Democracy for New Mexico

Action Alert & Campaign Updates: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

From Ed Yoon, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:
Starting today, I greatly look forward to communicating with you about our campaign periodically to share with you exciting updates and new and ongoing action opportunities. As we grow in staff numbers, we will be expanding our campaign activities beyond the Albuquerque area, so please be patient and stay tuned if you would like to be part of our campaign efforts but do not see any activity nearby where you live. We will also look forward to getting ideas from you about campaign activities that you would like to see us organize. I thank you in advance for your support of our campaign’s work.  Together, we will win in November.

1. SATURDAY, MAY 3RD: VOLUNTEER CANVASS AND LUNCH: Our volunteer canvass starts on Saturday, May 3rd and recurs every Saturday thereafter.  We will provide free sandwiches and snacks and water bottles to make sure you’re fed and energized, and we will have all the materials ready for you, so you just have to RSVP and show up!  You will also get to meet some of our new staff members.

Please join us at our temporary campaign office located at: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, 824 Gold Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102

Please RSVP so that we know how many walk packets and food to prepare.  You can call or e-mail Brian McGann to RSVP at: (505) 248-0118 x 3; or BMcGann@DefendersActionFund.org. Starting June 1st when we move into our new spacious office, we will expand our volunteer canvass days and hours to any available Mondays through Saturdays.

2. CAMPAIGN UPDATES

Have you seen our “2 Bad for New Mexico” TV and radio ads? Some of you may have seen our recent TV ad or heard our radio ad on broadcast calling Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce for what they are: “Two Bad for New Mexico”.  If you haven’t, you can visit our campaign website www.2bad4nm.org to view and hear the ads.

Our campaign team is growing! Our campaign has recently hired a highly experienced Field Director, several Field Organizers, and an experienced Media Coordinator to start very soon in May and June as part of our first wave of staff expansion, with more on the way.

Canvassing starting May 1st through Election Day to help elect Tom Udall to the U.S. Senate. The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is starting our full-time canvass to persuade swing voters to support Tom Udall every Monday-Saturday from May 1st through Election Day.  We will also eventually endorse and work to help elect the pro-conservation candidate for President starting in the summer.

3. MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: Our campaign has recently been featured on several media outlets:

• Santa Fe New Mexican: April 9, 2008: Wildlife Group Targets NM Senate Race
• Associated Press, Las Cruces Sun News, KOAT-ABC7 TV and KVIA-ABC7 TV: April 10, 2008: Environmental group targets NM Republican Senate candidates
• Albuquerque Journal: April 10, 2008: Jeff Jones’ Reporter’s Notebook
• Environment & Energy News: April 15, 2008: Defenders of Wildlife Fires First Shot in NM Senate Race
• Blogs: Democracy for New Mexico, New Mexico FBIHOP, Steve Terrell's Web Log, and Daily Kos.

Thank you for your support, and together, let’s win this darn thing!

Ed Yoon
New Mexico Campaign Manager
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
www.2Bad4NM.org

See some of our previous posts on Defenders of Wildlife's activities in New Mexico here, here, and here.

Technorati Tags:Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Tom Udall, NM-Sen, U.S. Senate, political action

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

Celebrate Emerge NM Class of '08 at Friday Reception

From Emerge NM:
We want to thank each and every one of you who helped to spread the word about Emerge NM during these past few months. With your help, we are proud to introduce our 2008 participants! Please celebrate with us this Friday nite at a reception in ABQ - and help us to welcome the women in emergeNM's 2008 class:

EMERGE NM 2008 RECEPTION
JOIN US AS WE PRESENT
The 2008 CLASS PARTICIPANTS
When: Friday, April 18, 2008
Where: 9103 Lynx Loop NE, Albuquerque
Time: 6:30 PM

The suggested $50 donation will be used to train Democratic women to run for public office and win! Emerge NM 2008 class includes:

Erika Anderson
Sara Attleson
Kelley Burns
Rosemary Cosgrove Aguilar
Nancy Denker
Miriam Diemer
Catherine Jabar
Julie Lucero
Helen Maestas
Lisa McNiven
Hazel Mella
Diana Montoya Boyer
Loretta Naranjo Lopez
Alejandra Nava
Yvette Ramirez Ammerman
Angela Reynolds
Stephanie Richard
Reena Szczepanski

Onward and forward,
Anathea Chino, President, Emerge New Mexico 

Directions to 9103 Lynx Loop from Paseo del Norte & Tramway

1.  Go South on Tramway to San Bernardino (1st traffic light).  Turn left/east.

2.  Follow San Bernardino to Tramway Lane (first stop sign). Turn Right.

3.  Follow Tramway Lane through the next stop sign (at Deer Road) and turn on Lynx Loop (second and third lefts after the stop sign).

