West Side Forum

City of Albuquerque Opens South Valley COVID Testing Site The South Valley is home to one of largest outbreaks of COVID-19 cases in the state. To address this, the City of Albuquerque and the New Mexico Department of Health opened a new COVID-19 testing site in the Southwest Mesa on November 21. Free testing can be found at the Ted M. Gallegos (Alamosa) Community Center located at 6900 Gonzales Rd. SW. “By providing an accessible COVID-19 testing site to the residents of District 3,…

COVID Relief for New Mexico Families and Small Businesses On November 24, New Mexico lawmakers passed a bipartisan coronavirus relief bill that will deliver a one-time $1,200 check to all types of unemployed workers and up to $50,000 for certain businesses. The bill also provides smaller stimulus checks to immigrants without legal status in the country and dependents, as well as additional funds for food banks, virus testing and contact tracing efforts. Efforts to provide assistance to low income essential workers did not pass…

Senator-Elect Harold Pope, Jr. – The Responsibility by Ellen Coplen Harold Pope, Jr. made history on November 3 when he was elected as the first African American to the New Mexico state senate. And his win – not surprising to him because he had an army of community support and always credits his campaign staff, volunteers, and donors for helping him defeat a three-term Republican senator – was not something he would have ever dreamed about in high school. Nor would his high school…

Westside Legislators Present Aggressive Agenda to Voters in a Celebratory Victory Lap with West Side Democrats CLICK HERE to watch the webinar In an inspiring evening, 7 newly elected and re-elected state legislators representing Southwest and Northwest Albuquerque and Sandoval Counties laid out an impressive list of bills and reforms they want passed in the upcoming 2021 Legislative Session which starts on January 19. They also accurately predicted a special session to be called by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced for November 24 to…

Candidate Profile: Daymon Ely Representative Daymon Ely has served House District 23 since 2016. HD 23 covers Corrales and a slice of the Westside, south to Montano. Rep. Ely is an attorney with 33 years of experience. Every Friday afternoon he closes the office and heads to the South Valley to provide free advice and referrals. This election, Rep. Ely is facing Republican Ellis McMath. Daymon appreciates the continued support of the Westside Democrats and he has answered some questions from us. To learn more…

November 18 West Side Dems Meeting 6 p.m. 2021 LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW Join us for a very special event to celebrate the newly elected officials of the New Mexico Legislature and find out their priorities for the 2021 legislative session which starts on January 19. This will be a crucial session for addressing the state’s budget crisis and how to balance the state’s needs.  Legislative topics expected to be considered include the legalization of recreational cannabis, the permanent land grant fund and early childhood education,…

Westside Emergency Housing Shelter and Coronavirus: “They Are Our Neighbors, Treat Them with Compassion” An Interview with City Councilor Lan Sena Lan Sena, who represents District 1 on the Albuquerque City Council, is a native of Albuquerque and was appointed in March 2020 to represent the Westside district after the death of long-time city councilor Ken Sanchez.  Right now, the outbreak of COVID-19 at the Westside shelter is at the forefront of her mind.  Councilor Sena is very grateful to all those working so hard…

We are now in the home stretch. Greetings West Side Democrats!  I hope this finds you well and safe. What on earth did I watch on Tuesday?  For the most part, both Pence and Harris got high marks for their performances, but it appears that most polls suggest that Harris won the debate.  But really, I think this misses the point:  Pence looked "okay" only by contrasting his style with is boss.  While, like Trump, he was certainly rude (“I'm speaking...”), he did not…