Democracy for New Mexico

State Auditor Hector Balderas Rallies Progressive Voters in Doña Ana County

State Auditor Hector Balderas

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with another report from Southern New Mexico.

Championing a “culture of accountability,” State Auditor Hector Balderas was in Doña Ana County on Thursday to rally support for his reelection bid and to promote the New Mexico Democratic ticket. Balderas addressed a large local turnout at the August meeting of the Progressive Voters Alliance (PVA) held at the Munson Community Center in Las Cruces and a meet and greet event at in Mesilla. 

Balderas noted his success in overcoming official resistance and fighting public fraud on behalf of New Mexicans despite the traditional low profile of the Auditor’s office. “Citizens in New Mexico have grown tired of a lack of accountability from government agencies,” Baldera’s said.

Balderas has received high marks from reforms groups in New Mexico and nationally. As State Auditor, Hector Balderas uncovered a $3.4 million dollar embezzlement of public funds, the largest in state history, at Jemez Mountain Public Schools. He has fought resistance at the state and local levels to scrutiny of public expenditures.

Several local officials were also on hand at the PVA meeting including State Representatives Jeff Steinborn (NM-37), Joseph Cervantes (NM-52), Nate Cote (NM-53), State Senator Steve Fischmann (NM-37), Las Cruces City Councillor Nathan Small and Judge Manny Arrieta. Other candidates addressing the group included Bill McCamley, candidate for PRC, Jose “Joel” Cano, candidate for Magistrate Judge, and Billy Garrett, Democratic Nominee for Doña Ana County Commissioner.

Prior to the PVA meeting, State Auditor Balderas met with voters at a meet and greet event at Andele Restaurante at 1950 Calle del Norte, in Mesilla. Hector Balderas is serving his first term in statewide constitutional office, and is seeking reelection in the November General Election.

All photos by Stephen Jones. Click on photos to see larger versions. To see more posts by Stephen, visit our archive.

Stephen Jones: A Band of Cowards

This is a post by contributing writer, Stephen Jones, who is a progressive political activist and a resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

It is another week and with it, yet another grating message of intolerance from the Republican Party. Fast on the heels of last week’s assault on the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and birthright citizenship, the party of “no” now aims to overturn the 1st Amendment and trample upon the most deeply held conviction of the framers of the United States Constitution, cast at the very inception of the nation’s founding, the individual right of conscience.

This time Republicans have taken aim against the planned Islamic community center to be opened in a former Burlington Coat Factory storefront and office building two blocks from the site of the 9/11 World Trade Center terror attack. The center (and not a mosque) is intended to serve New York’s large Muslim community, along with members of other faiths, who live and work in the lower Manhattan neighborhoods.

Fear Mongering For Votes
This predictable and unseemly GOP attack on New York City’s Muslim communities would be laughable if it weren’t so brazenly calculated to stir up unfounded fears among the base of Republican voters nationally, and to generate divisions between Americans for the purpose of garnering a few extra votes in the upcoming midterm election.

Over the past weekend, Republican Presidential hopefuls were out in force to bash Muslims. Sarah Palin has been pandering to the hateful for weeks. Muscling his way to the forefront, Newt Gingrich, the one-time Speaker of the House said, “There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia.” Appearing on FOX Gingrich compared Muslims to Nazis. “Nazis don't have the right to put up a sign next to the holocaust museum in Washington,” Gingrich said. Joining the over-the-top chorus, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said the so-called “mosque” would “degrade or disrespect” hallowed ground. Mitt Romney, another Presidential hopeful, suggested the center might become a recruiting ground for terrorists.

Beyond the GOP Presidential rivals, all of the usual right-wing operatives have jumped aboard from FOX and the talk-radio media machine. Rush Limbaugh, the de facto leader of the Republican Party, told his audience that the New York Islamic center was tantamount to the Japanese opening a Hindu temple at Pearl Harbor.

I suppose I might point out here that Japan is almost entirely a Buddhist and Shinto nation, and probably has few Hindus other than those natives of India who are travelling on the east Asian archipelago, but the obvious lack of basic grade-school international knowledge of the Republican leadership is not the point. The issue here is the use of pathetic primal fears and hatreds to generate a few extra votes. Lacking any platform or program to meet the real challenges facing Americans today, the Republican Party has simply fallen back into its customary comfort zone, namely stirring up tribal bigotry.

Radical Islamic Power Center?
The so-called “mosque” is, in reality, to be a community center modeled on the YMCA, with a swimming pool, and sports and exercise facilities. It will include a prayer room. Muslims, who pray five times a day, require quiet contemplative areas to separate themselves from the bustle of urban life. The center plans to provide that space. As any resident of any large city knows, there are many similar Muslim prayer rooms across the United States, including at the Pentagon. The center received the approval of the City of New York’s zoning board by a 29-1 vote. The Mayor, the New York City Council and the citizens of New York all support the opening of the center, overwhelmingly.

