Getting Active in Your Ward & County Democratic Party

This page is designed to make it very easy to become involved in the local Democratic Party. The only way we can influence state and national politics in a sustained way is to invigorate the local and state Party. By operating locally we will:

• work with friends and neighbors at the Ward level and build community and relationships,
• build a solid grass roots base,
• conduct social actions in your neighborhood–perhaps clean up a park, doing a project for the local elementary school,
• lobby for local initiatives in Santa Fe, things like a Public Bank, opposition to PNM, and work to elect progressives in City Council, School Board and County Commission.

Those we elect to these positions often become our future legislators as we have just seen with Linda Trujillo, Santa Fe Public School Board Member, just elected to the Roundhouse. This is such an important thing to do. Think Globally Act Locally.

At the same time as we are working at the local grassroots level, we will be working together to advocate to change the Democratic Party and the DNC from the top down. Go to this link for more information on this effort and to sign the petition to elect Keith Ellison, DNC Chair. Read on to find out how easy it is to get active locally.

We will be mounting a coordinated strategy led by Susan Popovich, susanpop@aol.com to elect as many activists and progressives as Ward Chairs and members of the County Central Committee. She welcomes contact for advice or encouragement. Getting involved is very easy and starts with identifying your Ward, contacting your Ward Chair and attending a meeting to see who else is already involved. Bring a few friends to make it more fun and so you feel less intimidated. Report back to Susan about what you find.  To get started, it will take you five minutes to identify your Ward and to get contact info for the Ward Chair. How easy is that?

Step 1. Identify your precinct at this link: https://voterview.state.nm.us/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do

Enter your county, name, and birth date and your registration information will appear, including your Precinct Code (a number) listed directly below your Party. Write down the Precinct number. Wards are comprised of several precincts, and once you have your precinct number, you can find your Ward.

Step 2. Identifying Your Ward. Below is the list of Wards in Santa Fe County. Precinct numbers are on the right. If your precinct number is 83, you are in Ward 1D. It is that easy.

Ward 1A comprised of Precincts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 58

Ward 1B comprised of Precincts: 5, 23, 40, 59, 60, 61, 87

Ward 1C comprised of Precincts: 6, 7, 8, 10, 22, 28, 30

Ward 1D comprised of Precincts: 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 83

Ward 2A comprised of Precincts: 64, 80

Ward 2B comprised of Precincts: 24, 31, 32, 33, 34

Ward 2C comprised of Precincts: 11, 82, 90

Ward 2D comprised of Precincts: 66, 67

Ward 3A comprised of Precincts: 86, 89

Ward 3B comprised of Precincts: 12, 62, 75

Ward 3C comprised of Precincts: 15, 73, 84

Ward 3D comprised of Precincts: 16, 17, 72

Ward 3E comprised of Precincts: 18, 19, 85

Ward 4A comprised of Precincts: 13, 57, 63, 68, 81

Ward 4B comprised of Precincts: 37, 51, 54, 55, 77

Ward 4C comprised of Precincts: 41, 42, 43, 52, 53

Ward 4D comprised of Precincts: 9, 36, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

Ward 5A comprised of Precincts: 65, 69, 71

Ward 5B comprised of Precincts: 14, 70, 88

Ward 5C comprised of Precincts: 29, 56, 76, 78

Ward 5D comprised of Precincts: 35, 38, 39, 49, 50, 74

Step 3. Locate Your Ward Chair. Use this link: ward_chairs_vice_chairs_2015_2016 to find your Ward Chair. Save the contact info for future use. Some wards hold monthly meetings, pot lucks and are fairly active but many other Wards do not meet at all or only infrequently, and some Ward Chairs do not respond to calls or emails. If you do not get a response to your contact efforts, please email Susan Popovich at Susanpop@aol.com as she is leading Retake Our Democracy’s efforts to invigorate the Wards. Also email Francesca Di Palma, the Democratic Party Executive Director at checkamarq@gmail.com. Hopefully, contact from the Party itself will encourage Chairs to do their jobs. If not, at the election we will do all we can to elect chairs in every Ward who will do their jobs. If you do reach your Chair, ask when the next meeting is and attend, bringing neighbors and friends from your Ward, if possible. Find out what they do, get to know active members, and report back to Susan. Many Wards are active and full of progressive folks who can be our allies.