Bernalillo County Pre-Primary Convention

The hall was full with every seat taken. The back of the hall was full of people standing around talking. The hallways outside were full of people. The turnout was more than great. With these types of turnouts there is nothing that we, the Democratic Party of New Mexico, can not change or achieve. We are done watching the Republican Party destroy the American Dream. It is time for a change and we know how to get it. Democrats as a group are more or less a laid back people but one should never underestimate their power when they do become angry.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera

The morning started with Mary Herrera, Secretary of State, speaking to the delegates, the candidates and the democratic voters about what she was doing and how the county clerks were working hard to make sure all issues that came up during February 5 are looked into so as to make sure that the voter rolls are ready for the June Primary.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Brian Colon

Next up was State Party Chairman Brian Colon. As I said yesterday Chairman Colon said that he had taken the responsible for the caucus problems. He is working diligently with the Secretary of State to assure voters that they will have a smooth election come June. We are now one united Democratic Party being lead by Chairman Colon toward a Blue New Mexico.

State Treasurer James B. Lewis

James B. Lewis is our current state treasurer but we don’t hear much about him in the news because he is very good at his job. James Lewis is also very good at getting people motivated during elections. The Governor calls him our party cheerleader. People love to hear him speak. He is an inspiring speaker for the Democratic Party. At the convention he spoke briefly and then introduced Congressman Tom Udall.

Congressman and Senate Candidate Tom Udall

The party welcomed Congressman Tom Udall with a standing ovation. Democrats are all telling Congressman Udall to relax because we will make sure that he is our next US Senator. He wanted the party to understand that the republicans have the money and will stop at nothing to keep that senate seat. He wants us to take nothing as a done deal after all it is up to us to turnout and make sure that he gets elected. No other candidate in this state is more ready or more able to perform the duties of US Senator then Tom Udall. If we let anyone else get that seat then we have truly let our country, our party, our families, and ourselves down. It is now up to the democratic voters to show up and put the right man in that senate seat. We can not allow anyone else to be our US Senator.

Party Platform Issues

The delegates, all 646 of them, than went through the platform issues to be taken to the Democratic State Convention on March 15. The issues that most divided us were that of the roll of Super delegates and that of sending people to prison for life without possible of parole. I get the feel that these issues are difficult for most individuals in our party. We want the public to be able to pick our presidential candidate but we also wish to show respect for the people who have worked in the party for a long time and earned their positions. As for the second issue no one wants an innocent man or woman to go to jail for life with no hope of every getting out but at the same time we do not want monsters to be released back into the public only to take the life of another law-abiding individual. These are always difficult issues to deal with in our party. We all support the use of renewable energy. We all support the protection of our children and their education. We all support universal Healthcare. We all want the good jobs to stay in our country. We don’t like when big business is rewarded for moving good jobs to other countries just to save money. We all agree that we want the war in Iraq to stop. We want our young men and women to come home safe to the families that love them. We don’t want to see anymore body bags with our young people in them. We want our troops to understand that they are heroes that we honor and support. In the end there are always more issues that bring us together as democrats than those few issues that pull us a part.

Congressional District 1 Candidates

After the issues were covered all four Congressional District 1 Candidates showed up to give their views on why they should be voted for in June. I must admit that I have a favorite candidate for Congressional District 1. Martin Heinrich was there with his wife and small son. Anyone near him could see the love shared between father and son. It is just one of those moments in time when you wish you had a camera but then again some moments are just too sweet to interrupt by taking a picture of it. Martin Heinrich is a man that truly understands the issues facing parents today. He unlike Heather Wilson will not fail to protect our children. I can not understand how that woman can say she supports our children and gets a grade of 60% from the Children defense fund. We need someone in Congress that will understand and support the issues that matter to New Mexican families and not just big business and the top richest 1% of our population. We need someone that will not turn a blind eye while our children suffer and vote with the likes of President George W. Bush some 98% of the time.

Metro and District Court Judges

After the Congressional Candidate came the Judges from the Metropolitan Court and the Second District Court. I will go more into detail about them in a day or two. I have asked them to give a statement of how they get elected and who they are so we will know who and how to vote for them in the future. I am lucky enough to have a few friends on the district court and know just how hard they work everyday to insure that people get justice and fair treatment from the New Mexico Court System. Bernalillo County Chairwomen, Ana Canales, said that they have set up visits for the judges with our local high schools so that our children will get the civic education that few other children every have the opportunity to receive. We are lucky to have such a caring and talented group of people volunteering their valuable time to help educated our high school age children.