Democracy for New Mexico

4/14: OFA-NM ABQ Westside Office Opening Party

Ray Sandoval of OFA-NM has some exciting news: We have a brand-new home for our work in New Mexico.

We're opening a new office on the west side of Albuquerque on Saturday, and I hope you'll come celebrate with us. You'll get to meet other supporters who are committed to re-electing the President, and there'll be music and plenty of refreshments to go around.

So what are you doing on Saturday? Stop by our Albuquerque Westside office opening celebration.

Here are the details:

What: Office opening party in Albuquerque Westside
Where: OFA-NM office - Albuquerque Westside
3809 Atrisco Dr. NW Suite A
Albuquerque, NM 87120
When: Saturday, April 14th
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

One of my favorite things about being a part of this organization is the people -- from just-won't-quit staffers and volunteers, to the folks we meet at the door or chat with on the phone. It's because of people like them stepping up that we are able to build this movement in neighborhood after neighborhood, here in New Mexico and across the country.

And what's brought us all together is believing in a common cause -- organizing to help President Obama and other Democrats win this fall.

The new office in Albuquerque will be the scene of all that hard work for the next seven months. But on Saturday, we're getting together to just hang out and get to know each other. We don't get to do that enough, which is why you should come out and be a part of it.

RSVP for our office opening party on Saturday here:
https://my.barackobama.com/Albuquerque-Office-Opening

4/13: Celebrate our New OFA-NM Office in Rio Rancho

From OFA-NM:

This election is heating up all over the country, and the organization we're putting together in New Mexico will make a big difference this November.

Whether you're just starting to get involved in this organization or you've been pounding the pavement to talk to voters for months, now is the perfect time to meet up with other supporters to celebrate the opening of our brand-new office in Rio Rancho.

Come out and help build this office from the start:

What: Rio Rancho office opening
Where: OFA-NM Rio Rancho office 2218 Southern Blvd. SE Rio Rancho, NM 87124
When: Friday, April 13th 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

We won't work you too hard this Friday -- there's plenty of hard work to do in the months ahead. We'll relax and chat about the issues that matter most here, like affordable health care and support for the middle class.

This new office in Rio Rancho will be the local hub for building our base of volunteers, connecting with undecided voters, and helping make sure we secure the 270 electoral votes we need for a win on November 6th. Our state has the power to make a real impact in this election for Democrats up and down the ticket -- but it won't happen unless we get our organizing off the ground in New Mexico now.

It's time to prepare for the tough fight ahead -- so don't miss the office kickoff in Rio Rancho on Friday: https://nm.barackobama.com/Rio-Rancho-Office-Opening

PPP Poll: Obama's NM Approval at 50%, "Dark Horse" Gary Johnson Fares Best Among GOP Possibles

Obama in Albuquerque last fall

Survey results released today by Public Policy Polling show that President Barack Obama still leads the pack of "serious" 2012 GOP contenders in New Mexico (full results here):

Like the Senate race, the presidential contest in New Mexico has gotten closer since PPP last polled this nominal swing state in February, but only two of the potential Republican nominees make it a single-digit race—the frontrunner and a favorite son dark horse.

As for Obama's approval ratings here

50% of voters in the state approve of the job Obama's doing to 44% who disapprove. When PPP polled New Mexico in February Obama was at a 55/40 spread. Since then he's seen a significant decline in his standing with independents, from 60% giving him good marks to just 49%. And he's also seen a more modest drop with Democrats, from 77% pleased with his performance to 72%.

Regarding the President's "serious" GOP rivals:

Obama's still a strong favorite against any of the serious Republican candidates for President though. Only Mitt Romney fares significantly better than John McCain did in 2008 when he lost the state by 15 points. He trails the President by 7 points at 49-42. Obama blows away the rest of the field- he leads Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty by 15 points each at 52-37 and 51-36 respectively, has a 16 point advantage over Herman Cain at 52-36, and trounces Sarah Palin by 20 points at 56-36.

New Mexico's former governor Gary Johnson actually does better against Obama than Romney, but he's not considered a "serious" contender by PPP:

... one GOP candidate who is an asterisk in national polling actually comes closer to Obama than he [Romney] does- the state's former Governor Gary Johnson who trails by only 3 points at 46-43. Although Obama leads the rest of the Republican candidates by 16-26 points with independents, Johnson actually tops the President with that voter group at 46-37. He also picks up more than 20% of the Democratic vote. 

