Reflections from the WSD Vice-Chair |
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by Dorothy Wilkinson Vice-Chair WSD |
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Have you heard of Moms for Liberty? Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans. The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled Moms for Liberty as extremist in a report that monitors "hate and antigovernment extremist groups."
Moms for Liberty and its nationwide chapters combat what they consider the “woke indoctrination” of children by advocating for book bans in school libraries and endorsing candidates for public office that align with the group's views. They also use their multiple social media platforms to target teachers and school officials, advocate for the abolition of the Department of Education, advance a conspiracy propaganda, and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.
Moms for Liberty wants to take over our school system and school systems across the country. The current Vice President of the APS School Board is closely aligned with Moms for Liberty. One agenda that Moms for Liberty have is advocating banning books with which they do not agree. They want teachers to avoid using and teaching from books which have historical truths about our country’s past regarding race and Moms for Liberty promote a veiled return to that dark period of our country and about gender and sexual identification. They want a curriculum which focuses on the rights of white students not to be discomforted because of teaching true history and which does not allow for the teaching of any deviance from straight sexual and gender identification. They want to tell librarians what library books they can place in their libraries. They do want students who have questions about their gender or who identify as gay or other to be denied any credibility. Students who are not white would be recognized as less-than. Their histories and the suffering of their ancestors because of governmental and societal racism would be discounted. These are some of the beliefs the Moms for Liberty member, who is currently serving APS Vice President and running for re-election for APS District 2.
Ronalda Tome-Warito is a well-grounded candidate seeking election to replace the Moms for Liberty candidate. Ronalda is a Navajo who grew up on the Reservation. Her ancestral history and the prejudice she has suffered has made her sensitive to marginalized people. Because she had to fight for the rights of her children in Albuquerque Public schools, she became an expert and an advocate for children who need special services. She is an advocate for students - Period!
We need Ronalda on our school board and we need to defeat the Moms for Liberty Activist who is running for re-election.
This is where you and I come in. Last fall I told you I was scared. You were also scared that the West Side might turn Red. We rallied together and we saved the Westside. Today I am worried, and I am angry. The insidious plan of Moms for Liberty is to teach our children that white is right and that children who do not fit their mold are less-than. This is what the sitting School Board representative for District 2 stands for.
Will you rally with me? We have a phone bank every Thursday at my residence from 4:30 - 7:30. You may reach me at 505-890-8920. If you wish your phone to remain private, if you have a Gmail account, you may set up a Google Voice account which will allow you to call and text with a number that is not linked to your phone, allowing for your privacy. We will help you set this up.
Don’t want to phone bank? You may canvass on Saturday mornings from 9:30-12:00. You may team up with someone and canvass together. We gather each Saturday at 9:30 at 6215 Cochiti Drive. I invite you to be part of the fight to save Albuquerque Schools.
Become an Activist from your home by exercising your voice - Write a letter to the Editor!
Our Albuquerque students and teachers are in the crosshairs of Moms for Liberty, labeled an extremist group which advocates book banning and other curricular activities which deny the equality of marginalized students by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Board Vice President Peggy Aragon, a Moms for Liberty activist, is seeking re-election in District 2 and in District 4, Candidate Stephen Cecco who is also supported by Moms for Liberty is seeking to be elected. Wins for these Candidates would give Moms for Liberty a majority on the Board.
One way we can fight against this is to write letters to the editor of The Albuquerque Journal. The process is simple. At the bottom of the opinion page of the electronic edition of the paper or within the opinion page of the paper edition you will find instructions on how to write a letter to the editor.
Let’s bombard the Journal about the truth about Moms for Liberty and help defeat the Moms for Liberty aligned Candidates!
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We heard from the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office in September and of the integrity the elections are. Jaime Diaz and Nathan Jaramillo gave us great information on the work of the Clerk’s Office under the leadership of Bernalillo County Clerk Linda Stover. We should be confident and proud of the work of the County Clerk and Secretary of State for being so dedicated to keeping our elections safe and without issue that the far-right would have us believe.
On Tuesday October 17th 6PM at the Taylor Ranch Library 5700 Bogart St. NW in Albuquerque, former NM State Senator Dede Feldman will join us. Senator Feldman was the first woman elected as a New Mexico senator from Albuquerque’s near North Valley, and the author of three books about politics and change in New Mexico. She has been a pioneer for women in government and has a long history of promoting campaign finance reform, improved health insurance in New Mexico, and election reform. Dede has written three books.
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Inside the New Mexico Senate: Boots, Suite and Citizens, a “how to” book for reformers everywhere who need to know how to take their cause to the “powers that be” in the legislature. Here are case studies in how to – and how not to—pass legislation to provide affordable health care, ethical government, lower prescription drug prices, a sane drug policy and an end to the death penalty. Here’s how advocates in one state have done it by building unlikely coalitions, telling compelling stories and understanding how the system works. Advocates in other states facing the same issues, will benefit from this lively account from this very successful and productive legislator.
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Another Way Forward: Grassroots Solutions from New Mexico, profiling innovative organizations and inspiring local leaders who are changing the world in New Mexico, one neighborhood, one clinic, one classroom at a time.
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Her most recent book: Ten More Doors: Politics and the Path to Change, a political memoir about her determined drive toward political change. It tracks the wins, losses and lessons of an unlikely New Mexico Senator.
Senator Feldman will share with us what motivates her to be active in the Democratic Process and how we may find ways to overcome any hesitation in canvassing for causes and candidates. She will also have some books for purchase by cash, check or card.
