Tag: New Mexico Politics

Changes for the Democratic Party of Otero County New Mexico, An Interview with Monica A Davalos and Brianna Martinez

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

A new generation of party leadership is on the horizon for the Otero County Democratic Party. The Political Climate in Otero County, New Mexico is Strongly conservative. In Otero County, New Mexico 36.0% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 61.6% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 2.4% voted Independent. Otero county voted Republican in every Presidential election since 2000.

Per the Federal Election Commission during the years (2018-2021), there were 3,488 contributions totaling $114,439 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $33 per contribution
in Otero County, New Mexico. During that same period, there were 837 contributions totaling $229,584 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $274 per contribution.

What does campaign contributions in Otero County tell us? The Democratic Party had a more engaged grassroots small donor base during the 2018 to 2021 election cycles in Otero County. The Republicans of Otero County raised significantly more money by via a significantly lower number of contributors. 

Experts in political science view party campaign contributions as a gauge of party power rather concentrated to a few or more widespread. Based upon the financial contributions within Otero County, it would appear power is concentrated within the Republican party.

The Republican base in Otero County controls every elected city and county seat except for one city Commissioners seat, thus there is a stranglehold on power, with one party rule. The one-party rule is further interesting to review from a viewpoint of a family tree. 

If a family tree were drawn of who is related to who in Otero County, New Mexico and holding appointed and elected offices; the tree would show a concentration of just a few families controlling most elected offices within the County. Cousins, sisters-in-law, sisters, brothers-in-law, nephews and aunts with the responsibility of oversite of family members within the bureaucracy of Alamogordo City and Otero County Governmental bodies. 

When one looks at the larger bundling of donor dollars and direct donations supporting those campaigns of Republican insiders, one also sees the small concentration of power, and political money, pulling the strings and influencing the dialog of local government. 

Whereas the Democratic donor numbers show a higher percentage of Democrats engaged in financial support and a more broad-based level of small donor financial commitment than within the local Republican Party.

That larger donor base of the Democratic Party and higher percentage of donor engagements by the Democratic Party shows a party of small donors wanting to be engaged. Thus recent actions by the Otero County Democratic Party to restructure the party are a logical next step for the minority political party.

AlamogordoTownNews.com met with Democratic Party Chairman, Jeff Swanson today for a conversation on the state of the local party, what is it up to and what are the plans of 2023 and beyond.

Mr. Swanson explained to us that the party in collaboration with the State Democratic Party was revamping to a more grassroots approach. In Otero County that has meant that the party has drawn Wards. A ward consists of several precincts and wards were drawn to include like characteristics, such as demographics and geography. The leadership team within the party and collaborating with the state “drew what amounts to 10 wards within Otero County.”

Within each of those wards is a leadership and engagement structure, getting the party closer to the voter or more “grassroots in engagement going forward” per Mr. Swanson.

With this reorganization, the party has been engaged in restructuring, taking an inventory of its strengths and weaknesses, and crafting, a go forward blueprint, to engagement.

Now that the wards were created and approved, the party is now engaged in a 2-prong process of electing new leadership. 

Part one of the party engagement occurred this past weekend, with an election of ward chairpersons, and Central Committee Delegates for each Ward.

The elected Ward Chairs include…

  • Ward 1 – Donalyn Torres
  • Ward 2 – Raul Espino
  • Ward 3 – Joann Vullo
  • Ward 4 – Denise Lang-Browne
  • Ward 5 – Claudia Powell
  • Ward 6 – Gerardo Martinez
  • Ward 7 – Donna Swanson
  • Ward 8 – Glenn Melton
  • Ward 9 – Henry Madrid
  • Ward 10 – Arthur Alterson

The next phase of the process is to elect the Otero County Democratic County leadership and State Central Committee members. Those elections will be held March 25th by the County Central Committee members selected by the ward elections above. Each ward is represented by a chairperson and member delegates based upon a population formula of active registered Democratic Voters within that ward.

In speaking with Mr. Swanson, he expressed his appreciation to the party and the community for allowing him to serve in leadership within Otero County. He said, “now is the time to pass the baton to new leadership. It’s time for a new generation of leaders to carry forward.”

As such there are two candidates that have been nominated by the party members to potentially take the gavel from Mr. Swanson in a few weeks. The two candidates represent a younger and more diverse look to party leadership. The two candidates seeking the Otero County Democratic Party Chairperson’s role are Monica A Davalos and Brianna Martinez.

