Democracy for New Mexico

The Hypocrisy of Rep. David Chavez to Question Other People’s Right to Marriage

  

Warning: Loving gay and lesbian (same sex) homosexual couples above have possible marriage certificate from another state. Consider these couples armed with love and dangerous with commitment to each other.

On the other hand: Accused domestic abuse predator is on the loose in the roundhouse making laws. This law maker and accused law breaker wants to make love and commitment illegal. Furthermore, if you are in love do not bring your healthy loving commitment to this state of New Mexico.

The Ultimate Hypocrisy

Representative David Chavez felt compelled to introduce a Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Resolution during this short 30 day session. House Joint Resolution 22 (HJR22) was introduced by Rep. David Chavez on 1/24/12. This resolution is certainly not germane to the budget of the state of New Mexico.  This resolution is introduced for the sole purpose of discrimination and bigotry of a segment of our population, of which I am a part of.

Following is the exact language from HJR22: "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. A marriage, civil union or similar relationship entered into by persons of the same sex that is recognized by another state or foreign jurisdiction is void and shall not be recognized for any purpose in this state. In the exercise of the state's police power and recognizing the state's strong interest in governing the relationships between married persons, the provisions of this section shall apply retroactively."

Representative David Chavez has no respect for the institution of marriage. He is a failure on the topic by all accounts. Records show Rep. Chavez was accused by his wife of Domestic Abuse in mid October 2010, the beloved wife of Rep. Chavez filed a “Petition for order from Domestic abuse”, and a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” on that very same day in October 2010. The loving couple were joined in “Holy Matrimony” on July 27, 2006. Under the eyes of God, and the blessing of their community and family, these two humans entered into the institution of holy matrimony. Their marriage or “civil union” lasted 4 years and 2 months.

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02/02: "Protecting New Mexico: Elevating Community Rights Above Corporate Rights

This Thursday, Thomas Linzey, senior legal counsel for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), will be presenting in ABQ at the University of New Mexico on:

"Protecting New Mexico: Elevating Community Rights Above Corporate Rights"

Does Your Community Have the Right to Protect the Future of Your Town, City, or County from WATER DEPLETION & POLLUTION or GMO SEED CONTAMINATION from corporate development sanctioned by the State? If you do not know, come find out how you can!

DATE: Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
TIME: 7:00 PM lecture
WHERE: Education Lecture Hall Rm #103, UNM, Albuquerque (250 feet directly north of the Student Union Building on UNM Campus. It is on the first floor (west side) of the Education Bldg which is located just past (and down the steps) from the white/blue water fountain)
A Free-Will Donation

Experts: Chavez Green Jobs Program Exactly What New Mexico Needs

From the Marty Chavez for Congress Campaign.

On Monday, former Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez held a press conference at Jefferson Green, New Mexico's first USGBC LEED Gold Certified building, to discuss his plan to stimulate job growth in New Mexico's clean energy economy.

The plan, titled “A Vision for A World Class Economy in New Mexico,” is a framework for creating jobs and strengthening the foundation of New Mexico's clean energy future based on encouraging innovation in new technologies and investing in public education and job training.

"New Mexico's future lies in leading the nation towards a 21st century clean energy economy. To reach these goals, we must focus on large-scale ingenuity and innovation,” said Chavez. “As your Representative, I will forge a strong bond between our Congressional delegation, state and local leaders, the national labs, educational systems, as well as business and labor interests to craft legislation that utilizes our natural and high-tech resources to promote sustainable, long term job creation in New Mexico’s clean energy economy.”

Marty's plan covers a wide array of initiatives that take advantage of central New Mexico's incredible resources that will serve as a launch pad for our new economy including technology transfer from the national labs for commercialization, integrating intellectual infrastructure into public schools, regulatory reform, streamlining of funding processes, engaging private investment, updating best practices of government and other public entities, expanding PACE programs, modernizing electrical production and distribution, green grid development, support for bio-fuel research, recognizing the importance of natural gas as a bridge fuel and perhaps most importantly, protecting and respecting the natural environment.

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NM State House of Representatives Calls for Amendment to U.S. Constitution to Reverse Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision

A victory for the people! A big Thank You goes out to every Democratic Legislator and Independent Rep. Nunez and the one lone brave R, Rep. Tripp of Socorro.

House Memorial 4, sponsored by State Representative Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque, was approved by a 38-29 vote in the New Mexico State House of Representatives today. HM4 puts the House on record calling for the Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Commission -- a ruling that has resulted in an explosion of unlimited, and often undisclosed, Super PAC spending in the current Republican presidential nominating process.

"Today, the New Mexico State House of Representatives took a stand for our nation's democracy and the intent of our Constitution, which values the voices of individuals over the voice of money," said Viki Harrison of Common Cause New Mexico. "This legislation is significant because it puts New Mexico on record in support of a Constitutional amendment that will eventually require ratification by 38 states."

Representative Don Tripp of Socorro was the lone Republican to vote in favor of the bill. Three other Republicans -- Paul Bandy, David Chavez, and Bob Wooley -- were recorded as absent for the vote on HM4. All House Democrats and independent Andy Nunez of Hatch voted in favor.

