Democracy for New Mexico

Alliance Urges New Mexicans to Ignore Hateful Visit

What should be the response to hatemonger Fred Phelps' protest visit to New Mexico later this month? According to an article in the Santa Fe New Mexican we should:

Ignore them.

That's what Santa Fe city officials, religious leaders and community groups Monday urged locals to do if a Kansas anti-gay group shows up as planned this month to stage demonstrations.

Counterdemonstrations, they said, will only fall into the group's trap.

The "Reverend" Phelps' Kansas group announced it will picket The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, eight Santa Fe churches and Santa Fe City Hall between April 23 and April 25.

Click for a story on what happened when the hate group recently visited Arvada, Colorado.

An ad hoc alliance has been formed to lead a response to Phelps' group, and "urges Santa Feans to refrain from reactive counter demonstrations and to instead put their energy into positive community action."

This group is chaired by Rev. Holly Beaumont and includes representatives from the faith community, Santa Fe Human Rights Alliance, PFLAG, Equality New Mexico and the College of Santa Fe Queer Faculty and Staff Association. Click to read about a positive set of actions they've devised so that people can counter the negativity of the Phelps' protest.

To refresh yourself on the facts about Phelps and his anti-gay and anti-American crusade, check out a on this topic.

Exciting Announcement on Otero Mesa Set for Earth Day!

From the NM Wilderness Alliance:

Dear Otero Mesa Supporters:

A very special event is slated to take place for Otero Mesa on Earth Day, Friday, April 22nd, 2005. This event will be held at 11:00 AM at the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque.

Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) will be on hand to make a very important announcement on Otero Mesa. For more information, please contact Nathan Newcomer at nathan@nmwild.org, or 505-843-8696. This event will be of monumental proportion.

REMINDER: The Otero Mesa Outing is this weekend, April 16 through April 17.

For directions or questions, please contact Nathan Newcomer at nathan@nmwild.org, or 505-843-8696

Where Do You Shop Blue?

We three want to start a website:  "shopblue@abq"

We do realize that a lot is being done on a national level to try to steer our money towards progressive causes by shopping in stores and businesses that support progressive, not conservative and neo-conservative causes.

This is an attempt to localize this great effort and focus on us, right here in the Albuquerque area.

We plan to publicize places where we can shop and feel good about ourselves and our future.

We want to start small and grow exponentially – by listing businesses that are in tune with our politics – after talking with them about our plan, and asking if they want to be listed on our website.  We will assure them that this is not a commercial enterprise  -- it’s a political statement.

We are thinking of food stores, video outlets, book stores (new and used), hardware businesses – probably small and local as opposed to huge and corporate – restaurants, work-out facilities, home repair businesses – you name it.

So – we are looking to all of you for your reactions and constructive criticism.  Anything we should be especially looking for or looking out for???  Any specific ideas of places we might visit, call or email?  Any of you doing something similar who have learned from your own experiences?

Please let us know.

We are:

Laura Stokes    stokescorrales@comcast.net
Kathy Freise     kathy@netchannel.com
Helen Aarli       h.aarli@comcast.net

(Editor's Note: If you attended the last week's DFA-DFNM Albuquerque Meetup, you'll recall seeing Helen present this project to the group.)

NM Democratic Friends Meet Tonight

The meeting of the NM Democratic Friends and Albuquerque Democratic Party Meetup Group will be held tonight at 5PM (NOT 6PM) at the IBEW Hall.

Click for more information, to RSVP or to obtain directions.

REMINDER: Excellent ABQ Progressive Event This SUNDAY

Everyone is invited to A Forum on Acting Together for Social Change on SUNDAY, April 10, from 2PM - 5PM at the First Congregational Church at the corner of Lomas and Girard NE in Albuquerque.

Headlining the event will be Rep. Bernie Sanders, U.S. Representative from Vermont, who is the only Independent voice in Congress.

This event is sponsored by:

The Coalition To Take Back Our Government
Gray Panthers
The Social Action Committee -1st Unitarian Church of Albuquerque
Community Coalition for Health Care Access
Quote...Unquote/Channel 27

Democracy for New Mexico, along with many other progressive groups, will be tabling at this event and taking part in the discussions. Come on down and spend a Sunday afternoon with like-minded souls.

