Dear SCC Members,
Since becoming your CD2 Vice Chair, I have heard one question more than any other:
How do we get young people involved?
I decided to answer it with something tangible.
We brought back the College Democrats of New Mexico.
Our initial goal sounded straightforward: ensure there’s a College Democrats chapter at each of New Mexico’s seven four-year colleges and universities. Then students started responding, and the map grew. What began as a goal of seven chapters has become a statewide project that also includes additional campuses and graduate and professional programs.
Over the past month, our state federation has developed its branding, begun building a new website, contacted hundreds of students, strengthened its internal structure, and rechartered the UNM Law Democrats. We are working to recharter several more chapters before the end of September.
But a charter is only the beginning. It does not guarantee that a chapter will last.
Lasting chapters require helping students recruit members, run meetings, develop new leaders, build relationships in their communities, and prepare new officers to take over as current leaders graduate. I do not want to bring these chapters back for one election and watch them disappear after November. I want to build organizations that will still be here years from now.
That work took on even greater urgency during my trip to Austin for the DNC Summer Meeting. At that meeting, the DNC approved the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, placing New Mexico fourth.
We must be ready. My goal is for young New Mexicans everywhere, not just in Albuquerque, to have real opportunities, gain organizing experience, and build a statewide network long before presidential candidates begin campaigning here.
All of that work has left a physical record.
If you want the most honest summary of the past few months, look at the front tires on my car.
Actually, look quickly. They are worn down enough that I have an appointment to replace both of them today.
That is what happens when a month includes leaving Albuquerque at 5:00 a.m., driving to Deming for the Duck Parade to support Laura Parra, and turning around to make it back that evening for Katherine Gauer’s Seeds of Progress event. Add trips to Santa Fe, Sandoval County, and events around the state, and those tires have had a busy month.
Durable organizations also need clear rules. I have spent many hours serving on the DPNM State Rules Committee, helping develop proposed rules that members will hear more about in due time. That work may not wear down my tires, but a five-hour Sunday meeting can certainly wear down everything else.
The new tires will not have much time to rest. This month, we will be tabling across the state. Here are a few upcoming stops:
- Sept. 11, NMHU: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Sept. 14, NMT: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Sept. 21, NNMC: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- Sept. 25, WNMU: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
So, how do we get young people involved?
We give them real opportunities, real responsibility, and support that continues after the election. We invite them to help shape the future, then keep showing up to help them build it.
The tires will eventually wear down again. That is fine.
The organizations we are building should not.
A quick note, because these names are easy to mix up: College Democrats focuses on students and campus chapters, while Young Democrats serves people under 36, whether or not they are in college. College Democrats of New Mexico is chartered through College Democrats of America, the DNC’s official collegiate arm. YDNM is chartered through Young Democrats of America, which operates independently of the DNC but retains three positions on it. We often work together, but we are distinct organizations with different roles.
In solidarity,
—
Coby Gentry
2nd Congressional District Vice Chair
Democratic Party of New Mexico
(c) (575) 307-1715