Democracy for New Mexico

Congratulations to Rep. Ben Rodefer For Being Voted DFA's New Mexico All-Star

The national group Democracy for America has endorsed Democratic State Rep. Ben Rodefer for his re-election bid in New Mexico House District 23 in Corrales. DFA Chair Jim Dean, the brother of Howard Dean who originally founded the organization, announced yesterday that Rep. Rodefer has been named the DFA New Mexico All-Star based on the votes of members. Go Ben!

Albuquerque's DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup group (DFA-DFNM) is loosely affiliated with Democracy for America, and has been since 2003. On behalf of the group, Mary Ellen and I would like to congratulate Rep. Rodefer on being voted DFA's New Mexico All-Star and urge everyone to contribute or volunteer for Ben's campaign. Rep. Rodefer is in a hotly contested race this year and it's important that we help him keep his seat. 

In an email, Dean had this to say about the endorsement:

DFA endorsements have always been driven by our members on the ground across the country -- that's what makes Democracy for America the country's only people-powered PAC. But the New Mexico All-Star endorsement is different because it's chosen entirely by DFA members in New Mexico.

All the votes have been cast and I'm honored to announce DFA's New Mexico All-Star -- Benjamin Rodefer. Join the campaign -- Contribute or Volunteer right now.

It's not difficult to see why Benjamin won this hard-fought endorsement. Just look at how he describes the grassroots campaign he's running:

"We need state leaders who are not afraid to stand up for the working people, leaders who will not be swayed by those with great wealth or influence, but will stick to tirelessly advocating for democratic values and positions."

Democracy for America is committed to electing progressives up and down the ballot -- to school boards, city councils and state legislatures. These offices have a huge impact on local communities and help build a bench of progressive talent that will grow and sustain a long-term progressive movement.

Every campaign we run, every candidate we support is powered by you -- our members on the ground. Join me today in support of the New Mexico All-Star. Sign up to volunteer or contribute right now to help elect a progressive fighter.

Thank you for all that you do.

-Jim
Jim Dean, Chair
Democracy for America

Tonight: Express Yourself on Video at DFA-DFNM Meetup

The monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup is set for tonight, Tuesday, July 6, at 7:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. Please take a moment to RSVP here.

Tonight, the group will focus on discussing the state of the progressive agenda and hear your take on how the campaigns are going, how we can get candidates and officeholders to support the Democratic Party platform and what's been going on with President Obama, the Congress and more.

BP is still gushing oil in the Gulf, talk is proliferating about cutting Social Security and Medicare -- as well as just about every safety net program nationally and in NM -- and politicos are still refusing to consider taxing the wealthy and corporations so they pay their fair share. What can we do to impact the process as active members of the progressive Democratic base? How can we encourage Dems to take courageous stands and provide real leadership at a time when too many Dems seem to be following the "conventional wisdom," apparently convinced that they have to pretend to be Republicans-lite to win?

Express Yourself on Video
Mary Ellen will have her Flip video camera on hand to record those of you who'd like to communicate short messages about these topics so our candidates and officials can hear first-hand what you think about the current political climate and the issues important to you. We'll be posting the videos publicly and sending them to the attention of our candidates and those in office to help make your views known.

Come on down and be part of the process.

Tonight: DFA-DFNM Meetup with NM House Reps and Candidates

The monthly DFA-DFNM Meetup is tonight, Tuesday, May 4, at 7:00, at the First Unitarian Church Social Hall on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. You can RSVP and/or join the group here: http://dfa.meetup.com/160/.

This month's Meetup will concentrate on some important State House races. Whether we live in these legislative districts or not, it's very important that we support these Dem candidates so they keep or win seats their seats in this important election cycle.