Far from some radical Islamic power center, the facility was organized by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a moderate clerical leader. In 1997, he founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement to promote the positive integration of Muslims into a pluralistic American society. He has participated regularly in Christian/Muslim/Jewish dialog groups and according to the FBI has worked with its anti-terrorist efforts. In short, he is a mainstream religious leader.

It is not Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and the planned community center that stand outside the mainstream of American society. Rather it is the Republican Party that stands in contempt of our cherished American values. The founders of our nation held that the freedom of conscience was first and foremost among our rights as citizens, rights that could never be abridged by pandering politicians. They cast that right of conscience into the 1st Amendment.

Framers Embraced Religious Diversity
Unlike today’s GOP leadership the framers of the Constitution were not afraid of religious diversity. Islam has always been a part of the American fabric. President Thomas Jefferson was the first American President to officially observe Ramadan at the White House in 1805. As a secular republic, our nation has welcomed all religions since its founding.

The Treaty of Tripoli, sent to the Congress by President Washington in 1796 and signed by President Adams in 1797 declared a state of harmony between this nation and the other nations of the world specifically in the area of religious belief. It reads, “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.”

Stand Up for American Ideals
Largely due to the rhetoric of bigots inside the United States, many of nations of the world are still doubtful as to whether we are, truly, a country based on principles or just one made up of petty tribal fears. The Republican Party has shown itself to be a band of narrow and hateful cowards. The rest of us need to stand up for the ideals of our heritage and for our genuine American values, including the founding creed of our nation; the recognition of the right of conscience for all people, both for ourselves, and for those who live beyond our shores.

To read more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

MoveOn Calls for Election Reform in Mesilla

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with another report from Southern New Mexico.

Rich and Joanne Ferrari of MoveOn address crowd

About 60 local residents and MoveOn members braved hot weather and a flurry of insects to attend a rally at the Mesilla Plaza to express opposition to the Supreme Court Citizens United decision, hear from local office holders, and to present representatives from Senator Bingaman and Senator Udall's offices with petitions from over 5,000 voters in southern New Mexico calling for Congressional action to overturn the decision, which they termed a "corporate take-over of the electoral process."

The Mesilla event was one of over 150 held nationwide on Tuesday to protest the Citizens United case which permits unlimited contributions from corporations to political campaigns. MoveOn has collected over 500,000 petition signatures nationally opposing the decision.

Musical interlude

Joanne Ferrari of MoveOn called on Senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman to take the lead in fighting corruption and oppose the Citizen United decision. Rich Ferrari asked New Mexico’s two senators to “restore democracy and work for the other 98% of us.”

Senators Bingaman and Udall are co-sponsors of the Disclose Act that would have established transparency in corporate giving. The Disclose Act passed the House of Representatives but has been filibustered by the Republican minority in the Senate. Senator Udall and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut have also proposed a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision.

State Senator Steve Fischmann at the podium

Citizens United “gives you and I the right to make an investment in a corporation to get a financial return,” State Senator Steve Fischmann said, “and corporations the right to use that money to buy a government.” The corrupting influence of money isn’t limited to federal government, Fischmann warned.

State Senator Steve Fischmann talks with attendees

“I see the alliances in Santa Fe,” he said. Dona Ana County Commissioner Scott Krahling protested the corrupting influence in all elections and noted that even local office holders were increasingly forced to give all their time to fundraising and becoming dangerously beholden to big donors.

Dona Ana County Commissioner Scott Krahling

Maury Castro of the Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign also spoke at the event and connected the influence of the health insurance companies in opposing reform to corporate influence elsewhere. He reminded the crowd that the Health Security campaign is continuing at the state level. He praised the recently passed national health reform bill but noted that insurance companies were still unchecked by the bill. “It leaves the fox in the chicken coop,” Castro said. “We’ve got to get that sucker out of there!”

Maury Castro of the Health Security Campaign

Xocil Torres of Senator Tom Udall’s office accepted the petitions and assured the crowd that Senator Udall and Senator Bingaman would continue to fight for reform. Las Cruces Councillor Nathan Small and Juan "JR" Stewart, the Democratic nominee for Sheriff of Dona Ana County were also in attendance.

Xocil Torres of Sen. Udall's office

Click on images for larger versions. All photos by Stephen Jones. To see more posts by Stephen, visit our archive.

Lower Visibility Contests Showcased at Judge Mannie Arrieta Meet and Greet in Las Cruces

District Court Judge Mannie Arrieta, Appeals Court Judge Robert Robles, Magistrate Judge candidate "Joel" Cano

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with another report from Southern New Mexico.

Less visible contests for public office were front and center at Judge Mannie Arrietta’s Meet and Greet event Sunday afternoon in Las Cruces. Judge Arrieta is seeking a second full term as District Court Judge. Making note of the large, diverse and enthusiastic crowd that filled Roberto’s on 908 East Amador Ave. in Las Cruces, Arrieta pointed to his lifelong roots and many friendships in the community. “This is the community that shaped me,” Arrieta said.

