Check out recordings of our Zoominar series on social, environmental, and economic issues in New Mexico.

Also check out Retake on the Radio, video recordings of our radio show on KSFR.

Green Amendment: What it is & What it isn’t (2/2/23)

Zoominar: Thurs., Feb. 2, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Green Amendment: What It Is & What It Isn’t

Watch as Green Amendment founder Maya van Rossum and a panel of experts discuss what the Green Amendment is, why NM needs it, and how it has been implemented in Pennsylvania and NY. There is a great deal of misinformation swirling around the legislature. This Zoom is jam packed with information. It dispells information, outlines how the Green

Amendment has protected residents and the environment in NY and PA and how it would be applied in NM. It will orient you to changes in this year’s legislation and help you better advocate with your legislators. Panelists include:

• Maya van Rossum, founder of the Green Amendment for the Generations movement, an author of The Green Amendment, a book outlining the case for why we need constitutional protection of our right to clean, air, water and land. For over two years, Maya has been working with environmental activists to pass the Environmental Rights Act, AKA Green Amendment in NM.
• Mark L. Freed, Esq. of Pennsylvania is a partner at Curtin & Heefner LLP with a focus on Public Sector Law and Environmental Law and Litigation. Freed has worked on the responsible and strategic implementation of PA’s Green Amendment in a number of cases and assisted in promoting Green Amendment legislation across the country. He will speak about how the Green Amendment has been implemented in PA.
• Todd D. Ommen of New York is the Managing Attorney at the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic, Inc. and a Professor of Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law. He closely studied and advocated for the passage of NY’s Green Amendment, which passed in 2021. He now works with a team of environmental advocates and attorneys in NY to ensure the best implementation of NY’s Green Amendment and to educate members of the public and government officials on their new rights and obligations.
• Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, the primary sponsor of this year’s SJR 6 Environmental Rights (Green Amendment) will tell us what we can do to help get this Joint Resolution passed this year.

Grab a cup of java and get informed!

Public Power – Local Choice Energy (12-7-22)

This is a most informative panel discussion, as we heard from national and state experts and advocates.

• Senator Carrie Hamblen, legislative sponsor, who showed tremendous grasp of the policy and a passionate commitment to getting this done.
• Alison Elliott, Local Energy Aggregation Network Executive Director, who discussed how Local Choice Energy has been successfully implemented in over a dozen other states.
• Jessica Guadalupe Tova, Local Clean Energy Alliance Energy Democracy Organizer, who offered specific examples of how LCE legislation has unleashed LCE programs throughout California.
• Alysha Shaw, Public Power New Mexico Campaign Director, who outlined what Public Power NM is and how we are advancing legislation to create Local Choice Energy.

State Public Bank (10-26-22)

Watch this most informative Zoominar and get motivated and equipped to advocate for a state public bank. Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity (AFLEP) Executive Director Angela Merkert and AFLEP’s Public Bank Campaign Director and retired banker, Harold Dixon outlined precisely how a state public bank would collaborate with but not compete with community banks. Joining them for the discussion was Helga Garcia-Garza, Chair of the NM Food & Agriculture Policy Council and Sarah Manning, AFLEP Outreach worker who described how lack of access to capital impedes rural and small business development and how a state public bank could change that. We also heard Rep. Christine Trujillo and Sen. Jeff Steinborn lay out what the legislative challenges will be and how you can help overcome them and get this done. Wall Street bankers have already begun their disinformation campaign, sowing seeds of fear and doubt among legislators and the public. Retake peeps must get fully informed and ready to counter their disinformation. Check this out to find out more about what you can do to support the effort. And then share the video with your legislators and encourage them to support the public bank in 2023. This could be the year, we get this done.

Health Security for NM (9-13-22)

Retake hosted a tremendous panel of NM experts on healthcare policy and legislation to discuss how the Health Security Act could improve the quality of healthcare while reducing cost of care. Sen. Ortiz y Pino and Rep. Day Hochman outlined the misinformation and seeds of doubt being fomented to undermine the process. We feel that this zoom identified what needs to be done to keep the design process moving forward and the messaging that will be most effective in convincing legislators to keep their foot on the gas. Check it out.

Modernizing the Legislation: a Substantial Reform (7-27-22)

Our panel included Reps Angelica Rubio and Kristina Ortez, Cara Lynch an advocate who founded Legislative Momentum, and Ricann Bock from Indivisible Santa Fe. We heard how this team is collaborating to develop a package of legislation and not just to pass the required legislation, but to secure approval of the voters. Retake feels this may well be the single most important piece of legislation to be inroduced in 2023, so if you missed the Zoominar, tune in to a most informative discussion.

