Attendance

Present

• Charles Bennett
• Athena Christodoulou (political director)
• Colton Dean (at-large member of executive committee)
• Julia Fitzsimmons
• Dan Foy
• Frances Gonzales
• Cheryl Harris (chair)
• Wanda Harrison (data manager)
• Deborah Heath
• Anthony Lopez-Held
• Flora Lucero
• Roger McNew
• Sandra Nemeth
• Michael Sperberg-McQueen (secretary)
• Gabe Vasquez
• Dorothy Wilkinson
• Jane Yee

1 Call to order

The chair called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.

2 Introduction of guests

The chair welcomed our guest, Gabe Vasquez (GV), the Democratic candidate for Congress in district 2.

3 Remarks by Gabe Vasquez

Gabe Vasquez addressed the group, talking about current developments in his campaign. When he entered the race, no one expected that CD-2 would become one of the most competitive seats in the country. It looked much more likely to lean firmly Republican. But GV and his campaign managed to build support from elected leaders, conservation groups, and rank-and-file Democrats. As in any red-to-blue race, a balanced approach to policy is needed, and above all willingness to listen to voters in the district. One complication is that in CD-2 Republican turnout has historically been better than Democratic turnout. It is important to tap the potential Democratic vote; the South Valley of Albuquerque will be key to that. So GV’s campaign is focused on turnout. Polling shows GV with a modest lead, he said, and he thinks it will grow. The Republicans are running scared and putting a lot of money into the race, and GV expects lots of mud to fly.

We will, he said, hold Yvette Herrell accountable for her views and her votes. And GV will continue to run as he began, as a proud Latino male who is firmly pro-choice.

GV then took questions. A variety of topics came up, among them the following. GV’s campaign staff is bilingual; the Republicans are making an effort at outreach to Hispanics, but Yvette Herrell does not speak Spanish and their efforts are not very convincing. Door knocking and house parties are both excellent ways to contribute to a campaign, but at the moment GV’s campaign still needs a lot of money. Some upcoming fund-raising events were mentioned. The southeastern part of the state is rich in oil and gas, and the war in Ukraine has resulted in skyrocketing oil and gas revenues; where does GV stand on energy transition? GV responded that it’s a complicated issue. New Mexico does have great potential for solar and wind power, but that capacity must be built up gradually and we cannot exploit that potential fully without facilities for power transmission and power storage. Oil and gas extraction will continue for the foreseeable future; the Biden administration has issued new leases which cannot be canceled. But one thing we can do is to protect the health and wages of workers, with strong bonding requirements and control over venting, flaring, and leaking methane. The Environmental Protection Agency needs to be strengthened and given enforcement powers with teeth.

4 Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.