Oh Susana la Americana!

Susana Martinez's opponents in the 2010 Gubernatorial campaign here in New Mexico have tried to belittle her by calling her a "tejana". They do this to accuse her of being an outsider, though she has lived in New Mexico nearly all of her adult life, and has been a successful prosecutor in Doña Ana County for 13 years, during which time she defended the law in New Mexico. Many of us, including some of our recent former governors have come to New Mexico from other places, so the attack that Susana is a "tejana" is unfair. Susana herself, at a rally in Santa Fe in early October, called herself "la Americana". I like that!

On Sunday, Halloween afternoon, Susana came to Santa Fe for her last rally of the campaign season. With her were Matt Chandler, Matt Rush, John Sanchez, and Dianna Duran, all candidates for statewide office. Also in Santa Fe for the rally were some of our local candidates, and Tom Mullins, the District 3 candidate for the U.S. Congress.

What an afternoon it was! Exciting, joyous, upbeat and optimistic, as we celebrated a remarkable team of candidates that we can be extremely proud of.

John got these wonderful pictures during the rally:


CHUCK, SUSANA, DIANNA DURAN, DEBRA AND JOHN SANCHEZ:


CHUCK, SUSANA, DEBRA AND JOHN SANCHEZ:



CHUCK AND SUSANA:



THE CROWD:






ROSE FROM LOS ALAMOS:



DIANNA DURAN:



TOM MULLINS:



MATT CHANDLER:



MATT RUSH:


TOM MULLINS, DIANNA DURAN, MATT CHANDLER:



JOHN SANCHEZ:



JEANNETTE WALLACE:



BRIGETTE RUSSELL:



LEROY CANDELARIA AND PAUL MORRISON:



SUSANA AND CHUCK WITH THE SANTA FE VOLUNTEERS:








MATT RUSH:



TOM MULLINS AND MATT CHANDLER:



DEBRA AND JOHN SANCHEZ:





DIANNA DURAN:



BRIGETTE RUSSELL:



MATT RUSH, TOM MULLINS, MATT CHANDLER:



ME with LEROY CANDELARIA:



BRIGETTE RUSSELL AND TOM MULLINS:



TOM MULLINS, MILES LITTLEFIELD, AND SUSANA:


ME WITH SUSANA:

Susana comes to Santa Fe

Yesterday was our Susana Martinez rally in Santa Fe at the GOP Victory Office.

It was one of those gorgeous fall days in northern New Mexico, and we estimated that 350 people attended the rally. The crowd was enthusiastic and it felt like a party atmosphere.

I was pleased to see how many Latinos were in the crowd, and also the number of people with “Democrats for Martinez” signs. That is a clear sign that her support reaches across ethnic and party lines. Susana spoke and spent a lot of time talking with people in the crowd, posing for pictures that voters will cherish. I had a chance to greet her and also Chuck Franco her husband, who a such a nice man.

Matthew Chandler, the Republican candidate for Attorney General spoke, as well as some local candidates and dignitaries.

Here are some of our pictures:


Getting set up:






Matthew Chandler speaking:


SUSANA:








Matt Chandler and a colorful citizen:

The Republican Party of Santa Fe County Annual Convention

Yesterday John and I attended the Santa Fe Republican County convention. It was the first time we have ever attended such a meeting, so it was a real learning experience. The optimism and excitement and energy in the room was palpable: this was a group of people who feel like we are in a good position to make some progress in the GOP presence in our state.

We have not heard an official number of the total people who attended, we are guessing somewhere between 150 - 200. The best part was seeing most of the Republican friends, candidates and activists we have gotten to know in the past year, all in one place, to conduct official business. But the unofficial part - the increasing growth of our presence in Santa Fe County as more and more people get involved in this effort - is the most exciting to us.



Several items of business took place: we elected delegates to the state convention, we elected the county officers for the coming year, and we heard many candidates (or citizens representing candidates) give short speeches. We have SO MANY good people running for statewide office that it will be difficult to choose who to support in the primary election in May.

We had a caucus with our precinct which brings the participation right down to the level of our neighborhood.

County conventions are really the neatest part of our political process, I think. This is the actual grassroots in action, making decisions that will reverberate right up to the state and federal level.

Citizen participation in our government dates back to the first days of this country’s existence, and it is good to know that we still live in a country where free expression of our political beliefs is thriving.

It was an afternoon well spent. (I forgot to take my camera -- darn.)

Gettin' to know the folks

As new Republican precinct chairs, John and I get to pretty much have a free rein in deciding how to reach out to the registered Republicans and Independents in our precinct. Our first effort has been a letter of introduction and information to the registered Republicans (who have voted in the past) in our precinct.

We spent the past week composing a letter, revising and adding and correcting until we were completely happy with it. On Tuesday we mailed out 158 letters. On Wednesday we began getting back some responses. Several people have called us on the telephone, several people have emailed us. (We expect many of the letters will be returned as people have moved from the precinct.)

What we are finding from the responses we have gotten are some very enthusiastic people out there who are glad someone is getting our precinct organized and getting out information to the GOP voters.

The Republican Party in Santa Fe County has been dormant for a long time, due to the overwhelming Democrat influence in our local politics. But that is changing, as a very cool group of committed Republicans throughout the county is becoming organized and energized. And being a part of it from the beginning is really exciting and fun, especially for political junkies like us.