Our guests include State Rep. Eleanor Chavez (District 13), one of our most progressive members of the legislature. Rep. Chavez is being challenged in the Democratic primary and will discuss her campaign, as well as her courageous stance on the Arizona immigrant law. We'll also be hearing from State Rep. Ben Rodefer (District 23), another strong advocate for progressive values and one of the good guys serving in the Legislature that Republicans are working hard to beat. And two young Dems who are challenging House seats now held by Republicans will also join us: Joel Davis, who is challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert in District 44, and Alex Russell, who is taking on incumbent Republican Rep. Thomas A. Anderson in District 29.

Hope you join us! This is a great opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, ask them questions and learn about the importance of legislative races this year.

Tonight: DFA-DFNM Meetup with Ray Powell, Pat Davis, Rep. Moe Maestas

Our April DFA-DFNM Meetup is scheduled for tonight, Tuesday, April 6, at 7:00 PM at the First Unitarian Church Social Hall located on the SW corner of Carlisle and Comanche in Albuquerque. All are welcome to attend.

Tonight's Meetup will provide an important opportunity to interact personally with Democratic primary candidates Ray Powell, who's running for Land Commissioner, and Pat Davis, who's running for Bernalillo County Sheriff. They'll be talking about their campaigns and answering your questions.

Also on hand will be Democratic State Rep. Moe Maestas, who will discuss his take on the legislature this year and what's going on this election cycle. We'll also be discussing the possibility of another candidate forum and other election-related issues.

Hope to see you there! You can RSVP for tonight's Meetup and/or join the group and get on our email list at http://dfa.meetup.com/160/.

DFA-DFNM Dem LG Candidate Debate: Honesty and Openness in Government

Here's another follow up to my posts yesterday and Monday on Saturday's DFA-DFNM debate for Democratic lieutenant governor candidates at UNM Law School.

Below are videos of Rep. Joe Campos, Brian Colon, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Lawrence Rael answering a question from the audience about restoring honesty and openness to government.

Sen. Linda Lopez (L); Rep. Joe Campos (R)

Brian Colon (L); Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino (R)

Lawrence Rael

Dem LG Candidate Debate: Social Issues, Drug Offender Sentencing, Budget & Taxes, Jobs, Why They're Running

Following up on our post with a photo slideshow and videos yesterday, here are more clips from the DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Democratic Lt. Governor candidate debate held on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at the UNM Law School in Albuquerque. Rep. Joe Campos, Brian Colon, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Lawrence Rael answer questions posed by DFNM and the audience on a variety of issues. If you couldn't make it to the debate, here's your chance to gauge how the candidates responded on a variety of issues. If you were there, these videos might refresh your memories of what was said.

Above: Candidates answer a three-part question on social issues. Do you support a women's right to choose? Do you support marriage equality for LGBT citizens? Do you support concealed carry of guns in restaurants with beer and wine licenses?

Above: Candidates answer a question on whether they support HB 178, the bill sponsored by State Rep. Moe Maestas that would allow for a sentence of treatment for nonviolent drug offenders rather than jail time. The bill passed the House in the recent special session but never got a vote in the Senate.

Above: Candidates answer a question on whether they support the budget and tax package passed in the recent special session of the New Mexico Legislature.

Above: Candidates answer a question on how we can get more jobs in New Mexico.

Above: Candidates answer a question on why they want to be Lt. Governor, what makes them the best candidate for the job and what they would bring to the ticket.

We'll have additional videos from the debate posted soon, so keep checking back.

Delegates to the DPNM Pre-Primary Convention on March 13 at Buffalo Thunder Resort will vote on candidates in this race and other statewide contests to determine their positions on the June 2 primary ballot. A candidate must get at least 20% of the delegate vote to appear on the ballot without having to obtain additional petition signatures.

Video clips in this post courtesy of Mike Swick.

Dem Lt. Gov. Candidate Debate Featured Lively Exchanges Before 150+

Click for larger version or album

More than 150 Democrats attended the DFA-Democracy for New Mexico debate with the five Democratic candidates for Lieutenant Governor on Saturday morning at the UNM Law School in Albuquerque. Turns out most of them will serve as delegates at the DPNM Pre-Primary Convention in Pojaoque on March 13, where they'll be voting for their favorites in this race, as well as in a number of other statewide contests. The League of Women Voters provided the moderator and time keepers for the event.

