Democracy for New Mexico

Hear Patricia Madrid at DPBC Third Thursday Meeting

Democratic Party of Bernalillo County
Third Thursday Meeting
November 17, 6:00 PM
UNM Law School, Room 2401
1117 Stanford NE
Click for map

Attorney General Patricia Madrid will address the Third Thursday meeting of the DPBC to present her views and agenda as a candidate for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico. Please tell your fellow constituents about the meeting. All Democrats are welcome.

Important Town Hall Meeting on Raising Statewide Minimum Wage

JOIN ACORN
IN THE FIGHT
FOR A FAIR WAGE

The fight continues. As a result of a slim loss this past election, the "Living Wage Campaign " goes to the state. We have invited various State Legislators to a "Townhall Meeting" at the Cesar Chavez Community Center. The meeting is open to the public and we'd like to see a huge turnout!

WHEN: Wednesday, November 16th, 2005
WHERE: César Chavez Community Center, 7505 Kathryn at Louisiana SE
TIME: 6:30 PM

WHY: We have invited State Legislators and the Governor’s office to come and hear our community’s views on a fair wage for New Mexico workers.

Please join us and bring a friend. FOR FURTHER INFO: CALL (505)-242-7411

David B. Perkins , ACORN Community Organizer

Editor's Note: For more information about the proposed raise in the state minimum wage, see our previous post. A website for the New Mexicans For A Fair Wage is under construction at https://www.nmfairwages.org/

All Dems Invited: State Party Resolutions Committee Set for 11/15

The Democratic Party of New Mexico will hold a State Platform and Resolutions Committee Meeting:

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 at 10:00 AM
Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall
510 San Pedro SE, Albuquerque 87108
Click for map

The meeting is for submission and review of resolutions. All Democrats are welcome to attend and comment at the meeting, but only Committee members will be allowed to vote on the resolutions.

The meeting time was changed from the evening to the morning hours so that it wouldn't conflict with the DNC Kickoff Campaign gatherings that are being held Tuesday evening around NM and the nation. Click to host or attend a DNC Kickoff event. The events will include participation in a conference call with DNC Chair Howard Dean.

Here's a list of the members of the State Resolutions Committee:

APPOINTED:
Marty Cope
Eric Elison
Jennifer Garcia
Ben Ray Lujan
Mel O’Reilly
Kevin Pohl
Christine Trujillo

ELECTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Zoe Economou
Don Dutton
Stephen Fettig
Ignacio Lucero
Marshall Martinez
Cliff Reed
Connie Salazar

The State Resolutions Committee is chaired by DPNM Chair John Wertheim. Here's a link to the official call to the meeting.

REMINDER: Forum On Election Reform Sat. 11/12

Find out all the things you didn’t know about the 2004 election and how we can improve our NM election system. Great panelists. Check it out: Click for flyer

Sponsored by the American Association of University Women West Mesa Branch and the Social Action Committee, First Unitarian Church.

ACTION ALERT: Attend Kickoff Wed. 11/9 of Campaign to Raise NM Minimum Wage

No one who works full time should live in poverty
New Mexicans For A Fair Wage

Minimum Wage Increase to $7.50 in New Mexico Called for by New Mexico Legislators, Broad Coalition

WHAT:  Press Conference

WHO:  Representative Ben Lujan, Speaker of the House and New Mexicans For A Fair Wage

Speakers:
• Speaker Ben Lujan
• Allen Sanchez, Executive Director, New Mexico Catholic Conference
• David Coss, Santa Fe City Councilor
• Frank Montano, Santa Fe School Board Member and Businessman
• Gerry Bradley, Economist, New Mexico Voices for Children
• Martin Heinrich, Albuquerque City Councilor

Also in Attendance:  Representative Peter Wirth; Senator John Grubesic; and members of the New Mexicans for a Fair Wage coalition.

WHEN:  Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 2:00 PM

WHERE:  Roundhouse Rotunda, Santa Fe

WHY:  To announce support for increase of state minimum wage to $7.50 per hour, with annual indexing to inflation, and no preemption of local wage ordinances.

We need a big turnout for this event to show the widespread support that exists for raising the minimum wage in NM. If you can swing it, you're urged to join activists from all the coalition groups at the Roundhouse tomorrow to kickoff the campaign!

