October 2018
The October 2018 Unified Action is to:
Reach out to the people in your Personal Influence Network
and tell them about the Midterm Election
Sponsored by the PVA Executive Committee, www.pva-nm.org
The issue
Voting is essential to our democracy. It’s also important that we advocate for the candidates we believe in. A friend’s recommendation can have a big influence on how we vote.
Encourage your network of friends to vote in this important election – every vote makes a difference.
Reach out to friends and family members who might not normally vote and let them know which candidates you support. This is an important action!
What we are asking
Urge those in your Personal Influence Network to vote for the candidate or candidates you believe are most qualified.
Mr. Doreen Gallegos asks you to support Mrs. Doreen Gallegos for reelection
Scott Scanland encourages everyone to vote for Doreen Gallegos (and not just because she’s his wife). He said she’s running on her good record and good legislation. She’s experienced, knowledgeable, hardworking, helps kids in the foster care system who have been neglected and abused, and most importantly she has a kind heart. Scott is asking everyone to vote for a good friend, good neighbor, and good representative.
For more information, visit Doreen’s campaign website.
Adelante Progressive Caucus
Kathy Wooten of the Adelante Progressive Caucus wants to thank Doña Ana County for helping candidates who can make a real difference for this county and state. Adelante Progressive Caucus officially endorsed Kim Stewart for Doña Ana County Sheriff and Day Hochman Vigil for District 15 in Albuquerque BUT that doesn’t mean Adelante doesn’t support a whole bunch of candidates. They even canvassed for Xochitl Torres Small in Roswell and received good feedback! She said to keep the momentum going!
For more information, visit the Adelante Progressive Caucus’ Facebook page or website.
Awards for educators
Ed Frank, President of the Las Cruces Board of Education, wanted to share that we have teachers and administrators who are receiving awards from the National Education Association (NEA) New Mexico. He said these awards exemplify the good relationship between the school board and the school district and the people who represent them.
Gabe Jacquez who is an administrator, received “Friend of Education”, Dr. Miquel Serrano (HR) received the civil rights award. Three more people who are being recognized with awards are Bruce Hartman for Advocate of the Year, Cheryl Carreon for Teaching Excellence, Bill Soules for Board of Directors 2018 Legislator Special Award.
For more information, email Ed.
Start contacting your Representatives on November 7
Lucas Herndon thanked everyone for their support over the years and announced that he’s been promoted as Deputy Director of ProgressNowNM.
He said to make sure to contact legislators now, before the session starts in January, call and email them immediately about what you’d like to see from them this upcoming year and start a dialogue.
For more information, contact Lucas on Twitter.
Get out the vote!
MaryAnn Hendrickson, who is Rep. Joanne Ferrary’s campaign manager, wanted to share that everything is going well! She’s thankful for the volunteers and staff for their dedication. All of them are not only encouraging people to vote for Joanne but they’re talking about Democrats that are great up and down the ticket.
She also encourages everyone to follow her on twitter because she’s proud to have been blocked by Steve Pearce! 😉
For more information, contact MaryAnn on Twitter.
Happy Birthday Steve!
PRC candidate Steve Fischmann thanked everyone in the group for being his “political foundation,” and for their hard work and effort supporting his campaign.
Our meeting was October 25, which happened to be Steve’s 65th birthday. As a birthday present, he wants you to keep working hard and Get. Out. The. Vote. He said, “It’s also my first day of Medicare and I would like to keep it!”
Finally, he thanked Xochitl Torres Small for running an amazing campaign which is working for all Democratic candidates. He said Xochitl has a great message, understands the district, and has the smarts to stay there and make a difference.
For more information, visit Steve’s campaign website.
Vote… for education!
“The other” Cheryl (Carreon) 🙂 spoke about the incredible relationship between LCPS, the school board, and superintendent. She said our schools do have very low resources and voting is a very critical tool for NM educators to get the resources they need to provide the best education for kids.
She also informed everyone about a “Get Out the Vote” event at Veteran’s Park.
The Las Cruces chapter of NEA did a voter registration drive and 120 teachers and one new immigrant were registered to vote! Cheryl said, “Let’s make a difference together!”
For more information, email Cheryl.
PFLAG
Jessica Kurtz talked about PFLAG which is a group that fights and advocates for the LGBTQI community. Sue Brown founded our local chapter that has been active for 23 years! They will be having their annual fundraiser on Friday, November 30 at 6:00-10:00 P.M. at the Hotel Encanto. The theme is building bridges or the rainbow refugee project.