... Johnson's unusually popular for a Republican...with voters who aren't Republicans...his problem is the primary voters who hold the key to the nomination. Numbers we'll release tomorrow show he's not doing terribly well on that front even in his home state.

PPP notes that:

While independents gave the President leads of 25-51 points in the previous survey, and voted for him by 15 over McCain (according to exit polls), he now leads by only 16-26 against the more prominent candidates and trails Johnson by nine with unaffiliated voters. The president has also slipped a little with his own party, which makes up more than half of voters. While he was pulling 73-86% of Democrats in February and losing only 12-19% of them to the Republicans, he now locks up only 70-80% of his partisans and erodes 13-21%.

But there is more crossover support on both sides; both Obama and McCain won 91% of their respective parties, and the president has bumped up from a 10% to a 16% approval rating with Republicans since February, and jumped from 7-12% of their vote to 10-18%.

PPP's bottom line:

Out of the Bush 2004/Obama 2008 states New Mexico seems the least likely to flip back to the Republicans in 2012.

PPP used automated phone calls to survey 732 New Mexico voters from June 23th to 26th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.6%.

Photo by M.E. Broderick.

6/3: Meet OFA New Mexico's 35 New Summer Organizers

From Raymond Sandoval, New Mexico State Director, Organizing for America:

You are cordially invited to our Organizing for America NM Headquarters, in Nob Hill Albuquerque, to meet our 35 new Summer Organizers!

On Friday evening June 3, 2011 at 6:00 PM, please come to our office for a "Celebration of Dedication," to welcome the talented individuals who are going to be working around the Land of Enchantment this summer. We have organizers coming from several states, along with some great New Mexican local talent. 

Our Summer Organizers will start their training on Saturday morning, so let's show them our hospitality. We will have great New Mexican food and games to enjoy but it's also a potluck, so please bring your favorite dish to share.

WHEN: Friday, June 3, 2011 at 6:00 PM
WHERE: OFA NM HEADQUARTERS, 115 Montclaire SE, ABQ 
CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS 
WHAT: Meet, Greet and Eat with our Summer Organizers 
RSVP:  PLEASE RSVP BY CLICKING HERE

National Day of Remembrance and Hope for Those Who Die for Lack of Health Care

From Health Action New Mexico:

Join Us and Let Our Voices Be Heard!

People of Faith and People of Conscience are gathering
across New Mexico to observe
the National Day of Remembrance and Hope
for the 45,000 children, women and men who die
every year in this country for lack of health care.
FACTS ALONE DO NOT PERSUADE.
By telling their stories we hope to make it imperative
for every member of Congress with a conscience
to vote “yes” for health care reform that is
inclusive, affordable, accessible, accountable,
and works for all of us.

Sponsored by the NM Conference of Churches
with Health Action NM, IATSE-Local 480,
NM Voices for Children, Community Action NM,
NM Alliance for Retired Americans, Somos Un Pueblo Unidos,
Working America, American Federation of Teachers-NM,
NM Health Care for All, NM Coalition to End Homelessness,
AFL/CIO-NM, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM,
AFSCME-NM, Interfaith Leadership Alliance of Santa Fe,
Communications Workers of America-Local 7076, and more.

See below the fold for events in Las Cruces tonight, in Albuquerque on Thursday and in Santa Fe on Saturday.

WHERE: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
225 W. Griggs Ave., Las Cruces
WHEN: Tuesday, October 20th, at 7 PM
CONTACT: The Reverend Joe Whitley, 575-526-6689

WHERE: Monte Vista Christian Church
3501 Campus Blvd. NE, Albuquerque
WHEN: Thursday, October 22, at 7 PM
CONTACT: The Reverend Stephen Miller, 505-366-9351

WHERE: Temple Beth Shalom
205 E. Barcelona Road, Santa Fe
WHEN: Saturday, October 24, at 7 PM
CONTACT: Rabbi Marvin Schwab, 505-982-1376

These events are part of “A National Day of Remembrance and Hope” sponsored by members of the Faithful Reform in Health Care coalition. The observance is part of a larger nationwide day of action sponsored by numerous groups that are calling for a renewed commitment to make inclusive and affordable health care reform a reality this year. Visit the website at www.faithfulreform.org for more information.

