All posts by pdacnm

Progressive Democrats of America Central NM Chapter Newsletter May 17, 2019

Events, Meetings, News

Udall Holds ‘For The People Act’ Forum in Albuquerque

Discusses his efforts to enact a sweeping package of reforms that will fight corruption, fix our broken politics, and make government work for all Americans.

Senator Udall, NM Rep. Linda Trujillo; NM Rep. Moe Maestas; Paul Stokes, PDACNM;  Max Feldman, Counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice; Judy Williams, President NM League of Women Voters; Laurie Weahkee; Exec. Dir. Native American Voters Alliance.

“The For the People Act is a sweeping package of pro-democracy reforms that aims to make it easier, not harder, to vote; end the dominance of big money in politics; and ensure that public officials work for the public interest. The bill serves as Senate companion legislation to H.R. 1 in the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the House in March of this year. It builds off of Udall’s We the People Democracy Reform Act of 2017, which was introduced in the 115th Congress as a comprehensive reform package encompassing a number of bills championed by Udall and others to address various shortcomings in our political system, and strengthen and revitalize our democracy.”  Press Release May 11

PDACNM applauds the Senator for taking bold steps to save our Democracy when it would be easy for him to sit back and relax now that he is no longer a candidate.  Instead, he is motivated to do the people’s work as energetically as ever.  Let’s support and promote this very important and comprehensive bill.

Read the Newsletter Here!

Ranked Choice Voting for Albuquerque, the Time Has Come

Information

by Jerilyn Bowen

Come election time in Albuquerque next November, how would you like to be able to cast a ballot for your favorite candidate without worrying that your vote won’t matter?  Or that it might even serve to help an abhorrent candidate get into office?  Imagine being allowed to rank candidates in order of preference so that, should your top preference not land a majority on the initial tally, your second choice will automatically receive the vote you cast rather than getting lost to an either/or dilemma.

This common sense instrument of voter liberation is called Ranked Choice Voting.  It’s designed to allow democracy to flourish rather than struggle against unnecessary impediments.  RCV has accordingly been adopted to good effect by many locales across the country, including our neighbor Santa Fe.  It earns its stripes by making the electoral process fairer, less expensive, more efficient, less acrimonious, more participatory, and more user-friendly for both voters and candidates.  We of the Burque persuasion now have a chance to bring RCV to our fair city.   A bill to introduce this improvement is under consideration by the Finance Committee of Albuquerque City Council; if approved at their May 13th meeting to go to the full City Council, it could be passed and put into effect in time for next fall’s municipal elections.

Conserves City Funds & Increases Voter Participation

One great advantage of RCV is that it eliminates the high cost of runoff elections.  In an Albuquerque mayoral race, that cost comes to almost a million dollars.  In a council election, the runoff tab is similar.  In all cases, the money saved can be far better used in programs and public works that benefit the citizens of our city–everything from schools, housing, transportation, and community safety to water conservation, flood control, pollution abatement, and infrastructure upkeep.

Under RCV both publically and privately financed candidates benefit as well–first, from not having to rustle up the funding required by costly runoff elections; and second, by escaping the wear and tear of another round of campaigning.  Since runoff turnouts are notoriously low, the RCV instant runoff also ensures that more voters have a voice in the final outcome.

When people feel they can vote their conscience and their votes actually count no matter what, more of them show up at the polls.  In its first RCV election last year, Santa Fe saw a 10% increase in turnout over the 2014 mayoral election there.  Were Albuquerque to stick with its present old style runoff system in next fall’s election, given that the runoff would be held in the midst of the December holiday season, the usual lower turnout for runoffs would no doubt recur with a vengeance.

Encourages Issue-Oriented Clean Campaigns

Ranked Choice Voting offers many advantages beyond the immediately obvious ones.  By way of background:  when no one candidate gets 50+ percent of the vote on the first round, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated and the second choice of those voters is counted.  If there’s still no candidate with a majority, the process continues by eliminating the remaining candidate with the least popular support and counting the next choice on those ballots; and so it goes until one candidate attains a majority vote.  In practice this means that some elections will be decided taking into account second and even third choice votes.  That being the case, Candidate X has good reason to consider the cost of trashing an opponent who will likely be the favored candidate of some voters, voters who by-the-by may be inclined to put Candidate X down as their second or third choice.  This game changer mitigates against the dirty campaign tactics that typically enmire our elections and encourages an upstanding focus on issues, policies, and overall vision of the common good.  Wonder of wonders, our elections could become about what matters most to us rather than about who did the best job of confusing the electorate with spin, stirring up fear, creating distrust, and inflaming antagonisms.

Voter Liberation within Our Reach

If that sounds like an attractive option to you, you are not alone.  And what high quality candidate would not find it a relief to be freed from dealing with personal attacks, not to mention being freed from feeling they must return such attacks in kind?  RCV gives everyone the opportunity to evolve into a more enlightened state of political being.

Along with that, Ranked Choice Voting is a critically needed antidote to the pervasive malaise that now threatens our democracy at every level.  Change always arises from the grassroots and Albuquerque is our high desert field of dreams.  Let us dream a better way to elect our leaders and make that a reality, right here, right now.

Action 

1)  Before May 13th call or email Albuquerque City Councilors on Finance Committee.  Urge them to vote for Ranked Choice Voting to come before the full City Council.

2)  Call or email other City Councilors, starting with your own.  Make the case for RCV and ask them to adopt it.

