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Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Join Mayor Martin Chavez at Fundraiser for Equality New Mexico 9/15
Fundraiser for Equality New Mexico ~ House Party
With Special Guest
the Honorable Mayor Martin Chavez
When: Tuesday ~ September 15, 2009 ~ 6:00 PM
Where: 901 Copperhead Ct. NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87113
(For directions go to map)
Suggested Donation: $25
Hosted by: Victor Raigoza and Christopher Salazar
If you are unable to make it,
please make a donation by clicking here.
We appreciate your commitment and support
for LGBT civil rights in New Mexico.
September 9, 2009 at 01:01 PM in Civil Liberties, Events, GLBT Rights, Local Politics | Permalink
Comments
Dear EQNM: having a fundraiser with the mayor during an election campaign does damage to your cause. This fundraiser practically constitutes an endorsement on EQNM's part. What bad form! What incompetent politics!
Shame on you, EQNM. You may get some extra money from Marty partisans, but you would have gotten roughly the same a month from now. Do you really want to antagonize a large number of your supporters or potential supporters who loathe and despise the mayor?
Posted by: Proud Democrat | Sep 9, 2009 4:46:12 PM
Sorry, there's nothing stopping Richard Romero from attending a fundraiser organized by a supporter to raise money for EQNM. Why isn't he? Any EQNM supporter can hold any kind of fundraiser they want and invite whoever they want to help attract attendees. From what I have heard from Romero, his support for LGBT rights has been weak and vague.
Posted by: logan | Sep 9, 2009 7:49:38 PM
Richard Romero will probably be at the Mayoral candidate forum being held then. It's from 6 to 8 pm at Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth SE, 87123. (This is E. of Eubank, S. of Southern.) The sponsor is the Juan Tabo Hills Neighborhood Assoc. (www.jthna.com)
I think Richard was lobbying for the Domestic Partnership law in the legislature before he ran for Mayor. Why don't you ask him about it?
Posted by: Michelle Meaders | Sep 10, 2009 8:50:26 AM
Marty has been a very strong supporter of LGBT rights for many years and has a very good relationship with the LGBT community.
Posted by: Sean | Sep 10, 2009 9:49:47 AM
Neither Marty's support for GLBT rights nor Richard's support for domestic partnerships is at issue here. Marty's attendance at the event is also okey-dokey with me. If EQNM were endorsing Mayor Chavez, that would be OK too. They have every right to endorse a candidate, just like anybody else. But they're not doing that, at least not officially. However, the effect is similar; Marty gets free pub rubbing elbows with liberal gay rights supporters, particularly those with money.
I can't really blame Marty for accepting free press. That's just campaigning, and it's no sleazier than making his campaign billboards look like "Your taxpayer dollars at work" billboards. I do blame EQNM for covertly taking sides in an election by hosting an event for a candidate without endorsing him. They should not allow themselves to be used by one mayoral candidate when two have been longtime supporters of their cause. It's fundamentally dishonest for an organization supposedly fighting for fairness to be so unjust itself.
EQNM presumably sees this as a win-win situation. They get access to Marty's moneybanks supporters, while Marty gets some free liberal publicity. Better yet for Marty, the timing conflicts with yet another candidate forum in which he refuses to participate.
I think EQNM must not care how bad this makes them look among those LGBT rights supporters who do not support megalomaniac Marty. They have lost my respect by engaging in what I consider political malpractice. There are many organizations I can give my money to. EQNM will no longer be among them. How can I trust them to use it wisely when they make decisions like this?
Posted by: Proud Democrat | Sep 11, 2009 2:13:20 PM
EQNM isn't hosting the event. It's a house party organized by two individuals. EQNM isn't controlling it. Nothing is stopping anyone else from hosting a fundraiser on their own to benefit EQNM and inviting Romero or anyone else to attend. I don't get your complaint.
Posted by: Marriage Equality Now | Sep 12, 2009 1:40:32 PM
Listen to this. Our Mayor is a JOKE. He has never, and will never, publicly take a position on gay marriage. He always dodges the question. Until the mayor says these exact words on camera, "I support Gay Marriage" he will not get my support. You are all being fooled by him. It is clear as day what he is attempting to do here. He has his sites set on a much higher office than Mayor of ABQ, and he doesn't want his opponents to use that statement against him to distance him from Republicans.
Posted by: OurMayorIsAJoke | Sep 18, 2009 12:39:24 PM
He said at the debate the other night that he voted for gay marriage when the US Conference of Mayors approved a resolution supporting it.
Where have you been - Chavez has supported the LGBT community for many years. What has Romero done? Does he know any gay people?
Posted by: Dan | Sep 18, 2009 5:28:16 PM