District Court Judge Mannie Arrieta

Crowd and mariachis at Roberto's in Las Cruces

Judge Arrieta shared the spotlight with several other “down ballot” Democratic candidates, primarily those also seeking judicial office. On hand were Judge Robert E. Robles, seeking re-election to the New Mexico Court of Appeals, and Jose L. “Joel” Cano, candidate for Magistrate Judge, Division 6 in Doña Ana County. A former police officer, this is Cano’s first attempt at public office.

Magistrate judge candidate Jose L. "Joel" Cano

Other candidates on hand were Billy Garrett, the Democratic nominee for Doña Ana County Commissioner, District 1, and State Representative Nate Cote (D-53), whose district includes much of Doña Ana County. Representative Cote urged the crowd to get out to vote and to keep Democrats at the helm in New Mexico. Cote outlined a record of accomplishment by New Mexico Democrats, including himself, in the past two years.

Rep. Nathan Cote, District Judge Mannie Arrieta

Judge Robles reminded the crowd of the importance of maintaining a strong voice for southern New Mexico by turning out to retain representation from down state. Robles, who sits on the New Mexico Court of Appeals, is from Doña Ana County.

NM Appellate Court Judge Robert E. Robles

Other candidates introduced included Magistrate Judge Olivia Garcia and Juan “JR” Stewart, candidate for Doña Ana County Sheriff.

Sheriff candidate Juan "JR" Stewart, Doña Ana County Commission candidate Billy Garrett

Since judicial candidates are required to meet stricter guidelines in terms of partisan campaigning, and cannot make traditional endorsements, or engage in standard fundraising appeals, the meet and greet event provided an opportunity for Arrieta and his fellow judicial candidates to meet local voters. All of the candidates are running as Democratic nominees in contests that will be decided in the November 2010 general election.

Judge Arrieta was approved by a special selection commission and appointed to the District Court bench in December 2008 by Governor Bill Richardson. He is a judge in the Civil Division, where most of his cases involve contract disputes, personal injury claims and other civil matters. A lifelong resident of Doña Ana County, Arrieta attended the University of Michigan Law School.

Click on images for larger versions. All photos by Stephen Jones. To see more posts by Stephen, visit our archive.

Stephen Jones: Birthright and the 14th Amendment

This is a post by contributing writer, Stephen Jones, who is a progressive political activist and a resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

As we enter the mid-term election season one thing we can invariably count on from the Republican Party, the party of “No,” is a fresh perennial attack on the United States Constitution. This year, the GOP has been more audacious than most. This election season they have decided to call for the repeal of the 14th Amendment, the foundation of the rights and liberties of all Americans. Lacking any ideas, or an issues program that actually addresses the problems faced by Americans, the Republican leadership has instead decided to call for the nation to turn back the clock to the antebellum era.

Passed in the wake of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment incorporates the Bill of Rights against the states, guarantees individual citizens the due process of the law and extends to all persons the equal protection of the laws. It defines citizenship as belonging to anyone born or naturalized in the United States. The 14th Amendment is the foundation of all civil and human rights laws in the nation.

For the record, the 14th Amendment reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

GOP Hypocrisy on Wedge Issue Du Jour
This season’s wedge issue de jour, of course, is Hispanic immigration. In place of addressing real immigration reform, or economic development and jobs for Americans, or any of the other real challenges facing the nation, the Republican Party has seized on birthright citizenship and so-called “anchor babies” as the cause to exploit on FOX and the rest of its talk-radio media machine.

Elected Republican leadership has quickly climbed aboard. Senator John McCain said the 14th Amendment deserved a second look. McCain’s sudden concern for birthright citizenship is a complete about-face from everything he was concerned about only one year ago when he hired Constitutional scholars Lawrence Tribe of Harvard University and Ted Olson, former Solicitor General for President Bush, to argue that birthright citizenship definitively applied to him. McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and not within the boundaries of the United States.

McCain’s friends in the U.S. Senate, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, also attempted to shore up their credentials with the radical-right by insisting that the Senate look into the matter. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mich McConnell also called for hearings on the repeal of the 14th Amendment. "I think we ought to take a look at it -- hold hearings, listen to the experts on it,” McConnell told The Hill.

Senator Jeff Beauregard Sessions of Alabama, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, fearing he might be left out, quickly moved to push aside his fellow neo-Confederate senators and lead the charge on repeal of the 14th Amendment on Tuesday. “I'm not sure exactly what the drafters of the amendment had in mind, but I doubt it was that somebody could fly in from Brazil and have a child and fly back home with that child, and that child is forever an American citizen,” Sessions said.

A Cheap Election-Year Ploy
Democrats responded to the constitutional assault vigorously and appropriately yesterday. Obama Administration spokesman Robert Gibbs termed the issue a cheap election-year political ploy. Senate Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid of Nevada also responded immediately to the Republican attack on the Constitution. “They’ve either taken leave of their senses or their principles,” Reid said.