Following a similar format as we have done with the general elections in Otero County, we sent 4 questions to each of the candidates to allow them to explain either via a statement or direct answers to the 4 questions. We were seeking questions to why they were seeking their party leadership position and what were their goals if elected.

The questions submitted to each candidate were…

  • Why do you want to be chairperson?
  • You represent a new generation and perspective how will you lead differently than past leadership?
  • How will you mend fences with the fractures in the party?
  • What will be your top priority this next year?

What follows is the response from each Democratic Chair Candidate…

Monica A Davalos responded to AlamogordoTownNews.com with the following prepared statement…

“First, I congratulate Ms. Brianna Martinez on her Statement of Candidacy for Chair of the Democratic Party of Otero County (DPOC). It is refreshing to see a 21-year-old Latina. willing to step up to a large civic duty. I wish her the best. I also extend an invitation for coffee or lunch. I would like to have a chance to ask Ms. Martinez what she feels we both can do to further DPOC and discuss all the opportunities and challenges we have. before us. After all, we are all Democrats.

Next, I have some observations about how DPOC can be more receptive to all party Members.

The first time I was invited to a DPOC Zoom meeting was on Feb. 7. The current chair Mr. Jeff Swanson allowed a person who is neither a registered Democrat, nor a U.S. citizen, to help facilitate a meeting in which she verbally accosted multiple people who were Democrats. 

This meeting was quite chaotic and had no merit or substance pertaining to the current issues the Democrats face. There was no agenda, minutes, or business conducted. Many people left during the meeting. It was very discouraging.

When I announced my candidacy (Feb. 7), Mr. Swanson e-mailed all of DPOC and claimed such “a … takeover, if realized, with the populous cannabis farm lady in Tularosa as Chair, who knows nothing significant about DPNM nor has ever been to a DPOC meeting … Well the effect will be shut down opposition to the most radical Republicans here … and DPOC will likely become a dimwitted and weak faction.” I found this to be very telling given that Democrats fought so hard to legalize cannabis. And, yes, I am “the populous cannabis farm lady,” a proud cannabis producer. And I am proud of what the Democrats did for the cannabis industry and for the State of New Mexico.

My most recent observation was the March 4 Ward election. The Chaparral Ward Election was slated to begin at 6 p.m. However, the current Chair did not arrive until 6:30. The election was held on the side of the road in front of the Betty McKnight Center, which is on the Dona Ana side of the County. Questionable, isn’t it? Notice for these elections were given well in advance and there was plenty of time to arrange for the people of Chaparral to have a decent place to vote, rather than on the road at sunset.

We as Democrats have little room for mistakes, especially within our own operation. As of Jan. 31, 2022, Otero County had 9,941 people registered as Democrats compared to 16,439 Republican: 26,380 out of more than 37,000 voters. To win local elections, we need to register and turn out more Democratic voters. 

As a candidate to serve as Chair, I find it important to reach out to all of Otero County and start to reach beyond Alamogordo and involve La Luz, Chaparral, Mescalero, Bent, Tularosa, and other communities. It all begins with making contact and understanding what our surrounding areas need. We have such a diverse community of people that haven’t been invited to participate. We under-utilize our people and the power of the Democratic Party when a large part of our demographic is left out. We can and must do better for each of our neighbors.”

We then asked Ms. Brianna Martinez the same 4 questions we asked her opponent. Ms. Martinez’s response is as follows…

AlamogordoTownNews.com: Why do you want to be chairperson?

Ms. Brianna Martinez Response: “I care about the well-being of my fellow Democrats. I understand their core values, having worked within the party for years. I’d like to work to create a positive change. This is not a position I will take lightly as I don’t want this for the title, I want to be of service to the Democrats here in Otero County. I’m running in hopes that I get the opportunity to serve others and to make the achievement of the party goals a reality.

There is a lot of potential for a shift if we get involved a lot more in the community and increase our outreach. I have started to develop a plan on how to achieve this, which I will be addressing more in the future. It will take a lot of work and collaboration; however, I believe this is something that can be done, it will take a village, but we can and will do it.”

AlamogordoTownNews.com: You represent a new generation and perspective how will you lead differently than past leadership?