The house is on the north side of the street.  We share an entrance to our driveway with our neighbors (9102). Our driveway is the long driveway on the right. The house is set back from the street. There is a second story balcony facing the street.

Emerge Alums Running for Office
Please contact each woman individually to find out more about her campaign and how you can get involved

Christina Argyres: Metro Court Judge
Committee to Elect Christina P. Argyres,
1200 Georgia NE, ABQ 87110
(505) 245-7063

Karen Giannini: State House District 30
(505) 480-9766

Roxanne Lara:
Eddy County Commission District 5
Lara for Commissioner, 310 N Canyon, Carlsbad 88220
(575) 628-8248 or (575) 706-3879, votelara@windstream.net

Janice Saxton: State House District 22
123 Juniper Road, Placitas 87043 jnjsaxton@msn.com

LaVerne Wyaco: State Senate District 4
Committee to Elect LaVerne Wyaco,
PO Box 1720, Gallup 87305, www.lavernewyaco.com

Technorati Tags:Emerge New Mexico, New Mexico, women candidates, women in politics

Action Alert: Environmental Issues at Monday's ABQ City Council Meeting

From Environment New Mexico:
Fewer words spoken about politics are more important to remember than that quote from Tip O'Neill, longtime Speaker of the House in the U.S. Congress: "All politics is local." There's a great opportunity for progress on key environmental issues coming up at the local level next week -- right here in Albuquerque.

This coming Monday, April 21, the Albuquerque City Council* will be considering measures dealing with:

• developer subsidies for sprawling subdivisions
• toxic mining on our public lands**
• conserving New Mexico's limited water supply

That's a lot to cover in one meeting, and we need your help! By attending next week's City Council meeting you'll be letting your Councilor know that you support the important environmental protections being considering and improve their chance of passage.

Please RSVP today for next week's City Council meeting and let me know you'll be joining me in standing up for New Mexico's environment by clicking here. Here are the details for the meeting:

• WHAT: Albuquerque City Council meeting
• WHEN: 5 PM, Monday April 21, 2008
• WHERE: Vincent Griego Chambers, Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Government Building, 1 Civic Plaza, Albuquerque, NM, 87101 (map)
• WHO: You and your friends and family that care about New Mexico's environment

We expect the meeting to last several hours and you'll be able to provide public comment on each bill by signing up in the back of the room. You'll also be able to meet up with other local Environment New Mexico members. Look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,
Lauren Ketcham
Environment New Mexico Advocate
LaurenK@environmentnewmexico.org
www.environmentnewmexico.org

P.S. Please feel free to share this message with your family and friends.

BACKGROUND
* For the agenda of the City Council meeting visit: here
** For more information on our work to protect public lands from harmful mining practices visit: here

Technorati Tags:Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque City Council, Environment New Mexico, mining, water

Tonight on KNME's New Mexico In Focus

Regular panelists Margaret Montoya and Jim Scarantino
wait to head into the studio.

I have my second go-around as a guest panelist on tonight's New Mexico In Focus. Once again it was a stimulating, fun and rather nerve-wracking experience. Tune in if you get a chance and let me know how I did. I'm really still a newbie at this kind of thing, so go easy on me. Please. Thankfully the show's regulars and crew are good at making the new face at the table feel right at home.

On KNME's ‘In Focus tonight, the main topic is the 66th anniversary of the Bataan Death March. Host David Alire Garcia sits down with several Death March survivors. Hear their stories, and get perspective on their efforts from some of the state's top military leaders. The program airs Friday, April 11 at 7 PM and repeats Sunday, April 13 at 6:30 AM.

This week’s guests on the weekly news magazine are Ed Baca, former adjutant general of the New Mexico National Guard; John M. Garcia, secretary of Veterans Affairs; and Bataan veterans Ernesto Montoya, Charles Naslund, William Overmier, Tony Reyna and Don Schloat.

