Democracy for New Mexico

Action Alert: Dem Party Needs 500 Volunteers in 50 Days

Getting actively involved in this election cycle can be as easy as talking to folks who live in your neighborhood -- people within your own community, many of whom likely share your values and perspective. The Democratic Party's Neighborhood Volunteers Program will give you the tools you need to effectively reach out to folks in your area, encourage them to register to vote and convince them to cast a ballot for our candidates this November.

If we want to win, we need to work now at the neighborhood level to get people motivated and educated. Even if you've never been actively involved in politics, consider signing up with the Neighborhod Volunteers Program.

From the DPNM: The Democratic Party of New Mexico is launching a campaign to attract and activate volunteers who will help turn New Mexico blue with our Neighborhood Volunteers Program.

"The excitement is palpable as we gear up for the fall. By July 9th, we hope to have over 500 active neighborhood leaders well before the DNC convention in Denver," says Congressional District one organizer, Marisa Trujillo Demull.

Neighborhood Volunteers will be reaching targeted voters in their neighborhood through phone calls and door knocks between now and Election Day. Josephine Felder, who recently signed up as a volunteer says, "This is an historic year in New Mexico and we're seeing Democratic activism at an all time high.  People really want to be involved, take action and make sure their neighbors and other community members register to vote and help bring change to Washington."

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SD 15: John Blair Endorsed by Journal, Fundraiser Tomorrow

John Blair's campaign for NM Senate in Albuquerque's District 15 got another big boost recently when the Albuquerque Journal endorsed his candidacy in the Dem primary:

DISTRICT 15, John W. Blair: The 34-year-old Democrat is a new face on the electoral roster but has paid his dues in policy work and in other candidates' campaigns. He has worked as an aide to U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, served as chief of staff to State Auditor Hector Balderas and managed the successful statewide campaign of state Supreme Court Justice Edward Chavez

Blair is stepping out in front of his own campaign this year because "voters want change," like capital outlay funds appropriated to meet pressing needs in the district every year -- not just election years. They want health care reform, Blair says, not a power struggle over the power of appointment to a health care oversight panel. They want government that is open and responsive to the public, not to lobbyists. They want lawmakers who solve problems, Blair says. Democrats in this mid-Northeast Heights district should support John Blair.

The Journal's endorsement added to an already impressive list of endorsements John's campaign has garnered:

• The Albuquerque Teachers Federation
• AFSCME - The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
• AFT New Mexico - The American Federation of Teachers New Mexico
• DFA-Democracy for New Mexico
• NEA-NM - The National Education Association-New Mexico

If we want a smart, hard working, fair-minded and foward-thinking Democrat to take on incumbent Repub Diane Snyder this Fall, now's the time to step up and support John Blair. Here's one way:

A Reception for John Blair
Candidate for State Senate, New Mexico's 15th District
With Hosts
Mario Benavidez • Evan Blackstone • Sharon Gentry • Patrick Griebel
Robert Lara • Leanne Leith • Carla Martinez • Lori Martinez
Brian Miller • Brandt Milstein • Tiffany Oliver Leigh • Nasha Torrez
Raul Torrez • DeAnza Valencia • Jennifer Wernersbach
Tuesday, May 20th, 5:30 – 7:30 PM
O'Niell's Pub
4310 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque
(Central at Washington in East Nob Hill)
Come out for our last fundraiser before the primary!
Suggested Contribution $50
Personal or Business Checks Accepted
RSVP to (505) 944-5947 or info@johnblair.org

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Tonight: Kickoff for Santa Fe Grassroots for Obama

From Santa Fe Grassroots for Obama: JOIN US on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of May and June, starting TONIGHT:

May 19, June 2, June 16: 6:00 to 7:00 PM
Santa Fe Main Library, Community Room

The May 19th agenda will include making plans for a Santa Fe Voter Registration drive scheduled for June 28th. Please invite other Obama enthusiasts to join you. And be sure tell anyone who admires your Obama button or bumper sticker that they can get involved, too, by coming to our meetings. Click to RSVP. You can find other local Obama events and join groups at the New Mexico for Obama page on Obama's campaign website.

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Awkward Befuddlement Rules Saturday's Wilson-Pearce Debate

It bores me no end to watch Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce debate (video) as they did this past Saturday in Roswell. Judge for yourself but, to me, the event's most telling moments came with the general befuddlement produced by Wilson arguing that the moderators weren't following the rules set for the debate. Heavy. Lots of back and forth over nothing, like most of the GOP rhetoric we hear today.

The biggest tussles, according to the AP, were over Pearce's vote for the humongous farm subsidy bill and Heather's vote against it, as well as Wilson's vote of "present" on the Iraq occupation funding amendment, which Pearce voted for despite Bush's orders from on high to oppose it because of a requirement in the measure that troops start being withdrawn from Iraq in 30 days.

Heather and Steve seem to be scraping to come up with small differences between their twin-like conservative agendas, mostly making suspect and strained accusations that the other voted against something within a huge bill going through complex maneuvers in the U.S. House. Bottom line: both of them are proponents of continuing the Bush-Cheney agenda. They're against almost everything a majority of Americans are for today and for almost everything most Americans are against. That's according to extensive and detailed polling over months and months that consistently shows that most Americans agree with Democratic positions -- if they actually get a chance to hear them in the mainstream media in between the shouting heads or buried in the generally shallow print coverage.

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NM-Sen: Boots Made for Walkin' - Happy Birthday Tom Udall!