Call 275-0597 or 463-3774 for more information

Sound Off! Who's the Culprit?

From Barbara Wold:
I was shocked and appalled to see the following item on Joe Monahan's website today:

Linda Lopez & The Deaniacs; No, It's Not a Rock Band
It would make a good name for a rock band: Linda Lopez and the Deaniacs. But the veteran Dem ABQ Valley State Senator is probably in no mood to joke about her whipping at the hands of supporters of onetime prez candidate and now Democrat National Chair Howard Dean. Lopez was unceremoniously dumped from her spot as chairwoman of the Bernalillo County Democratic Party and replaced by party liberal and oldtimer Marvin Moss.

"It was the Dean supporters who did did her in. They packed the precinct and ward meetings leading up to the county convention and they did Linda in," reported an Alligator in attendance at the weekend confab. "The post has lost its glamour. Just what does the county chair do? Not a whole lot," added our on-the-scene Gator.

But whatever the chair does, Linda Lopez will not being doing it. By any measure that is a setback. She has repeatedly been mentioned as a possible candidate for higher political office, everything from Guv to mayor, but her detractors are now saying she was unable to hold on to a relatively minor party post. That gladdens the hearts of her rivals, including friends of Light Guv Diane Denish who are tired of being taunted by the Lopez clan for keeping Linda off the ballot when the two sought the Dem nomination for Light Guv in 02.' Oh yeah, Big Bill isn't crying in his beer about this one either.

I wonder who the devisive and wrong-headed person is who fed this line of distorted untruth to Monahan, who's always glad to feed the fires of Dem bashing. Given the tenor of the rumor, I'm not surprised they decided to spew this garbage anonymously.

First off, DFA-DFNM is much more than "Deaniacs" these days. Our ranks now have many people who weren't supporters of Dean's presidential run joining the "old-timers" whose involvement stretches back to the early days of the presidential primary.

Second, as anyone who knows anything knows, DFA-DFNM took no stand on the race for Bernalillo Dem County Chair. In conversations with many members, I learned first-hand that many voted for Linda Lopez and many voted for Marvin Moss. Contrary to the rather hysterical tone of the Monahan item, there was no concerted effort by "Deaniacs" to sway the race one way or another.  And most people had a hard time deciding between them.

Many I spoke with who had decided to vote for Marvin Moss said they were doing so NOT because they disliked Senator Lopez or didn't respect her politically, but because they thought Moss would have more time and inclination to immerse himself in the often tedious work that will be necessary to rebuild the Party, its infrastructure and its procedures in this time of upheaval. Many believe he has exactly the right skills for the job.

As for Linda Lopez, a significant number of members I spoke with said they thought she should instead run for higher office, like the governorship or Congress, instead of devoting time to the more mundane responsibilities of the County Chair position.

Also, every single DFA-DFNM member and other progressives I've talked to who worked with Senator Lopez on the election reform bill that's being signed today by Governor Richardson came away from the process with a very high regard for her. To a person they were impressed with her energy, enthusiasm, smarts, dedication, talent and honesty as exhibited in her negotiations with advocates, the Governor's office and other legislators.

It's clear that whoever planted this item wants to sow the seeds of divisiveness among progressive Democrats and bash Senator Lopez. They will not succeed. Contrary to to what the leaked item says, progressives sought precinct and ward chair slots, as well as membership on the State Central Committee, in order to change the Party from within and have a say on Party positions and candidates -- not to damage the chances of one of our most progressive and enlightened State Senators. 

Believe me, there are few fans of Govenor Richardson in the liberal and progressive ranks of the Party these days and it is upsetting that the item claims Richardson "isn't crying in his beer" over Senator Lopez's loss. Message for you, Bill (and whoever planted that item) -- we're trying to rebuild this Party from the ground up to counter the Republican-lite voices of Democrats-in-name-only like you and promote lively and courageous voices like Senator Lopez. Many of us intend to support her for higher office and work to get rid of the anti-progressive voices of pro-corporate Dems who vote against the little people way too much of the time. Saavy?

Black Hawk Facility in Santa Fe?

