Latest news with #DemocraticPartyofNewMexico
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- 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
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Juan Sanchez announces public land commissioner candidacy
Former Democratic Party of New Mexico vice chair Juan Sanchez is the first candidate to announce a bid to become the next Commissioner of Public Lands. (Courtesy photo) While Belen resident Juan Sanchez only decided to run in the 2026 Democratic primary for New Mexico Land Commissioner in the last few months, he's been thinking about it for longer, he says. 'I've been traveling the state for the last 10 years, working in natural resources, conservation and public engagement, and some of the things I've realized while doing that is, we are a state that is so rich in our lands and our culture and all the things around us, and it feels like it came to me over the last few months that this is something I think I could do,' Sanchez told Source NM. Sanchez so far is the only candidate for land commissioner in the 2026 election. Voters twice sent current Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard to the State Land Office, and so the state constitution term-limits her from running again. She is instead seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, the Los Alamos Daily Post reports. A former natural resource specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and consultant for the New Mexico Acequia Commission, Sanchez also is a former vice chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, and worked as political director for U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who endorsed his candidacy. 'I'm a 13th-generation New Mexican,' Sanchez said. 'I learned to start caring for the land at a very young age, from my grandfather, who was a rancher, and just like his father and his father before them, all on the same piece of property in northern Socorro County. I'm really proud of the experience I've accumulated, and the people I've met because I learned so much from our elders, and want to continue a legacy of managing land in New Mexico for generations to come.' The following interview has been edited for clarity and concision. Source NM: Can you talk about equitable access to state lands? What does that mean to you, and why is it a priority for your campaign? Juan Sanchez: We live in a place where the State Land Office manages over 9 million acres of public lands, and the other 13 million acres of mineral rights as well. But of those 9 million acres, there's 1 million of them that are landlocked and are not accessible to the public. As someone who takes a lot of pride in accessibility to the outdoors and making sure folks in communities around the state can go and enjoy those areas, it's something I plan to make a priority. We live in a beautiful place to go out, explore and learn about the land and our culture. But also, there's opportunities with the outdoor economy, as well: teaching our young students and our young children in our schools about these lands and creating equitable access, and being able to open up these lands to all these different folks is definitely a priority. Your campaign website talks about ensuring rural and Indigenous communities have a voice in land use decisions. What does that mean for people who don't understand what land use is, and how will you ensure it ? That's something I'd like to build on from Land Commissioner [Garcia Richard], who I think has done a great job in creating the Cultural Resources Office. They're going into these communities and finding out what makes them special or sacred. Some of these areas definitely do need some protection. A great example of this is the Caja Del Rio up in Santa Fe County, which the current land commissioner has protected from mineral exploration, oil and gas, as well as large transmission. She was in consultation with tribal communities, with traditional Hispanic communities that have been there for centuries, and learning about how sacred and important that land is to the way of life. Looking at Garcia Richard's time in office, is there anything else you would continue? The Cultural Resources office is absolutely one of those; the other one is the Office of Renewable Energy, she created that, and then it was put into statute a couple years later by the Legislature. The Cultural Resources Office has not been put into statute yet, so the next commissioner can decide whether or not to keep that or no longer have that. With the Office of Renewable Energy, continuing to try to expand and diversify some of the money we make off our state lands is something that will be important to me. It's important to maintain a relationship with the oil and gas industries. They are the revenue that comes from our state lands, predominantly. I appreciate the most recent work that was done this last legislative session, the royalty rate increase; that's something I support. I think it'll be great for New Mexicans and for our public institutions. Is there anything you would do differently? A lot of the work at the Surface Resource Division is something I'd really like to expand upon, make my own and try to find ways to diversify our economy through outdoor recreation and accessibility to lands, whether that be hiking, hunting or fishing. We have communities like our tribal and historical land use Hispanic communities that have been collecting wood in these areas for keeping their homes warm. What does the phrase 'water is life' mean to you, both as a new Mexican and as a candidate for this role? I'm a content creator and I have about 100,000 followers on my social media. Just this morning, I posted about how, when I was on a run yesterday, I was running along one of our acequias, and the water just started coming through for the first time in the year. You could actually watch the water pouring in. Look, I spent about five years as a consultant with the New Mexico Acequia Commission, working with leaders across the state, predominantly in Northern New Mexico, maintaining water access and traditional way of lives. Whenever we talk about our acequias, our water, we're talking about the life blood to our lands and to our life. As the waters start pouring through our acequias, they start to grow in our fields, they start to feed our plants, they start to give water to the animals we end up eating later on. It's a balance. Our communities cannot survive without clean water, and I'm really adamant about the idea of protecting that and protecting the ways of life, learning from our tribal and our historical communities on how they've survived with scarcity of water, and finding ways to continue to protect it, for us and for future generations. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New Mexico Democratic Party denounces RFK Jr during visit
