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Friday, June 01, 2012

Sierra Club Primary Endorsements: Vote June 5!

On May 31, Sierra Club released the following endorsements for primary candidates.

On June 5, we have a golden opportunity to select candidates who will protect New Mexico's air, land, and water.

In several Democratic primary races, we have excellent chances to replace anti-environment elected officials with environmental champions. Check out our endorsements below and vote early until Saturday or on Election Day, June 5.

Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter endorses:
(Note: non-incumbents not listed if they are in unopposed primaries.)

U.S. Senate: Martin Heinrich

U.S. House of Representatives, District 1: Eric Griego
U.S. House of Representatives, District 3: Ben Ray Luján

Public Regulation Commission, District 3: Virginia Vigil

Santa Fe County Commission, District 2: Maria-Ester De Anda
Santa Fe County Commission, District 4: Kathleen Holian
Santa Fe County Commission, District 5: Elizabeth Stefanics

New Mexico House of Representatives:

District 14: Rep. Miguel Garcia
District 16: Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas
District 17: Rep. Ed Sandoval
District 18: Rep. Gail Chasey
District 21: Rep. Mimi Stewart
District 34: Rep. Mary Helen Garcia
District 35: Rep. Antonio Lujan
District 42: Rep. Bobby Gonzales
District 46: David Coss
District 47: Rep. Brian Egolf
District 48: Rep. Lucky Varela
District 50: Stephen P. Easley
District 65: Rep. James Madelena
District 69: Rep. Ken Martinez

New Mexico Senate:

District 3: Sen. John Pinto
District 6: Sen. Carlos Cisneros
District 8: Sen. Pete Campos
District 9: Ben Rodefer
Disrtict 11: Sen. Linda Lopez
District 12: Sen. Jerry Ortiz Y Pino
District 14: Eleanor Chavez
District 15: Sen. Tim Eichenberg
District 16: Sen. Cisco McSorley
District 17: Sen. Tim Keller
District 21: Senator Lisa Curtis
District 24: Sen. Nancy Rodriguez
District 25: Sen. Peter Wirth
District 26: Jacob Candelaria
District 28: Sen. Howie Morales
District 29: Sen. Michael Sanchez
District 30: Maxine Velasquez
District 36: Sen. MaryJane Garcia
District 38: Sen. Mary Kay Papen
District 39: Jack Sullivan

June 1, 2012 at 08:24 AM in 2012 Legislature Races, 2012 NM PRC Races, 2012 NM Senate Race, 2012 Primary Election, 2012 Santa Fe County Election, Environment, Eric Griego, NM-01 Congressional Race 2012, Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03), Rep. Martin Heinrich (NM-01) | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sierra Club Northern New Mexico Group Releases Candidate Endorsements and Bond Support

Below are the endorsed candidates and bond questions recommended by the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter. Detailed candidate endorsements are attached for all four districts. The Northern New Mexico Group researched these bond questions and candidates thoroughly, and we urge Santa Feans to support them in the upcoming municipal election:

Candidates for Santa Fe City Council:

District 1: Patti Bushee

Councilor Bushee has been a long history of advocating for environmental issues, development of clean energy and responsible water use in her many years on the City Council.

District 2: Peter Ives

Ives, a new candidate running for this open seat, has worked as in-house counsel for the Trust for Public Land for 14 years and demonstrates a commitment to increasing awareness of sustainability in Santa Fe and protecting its water sources

District 3: Christopher Rivera

Rivera, also a new candidate running for an open seat, displays a strong knowledge of water issues and a concern for long-term planning to keep resources plentiful for future generations of Santa Feans.

District 4: Carol Robertson Lopez

Robertson Lopez is a former city councilor with superb knowledge of water issues and a strong record of advocating for smart water-conservation strategies

See more information on these candidates here.

Vote "yes" on the following bond questions:

Question 2: $14 million for Trails and Parks.

Question 3: $3.8 million for sustainable environmental projects.