Even outspoken opponents of immigration reform found the Republican attack on the 14th Amendment unseemly. Objecting strenuously to the Republican leadership, Lou Dobbs, former CNN anchor, told FOX-News Tuesday, “The idea that anchor babies somehow require changing the 14th amendment, I part ways with the Senators on that because I believe the 14th amendment, particularly in its due process and equal protection clauses, is so important. It lays the foundation for the entire Bill of Rights being applied to the states.”

Historical Record Undermines Right-Wing Claims
Right wing activists protested that repeal was necessary because the framers of the 14th Amendment never intended that birthright citizenship extend to the children of immigrants or that they never could have foreseen a time when alien souls could simply fly into the United States and, in the colorful language of Senator Graham of South Carolina, “drop babies.” The framers, they said, were only concerned with the rights of ex-slaves.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The historical record shows us that the framers debated all of these same issues; including the birthright citizenship of alien non-citizens, the potential of mass immigration from abroad, universal application of human rights, due process and the equal protection of the laws to all within the boundaries of the United States and its territories, and they affirmatively chose to extend birthright citizenship to all, not just the rights of former slaves. For months in 1866 the 39th Congress wrangled publicly over the very issues raised yesterday by leaders of the Republican Party. In the debate the framers made their intentions crystal clear.

Echoes of Bigots Past
Eerily echoing today’s extremist right-wing Republican leadership, opponents of the 14th Amendment in 1866 railed to the Congressional galleries that the proponents of the Amendment intended to extend equal citizenship rights to “inhabitants so worthless they are only fit for beasts of burden.” Opponents were particularly incensed by the birthright citizenship issue. They termed it “unconstitutional” in that it would make the United States a “mongrel nation.” Equal rights wouldn’t be limited only African Americans, but rights would be extended to “Chinese born in the United States” and “even to gypsies,” they said.

Congressman James Brooks of New York, an opponent of ratification, warned that the sponsors of the 14th Amendment “intended” to go so far as to extend equal rights to “all immigrants.” On January 23, 1866, Brooks delivered his screaming denunciation of the proposed 14th Amendment. "What about the coolies?" Brooks demanded to know from Representative Thaddeus Stevens, the chief sponsor, referring to the racist epithet for Chinese immigrants, "What about Indians? This country is the refuge and is maintained for the white race," Brooks insisted. Conservative Henry J. Raymond, a first-term Congressman, also from New York, making his first speech in the House six days later, on January 29, echoed his fellow from the Empire State in warning that the “universal principals of equal citizenship” that the sponsors of Amendment supported, and intended with the passage of the Amendment, included, “Chinese and gypsies.”

Edgar Cowan of Pennsylvania, an opponent, piled on the conservative argument. The danger of non-white birthright citizenship extended even “beyond gypsies,” he said. “Ratification would result in the annexation of California by the Emperor of China.” Cowan warned his fellows of dangers of the presence of “the yellow race, the Mongrel race, among us. They may pour in their millions upon our Pacific coast in a very short time,” Cowan said. “Are the states to lose control over this immigration? Is the United States to determine that they are to become citizens?”

John Conness of California, a supporter of the 14th Amendment, assured Representative Cowen that only the “children begotten of Chinese parents in California” were to be covered by the Amendment. Exasperated by the ridiculous tone of debate and the racism of the conservatives circulating in the halls of Congress, Conness protested, “I have lived in the United States now for many a year, and really, I have heard more about gypsies within the last two or three months than I have ever heard before in my life.”

In another echo of the current leadership of the GOP, the aforementioned Congressman Raymond accused the sponsors, the leadership of the House of Representatives, and Thaddeus Stevens, the chief sponsor of the amendment in particular, of conspiring to undermine the democratic wishes of the American people by forcing universal citizenship on them. On January 29, 1866 he objected to the framers of the 14th Amendment generally, which he called “a committee which sits with closed doors, which deliberates in secret, which shuts itself out from the knowledge and observations of Congress, which does not even deign to give us the information it was appointed to collect, and on which we are to base our action—but which sends into this House and demands their ratification, without reason and without facts, before the going down of the sun!” Raymond warned that passage would strip governments of the right to regulate “blacks and immigrants, in the courts and elsewhere” for all time to come.

Based on Congressman’s Raymond’s objections, one would think that somehow Nancy Pelosi was already the Speaker of the 1866 House!

Intent of 14th Amendment: Equality of All Americans
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, a proponent of the Amendment, in his remarks stated that the prime intent was not only the citizenship of former slaves, “but the equality of all Americans.” Championing the rights of all within the national and territorial boundaries of the United States, Sumner proclaimed that the intent of the 14th Amendment was to address everyone universally. Of birthright citizenship, in particular, Sumner declared, “There shall be no denial of rights, civil or political, on account of color or race” including “place of parental origin.” The 14th Amendment would be a beacon of hope to all who wished citizenship. “Hereafter,” Charles Sumner said, the nation would champion “the equal rights of all,” adding “the Republic will revolve on this glorious pivot, whose far-reaching radiations will be the happiness of the Human Family.”

