Click here to RSVP for the picnic

Volunteers needed for August 17 picnic at Mariposa Basin Park

By Sue Wolinsky

West Side Dems (WSD) will host our second annual summer picnic in Mariposa Park, on the afternoon of August 17. “We had over 100 participants last year and we hope to have an even bigger crowd this year,” said Dorothy Wilkinson, WSD chair. “But we need a lot of volunteers to make this year’s picnic a huge success.”

“We host this picnic in August, when Congress goes on recess for several weeks. We’ve invited our two senators (Sens. Heinrich and Lujan) and congresspersons for Congressional Districts 1 and 2 (Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez). This year’s picnic will include many of the features of last year’s picnic: cookout food and beverages, adult and children’s games, short speeches by local, state and national candidates, and tables set up by Democratic caucuses and other allied groups. It’s a really, big deal, as well as a lot of fun,” she said.

Here is where we need your help to make this a success:

• Promoting the picnic – creating announcements, contacting members and others 
• Inviting our West Side candidates
• Contacting Democratic caucuses and other allied groups to setup tables
• Arranging for live music
• Setting up the Kids Corner
• Setting up for the picnic and cleaning up afterward
• Food Planning – deciding how to pay for the food, setting the menu, getting a grill and cooks, collecting trash, etc.
• Creating and publishing the agenda
• Getting and running the sound equipment.

To volunteer, email chair@westsidedems.org. You’ll enjoy it!

Join the Fight

It is our turn now. Yours and mine. Democracy must be 

fought for in each generation. Now it is our turn to fight 

for democracy. We cannot give up hope and we cannot 

rely on others or on the belief that goodness will prevail.

Goodness can prevail and our democracy can continue. But we must all do our part. We must vote, call, contribute and speak out.

We must preserve the Blue Westside, and Blue New Mexico and we must send Gabe Vasquez and Melanie Stansbury back to Congress to fight for us.

I am calling on all Westside Democrats to enlist in our war. Please let me know that you will volunteer by emailing me at chair@westside dems.org.

We could just give up and say all is hopeless. It is not hopeless. We will prevail if we're willing to fight. I have great optimism that Americans, including Westsiders, will 

fight for our democracy and for our freedom.

If you are willing to join this fight please reach out to me.

Dorothy Wilkinson

Westside Dems Chair

Candidates Carnival—a Whopping Success!

by Sue Wolinsky

In true carnival style, West Side Dems (WSD) hosted approximately 45 members and friends at our first Candidates Carnival on June 24. It was held at the Don Newton Taylor Ranch Community Center. The event featured Democratic candidates on the West Side who won their primary elections. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller delivered remarks, energized the crowd, and answered many questions about city and city council issues – especially the proposed city charter amendments that were approved in a recent city council meeting. 

“It was an absolutely great experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was well organized and attended. It was wonderful being around so many Democrats, in person; just like the days before COVID,” said incumbent District 17 State Legislator Cynthia Borrego. She is running for re-election in November. “I met folks in my district and signed up new volunteers. It was great.”

The carnival was designed to congratulate our Democratic primary election winners and to give West Side voters a chance to meet them one-on-one and to volunteer and/or donate to their campaigns. The November election will be the first election in senate districts since the districts have been reorganized. “Our role in WSD is to get our candidates the volunteers they need to help them Get Out the Vote, for November. The carnival certainly gave us a good start,” said Dorothy Wilkinson, WSD chair.

Participating candidates included:

HOUSE DISTRICTS (all incumbents)

16 Yanira Gurrola

17 Cynthia Borrego

26 Eleanor Chavez

29 Joy Garratt

69 Charlotte Little

SENATE DISTRICTS

9 Cindy Nava

10 Katy Duhigg

12 Phillip Ramirez

23 Harold Pope

26 Moe Maestas

Carnival goers snacked on popcorn and cotton candy as they walked around the large room to meet their candidates. As emcee, I rang a cow bell to announce upticks in signups at each candidate’s table. Lively discussions were held at each table. Along with a raffle and many snacks brought by the candidates, the event included a children’s corner and a balloon artist who created hats, swords, animal figures and many more for adults and children alike.

Albuquerque City Council Proposes Election Change,

Mayor Objects

Attention Albuquerque Residents!

The City Council voted on June 17th to put a proposal on the November ballot that would change how we elect our leaders. This proposal would allow someone to win Mayor or City Council with just a plurality of the votes, meaning they could win with as few as 20%.

Many believe a Mayor or City Council member should have a strong mandate from the voters, which typically means winning with over 50% of the votes. This change could lead to situations where a leader doesn't represent the majority and undermines the core idea of democracy: electing leaders with broad support.

