Democracy for New Mexico

DC Dems to Hold Official Forum With Wal-Mart, Chamber of Commerce

As David Sirota says in this piece (click on 'read more' below), be prepared to puke. He reports on our Beltway Democratic leadership setting up a kiss-kiss meeting with all the big money culprits pushing "free" trade on workers here and around the world. Given that a significant number of newbie Dems won in '06 by running on a populist, economic fairness agenda, doing something like this takes real nerve. Apparently the Dem leadership in both the U.S. House and Senate has guts when it comes to making nice with the forces working against labor and the common folk, but can't find the gumption to go up against the Bush-Cheney all war all the time machine. That certainly makes me want to puke. How about you?

Reminds me of the recent actions of some of our local Dems -- like Sen. Lidio Rainaldi of Gallup introducing a "Defense of Marriage" bill, or Sen. Michael Sanchez of Belen whining that the proposed ethics and campaign finance reform package represents unwarranted punishment against legislators or Rep. Joni Gutierrez of Las Cruces changing her vote to resurrect the despicable $85 million tax subsidy for the filthy, coal-fired Desert Rock power plant on the Navajo reservation or the long list of Democrats fighting effective regulation of payday loan sharks in the state. Of course, there are many excellent, true to our core beliefs Dems, but these days I think way too many are being swayed by all the wrong forces.

I'm sure big dollar donors have nothing to do with it. Just like "campaign contributions" from insurance companies and HMOs have nothing to do with the Dems, at both the state and national level, refusing to do anything meaningful to stop the escalating shoveling of money to those interests so that universal, high quality health care can be provided to everyone. Just remember, they're ALL "for health care" (as they put it) -- just not enough to risk pissing off the people who cough up funds and perks for them. Ordinary citizens be damned.

It's always instructive to remember that it was Bill Clinton who pushed and signed NAFTA, put Robert Rubin in charge of the Treasury and gave us the telecommunications act that allowed all that power to gather in the hands of big, global media conglomerates. You can see what will happen if Hillary or another DLC clone gains the presidency again. The results of our "win" in the Congress appear to be disappointing enough. Think what damage such a Congress and DLC Executive branch working together would be able to do.

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Special Guests for 3/1 DFA-DFNM Meetup: Noted Peace-Maker/Coach Plus Candidates for Top DPBC Offices

Our regular monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup will be held on Thursday, March 1, at 7:00 PM, at the Social Hall of the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. To RSVP or to join the group and get on our email list, click here.

Our special guests this month include:

1. Candidate Slate for Democratic Party of Bernalillo County Offices (elections set for April 14, 2007) 

• Robert Aragon, Candidate for Chair
• Carolyne Devore-Parks, Candidate for First Vice Chair
• Mike Rose, Candidate for Second Vice Chair

2. Something a Little Different: Holly Kawakami on Life Coaching and a Life of Peace-Making. (Tip of the hat to Robb Chavez.) Check out her impressive resume of academic, peace and life experience:

According to life coach Holly Kawakami,

"Working with a coach is a smart choice for people who seek to take stock of where they are and want to maximize the possibilities of living a balanced and fulfilled life. Within the structured, confidential coaching relationship, clients examine values, clarify issues and challenges, brainstorm new ideas, and celebrate accomplishments."

Ms. Kawakami has expanded into coaching as another way to empower individuals who are transitioning, who want to see their values expressed in their communities, and who act to create the world they want to see.

Holly has a 25-year career assisting people who are crossing cultures and managing diversity to be successful in the global, interdependent business world. She brings fresh perspectives and innovative alternatives to problem-solving.

One client says, "The coaching experience with Holly helped me articulate ideas that had been floating around vaguely in my head and to accomplish tasks I*d been telling myself I'd do for months."

Robb Chavez, of DFNM, adds, "Holly listens well, and brings a sensitivity that allows her to hear even the unspoken concerns of her clients. She thus is able to prompt these individuals to achieve a clarity that can help them resolve outstanding issues, be they personal or social."

Kawakami holds a B.A. in Japanese and Asian Studies, an MBA-International, and is finishing her doctorate in intercultural communication at UNM. She also is a qualified mediator and has taught mediation, negotiation and all kinds of communication courses.