In The Line segment of the show, topics include General Patraeus and the American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, a look at the New Mexico Congressional races and the spaceport. Barbara Wold, blogger for Democracy for New Mexico, will be a featured panelist, joining host Gene Grant, Albuquerque Journal columnist, and regular panelists Margaret Montoya, UNM School of Law / UNM School of Medicine; Scott Darnell, communication director, Republican Party of New Mexico, and Jim Scarantino, Weekly Alibi columnist.

‘New Mexico In Focus’ discussions are unedited. However, in some programs, certain segments may run long. These segments, and additional footage, can be seen at: https://www.knme.org/newmexicoinfocus.

‘New Mexico In Focus’ is Channel 5’s prime-time news magazine show covering events, issues and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest. The one-hour show brings viewers important topics of our time in an integrated and cohesive package.

See my previous post about guesting on the show this past December.

Technorati Tags:Albuquerque, New Mexico, KNME, public tv, talk shows, New Mexico In Focus

NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico Seeks Summer Intern

From NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico:

Young Woman of Color Pro-Choice Summer Scholarship
May 19- August 8, 2008
Seeking an enthusiastic young woman of color to intern at the NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico Albuquerque office for the summer. Reach out, educate, and take action with people in the pro-choice community. Learn firsthand about non-profit political work. The summer intern will assist with recruiting, training, and staffing of volunteers. She or he will also help us to identify and recruit new pro-choice members, provide materials and information to the community, and help to develop programs.

Application deadline: May 7, 2008. Work load is 20 hours per week and compensation is $8 per hour.

Duties might include but are not limited to:

• Organizing and recruiting volunteers for administrative tasks and tabling events
• Organizing educational materials for and participate in tabling and community outreach events
• Phone banking, data entry, and some canvassing
• Assisting with administrative duties as needed
• Working some evenings and weekends. Flexible schedule is a must

Intern Qualifications:

• Commitment to the full range of reproductive choices - including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and access to legal abortion
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency at entering computer data and creating flyers
• Fluency in Spanish a plus
• Demonstrated leadership skills
• Demonstrated ability to prioritize and handle a variety of projects simultaneously
• Young women of color will be given primary consideration

Contact:  Ambrosia Ortiz, Field Organizer, at 505-243-4443 or email her at aortiz@prochoicenm.org for an application.

Please forward this to your personal network!

The Mission of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico is to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.

Bernalillo County Clerk Announces Expanded Early In-Person Voting for Primary

From Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Bernalillo County Clerk:
Registered voters of Bernalillo County will have the opportunity to vote early at 16 different locations throughout the County in the upcoming June 3rd Primary Election. Click for (pdf).

Only those who have registered as a Democrat or as a Republican by Tuesday, May 6, 2008 can participate in this election. In order to register to vote, individuals may call the County Clerk’s office at 505-468-1291 to request a form be sent to them or they may and fill out a form in-person in the Clerk’s office at One Civic Plaza, NW, 6th Floor. The County Clerk’s office encourages individuals to fill out registration forms in person in order to expedite processing.

County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver has expanded Early Voting opportunities from the statutorily mandated 12 locations to 16 locations. In addition, she has increased the average size of each location by 2000 square feet in order to accommodate more voters at each location.

“Expanding Early Voting has been a top priority for me since my appointment to this position,” said County Clerk ToulouseOliver, “The goal in selecting these sites was for most voters in the County to have access to an Early Voting site within a two mile radius of where they live.”

Early In-Person Absentee Voting begins May 6th at the County Clerk’s Office Annex in downtown Albuquerque – 620 Lomas, NW. The hours of operation for this location are as follows:

• Tuesday May 6 – Friday May 9:            8:00am – 5:00pm
• Monday May 12 – Friday May 16:         8:00am – 5:00pm
• Monday May 19 – Friday May 23:         8:00am – 5:00pm
• Monday May 26 – Friday May 30:         8:00am – 5:00pm
• Saturday May 31:                             10:00am – 6:00pm

Early In-Person Voting at satellite locations throughout the County will begin on Saturday May 17th at the following locations:

Tijeras City Hall
12 Camino Municipal - Tijeras

Paradise Hills Community Center
5901 Paradise Blvd NW

Los Ranchos Villa
6601 4th St NW Suites A,B, C

Coors Plaza
3200 Coors NW Suite A

Integrity Plaza
1512 Wyoming NE Suites F&G

Plaza Paseo Del Norte
9231 Coors NW Suite R-8

Siesta Hills Shopping Center
5407 Gibson SE

Del Norte Shopping Center
7120 Wyoming NE Suite 16

Market Center East
11110 Lomas NE Suite E-4

98th & Central Shopping Center
120 98th St NW Suite B-5

Goff Plaza
1720 Bridge SW Suite G

Daskalos Shopping Center
5339 & 5339A Menaul NE

Juan Tabo Plaza
11012 Montgomery NE

CNM – South Valley Campus
5816 Isleta Blvd., SW

University of New Mexico
Student Union Building

The hours of operation for Early in Person voting at these satellite locations are as follows:

• Saturday May 17:                           10:00am – 6:00pm
• Tuesday May 20 – Friday May 23:    12:00pm – 8:00pm
• Saturday May 24:                           10:00am – 6:00pm
• Tuesday May 27 – Friday May 30:    12:00pm – 8:00pm
• Saturday May 31:                           10:00am – 6:00pm

For more information on Early Voting for the June 3rd 2008 Primary Election, please visit the Bernalillo County Clerk’s website at https://www.bernco.gov/clerk, or contact the Clerk’s Office at (505) 468.1291 or clerk@bernco.gov.

Voting by mail-in absentee ballot begins on May 6, 2008. To request a ballot if you live in Bernalillo County, contact the Bernalillo County Clerk as noted in the previous paragraph.

For information on early in-person voting and absentee mail-in ballot voting in other counties, contact your County Clerk. Click for a listing of contact information for all County Clerks in New Mexico.

To check if you are registered to vote, visit Voter View online or call your county clerk. Click for more information on registering to vote in New Mexico.

Hillary in ABQ: One Hour Plus, 200 Dems, $150,000

Clinton cups her ear as reporters ask her about Mark Penn at Albuquerque's Sunport after her fundraiser (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

The price of admission to the fundraiser for Hillary Clinton Sunday afternoon at former Ambassador Ed Romero's home in Albuquerque was given as either $2300 (the maximum that can be donated by an individual to a candidate in the primary cycle), or $1000 for "friends." According to a story in the Albuquerque Journal, about 200 "elite Dems" (obviously NOT including Gov. Bill Richardson) attended the event, and more than $150,000 was reportedly raised for Clinton's campaign. That comes out to about $750 per attendee, nowhere near the suggested donation levels per person if the numbers are correct. If each donor gave even the lower suggested amount, the event should have raised $200,000. A number of attendees reportedly brought their children or grandchildren so maybe that accounts in part for the lower per person figure. The hosts, however, seemed pleased:

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, one of the co-hosts of the fundraiser, said $150,000 was an initial goal but added it appeared Sunday's total will be more than that. "We exceeded our goal," said Romero, who served as ambassador under Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton. "Everybody's happy with (the event), including the candidate."

According to the Journal story, Clinton was gung ho about her chances in the race:

"I want to tell you, the campaign is going so well," Clinton said. She said anyone who believes she should bow out of her race against Barack Obama, who leads in the delegate count, should take a lesson from college basketball's Final Four.

"Why should anybody play North Carolina? You saw what happened last night," Clinton said, referring to Kansas' upset win over the Tar Heels.

A major problem with her analogy, however, is that there are only so many "points" available for her to win in the remaining primary cycle. Unless Clinton achieves miraculous results in the 10 remaining contests -- as in 65-35 splits in every state -- she won't have enough pledged delegates or enough of the total popular vote to overtake Obama's leads in those categories. Her only hope would seem to be to convince enough superdelegates to back her so she can best Obama in total delegates, despite the will of the voters. Or she could hold out hoping that the Obama campaign implodes in a dramatic fashion, with our without assistance from her campaign.

Arriving around 4:30 PM, Hillary spent a little more than an hour at the reception in Albuquerque's foothills, having jetted in from a previous event in Montana on a day when news broke that Mark Penn was forced to relinquish his role as the chief strategist in her campaign. According to Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams, Penn himself, as well as his polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, will still be involved in the campaign but in a diminished role.