Ms. Brianna Martinez Response: “Because I do represent a new generation and bring a new perspective, I’m certain I will have different ways of leading than past leadership. What I will focus on is allowing everyone the opportunity to participate in a way that suits them. Our current Chairman, Jeff Swanson told me, “Learn everyone’s strong points, and allow them to use those strong points to do what they are best at and most comfortable with, everyone brings something of importance, but only if the organization empowers them”. With that, I know some have said the party needs more structure, I strongly disagree, let others come as themselves, all identities, races, genders, sexualities, ages,

ranging educational backgrounds, etc., and let them bring what they can to the table, and we can all learn and grow from each other. Let’s not just talk about being inclusive but be inclusive.

If I have the opportunity, I would like to bring a focus to the position that targets our younger Democrats in Otero County they are the ones who will be the leaders of tomorrow. I know that many of the younger and minority voters feel that on a national level that the Democratic Party is not progressive enough, or tries to appease our opposite number, the Republican Party. I will be sure, if elected as Chair, to not only uphold, but to be very clear about the importance of progressive ideas and policies, and why we do not need to accept the watering-down of Democratic values. The goal is to focus on Democratic values and getting them implemented. I will be sure that the Democratic Party of Otero County continues that message as it has for the last four years and will work diligently to make this statement better known.”

AlamogordoTownNews.com: How will you mend fences with the fractures in the party?

Ms. Brianna Martinez Response:” While I cannot force other members to mend their relationships with one another, all I can do is ask that they attempt to put all odds aside and start anew. I believe if these individuals have a true goal and passion to build the Democratic Party of Otero County and support the Democratic platform, this is not much to ask, and they should be able to do so. I personally am willing to work with everyone. However, I cannot allow the incivility of others to harm the progress and growth of the organization. It is up to individuals to behave in a civil and respectful manner as I cannot control their actions. The most I can do is lead by example, maintain order to the best of my ability and ask that individuals try to put their differences aside. The solution isn’t to ignore. the issue and hope it goes away, but to continue working for a good cause and hope others follow.

I will add, should there be any violations of the Code of Conduct, in which someone files a complaint against another member, that will be taken seriously, any-and-all members, would be held accountable if found to be in violation, no one is exempt from the consequences of their actions.”

AlamogordoTownNews.com: What will be your top priority this next year?

Ms. Brianna Martinez Response:” The top priority for the next year would be to increase voter outreach. Considering we have some very important elections coming up, I believe this is an area that needs a lot of attention. To go more in-depth, the goal would be to retain Democratic voters in Otero County, which can be done by expanding our outreach, being more visible in the community, reminding others we are here, and educating them on what values the Democratic Party holds. As mentioned earlier, I have started to develop a strategy to accomplish this goal, which I will discuss at a future time.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this interview and to introduce myself to those within the public who may not know me.”

AlamogordoTownNews.com and KALHRadio.org 95.1 FM appreciates the opportunity to engage in dialog with these two up and coming leaders within Otero County. Thank you, also to Jeff Swanson for the dialog today, and to better understand the process of change and evolution of the Democratic Party of Otero County.

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Alamogordo Town News KALH Radio Anthony Lucero Reports Threats Against Susan Payne

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

The Mayor of Alamogordo Susan Payne receives threats and calls for her death as reported in a live interview with KALH Radio’s Anthony Lucero in a breaking news report.

The incidents began with tensions off the charts with protesters in front of Alamogordo High School from an extremist religious groups not from Alamogordo attempting to stir up hate and disrupting peace in front of the high school all last week.

Susan Payne as herself on her personal web page and not in any professional capacity as mayor posted a quote on Facebook clearly stating this is her personal page closed and open only to her friends and not official page.

Sunday the 15th Payne posted the following “don’t worry about the things you can’t control, sometimes you just have to pray, put it in Gods hands and leave it alone. Pray about it today and leave it alone, Amen.”

She followed it with this also applies to cop hating blue haired freaks who are desperate to be TikTok stars. Note per Anthony Lucero’s story no one was named. 

In an interview for Alamogordo Town News on KALH Radio by Anthony Lucero she explained “no one knows who I was talking about, it doesn’t matter, I didn’t put a name, assumptions were made.”

A person by the name of Jenny Buckley per KALH Radio responded via a TikTok post, “It’s telling, that she is doing a lot more to —-talk me, one of her constituents then she is to deal with the hate group…”

However Susan Payne per her statement has been keeping watching the group and asking questions both as a private citizen and via her professional capacity though actions are limited due to constitutional limitations. 