From Citizens for Environmental Safeguards (CES):

(CES) Director Elaine Cimino will be speaking at the Veterans for Peace meeting on Wednesday evening, April 13 at 7:15 PM at Museo Cultural, on Paseo Peralta (Guadalupe St and the Railyard) in Santa Fe.

The Final Environmental Assessment will be released this month in April on the Blackhawk facility in Santa Fe NM.

Ms. Cimino will update the community as to the future military base and operations in Santa Fe, NM. A five year battle in the the federal courts was dissmissed pending an environmental review. It is now a whole new ball game.

The base is scheduled to include 24 blackhawk helicopters, 4 jets, 3 C-130 and other personel and equipment carriers. Operations are designed for training and support to the expanded training base in the US Forest Service area of the Caja del Rio, which is under a no-fly zone.

This operation is quite different from the first presentation made to the Santa Fe City Council who approved a 50 year lease for the facility supporting 9 helicopters (only), and when the US Army and NM National Guard promised a $6M yearly boost to the local economy. This area is also included in the Patriot Missile Defense systems that is being implemented throught NM. The final approval for the lease facility hung on one vote of the City Council and Patty Bushee who voted for the facility.

To find out more about this issue please attend.

Elaine Cimino, Director,
ecimino@cybermesa.com
1-800-424-9100

Sound Off: HIP, HIP, HOORAY!

From Mary Ellen Broderick:

CONGRATULATIONS TO US ALL!!!

WOW what a lot of work to get the results we did for the precinct and ward elections and the state central committee slots.

To me it was a sure test of all the progressive groups coming together, working together and getting people in.

What we know is this:

The county convention was totally chaotic -- but we can and will work on that to improve the next one.

We filled possibly 12 out of the 41 Ward chair slots -- 25% now filled by progressives.

We filled possibly 40 precinct slots.

We filled 25 of the 119 state central committee slots -- a whopping 21%!!!!!!!!

Now I know there are many other great local progressive people who did not get on the as yet unofficial state central committee list, including Jeanne Carritt, Andrea Sterling, Nancy Galloway (possibly), Tom Soloman and Don Schiff.  These people are now our dear friends and I would gladly give up my seat for any one of them.  Because we are all in this for the long haul, maybe the rest of our lives . . . because we all know that the country is ours too and we can take it back.

As Rosie the Riveter says: “ WE CAN DO IT.” And “WE ARE.”

And one more thing:

Linda Lopez -- if you come to this site and read it -- I am one voice speaking out for myself:  I AM A BIG FAN!!!! You have really gone to the fight for us and with us. We greatly need you, your brains, your gentle political way!!

Thanks to all . . . the work has just begun!

See you on Thursday nite at the DFNM meetup for a bit of a celebration!

Check Out New Defend NM Website

From www.DefendNM.org:
Who We Are, What We Want
An introduction to Defend New Mexico

A small group of New Mexicans is proud to introduce the first online news and analysis website devoted exclusively to New Mexico's congressional lawmakers.

But that's not all. We're stretching out across the state to bring you insight about the diverse culture we love and the desert philosophies we like to ponder.

DefendNM is both a source of information and a team of citizen activists ensuring honest and efficient lawmaking for all New Mexicans.

If you're interested in DefendNM, we encourage you to visit our website at www.DefendNM.org. There you will find the beginnings of what will become an influential, thought-provoking and progress-oriented institution.

We'd also like to encourage all New Mexicans to contribute to our site. Submit your ideas, events, news and commentaries to news@DefendNM.org.

Jerah R. Cordova, Defend New Mexico
www.DefendNM.org

Preliminary Results of DPBC State Central Committee Election

Preliminary results that could still change are up at the website of the Democratic Party of Bernalillo County:

So far, our progressive slate folks have won 23 seats out of the 119 shown for State Central Committee! Of course, as noted, the results are not finalized or official so we don't yet know for sure. But what we do know is that our people won a significant number of seats -- an extraordinary achievement given that many of us are novices in Party politics.

Congratulations to everyone who ran and everyone who helped! And special thanks to Barbara Grothus and Summer McKean for all the terrific help with strategy.

I'll be revisiting this topic when more complete results are in, but for right now I have to say we are cookin' with gas.