Minutes of previous meeting

The secretary reported that the draft minutes of the previous meeting (1 June) have been available for review on the web site since June. The draft minutes were unanimously approved.

Treasurer’s report

The treasurer reported we have $4250.02 in the bank. A report to the Secretary of State is due on 9 October. He asked those to whom the caucus has outstanding debts to let him know. (He will follow up with PF in regard to expenses from the summer.)

Political director

The political director reported that a new Political Action Committee has been formed and has met for the first time; meetings will be on the third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm. The committee will review political news in DPNM, the State, and on a Federal level and talk about potential work in the coming legislative session. All caucus members are encouraged to attend.

Resolution on governance of DPNM committees

PF reported that the Bernalillo County Democratic Party Resolutions Committee had considered the caucus’s draft resolution on governance of DPNM committees and endorsed it unanimously.

The resolution has now been transmitted to the State Platform and Resolutions Committee (SPARC) and will be considered there, and (it is to be hoped) sent on to the state central committee.

Newsletter

PF reported that Carol Trujillo-Fay had written a piece for the caucus newsletter and thanked her for the work. It will go out in the next newsletter.

Open primaries

PG urged members to support open primaries. This is an important issue for us, since many independents are progressive leaning and open primaries will enable them to participate more fully in political life. In open primaries, she observed, voters may vote in either the Republican or the Democratic primary, not both.

To the concern sometimes expressed, that those who want to help determine the nominee of a political party should join that party, she rejoined that the Democratic Party is not a club. It is an advocacy group for democracy.

Atencio case

NO responded to an inquiry about the Atencio case with a short account of the topic. The case is a lawsuit brought by youth, which attacks New Mexico laws that contribute to climate change by exempting the oil and gas industry from environmental regulations. It is brought under an existing provision in the state constitution. If it is successful, it will establish that the provision has some teeth despite not being in the bill of rights; if it fails, it will demonstrate that a stronger Green Amendment is needed.

National group of state party progressives

PG reported that the national coordinating committee for state party progressives has been working to encourage progressives to send progressives to the national convention next year.

She observed that in a safe state like New Mexico, progressives can consider voting for Cornel West, to send a message that the party needs to move in a more progressive direction.

Native American Democratic Caucus of New Mexico

Songtree Pioche, the chair of the Native American Caucus, described the caucus and invited people to attend the caucus meeting on Tuesday 12 September, at which a forum for school board candidates would be held.

She noted that the Native American caucus is organizing a golf tournament as a fund-raiser; it is now scheduled to take place 7 October and the Inn of the Mountain Gods.

Summit on economic status of women

SP also noted that the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women is holding a Women’s Summit on 29 September.

State Rules Committee

MSM reported that the DPNM State Rules Committee is doing better, this term, at giving public notice of its meetings. He observed the meeting of 12 August, and was concerned that SRC seems to be close to approving a proposal to change the rules for intra-party elections in ways he believes would be catastrophic for diversity in the party.

The current rules for multi-winner elections (Appendix A of DPNM Rules) tend to produce results in which different groups of voters are more or less proportionally represented: if a county central committee is split 2:1 over the question Red or Green?, and that question affects how people vote, then the delegation they send to the state central committee is likely to be split 2:1 on that question. The proposed new rules tend, by contrast, towards winner-take-all results.

At the August meeting, the chair of SRC said the goal was to get the proposal approved and have it go to the state central committee at the SCC meeting of 30 September. There is hope, he said, that SRC will choose at its September meeting not to move forward with the proposal.

If they do send the proposal to the SCC, he hopes that Adelante will work with other caucuses to lobby the SCC to defeat the proposal as incompatible with the party’s commitment to diversity.