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02/10 and 02/11: Film Festival To Highlight Water Issues

"It's All About Water -- Films and Conversation," a two-day film festival and public forum, will explore concerns about the pollution of our waters and water sustainability, including discussion of issues in the Southwest, New Mexico and Albuquerque.

The festival will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, at Albuquerque's South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025 Broadway Blvd. SE.  Doors open at 4:45 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.  Admission is free and light refreshments will be provided.

"The purpose of the festival is to spark thought by showing the films and to give participants a chance to talk about concrete steps we can take to address our concerns," said festival organizer Susan Selbin.

Eight films will cover issues ranging from city water infrastructure and water in the Southwest to the impacts of oil/gas development and the worldwide privatization of water.  In panel discussions following the films, local officials, film producers and activists will detail the local implications of issues described in the films.  Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions and raise relevant topics.

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Guest Blog by Hakim Bellamy: With Media and Justice for All: Media Justice as Anti-Racism Work

Hakim Bellamy is the Strategic Communications Director at Media Literacy Project

Last week, Media Literacy Project (MLP) attended the Second Annual Anti-Racism Day at the New Mexico State Legislature. Having served on the planning committee for this day of action, convened by the New Mexico Health Equity Working Group and the Deconstructing Racism Group, MLP had a chance to reflect on the anti-racism aspects of our work. Recently, we have been protecting the cyber frontier from corporate colonization through our opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), both in Congress.

Racism often frames the environment in which the most horrific human rights abuses occur. The human right to communication is certainly threatened by SOPA and PIPA, making freedom of speech the dominant argument in these debates currently happening in the U.S. House and Senate, respectively. However, these companion bills that were initially supported by a majority of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation have a more acute impact on communities of color. With Anti-Racism Day fresh in our minds, we must at least acknowledge the disparity of that impact on our communities.

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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

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Senate Release Tax Reform Initiative

Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus gathered today to discuss their ideas for tax reform proposed in this session. Senators Morales, Eichenberg, Fischmann and Wirth, as well as Majority Leader Sanchez laid out several bills that would make the New Mexican tax code more fair.

"We know we need to reform the tax code to make sure it is fair to New Mexico's small businesses and our working families," Senator Sanchez said. "We want to protect the mom and pop shops here, by making sure there is a level playing field with out of state corporations."

The three bills included in the first round of tax plans are SBs 9, 74, and 145.

Senator Peter Wirth introduced Senate Bill 9, and focuses on lowering the overall tax rate for businesses, and making sure that out of state corporations pay the same rate as in state ones.

"Its a win-win for New Mexico businesses," Senator Wirth said. "Senate Bill 9 creates one set of rules for businesses that pay the corporate tax. And, by broadening the tax base, we can lower the tax rate without impacting the state budget."

Senate Bill 74 is a bill that would reduce the gross receipts tax pyramiding on business to business transactions for professional services, and would pay for the change mandating combined reporting, a reduction in capital gains deduction, and an increase in the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, and a repeal of the trade in allowance. Senate Bill 145 would maintain the three percent increase limit on property taxes, which would ease the burden on New Mexicans looking to buy a new home.

"These ideas that we are presenting are not the same old push for new revenue," said Senator Howie Morales. "We are serious about putting in place lasting tax reform that works for New Mexicans and holds corporations accountable."

CITIZEN'S UNITED: Republicans Secretly Flip-Flop Votes

The following post can be seen in full on the ProgressNowNM blog.

In November, when you enter the voting booth and mark your ballot, you don't get a chance to go back later and change your vote, do you? It's part of the concept of transparency that is an integral element of our view of Democracy.

To see entire post go to ProgressNowNM.

Rep. Martin Heinrich Campaign for NM Senate Seat Releases Polling Results

The following was provided by the Martin Heinrich for Senate Campaign.

A new poll of Democratic primary voters in New Mexico shows Martin Heinrich with a commanding lead over Hector Balderas, 52 – 22 percent. Heinrich’s standing is very strong and his lead is built on more than name identification – he leads by a huge margin among voters who can identify both candidates, 51 – 28 percent.

The following are key findings from a survey of 600 likely Democratic primary voters in New Mexico conducted January 8th – 11th, 2012. The survey was conducted by live interviewers, reaching voters on land lines and cell phones. The results are subject to a 4.0 percentage point margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.

• Democratic primary voters view Heinrich incredibly favorable. 58 percent of voters give Heinrich a favorable rating, while just 12 percent view him unfavorably. Moreover, 66 percent of voters approve of the job Heinrich is doing as Congressman. Heinrich’s standing is equally good among Hispanics and Anglos. Balderas has good standing (37 – 12 percent favorable-unfavorable, 46 percent job approval), but nowhere near as good as Heinrich’s.

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NM-1: Progressive Democrats of America Endorses Eric Griego for Congress (NM-1)

The following endorsement release is from the Eric Griego for Congress Campaign.

On Monday, Eric Griego for Congress announced its endorsement by Progressive Democrats of America (www.pdamerica.org).  PDA is a national grassroots PAC working to support progressive candidates and to “revitalize the Democratic Party built on firm progressive principles.”

