West Side Forum

Democrats in Bernalillo County are invited to attend training with Hayden Cuffman, Party Affairs Director for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, to learn how to run for election as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention July 13-16, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Multiple training dates are scheduled: Saturday, April 4: 10:30 am – noon Tuesday, April 14: 6-7:30 pm Click here to register and RSVPLearn more via our online resources.

In this time of COVID-19, we’ve been asking ourselves how best to continue to serve our DPBC community. We have a list in the works—important numbers to call, sites to visit for answers about the pandemic—and intend to publish it soon. With the help of our contributors and volunteers, we’ll also continue to feature articles and opinions that reflect the concerns and efforts of the Party that have weight apart from coronavirus. And we’ll post information regarding Dem events and meetings that can be…

An Opinion by Diane McCash The New Mexico legislature recently finished its 30-day, primarily budgetary, session. The governor may, however, call up any drafted legislation she chooses to prioritize. The sentence enhancement portions of the bill highlighted below, a bill that was passed 59/9 in the House and 42/0 in the Senate and signed into law by our Democratic governor, were originally contained in two of her “tough-on-crime” priority bills.      This was my third legislative session advocating for evidence-based, humane and effective Criminal Justice…

By Lance ChiltonIn the previous article, I gave you a numerical summary of the January 21-February 20 Legislative session, devoid of details.  Here are some details, in part cribbed from constituent letters from Representatives Debbie Armstrong and Antonio “Moe” Maestas.   It’s a continual source of amazement to me that legislators address in a short time everything from the mental health needs of seniors to car licenses, horse racing, methane flares, state parks, and child abuse.  It will come as no surprise to you that…

By Lance Chilton 2020’s 30-day legislative session ended about one month ago.  You may have already received summaries from members of the legislature or from one or more advocacy groups – I know I have.  In fact, I’ve received snail mail from two representatives, one my own and one from across the river. I’d like to summarize the results in this and another brief article.  First the overall scorecard: This table is a bit misleading for several reasons: Bills considered “non-germane” met none of…

Super Tuesday is over, and what a disappointment it has been to watch the Democratic candidates of color, the women, and our first LGBTQ candidate running for President drop out of the race one by one due to lackluster support. Never before have we had such a strong group of candidates who represented more of the majority of voters than in this year’s Democratic primary. And now we are faced with choosing between two White men to lead the Democratic ticket, one of whom…

By Flora Lucero, Chair Just one month ago, on February 15, we held our ward meetings to elect delegates to the state convention and the following week we held our county convention. In the days after the County pre-primary processes, we began looking ahead toward the next milestone. Little did we know the magnitude of change that would challenge us in the coming days. Over the last two weeks, COVID-19, the novel (new) coronavirus, upended life as we know it. Communities, states, and nations around…

Out of care and caution, many events are moving from in-person to virtual and some events are being canceled. We will try to post the latest updates in the newsletter and on our website but since we do not always get the updates in a timely manner, we urge you to contact event organizers before heading to an event. Our main concern is for your health and well-being. Please see the NM Department of Health's website for recommended steps to take to help prevent…

Part of the planning for the 2020 US census is identifying geographic locations that are hard to count. On a  national map that identifies those areas by color, New Mexico is lit up like a Christmas tree. The map was shown recently at the state Data Users Conference, an annual gathering of professionals who use population data in their work. The presenter was Robert Rhatigan, New Mexico State Demographer. “If you look at the United States and which demographic groups tends to get undercounted,…

By Liam PaulAs the Democratic party of New Mexico Pre-Primary convention comes to a close, I am exhausted from the weekend but overjoyed about the event’s success. This weekend, Buffalo Thunder Casino in Pojoaque, just north of Santa Fe, was filled with over a thousand Democrats who gathered to nominate candidates -- from the New Mexico Court of Appeals to the U.S. Senate. In the majority of the races, there was only one candidate on the nomination ballot, including Bernalillo County’s own Congresswoman Deb…