There will be silent auctions, guided hike, bird watching event, singing chorus, Apple pie auction, and other forms of entertainment.
For more information about the local PFLAG chapter visit PFLAGLasCruces.org.
If you’d like to buy tickets online visit: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3720223
New Mexico and abortion rights
Cherokee, who works with Planned Parenthood, spoke about the partnership with Young Women United, the ACLU, and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice to decriminalize abortion in New Mexico and pass a bill to strike an anti-abortion statute/permanently protect access to a full range of reproductive healthcare including abortion. They are looking for folks to collect signatures supporting the bill, which will be put into the 2019 legislative session.
If you’re interested in helping or for more information, email Cherokee.
Trick or treat, and vote!
Kim Stewart started out by mentioning that was invited to a Halloween party and she was going as a… sheriff. 😉
She also wants to thank everyone for their help and support and encourages everyone to wear her campaign shirts everywhere, for example when getting gas, shopping, or anywhere you’re going to be around people!
She was also incredibly grateful that even when she’s met opposition on the campaign trail, she never met anybody who was rude or disrespectful to her which is another reason she’s proud to live in Doña Ana County.
For more information, visit Kim’s campaign website.
Willie Madrid for State Representative, District 53
Stephen Jones spoke about why he is supporting Willie Madrid for District 53 state representative. He said this district has been neglected for years. Steve hopes Willie is elected because, “He will help to turn that district around with better infrastructure, economic development, and education.”
For more information, visit Willie’s campaign website.
Leadership. Period.
Rocky Bacchus said that there are a lot of great people on our ballots; he added that, “The path of good leadership will make a difference for all of us.” He wanted to point out two in particular: Steve Fischman (running for PRC) and Shannon Reynolds (running for County Commission) are people he feels we need in office. Rocky explained that Steve Fischman’s campaign is so important because we need someone who is going to spend taxpayer’s money carefully and wisely and Steve is the candidate to do just that. He believes Shannon Reynolds looks at positive things, while not telling us that we don’t need things that we do indeed need. He said both candidates are great leaders and will bring New Mexico forward!
Rocky also mentioned that he supports helping people with lower incomes get solar energy, which will in turn save money (by an average of 20%) for everyone!
For more information, email Rocky.
Voices needed for the decriminalization of abortion
Kat Sánchez, who works with Young Women United reiterated the importance Cherokee’s point about the need to decriminalize abortion in NM. Young Women United will be doing a lot of heavy lifting for this bill in the upcoming session. For context, in New Mexico, we have an antiquated law that criminalizes not only the woman who has an abortion but the healthcare provider who performs them as well. YMU appreciates Rep. Joanne Ferrary’s support with this bill and they are looking for support to help push this bill through in the upcoming session. She concurred with Lucas, advising us reach out to our representatives now and before the session to tell them what you want to see from them!
For more information, email Kat.
CD2 is one of the closest races in the country!
Congressional candidate Xochitl Torres Small thanked everyone for their support and hard work; she knows her hard work is just about to get started because she wants to finish the campaign strong. She says she couldn’t have made it through her campaign without her staff or volunteers who have helped make things happened and helped make Doña Ana County the leader in early voting. “I decided to run because growing up here, in Southern New Mexico, I seldom felt represented by the person who was elected to do that,” adding that she has been honored to share the stories of her grandmother and the stories of other people living in our great state. Also, her race is now the closest race in the nation! She told us that more Democrats have gone to vote early than Republicans and 18% of the early Democratic voters are those who didn’t vote in 2016! Wow. “We rule the field,” Xochitl said, “and everyone knows what we have to do to make this close race a win on November 6th.”
For more information, email Xochitl.
What is Lynn going to be for Halloween?
Lynn Ellins, who is running for County Commissioner in District 1, said he has 30 precincts in his district and he’s walked/mailed 25 of them so far, and will walk the rest. He shared that Shannon Reynolds has some interesting numbers to share (he didn’t want to steal Shannon’s thunder!) and thanked everyone for their help with his campaign. Also, he was planning on dressing like a county commissioner for Halloween.
For more information, visit Lynn’s campaign Facebook page.