January 31, 2012 at 06:13 PM in 2012 Santa Fe County Election, Candidates & Races, Land Issues, Santa Fe County Commissioner | |

Monday, August 29, 2011

Letitia Montoya Announces Bid for Santa Fe County Clerk

LetitiaMontoya120 Democrat Letitia Montoya released the following statement last week announcing her candidacy for Santa Fe County Clerk:

Today I am announcing my candidacy for the office of Santa Fe County Clerk.  Being born with dyslexia has forced me to be creative in my ideas. This way of thinking has allowed me to be successful at whatever task I focus my attention on.   I have no limitations and I am a hard worker. I enjoy learning, am very organized and detail-oriented. When it comes to being dedicated to work I put myself into my job 100 percent. I will use these skills to organize and reenergize the Santa Fe County Clerk’s office. 

Throughout my years of working and public service, I worked my way up the ladder from a City of Santa Fe Life Guard/Swimming instructor to Chief Operation Officer for Assure Financial. I always advocated for workers’ rights and compensation increases. I encouraged promotions of women and minorities into management level positions.

I have a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science and a Masters of Arts in Education Youth at Risk the Leadership Strand. I have co-owned a Financial Services company for over 15 years. I am currently on the American Cancer Society Committee (I am a survivor of cancer) and on the Board for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I was Secretary of the New Mexico State Democratic Party for two terms, and currently a State Central member for my fourth term and two time National Delegate.

In the recent 2010 General Election our voter turnout was fewer than 50 percent. We need new ideas to get people out to vote. Within Santa Fe County I would like to focus on three areas. Update the County Clerk’s office by going paper free using electronic filing and upgrading the computer system. This would provide significant savings and better customer service to taxpayers. Additionally, the County Clerk website will undergo major upgrades, providing significant amounts of information to my external customers (voters) and a high level of transparency and accountability to the public.

Next, I would like to hire a full time grant writer to start working on finding funds for pilot projects. I am going to break the county into 16 areas and have a mobile vehicle that will have an optical scanner in it with security. This vehicle will be used for 28 days of early voting. It will be taken into the rural areas and the high dense areas (example grocery stores). We will track and analyze to see if this program works. It’s time to give voting back to the people and stop making it more complex.

The third thing is to start educating our voters. By breaking the county into 16 areas I would like to start educational programs. It is time to create a simple brochure that goes over the amendments and have community meetings to explain the amendments to the voters for the general elections. (This idea I got from Tesuque Pueblo.) Also, start creating an open communication with the Public School system to talk to the children about how important it is to get signed up to vote when they turn eighteen.

I ask for your Vote and Support for the success of my campaign. If you would like to make a donation you can send a check to PO Box 711, Santa Fe NM 87501, or if you would like to volunteer please contact me at (505) 983-8521, email   LetitiaMontoyaforSFCountyClerk@gmail.com. I would appreciate any help you could give me and just your vote is very important to me. Thank you very much for giving me the time to introduce myself to you.

In the past, Letitia Montoya launched several unsuccessful runs for Secretary of State and State Senator. She worked for the recent reelection campaign of incumbent Secretary of State Mary Herrera, who was defeated by Republican Dianna Duran, and also ran for Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, losing to incumbent Javier Martinez.

So far, the only other declared candidate in the Democratic primary for Santa Fe County Clerk is Tara Lujan.

Current Santa Fe County Clark, Democrat Valerie Espinoza, is serving out her second term and cannot run again for the post. She announced in February that she intends to run for the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission in District 3, where Jerome Block Jr. is serving his first term and has run into ethics problems.

August 29, 2011 at 10:25 AM in 2012 Santa Fe County Election, Democratic Party, Santa Fe | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

8/25: Campaign Kickoff for Democrat Tara Lujan for Santa Fe County Clerk

Yesterday, Democrat Tara Lujan released a statement announcing her candidacy for Santa Fe County Clerk and invited area residents to join her in a campaign kick-off event open to the public on Thursday, August 25th, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Zocalo Condominium’s Club House, 1301 Avenida Rincon in Santa Fe (click for flyer with more information).