Rep. Joe Campos, Brian Colon, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Lawrence Rael each answered a set of questions submitted by DFNM and the audience, and got to pose a question of their own to the candidate seated next to them. The seating was determined by picking numbers out of a container. Each candidate also got an opening and closing statement.

The candidate-to-candidate questions, as well as one from the audience that asked each participant to announce who'd they'd vote for if they weren't in the race, produced the most lively and compelling interchanges. Generally, interactions were spirited but good natured, although there were a couple of moments where some minor sparks flew. These are, after all, all Democrats -- and Democrats are generally quite opinionated!

Here's a video of all the candidates' answers on who they'd support if they weren't in the race:

Below are a collection of videos of each candidate responding to a question from another candidate.

Above: Brian Colon answers question from Rep. Joe Campos on 2008 NM Presidential caucus (L); Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino answers question from Brian Colon on taxes Jerry voted for in legislature (R).

Above: Lawrence Rael answers question from Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino on whether Lawrence would make a better chief of staff than a lt. governor (L); Sen. Linda Lopez answers question from Lawrence Rael on the issues that will be important in November (R).

Above: Rep. Joe Campos answers question from Sen. Linda Lopez on who has given him the best advice in his life (L); Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino answers question by Lawrence Rael on how Jerry can work with Diane Denish on the ticket (R).

Above: Brian Colon answers question from Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino on his ties with Gov. Bill Richardson (L); Rep Joe Campos answers question from Brian Colon on for-profit prison in Santa Rosa (R).

Above: Sen. Linda Lopez answers question from Rep. Joe Campos on how she will complement Lt. Gov. Denish on gubernatorial ticket (L); Lawrence Rael answers question from Sen. Linda Lopez on what advice he'd give his daughter when she runs for office (R).

I'll be posting more videos from the debate as they gets processed, so check back soon. In the meantime, you can listen to audio of the entire debate here:

Audio courtesy of Peter St. Cyr

Saturday: Dem Lt. Gov. Candidate Debate at UNM Law School

The DFA-Democracy for New Mexico Meetup is excited to be hosting a debate for the Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 10:00 AM in Room 2401 at the UNM Law School located at 1117 Stanford NE in Albuquerque (map).

Sign-in will begin at 9:30 AM that day, and the event will start promptly at 10:00 AM. The debate will be moderated by a representative from the League of Women Voters.

To join the Meetup group and/or RSVP, go to: http://dfa.meetup.com/160/.

Please tell your friends and neighbors about this. We'd love to have a large turnout as all of the five candidates for Lt. Governor have blocked out time in their busy schedules to participate. Confirmed participants are: Rep. Joe Campos, Brian Colon, Sen. Linda Lopez, Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino and Lawrence Rael. This is the last chance to see the candidates before the DPNM Pre-Primary Convention set for March 13 at Buffalo Thunder Resort in Pojoaque.

Please keep an eye out for further emails about his event, however, as it may have to be rescheduled if the special session of the New Mexico Legislature runs through Saturday. We'll keep you posted!

The DFA-DFNM Meetup has been happening monthly since 2003, when it began as a Dean for America Meetup. The LG candidate debate will replace the group's regular monthly Meetup for March.

Howard Dean in New Mexico: Get Involved or Get Pushed Around (With Photos & Videos)

Click for larger version or album

The photos above are from Howard Dean's visit to Albuquerque on February 9, 2010, which was hosted by the Democratic Party of New Mexico and Democracy for New Mexico. He spoke at a rally with Young Democrats at the SUB Theater at the University of New Mexico, and then attended a grassroots fundraiser for the Democratic Party of New Mexico at Cosmo Tapas in Nob Hill. Afterwards (running late of course!) he traveled up to Santa Fe for another fundraiser for the DPNM, this one at Rio Chama Steakhouse in Santa Fe. All the events were well-attended and, in fact, the Santa Fe event had to turn people away.