Ms. Buckley implied Susan Payne has not been seen out there once defending the kids. However KALH reports in an interview with Mrs. Payne that to be untrue. Mrs Payne was out there but chose not to post photos ops of her visit. Per Susan Payne, “I did go out there again I’m sorry I didn’t do a photo op. I didn’t know that I needed to, I assure I was there and can prove I was there long before others.”

Note per Mr. Lucero’s reporting, Buckley is not the only blue haired critic of Susan Payne from the area. 

On the plus side Buckley did identify the protesters as Cry to God Ministries which appears to be nothing more than an hate group of the facsimile of the old Westboro Baptist Church that used to protest funeral of soldiers and gays and is nothing but hate with a new coat of paint. 

Like the Westboro folks the 1st Amendment does allow these freak shows to appear free speech is not always pleasant nor tasteful speech and there are limits to what law enforcement and citizens can do to block this display of hate. 

Sadly the flood gates from this have spiraled into hate at the local level with a few radical citizens also going after and threatening Susan Payne. There is no justification for hate directed toward Ms Payne and threats and phone calls as reported in Mr Luceros story on KALH are uncalled for. Civil dialog is a must for a civil society. 

Ms Payne received several unnerving and even some threatening voice mails, one voice mail called for her execution and another called her a Nazi sympathizer. For those that don’t know Mrs Payne she was born into the Jewish faith and her family practices elements out of both Christian and Jewish traditions.

Mrs. Payne has been working hard on this issue reviewing what legally the city can do. Mrs Payne though this interview with Anthony Lucero for Alamogordo Town News on KALH Radio further explained that  she was not speaking as the mayor but as a private citizen, in her professional role daily the nonprofit she leads ensures 196 at risk children are fed weekly, she works for domestic violence victims and helps with the homeless. 

The attacks on her are a concern for her and her grandchildren’s safety. Mrs Payne has grandchildren that attend Alamogordo High School, so she certainly cares about the safety or the kids enrolled there. 

Hear the complete interview and hear a few of the hate calls and threats made to Mrs. Payne and the complete story as reported by KALHRadio.org Anthony Lucero on the Alamogordo Town News on KALH Radioedition: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qnYgevTBLPeeeMf7HxKMQ

To stay updated on live and breaking Alamogordo Town News with Anthony Lucero and information via KALHRadio.org live stream.

KALH Community Radio 95.1

KALH Community Radio 95.1

U.S. Representative Gabriel Vasquez Representing New Mexico District Sworn In? Chaos in the House

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

A new congressional term began Tuesday as members of the 118th Congress were set to be sworn in while questions remain over whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy can get enough votes to be elected speaker of the House.  

In a press release from U.S. Representative Gabriel Vasquez office and a post on his website; its confirmed that members were sworn into the United States House of Representatives January 3rd, 2023.  https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/taking-oath-office

However, constitutionally there would be a question to the legitimacy of a swearing in, if it occurred, prior to the election of a speaker. So not to pars words, so to speak, but each member at this point has taken an oath, however the official ceremonial swearing in of congress for the official record can’t officially happen without a speaker in place. 

The first official act of the House in a new Congress is to elect a speaker, and no other member of the House can be sworn in before that happens. The speaker of the House, in addition to deciding what comes to the floor for a vote, is, per the Constitution, second in line to succeed the president. The speaker is in line behind the vice president. Adding to the urgency, the chamber cannot move forward with any legislative business until a speaker is elected. No committees can be formed, no committee chairs or rules agreed upon and no legislation can move forward or any action by the House until a leader is selected.

At noon, the clerk of the House raised the gavel for the 118th Congress and call a quorum or call for the minimum number of members that must be present for business to be done.

Candidates for speaker are nominated by each party’s caucus or conference. 

On Tuesday, Democrats united placed New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries’ name into nomination. Republicans as expected placed Kevin McCarthy’s name into nomination.

No rule requires the nominee to be an elected member of the House, according to Article I, Section II of the Constitution. 

Prior candidates nominated for the position who were not members of the House when they were nominated include former Sec. of State Colin Powell, Georgia politician Stacy Abrams and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky.

After nominations are offered, the speaker is elected by roll call vote. A candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to become speaker. If all members of the House are present and voting, the majority is 218 votes.

