Fiesta Parade 2009

This year's annual Fiesta Parade was a lot of fun and saw a huge crowd come out from all over norther New Mexico. As always, the political and campaign floats were a major presence, and for the second year, my campaign was there.

The first step of a successful Fiesta Parade march is the purchase of the candy that we had out to the kids along the route. Here are Kelly & Cameron with this year's candy:


We practically emptied Target's candy aisle! The candy almost lasted through the end of the parade; we'll need more next year.

Just like last year, we decorated the truck with my campaign signs, streamers, balloons, etc.:


Our friend, and long-time Santa Fean, Helen Sanchez rode in the bed to load our walkers' candy bags:

(Photo by LeRoy Sanchez)

Before the parade started, former Lt. Gov. Roberto Mondragon and I chatted for a few minutes:

(Photo by LeRoy Sanchez)

Kelly & Cameron were real troopers:

(Photo by LeRoy Sanchez)

Here I am with the police chief and a few other officers along the way:

(Photo by LeRoy Sanchez)

All together, I walked with fifteen supporters. Here we are crossing through the Plaza:

(Photo by LeRoy Sanchez)

We had a great time and are looking forward to next year.

Boots...Made for walking

The best part of my campaign has been walking (or biking) door to door throughout the district.  District 47 covers about 250 square miles - from Villa Linda Mall to the Ski Basin and from Lamy to Tesuque.  When I started walking I decided that I would wear the same pair of boots each time I went out.  You can see the results above.  These bots have been resoled four times, and they are ready for their fifth.

Talking with voters at their front doors is not just about spreading the message about a campaign.  It's more about hearing from voters, learning from them, and making the message of the campaign about them.  

Even though I'm unopposed, I'm still going out, and I'm still learning.

Helping out in Las Cruces

Over the past weekend, Kelly, Cameron & I went to the Las Cruces area to see some family and to help out the campaign of a great State Rep., Nate Cote. Nate is running for re-election to district 53, which was long held by Republican Terry Marquardt. Nate's is a swing district, so he has a lot of walking to do every two years. I walked door-to-door for Nate on Saturday and attended a barbecue for him on Sunday. The folks who came out were very enthusiastic about Nate and about the future of Democrats down south.

One of the most important reasons to hold onto seat like Nate's - other than the fact that he does a great job - is the way the New Mexico Legislature allocates seats in committees to Democrats and Republicans. Though Democrats have the majority now are are very likely to retain in in the next legislature, if the majority shrinks more than a few seats, committee make-up changes throughout the House. This means that the majority is far less useful as committees no longer have decided Democratic advantages. So, by holding onto Nate's seat and several other swing seats in the state, we do a great deal of good for the effectiveness of the Democratic Majority in the House.

I have a few photos from the trip:

Unopposed -- THANK YOU!

I have just returned home from the County Clerk's office, and have great news to share: I am unopposed on the June 3 Primary Ballot!

This new is thanks to all my supporters' hard work going door-to-door over the past six months, all the house parties, and all the great work circulating my nominating petition. I added up all the numbers this morning, and I found that we had more than fifty volunteers spend over 120 hours going door to door to get nominating signatures. This number is incredibly humbling, and I owe all of them a huge debt of gratitude.

We have a few photos of filing below. I hope you like them:

Kelly & me walking into the Clerk's office:


Cameron & me with my nominating signatures & declaration:

Me & Cameron handing my signatures & declaration to Denise Lamb, Santa Fe's great elections director.


Finally, here are me & Kelly learning that I did not draw a primary opponent or a Republican challenger:



Thanks to all of you again!

Fantastic Volunteer Effort!

On Sunday, March 16, sixteen volunteers braved some of the windiest and nastiest weather Santa Fe has seen in a long time to go door-to-door throughout District 47 and help me get on the ballot by collecting signatures on my nominating petition.

Here's a photo of the crew, including little Cameron in her campaign T-shirt:


The volunteer support for the campaign has been, and continues to be, amazing. Over the last four weekends, over thirty people have devoted over 120 hours to the campaign going door to door for petition signatures. In addition to the door-to-door effort, many people have been collecting signatures on their own throughout Santa Fe. This show of support is truly humbling, and I am incredibly grateful to all those who have contributed to the effort.

Filing day is less than 48 hours away. When it comes time to file, I will be turning in signatures from every precinct in the district, and the vast majority of the signatures were collected at voters' doors. It was a big task that took a lot of time and planning, but there is no better way to earn support from voters than to meet them at their door and to personally ask for their help.

