Denish to File with 10,000 Signatures

ALBUQUERQUE – Diane Denish tomorrow will file for governor with more than 10,200 signatures, including signatures from every New Mexico county. Instead of hiring paid canvassers, as some campaigns do, the Denish campaign mobilized more than 400 volunteers to collect these signatures.

“I am extremely grateful for this strong level of grassroots support from every corner of New Mexico,” said Lt. Gov. Denish. “As I travel around New Mexico, I’m inspired by the hope and optimism I see in communities large and small. Times are tough but we New Mexicans are tougher.”

Denish continued: “The people of New Mexico want a new way forward – a plan that puts our small businesses first and gets New Mexicans back to work, new ideas to cut wasteful spending and increase efficiency, and a government that is more open and transparent.”

Denish’s campaign manager, Oren Shur, added the following: “While these 10,000 signatures are a clear sign of organizational strength, even more so, they demonstrate the unique personal relationship Diane has developed with the people of New Mexico. New Mexicans are energized by Diane’s new ideas to kick-start our economy and reform government, while the Republicans have only offered the same old negativity and attacks.”

The minimum number of signatures required to qualify for the Democratic Pre-Primary Convention is 2,162. The Pre-Primary Convention is March 13.

REMINDER: Howard Dean in Albuquerque on February 9th!

The Democratic Party of New Mexico along with Democracy for New Mexico, Organizing for America, Young Democrats and UNM College Democrats are pleased to announce that former Governor Howard Dean will be in Albuquerque February 9th!

His first event will be a free event at the UNM Student Union Theater from 2:30 pm - 3:30pm. Space is limited.

Governor Dean will also be hosting two events at Cosmo Tapas in Nob Hill. The first at 4:15pm -5:00pm will be a small reception for $25/ticket. At 5pm-6pm, doors will open to the general public for $10/ticket.

All tickets can be purchased at the door for both events.

For more information, please contact the Democratic Party of New Mexico at 505-830-3650.

Howard Dean to Visit Albuquerque Feb. 9: Updated Schedule

The Democratic Party of New Mexico and I are proud to announce that former Democratic National Committee Chairman, Howard Dean, will be visiting Albuquerque on February 9, 2010. The former Vermont Governor will be attending various public events across the city and you are invited! We hope that you can join us in energizing the DPNM for an exciting 2010 election year.

Please join Howard Dean and I at one of the following events:

2:30-3:30pm: Rally on UNM campus hosted by the DPNM, UNM College Democrats, Young Democrats and Democracy for New Mexico. The event is free to the public and will be held in the UNM Student Union Theater. Space is limited.

4:15-5:00pm: Private fundraising event hosted by Democracy for New Mexico at Cosmo Tapas on Central and Washington Aves. $25/ticket at-the-door.

5:00-6:00pm: Public fundraising event hosted by Democracy for New Mexico at Cosmo Tapas. $10/ticket at-the-door.

6:30-8:00pm: Private Reception at Rio Chama in Santa Fe. $250/guest; call Sisy Garcia at 505-830-3650 to reserve tickets.

All event proceeds will benefit the Democratic Party of New Mexico. For more information on these events, please call the DPNM Headquarters at 505-830-3650.

Please pass this information on to friends and supporters who would like to attend any of these events! We look forward to seeing you there!

Sincerely,

Javier M. Gonzales
Chairman, Democratic Party of New Mexico

New Mexico Still "Solidly Democratic"

This is an article originally published 2/1/10 on the NM Independent. It is written by Matthew Reichbach.

A recent poll shows that although the Republican Party has made a small gain in partisanship figures, New Mexico still remains one of the states with the most self-identified Democrats. New Mexico,Gallup finds, is one of 23 states (plus the District of Columbia) “that can be classified as solidly Democratic.”

The numbers include Independents who say they lean toward either the Democratic or Republican Party.

The Democratic advantage in party identification dropped from 14 percent to 13 percent. This ranks New Mexico as the 16th most-Democratic leaning state. Four of the top five states are from New England (the fifth is Hawaii).

In the 2008 elections, the entire party’s Congressional delegation was Democratic for the first time, thanks to the retirement of longtime Republican Senator Pete Domenici and the resulting fallout.

The results came from all the polling conducted by Gallup in 2009.