If Senator Sessions of Alabama, Senator McCain of Arizona, Senator McConnell of Kentucky, or any other leader of today’s Republican Party has any lingering doubts about the intentions of the framers who drafted the 14th Amendment as to the reasons for the right of birthright citizenship, and to whom those rights should extend, the words of the framers themselves should put that question to rest. They intended that any person, regardless of place of parental origin, born on American soil should share the blessings of liberty.

The framers meant what they said.

GOP's Pattern of Manufactured Crisis
In every election cycle, the GOP trots out some manufactured crisis and empty scheme that requires an “urgent” change in the U.S. Constitution. This year it is an assault on the 14th Amendment. In previous cycles it was a proposed amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage, or an amendment to ban “rampant” flag burning, or to recognize the primacy of the Christian God and to compel public schools to teach the 10 Commandments, or to overturn Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choice. This year’s “constitutional crisis” of the hour is the fraudulent non-issue of “anchor babies” and birthright citizenship. This and all of the other fake constitutional wedge issues is yet another smokescreen to cover up the simple fact that the Republican Party is a rank political operation that is completely bankrupt of ideas, let alone principles.

The GOP has no platform or ideology other than its pitiful program of avarice, and its desire to pit Americans against each other over issues of race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation. There seems to be no bottom to the scurrilous depths the Republican leadership will crawl.

GOP Yearns for Return to 1866
Rather than producing a program to recover from the economic disaster of its own making, or to address immigration reform with honesty, or to produce a plan to deal with health reform, education, a deteriorating infrastructure, the dangers of international conflicts abroad, or any other challenge facing Americans here or in the world at large, today, the GOP wants to roll back the clock to 1866.

The Republican Party doesn’t care about Americans or our nation’s stature and leadership in the world, or for forthrightly building for a better future. It cares only for access to quick sources of cash and votes that might net it a few extra seats in Congress.

We need to see them for who they are and vote accordingly.

To read more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

Diane Denish in Sunland Park to Promote the Potential of Green Jobs and Housing (with Photos)

Click for photo album

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with another report from Southern New Mexico.

Diane Denish, the Democratic nominee for Governor, brought her campaign to the Tierra Madre neighborhood at Sunland Park in southern New Mexico Tuesday to outline plans for new high-tech jobs and renewable development in the emerging fields of green energy and construction. The community-based Tierra Madre affordable housing development is a bright spot an otherwise generally poor economic climate in the southwest. 

“It’s about community,” Denish said, highlighting the successful efforts of the Tierra Madre neighborhood to create new jobs and locally-based technologies. Despite proving its viability, the project was built largely without the support of traditional sources of financial resources. Denish promised to expand Tierra Madre's model of success elsewhere in New Mexico

“These are difficult times and New Mexicans from all walks of life are hurting. That’s why I believe the time is now for bold action to create jobs and give people hope for the future,” Denish said. “Let my opponent focus on the past. I am going to be focused on the work that needs to be done to get New Mexicans back to work,” she said.

The Tierra Madre neighborhood is a community-based effort to create an affordable neighborhood utilizing efficient low-footprint construction materials and low-cost renewable energy sources. The homes at Tierra Madre are constructed utilizing straw bale construction, which keeps the interior cool in the summer and warm in the evening. Homes include passive solar heating, solar electric generation and solar water heating. The homes are also outfitted with high-efficiency appliances. 

The homes, which cost an average $70,000, save between 35 and 60% in energy costs over conventional housing. The 1536 sq. foot, four bedroom model home toured by Diane Denish also utilized a grey-water system for landscape irrigation, which preserves water resources for the inside of the home. The straw bale design originated with similar successful communities in Montana and uses raw materials from the southwest.

Since it was first planned, the Tierra Madre neighborhood has grown into a thriving community. The green housing development is supported by grants and donations from the State of New Mexico and several other not-for-profit funding sources. The first five homes were completed in 1998. The green technologies at the project have stirred interest in green housing from both outside and inside the neighborhood. “Many of the students in our community want to go into architecture and engineering,” said Cece Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Tierra Madre Community Land Trust. Funding has been a challenge for the neighborhood. Despite its success, Rodriguez noted that traditional sources of banking credit have been cool toward the green community.

Expanding on the Tierra Madre Model
In her campaign for governor Diane Denish has been promoting green jobs for New Mexico’s future. In showcasing the successful development of Tierra Madre, Denish promised to expand the successful model elsewhere in New Mexico and to focus on building public/private partnerships and educational opportunities in both the large research universities and community colleges that can build on the natural advantages of the state. She said that state support would help build confidence in green building. Denish also proposed expanding tax credits for clean technology businesses and other incentives to keep green businesses in New Mexico.