Santa Fe's Campaign Trash Goes to Washington for Inauguration

During a time of slow political news (and my own laziness), I thought I'd give you a chuckle with this nugget. Who knew that some of Northern New Mexico's campaign trash would end up at the Green Inaugural Ball in Washington in the form of "couture" recycled fashion? According to an article in the New Mexico Business Journal:

The “Campaign for Change Couture Collection” — the newest collection of high-fashion garments made from recycled materials by Santa Fe artist and environmental educator Nancy Judd — will be featured at the Green Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C. on January 17. The collection will also appear at a reception in the nation’s capitol to honor the New Mexico Congressional delegation on January 19.

Garments in the collection are fashioned from discarded campaign materials that Judd, a dedicated Obama volunteer for six months, collected by “dumpster diving” behind the Obama campaign headquarters in northern New Mexico following the presidential election.

You can learn more about Judd's Campaign for Change Collection, as well as what she calls her Recycle Runway project, at her website. Recycle Runway is dedicated to the ingenious re-use of items tossed in the trash to create cleverly made, high fashion outfits that are displayed to get people thinking about creative recycling. Can't argue with that.

It's Official: Obama-Biden Win New Mexico's 5 Electoral Votes

Brian Colón at Espanola Obama rally

Not that there was any real doubt, but the formal electoral ballot ritual is now complete in New Mexico, and we have a winning ticket. Today at noon, New Mexico Presidential Electors -- Chairman Brian S. Colón, Democratic Party Vice-Chair Annadelle Sanchez, Democratic Party Treasurer Tom Buckner, Democratic Party Secretary Christy French and Secretary Alvin Warren of the state Indian Affairs Department -- gathered to submit their electoral ballots to elect President Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Secretary of State Mary Herrera welcomed New Mexico's Presidential Electors, who met in Santa Fe to fulfill their statutory and Constitutional duties to the electoral college system.

Chairman Brian Colón expressed his excitement, saying "I am deeply honored that we were able to take part in such a historic moment and I am proud to have cast my vote to officially elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden. I want to thank Secretary Herrera for her help during this process and for her work, along with the 33 New Mexico County Clerks, who ran a smooth and professional election in November."

The Presidential Electors were nominated by Chairman Colon and confirmed by the Democratic Party of New Mexico's State Central Committee. Because Barack Obama and Joe Biden prevailed in the State of New Mexico, the state's Democratic Party nominees became Presidential Electors. Electoral ballots were passed out to the Presidential Electors, who in turn officially represented New Mexicans' vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

A similar process took place today in all 50 states as 538 members of the Electoral College convened, most at their respective state capitals, to formally cast the ballots that will put Obama in the White House. The states then send the electoral votes to the president of the U.S. Senate for the official count next month. If all goes according to plan, Obama should end up with 365 electoral votes to Republican John McCain’s 173. Onward to January 20th!

Guest Blog: He Absolutely HAD to be a 'Community Organizer'

This is a guest blog by Hakim Bellamy, an Albuquerque poet, freelance journalist and community organizer who currently works for the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs, and who serves as Poetry Coach at South Valley Academy.

My good friend over at SouthWest Organizing Project (www.swop.net), Tomas Garduno, articulated this entire article for me the eve of the election on VOTE LIKE A ROCKSTAR: The After School Special which aired on Channel 27. In talking about the work that SWOP does in the community he said, “Groups like SWOP have been doing the work in the community long before Senator Obama made it popular to be a ‘community organizer.’” In that one sentence he beat me to the punch. Not the punchline or the story line even, but the fist extended into the air as WE, the community organizers, stand and be recognized for the work we did to make this historic candidacy possible and the work we’ll continue to do long after Senator Obama is president-elect.

What do I mean? I mean to say that the Obama Campaign was brilliantly strategized. Hats off to Chairman Dean, Axelrod and Plouffe! Their brilliance lies in the fact that they did not try to reinvent the wheel. At the same time, they did not parachute campaign either (as I might argue that the Republicans have been very effective at doing in the past). Meaning, they don’t just drop into your town every four years to stump issues and plant seeds of fear, desperation or misplaced nationalism. Only to ransom your vote and then leave right after they’ve won the race, never to be heard from again until the next election cycle ... though they supposedly get regular input from their constituency in order to represent you? That was the old “successful” model, now reminisced as the “last campaigns of the 20th century,” while the Obama Camp has ushered in the “1st campaign of the 21st century.”