The experience of meeting voters at their front doors has been an experience I could not have imagined before the campaign began. I can think of no greater motivation for my campaign than the feeling that comes from listening to people tell their stories and express their support in personal meetings at their homes. There is also no better way to learn the concerns of voters or to learn about a legislative district than walking door-to-door. The people of District 47 are truly amazing in the depth of their passion for progressive change and the breadth of their knowledge and experiences. I will truly be an honor to represent them if I am fortunate enough to win the upcoming election.

Thanks for your time and interest in the campaign. Stay tuned for the final tally on the number of signatures we have on my petition...

Why this election is so important.

Since the beginning of my campaign I've talked about the importance of having members of the legislature who look beyond the end of their two or four years terms in office and instead look twenty years down the road. We will only succeed as a state - and a nation - when our elected leaders have a clear vision of a sustainable future and a clear plan for how to get there.

Ever since Cameron's birth, I have been struck by how much more important the campaign has become to me. When I look into her eyes, I cannot help but feel an even deeper obligation to serve and to try to make New Mexico a better place. I always knew how important it is to serve and to work for a better future, but now I feel it in a stronger and more profound way than ever before.

So, this campaign has truly become a campaign about our children and about the future we will leave for them. I simply cannot stand by and hope that the future will be one with safe schools, clean water, and good jobs. I owe it to Cameron - and all of New Mexico's children - to work every day to make that vision a reality.

The New Energy Future HERE in New Mexico

A few days ago, the New Mexican ran a story about a new solar energy installation in Arizona that will be one of the the largest in the world. The article can be found HERE.

This is just one more piece of evidence in support of the fact that New Mexico can - and must - be a leader in bringing renewable energy to the United States. With the correct investment incentives in place, the renewable energy industry could make New Mexico a major part of its future.

Consider the benefits that this new solar power plant will bring to Gila Bend, Arizona:

• $1 billion in direct investment for the construction and operation of the plant
• 70,000 Homes powered by clean renewable energy
• A tripling of the renewable energy provided by Arizona Public Service
• Many new jobs for the operation and maintenance of the plant

Not only will the project bring many benefits, it also uses a new and exciting technology that harnesses the sun's heat to generate the power, not the sun's light. The process looks like this:

At the top of the "central receiver" are liquids that store and retain huge amounts of heat, which is generated by the sunlight reflected from the mirrors below to create heat at 600 times greater than normal solar radiation. An instaled tower looks like this:


New Mexico, like Arizona, is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing renewable energy industry. We have the sun, the space, and a proven means to attract the industry. We have shown that with the right incentives and assistance, New Mexico can attract new industry to the state. Look at what we've done with film in just the last ten years. Imagine what we could do if we took the same incentives and programs that brought film to New Mexico and used them to attract the green economy. We could become an exporter of renewable energy and a leader in fighting global climate change.

For more information, please take a moment to visit New Mexico's very own "New Energy Economy" for lots of great insight about the potential benefits renewable energy could bring to New Mexico's future: CLICK HERE.

Basic Rights: Give Surface Owners a Chance

Ever since the specter of oil and gas exploration and production arrived in Santa Fe, I have been bothered by one simple fact: this never needed to happen.

At the heart of the matter is the fact that oil and gas exploration and production cannot commence without the consent of a mineral rights owner.  Without the mineral rights owner's signature on a lease of his or her rights to a producer, the status quo is preserved, and our community remains intact.

So, how could the current situation -- the threat of thousands of new wells stretching from Soccorro to Nambe -- have be prevented?  It could have been prevented in large measure by a state law giving surface owners the right to purchase mineral rights from the mineral rights owner before the mineral rights owner leases them to a production company.  

If elected, I will introduce this as the first bill during my service in the New Mexico Legislature. 

With such a law in place, imagine how the situation in Santa Fe County might have played out.  Hundreds of surface owners would have received notice that the minerals beneath them were up for lease to exploration and production companies.  The surface owners would have been given the opportunity to purchase the minerals beneath them at fair market value, and many would have done so.  With their newly acquired mineral rights, many surface owners would refuse to grant leases to operators, thus making the operators' job vastly more difficult, if not impossible.

This law could apply with equal force to mineral rights owned by both the state and by individuals.  There would be no "takings" problem with the law because the mineral rights owners would receive fair market value for their mineral rights should they choose the sell.  Most importantly however, this law would finally put the surface owner on a level playing field with the mineral rights owner.  This would justify the law's passage all by itself.