[These minutes were approved by the executive committee on 16 February 2023.]
Adelante Progressive Caucus Executive Committee
Minutes of regular meeting
22 March 2022
The Executive Committee of the Adelante Progressive Caucus of the Democratic Party of New Mexico convened for a regular monthly meeting on Zoom from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, 22 March 2022.
- Attendance
- Agenda
- 1 Call to order and quorum check
- 2 Review and approval of agenda
- 3 Reading and approval of minutes
- 4 Reports of officers and committee chairs
- 5 New business: Elections, endorsements, and primaries
- Which offices to endorse?
- Three Adelante members running!
- Open vote to all members or to their affiliated areas? Getting statewide elections won is critical for house.
- 6 Announcement
- 7 Adjournment
Attendance
Present
Executive Committee members:
- Colton Dean (At-Large Officer)
- Patricia French (Vice-Chair)
- Cheryl Harris (Chair)
- Dimid Hayes (Treasurer)
- Nicole Olonovich (Administrative Director)
- Michael Sperberg-McQueen (Secretary)
Other caucus members:
- Maureen Skowran
- Jane Yee
Regrets
- Athena Christodoulou (Political Director)
- Samuel Nevarez (Congressional District 1 Chair)
Minutes
1 Call to order and quorum check
There were some problems with Zoom at the scheduled time of the call; the chair called the meeting to order at 6:43 pm. No quorum of the executive committee was then present, and we began with informal discussion.
2 Review and approval of agenda
We reviewed the agenda; no changes were made.
3 Reading and approval of minutes
There being no quorum, the minutes of the meeting of 22 February were not reviewed or approved.
4 Reports of officers and committee chairs
4.1 Treasurer
The treasurer reported on income and expenses in January and February:
| Income | Expenses | |
|---|---|---|
| January | $260.40 | $13.98 |
| February | 194.00 | $20.82 |
At the end of February, the balance in the account was $5174.74.
CH alerted the treasurer to expect two bills from the convention center in Roswell, paying for lunches for attendees at the caucus meeting there and for state party officers and staff. She had had to go somewhat beyond the $10 per head authorized by the EC, since the cheapest lunch on the price list exceeded that amount.
4.2 Chair
The chair reported from the state pre-primary convention in Roswell. Thirty-two people showed up for the lunch; CH also invited state party officers and staff to lunch. The Adelante table was in a awkward location but did get visitors, including some people who joined on the spot when they learned of the caucus’s existence.
She put out buckets for contributions for Ukraine, for Doctors without Borders and Chef Andre’s World Kitchen; they raised $143, which she will deposit in the account together with the membership dues she received.
4.3 Political director
The political director was absent (on vacation), but we talked about preparing a legislative report card and sending thank-yous to legislators who championed progressive legislation. CH is working with Dan on a form to gather input from members; she will send an electronic update when things are further along. There was discussion over the relative weight to give the executive committee and the membership at large in the selection of legislators to single out. Things can be faster if the EC takes care of them, but have a broader base if the membership is involved.
5 New business: Elections, endorsements, and primaries
CH introduced the topic. Candidates have filed their petitions and so it is now known who is running in the primary. And endorsements are beginning to be issued. Three members of the caucus are running for the legislature (Athena Christodoulou, Colton Dean, and Nicole Olonovich); they are to be congratulated for their willingness to serve. AC is unopposed in the Democratic primary in HD 31 and will face incumbent Bill Rehm in the general election; NO is facing two other candidates in the Democratic primary in HD 12; DC faces two other Democrats in HD 19.
[Secretary’s note: the official list of candidates is on the Secretary of State’s web site.
CH asked how we should handle the process. MS pointed out that there is a policy on record, which has been through several iterations; she thought stability was a virtue here.
We reviewed the policy.
Being quorate at this point, we considered whether to make endorsements in various races.
Resolved: to make no endorsements in the uncontested statewide races. (Unanimous.)
On the contested statewide races, opinions were divided. We discussed them one by one and considered whether to invite statements from the candidates, put the question to the membership, and make an endorsement in the race, or not.
Resolved: to make an endorsement in the race for state treasurer. (3 in favor, feeling the office is important; 2 opposed, questioning whether progressive values will make a difference in that office.)
Resolved: to make an endorsement in the race for state auditor. (Unanimous.)
Resolved: to make no endorsement in the race for state attorney general. (Unanimous; several people said they had concerns about both candidates, and no one was enthusiastically in favor of either.)
NO argued that the rationale given for making no endorsement in the attorney general’s race could apply equally well to the treasurer’s race; there was discussion, but no formal motion to reconsider the resolution.
Resolved: to make no endorsements in judicial races. (Unanimous.)
Resolved: to make no endorsements in municipal races. (Unanimous.)
On the state legislative races, there was discussion. CH argued strongly that we should make endorsements in all contested Democratic primaries. There seemed to be a general preference for questionnaires over candidate forums as the means of choosing endorsees. NO and CD observed that long detailed questionnaires are very time consuming; NO suggested a one-question questionnaire asking for a statement of the candidate’s progressive values and why they should be endorsed by the progressive caucus. There was support for the idea, and enough discussion of just how to word the question that the question began to risk becoming rather long and involved.
Resolved: to make endorsements in races for the state House of Representatives. (Unanimous.)
CH appointed a committee of three (MS, JY, and PF) to formulate a one-question questionnaire for candidates.
6 Announcement
The chair announced that she was calling a special meeting of the executive committee for Tuesday 29 March 2022 at 6:30 pm.
7 Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:23 pm.