Modernization of the Legislature (7/27/23)

We are the only state in the nation that doesn’t pay our legislators. This has a profound effect on who can run to be in the legislature, as working people can’t possibly work a paid  job and work year round as essentially a full time legislator. And being a legislator is a full time job.

In this zoom we bring together advocates and legislators to speak on behalf of modernizing the legislature paying legislators, paying their staff and lengthening the sessions. This is an important initiative as everything we try to do in the legislature is impacted by a legislative process that demands far too much of legislators, provides them inadequate staff support and creates a Roundhouse atmosphere that advantages paid industry lobbyists. A most important topic and a most informative discussion.

Gun Violence Prevention: Action & Legislation
(7-13-22)

Our Zoominar guests were Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, and Janae Martinez, a student activist from Albuquerque. We discussed gun violence in our state, what we can do to prevent it, what we want from the legislature in 2023, and advocacy strategies to achieve it.

NM State Auditor Candidate Forum: Zack Quintero and Joe Maestas

The Auditor has a critical role in holding government accountable. The Auditor can investigate state and local government and expose government failure to fulfill its mission or the Auditor can turn a blind eye to government waste or corruption. We have two excellent Democrats running for Auditor, and with no GOP candidate running the winner of the primary will be our state Auditor for the next four years.

In our minds, this is a critical position, but the race for this position often flies under the radar. We organized this forum to offer both candidates opportunities to respond to questions crafted by Retake co-founders, Paul Gibson & Roxanne Barber and then 30 minutes of questions from the audience. Since candidates had not seen the questions, the forum offers impromptu responses, not canned campaign speeches. If you haven’t made up your mind on this election, this discussion should help you make an informed decision.

Public Power: What Is It, How Would NM Benefit, and How Can We Achieve It (7-8-21)

The conversation on the video below focused on the unethical corporate behavior of Avangrid and the opportunity NM has to create a public power utility. In doing so, NM could significantly advance the goals of the ETA, accelerating our transition to renewables while also facilitating NM’s using our plentiful wind and solar potential energy to transform our state economy. We spoke with Bill Dunn and Vaughan Woodruff, two leading Maine public utility advocates, Bob Bresnahan, a founder of Renewable Taos and a trustee of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, and Mariel Nanasi, Executive Director of New Energy Economy and crackerjack utility attorney.

Wednesday, April 7, 6pm. Conversation with Joe Monahan. What Happened in the 2021 Session? Why? What Can We Do Going Forward? Joe Monahan is the most informed political pundit in NM. He joined us in conversation to lay out his views on what happened and why, what is wrong with the legislative process and what we can do to pass more bills in 2022.

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 6:30 – 8 pm. Election Debrief and 2021 Legislative Agenda Review with Senate Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, Senate Floor Leader Peter Wirth, and Speaker of the House Brian Egolf. We discussed how the primaries and the general election have altered the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate and what those changes mean for getting transformational legislation passed in 2021. All three were optimistic!

Monday, October 5. PRC Constitutional Amendment: Commissioners Appointed or Elected. The Pros & Cons. We discussed the history of the PRC, its strengths and failings as well as the pros and cons for passing a NM State Constitutional Amendment to shift from electing PRC Commissioners to having the Governor appoint them. The Amendment would also reduce the number of PRC Commissioners to three. Lot’s at stake on this and many people have asked for this Zoominar. We scheduled this very special zoominar to occur the night before early voting begins in NM. Please share this with other voters. To review our position on Amendment 1 (vote no), click here.

Tuesday, September 15, 6:30 pm – 8 pm. Water Policy, Quality and Management in New Mexico. We assembled a tremendous panel for our discussion of the water challenges facing NM. We all realize that we are a drought state and that with global warming and the growing climate crisis, we face an existential challenge here in NM. What many may not appreciate, is the degree to which we are fiddling while NM burns and how even if we wanted to address this challenge, we would do so with both hands tied behind our backs. The panel included Norm Gaume, former director of the NM Interstate Streams Commission; David Gutzler, internationally respected climate change researcher from UNM; and Linda Cardenas, sustainability practitioner and President of Middle Rio Grande Water Advocates.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury was slated to participate, however, she had to bow out due to an emergency. You’ll find a separate 53-minute interview with Rep. Stansbury at this link, focused almost exclusively on water issues and Rep. Stansbury’s plans to introduce legislation to enable the state to better prepare for what is coming.