Her early years in Chicago exposed her to the struggle for civil rights and to principles of community organizing. Holly then lived outside the United States--20 years in Japan--until moving to New Mexico in 2000.

Connecting people in order to create peace and understanding has always been at the center of Holly's work. For example, the Governor of Osaka appointed her, the only Westerner, to the Osaka Council for World Peace in the 1980s. In 2005, she accompanied and interpreted for the two atomic bomb survivors who came to New Mexico to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Holly Kawakami currently is a member of the UNM Peace Studies Committee and is once again part of the planning for the annual UNM Peace Fair. Holly has studied Japanese tea ceremony for three decades and teaches in the community as another expression of bringing people together in peaceful communion.

For those interested, the first coaching call is complimentary and includes explaining the coaching structure, listening to a client's expectations, and setting up the best schedule to meet that client's needs.

Contact Information: hcsk48@gmail.com

Website: www.goglobalcoaching.com (under construction)

Holly Siebert Kawakami
Ph.D. Candidate
Intercultural Communication
University of New Mexico
Communication Instructor, Water Resource Master*s Program
Albuquerque, NM 87106

(Updated) Watch First Dem Prez Candidate Forum Today on C-SPAN

UPDATE: You can watch the entire candidate forum on REAL video from C-Span. Click here.
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The first candidate forum for Democratic presidential candidates will take place today in Carson City, Nevada. It's sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The audience will consist primarily of the union members, a group John Edwards has courted for many months. All but one of the probable candidates will participate, including Gov. Bill Richardson. Only Barack Obama will miss the forum and instead will be at an event in Iowa. Nevada's primary caucus was moved up to January 19, 2008, just after Iowa's and before New Hampshire's primary, after receiving the approval of the DNC.

Each candidate will take the stage alone and answer a few questions. They'll also have a chance to making an opening and closing statement. The event will be aired live on C-SPAN TV at 1:00 PM MST, as well as video streamed live and audio streamed live at the C-SPAN website. ABC News has also indicated it will provide some coverage.

Fresh Face Brian Colon to Challenge Long-Time Insider Michael Olguin for Dem Party State Chair

Now that current Democratic State Party Chair John Wertheim is calling it quits after four years (phew), talk is all over the New Mexico Dem circuit about who will replace him. NM blogger Joe Monahan is first out of the gate with today's post, describing the pending battle between "new blood" Brian Colon, an Albuquerque attorney and Party activist, and "old blood" Michael Olguin, who owns a Socorro insurance agency and has chaired the Socorro County Dem Party the last four years. Olguin is a former State Representative and House Majority Leader long aligned with former Speaker of the House, Raymond Sanchez.

Olguin is currently a lobbyist for the payday loan industry and others, and has refused to state he will resign those roles if he's elected to chair the Party. He was previously a paid lobbyist for the for-profit corrections industry, a job that reportedly forced him to stop down as a DPNM Vice Chair a few years back over perceptions of a conflict of interest. In 1998, Olguin lost his House seat to Repub Don Tripp, and two years later Raymond Sanchez was ousted as well, bringing in a new era of leadership in the NM House.

Brian Colon is supportive of the newer and generally progressive faces on the statehouse scene, like State Reps Al Park and Moe Maestas, and helped Hector Balderas of Wagon Mound get elected as state auditor. He graduated from UNM Law School in 2001 and was previously active in the Young Democrats of NM, as well as serving on the Executive Committee of the NM Hispanic Bar Association. He is generally free of the kinds of political and ethical baggage that can accummulate on the record of long-time political power players like Olguin, a member of the NM House from 1984-98. Colon was sympathetic to Rep. Ken Martinez's challenge of Rep. Ben Lujan for Speaker of the House this year. Olguin, on the other hand, has long been an ally of Rep. Lujan.

If elected, Olguin is expected to hire Albuquerque South Valley Dem operative Sisto Abeyta to replace the current State Party executive director, Matt Farrauto. Abeyta cites NM Sen. James Taylor as a mentor. No word yet on who Colon would be interested in hiring.