According to Gallup, “The margin of error for most states is ±2 percentage points, but is as high as ±4 percentage points for Delaware, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.”

DPNM Tribute to Governor Bruce King

For those of you who were not with us for the 20th Annual Legislative Dinner, this is the video which was produced to honor the memory and legacy of New Mexico Governor Bruce King.

A giant among us, Governor King's service to State was honored further by the establishment of the "Governor Bruce King Public Service Award" which was given to Rep. Rhonda S. King and Sen. Howie C. Morales.

The video is narrated by DPNM Chairman Javier Gonzales.

DPNM Chairman Applauds President Obama's First State of the Union Address

For Immediate Release
January 27, 2010

Albuquerque, NM – Democratic Party of New Mexico Chairman Javier Gonzales issued the following statement regarding President Obama's State of the Union address:

"Tonight, New Mexicans looked to the President to lay out a bold vision to help our families, create jobs and end the partisanship that has dominated Washington - and the President has succeeded on each count.

"The President's plans include supporting New Mexicans by reducing costs of higher education, tax breaks for small businesses and supporting community banks that will help working families. And while we still have a long road ahead of us, we have made significant progress in the last year. Under President Obama's leadership, great measures have been taken to strengthen our economy. We passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act, guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work. We have expanded health care to an additional four million children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). We passed the Recovery Act, which saved and created millions of jobs across the country and right here in New Mexico. And we have made tremendous progress towards passing meaningful health insurance reform - a fight that is not finished.

“The President offered a hand of bipartisanship to Congressional Republicans who, we hoped after a year of obstruction and hyper-partisanship, would have accepted it and pledged to work with Democrats to help turn our economy around. Unfortunately, the Republican Party’s response echoed the same old divisive attacks and offered no real vision or solutions.

“The President passionately told us tonight he “won’t quit” on the American people or the challenges we face. Inheriting the worst economy since the Great Depression, and one that was losing between 700,000 and 800,000 jobs a month, he reminded us that change is not only difficult but sometimes it doesn’t come quickly enough.”

"I'm confident that under the President's leadership, we will continue to move our economy forward and secure a better future for New Mexico families," said Gonzales.

The Economic Crisis and Populist Revolt at Boiling Point

***This blog post is a result of the work of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research***

SURVEYS FOR DEMOCRACY CORPS AND NPR PUT AMERICA'S POLITICS AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT

With President Obama delivering his State of the Union Address tonight, we wanted to make sure you had our interpretation of this key moment based on a Democracy Corps and Center for American Progress national survey conducted right before the Massachusetts Senate election and a National Public Radio bipartisan poll conducted with Glen Bolger of Public Opinion Strategies right afterwards. We take these developments very seriously, but we also want to offer perspective and set out major steps that can produce a very different future.

The upset in Massachusetts was the culmination of yearlong trends that reached their boiling point even before these voters gave Ted Kennedy's Senate seat to a Republican. Voters are increasingly consumed by unemployment and want their leaders to address that priority, yet the leaders in Washington seem polarized and gridlocked, pushing a health care bill now defined by special deals rather than its benefits and the reforms that voters support.

As you will see, this is reflected in disillusionment with incumbents, Democrats, and the Democratic Congress, even as Republicans remain unreconstructed. There is a populist and conservative revolt against Wall Street and financial elites, Congress and government, centered among independents. Democrats and President Obama are seen as more interested in bailing out Wall Street than helping Main Street. Stir in demoralized Democrats and energized Republicans and you reach a boiling point.

The big question is whether this mood, all too reminiscent of 1994, will be controlling in November. Or will voters see a different kind of politics, priorities and progress over the next nine months?

Before Massachusetts, there was some evidence that key indicators and sentiment had stabilized since November and that, perhaps, the environment is at a low point for Democrats – bad timing for a special election. Despite the bleak mood, there is some evidence in both polls of an uptick in optimism about the economy.

Our analysis of these surveys suggests a number of things that Democrats can do to move America to a different place:

1. Pass health care and explain it anew.

2. Get the spotlight off of Congress.

3. Turn to jobs and focus relentlessly on bringing the economy and small business back.

4. Act on reforming Wall Street.

5. Take visible action to cut spending and reduce the deficit.

6. Get the economic narrative right.

7. Sharply define the Republicans and the real choice in the election.