Click on photo to get the details on Tom Udall's boots

Rep. Tom Udall flew back to New Mexico yesterday for two main reasons: to cast his (paper) ballot on the first day of expanded early voting in Santa Fe for our June 3rd primary, and to celebrate his 60th birthday today with his family.

Happy Birthday, Congressman Udall! Now about those boots ....

Mary Ellen caught up with Rep. Udall at the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds where the media was invited to witness his voting. The only other person to show up was fellow-blogger Julia Goldberg. (You can read her account of the Udall voting experience here.)

Julia tried to get Udall to reveal who he's supporting in the NM-03 Congressional race and who he'll endorse for the Dem prez nomination, but it was no dice. Tom's the tall and silent type when it comes to revelations like these it seems, though he's a super friendly guy and down to earth as all get out. Take his boots, for instance. They're well worn, patched up and broken in. Udall seems as comfortable in his boots as he is in his own skin -- a trait we like in our politicos and our friends here in New Mexico.

It's clear that Tom Udall has walked many miles in his boots -- in the halls of Congress, on the campaign trail, along the sidewalks of our cities, the sandy paths of the high desert and the stream beds in the mountains. The boots tell a tale of hard work for constituents, moseying and mingling and touching base on the ground in every corner of the state.

Some slick pols like George Bush wear boots too, but they're almost always brand new boots without a crack, crease or speck of dust in sight. Udall is the real deal, as are his boots. Unlike Bush, who's afraid of horses (a fact), Udall heads out on horseback whenever he gets the chance. Martin Heinrich shared an anecdote the other day about a six-hour trail ride he enjoyed with Tom recently. Six hours. Martin admitted he had a bit of trouble walking when he finally dismounted. Tom got off the horse and didn't wince once. I bet he had his old boots on, too.

Asked about the state of his boots, Udall told the story of the famous photo of Adlai Stevenson and the hole in his shoe, worn into the leather by tireless political work and equally tireless campaigning. As Stevenson said then, better a hole in the shoe than a hole in the head. Amen.

Bucks to Honor the Boots & Birthday
To honor Tom Udall's 60th birthday today -- and show him how much we appreciate all those miles he's walked for us in his down home boots -- we're gonna donate a buck for each year that Tom's been on the planet to his Senate campaign. Click to do the same. If we want Tom Udall as our next Senator from New Mexico, we need to help him NOW. Just do it.

Oh, and about that voting yesterday ...

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NM-Sen: Udall Canvassing Off to Good Start

About 30 enthusiastic people showed up today to participate in a canvass organized by the Tom Udall for Senate campaign and the Dem Party of New Mexico in Albuquerque. There will be many more to come. Even though Udall is getting terrific polling numbers in this race, the GOP will definitely be waging a no-holds-barred battle to hang onto the Senate seat in New Mexico. We have to work hard from now until November to make sure the Dems take this seat.

It's always good to stay informed by following the poll numbers and the latest political news, but if we're not phone banking, canvassing or helping out in other ways with the campaign(s) of our choice, we can't really call ourselves activists, can we? I know -- nag, nag, nag, but it's vital we all do what we can.

Click on photos for larger versions. Photos by M.E. Broderick.

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Early In-Person Voting at Satellite Locations Begins Today

Early In-Person Absentee Voting for New Mexico's June 3rd primary began on May 6th and continues through May 31 at the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office Annex in downtown Albuquerque – 620 Lomas, NW. The hours of operation for this location are as follows:

• 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 Bernalillo County begin today, Saturday, May 17th at the following locations:

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NM-01: Blue America Welcomes Heinrich at FDL Live Blog

Join in at Firedoglake today starting at Noon Mountain time. Martin Heinrich's campaign released a new video today, which highlights his commitment to middle class issues like creating jobs and improving our economy.

NM-Sen: Albuquerque Journal Fails to Report SUSA Poll Numbers for Udall

Now there's one more reason to question the fairness of the Albuquerque Journal. In today's Political Update section, the newspaper reported the statistical tie between Steve Pearce and Heather Wilson, the GOP primary candidates in the U.S. Senate race in New Mexico, in the recent SurveyUSA poll. However, I guess they don't think that SUSA results from the same day showing Tom Udall beating both Wilson and Pearce by about 25 points are of interest to their readers because they failed to report those numbers. Just an oversight, I'm sure.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Journal also chooses to ignore the results from a new 5/14 Rasmussen poll of likely voters that shows:

Tom Udall (D): 53 (54)
Steve Pearce (R): 37 (40)

Tom Udall (D): 57 (56)
Heather Wilson (R): 36 (36)

(4/8 Rasmussen results in parentheses)

Technorati Tags:Tom Udall, Steve Pearce, Heather Wilson, NM-Sen, New Mexico, Rasmussen, SurveyUSA, Albuquerque Journal

5/22: East Mountain Ward Hosts Dem Candidate Forum

From Ron Humphreys, Ward Chair: Ward 20C, which includes many  parts of the Bernalillo County East Mountain area southeast, from Carnuel to Chilili, will be having a forum to allow the candidates for office to express their qualifications. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish will lead off the meeting. The meeting will be held at Los Vecinos Community Center in Tijeras, (1/4 mile west of the stop light), from 6:30-9:30 PM on Thursday, May 22nd.

Invited and expected to attend are the Dem Congressional candidates for CD-1, the Bernalillo County Dem candidates for Clerk and Treasurer, the Dem candidate for Senate District 19 and various candidates for the Judiciary in Bernalillo County. All invited speakers are Democrats, but the meeting is open to the general public, and all are welcome and invited to attend.