Get involved with Las Cruces City Council
CIty Councilor Yvonne Flores wants to encourage everyone to go to Council meetings and work sessions; council meetings are on the first and third Mondays of the month at 1:00 P.M. and work sessions are the second and fourth Monday of each month (times vary check their site here: http://www.las-cruces.org/departments/city-clerks-office/city-council-meetings). She stressed that decisions made by your local government most affect your quality of life.
For more information, email Yvonne.
Volunteers for Xochitl Torres Small
Fran Sisneros is looking for volunteers to help Xochitl Torres Small get elected. She also encouraged you to vote if you haven’t already.
Campaign Office: 230 S Water Street
For more information, email Fran.
Charlotte’s recommendations
Charlotte Lipson is encouraging everyone to vote for Karen Trujillo who is running for County Commission, District 5. She says we need intelligent people in county commission like Karen, Shannon (Reynolds), and Lynn (Ellins).
For more information, email Charlotte.
On behalf of Shannon Reynolds
Connie Chapman advocated for Shannon Reynolds. She just finished organizing a big mailing – 3,050 letters were sent out on his behalf. “It took a village, but it was fun,” said Connie. They tried to target people who needed a nudge to vote. She said if you hear anyone talking about Shannon, encourage them to vote for him!
For more information, visit Shannon’s campaign website, or email Connie.
CPR & Elevate Las Cruces
Sherry Thomas encouraged people to take CPR classes which are on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Andy Embry is the person who teaches the classes and she felt he was very informative and encourages anyone who is interested to pursue learning more. Andy Embry: 575-642-8187
She also mentioned that the city is working on a new comprehensive plan and there is a survey online at ElevateLasCruces.com and the survey will be available in English and Spanish until November 16. She hopes people will take 10 minutes to complete the survey and encourage your personal network to take it as well.
For more information, email Sherry.
We *are* a loving community, right?
Jan Thompson invited everyone to a vigil on October 30 (at the Unitarian Universalist Church) called Vigil Against Hateful Vandalism. Some churches have recently been vandalized; the vandalism had racist undertones. Supporters of the church want to show everyone that this is unacceptable behavior in our loving community.
For more information, email Jan.
Hospitality for refugees (volunteers and donations needed)
Linda Braxton from the Peace Lutheran Church and Border Servant Corps is looking for donations for the influx of refugees at the Refugee Hospitality centers. ICE is releasing double the amount of families right now (1100 each week) so all of the hospitality centers are full and they need items such as kids clothing, sweatshirts, pants, (new) underwear, (new) sports bras, shoes in new or very good condition, toiletries like backpacks, re-fillable water bottles, twin sheets and pillows, combs, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, gallon and quart sized Ziploc bags, ginger tablets, kids Tylenol, and throat lozenges. Food, coloring books and crayons and books and movies in Spanish are appreciated as well!
To volunteer, call (575) 522-7119 Ext. 15. Or, email: Carol@BorderServantCorps.org
To donate, drop off items on Mon-Fri from 9:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M. at Peace Lutheran Church 1701 E. Missouri Ave, Las Cruces, NM 88001
EPE and PRC
Allen Downs reported about El Paso Electric’s Integrated Resource Plan. Last month he asked everyone to file comments and “seven comments were filed and we are now waiting for El Paso Electric’s response to those comments [which were due on October 29th]. EPE’s annual Renewable Energy Plan has been accepted by the PRC, but the request for a waiver from meeting 2020 requirements was not. That means next year we will get another shot at pushing EPE toward meeting the requirement that 20% of energy sold in New Mexico come from renewable sources. Back in April EPE filed for permission to build a Community Solar Project. Objections were filed stating that the cost was too high and EPE requested to withdraw the application. The Hearing Examiner recommended that they be allowed to withdraw. But in a surprise move, the Commission denied EPE’s request to withdraw and set a lightning schedule that would have decided the case at the October 24th PRC meeting with little time for testimony and no time for rebuttal. After objections from the City of Las Cruces and others, the schedule was relaxed, and a hearing is now set for November 27th.
Allen feels that he doesn’t need to remind anyone at PVA that we will be voting for the new PRC commissioner in this election and that Steve Fischmann is running to fill that seat. “Steve will fight for more renewable energy and lower electric bills and I strongly urge you to vote for Steve Fischmann for PRC.”
For more information, email Allen.
Targeting important voters, with your help
Terry Miller spoke about the get-out-the-vote door hanger campaign. Last month, 6,000 flyers were handed out and they’re hoping to place 6,000 more befire the election – they couldn’t have done it without the 160 volunteers (30 of whom were at the PVA meeting)! The door hangers encourage voters to go vote for all the Democratic candidates on the ballot.