How so? Because they were smart enough to realize that they needed to use people already on the ground in “real American” communities all across the nation. But these people already in the trenches and fighting the wars AT HOME, aren’t easily swayed by perfect smiles, shiny shoes and fancy-shmancy check signing pens. These people have a certain disdain for those with authority and from government, who have often said they have come to “help,” only to leave the place worse off than they found it (kinda like parachute campaigning). These are people who have already enacted change in their communities on a local level and have a history of holding public officials accountable. People who have already had change they could believe in, because they are the agents of change in their communities. They have seen it, lived it and on a national level, waited for it for a very long time.

Why Obama? Because he is the first candidate that knows where we, these people, are coming from. He had to be one of us. He needed our buy-in to give his campaign legs in the community and, in order to get that, he needed us to believe. His story was one that folks in groups like SWOP, Common Cause, New Mexico Youth Organized, NM Hip Hop Congress, Young Women United and many others could believe in. Primarily because we lived it and we can smell when someone is falsely depicting or trying to capitalize off of our “everyday.” It’s like when you’re from the streets and you hear someone talking about said “streets” and three sentences in, you know for sure that they have never spent a day on the “streets” in their life. That’s not gangsta at all.

Why has it worked? Because we already had networks established. We have our own grassroots ground games. We already cultivated an organized, informed and active base of citizens who will get up out of their homes and do what it takes to carry their neighborhoods, communities, families and schools forward. Tapping into these networks was essential for the Obama Campaign to get to this point. We are the ones out registering the record numbers of voters, convincing our gang-banging cousins to register, walking our neighbors with felonies down the path of re-enfranchisement. We are the opinion leaders in our social circles and personal relationships talking the issues with those we care about because their future is important to us. And that carries more weight than billions of dollars in TV commercials. It means more when it comes from someone you have suffered side by side with in the same economically depressed neighborhood for the past 8 years than from someone flown in from Boston to canvass your block for the past 8 weeks.

The Obama campaign understood this. Why? Because Obama understands this and quite frankly, “birds of a feather ....” So stand up and take your bow community organizers. No matter what race, sex or nationality you are, one of ours has made it to the eleventh hour of the presidential race because of you. Because of us. We’ve been the change we wanted to see in the world for some time and now, finally, the world is starting to look like us. Our work is not in vain, and as President–Elect Obama will realize on November 5th, neither was his. And maybe, just maybe, you, me and Tomas will all have to get bodyguards and paparazzi protection because after Tuesday, it will be DAMN sexy to be a “community organizer.”

This is a guest blog by Hakim Bellamy, who is a two-time National Champion in the Poetry Slam scene. Hakim’s poetry and journalism have been published internationally as well as his radio journalism on KUNM 89.9FM out of Albuquerque, NM. He is currently working for the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs and is a board member for Poetic Justice Institute and Black Cowgirl Productions as well.

He is most proud of being the Poetry Club coach at South Valley Academy. His poetry has been published in Albuquerque inner-city buses as a winner of the RouteWords Competition (2005). His poetry has also been published in the Harwood Anthology (2006), the Earthships Anthology (2007), Sin Fronteras Journal (2008), A Bigger Boat published by UNM Press (2008) and Looking Back at Place (2008). In January, Bellamy was recognized as an honorable mention for the University of New Mexico Paul Bartlett Re Peace Prize for his work as a community organizer and freelance journalist. Hakim has written for the Alibi, Local-iQ and numerous webzines. He currently is regular writer for The District and BOOM Magazines.

**If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper left-hand corner of the page.**

Message from State Auditor Hector Balderas

Hector and family with Caroline Kennedy
when she visited NM to campaign for Obama

This is a guest blog by New Mexico State Auditor Hector Balderas, who worked hard and long all over the state to help elect Barack Obama and Democrats up and down the ticket. If you were following my posting of campaign and GOTV events, then you saw Hector's name over and over again. I'm sure many of you got to meet Hector over the course of the campaign season. If you did, I'm sure you'll agree that he's a smart, dedicated and caring human being, as well as one of the Dem Party's rising stars in New Mexico.

