Last week was crazy: Ellenberg resigns, students walk out, Community Land Trusts emerge as an element of the University of Art & Design and more thoughts on and actions related to the DCCC and the 2018 primaries. 

The Monday post continues to be our most popular.  We lead with info on this week’s events… and follow with a review of last week’s blog.

Roundhouse Advocacy Team. Thursday, March 22, 4:30-6:30pm at New Energy Economy, 343 E. Alameda.  The Roundhouse Advocacy Team (or the Rat Pack) has been meeting for a year to develop a 2018-2019 Election and Legislative Strategy. We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month, same time, same location.  This week, we will continue developing our statewide Rapid Response Network and with hundreds of people signed up to be a part of it from all parts of the state, there is plenty to do. This week we will also spend a good deal of time discussing our plans to support primary candidates for the Roundhouse and the PRC. And if you can’t make it to these meetings, please just write to me, as there is PLENTY you can do from home and at your own pace. Write to me at Paul@RetakeOurDemocracy.org. This is where the action is, my friends. A tremendous team doing amazing work.

March 23, 7pm Santa Fe Art Institute, at the Santa Fe University of Art & Design. 1600 Saint Michaels. Dr.  SFAI140 is an event unlike any other: 1 night, 20 inspiring talks & performances, 140 seconds each. With twenty speakers in one evening, the energy and ideas shared are electric. Come witness incredible work, visit open studios, make connections, and leave inspired. Yours truly is one of the invited speakers, so show up and show support and if you have your Retake button, please wear it. We will bring buttons for the buttonless.

Retake Our Democracy’s Thirty Minute Show this Week: Dede Feldman Part II.  Dede’s show that aired on the 10th was so good and we had so much more to discuss, that we agreed to do a second show. The first show focused on her first book:  Inside the NM State Senate. It was a fascinating look at how things really work (or don’t work) in the Roundhouse. If you plan to be part of Roundhouse advocacy in 2019, this is a must listen. Click here to listen. This past Saturday, we explored her second book A New Path Forward, which examines 15 New Mexicans who have created ongoing systemic change by just rolling up their sleeves and taking action. Both shows are well worth a listen. Click here to listen. And we’ve got some tremendous shows coming up:

• March 24, 11am-Noon–Live in studio one hour pledge drive show with Roxanne and Paul and special guest commentary from Sen. Wirth, Mayor Webber, and Dede Feldman. Plus for the first 15 people to pledge $100 on Saturday at 11am will be invited to a reception at our house with Senator Wirth, Councilor Romero Wirth and Mayor Webber. Roxanne and I will make some killer finger food, we will mingle casually with wine and waters and then have a sit down Q&A. So listen in on Saturday and make your pledge.
• March 31, 11am. First of a two-part interview series with our new Mayor Alan Webber. The second show will air on April 14 because.
• April 7, 11am. Bruce Berlin, NM Money Out of Politics and Miranda Viscoli, New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence will be on the show to discuss how money and the NRA have built a seemingly uncrossable moat between endless massacres and sensible gun violence prevention legislation.
• April 14, 11am.  Part II with Alan Webber.
• April 21. Tomás Rivera and a representative from Sawmill Community Land Trust to discuss how the CLT framework could be a perfect fit for the Santa Fe University of Art & Design.

We are blown away by the positive response to this survey, as we are nearing 1000 surveys completed and with so many comments about how easy it is to take the survey and how excited people are to be involved in the strategy to follow. So, if you haven’t taken the Speak Up New Mexico! Legislative Priorities survey, please do so today to tell your legislators what bills you want to see become law.  Click the blue button at left to take the survey. And if you want to get involved with our 2018-2019 Roundhouse Advocacy Team, we meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month from 4:30-6:30pm at New Energy Economy, 343 E. Alameda. To RSVP, just write to me at paul@RetakeOurDemocracy.org. If you want to read about our 2018-2019 Election and Legislative Strategy, click here.

A Look at Last Week’s Blogs

More on the DCCC, a Huge Pennsylvania Primary, Ellenberg Resigns and Students Walk Out in Protest of Adult Failure to Act on Gun Control. Wednesday, March 14.  A surprising olive branch to the DCCC, details on the Pennsylvania special election and an update Santa Fe students walking out of class tomorrow and marching together on March 24.  Click here to read the full post.

Richard Ellenberg’s Resignation and Shocking Pennsylvania Upset While the DNC Fails to Act: Opportunities Abound. Thursday, March 15. In NM, aside from the Ellenberg resignation, two prominent GOP House Reps Decline to Run. Rumors fly about who might succeed Ellenberg. DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee drags feet and equivocates. We can’t overstate the importance of the win in Pennsylvania. The DCCC will present this win as evidence that cautious, middle of the word candidates are our ticket to wins. But as we describe in Sunday’s post, below. the truth is not so black and white. Details. Click here to read the full post. 

Community Land Trusts:  A Tool for Development without Displacement at Santa Fe’s University of Art & Design. Friday, March 16. We have a tremendous opportunity to do something important with the Santa Fe University of Art & Design or we can be timid and take an easier path, but one that will very likely only increase the displacement of our low-income neighbors who build our homes, serve our food, maintain our hotels and provide critical social and health support services. This brief provides a guide to doing the right thing. CLTs will be a focal point on Retake local action over the next few weeks, but we feel CLTs have relevance for any community that wants to dedicate and preserve the commons for the common good. As we explore its relevance for Santa Fe, we will also look for applications to other settings in NM. CLTs are not just a tool to develop affordable housing and prevent gentrification, ultimately it could be one of our greatest tools to combat the ravages of capitalism. See video at the bottom of this post.  Click here to read the full post.

Planning Commission Rejects Truck Stop. A Lesson in Showing Up BIG! Saturday, March 17.  When you show up, are well informed and are persistent, you often win and Retake’s city and state strategy is to make it easier for you to show up for affordable housing, for renewables, for fair elections, and more. We had been remiss in not writing more about this project. But since the battle is NOT over, we want you to see what this group of our neighbors did on our behalf. I will keep you posted as this unfolds and as the proposal goes the County Board.  Also today, Brave Space, a new local radio show focused on feminism. Click here to read the full post.   

What Lamb’s Stunning Pennsylvania Win Means … And What it Doesn’t Mean.  Sunday March 18.  The DCCC doesn’t prove the wisdom of the Dems picking moderate-conservative candidates in conservative districts, quite the opposite. This post also includes a video from Gar Alperovitz on capitalism and excerpts from the Congressional Progressive Caucus Budget.  Click here to review the full post.

In solidarity,

Paul & Roxanne

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