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November with the WestSide Dems |
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November will see the WSD gathering for a pre-holiday potluck. You will find out more about this, and what this will look like in the coming weeks. We will take a break in December and get back together in the New Year as we gear up for the 2024 election cycle! |
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The Election Process In Bernalillo County |
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By Sue Wolinsky, WSD Secretary |
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Today’s political climate has brought a pall of fear over voting in person, working at the polls, and getting involved in this basis of democracy – free elections. The West Side Dems (WSD) hosted approximately 40 persons (in person and via Zoom) who learned the latest news, and elections processes and protections that are in place locally. Two senior staff at the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office – Jamie Diaz, and Nathan Jaramillo were guest speakers at the WSD September program, held at Taylor Ranch Library.
Some key “take aways” from the presentation were:
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Voter ID: New Mexico does require voter identification (ID) in order to vote, as most states do. Many in the audience were surprised to hear this, as many have been bombarded with charges that New Mexico does not require ID when a person is voting. Nate Jaramillo advised the group to “Tell anyone who confronts you about voter ID being required here – that we do require IDs, either when the person registers to vote, or, if not then, the first time the person votes in person. New Mexico requires an ID be shown.”
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Threats: Most election “threats” come via email, phone or social media, Jamie Diaz said. He added that nearly all the threats to election workers target state and local elections workers. The charge for threatening an election worker is a 4th degree felony.
Threats disenfranchise voters by lowering public trust in our government’s control of the election process.
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Protections in Place in Bernalillo County: “There is no evidence of widespread fraud in our elections,” Diaz said. “In fact, New Mexico is a shining light to other states regarding how elections are run.”
The BERNCO Clerk networks with other election officials to learn best practices, trains staff on them, increases both physical and cybersecurity, and reinforces areas where the system may have been vulnerable in the past.
Since passing the NM Voting Rights Act, BERNCO has hired a Native American (Voting) Rights Coordinator who is working with the Navajo Nation and pueblos to remove roadblocks to voting.
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What Can We Do to Help? Diaz recommended that we become proactive and get educated about elections rules, then educate others; that we identify any suspected improper elections activities; and that we question persons who spread elections information that they heard but that may not be correct.
WSD holds monthly speaker programs on a wide variety of topics related to local and national issues, elections and ballot issues, and other topics. If you have a topic you’d like to be presented, contact https://westsidedems.org/contact-us/
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Let’s Be Heard! – Our Environmental Health is Crucial to Our Quality of Life |
by Marla Painter, Precinct 98- Mountain View |
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A game-changing air quality regulation will be heard in December before the City of Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board. The Air Board Quality Control Board will make a historically significant decision the week of December 4-8 that will impact public health and the County’s overall air quality. The public hearings will be at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Rooms and times are still to be announced.
The Mountain View Coalition, which is made up of Mountain View Community Action, the Mountain View Neighborhood Association, and The Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, has partnered with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and other allies to petition the City/County Air Quality Control Board to adopt a regulation that addresses the problem of poor neighborhoods in the City and County bearing the burden of industrial air pollution.
The hearing’s purpose is to inform the Air Board’s decision-making process to adopt the Health, Environment, and Equity Impacts Regulation (HEEI). The new rule would order the City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department (EHD) to address the disparate impacts of air pollution negatively affecting Bernalillo County residents' health and quality of life. Air pollution permits could be denied to facilities proposed in communities already bearing the disproportionate burden of air pollution. This will also contribute to better air quality county-wide and provide for a healthier Bernalillo County overall.
The Mountain View Community sits on the east bank of the Rio Grande in the far South Valley. Due to economic incentives and zoning policies, dirty industrial development has been located within the Mountain View neighborhood, other overburdened neighborhoods, and Isleta Pueblo. The Environmental Protection Agency has defined Mountain View as an environmental justice community, meaning the community’s health is endangered due to the disproportionate pollutants generated in that neighborhood. Mountain View, East San Jose, and the Greater Gardener neighborhoods have worked diligently for many years to counter the ongoing onslaught of industrial pollution. Despite this recognition, the pollution continues disproportionately in poor neighborhoods.
While excessively burdening Mountain View residents, the pollution generated in Mountain View contributes to the County's overall air pollution, often bringing the region in violation of ozone standards and dangerously close to exceeding federal limits on ozone. Air pollution generated in Mountain View contributes to the components that form Ozone. However, the regulation would potentially attract clean industry to the County and stimulate air pollution control technology innovation. Less health-threatening pollution will save the County millions of dollars in health care costs related to air pollution- asthma, pulmonary and heart disease, and cancer.
Future air permit applications would be approved or denied based on specific air pollution standards and environmental risk factors, social determinants of health, and statistical health impacts above the county average in each overburdened community within one mile of the new or modified source of air pollution. The regulation outlines the process and standards for determining whether a neighborhood can bear further air pollution emissions.
Predictably, there are many lawyers lined up to oppose the regulation. They represent the obvious interests- the Chamber of Commerce, oil and gas industry, mining, asphalt producers, and construction contractors, The Air Force. Also, some institutions that surprise and confuse proponents of the regulation are Sandia Labs, the Department of Energy- National Nuclear Security Administration, and The Regents of the University of New Mexico. The question is: do they intend to build air-polluting facilities in poor communities? No one knows the basis for their opposition.
We hope to see many Democrats at the hearings. We stand for justice: the decades of environmental injustice in our County’s lower-income neighborhoods must stop immediately.
To receive the specific times and locations in the Convention Center for the Air Board’s HEEI regulation hearings, please email Marla Painter at marladesk@gmail.com. Please let Marla know if you would also like a copy of the proposed regulation, a FAQ sheet, and any questions you have.
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Albuquerque Teacher Federation Happy Hour Fundraiser |
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Please check out the WSD on our website: https://westsidedems.org/ There, you may keep up to date on our activities and renew your membership or contribute to our efforts.
If you wish to reach one of the Executive Committee directly, you may do so at:
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Dues are $10.00 per calendar year.
You may donate any amount.
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