Colon will no doubt get strong support from grassroots Party activists and others tired of business as usual. There has been an ongoing battle within the NM Dem Party between those who want a stronger, more active, transparent Party structure and Party officials and veterans who seem more interested in preserving the status quo than in strengthening the Party's clout and outreach and modernizing its operations. One faction clearly seems to prefer things as they are, with a weak Party structure and most of the power concentrated within the Party's elite and top elected officials. The other faction wants to work for a reinvigorated Party that's more responsive to it members and voters, and eager to try innovative methods to make the Party all it can be at the state and county levels.

I'll be writing much more on Party matters and this race in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, what do you think about the matchup between Brian Colon and Michael Olguin?

How You Can Get Involved
Dem ward and precinct elections will occur on March 22 in Albuquerque this year, and will help determine who gets to vote for this year's crop of State Central Committee members. Democratic Party of New Mexico State Central Committee members from all over the state will choose the new Dem Chair at its April 28th meeting in Las Cruces. If you'd like to get more information on running for a ward or precinct office in your area, contact the DPNM headquarters at 505-830-3650. We need enthusiastic Dems to fill these important posts and have a chance at participating in the election of the Party's new officers.

NM's Sandia Pueblo Seeks to Host Native American Forum of Dem Prez Candidates

According to an AP article in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Albuquerque's Sandia Pueblo is one of two tribes considered front-runners to host an historice "Prez on the Rez" forum of Democratic candidates for president to be held this summer. The Native American organizing group, Indigenous Democrat Network's List Education Fund, expects the event will attract hundreds of tribal leaders from across the country:

The Oklahoma-based group, INDN's List Education Fund, is putting together the event that's expected to attract most, if not all, of the Democratic presidential candidates, the Albuquerque Journal reported in a copyright story.

"I anticipate this is going to be the biggest political event in national American Indian history. Never has this been done before," said Kalyn Free, an organizer for the event and an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee.

Sandia Pueblo and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, whose reservation is near Palm Springs, Calif., are considered the front-runners to host the Aug. 23 event, according to former Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano.

The forum will focus on Native American issues and a decision on the site for it is expected to be made next [this] week. INDN's List is a Democratic group which works to increase the number of Native American candidates seeking public office.

... Free said while political candidates in the past have viewed Indian Country as a potential source of campaign cash and votes in swing districts, on the whole, "we think we've long been ignored."

Tonight: DPBC Third Thursday Meeting to Tackle Intelligent Design vs. Science in the Classroom

From the DPBC e-news:
The Democratic Party of Bernalillo County will hold its regular Third Thursday Meeting on February 15 at 6:00 PM at the UNM Law School, Room 2402. Click for map. The topic will be the Impact on Public School Education of Non-Science in the Science Classroom. The speakers will be be Dr. Marshall Berman and M. Kim Johnson. All Democrats are welcome.

Two bills and two joint memorials -- SB 371, SJM 9, HB 506, HJM 14 -- have been introduced in the New Mexico House and Senate to “ensure that teachers have the right and freedom to teach biological origins objectively.” They use words like “scientific theories,” “credentialed scientists,” “strengths and weaknesses,” and “critically analyze.” In reality, these are euphemisms intended to cover the real intent, which is to allow teachers to teach material generated from the Intelligent Design creationist movement. We will discuss how disingenuous this legislation is, and how it will damage science education in New Mexico.

To receive the DPBC e-news, send your name, email address and county to dpbc@att.net.

EmergeNewMexico is Accepting Applications for Its 2007 Class

From EmergeNewMexico:
EmergeNewMexico, an affiliate to EmergeAmerica, is a non-profit political training program for talented and diverse Democratic women who want to pursue elective office at the local, state and national levels.

Proven success: 60% of emerge graduates have gone on to serve in public office. This unique comprehensive, seven month (1 day/month) training program provides in depth skills on all aspects of running for office. EmergeNewMexico also provides the ongoing support of a strong network of Democrat women leaders already in public office or working on campaigns.

APPLY TODAY! Click for and more information. APPLICATIONS MUST BE POST MARKED or e-mailed to emergenm@yahoo.com BY March 15, 2007. For more information call Julie Koob at (505) 920-6002 or emergenm@yahoo.com 

REVISED: Bernalillo County and State Dems Set Meeting Schedule

From Marvin Moss, DPBC Chair:
Here is the REVISED schedule of upcoming ward, precinct, central committee and working committee meetings to be held in March and April 2007 by the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County and the Democratic Party of New Mexico. More times and locations will be announced soon. All Democrats are welcome at these meetings:

Changes shown in RED:

March 19 (Monday): Site coordinator training at DPBC/DPNM HQs, now combined at 1301 San Pedro, NE, 7:00 PM

March 20 (Tuesday): Ward Chair meeting at Plumbers Hall, San Pedro and Zuni, 7:00 PM. All Ward Chairs or their representatives must attend.