City Council Finance Committee

  • Don Harris, Chairdharris@cabq.gov; Bonnie Sutter, policy analyst 505/768-3123.Seems to want to tank this bill. As chair of the Finance Committee, however, it’s important that he hear from Albuquerque residents about how much money the city could save by not having to hold separate runoff elections.
  •  Ken Sanchez kensanchez@cabq.gov;  Elaine Romero, policy analyst 505/768-3183.Not likely to vote for RCV in full Council but may be willing to vote in favor of passing the bill out of the Finance Committee to be considered by City Council as a whole. His vote on May 13th could make all the difference. Please call and ask that he vote the bill out of committee at the Finance Committee meeting so that it can get a hearing in City Council.
  •  Klarissa Peñakpena@cabq.gov;  Cherise Quezada, policy analyst 505/768-3127.Appears to oppose RCV. Even though she’s not likely to come around, it’s important that she get a lot of calls.
  • Patrick Davis patdavis@cabq.gov; co-sponsor of RCV, just email to thank him.
  • Diane Gibson dgibson@cabq.gov; supports RCV, just email to thank her.

Other Council Members

  • Ike Benton  ibenton@cabq.gov; main sponsor of RCV, just email to thank him.
  •  Brad Winterbwinter@cabq.gov; co-sponsor of RCV, just email to thank him.
  •  Cynthia Borrego cynthiaborrego@cabq.gov;Susan Vigil, policy analyst 505/768-3189. Seems quite open to RCV. Key person to call.  
  •  Trudy Jones trudyjones@cabq.gov;Aziza Chavez, policy analyst 505/768-3106. Needs to hear from RCV advocates.

 

For The People Act Panel Discussions with Senator Udall

Meetings

 

On behalf of U.S. Senator Tom Udall, you’re invited to attend a discussion on the For The People Act, the senator’s sweeping package of pro-democracy and anti-corruption reforms to help fix our broken politics, restore the promise of American democracy, and make government work for the people. This landmark bill—which includes measures Sen. Udall has championed for years in the Senate—is the companion legislation to H.R. 1 in the House of Representatives, which passed by a vote of 234-193, and is co-sponsored by the entire Senate Democratic caucus.

“American democracy has reached a crisis point. Too many Americans have every reason to believe that their government no longer answers to them – and most people are either losing faith in the system or have already lost it completely. Voting rights are under assault and special interest money drowns out the vocies of regular people. Enough is enough. I invite you to join me and community advocates and leaders for a conversation about how we unrig the system and take back our democracy.” – U.S. Senator Tom Udall
 
Due to limited seating, registration is required and spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please email conference@tomudall.senate.gov to register, or call 505-346-6791 with any questions.
 
What: For The People Act Panel Discussions with Senator Udall
When: Saturday, May 11 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Where: Richard Barr Auditorium, CNM Montoya Campus, 4700 Morris St NE, Albuquerque, 87111
How:    Registration is required on a first-come, first-served basis; please email conference@tomudall.senate.gov

Progressive Democrats of America Central NM Chapter Newsletter April 30 – Support Corporate Free Dems

Events, Meetings, News

We, all of us together, can end corporate rule!!

From time to time, we like to remind everyone that one of the essential pillars of PDA is Ending Corporate Rule. Based on that mission, we urge everyone to please consider helping out local candidates who are running for office with Public Financing. They need seed money in order to qualify as a candidate.

And we urge everyone to consider the same principle of ending corporate rule when choosing any candidate for public office – national, state, county and city. We hear Democrats say every day that we cannot save our Democracy until we get the influence of big money out of politics; and yet, those same Democrats will unquestionably support candidates who continue to feed at the trough of corporate magnanimity. This kind of hypocrisy cannot be made more obvious than by the results of recent polls that show Joe Biden leading among the announced presidential candidates. It is profoundly troubling, for the reasons listed in the article below, that millions of Americans find Biden to be the most “electable” of all the candidates.

Most of us feel powerless to challenge the vise that money has on our electoral system but one way we can overcome the evil of a corrupt system is to support candidates who refuse to play the corporate game. More and more candidates are refusing to take corporate dollars. We can make a difference by supporting those candidates.

Read the Newsletter Here!

Making the Case for Democratic Socialism, Green New Deal et al

Opinion
By Jerilyn Bowen

 

Since one of our PDA challenges is to take the hex off the McCarthy era scare word socialism, in case you missed any of the below, am sending along for your delectation.   (And possible use in other networks.)  The AOC clip is a real spirit-lifter…I recommend as antidote to any activist malaise that may sneak up on you in the dead of night.

1)  Intercept video narrated by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, seven-minute gone-viral envisioning of the future we could have if we adopt a Green New Deal approach and put it into action sooner rather than later:
 
+ Two excerpts from Democracy Now in which prominent economists talk about what’s gone wrong with our present system and how that can be fixed.  
 
In the first one Stiglitz uses “Progressive Capitalism” to describe what he says is pretty much the same as Democratic Socialism.  On the latter, important to get across that Democratic Socialists like AOC & Bernie are not talking about Soviet style Communism, but rather, about a regulated marketplace economy like the ones most European countries have, with the government acting on behalf of the citizenry to control capitalist excesses & insure a fair distribution of economic resources so as to create secure, livable lives for all members of society.  Many millennials seem to get this distinction but a lot of less youthful people still react to the notion of socialism as if it were poison, something Trump & Fox News are already using to scare their low information followers with.       
 
[Intro: We look at staggering inequality and the state of the U.S. economy with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton. Joseph Stiglitz is a professor at Columbia University and chief economist for the Roosevelt Institute. His latest book, out this week, is “People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent.]