YOUTH FACE DOWN OLIGARCHS

Message from Beau Sandoval,
Chair, CD1

Amid the excitement at the top of our ticket, I wanted to take a moment to update folks on some of the work on the ground in congressional district one. Amidst such an impassioned process, it can be easy to lose sight of the necessary work that we must all commit ourselves to on a daily basis, if we are to deliver historic election wins for Democrats up and down the ticket in November – but most importantly to achieve the policies and priorities we as Democrats so fervently advocate for.

433 days ago, members of the State Central Committee put their confidence in me to act as one of our congressional district vice chairs for the Democratic Party of New Mexico. When I stepped into this position, I made the commitment to folks that I would work to energize each of the 10 counties in congressional district one, reorganize the 20 percent of counties that lacked any infrastructure whatsoever, would work to engage young people from all across the state, and fight to support all of our Democratic nominees in their elections in congressional district one. All of these commitments were made around one shared principal – these positions need to act as an avenue for getting things done to help people, rather than just being another personal title or section on a résumé, for personal aggrandizement. At a time when so many folks are struggling just to afford to exist – all while living in the wealthiest country in the history of the planet – it is so deeply important that we all put in the work to achieve the change we are all so hungry for. To me, this starts with the core grassroots work of supporting our local candidates, empowering our country parties, and supporting the people that live in all of our communities in New Mexico.

As such, I want to take the time to update folks on the specific progress and work occurring on your behalf in CD-1 with 99 days to go before our next general election. Two weekends ago, along with Vice Chair Cam Craford and Chair Sara Attleson, I worked with Santa Rosa public schools, to help support a back to school supply drive for all of the kids in Guadalupe County. No agenda, no politics — just kids in need getting school supplies. Later that evening, we met with local Guadalupe County Democrats where we were able to establish the base structure for a county party, electing two acting State Central Committee members, ensuring every county is now represented in our party’s SCC. This coming weekend (Aug 1-2), I plan to join the Santa Rosa community again, for the Guadalupe County Fair as I will host a table on behalf of DPNM to engage with folks directly on the ground, in their community. Guadalupe County is our last county to formally finalize in their county party structure in CD-1, after organizing De Baca county last year and is the last in the state after organizing Harding, Hidalgo, and Sierra counties. We are both proud and excited to welcome them into the fold. Through this effort and the support of the grassroots work across the state building dormant county parties, we will have finally achieved a Democratic country presence in 33 of New Mexico’s 33 counties!! In years past, Democrats have often turned a blind eye to our rural counties, in favor of the densely populated hubs like Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Dona Ana counties. While we will never lose favor for these illustrious counties, we must also recommit ourselves to thoughtfully, meaningfully, and actively engaging with all of our communities. I am very excited to have formal Democratic structures in place, in every county, so we can do just that.

We strongly believe that service isn’t about just showing up in September and October before an election in November, but about participating in our communities on a recurring, consistent and ongoing basis. Throughout these past 433 days, I have also been happy to help support our countless local candidates running for municipal office around CD-1, as well as recruit candidates to run for seats that would otherwise remain uncontested. I was proud to help defend a number of Democratic seats this past November, support great new Democratic leaders, unseat unpopular incumbents, and expand our elected Democratic majority, in local seats. Right here in Rio Rancho, while we moved the needle closer to securing a Democratic victory in the mayoral race, but were not successful, we did help to secure an election victory for a city councilor by more than 6 points in a +8 Republican district, who is now serving as the city’s first Democratic Deputy Mayor in Rio Rancho.

Throughout this time, I have also been honored to collaborate and engage with some fantastic young people, now further steeped in the Democratic structure. I was honored to work directly with some of these exceptional young folks to organize and host multiple college town halls and look forward to doing the same thing this coming school year. Thanks to the leadership of one of these young people, CD-2 Vice Chair Coby Gentry, the College Democrats of New Mexico has now been revived and is looking to expand to every college and university in our state. Not only this, but thanks to the efforts and energy of all of our young people in this talented group, the Young Democrats of America will now host its next meeting, right here in New Mexico this coming December! In addition, CD-1 saw the election of the youngest ever commissioner to New Mexico’s public education commission Bernalillo County Chair, 26 year old Jacob Trujillo. I have been committed to engaging young people and inviting them into the fold of our party and as much credit as I may like to take, each of these young people whom you have all likely seen at events, are a critical part of our party’s movement and their work and individual excellence speaks for itself.

While I know, the contents of this email may not be at the forefront of folks minds, as it relates to our current SCC context I do hope this email serves as a reminder for all of the work that has been accomplished, but really all of the work that still lies ahead. As I often say in my social media posts, we are one team with one goal. I do not mean that as some cliche signature to close out my messages, but instead as a genuine undertone for the reality of the world we live in and the necessity of all of us to come together as Democrats to achieve the policies people are so desperate for. While title and position certainly have relevance and meaning in this society, we must all individually commit to being the change we want to see on a daily basis, beyond title or position. We must commit ourselves to the collaboration that is required if we are to ever ensure that everyone regardless of skin color, gender, identity, religion, creed, sexual identity can live in dignity. No one on this email, as Democrats, should be okay with 3 in 5 of our kids in this state going to bed without adequate nutrition every night. No one here should be okay with over 60 percent of our people living paycheck to paycheck all while being unable to afford to go to the doctor. No one should be okay with our people deciding between prescription drugs or affording reasonable nutrition. No one here should be okay with an ever worsening climate that has left our river dry, our oceans warming, and our biodiversity evaporating — all while oil companies report record profits. No one here should be okay with 17 of our veterans taking their life every single day in a country that oftentimes seems to have endless money for war overseas, but none to fund our VA and support our service members. No one here should be okay with more than half of our seniors being unable to afford a $500 dollar emergency. No one here should be okay with our young people having to decide between affording a home or starting a family. Everyone should be united in opposition to a federal government run by out of touch race baiting oligarchs, who would rather invest in killing people in our own streets than supporting the collective humanity of us all.

Despite what seems to be our incessant in-fighting, I am confident that folks on this e-mail, beyond personality difference, agree with these core principles and understand the urgency behind them. As such, despite the anticipated contention that seems pervasive to our party, I write this message, in part, to remind us of what we are all supposed to be fighting for and what we will be fighting for, regardless of who is on the ticket this November. We may all have personal disagreements, but we all have to remember the greater good that we should all be working to achieve.

I look forward to the remaining months ahead to continue to put our party in the best spot to win in November, together. I hope to see you all around our state sooner than later and as always call upon me directly if I may be of service or assistance to you.

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