New Mexicans Stream Home from Holidays, the Governor Sets Her Agenda. And We Set Ours

By paulgibson51 on January 2, 2019 • ( 1 )

The Governor set the tone yesterday. Times are very different and we have an obligation to take advantage of this opportunity. Today’s post is designed to share with others who may be knew to Retake and our legislative strategy and to offer you something new: an opportunity that was almost unimaginable two years ago. Let’s do this!

Over the holidays, Retake volunteers have been working to prepare for the 2019 Roundhouse Session:

We have scanned, sorted and are prioritizing and summarizing hundreds of bills that have been pre-filed to date;
We have been communicating with our allies, clarifying their priorities and aligning ours;
We have honed our MUST PASS bills list and are developing a second set of bills that we consider priorities;
We have been putting the fine touches on a communication system that will enable us to send Action Alerts to people throughout the state.

Thank you to the dozens of Retake volunteers who carved out time throughout the holidays to make this all happen. Now it is time for the rest of us to step up.

Within days (perhaps tomorrow, likely Friday), the red lettered invite to take our Legislative Bill Priorities survey that has been on our home page for months, will be replaced with an invitation to join our Response Network and it will be time to begin statewide outreach in earnest. We understand very well that what will make it possible to pass all of our MUST PASS bills will involve more than Santa Feans crowding the Roundhouse hearings. It will involve fully engaged constituents in Deming, Farmington, Gallup, Belen, Socorro, and Grants pushing their legislators to support bills that in the past they would have subverted.

That is where you come in.

If you have been away or engaged with holiday festivities, to catch up, I highly recommend reviewing the last two posts as the first post described a pivot that appears to be taking place nationally and even more so here in NM, a pivot that could create a context in which we can do more than petition and march, we can create. In yesterday’s post, I outlined just how horribly we’ve been misled by the media and our leadership, how much is at stake today, and how much is suddenly possible. I asked for one to two hours a week of your time imploring all of us to start to think big, to dream big, but to also step to the plate with some of our time to back up our dreams with action.

For two years, we’ve been relegated to sending petitions and marching while leadership in DC ignored us. We have a chance now to do something remarkable and the two posts outline this clearly . Yesterday’s post obviously resonated, as it was shared many times resulting in the highest open rate in months, despite the snow, despite the holidays, despite visitors and traveling and all that involves the holiday season.

And while some folks are still just returning home, it is time to ramp it up. I asked for two hours a week in the post yesterday, but in thinking about it I realized that I was being too cautious. I think many of you are bursting with eagerness to get something done, the energy is much as it was at the Center for Progress & Justice back in January 2017 when 450 of you showed up in the snow to find out what you could do. Frankly, Roxanne and I were overwhelmed by the response and utterly unprepared to galvanize that many people. But Retake is ready now. We have a structure, a plan and leadership ready to push the envelope, pass a raft of great bills and develop a statewide advocacy network prepared to press for justice for years to come.

Today, I am asking for some of you to find a way to carve out one day a week, a day where you set aside whatever was on your plate and devote it to our future, our children and their children and take a stand. New Mexico has the opportunity to show the Nation what it means to commit to climate justice, social justice, economic justice and a sustainable future. We need dozens of folks to make this commitment. We need others, who have too many obligations to dig that deep, to commit to 3 hours a week. Retake can fill those hours with things only you can do and that could make a huge difference for the future of New Mexico. From now on, every post will include a list of things you can do today to create a better tomorrow.

Today, we are at a point in NM history where your efforts can translate into something enduring and important. I want to ask everyone reading this post, to make a list with names, email addresses, and phone numbers. Please focus on people you know in other parts of New Mexico, but also include people living in Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Taos, Espanola and other points near the capitol. For today, I am asking that you just make the list and make the commitment to yourself that you will use the list tomorrow or Friday when we send out the link to join the Statewide Rapid Response Network.

The second ‘ask’ for today is that you RSVP to attend tomorrow night’s planning session. It is a vital meeting as it will be our last meeting before the Roundhouse session begins Between 6-6:30, we will outline our overall strategy, our MUST PASS bills and the roles you can play to support our Roundhouse Strategy. We’ll have time for Q&A, but then will break into groups to continue planning with some precision how we take advantage of this moment.

To RSVP, simply write to me at paul@retakeourdemocracy.org.

The final ask, is to look over your list and pick two or three people you feel just might want to join you at the meeting. Let’s bust open the doors, we’ve got work to do. And please, if you missed the last two posts (links above, take a look, especially at yesterday’s post It should motivate you to go beyond three hours a week. Lets’ Do This!!!!

Thursday, Jan. 3, 6pm-8pm at 1420 Cerrillos, The Center for Progress & Justice. Retake Our Democracy Roundhouse Advocacy Team Organizing & Training Meeting. It is crunch time, 12 days to the opening of the Legislative Session. Orientation for the new participants that have been recruited will be from 6-6:30 followed by more training and considerable time for small group planning focused on the role you want to play in our work. Please RSVP by writing to paul@retakeourdemocracy.org. And please, please, please, ask 2-3 friends to join you. It is time to flex our muscles and we need your help in that effort.

For other opportunities to get involved, click to visit our Actions & Events page. It includes links to actions and opportunities in Santa Fe and in many other communities throughout the state. We will begin including more and more information about actions and events statewide.