If all the members are not present, it is a majority of the members present and voting who selects the speaker. If no candidate wins a majority, the roll call is repeated until a speaker is elected.

In 1849, the House was in session 19 days without being able to elect a speaker, with no candidate having received a majority of the votes cast. The House voted 59 times before it adopted a resolution that declared that the speaker could be elected by a plurality – the person who receives the most votes even if it is not a majority.

In 1856, the same thing happened except the House had 129 votes before declaring the candidate could be elected by a plurality.

Republicans faced a leadership drama as they took control of the House on Tuesday and the first of them governing the new house showed a house in disarray, upsetting moderates and many Republican donors across the nation. 

As the 118th Congress convened, the first order of business in the chamber was the election of a new speaker — and current Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is so far being stymied by a group of hardliners demanding concessions. The House voted three times for speaker and McCarthy could not garner the 218 votes required. In the third round of voting, 20 Republican lawmakers voted against McCarthy for speaker: the highest amount so far. Those votes went to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

In the first two rounds, 19 Republicans voted for a different candidate. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., voted for McCarthy two times before changing his vote to Jordan.

McCarthy received 202 votes in the latest round, making it the third time he’s trailed Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Democrats had already elected Jeffries to be their caucus leader in the new Congress.

To win the gavel, McCarthy needs a majority of the members-elect who are present and voting. But because the GOP holds only a five-seat advantage, a small number of defections is stopping McCarthy from gaining the office he’s long sought.

The House can conduct no other business until a speaker is chosen. For the first time in a century, the vote is requiring multiple rounds and now, multiple days.  

An interesting fact: McCarthy has so far gotten fewer votes to be speaker in each round on Tuesday than he did when the last Congress convened in 2021. In 2021, when Republicans were in the minority, McCarthy got 209 votes from every Republican voting. In the three rounds Tuesday, with voting continuing, he got 203, 203 and 202.

So, for newly elected New Mexico Representative, Gabe Vasquez; he was a part of history and got to witness history as an active participant. Today showed just how messy the art of democracy can truly be. 

Change in Leadership at KALH-LP Radio, Alamogordo, New Mexico

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

Lydia Emmanual Productions Inc and 2nd Life Media Inc announced a partnership with the non-profit Southwestern Trails Cultural Heritage Association, owner of KALH Radio 95.1 and streaming at https://kalh.org/. 

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4L4FWD_0jw5wfxZ00

Founded by Kenneth Bass the station has a reputation for excellence in music and hard-hitting community coverage via Spectrum New via Radio Personality Anthony Lucero. KALH was named Country Station of the Year (2012) by New Music Weekly Magazine (Nashville). However, the station while country focused plays more than Country. KALH plays New Country, Hot Country, Old Country, R&R Classic Oldies, R&B, MOR, Bluegrass, Western Swing, Big Band Jazz AND MORE. The biggest variety of music available on the radio, on the web or personal digital device live from Alamogordo.

The station, while nonprofit will be operated under a management agreement with 2nd Life Media and Emmanual Lydia Productions Inc. Chris Edwards CEO of 2nd Life Media will assume the role of General Manager with the programing support of Anthony Lucero, and contributors to programming Lydia Aspen Renteria and Emmanual Renteria and a focus on sports and fitness in partnership with Rene Sepulveda. Chris Rollerson will continue the focus on Tularosa High School Football and Basketball broadcasts.

Under the new leadership the success and family traditions of the Bass family will continue to be honored front and center as a community focused nonprofit organization committed to the local community news and information along with quality music and entertainment. Tularosa High School Sports will remain a cornerstone to the sports lineup. 

No major changes are expected at this time, excepting for an investment in some infrastructure to ensure long term sustainability and new equipment to sustain the 95.1 radio broadcast as well as live streaming.

Longer term the station will place a professional studio within the Sands Theater at 1017 New York Avenue in Alamogordo’s Historic Cultural Arts District with live streaming of music and special events “live from the Sands.” 

With this upgrade the station will be partnering with local students at area High Schools, New Mexico State University and Seniors Organizations; creating opportunities for student and senior created shows focused on art, culture, history, music and the stories of the Tularosa Basin and the Heritage of Southwestern New Mexico. Spectrum News is being rebranded Alamogordo Town News and will continue with radio personality Anthony Lucero at the helm or programming and content.

