Democracy for New Mexico

Last Call for Living Wage Signatures

From Albuquerque Living Wage:

We must turn all Living Wage petitions into the City Clerk this coming Sunday, so please get your petitions to the ACORN office by this Friday.  The office is located at 411 Bellamah NW 87102, between the Mexican Consulate on 4th Street and the Friends Meeting House on 5th Street.  For more information, call 242-7411, or email us at matthew@abqlivingwage.org.

As of Wednesday, we have turned in over 30,000 signatures and expect to top 33,000 by the end of the weekend, a full 20,000 more than we need!

Lastly, join us for the Petition Wrap-Up Rally on Monday.  We will meet at 11:00 AM on the City Hall side of Civic Plaza.

Albuquerque Shuffle

Political blogger Marston Moore over at Duke City Fix has an excellent piece on Albuquerque election politics today. News nuggets: thanks to wooing and moolah promises from da Mayor, Tina Cummins in back in the race in City Council District 9, Councilor Miguel Gomez will face Mayor Marty cohort Ken Sanchez in his race in District 1 and Mayor Chavez has hired a new campaign manager to replace Bridget Cusick. Read all about it.

ACTION ALERT: Otero Mesa Drilling

From Nathan Newcomer, Otero Mesa Campaign Organizer:
Yesterday, New Mexico State Land Commissioner, Patrick Lyons stomped on the voices of New Mexicans by siding with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in their plan to open 95% of Otero Mesa to irresponsible oil and gas development.

Lyons says he will battle Gov. Bill Richardson and Attorney General Patricia Madrid in federal court to allow oil and gas drilling at Otero Mesa.

"We're going to intervene to let 'em do drilling down there," Lyons said in a meeting with Albuquerque Journal editors and reporters Tuesday. "We feel like it's our constitutional duty."

But Madrid already is questioning Lyons' authority to challenge her position against drilling.

The governor's senior energy and environment policy adviser, Ned Farquhar, said Richardson proposed a balanced alternative for Otero Mesa development but the BLM ignored it.

"Commissioner Lyons is making a mistake if he's going to support the BLM's proposal to open 95 percent of the area to oil and gas activity," Farquhar said.

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ACTION
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Call and tell State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons that you think his recent actions to support the full-scale development of Otero Mesa is not in the best interest for New Mexicans or our quality of life.

State Land Office
Patrick Lyons
(505) 827-5760

Here are a few talking points to use when leaving a message for Commissioner Lyons:

1. The Commissioner demanded that development begin so that money from oil and gas royalties could be funneled to our children. However, even the BLM says that the amount of oil and gas under Otero Mesa is "small potatoes." Thus, any revenue generated to the state from industry royalties will be very minimal.

2. The greater resource of Otero Mesa is the fact that it contains  the largest remaining source of fresh drinking water left in the state of New Mexico. This water is much more valuable to our children and their future than a few days of oil and gas.

3. Tell Commssioner Lyons that you want him to work to protect Otero Mesa's groundwater, and not to side with the oil and gas industry, as he is now doing.

State Land Office
Patrick Lyons
(505) 827-5760

Good News On ABQ Living Wage Petition

From Stop the War Machine's email newsletter:
The Albuquerque Living Wage Campaign this week reached 28,680 petition signatures, more than twice the number required to place the measure to increase the minimum wage to $7.50 per hour on the October city election ballot. Just under 14,000 signatures of registered city voters are necessary, but organizers set a goal of twice that number to compensate for any signatures invalidated by the city clerk's office.

Campaign organizers will continue to obtain petition signatures until the July 18 deadline, when they expect to increase the total to more than 30,000 signatures. A press conference has been tentatively scheduled for Civic Plaza at 11 AM on July 18, when the last of the petitions will be delivered to the city clerk. Stay tuned for details.