New Mexicans For A Fair Wage Coalition Members Include:

New Mexicans For A Fair Wage Coalition Members Include:

ACORN
Albuquerque Musicians’ Association
American Federation of Teachers New Mexico
AFSCME
ARC of N.M.
Community Action N.M.
Democracy for New Mexico
Empowering Our Communities in New Mexico
Enlace Communitario
Green Party N.M.
Grey Panthers
Health Action N.M.
Hispano Roundtable of New Mexico
Hogares, Inc.
Homeless Advocacy Coalition
Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry
MANA
Mountain West Regional Council of Carpenters
National Education Association
N.M. AFL-CIO
N.M. Alliance for Retired Americans
N.M Catholic Conference
N.M. Building Construction and Trades Council
N.M. Center on Law and Poverty
N.M. Conference of Churches
N.M. Council on Crime and Delinquency
N.M. Federation of Labor Retiree Council
N.M. Human Needs Coordinating Council
N.M. Voices for Children
N.M. Pediatric Society
N.M. Public Health Association
Parents Reaching Out
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office
Santa Fe Living Wage Network
Somos Un Pueblo Unido
Southwest Organizing Project
UNM Law and Society

Join Common Cause for a Presentation on Election Day Registration

Editor's Note: Also please read previous post on next meeting of Election Reform Task Force.

From Common Cause NM:
We all know the problems with decreasing voter turnout in federal elections, not to mention even lower turnouts in state and local elections.  At Common Cause, one of the most important issues for us is increasing voter turnout and making it easier for citizens to express their views.  That's why we're putting together a presentation/discussion about Election Day Registration (sometimes referred to as "same day voter registration") in Albuquerque.

On Wednesday, November 9, at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building, Ludovic Blain from Demos will explain the concept of Election Day Registration (EDR), talk about how it is currently working in six states and discuss the prospect for implementing EDR in New Mexico.  There will be plenty of time for discussion about EDR, as well as other election reform issues like voter verifiable paper trails, voting machines, voter education, following up on current election legislation and poll worker training.

Here are the details on time and location for the event:

Date/Time/Location: Wednesday, November 9, 7:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. at the University of New Mexico Student Union Building in the Acoma Rooms (on the second floor).  Please see this link for a map of the University of New Mexico.  The Student Union Building will be number "60" on the map, and the parking structure will be number "198".

The Election Reform Task Force Committee, called together by Governor Bill Richardson, is contemplating a recommendation for Election Day Registration.  The November 9th presentation will allow activists and the public to learn about EDR.  Common Cause, Demos, the League of Women Voters, student groups and community organizations are scheduled to attend.  Please join us for this important presentation.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing you at the EDR presentation on November 9!

Sincerely,
Matt Brix
Executive Director, Common Cause New Mexico

ACTION ALERT: Next Election Reform Task Force Set for Nov. 10-11

From United Voters of NM:
The next meeting of the interim legislative Election Reform Task Force will be held on 10-11 November 2005 in Room 307, State Capitol, Santa Fe. The meetings begin at 9 AM on both days.  Click for a copy of the tentative agenda (pdf).

There will be two presentations, one on state compliance with federal consent decrees and one on election day voter registration.  The latter one is an important new initiative, and is being promoted by Common Cause NM. (Editor's Note: See next post about Common Cause event on 11/9 regarding same day registration.)

Beyond those two presentations, the rest of the agenda is on "Discussion of Legislative Proposals".  Presumably, these discussions will be to develop guidance for the development of legislation in the next legislative session next spring, and probably, in later legislative sessions.

The Task Force clearly respects our views. So it will be really important to have a good showing from the election reform community at the Task Force meetings. Please make every effort to be there.

To subscribe to the listserve of United Voters of NM, send an email from the address that you wish to subscribe to, to update-subscribe@UVoteNM.org.