"If RFK had been in charge during COVID, I think it's safe to say that more people would have died, especially in rural and Indigenous communities where access to health care is already limited,' said Jessica Velasquez, chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, in a virtual news conference on Wednesday. (Screenshot courtesy of the Democratic Party of New Mexico) As U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was visiting a conservative charter school in Gallup on Wednesday morning, the head of New Mexico's Democratic Party held a news conference to denounce Kennedy as a 'conspiracy theorist and an amateur cabinet secretary.' 'It's disgraceful that he's visiting a part of the state that lost so many lives to COVID, a disease that he consistently spread misinformation about,' said Jessica Velasquez, chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. 'RFK's platform isn't just fringe, it's deadly, especially for people in our rural and tribal areas. He's proved time and again that he shouldn't be trusted with our lives, our health or our communities.' The office of Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren published a schedule showing that it was hosting Kennedy for two hours on Wednesday morning. According to the schedule, Nygren and Kennedy were expected to hike on the Window Rock trail, attend a welcoming address by the head of the nation's health department, take part in a blessing ceremony and watch a performance by the Dineh Tah' Navajo Dancers. The schedule shows Kennedy then headed to Hózhó Academy in the Navajo Nation border town of Gallup, which Source NM on Tuesday revealed to be one likely stop during his visit. As Kennedy was scheduled to visit the school, Velasquez told reporters in a virtual news conference it's 'ironic' that Kennedy is visiting the Navajo Nation, 'which was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, almost more than any other community in our country.' The Navajo Nation in May 2020 reported one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the United States. Velasquez said Donald Trump's first presidential administration botched the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 'and we can't afford another.' At least one Indian Health Service building in Gallup is on a list of lease terminations proposed by the so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency,' which Velasquez also mentioned on Wednesday. 'Our tribes know the cost of public health failure,' she said. 'They experienced one of the highest COVID-19 death rates per capita in the United States. If RFK had been in charge during COVID, I think it's safe to say that more people would have died, especially in rural and Indigenous communities where access to health care is already limited.' Velasquez also pointed to the measles outbreak in southeastern New Mexico and west Texas, with nearly 60 cases in New Mexico. New Mexico's health department on Tuesday said an unvaccinated child in Chaves County has measles, adding a third county to the ongoing outbreak in the state's southeastern section. Velasquez said she has strong feelings about Kennedy's visit because she has school-aged children, and she 'can't imagine what those families in southern New Mexico are going through, dealing with a disease that should be extinct in this country.' 'The consistent misinformation from Kennedy has contributed to this measles outbreak, a disease that was all but eradicated in the United States,' Velasquez said. 'With RFK at the helm at Health and Human Services, what's next, polio?' In response to questions on Tuesday from Source about the measles outbreak and Kennedy's visit, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham noted the HHS Secretary's remarks over the weekend endorsing the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine after he visited with families in Gaines County, Texas who lost children to the disease. 'I hope that, given that he's been exposed to measles, I assume he's now immune, given his age and that I think he got a measles vaccine younger. I don't know what his entourage looks like and I hope that they are vaccinated and, if they're not, I hope they're not coming into New Mexico exposing anyone else, because it would be the worst public-facing engagement of a health secretary in anyone's lifetime,' she said, adding: 'I appreciate that he's all about the vaccine, but spread is spread.' Velasquez said John Enders, the scientist who helped culture the virus that causes polio in human muscle and tissue in a laboratory setting, 'must be rolling in his grave,' along with Jonas Salk, another scientist who developed the techniques that lead to the polio vaccine, and Louis Pasteur, whose studies helped popularize the germ theory of disease. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Fox News
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Albuquerque GOP headquarters targeted in alleged arson: 'Direct assault on our values'
The entrance to the Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque was destroyed in an alleged arson attack and vandalism attempt, according to the organization. The alleged incident happened early Sunday morning after the organization shared images showing the damage to the entryway of the building. The Albuquerque Fire Department also confirmed the alleged attack, saying they were dispatched to the call right before 6 a.m. and said the fire was brought under control within five minutes of fire crews' arrival, the department said in a post on their Facebook page. The structure suffered damage to the front entryway and smoke damage throughout the building, the department said, and added that there were no injuries to civilians or firefighters reported. The fire department, along with the Albuquerque Police Department, said this is an active and ongoing joint FBI/ATF investigation. Republican Party of New Mexico Chairwoman Amy Barela shared the images in a post on X, claiming the alleged vandalism was "a deliberate act of arson which also included spray-painting the words 'ICE=KKK.' "This horrific attack, fueled by hatred and intolerance, is a direct assault on our values, freedoms, and our right to political expression," Barela wrote. Barela continued, stating that this alleged action "is not an isolated incident." "It is part of a disturbing pattern of politically motivated violence that has plagued our country—fueled in part by the silence and implicit encouragement from progressive leaders who refuse to condemn these acts," Barela said. The chairwoman added that they are working closely with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), local law enforcement, and federal investigators and "are committed to providing every piece of evidence necessary to bring those responsible to justice and ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." "We are deeply relieved that no one was harmed in what could have been a tragic and deadly attack," the chairwoman wrote. "Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated." In response to the organization's claims, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of New Mexico told Fox News Digital that they condemn any actions taken against the GOP and hope whoever is responsible for the alleged attack is caught. "The Democratic Party of New Mexico condemns any vandalism at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters as strongly as possible," the statement read. "We firmly maintain that this sort of act has absolutely no place in our Democracy, and that peaceful discourse and organization are the only ways to approach political differences in our country. We hope whoever is responsible is found and held accountable." Fox News Digital reached out to FBI Albuquerque for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