Questions?  Contact tsos@earthlink.net

ACTION ALERT - VALLE VIDAL SCOPING COMMENTS

A very important message rom the Coalition for the Valle Vidal:

Tell the Forest Service to Protect New Mexico’s Valle Vidal

On June 14, 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began a formal process that will ultimately determine whether or not the eastern half of the Valle Vidal will be leased for coalbed methane development. The first step in this process is the preparation of a Forest Plan Amendment to incorporate the Valle Vidal Unit into the Carson National Forest’s overall Forest Plan. That Forest Plan Amendment will establish a specific vision for the Valle Vidal, and set out certain “management highlights,” and standards and guidelines.

The Carson National Forest is accepting public comments on this Forest Plan Amendment now through September 14, 2005. Speak up today to ensure that the Valle Vidal is not slated for energy development!

What to Do:

Send your comments to the Forest Service by September 14, 2005, urging the agency to protect the Valle Vidal by closing the entire area to energy leasing and development.

Talking points, a sample letter and background information are below.

If at all possible, please write your own, original comments that incorporate the talking points below. Original comments are the most effective way to make your voice heard in this Forest Service planning process. If you cannot write your own comments by the deadline, please use the sample letter. You must provide your name and address for your comments to count.

Talking points:

•  “The Vision” for the Valle Vidal that as it is written on page 3 of the Forest Service’s Proposed Action, does not reflect my vision for the Valle Vidal. I want to see the Valle Vidal’s "unique combination of wild land resources" -- habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources – “restored and improved” across the board, NOT simply “maintained or sustained.”

•  My vision for the Valle Vidal requires that the Forest Service establish a management framework that incorporates the common sense principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt to repair it later. Preventing devastating impacts, like those of coalbed methane development, is the only way that the Valle Vidal can truly be restored and improved.

•  The Forest Service should permanently close the entire Valle Vidal to energy leasing and development. The Valle Vidal should be protected for the benefit of sportsmen, ranchers, outfitters and guides, local business, outdoor enthusiasts, wildlife enthusiasts, Boy Scouts, future generations, and the public at large.

•  The Forest Service should put the entire Valle Vidal off limits to oil and gas leasing NOW, in the Forest Plan Amendment stage. They should NOT defer this decision to a future analysis of leasing. If the Forest Service believes this area should be protected, then it has the authority to “say no” now and not waste taxpayer dollars on a leasing analysis.

Sample Letter:

Mr. Martin D. Chavez Jr., Forest Supervisor
Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Dear Mr. Chavez,

I am writing to comment on the Carson National Forest’s Proposed Forest Plan Amendment for the Valle Vidal, or management area 21.

The Valle Vidal Unit is a tremendously unique portion of America’s public land. As a public landowner and user, I value the Valle Vidal’s abundant and broad range of wildlife, the area’s clean riparian and water resources, and its vast array of recreational, sporting and agricultural opportunities.

(Try to provide a description and personal example of what you value about the Valle Vidal, or if you have not yet been there, the opportunities it affords to you as a public land user. This can be an example of wildlife viewing or hunting, or any other recreational, agricultural, educational or ecological that is present in the Valle Vidal.)

The Forest Service’s Proposed Action outlines a vision for the Valle Vidal that includes maintaining and sustaining the Valle Vidal’s array of natural and recreational resources. I strongly encourage the Forest Service to raise the expectation for itself as it seeks to successfully manage this ecosystem. The Valle Vidal’s habitat, range, fish, wildlife, riparian and watershed resources must not simply be maintained or sustained, they must be restored and improved across the board. Furthermore, to restore and improve the Valle Vidal to meet this vision, the Forest Service should establish an Adaptive Ecosystem Management framework that, at its heart, reflects the common sense principle that it is easier to prevent harm to the land than to attempt to repair it later

Critically, in order to restore and improve the Valle Vidal’s resources the Forest Service must close the entire Valle Vidal unit to energy leasing and development now. I urge you not defer this decision to a future leasing analysis. The air, water, and soil impacts of energy leasing and development is clearly incompatible with the many uses of the Valle Vidal and will severely limit our public land managers ability to restore and improve the Valle Vidal resources.

Your Name
Your Address

Send Your Comments To:

Carson National Forest
Attn: Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment
208 Cruz Alta Road
Taos, NM 87571

Or email: comments-southwestern-carson@fs.fed.us

(“Valle Vidal Forest Plan Amendment” must be in the subject line.)

