Democratic Party of New Mexico State Central Meeting a Success

Well this weekend was a long one for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. The party had great success this last election cycle when it came to national, state, and local elections. 

New Mexico has a complete blue federal delegation, a democratic governor and control of the house. While it has control of the senate there still continues to be a heavy DINO influence there that has stalled some progress when it comes to important issues such as pre-K funding, repeal of the abortion law that is outdated, and the legalization of pot. 

The election results for top party offices in the state are as follows

:

1. Chairwomen Marg Elliston She had no problem winning this year with all of the party successes and strong support of all of the elected officials.
2. Vice-Chairman Marcus “Aurelius” Porter A young man who will bring a lot of strong ideas and a desire to include young people into the party. We look forward to seeing what he can do to get out the vote of the younger generations in the 2020 election. 
3.  Secretary Pamelya Herndon Yes you may now call her Madame Secretary. Pamelya has been an active democrat for many years. She has worked hard to bring more women into the party.
4. Treasurer Robert Lara A young man who is talented in keeping the books in the black. He will freely give the credit to the party and the voters for his success in digging the party out of a financial black hole over the past few years. His only request each year is give the party money.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO8mJYAgZ2glmD4KvdTxkHBtOsuqSfPZK1D-xrlNqM1XprbnR89gk1bQU4eSzYWog?key=MjNlSWdmY0pvdDR1U0tqOEM0T3Vhd2xHN3FrUlln

 

Now that the elections for party leadership is in the books the party turns to putting candidates on the ballot in late fall and the fall meeting that will be the run up to picking national delegates for the 2020 national convention. These meetings will of course cost the party money since rather than just one more meeting this year there will be three. 

While there are always a few individuals who want to make problems during these party elections (Rusty Peace, Israel Chavez, and David Montoya) it was for the most part dealt with through the Party Judicial Council or a stern talking to by a candidate. It was pointed out that a code of conduct with consequences should be developed in the future to keep individuals from bullying or disrespecting either party workers, party leadership, or voters. This will be a difficult task for the party because they do not have control of outside individuals.  

Results from DPNM Judicial Council for Israel Chavez.

While this ruling will not result in the requested conquences that this young women desired, it will nevertheless harm Israel's campaign to become the Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

Tap to read document.

Vetting vs. Attacking a Candidate Running for a Political Office

I have seen people who are all out attacking any candidate that is not their own with unfounded rumors and all out lies as of late. They just want to disqualified anyone that is not their own candidate. This is not a correct political process. It is wrong and unreasonable to expect candidates to disprove false claims all of the time. It discourages good people from running for political offices. It discourages people from voting.

What is real vetting?

Well let’s dispense first with the salacious claims:

Does the candidate openly cheat on his or her spouse? Like Trump who cheated with one women while still married to another. Then he would divorce the one and married the next one who he had cheated with while still married. 

Don’t vote for individuals like this!

Does the candidate molest children? Well if he says that he would date his daughter. Touches her inappropriately in public. Tells reporters how hot a child is on camera.

Don’t vote for individuals like this!

Is the candidate racist or sexist? If he talks about grabbing a women’s body parts, forces himself on married women, or makes remarks of a sexual nature. If he calls white supremacist good people, wears white nationalist items of clothing or makes their signs or symbols in public on camera. 

Don’t vote for individuals like this!

Now for the run of the mill items:

Does the candidate agree with these items?

                First amendment rights. I.e. Freedom of the press.

                Real immigration reform. Not holding children in cages.

                Human rights for all people.

                Equal pay for all individuals. A real minimum wage.

                Healthcare for all.

                A clean healthy environment.

                National Parks acessable to all.

                 Healthcare for all.

                Building jobs for the future.

                Green energy at a affordable cost.

                Peacefully working with other nations around the globe.

                Living a scandal free life.

                Respecting the rule of law.

                Real gun reform that protects citizens of this country from
                mentally ill individuals. Responsible gun ownership laws. 

Now as we all know from past experience not all candidates are going to live up to our desires on all of the issue. All we can do is pick a candidate who fits closely with our values the most. If you really want to help that candidate win then talk to your neighbor about the things you like and value most about your candidate. Don’t attack the other candidates unless you want people not to vote for anyone in 2020.

Israel Chavez – Learning a Political Lesson the Hard Way

A young democratic man ask why is this such a big deal? It was not as if he had sexually assault the young women. Yes, he had entered the personal space of a young female state central committee member. As they say he had gotten in her face in a aggressive manner. He had been aggressive in demanding that she vote for him at the state central meeting. He had threatened her by telling her that he would know her vote and that there would be negative consequences to her actions once he was elected. He did this at a party where there were more then one witness to his behavior. Why could they not just work it out in private with a disingenuous apology. 

The act of making State Central Committee member’s votes public was not so a candidate who wins could punish those who did not vote for him or her. It was so the people who elected that person to the seat could then hold them accountable. A young woman who steps forward to be active in the party should never be threatened by a candidate. She should never be made to feel threatened or fearful by a candidate. 

A young man who does not understand what he did wrong has some serious problems to overcome before he can be a good leader in the Democratic Party. Somewhere and somehow he was not taught that being rude and aggressive toward a woman in public was wrong and crossed a line when it comes to social behavior. Young men do not understand that they cannot act in an aggressive manner toward women their own age. Party leadership requires that leaders not only treat all people with respect but they are humble in their interactions with the State Central Committee members and the public in general.  

I am not saying that we are all well behaved 100% of the time when it comes to our interaction with other party members. We have all had that moment when we disagree passionately with someone and feel very strongly about the issue. We all must learn to forgive each other’s mistakes in a reasonable amount of time. The problem arises when a candidate for the leadership of our state party makes this same mistake more than once. 

I myself saw him act in a not too kind manner toward a woman who was calling out Hispanic names at the Bernalillo County Central Committee meeting. Yes, it was offensive for her to continue to mispronounce Hispanic names of county central committee members. The issue is there is always a more diplomatic way to deal with situations. He should have gone to the new chairwomen unobtrusively and ask that the women be given assistance with the process. To scream at the poor women in front of all those people watching the count was discourteous and not becoming of a young man who wants to help lead our party. 

While Israel Chavez is not the worse human being in the world now is not the time for him to become vice-chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. He first must learn the hard lesson of humility. He must learn that being elected to a public seat means public service. You serve the public and you are not entitled to demand anything from the people you are asking to vote for you. You are never allowed to threaten a voter because they might not support you but you can make a positive case for why you would be a good person to vote for in the first place. And above all else he must learn to respect women and treat them with respect always.