Democracy for New Mexico: Wise Latinas* Open Letter of Support for Diane Denish: Pass It On

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wise Latinas* Open Letter of Support for Diane Denish: Pass It On

This letter of support for Democratic governor candidate was signed by a group of distinguished New Mexican women calling themselves Wise Latinas (after Justice Sotomayor). It ran as an ad in the UNM Daily Lobo and is now being distributed far and wide via email chains, blog posts and other means. Please take a moment to read it and pass it on to anyone in New Mexico whom you think appropriate. Let's make this one go viral. Click for a pdf of the that includes the names of the women who signed it.

Queridas Amigas, Colegas, Familia:

We are a group of Hispanic Women -- mothers, grandmothers, businesswomen, community leaders -- who are writing to tell you why we support Diane Denish and believe she is the better candidate for our Hispanic community and all New Mexicans. We believe in preserving our traditions, promoting our professions, educating our children and adults alike, and protecting our civil rights. We have dedicated ourselves to our community.

We decided to frame this letter by invoking the “Wise Latina” mantle because we think that Justice Sotomayor was right -- a person’s experience does make a difference. We are convinced that Diane’s business and policy experience and detailed grasp of the issues are what we need during these tough economic times. Susana Martinez, a criminal prosecutor who remains focused on crime, simply does not have the broad experience needed to lead our State when jobs and education are the main issues.

Protecting Traditions: Diane was born and raised in New Mexico. She understands the rich and complex nature of our multi-cultural state. Susana, born and raised in Texas, has taken stands that indicate she doesn’t share our values of diversity and reliance on each other. Diane has received numerous awards and engagements from Hispanic organizations for her work, and she is featured in the book Mujeres Valerosas for her leadership with our community.

Economy: Hispanics are both small business owners and employees who have been hit hard by the downturn. Diane has extensive small business experience and has “walked the walk” to make payroll. As Lt. Governor, she helped create micro-lending and recruit businesses and jobs to the State. Her platform is detailed and focused on job creation, from tax credits of $2,500 for each job created, to incentives for business loans, to scholarships for students to earn degrees in fields where the jobs are.

Education: Hispanics and Diane know that education is what will lift New Mexicans out of poverty. As Lt. Governor, she is nationally known as a champion of early childhood education and helped secure funding for pre-kindergarten. She refused to cut funding for schools. Her platform focuses on improving the dropout rate, pushing excellence in education reform, creating scholarships and bringing the stakeholders to the table to generate ideas and find solutions NOW.

Immigration as an Excuse for Discrimination. Susana Martinez supported the Arizona Anti-Immigrant law which encourages racial profiling and discrimination against all Hispanics -- not just undocumented immigrants. The law has been declared unconstitutional. Diane took a principled stand against the law consistent with New Mexico’s values of diversity. Whatever each of us may feel about federal immigration policy, we must reject all attempts to profile and discriminate against our community for political ends.

Democracy and Incredibly Large Campaign Contributions. Dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres. Susana’s campaign is funded primarily by Texas and out-of-state millionaires and corporate interests with checks as large as $400,000. Some of these donors are famous for dishonest practices or extreme politics. The size of these contributions undermines democracy and indicates who Susana Martinez, if elected, would answer to. Diane, on the other hand, is relying on much smaller contributions from New Mexicans. We believe that our Governorship should be supported by, and responsive to, the people who live here.

Building Community. One final and important point: Diane brings people and communities together, rather than polarizing us. The issues our State faces are complex and difficult and we need to work together to solve them.

For these reasons, and many more, Wise Latinas support Diane Denish.

*We are not a PAC or organization, but independent minded women voicing our opinions. If you would like to join this letter, please send an email with your name to wiselatinasfordenish@gmail.com. Please send this letter on to all your friends, Latinas or not, and use it as you see best to educate our community about who Wise Latinas think should be our next Governor.