A Forum of Successful Progressive Candidates Set for 11/19 in ABQ

From People Taking Back Their Government
Community Partners: Central New Mexico Labor Council, Gray Panthers of Albq, Plumbers & Pipefitters LU 412 and World Voices

A Forum of Successful Progressive Candidates

Guests:
United State Congressman Bernie Sanders of Vermont
NM Legislature: Rep. Mimi Stewart and Senator Cisco McSorley

Plumbers Hall, 510 San Pedro SE
Saturday, November 19
1:00 - 4:30 PM

The progressive elected officials at this forum will share their stories of why they decided to run for office and how they won. Those interested in running for public office in our communities and the community at large should attend to learn what it takes to be elected when you don’t follow the accepted guidelines or have a great deal of money.

The Coalition to Take Back Our Government believes that there is a need for more people from the community to run government. That it needs to be those of us who understand how it is not to have a job, not be able to send your children to college, and that healthy living means having clean water, trees, and rivers to have healthy and safe communities. There are many of us who know that preventing disease, and funding research for those illness which are killing us -- AIDS, cancer, and diabetes -- needs to happen. Adequate health care and educational opportunities for all are a human right. That when we don’t provide the necessary support to working families, and their children the future of any society is adversely impacted.

We invite you to join us at this event to hear the guests who chose to run because they had a dream to be a voice for their community. Come and be inspired to plan strategies to get involved in building healthy and sustainable communities. We the people know our needs and can be the builders for the future.

Be a sponsor and help in getting the word out to people you know. Tables at the event are $15 donation. These donations will serve to support progressive community people who run for public office. For information call: Martha at 275-0597 or Luis at 463-3774 or send an email to: marthacd@earthlink.net. Community Partners: Central New Mexico Labor Council, Gray Panthers of Albq, Plumbers & Pipefitters LU 412 and World Voices.

DFA-DFNM ABQ Meetup to Feature NM Rep. Mimi Stewart

NM REP. MIMI STEWART will be attending our DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup to discuss how we can effectively support progressive legislators and bills and work together toward common goals. She'll also be answering our questions. You may recall that Rep. Steward was scheduled for last month's Meetup but was tied up due to the special legislative session in Santa Fe. We're very pleased to have Rep. Stewart as our guest and hope we'll have a big turnout to welcome her!

After announcements about several upcoming events, there will be a round-table discussion about our legislative goals, as well as how we can get elected officials and candidates to commit to core Democratic values.

Hope to see you this Thursday, November 3rd at 7:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church at Carlisle and Comanche for our DFA-DFNM Meetup!

If you plan to attend, please RSVP at our Meetup site by clicking here or on the Meetup logo on the upper left-hand sidebar on this page.

Noted Photographer to Discuss Censorship of Arctic Refuge Work

“This wild, free valley and the barren ground beyond is but a fragment of one of the last pristine regions left on earth, entirely unscarred by roads or signs, indifferent to mankind, utterly silent.”--Peter Matthiessen

“The refuge is so remote and untamed that many peaks, valleys, and lakes are still without names and shall remain that way. Marsh fleabane cluster along the lakeshore, while Nichenthraw Mountain and spruce trees are reflected on the calm water of early morning.” --Subhankar Banerjee

Editor's Note: Subhankar Banerjee's website, which includes 20 examples of his astonishing photos of astonishing vistas in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, is well worth a visit. It also has a wealth of resources about the ANWR and what we can do to help save it from oil drilling. If these photos don't convince us to do all we can to save ANWR, I don't know what will.

From UNM Today:
Photographer Subhankar Banerjee will visit the University of New Mexico School of Law to discuss his artwork and its place in the artic refuge oil drilling controversy. His presentation "World Without Borders" is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 2 - 4 PM in Room 2404.

Banerjee quit his engineering job in 2001, cashed in his 401k and headed for the Alaskan artic where he spent nearly two years photographing under harsh conditions. The result of this sojourn is his book, “Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land.” Former President Jimmy Carter wrote the introduction.

Banerjee's work became the object of censorship when linked to the battle over drilling for oil in the artic. In September, Banerjee spoke at a rally in Washington D.C. The Lannan Foundation awarded Banerjee its first Cultural Freedom Fellowship for his work to increase public awareness about issues that threaten the health and well being of the planet.

Banerjee's presentation at UNM Law School is free and open to the public. For more information on his work, visit www.wwbphoto.com. For information on the presentation, contact Sherri Burr, 277-5650.