ABQ GOP State Sen. Mark Moores, 51, will be his party's nominee for the June 1 special election to fill the vacant seat of former Dem Rep. Deb Haaland. Moores captured 40 percent of the 121 votes at a GOP central committee meeting Saturday to take the nomination. Dems will meet Tuesday to name their nominee.
Final vote tally:
Mark Moores: 49 votes (40 percent) Eddy Aragon: 34 votes (28 percent) Elisa Martinez: 20
Jared Vander Dussen: 7
Ronnie Lucero: 6
Michaela Chavez: 5
It hasn't been easy for the public to get to know the candidates seeking the major party nominations for the ABQ congressional seat left vacant by Deb Haaland who was named Secretary of Interior. But the system where the central committee members for the major parties select the nominees for the vacancy isn't meant to deal the public in. So here we are, just days away from getting our first nominee for the June 1 special election to fill Haaland's unexpired term that runs until the end of 2022.
That will happen this Saturday morning at a meeting of some 135 GOP central committee members from the ABQ district who will decide which of eight candidates gets their party's nomination. Whoever it is will face the steepest of climbs. Big Bernalillo County, which encompasses the vast majority the district, voted for Joe Biden 61 to 36 in last November's presidential election.
The central committee members and others interested are hearing final pleadings from the contenders. R hopefuls State Senator Mark Moores and talk show host Eddy Aragon faced off before the Rio Grande Federation of GOP Women this week. Here is video of that.
State Dems, who choose their nominee March 30 will host a more anticipated forum, more anticipated because their nominee is highly likely to be the district's next congressional representative. The party says:
This event will be an opportunity for all candidates to put their best foot forward by answering questions submitted by the public. The candidate forum will take place Sunday, March 28 at 3:00 p.m. Here is the link to register to take part.
The less than 200 central committee members who will decide the nominee will be given preference for admission to the Zoom forum.
TRAPPING DEBATE (CONT.)
Kerrie Romero, executive director of the NM Council of Outfitters and Guides, blasted the trapping ban for public places put in place at the recent legislative session and urged the Guv to veto the bill. And the debate continues. Eddie Estrada, NM Field Representative for the Endangered Species Coalition comes with the counterpoint:
Yes, traps have been a tool used in the reintroduction of endangered species like Mexican gray wolves and river otters—but importantly, they have been used by wildlife professionals as part of carefully crafted reintroduction plans. Why was this conservation effort needed in the first place? Because the species were exploited and decimated by private recreational and commercial trappers. It is the damage—both indiscriminate and intentional—caused by the latter group that Senate Bill 32 targets, on public lands, where these important species live and belong.
Further, the desire to conserve native wildlife species and to feel like it’s safe for our families to enjoy our public lands is no more “emotional” than the baseless arguments that Ms. Romero offers in her note to you. These are simply my values, and they are shared by the vast majority of New Mexicans, including those in rural and urban communities. We have surveyed the harms caused by traps, snares, and poisons. We have seen neighboring Colorado and Arizona ban these devices years ago and maintain healthy agriculture industries. And we have arrived at a very logical conclusion: for the greater good, and for New Mexico’s economic and ecological future, it is time to get these devices off of our public lands.
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
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| Otero-Warren |
Adelina "Nina" Otero-Warren (1881-1965) was the New Mexican suffragist that many credit with our state’s passage of the 19th amendment {which gave women the right to vote}. After her success as an activist and organizer, many encouraged Nina to run for office, and in 1922 she became the first Latina ever to run for Congress.
Otero-Warren's nomination as the GOP congressional candidate shocked the state but she lost the general election to Democrat John Morrow. She was born near Los Lunas and named María Adelina Isabel Emilia Otero.
It wasn't until 1946 that the state's first female congressional representative was elected. Educator Georgia Lusk (1893-1971) upset the Democratic field that year to win the nomination and then the general election. However, she only served one term, losing in the 1948 Democratic primary. It seems she had made too many enemies, a common occurrence for both women and men in the competitive battlefield known as La Politica.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021