At the Sunport after event. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

According to a Washington Post story:

Penn had been a polarizing figure within the Clinton campaign for months because of his personality as well as his strategic vision, but his departure came as a result of another continuing controversy -- the conflicts of interest that resulted from his representing major clients as president of Burson-Marsteller, the giant public relations firm, while working for Clinton.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Penn had met with Colombia's ambassador to the United States to discuss promotion of a free-trade agreement, one that Clinton opposes. Penn apologized Friday for an "error in judgment," and the Colombian government responded a day later by firing Burson-Marsteller.

... Joe Trippi, a senior adviser for the presidential campaign of former senator John Edwards (N.C.), said Penn's decision to keep leading Burson-Marsteller while working for Clinton never made much sense.

"The only real question was, why did it not happen sooner?" Trippi said of Penn's ouster. "The conflicts have been a problem for the campaign from the start."

National Politicos Converging on New Mexico

Hillary Clinton will be jetting in and out of Albuquerque on Sunday for a big-ticket fundraiser organized by former Ambassador to Spain, Ed Romero:

At Clinton's fundraiser, invitees will pay $2,300 to be "sponsors," while "friends" pay $1,000 for the catered event of Spanish tapas, wine and sherry. Romero declined to say how much Clinton hopes to raise.

The guest list will include Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, former state Democratic Party chairman John Wertheim and former Ambassador Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame, who says she was outed as a CIA operative after her husband criticized the Bush administration's handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq.

Payback for Gov. Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama? I wouldn't be surprised. What I am surprised about is that the hosts are seeking funds for Clinton's lagging prez campaign at a time when local cash donations are in high demand here. With all three U.S. House seats and Domenici's U.S. Senate seat up for grabs, Dem candidates in New Mexico are scrambling hard for contributions, especially after so many resources went to support Gov. Richardson's prez run. Reports are abundant that the Clinton campaign is running out of cash and delaying payments to vendors, as pressure builds from many quarters for her to withdraw from an increasingly unwinnable race and Obama continues to snag endorsements from prominent superdelegates.

GOP Tamaya Huddle
Meanwhile, out at Santa Ana Pueblo's Hyatt Regency Tamaya near Bernalillo we've got a big meeting going on this week of the GOP State Party Chairs from all over the nation, led by Republican National Committee Chair Mike Duncan (right). Duncan has made it clear that the Repubs will be targeting New Mexico with everything they've got in the 2008 election cycle:

"New Mexico is a battleground target state for us," Republican National Committee chairman Mike Duncan told The Associated Press. "We recognize it's going to be an important state for us."

Darren White: GOP Beltway Fave
Besides touting the prez campaign of John McCain, the RNC is also taking sides early and rallying around the Congressional candidacy of Darren White in NM-01 -- to the detriment of the Party's other primary candidate, State Sen. Joe Carraro.

It's unusual for the national or state party to openly take sides in a contested primary race, but Duncan said party rules allow that when requested by a state's RNC members. New Mexico's three RNC members, who include state chairman Allen Weh, submitted a letter to the national party asking it to treat White as the presumptive nominee. The letter was sent after White received 85 percent of the vote of delegates at the party's preprimary nominating convention in mid-March.

Of course the RNC will be pushing hard for Darren White -- he was the Bush campaign's chair in Bernalillo County in 2004. Repub bigwigs know that Darren's loyalty will always be given first and foremost to the Beltway rightwing establishment. If elected (heaven forbid), he'll be a dependable supporter of the insider Repub agenda whether it benefits New Mexicans or not. White has always answered to the demands of the GOP extremists in DC. What's worse is that he seems to sincerely believe in the policies that have brought us a quagmire in Iraq, an economic tsunami at home, a compromised Constitution, a broken health care system and a dearth of good-paying jobs.

Tonight & Sunday: Last Two Town Hall Meetings with NM Sen. Ortiz y Pino

The last two in a series of four town hall meetings with NM District 12 Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino (and possibly additional guests and elected officials) are set for tonight and Sunday, each covering a different topic. Come and hear about what did (and didn't!) happen during the 2008 Legislative Session. For more information: 505-256-0668 or desibrown@comcast.net.

Wednesday, April 2, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Townhall Meeting on Electoral and Ethics Issues. It takes place at Heights Community Center (824 Buena Vista SE - Albuquerque).

Sunday, April 6, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Townhall Meeting on Health Care Issues. It takes place at Senator Ortiz y Pino's residence (400 12th Street NW - Albuquerque).