KALH-LP’s mission is to continue the almost 2 decade tradition as a public non-profit radio station that will entertain, inform, challenge, inspire and engage our listeners through an eclectic mix of musical, cultural, educational and community affairs programming and related activities in collaboration with Alamogordo non-profit organizations, local news sources and small business partnerships.

The vision of KALH-LP, a main street, New York Avenue focused Community Radio station is for a truly local radio station that reflects the diversity of views, news, and talent in our community. Our goal is to have as much local programming as possible, including talk and call-in shows; public and community affairs; writers, and a wide range of voices and perspectives as well as continue to provide the finest variety of Country and a variety of other music platforms. The broadcast schedule aims to:

  • Provide information, news, and dialogue in partnership with AlamogordoTownNews.com
  • Address critical local concerns, such as education, the economy, and the environment
  • Profile local culture and diversity of talent
  • Remember, preserve, and tell the stories of local history
  • Recognize the rich natural beauty and resources of the region
  • Highlight live programs and remote broadcasts as a community radio station

In 2003, under the Direction and leadership of Ken Bass the station was incorporated and applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a low-powered, FM, community radio station. The station has operated continuously since. He passed on March 27th, 2021, and he is missed everyday by his family, friends, community, and everyone at KALH Radio. The Bass family has operated the station since his death with a pride and a commitment to the community. 

The Bass family made the difficult decision to resign from the board and hand leadership of the non-profit Southwestern Trails Cultural Heritage Association, owner of KALH Radio 95.1 to the Renteria’s and the Sepulveda’s to ensure its long-term sustainability as a community focused organization. 

Chris Edwards spokesperson for the new board leadership said, “with the revitalization efforts of Alamogordo’s New York Avenue, the Bass family has been very supportive of our efforts to renovate downtown buildings, tell the history and KALH had a very strong relationship with our operating businesses. We feel it an honor to carry the mission of Ken Bass forward of telling the stories preserving history and restoration efforts and ensuring local news coverage. KALH-LP is another tool for us to further tell the stories of history and what makes Alamogordo the greatest community in New Mexico.”

For questions, sponsorship information or to volunteer or program ideas contact Chris Edwards at cedwards121788@icloud.com and reference KALH in the email header.

KALH-LP has a new transmitter that will be installed in the next few weeks in the meantime the station is streaming online and can be heard anywhere with a computer or smartphone at https://kalh.org/

Or https://station.voscast.com/5b01bba90dce3

https://www.newsbreakapp.com/n/0jw5wfxZ?pd=06hHgTA5&lang=en_US&s=i16&send_time=1672194670

Stephanie DuBois V Couy Griffin, Judge Shannon Murdock ordered a Dismissal of Restraining Order Case

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

The New Mexico 12th Division court hosted the hearing today between seated Otero County appointed County Commissioner Stephanie Dubois which filed for a restraining order against Couy Griffin after a tense public comments session in the November Otero County Commission meeting. The Honorable Shannon Murdock ordered a dismissal.

Dubois said she made the order after an incident that happened during a county commission meeting on Nov. 10. During the meeting on November 10th, Griffin made comments towards Dubois during a public comment period. An argument then ensued between both parties, involving shouts and harsh words. Dubois said she was terrified over what happened and still fears for her life. “I’m just fearful. I’m 77 years old,” she said. “It was very scary that nobody protected me.”

However, the verbal quarrel wasn’t the only incident that happened to Dubois according to her in several reports with Albuquerque television stations. The restraining order however only outlined the events of that day when filed.

The hearing was virtual and not an in person hearing with a judge brought in from out of the area because all members of the local judiciary recused themselves from the case or had a full docket.

The hearing was originally scheduled for December 5th to be heard in front of the Honorable Shannon Murdock. The filing of a restraining order is a serious action by a public official on a constituent even one that is a former county commissioner. The issue locally was such a hot potato with the hearing scheduled for December 5th, 2022. The state Supreme Court appointed the Honorable Shannon Murdock to preside.

The hearing was postponed then to December 15th as Commissioner Dubois requested a continuance and Couy Griffin filed for a dismissal.

The hearing was hosted virtually today, and the judge dismissed the case. The record or minutes of the case has not yet been released to the public.

2nd Life Media and AlamogordoTownNews.com requested a comment from Commissioner DuBois but her response when we asked for comment was “No.”