Tuesday, August 4. NM State Election Strategies: Who Can Win, Who Needs a Push and What YOU Can Do. Panelists include: Eric Griego, Working Families Party of NM, Andrea Serrano from Olé, and representatives from Indivisible, Nasty Women, and other grassroots groups who are working on campaigns. Find out key races where wins are possible and races where good Democrat incumbents face stiff challenges. Find out the nuances involved in organizing successful campaigns and the many ways in which you can support a campaign. We have a unique opportunity in 2021, a Democratic Governor, a strongly progressive House, and potentially a completely transformed Senate. Now we need to finish the job and make great candidates into great legislators. Find out how we can create a Legislature ready to pass a Public Bank, Health Security, Tax Reform, Funding for Early Childhood, and to pave the way for a just transition in NM.

Tuesday, July 21, Redistricting in NM. Panelists include Dick Mason, NM League of Women Voters, Kathleen Burke, Fair Districts New Mexico, and Senators Gerry Ortiz y Pino and Mark Moores. People have been trying to pass legislation to create a state constitutional amendment for decades and it runs into a brick wall every year. What is with that? We now have the perfect opportunity to get it done: Democrats in charge of everything. Find out why that may not be the chemistry needed to get this done. Find out how gerrymandering has diminished the political power of communities of color. Find out who is pulling the strings to prevent an independent redistricting commission. If you are into comic relief, start at the beginning and watch Roxanne and I fumble through trying to launch an introductory video for 1 minute 40 seconds. Otherwise, skip to 1m 40s to start the Zoominar. It really is worth your time.

Tuesday, July 7, 6:30-8 pm, Health Security Act in NM, A Dream That Could Become Reality in 2021. We were joined by Mary Feldblum, Executive Director of Health Security for New Mexicans Campaign, an organization she formed in 1992. Also on the panel were Tyler Taylor, a Los Alamos physician and member of the Campaign’s Executive Committee, and Shelley Mann-Lev, a Board Member for the NM Public Health Association and chair of their policy committee. 

We got off to a rocky start, as we had problems with our laptop sound, so we had about 3 minutes to quickly set up Roxanne’s 10 year-old laptop and pray. Her computer worked fine, but we failed to record our intro and the panelist’s introducing themselves. So the recording begins with the first question and we covered a great deal: what is the HSA? Why would it benefit NM? We also discussed the results of numerous studies demonstrating the viability of the HSA. Finally, we panelists discussed how COVID has exposed our failed medical and public health systems and how the HSA could repair the damage, at least here in NM.

This is New Mexico’s chance to do something very important. We can be the beacon for the nation, demonstrating the efficacy of universal healthcare. The HSA and Public Banking are our two absolute top priorities in the 2021 legislative session, and while we will certainly support other legislation, we will begin advocacy for those two initiatives this month. If you missed the Zoominar live, you’ll want to see it now….

June 23, 2020. Conversation About the Enormous Benefits of Forming a NM State Public Bank with Public Banking Advocate Leadership & Experts. Our panel: Elaine Sullivan, Board President of New Mexico’s Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity (NM AFLEP), Angela Merkert, the Executive Director of NM AFLEP and Melissa Pickett, Outreach Coordinator for NM AFLEP. Joining them is Paul Stull, NM Credit Union Association, who will describe why the Association has endorsed the public banking initiative, and Ellen Brown, the author of The Web of Debt and The Public Banking Solution.

With the state experiencing a budget crisis, every strategy to maximize our financial resources is critical, and public banking has immense potential for supporting the state’s financial capacity and advancing economic justice. AFLEP has been hard at work building alliances throughout the state, and they have a bill that will be introduced in 2021, not to study public banking, but to do it. This was an important discussion and we hope you will view it and share it with your friends.

June 9, 2020.  How PNM Runs Circles Around Our Legislature and PRC, and How A Group of Local Shareholder Activists Are Exposing PNM’s Dissembling: For years, PNM has been laying the groundwork for foisting the costs of its own business mistakes onto the ratepayers of New Mexico. In the past year’s debate over PNM’s role in the Energy Transition Act (ETA) many of us have been confused by the competing rhetoric, with environmental groups often pitted against each other. This Zoominar hosts a group of local activists who purchased shares in PNM stock five years ago and formed PNM Shareholders for a Responsible Future. In the process of their work, they have come to understand how PNM has maneuvered, especially during the creation of the ETA, to turn its failed policies into a corporate gold mine.