Congress has the power to protect the Valle Vidal!

Send copies of your comments to your own congressional representatives and these New Mexico members with a short note asking them to permanently protect the Valle Vidal.

Senator Pete Domenici
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6621, 202-228-0900 fax

Senator Jeff Bingaman
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5521, 202-224-2852 fax

Representative Tom Udall
Democrat / 3rd District
1414 Longworth Bldg
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6190, 202-226-1331 fax

Representative Heather Wilson
Republican / 1st District
20 First Plaza NW
Suite 603
Albuquerque, NM 87102
505-346-6781, 505-346-6723 fax

Download Forest Service documents at: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans/index.shtml

For more information, contact:

Jim O'Donnell
Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for the Valle Vidal
www.vallevidal.org
PO Box 238
Taos, NM 87571
505-758-3874

Are you a member of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal? Would you like to support our efforts? Join or contribute today at: https://www.vallevidal.org/involved.html

Common Cause NM Update on Open & Ethical Elections Code Referendum

From Common Cause NM:
Thanks to the hard work of Common Cause members in the Duke City, the City Council passed the Open and Ethical Elections Code referendum by a 5-2 vote last Thursday!  Barring a veto from Mayor Martin Chavez, the referendum will be placed on the October 4 ballot.  This is exciting news for all of us who support leveling the playing field and giving ordinary candidates from diverse backgrounds a chance to run for office.  But, we need to make certain Mayor Chavez will allow Albuquerque voters to weigh in on the Open and Ethical Elections Code.

Following the passage of the referendum by the council, Mayor Martin Chavez's spokesperson Deborah James stated in the July 1 Albuquerque Tribune, "Mayor Chavez has always believed in taking big money out of politics and feels it's perfectly legitimate for the taxpayers to weigh in on this issue on the ballot."  James also made a statement on behalf of Mayor Chavez to the July 1 Albuquerque Journal saying it's "perfectly valid for taxpayers to weigh in on this issue on the ballot."  Common Cause appreciates this statement from the mayor's office, and we appreciate Mayor Chavez's desire to limit campaign spending.

Even though Mayor Chavez has declared his support for placing the Open and Ethical Elections Code on the ballot, we still need to make sure he knows how important leveling the playing field is to Albuquerque voters.  Please call the mayor's office at 768-3000 and thank him for pledging his support to let voters decide about the future of campaign financing in Albuquerque.  Please also let the mayor know how important this issue is to Albuquerque voters and ask him to endorse the Open and Ethical Elections Code.  You can reach Mayor Martin Chavez's office at 768-3000.

Please continue to visit the Common Cause New Mexico website for updated information about the Open and Ethical Elections Code. Thank you for all that you do for democracy in New Mexico!

Sincerely,
Matt Brix, Executive Director
Common Cause New Mexico

Support Valle Vidal This Summer

From the Coalition for the Valle Vidal:

July 15 - 17: Valle Vidal - Riparian Vegetation Restoration, Valle Vidal:
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and the Albuquerque Wildlife Federation will host a will and cottonwood planting expedition along Comanche Creek in the Valle Vidal.  Contact: Michael Scialdone at 505.843.8696 for more information.

July 23 - 25: Ponil and McCrystal Creek Riparian Restoration, Valle Vidal:
Boy Scout Troop 409, Trout Unlimited and New Mexico Trout will join forces to spend several days performing riparian restoration in the Valle Vidal.  Contact: Nick LaRue at 505-344-9924 for more information.

July 22-24:  Sierra Club - Valle Vidal hiking and camp out, Valle Vidal:
Contact:  Sarah Lundstrom at 505.243.7767 for more information.

August 20-21:  Road Closure, Midnight Meadows Area:
The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and Amigos Bravos will join forces to lead a road closure weekend.  The roads to be closed are illegal routes that access the Valle Vidal from the south. These roads cause great harm to streams and wildlife.  Contact: Rachel Conn, 505-758-3874, for more information.