Denish pointed to Tierra Madre as a successful example of how state and community partnerships can join together to create jobs and quality affordable housing in New Mexico. She also noted that Tierra Madre was an example of how green technologies are an affordable answer to the challenge of rising housing and energy costs across the state. While many have focused on high-end jobs in the emerging green energy and building industries, Denish also stressed that green building would help expand traditional construction and housing jobs in New Mexico as older homes are retrofitted for energy efficiency and cost savings.

Denish was joined at Sunland Park by State Representative Mary Helen Garcia (D-34), whose district includes the Tierra Madre neighborhood.

All photos by Stephen Jones.

To see more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

Stephen Jones: United States Constitution 1, Arizona Zero

This is a post by contributing writer, Stephen Jones, who is a progressive political activist and a resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

For all of the spin we are likely to hear from politicians and their media spokespeople on the Cable TV outlets in the next few days, when the dust settles U.S. District Court Judge Bolton’s preliminary injunction (pdf) against the state of Arizona should be seen for what it is, the first step in wiping away the Grand Canyon state’s racist profiling law, S.B. 1070. For all intents and purposes most of Arizona’s illegitimate state legislation has fallen in its first Constitutional test. It seems destined to continue to do so.

Although the Justice Department and the Obama Administration were initially tardy in acting against Arizona, by attempting to negotiate with Arizona rather than immediately moving to block the S.B. 1070, Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department are to be commended for finally doing the right thing and bringing this sorry chapter to a close. On Wednesday, Judge Bolton acted correctly in blocking the statute. S.B. 1070 is a violation of the 1st, 4th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, along with Article I and Article VI.

Judge Bolton's Ruling
Blocked are all of the provisions of the law that would have led to racial profiling; and the requirement placed on local law enforcement to stop and demand proof of citizenship from those persons who they perceive to be in the United States “illegally.” Judge Bolton blocked the provisions of the statute that made it a crime for aliens to apply for or carry “alien registration papers.” She blocked the portions of the law that would jail American citizens for associating with non-citizens, and she blocked the provision that criminalizes the solicitation for work.

Other misguided provisions of the law that were blocked were the ability of individual citizens to sue police officers who they believed to be failing to enforce the statute or the power of police to issue a warrantless arrest of a person “where there is probable cause to believe they are ... removable from the United States.”

Judge Bolton also stated in her ruling, “The [p]ower to regulate immigration is unquestionably exclusively a federal power.” In other words, the Judge found that Federal immigration statute enforced under the supremacy clause of Article VI is the operative law that governs immigration in the United States, including the State of Arizona. The supremacy clause binds individual states to follow Federal statutes.

Left standing were provisions of the Arizona statute that say law enforcement must comply with Federal statute, and that part of the law that establishes a state misdemeanor for harboring and transporting illegal immigrants. These provisions are permitted under current Federal immigration law. 

Devastating Loss for GOP Gov. Brewer
While Arizona Governor Jan Brewer termed Judge Bolton’s ruling “a bump in the road,” in reality the “bump in the road” is a sweeping chasm.

Governor Brewer’s attempt at putting on a game-face aside, Judge Bolton’s ruling is a hammer blow at the illegal portions of Arizona’s attempted statute, and a near total loss for Brewer. Avenues left open to Governor Brewer and the Republican-led legislature of the State of Arizona are the judicial appeal process, which is likely, or the highly unlikely scenario in which the U. S. Congress would amend, and President Obama would sign, a statute amending current immigration law to accommodate Arizona’s S.B. 1070.

A Win for the U.S. Constitution
The Judge is to be commended for following the U.S. Constitution. No doubt her ruling will be appealed and the final resolution be found at the U.S. Supreme Court and, ultimately, in a Federal immigration reform statute.

State jurisdiction under the law is unaffected. Contrary to what Governor Brewer and the Republican Party would have us believe, the current Federal statute allows states to pass legislation that enforces Federal immigration statutes. Thirty four states currently have their own statutes governing immigration enforcement issues. What collapsed on Wednesday was an onerous, racist and unconstitutional statute. Also blocked, in all likelihood, are copycat laws working their way through the legislatures of Utah and other states.

The United States Constitution won on Wednesday. Arizona lost. Any who mistakenly believe some higher court will change the result are deluding themselves. Judge Bolton's 36-page ruling is sound.

Enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform Now
The time is now for the members of Congress to put demagogy aside and get to work and enact a new comprehensive immigration reform statute that governs the whole United States with fairness. We, as Americans, do not need racist state statutes and political fear mongering. We need real long-lasting and workable solutions to the ongoing immigration issues facing the United States. Let the negotiations begin.

Also see our previous post on this issue. To read more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

Stephen Jones: Walking With the Wind

This is a post by contributing writer, Stephen Jones, who is a progressive political activist and a resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

On August 15, 1906 a small group of women and men, all United States citizens, gathered in the town of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia for a conference on the grounds of nearby Storer College. In the misty dawn light the following morning this band of Americans met at the center of the old town, near a small brick structure, an old fire engine house known colloquially as “John Brown’s Fort.” The so-called fort was the site of the fiery abolitionist's last stand against the Virginia militia, which had marched down on him, under the command of Robert E. Lee, in Brown’s abortive raid on the U.S. arsenal in 1859.