This week, our nation witnessed a historic election. Record numbers of New Mexicans and Americans throughout the country exercised their right to vote and actively changed the course of this nation.

I had the privilege of traveling throughout New Mexico the last several months in support of President-elect Barack Obama. From Raton to Las Cruces, Albuquerque to Las Vegas, I witnessed first-hand the best of the American spirit -- a commitment to stand up when times are tough and fight for the future of our country.

I wanted to personally thank you for your hard work and dedication. Together, we must continue to work on the very important issues that face America and build a stronger state and nation. Through our commitment, we will create a lasting legacy that we can be proud of for future generations to come.

Hector and Santa Fe Obama volunteers
during surprise visit from Michelle Obama

Voting in Ward 24A, Precinct 462, Albuquerque

Hillary was sandwiched by two Palins at Kelly's last Friday

Mission accomplished! We voted at about 11:30 AM today at Sombra del Monte elementary as part of Precinct 462 in Ward 24A in the Northeast Heights in Albuquerque. Our ballots were numbered the 59th and 60th in our Precinct. No lines. No fuss. No muss. The optical scanner took each of our ballots on the first try. The scene was typical for our polling place on Election Day as so many in our area vote absentee and, this year, I'm sure many voted early. Sheesh, it felt good to finally fill in those circles on the paper ballot!

We drove past a few other polling places in the far and near Heights and it was a similar scene. A fair number of parked cars, but no lines. We also scanned the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall and the office of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, both on San Pedro near Zuni. Lots of cars in the parking lots; apparent that many were out doing GOTV in the neighborhoods. Same thing at the Obama campaign office in Nob Hill, where there were tables set up outside for canvassers to check in and out.

Clark Kent was out and about Friday too. Watch out for him at the DPNM party at the Convention Center tonight

In cruising around various neighborhoods, we saw WAY more Obama signs than McCain ones. There were also signifcantly more Tom Udall and Jason Marks signs than their opponents. There were fewer Heinrich signs, especially near polling places, where there were often lots of White signs packed together. 

We rode around Tim Eichenberg's district and saw his distinctive red signs all over the place, in a variety of sizes. We didn't see one single Diane Snyder sign. All rather surprising (and satisfying), considering how Republican much of the NE Heights has been in recent years. We even saw one car with a Republicans for Obama bumpersticker and traded horn beeps with the driver.

Mary Ellen's car is packed with stickers, but the only negative attention we got was from a toothless guy who put his head out his car window  and yelled at us to "stick it."

Tick, tock. Returns from Eastern states will start rolling in a bit after 5:00 PM Mountain time. Then the nervewracking count will begin. Check out the Daily Kos Election Guide or the Swing State Project map to see which states will be reporting early on.

Photos by M.E. Broderick. Do you recognize the costumed Democrats? Click to see more from the Obama Halloween gathering at Kelly's last Friday.

One More Time: Fired Up, Ready to Go

Go ahead and click it. You know you want to. Then go take advantage of your last chance to VOLUNTEER.

Obama Ground Game in Action in Hoffmantown

Mary Ellen and I didn't vote early, even though we've encouraged folks to do just that. We like to go to our polling place in Hoffmantown in Albuquerque on election day, and we'll do so soon and let you know how it went.

We just had two very enthusiastic women at our door urging us to vote Obama. They were sporting big grins and were covered in buttons from all the candidates. They said the energy at the local Campaign for Change office on Menaul was ramped up to the max. We have Obama window and lawn signs, plus signs for Martin Heinrich, Tom Udall and Jason Marks out front, so the volunteers were pumped about that. We're easy marks, but they warned they'd be back if we didn't vote by this afternoon. The Obama ground game is rolling in the Northeast Heights!

We also had some Obama vols at the door this weekend, and a guy at our door yesterday at about 6:00 PM. We received another robocall from Obama this morning. Yesterday we had recorded messages from Barack (2), Michelle, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Tom Udall (2), Jason Marks and, I think, Gov. Richardson and/or Lt. Gov. Diane Denish. It all starts to be a blur.

Voting today? What's your experience?