Griego’s latest endorsement is yet another indication of his strong momentum quickly consolidating the progressive base of the Democratic Party for his congressional campaign.

“I’m honored that the Progressive Democrats of America have decided to join labor unions, environmental groups, and other progressive organizations to help me win this important election for New Mexico’s working families,” Griego said.  “Together, we will work hard to fix what’s broken in Washington by limiting corporate influence in our democracy and fight for the American Dream for all.”

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SB 200 Guts Land Conservation Easements – Eliminating Incentives to Preserve Ecologically Important Lands for Future Generations

Guest blog by County Commissioner Kathy Holian.

Senator Phil Griego (D) has introduced SB 200  to drastically constrain the program of economic incentives that underpins conservation easements in New Mexico. Through Griego's bill, the Martinez administration is attempting to limit the scale and availability of tax credits to any landowner who wishes to put land under a conservation easement (CE).

The existing Landowner Conservation Incentive Act (LCIA) (Sec. 75-9-1 et seq. NMSA 1978) gives a landowner the ability to preserve land that is rich in ecological, cultural, recreational, or agricultural values, and obtain a NM tax credit up to $250,000, or half the value, whichever is less, of the donation of development rights. Moreover, the donation as a CE is, at present, transferable: for example, if a farmer has valuable arable land that he or she wishes to maintain in that condition (i.e., without being paved over by a housing development or parking lot or shopping mall), then the LCIA makes it possible to sell the tax credit, even when the farmer doesn't have enough tax liability to make it worthwhile for himself or herself.

"Land-rich, but cash-poor" is no longer a handicap for the farmer's (or rancher's) bottom line; his or her donation can be plowed back into the farm or ranch. Having a tangible economic benefit for the owner of agricultural land helps to preserve it, in perpetuity: for growing our food locally, or for keeping it in rangeland, or for preserving its scenic beauty and wildlife. In the last seven years, over 44,000 acres, with a total donation value of over $41 million, have been permanently protected at a minimal cost to taxpayers.

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NM Green Chamber Applauds New Survey Demonstrating Strong Public Support for Renewable Energy Jobs

Bipartisan Survey Finds Seventy Percent of New Mexico Voters Recognize that Renewable Energy Creates Jobs, Seventy-One Percent Support State's Renewable Energy Standard.

The New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce President Lawrence Rael applauded today's results from the 2012 Colorado College State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll, which found that New Mexico voters across the political spectrum strongly support renewable energy jobs and want to get more of their electricity from renewable energy. Lori Weigel of Public Opinion Strategies (a Republican firm) and Dave Metz of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (a Democratic firm) conducted the survey for Colorado College.

"This bipartisan survey shows that New Mexicans understand that renewable energy creates jobs and they want more of their electricity to come from wind and solar power-a lot more," said Mr. Rael. "This survey should be a clear guide to policymakers at the PRC and state government, as to how strongly the public desires more renewable energy jobs and generation."

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02/03: Support Fair Business Taxes, Renewable Energy, and Encourage Local Incentives!

The New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce
will be hosting a
legislative action day for our members in Santa Fe on
Friday, February 3rd.

What is the Green Chamber Legislative Action Day?
An opportunity for you to talk with your legislators about the issues important to your business.

What will I have to do?
Come to Santa Fe on February 3rd. We will train you on talking to your legislator and make sure that you understand the issues and talking points on legislation important to you and our Green Chamber members across the state.

Top Four Reasons you should attend:
1. Advocate for a Level Playing Field for Small Business
2. Keep New Mexico Investing in Clean Energy
3. Encourage New Energy Efficient Construction
4. Network with Important Decision Makers and Like-Minded Businesses

Legislative Action Day Agenda : Friday, February 3rd

One-page Issue briefs on top five key issues to be provided to all participants by Wednesday February 1. 

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Voter Suppression at the Roundhouse - Guest Blog by Paul Stokes

Following is a guest blog by Paul Stokes. Paul has been engaged in election integrity activities since the 2004 election.

The voter suppression crowd doesn’t give up easily.  Paul Weyrich, co-founder of ALEC and the Heritage Foundation, famously said, “I don't want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

Cathrynn Brown, R-Eddy, has introduced HB 113, an almost identical photo voter ID bill to the one introduced last year at the New Mexico Legislature.  That bill didn’t pass, but it was close in the House, and we must do everything we can to make sure that it doesn’t pass in the current Legislature.

The proponents of photo voter ID do not admit that its purpose is to suppress the vote.  No, they say that it is necessary to prevent voter fraud.  This flies in the face of numerous studies that have shown that the incidence of voter fraud is rarer than being struck by lightning.  The truth is that New Mexico already has an effective voter ID requirement.  Its effectiveness is confirmed by my favorite study conducted by the Republican National Lawyers Association that found that three persons were charged with voter fraud in New Mexico over the last ten years.  Two of those were by election officials who opened a ballot box during the county canvass without the required approval of a district judge – probably an unintentional oversight - and one was a person illegally registered in Texas and New Mexico who voted both places – for himself as a candidate for judge in New Mexico no less.  Notice that none of these cases would have been prevented by photo voter ID.

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