland High School, Performing Arts Center, Moved to National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque. Registration 8:30 AM, Convention 10:00 AM.
• Second Congressional District, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces. Registration 9:00 AM, Convention, 10:00 AM.
• Third Congressional District, Taos Convention Center, Taos. Registration 9:00 AM, Convention 10:00 AM.

There are a number of loyal, active Democrats who are running to be pledged delegates to the national convention to support either Clinton or Obama. You can also run to be a DNC delegate if you file this pledge form by 5:00 PM TODAY, March 20, 2008.

Check in at the DPNM's 2008 DNC Delegate Center Page to learn more. Or click to see the delegate plan rules governing the selection process. If you have any questions, contact the Democratic Party of New Mexico:

Democratic Party of New Mexico
1301 San Pedro NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
info@nmdemocrats.org
Fax (505) 830-3645
Phone: 505-830-3650 (main) · 1-800-624-2457 (toll-free)