March 22 (Thursday): Ward/Precinct cluster meetings to elect Precinct and Ward Chairs and additional County Central Committee members, 7:00 PM, sites to be announced

April 10 (Tuesday): County Credentials and Resolutions Committees meetings at UNM Law School, Rooms 2405 and 2406, respectively, 6:00 PM

April 14 (Saturday): County Central Committee meeting to elect State Central Committee delegation, consider resolutions and conduct other business; possibly in Highland High School gym - registration 9 AM, call to order 10 AM.                               

April 28 (Saturday): State Central Committee meeting to elect State Officers, consider resolutions and conduct other business - in Las Cruces.

Note: Proxy voting is permitted at County Central Committee and State Central Committee meetings. Proxy voting is not permitted at Ward/Precinct meetings.

For more information: Democratic Party of Bernalillo County; 1301 San Pedro Dr. NE; Albuquerque, NM 87110; (505) 830-3650, Ext. 22

Grant County Dem Party Passes Resolution Supporting NM Impeachment Effort

From Jim Fridinger, Gila Regional Community List:
On February 7, 2007, the Grant County Democratic Party, by an overwhelming majority, passed the resolution as written below:

After informed debate and discussion, the Grant County Democratic Party wholly endorses the New Mexico Senate Joint Resolution 05 calling for the immediate instigation of impeachment proceedings against George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney for the crimes detailed in the resolution, acknowledging our responsibility under the Constitution of the United States, and that the result of this vote be forwarded by the Grant County Democratic Party secretary of record to Sen. Ortiz y Pino of the New Mexico State Senate.

Calls, polite and considerate, to Senator Ben Altamirano's office to let him know that this is his constituency speaking, and that we hope he will represent us well in the coming weeks regarding this issue. Perhaps calls to other representatives in the NM legislature would also be in order.

Senator Ben Altamirano:
Capital office phone: 505 986 4733
Home phone (Silver City): 505 538 3525

Contact info for other members of the NM legislature can be found here.

UPDATE: The Silver City Sun-News covered the story on February 10, 2007.

You're Invited: Democratic Party Organizing Meeting 2/7 at GI Forum

From Bill Kass:
Our series of monthly meetings in Albuquerque started with Ward 25A and combined with an ad hoc group called Grassroots Democrats. Our goal is to expand the active membership of the Bernalillo County Democratic Party – not to create a separate organization. I think that this is a task that legitimately belongs to the DPBC but has recently been ignored. Our long term strategy is to find DPBC officials who will continue to organize and strengthen the party throughout the year – not just at election time. We encourage anyone who might be interested in getting more involved in Democratic Party activities to attend.

We will hold our next organizing meeting on February 7 at 6:00 PM at the GI Forum, 3301Mountain Road NW. The most direct access is to take Rio Grande Blvd. to Mountain Road and turn west. The GI forum is located near the end of Mountain Road about ¾ mile west of Rio Grande Blvd. – almost to the river. It seems like it is farther than it is because there are about 5000 speed bumps on Mountain Road.

We will start with our usual potluck dinner at 6 PM followed by a meeting focused on finding candidates for upcoming County / Ward / Precinct/ County Central Committee / State Central Committee, party positions.

Agenda:
6:00 PM: Potluck
7:00 PM: Business Meeting - Announcements:

• Opportunities for action at the legislature.
• Critical dates for Party Elections in March and April
• Introduction of Candidates for County Chair

7:30 PM: Small Group exercise: Break into small groups based on geography (wards or areas of Bernalillo County) to develop a plan for finding candidates for party offices in all of these areas. Report back with group actions.

We invite all those who are currently party officials to continue - your experience is valuable to the Party. There are also many positions that are unfilled. We want to fill those positions with active, engaged Democrats who will help to create an identity for the Democratic Party. Please join us in this effort. For more information or to RSVP, please contact me at kwjdr@msn.com.

Bill Kass