In homage to the location's abolitionist past, the 1906 gathering at Harpers Ferry walked silently single-file toward the old building, still intact. To pay honor to the ground beneath them, they removed their shoes before crossing the green field to the “fort.”

1906 was the second gathering of the group, but only the first on American soil. A year earlier these same Americans had been denied a public meeting place in Buffalo, New York, and in desperation instead assembled across the Niagara River at Erie Beach in Canada. The original assembly was led by W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick L. McGhee, Mary Burnett Talbert and William Monroe Trotter, among others. They included lawyers and educators, clergymen and U.S. military veterans. All of them were descendents of former slaves. Because they had been forced to meet on Canadian soil in 1905 they called themselves the “Niagara Movement.”

What they sought for themselves and others was an equal place at the American table. In an era dominated by vicious racial segregation, enforced by acts of terror, lynching, physical assault and jailings against any who dared to speak out for equality and justice, they were launching a historic campaign for civil and human rights in the United States.

By 1909 the “Niagara Movement” took on its permanent organizational name when it became the NAACP, a multi-racial organization dedicated to the proposition that all persons are created equal. As the NAACP it led a national campaign for civil rights that, among other achievements, culminated in 1954, under the legal team led by Thurgood Marshall, with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down segregation in public schools and marked the beginning of the end of Jim Crow laws in the United States.

Shirley Sherrod Fiasco: Fight for Equality Continues
As we learned, all too clearly, from events earlier this week, no campaign for justice and dignity is ever really over in the United States. The same old demons, the same dark places in the American soul are never very far away. As we are all aware by now, on Monday a right-wing activist named Andrew Breitbart, acting in support of the racist Tea Party Express operation, distributed a doctored videotape of Shirley Sherrod, a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, and daughter of a victim of racist violence. She was speaking to a rural southwest Georgia meeting of the NAACP and recalling events in her own life 24 years ago.

Airing the faked tape over and over again, FOX and other right-wing media operations blanketed cable and the airwaves with screams of “black racism.” Chasing advertising dollars and ratings, and failing to engage in standard journalistic due diligence, CNN and other so-called “legitimate news” outlets immediately joined FOX in repeatedly airing the libelous videotape to their audiences.

A day later, when the phony story unraveled, FOX, Breitbart and the rest of the right-wing media machine, in an incredible twist of Orwellian newspeak, claimed that somehow they, rather than Sherrod, had been wronged. There were no apologies. Not from FOX. Not even from CNN, though CNN did lead the way in airing the full 35-minute taped speech that not only exonerated Shirley Sherrod, but revealed her to be a gentle spokesperson for reconciliation and redemption. Rocked back on its heels for part of a day, FOX then tried to counter-attack by having its employees Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly and FOX’s popular talking-head Ann Coulter pronounce on-screen that Breitbart, the perpetrator of this fraud, had somehow been “set-up.”

The FOX-Breitbart-Tea Party attack was, of course, only one in a long, long line of racist assaults emanating from the FOX and the rest of the right-wing media machine, and it was hardly the first originating with Breitbart. Sadly, the Agricultural Secretary, Tom Vilsack, and the Obama Administration unceremoniously ousted Sherrod without ever bothering to check the facts. Vilsack and the Administration were more concerned with damage control in a toxic cable-media cycle than standing up for the truth. Even more tragically, the venerable century-old NAACP joined in the wrongful repudiation of Sherrod, before finally righting themselves a day later.

Freedom Ain't Free
“Freedom ain’t free,” the famous civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer often said. The assault on Shirley Sherrod is not the first racist attack on a decent American citizen in our history, and it won’t be the last. Hopefully, the rest of us will be ready next time. None of us must ever again make the mistakes that were made by some of those from whom we should have expected leadership earlier this week.

Fresh attacks on African Americans are invariably right around the corner. Similar attacks on Hispanics have been ongoing. As we all know, there is presently a human rights crisis in nearby Arizona. The 2010 Republican Party platform of Texas demands a fresh assault on the rights of women, and the searching out and “jailing” of lesbians and gay men.

Freedom ain’t free, to repeat a phrase. The price of liberty, justice and freedom is eternal vigilance. We shall never be turned back. We had all best realize that we are all going to be in this for the long haul and get back to work. We must stand firm and walk with the wind. We, as Americans, have come far since that misty morning at Harpers Ferry in the summer of 1906 when the members of the Niagara Movement began blazing a trail across a green field, but we haven’t reached the end of that journey yet. “The battle for humanity is not lost or losing. All across the skies sit signs of promise,” W.E.B. DuBois proclaimed at the first meeting of the Niagara Movement. “The morning breaks over blood-stained hills. We must not falter, we may not shrink. Above are the everlasting stars.”