Here's the breakdown:

• June 17th: Council proposes changing election system.
• July 3rd: Mayor Keller vetoes the proposal.
• August 5th: Council holds a vote to override the veto.

Mayor Keller believes some council members may reconsider. However, he urges residents to voice their opposition if the proposal remains unchanged.

How You Can Help:

1. Attend the City Council meeting on August 5th.
2. If the veto is overridden, be prepared to vote against the proposal in November.



Let's work together to ensure our elected officials have a strong mandate from the people!

Fallout continues from Lewis’ and City Council actions

re: Joint Air Quality Control Board

• City sued by members of Mountain View Coalition (MVC)
• City Council President Dan Lewis (West Side) recuses self from future votes related to the boar

Why important to the West Side:

Dan Lewis represents voters on the West Side. His actions interfering with the work of the Joint Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board last winter have resulted in this lawsuit and in the NM Ethics Commission’s ruling that requires Lewis to recuse himself from future votes regarding the joint board. (This is an update to Call to Action articles WSD shared about the issue last winter.) Lawsuit: MVC members filed a civil lawsuit with the US EPA, requesting an investigation into whether the City of Albuquerque discriminated based on race, color, and national origin, under Title VI of the Civil Rights At of 1974. MVC informed the City Council of this lawsuit at the June 3 council meeting. The suit was filed because the City Council, led by Lewis, passed legislation abolishing the joint air quality control board and placing a moratorium on its ability to take action during a hearing of the health, environment equity impact rulemaking on December 4-11, 2023. The Mountain View Coalition consists of members from the Mountain View neighborhood association, Mountain View Community Action, and Friends of Valle De Oro National Wildlife Refuge. In addition, the Los Jardines Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a separate complaint with similar allegations. Learn more here: Mountain View residents allege City of Albuquerque has violated their civil rights - City Desk ABQ.

LEWIS RECUSAL: Dan Lewis has agreed to recuse himself from future City Council decisions regarding the joint air quality control board after an anonymous complaint was made to the NM Ethics Commission. The complaint focused on his involvement with the local paving and asphalt industry while attacking the joint air quality control board last winter. The recusal resulted from an agreement Lewis made with the Ethics Commission. Learn more here: ABQ city councilor settles with Ethics Commission (krqe.com).

A letter to Democratic Leaders

By Elmer Jackson

RE: 8 Years of Accomplishments in Just 4 years

President Joe Biden has rescued the economy and our democracy in just 4 years. He has shown the way to bipartisanship in our politics and rebuilt collaborative relationships abroad. It is time to celebrate his amazing successes.

We trust President Biden to make a wise decision. He can lead a unified assault on Trump while trumpeting 4 years of amazing successes. His can be present with many different party leaders. They will all be surrogates for whoever is nominated and show voters the wealth of choices the Democratic Party has available to be our President now and in the future.

We share the worry over Joe Biden’s debate performance. We are also worried that our Party’s leaders will not step up or will panic and do more damage. We need all hands on deck to attack Trump on immigration, women’s’ health, democracy, guns and the COURT!

As a leader in the Democratic Party, you can help provide the methods by which we celebrate Joe Biden and choose a Democrat to lead or country for the next 8 years.  It is an opportunity for President Biden to follow George Washington’s example and cast his mantle to a new generation while the Republicans get stuck with Trump. 

The Democratic Party Convention in Chicago should be a grand celebration of Joe Biden and a proclamation of our commitment to women, workers, children, health care, responsible gun ownership and a Supreme Court that believes in justice for all.

President Biden can choose to step down at Convention time. He will have led an attack on Trump along with many leaders and possible candidates. He will be grandly celebrated.

I am an 83-year-old life-long democrat. I am still actively involved in my community. Beverly is a 78-year-old Hospice Nurse and a volunteer end-of-life educator. We will support a Democratic Party nominee whether young or old.

This is an opportunity as well as a crisis. It is a chance to let the American People see all the leaders in our Party. If you and everyone you recruit carries the fight to Trump, any decision at the Convention will be supportable by voters.



Sincerely,

Elmer Jackson

Debate Editorial Notes

by Linda G. Harris

We were nervously optimistic at the start of the July 2 debate between President Biden and Donald Trump. But the mood turned from hopeful to painful in eight minutes flat. Biden’s physical frailty was immediately evident in high definition. He moved stiffly and gingerly. At times he seemed altogether unplugged. He stumbled over words and struggled to complete his thoughts. It was painful to watch.

We took another blow on Monday when the Supreme Court handed Trump a get-out-of-jail-free card for interfering in the outcome of the 2020 election and for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection.