For more information, email Terry.
PVA reenergizes Doreen
Rep. Doreen Gallegos (District 52), needed the folks at PVA to reenergize her. She said it’s been a tough campaign, but she values everyone and their energy to get out and vote! She also encouraged everyone to help get Willie Madrid elected to the house. She said what is most important is to elect good thoughtful candidates that care about humans.
For more information, visit Doreen’s campaign website.
Education Transformation Fund
Teacher Cheryl Carreon is working with New Mexico Center Poverty Law. Recently, the Yazzie/Martinez v New Mexico ruled that New Mexico has underfunded education. New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty is working with a coalition to help our schools “…to no longer starve [schools] of resources. This is a watershed moment, she said – let’s seize this opportunity to transform our schools for all of our children to ensure their constitutional right to an education is no longer violated.” Read more here.
Sign up for the coalition here.
Exciting numbers doesn’t mean slow down
Shannon Reynolds, who is running for Doña Ana County Commissioner, had good news to share about the current numbers in the election. (As of October 24th) In District 3, 20% of the registered Democratic voters had voted, 17% in District 5, and 20% in District 1. The numbers are good for Democrats, he said, but that doesn’t mean the work stops or that we get complacent, he said. Shannon would like to see that number at 80% by November 3rd. He also said that the turnout in District 3 includes 57% Democrats, 28% Republican and 15% Independents. In District 5, it’s 54% Democrats, 34% Republican, and 12% Independents. In the district Lynn Ellins is running for, it was 57% Democrats, 29% Republicans, and 14% Independents (which is why Lynn was so excited for Shannon to share these numbers). “We’re on track to win these Commissioner seats, and I don’t want anybody to stop and say it’s enough. It’s never enough.” He also encourages you to like and share his posts on Facebook!
For more information, visit Shannon’s campaign website or Facebook page.
Swing Left bus
Terry Miller added that on Nov 3rd “Swing Left” is bringing a busload of canvassers to Las Cruces – they will start at the Democratic headquarters and they will be door-to-door canvassing all day long. 10-20 Drivers are needed to meet them at 11:30. Drivers take them to a neighborhood and then pick them up at 3:00 and/or 6:00, and drive them back to headquarters.
For more information, email Terry.
More numbers and volunteering opportunities
Lucas H. added some statewide early voting numbers as of October 24: 54,912 Republicans, 87,815 Democrats, and 18,409 Decline-to-State voters had already voted!
Also, poll watchers are needed for Election Day, November 6th. If that’s something you’re interested in you can contact Chris Schaljo at (314) 225-5074.
For more information, contact Lucas.
Rabble Rousers
Yvonne added that she considers herself a “rabble rouser;” she says she has nothing to lose and always speaks up. She feels that all of the Democratic candidates on the ballot are daring, courageous and kind. She encourages everyone to vote a straight Democrat ticket.
She said it’s commonly believed that city councilors have nothing to do with LCPS. However, David Greenberg, who is the coordinator of the community schools, drafted the “Joint Powers Agreement.” It has been sent it up to the finance office of the state of New Mexico and awaiting certification. This agreement will help the city to be able to work even closer with community schools/LCPS.
For more information, email Yvonne.
Dynamic Duo
Shannon added that and he and Lynn make a dynamic duo and they are eager to work with everyone who is running. He concurred with Yvonne, saying that local elected leaders truly have a bigger and more immediate impact on your day to day life than the people in Washington. He also wanted to clarify that he is not involved with the sticker incidences involving his opponent whose signs had been vandalized.
For more information, contact Shannon on Facebook.
Keep Pushing!
Sen. Jeff Steinborn reminded everyone that 50% of people typically vote on Election Day so the effort cannot stop! He emphasized that even though the numbers look good for Democrats now, supporters cannot slow down or get complacent. For Democrats to win a Congressional seat in Southern New Mexico, Doña Ana County needs to carry Xochitl Torres Small to the finish line, he said. “Push Steve Pearce out,” he finished, “and elect Kim Stewart, Shannon Reynolds, Steve Fischmann, and Karen Trujillo. Keep the momentum going!”
For more information, contact Jeff on Facebook.
The next PVA meeting will be:
November 8, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
Munson Senior Center
(this is a special post-election meeting, and will be the last PVA meeting of 2018)