“The challenges our voters face require a candidate and clerk who is committed to public participation and innovation. Santa Fe is my home. I want our citizen’s votes to be counted, and I want them to know that their rights are protected," said Lujan. "This will be my responsibility and service to the public.” 

With those words Tara Lujan, a Santa Fe native expressed a major reason why she decided to run for Santa Fe County Clerk. She also said she would “focus on three priorities: accountability, accessibility and transparency.” 

Lujan went on, “The most compelling reasons I have for wanting to be Santa Fe County Clerk are to see to it that every voter’s rights are protected and every voter has access to getting their vote counted. I want to make sure the county clerk’s office offers the best public service to the community, making smooth transactions via current technology and keeping an open door policy.” 

“For the past few months I have been meeting with voters and potential voters of Santa Fe County expressing my desire to be their next County Clerk. This has been a rewarding and informative experience for me," Lujan said.

“It has been a two way street, explaining the issues I believe are important in this coming election year and listening to the ideas of the people of Santa Fe County,” Lujan said, describing what it’s been like on the campaign trail as a potential candidate. 

“For many years I have been a loyal campaign worker striving to elect folks that I thought were the best candidates running for office … some won and some lost,” Lujan continued. “But this past year I had folks asking me why I have not stepped forward to run for office myself. 

“I am passionate about people being involved. I have always thought that if you want to change the world or something in it, don’t wait for someone else, get in there and work for the change yourself and ally yourself with people who are working to make this a better world. As most of America, Santa Fe County needs to get more people involved with the determination of their future and their children’s future."

As a native of Santa Fe, Tara was involved in community service at a young age. The sisters of Cristo Rey and St. Catherine’s, where Lujan attended elementary and high school, kept students active in community services like helping the homeless, cleaning up neighborhoods, and visiting the elderly. 

Tara took it upon herself to get her peers involved in letter writing to legislators and educating others about social injustices. Lujan adds, “Our vote is our voice, my grandparents instilled the value of voting by making sure to take me to the polls at a tender age.” “My grandma always told me, if you don’t vote you can’t complain.” 

“Therefore, as a concerned mother and an activist for fairness and inclusion I have decided that it’s time for me to turn words into action … I look forward to meeting many more Santa Fe County residents between now and next year’s elections. I will be holding a campaign kick-off gathering later this week and I encourage everyone to meet with me, my family and my campaign … we look forward to your questions and comments,” concluded Lujan. 

Tara Lujan's campaign also provided this background information about the candidate:

Tara is a Santa Fe Daughter. She grew up in a working class family in Santa Fe. 

Her mother Elizabeth, “Dolly” Lujan has served the community as a RN at St. Vincent’s Hospital for 44yrs, and her father Toby Lujan, served alongside her as a surgical technician for 35 yrs. 

After graduating from St. Catherine’s Catholic High School Tara went on to graduate from UNM. She was involved in politics and educating voters before she was able to vote. 

Tara has always advocated for fair and equal voting regulations that don’t disenfranchise the voter and which that make voting easy and accessible. 

She serves as the chair of the Voter Registration Committee for the Democratic Party, and helped set up a vote by mail campaign for the State Democratic Candidates during the 2010 elections. 

Tara was appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Ethics Committee for the City Santa Fe. She sits on the budget committee for the State Democratic Party, and is a volunteer for the non-profit organization Many Mothers. 

Tara’s son is a 5th grader in the Santa Fe Public Schools. Tara has volunteered in his class with Spanish reading programs and serves on the parent committee for Special Education. 

For further information contact: 

Email: taralujan4countyclerk@gmail.com 

Or Call: (505) 350-8069 

August 23, 2011 at 07:44 AM in 2012 Santa Fe County Election, Events, Santa Fe | Permalink | Comments (0)