Latest news with #DPNM
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Former NM Democratic Party official wants a Hispanic person to replace her
Julie Rochman. (Courtesy photo) It remained unclear on Friday who will become the treasurer for New Mexico's ruling political party, following the previous treasurer's resignation after just one month on the job. Julie Rochman, of Albuquerque, resigned as treasurer for the Democratic Party of New Mexico on Wednesday, in a resignation letter addressed to all of the party's members, who elected her and the rest of its leadership on April 26. Rochman wrote she is concerned DPNM's officers don't reflect New Mexico's diversity. Including herself, three of the four officers are not originally from New Mexico, two are older white women, one comes from a rural area and none speak Spanish, she wrote. 'Most distressing to me, in our minority-majority Hispanic state, is DPNM's lack of a single Hispanic executive,' Rochman wrote. 'This is a glaring deficit and strategic negligence.' Rochman wrote the party should replace her with 'someone who represents the very people we've overlooked for too long — ideally a Hispanic leader rooted in a rural space.' DPNM spokesperson Daniel Garcia told Source NM on Friday party rules do not determine a timeline for replacing its treasurer, however, 'DPNM wants to move expeditiously in finding a replacement to fulfill the position's work without interruption.' The new treasurer will be selected by the party's officers, Garcia said, including Chair Sara Attleson, Vice Chair Cam Crawford, Secretary Brenda Hoskie and the three congressional district vice chairs. 'Right now there are not specific individuals under consideration, but the process will be conducted in a thorough, transparent process,' Garcia said. Rochman wrote that Attleson and Crawford 'have squashed efforts for all officers to work together as a team' and 'intentionally excluded' her. 'They don't inform or engage with me,' Rochman wrote. 'In short, they've made clear that my expertise and input are unwelcome.' In a statement, Attleson denied Rochman's allegations that she wasn't welcome in the party, and defended its leaders' diversity. 'Contrary to her letter, we welcomed Julie to be a part of the movement we're building,' Attleson said. 'Unfortunately, shortly after the election, she decided this team wasn't an ideal fit for her.' Attleson pointed to the majority of New Mexico's statewide and federal elected leaders being Hispanic, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, along with several of the congressional district vice chairs. Rochman told Source NM it is great that so many elected officials in New Mexico are Hispanic, 'but it doesn't excuse the fact that the party doesn't look like the state.' Attleson also pointed to Crawford's background as a young Black man, and Hoskie's membership in the Navajo Nation and fluency in Diné. 'New Mexico Democrats proudly draw our strength from our diversity, which is apparent in our leadership,' Attleson said. 'At a time when billionaires are dictating public policy and Donald Trump is eliminating essential services, we have to stay focused on fighting for working class New Mexicans, not turning on each other.' Rochman wrote that she received a nondisclosure agreement in late May after weeks of no communication about ongoing party affairs and strategic planning. Rochman told Source NM in an interview that Sean Ward, the party's executive director, asked her to sign it. A copy of the unsigned NDA shows it would have barred Rochman from saying or doing anything that would damage the reputation of any of the party's officers, staff or volunteers. Rochman wrote in her letter that the NDA is inconsistent with her values and undermines her right to free speech and her obligation to speak truth to power. 'Essentially, it would be a gag order for the rest of my life,' she wrote. Rochman told Source NM that she feels the document's non-disparagement language 'was very targeted' at her because she doesn't get along with Attleson. 'It seemed very Trumpian to me,' Rochman said. 'There had been some other things that were rather Trumpian, and I just didn't want to be associated with an administration that was going to govern that way.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Mexico Democrats elevate labor leader as top party official
From left: DPNM Chair Sara Attleson, Vice Chair Cam Crawford, Secretary Brenda Hoskie, and Treasurer Julie Rochman. (Courtesy photo) Democratic Party of New Mexico insiders this month chose a labor official to lead the party for the next two years. Sara Attleson is the new chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, according to voting results announced on Sunday. Attleson, of Albuquerque, chairs the party's Labor Caucus, as well as the Albuquerque Teachers Federation's Committee on Political Education. She defeated Marisol Enriquez, Letitia Montoya and Joseph Weathers to lead the party. Former Chair Jessica Velasquez did not seek reelection. Attleson said in a statement she wants to work with county-level Democratic parties 'to make sure we have a presence in every community.' 'Democrats across the country have our work cut out for us,' she said in a statement. 'But here in New Mexico, we have the energy to make sure that MAGA Republicans and Donald Trump are never able to get a foothold here.' DPNM announced the results at the spring meeting of its governing body, the State Central Committee, at the Albuquerque Little Theater following voting by 466 SCC members via online absentee ballot from April 19-26. The new party officers' terms end in 2027. Party members elected Cameron Crawford as vice chair. Crawford, of Santa Fe, defeated incumbent Manny Crespin and Augustine Montoya to win the seat. 'In an era of unprecedented political turmoil, I will go to counties red and blue to rebuild community by showing up for everyone, regardless of who they vote for,' Crawford said in a statement. 'Politics is about making people's lives better, and I'm more than prepared to take that message far and wide.' The party elected Brenda Hoskie as its treasurer. Hoskie, from Springstead, is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and chair of the McKinley County Democrats. She defeated Daniel Alfredo Garcia and Barbara Jordan to become secretary. Members elected Julie Rochman as Secretary. Rochman, of Albuquerque, defeated Joseph Ortiz to become treasurer. The Republican Party of New Mexico elected its party officers in December. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