To read more posts by Stephen Jones, visit our archive.

Photos: Otero County Democrats Gather for Candidate Meet & Greet, Lemonade Social

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Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with another report from Southern New Mexico.

An upbeat crowd braved intermittent ribbons of desert rains to meet and greet Democratic candidates in Otero County in south central New Mexico on Thursday. The event was held at the Sgt. Willie Estrada Civic Center on 1st Street in Alamogordo. The lemonade social brought together Otero County voters with state and local candidates seeking election in the upcoming General Election to be held on Tuesday, November 2. The event stressed direct conversation between voters and candidates rather than formal speeches.

Headlining the event were two statewide public officials, Attorney General Gary K. King and New Mexico State Auditor Hector Balderas. King and Balderas were on hand to meet local residents, discuss issues and concerns with voters, and to outline accomplishments from their first terms in their respective State constitutional offices. Both King and Balderas are seeking re-election. Also in attendance was State Representative Nate Cote (NM-53), whose district includes parts of Otero County.

Also on hand were Stephanie L. Dubois, seeking election to the Public Regulation Commission, District 2, and Bill McCamley, who is running for the Public Regulation Commission in District 5. The three incumbents and the two Democratic nominees for PRC stressed their ongoing work to achieve stronger ethics in New Mexico government.

Among the other candidates Ellen Wedum and Sue Medina, running for State Representative in District 59 and 51 respectively, hope to join Representative Cote in the next session of the New Mexico State Legislature. Otero County includes parts of five districts.

Local candidates present included L.C. Marshall, running for Otero County Commissioner, Wally Anderson, seeking the office of County Sheriff, and Sheldon Compton, who is making his second run for County Assessor. While Otero County has traditionally been dominated by Republicans, Compton received 49% of the vote in his first try for public office four years ago.

Others on hand to meet with the candidates were the Alamogordo Mayor’s Commission on Youth, a group of local high school students working to inform and bring young people into the civic process. Otero County Democratic Chair Dawn Provencer and Nola Jones, who coordinated Thursday’s event, reminded the audience to register to vote for the General Election. Jones reminded the younger members of the audience that anyone whose 18th birthday falls on or before November 2 is eligible to register now.

All potential New Mexico voters must be registered by October 5, 2010 in order to vote in the upcoming election. You can learn more here.

All photos by Stephen Jones. To see more of his posts, visit our archive.

Denish/Colón Ticket Rolls Through Doña Ana County (With Photos)

Contributing writer Stephen Jones checks in with a report from Southern New Mexico.

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The Denish/Colón team was in Doña Ana County on Tuesday for a reception at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park. Diane Denish and Brian Colón, the Democratic candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor, were on hand to hear from local community organizations and civic leaders in a fundraising and community reception that centered on jobs and education.

“This isn’t the first time Brian Colón and I have been around this state,” Diane Denish said, referring to the frequent visits the two candidates are making to communities throughout New Mexico. Denish also noted her commitment to address the concerns of local communities in New Mexico long before embarking on the present campaign. “As your Lt. Governor I’ve made it my first priority in Santa Fe, to get out of Santa Fe,” Denish said.

“It’s all about jobs and education” Denish said, stressing a campaign theme. She promised a renewed commitment to education and job creation for New Mexico’s future. “Education is the key to the members of our families getting the jobs that make it possible to take care of their families,” she said. Denish also stressed her role in bringing micro loans to over 2000 small businesses that have in turn generated new jobs across the state. “It can’t only be about Albuquerque and Santa Fe,” the Democratic nominee said, noting that the loan program is a successful statewide program. Denish also talked about her own background as a small business owner who has created employment for others. “My opponent can talk about that, but she hasn’t done it,” Denish said.

Denish also stressed her commitment to universal access to education. “I went to public schools, my children went to public schools, and my grandchildren are going to public schools,” she said. Turning to the lack of experience of Susana Martinez, the Republican nominee, in creating jobs or working for quality education, Denish charged, “You cannot prosecute your way to prosperity.” Martinez is the District Attorney in Doña Ana County. Reminding the crowd of Martinez’ poor performance in that office, Brian Colón said the other ticket was “all hat and no cattle.”

Colón went on to stress his own commitment to quality education for all New Mexicans. “It’s good to be back in my second home,” Brian Colón said. As the first in his family to earn a college degree Colón spent a decade in Doña Ana County while working to put himself through college and completing a degree at New Mexico State University. Colón praised New Mexico’s heritage of diversity and equal opportunity for all, and hammered at the core themes of the Denish/Colón campaign. “It’s about education and jobs. It’s not about wedge issues,” Colón said.

The reception was held at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park visitor center and drew a large and enthusiastic crowd despite temperatures breaking the century mark. Bosque State Park, located alongside the Rio Grande River at Mesilla, is the 34th and newest state park in the system. It preserves a riverside desert wetland.

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