The Daily Lobo has a good report on Dean's appearance at UNM. All during his visit, Dean stressed the importance of getting involved and staying involved in the political process:

“Being in a democracy requires obligations, not just freedoms,” Dean said. “I don’t like talking about freedom, because people always want to talk about their rights and they never want to talk about their responsibilities. Freedom isn’t free. What freedom demands of us is working at it. Democracy is a human invention, and like every other human invention, if you don’t nurture it, it dies.”

Social change begins from the bottom up, Dean said, and everyone should participate. “We do have the power. The question is whether we are willing to use it or not. In order to use it depends on our willingness to stick to it,” he said. “We can do it — state by state and community by community.”

Dean discusses Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts and what it means.

The bottom line on Dean's message throughout his visit was that unless we stay involved -- regardless of the disappointments and defeats we may experience -- things are guaranteed to get worse. We can't let the Republicans take over as they won't give our views the time of day. We can't let the Democrats coast, because they won't be bold or tough enough. Unless we stay active, we'll get pushed around by Washington insiders and corporate interests. Electing good Democrats is an essential step one, but unless we hold their feet to the fire, Washington's worst will engulf them too. Remember -- what the other side wants us to do is stay home, stay quiet and stay stuck. We can't let them succeed.

Dean on our job today in electing Dems and holding them accountable.

We DO have the power, but not unless we exercise it -- not just in elections but day in and day out. The pressure for change will never come from within Washington. It can only come from the bottom up -- from the citizens.

Dean on keeping up the fight for health care reform.

Below are several more clips from Dean's speeches in Albuquerque. I hope you'll listen, and heed the call to action. Now is the time to ratchet up the energy, not pout and sit at home. There's way too much at stake to let the forces of NO prevail. Our nation and the world can't survive it.

Dean on where we are now. Don't trash the whole party because four people screwed it up!

Dean: Do at least one thing every day that's political.

Dean on the Party of NO!

Note: Also see our previous post on Gov. Dean's visit to New Mexico.

Howard Dean in Albuquerque: A Lot at Stake in New Mexico (With Videos)

Note: Also see my later post with a photo slideshow and more videos.

The events with Howard Dean Tuesday in Albuquerque were inspiring and fun and a great big success. Dean spoke at a rally at UNM and appeared at a fundraiser at Cosmo Tapas for the Democratic Party of New Mexico that was co-hosted by DFA-Democracy for New Mexico. He stayed longer than he should have at both events, clearly enjoying all the good energy, conversations and camaraderie. The feeling was mutual. He left late for his sold-out DPNM fundraiser at the Rio Chama in Santa Fe -- how did it go up there folks?

I'll write more tomorrow and post some photos and more video, but I'm spent for now. We've seen/met Howard Dean many times -- he never disappoints and he's always smart, funny, down-to-earth, attentive and inspiring. But this time we came away with an even deeper appreciation for a man who has spent so many years doing all the right political things for all the right reasons, no matter what. We are still very much Howard Powered, and ready to engage in the vital election cycle that's upon us.

The video above features Gov. Dean providing a few examples of just what's at stake here in New Mexico. In the video below, Dr. Dean answers a few questions and talks about health care and the future. Main message: Get Democrats elected (or re-elected). Keep New Mexico Blue. Then hold their feet to the fire. The pressure must come from outside Washington, not from within Washington. It must come from US.

It's definitely time to re-energize, re-engage and keep this state very, very Blue. So we have a chance to advance our causes. So we have a chance to keep making progress. So we can keep the candidates of the Party of NO sitting at home, powerless to stop the momentum. We have the power to make it happen. YOU have the power to make it happen. We ALL have the power to keep on pushing, despite the setbacks and the static. Are you ready?