With key election cycle on horizon, four candidates vying to lead NM Democratic Party
Apr. 25—SANTA FE — It's been a golden age for New Mexico Democrats since winning all statewide elected offices in 2018. The state currently has an all-Democratic congressional delegation, hefty majorities in both legislative chambers and has not seen a GOP candidate win a statewide race in nearly a decade. But some trouble spots have emerged, including Democrats' sagging national approval ratings, infighting among party officials and Republicans cutting into Democrats' statewide voter registration advantage. In addition, while New Mexico cast its five electoral votes for Democrat Kamala Harris after last year's election, President Donald Trump made inroads in most of the state's 33 counties compared to his 2020 performance. Given that backdrop, four candidates are vying to be the next leader of the state Democratic Party. The chairman election will take place during a state central committee meeting on Saturday in Albuquerque that will be attended by an estimated 500 delegates from around the state. Outgoing Democratic Party Chairwoman Jessica Velasquez of Sandia Park, who is not seeking reelection to the post she's held since 2021, insisted the party is in strong shape. "We managed to transform the Democratic Party of New Mexico into quite the formidable election-winning machine," Velasquez said in a Friday interview. But she acknowledged challenges facing the party on a national level, amid recent polling that shows a paltry approval rating among frustrated supporters. She said Democrats must redouble their efforts to show the American people they stand with working families. In order to do that, she cited a recent string of town hall meetings that members of New Mexico's congressional delegation have held around the state. "I think that Democrats across the country absolutely have to stay in touch with those core values and make sure we're showing up in communities across the country ... to really reengage with the electorate," Velasquez said. Four candidates in the mix to lead state party Several of the four candidates running to lead state Democrats through the 2026 election cycle already hold party roles. The candidates include Sara Attleson, a school librarian and teachers union leader who chairs the DPNM labor caucus, and Marisol Enriquez, who has been Bernalillo County Democratic Party's chairwoman since April 2023. The other two candidates are interim Mora County Democratic Party Chairman Joseph Weathers and Letitia Montoya of Santa Fe, who has run unsuccessfully in the past for county clerk and secretary of state. In addition to picking a new state party chairperson, Democratic delegates to the state central committee meeting will also choose other party officials, including vice chair, secretary and treasurer. Voting for the positions is being conducted by online absentee ballot using a ranked-choice style format, a party spokesman said. Voting began last weekend and will wrap up Saturday afternoon before results are announced. New leadership in both major parties The election of new officers in the New Mexico Democratic Party means both of the state's primary political parties will enter the 2026 election cycle with new leaders. New Mexico Republicans also recently held leadership elections, with GOP insiders picking Otero County Commissioner Amy Barela as the new state party chairwoman in December. All state offices will be up for election next year, including governor, attorney general and secretary of state. All 70 state House seats will also be up for election, along with New Mexico's three seats in the U.S. House. With the key election cycle on the horizon, Velasquez said she's making good on her pledge to step aside after serving two terms as state Democratic Party chairwoman, adding it's healthy for new leaders to step up. "These offices in our party are not meant to be lifetime positions," she said, adding she has not endorsed any of the candidates in the race to succeed her. Velasquez also said she believes there is room for disagreement on policy issues within the Democratic Party. "The Democratic Party has always prided itself on being the big tent party, and that means that folks will disagree," she said. "I think it's healthy for any organization to be able to rumble with tougher conversations, because it's through that kind of discussion and discourse that we find workable solutions that can be put into action." But some of those "tougher conversations" have taken place internally, as DPNM Vice Chairman Manny Crespin last month accused Velasquez and the state party's executive director Sean Ward of blocking access to his official email account, according to an email obtained by the Journal. Crespin, who is the only current state Democratic Party official seeking reelection on Saturday, described the act as retaliation to past criticisms he had levied.