We are hurt and heart broken. We worry about the state of democracy and treats to the rule of law. We blame Biden’s team. We blame the Democratic National Committee. And we blame each other. But now we need to be brave and get on with it.

First, we need to be proud of what we stand for as Democrats. We believe in telling the truth, and in democracy and the power of our vote. New Mexico is a proud blue—the bluest—state. Our senators, representatives, are all Democrats. Our governor is a Democrat. We are grateful for President Biden’s leadership during the dark days of the pandemic. He worked with Congress to enact legislation to help families thrive and to keep businesses in business. He could not have done it without the support of a Democratic Senate and House. We elected them to represent us, and they have made us proud. 

We don’t know how the next few weeks will work out. But you can bet it will be painful. But we must push past it, put our shoulders to the wheel and help re-elect Sen. Heinrich, Rep. Stansbury, Rep. Fernandez, and Rep. Vasquez. Volunteer to help Democrats capture the vote in key battleground states. Donate to candidates in tight races (Gabe, anyone?) 

Lastly, respect those who are uncertain, or adamant, about who should be the Democratic nominee. Don’t call them “bed-wetters” or tell them to get over it. Appreciate their work and acknowledge their opinions. Work with them. Don’t trash editorial writers and journalists for their legitimate opinions. Answer with your own opinion.

Take some time to adjust to this storm we are in. Be ready to fight when the time comes, and that time is coming soon. Davy Crockett was wrong when he said, “Make sure you’re right then go ahead.” Sometimes you just need to go ahead. Be brave. 

From Sara Attelson

Many of us have been watching the news of the recognized hate group, Moms for Liberty. This anti-public education group of mothers are rampant in Florida where book banning has become a favorite pastime for many. We have to be vigilant and know that New Mexicans are not safe from what is happening in Florida. 

The M4L hate group has rapidly been spreading to other states and New Mexico has been infiltrated. There are currently two chapters in the State, one in Bernalillo County and the other in Sandoval County. The Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education has two members who belong to Moms for Liberty. One of these Moms contacted APS Library Services in August 2022 asking how parents could come into the schools to check the libraries’ collections. They were informed that all of the schools have their catalogs on the APS websites as well as each individual school. The Mom continued her investigation by asking how parents could check school libraries’ book orders. She was informed that school librarians are trained as part of their profession to order the appropriate books for their school.

This is a real warning that Florida is not the only place this is happening. The M4L are at our door here in New Mexico.

The Southern Poverty Law Center monitors hate groups and has labeled Moms for Liberty as an extremist group. Here is a link to find out more about what the SPLC has to say about Moms for Liberty: https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty

Here is a link regarding the upcoming APS School Board Election this November and a calendar of important dates. Let’s work to elect candidates in Districts 1 and 2 that have our Democratic values! https://www.aps.edu/about-us/board/school-board-member-election

If you missed our June meeting, either in-person or on zoom, here is a link to the program:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brfdzyywgj8&list=PLV6RgEvTi7CrHDYhOp4AbmkFkKvleCiPr&index=1

The next WSD Meeting will be held on Monday July 24 from 6:00-7:30pm at the Taylor Ranch Library, 5700 Bogart St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120. At this meeting, we will hear from APS Candidates in Districts 1 and 2. Come and hear from them - bring your questions and learn how you may support them in their candidacy. Don’t forget to bring your water bottles. The Library has a water fountain but does not allow outside drinks such as coffee or soda.

Save the date for our August gathering! The West Side Dems, supported by our fantastic Ward Chairs, are having a picnic! Join us for a relaxing time on Saturday August 19 from 12:30-5:00pm at the Mariposa Basin Park, 4900 Kachina St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120. We have not gathered for a picnic since 2019 and look forward to spending time with our WSD members! Please bring your own folding or lawn chairs and enjoy great company! We will supply the burgers, hot dogs, cold drinks, and other things, including games.

Your Ward Chair may reach out to you for assistance, but in the meantime, please RSVP here if you plan on attending:

Those of you attending our June WSD meeting saw our new banner! (see below)

We anticipate having buttons available for our picnic. The buttons will feature our QR Code which will take anyone to our website where all sorts of information will be available, including a link on becoming a WSD member and the ability to update your voter registration with the office of the Secretary of State. Be sure and get yours and wear our button with Pride!

You Are Invited to Attend Executive Committee Meetings

 As a member of WSD you are invited to attend This Executive Committee Meetings. The Executive Council meets on the first Monday of each month at 1:00 on zoom. If you wish to attend, request a link at info@westsidedems.org