Day Outings and Hiking Trips, Valle Vidal:
We are in the process of preparing a series of one-day summer hikes in the Valle Vidal.  If you would like to lead a hike, please contact me ASAP.

If there is anything else your organization is will be doing with regards to the Valle Vidal this summer, please let me know.  I will be sending out further updates as the summer progresses.

Finally, the Valle Vidal bumper stickers are ready and available throughout the Taos area.  Keep an eye out for them or visit the Amigos Bravos office in Taos to get a handful.

Jim O'Donnell
Outreach Coordinator, Coalition for the Valle Vidal
www.vallevidal.org
PO Box 238
Taos, NM 87571
505-758-3874
Visit this site to join the Coalition's mailing llist.

Come See Oil Derricks in ABQ Wednesday

Alert from Defenders Environmental Network:
Did you know that Congress is now considering an energy bill that could make it easier to drill not only in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but also on our nation's shores?

To sound the alarm on this urgent issue, Defenders of Wildlife -- as part of the Arctic Coalition -- is spreading the word about a very special event in Albuquerque Wednesday morning:

Come See the Oil Derricks and Speak Out on Artic Drilling
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
10:00 AM
Albuquerque Civic Plaza
(between 3rd and 4th on Marquette)

Please join us as we give voice to the millions of Americans who believe the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge should remain wild, unspoiled, and free of oil rigs. With two giant model oil derricks looming in the background, the Arctic Coalition will speak out against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain and in opposition to the Bush administration's energy plan -- a proposal that could also invite more drilling on our nation's shores.

I hope you are able to attend! As always, thank you for your support of wildlife in the Refuge and the rest of America's wild places.

Contact Redford Raley at (505) 255-6061 for more information.

Register Now for Free Conference on Separating Myth from Fact in Military Recruiting

Fun – Information – Films – Speakers - Strategy Sessions

Another Side:  A Conference Separating Myth from Fact in Military Recruiting

for youth, their families, educators, counselors, veterans, and community members

Friday through Sunday, July 22-24, 2005, UNM, Albuquerque, NM

• Learn your rights under the No Child Left Behind Act
• Hear from Veterans who have served
• Network with others from around the southwest
• Learn mediation and critical thinking skills for Truth in Recruiting presentations
• Preview multi-media curriculum materials
• Join a training to become a counselor for conscientious objectors

For more info, conference schedule, and to register (by July 11, please) call (505) 268-9557 or email anotherside@comcast.net.

Free and open to the public, but tax-deductible donations gratefully accepted!

-Another Side is a project of Veterans for Peace, the Alliance for Academic Freedom, and the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice.  We offer youth, military-aged adults and their families information about and alternatives to military service in our country. Through school-based presentations and outreach programs led by military veterans and trained facilitators, Another Side provides factual information and resources on every individual’s rights regarding military recruitment. We offer support to those who choose to not join the military or who wish to leave military service.--

Pushing for a Fair Wage

Duke City Fix has excellent photos of Senator John Edwards and the Fair Wage rally on Albuquerque's Civic Plaza yesterday. Reports are that the petition effort to get the measure on the ballot this October already has more than 20,000 signatures.

State Democratic Party Chair John Wertheim has a good pro-living wage op-ed piece in this morning's Albuquerque Journal. I note the Journal's coverage of the rally focuses on negative quotes about the effort. Why am I not surprised.

Not so startling quote of the day from City Councilor and Republican, Brad Winter, who is also running for Mayor of Albuquerque:

On Tuesday, City Council President Brad Winter, a candidate for mayor, issued a statement saying he opposed a local minimum wage and wouldn't lobby for an increase in the federal minimum wage.
    "I will allow our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to determine the appropriate minimum-wage level which will keep America competitive on the world stage," he said.
    "Raising the minimum wage on one competitor— whether it is a city like Albuquerque or a country like the United States— offers an unfair advantage to others," he said.

Sounds like ole "moderate" Brad might believe even our current, meager federal minimum wage law is over the top. After all, how can we compete with all those slave wage workers in China and the Third World when we have that inconvenient $5.15 an hour, "non-competitive" requirement to content with!