Author Archives
Paul Gibson and his wife, Roxanne Barber came to Santa Fe in 2012. Since arriving in Santa Fe they have been involved in the development of the Academy of Sustainability Education at Santa Fe High, as volunteers with Master Gardeners, New Energy Economy, and other local efforts. Most recently they coordinated the SantaFe4Bernie campaign, an effort that took advice from Bernie and focused locally, morphing into Retake the Roundhouse. Retake the Roundhouse worked with other advocacy groups around the state to support nine important races, winning seven of them and contributing to NM being the only state legislature in the country that turned blue in the last election. They now are exiting from partisan election processes and have created Retake Our Democracy, a 501-c-4 non-profit organization that tried to make daily activism easier by providing a wide range of resources, information and tools that empower and activate supporters.
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What is Rethink Our Democracy? And What Will It Do? Plus an Important Legislative Update With a Call to Action!
First a legislative update, including an important Call To Action to advance HB 203 the Health Security Planning & Design bill. We also discuss how, despite a huge state surplus, legislators must essentially conduct “bake sales” to fund important bills…. Read More ›
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Who Runs the Roundhouse? Not Who You Think. Budget Released, With Hundreds of Millions Left On the Table. What Recession? What Transition?
A second Capital & Main piece, and Joe Monahan offers insights into why our budget leaves $1 billion of surplus funds unspent despite desperate needs in rural & tribal NM. Read compelling evidence why we remain so fiscally conservative.
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Times Are Desperate, So Democrats Study, Plan, Procrastinate & Adjourn: the Same Approach that Brought Us to the Verge of Civil War
Today, we use a News In Brief to critique the tepid actions taken by national and state Democrats during 2021. Rural America, small farmers, the working poor, the unemployed are facing evictions, homelessness, and hunger, yet in DC they adjourn… Read More ›
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Why Bills Sometimes Go Sideways or Die, Tools / Actions to Prevent That, Plus 30 Minutes with Speaker Egolf
The legislative update is packed with new information, followed by commentary on lessons learned at the midpoint of the session, and 2 videos, one with Speaker Egolf and one with Public Bank leader, Angela Merkert. A must view post.
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Industry Lobbyists Are Right: The Sky Is Falling & They Are To Blame!
After a legislative update, we focus on the multi-billion dollar cost we will pay this decade for NM’s failure to regulate the gas & oil industry. This post points to the critical need to pass transformational environmental regulation in 2021…. Read More ›
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Some Big Wins & Stunning Defeats, Plus a Look at Democracy Collaborative’s Transformative Vision
After a review of how things are going in the legislative session, we offer an array of learning opportunities from the Democracy Collaborative, one of the single best sources for bold transformative change. Read on.