For the past five years, these activists have introduced resolutions and asked questions at the PNM Annual Meeting to increase attention to the urgency of climate change, and to pressure the utility to strike a balance between shareholder profits and the company’s responsibility to the people and environment of our state. Group members shared their questions from the May 12 Annual Shareholder meeting, exploring how the ETA dramatically restricts the regulatory power of the PRC not only with respect to the San Juan Generating Station, but also Four Corners and Palo Verde. The questions also illuminate how badly both ratepayers and the environment are served by PNM’s plans for replacement power at San Juan.

May 26, 6:30, 2020. Conversation with NM Voices for Children About the NM State Budget Crisis with Amber Wallin, Deputy Director; Bill Jordan, Government Relations Officer; and Paige Knight, Research and Policy Analyst. Joining this panel will be Rep. Javier Martinez, chair of the House Tax & Revenue Committee. Reverend William Barber declared that a budget is a moral document and New Mexico faces a budget crisis that will force difficult choices. We want those decisions to be made with a strong economic justice lens focused squarely on each choice. But to advocate effectively for a budget requires your understanding the choices. This discussion does an excellent job of framing the special budget session on June 18. Best line of the night, Bill Jordan: “We don’t have a budget crisis; we have a revenue crisis.”

May 19, 2020, Conversation About Gas & Oil Influence in NM Legislature featuring Heather Ferguson, Executive Director, Common Cause NM; Dede Feldman, former NM State Senator and author; and Kathleen Sabo, Executive Director,NM Ethics Watch. We discussed their exhaustive study “The New Mexico Oil and Gas Industry and Its Allies: Oceans of oil, oceans of influence.” If you wonder how the Produced Water Act came from nowhere and without any discussion was passed into law in the last days of the session and in the wee hours of the morning, Zoom in. We will discuss Produced Water, the failure to pass any meaningful regulatory legislation, and how the gas and oil lobby blocks our ability to initiate steps toward a just transition. We don’t get what we want and what the planet needs because the deck is stacked in the NM state legislature, stacked by the gas and oil industry who spend millions on campaign donations, lobbyists, and entertaining. They control not just what can be passed in the legislature, but even if a bill will ever be heard in a legislative committee. The link above will take you to the Common Cause NM web page where you can download the full report.

May 5, 2020. Zoominar with Dahr Jamail and Greg Rogers. Based on emails and results of a poll of attendees, this Zoominar was a powerful, far ranging discussion that attendees appreciated greatly. We spoke with internationally known author Dahr Jamail, the author of The End of Ice, named one of the Ten Best Science Books of 2019 by Smithsonian and a finalist for the 2020 Pen/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Joining Dahr was attorney, author, and CPA Greg Rogers who wrote the seminal book, Financial Reporting of Environmental Liabilities and Risks. We discussed Dahr’s March 30, 2020 article from Truthout, “Could COVID-19 Spell the End of the Fracking Industry As We Know It?” To read our post about Dahr’s article, click here. It will frame the discussion below. His article analyzes the recent precipitous drop in oil prices and the impact of that collapse on the New Mexico state economy. But far beyond a discussion of the price of oil, we delved into the messages being sent by COVID, the degree to which our response to COVID should inform our approach to climate policy, our advocacy, and our daily lives. Rogers got specific about legislative and legal steps the state needs to do to protect itself from G&O bankruptcies. We also delved into the real possibility of Donald Trump not accepting the November election results, with a Senate, Supreme Court, federal court system and Fox Media ready to echo is calls of “hoax.” A fascinating discussion.

April, 21, 2020. Community Meeting with Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard and Land Commission General Counsel Ari Biernoff. We discussed how the Land Commission can currently regulate the gas and oil industry and what legislative remedies might be possible to increase that capacity, increase royalties and penalties, and slow the pace of lease approvals. We discussed what is politically feasible given the state budget crisis and plunging oil prices, and what is necessary given those same conditions. 

April 14, 2020. Candidate Forum with both Democratic District 3 candidates for Public Regulation Commission (PRC). The PRC plays a crucial role in trying to regulate our use of energy in NM and currently is caught in a battle with the Governor and the legislature over the scope of their authority, whether commissioners should be elected or appointed, and now, even where they will be physically located. Current Dist. 3 commissioner Valerie Espinoza is leaving the due to term limits. Two excellent candidates are running for her seat: Former Espanola Mayor and Santa Fe City Council member, Joe Maestas; and Brian Harris, who for thirteen years has either worked at the PRC or been a ratepayer expert advocate at their hearings.  Unfortunately, we began the video recording about 30 seconds into the video, so you will miss a bit of our introduction outlining coming Zoominars, but that info is above on this page.