We then also requested a comment from former Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, and he provided us the following statement…

“The filing of this restraining order was purely political. I did not threaten Stephanie in any way nor did I harass her. I merely expressed my opinion that I felt her appointment to the seat in which I was elected was a disgrace. And that opinion is formed by the fact that she has run for office eight times and been unsuccessful every time she has run. She is not an elected voice of Otero County but an appointed voice of the radical progressive Governor of New Mexico. We hear daily that our democracy is under attack. Not a better example of that than what has happened in Otero County. But I’m glad it’s behind me and I appreciate you for allowing me to share my side of this story.”

The case is now dismissed. Ms. Dubois will serve in her role for two more weeks and the Amy Barela will be sworn in as the newly elected commissioner for Otero County District 2.

A side note and additional commentary regarding coverage of this saga in Otero County Politics:

Our earlier reporting on the ongoing saga of the restraining order was met with harsh attacks by some members of the Otero County Democratic machine and some members of the Otero County Republican machine. Individual members of each attacked our coverage in some social media channels some making attacks very personal to the businesses we operate. Without naming names a few went as far as cyber bullying and questioned why we took sides on the issue. A few became very hostile and passionate. Social media challenges and phone calls can be interesting. We were accused by some of only viewing the issue of intimidation of Ms. DuBois from a position of privilege as white males, (the majority owner and the publisher is a Hispanic male), we were told we were insensitive and don’t understand hostility. (As members of the LBGTQ community in a conservative county we would beg to differ.) However, to reassure ourselves that we were being fair and unbiased we had our specific to this issue reviewed by a panel outside of the county for their take on our coverage. They unanimously agreed our reporting did not show bias.

The review committee surmised that:

“The AlamogordoTownNews.com allowed for each sides point of view to be heard but did offer a valid question of rather the free speech would potentially be infringed upon by a restraining order. The AlamogordoTownNews.com site also questioned inconsistencies in the statements by those involved depending upon the media outlet. It questioned if the county saw a threat and as an employer and should it have filed a restraining order as based on court precedent a route taken by other governmental bodies?”

AlamogordoTownNews.com and AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org will continue to publish stories of the public interest. It will question official positions and actions of elected and appointed representatives when it deems it of interest to the public. Most of the coverage is not political but is of community interest related to sports, business, community interest and culture.

The political coverage does garner large readership and when Couy Griffin is involved it does seem to spark community interest and hot debate locally and from across the nation.

Will Couy Griffin continue in the public political spotlight long term, or will he seek other avenues in the private sector? 

Time will tell. He will be under less of a microscope in the new year excepting for any ongoing court cases, investigations, or trials since he is no longer a public official.

The ownership and business interests of this media company also are not public officials, thus not in the public realm. They are protected by First Amendment rights and protections afforded to them via Amendment One and is supported via membership in Independent News Organizations which assist, mentor, and grow small local media companies to keep a free local press and public dialog alive and well in small rural communities.

Until the next story, let’s each have a day of positivity and prosperity during this season of caring.

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AlamogordoConservativeDaily.org: 3 Interesting Otero County Local Political Races: Will They Buck the Mid-Term Curse Dating to FDR?

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

New Mexico joined the Union in January 1912. It has participated in 28 presidential elections through 2020, alternating some extended periods of support for Democratic and Republican candidates. Democrats have now won 7 of the last 8 elections, including Joe Biden’s 54% to 44% win over Donald Trump in 2020.

Candidates Reverend Warren L Robinson veres John R Secrest lll face off for Otero County Magistrate Division One (2nd Life Media AlamogordoTownNews.com)

Locally in Alamogordo, Otero County, New Mexico

In Otero County, it appears the Republican stronghold is strong and in place and most races are a given to swing to the Republican candidate with ease. 

However, there are three races of interest this mid-term election that could be seen as competitive for a variety of reasons.

The position of magistrate judge in Otero County is typically a snooze as to what to expect of an outcome. However, this midterm election for magistrate Division One and Magistrate Division Two there are interesting dynamics at play.

The position of magistrate is one that does NOT require a law degree, and candidates typically, are individuals well embedded in the local political party system.

 The position of magistrate in Otero County has historically been made up of candidates that come from the “political machine” and as such, the position has been riddled with controversy, the last several years with political games alleged locally and via former Governor Martinez…

April 2022-

Most recently Otero County Magistrate Judge Steve Guthrie agreed to resign the Division I seat April 25, 2022, ending further disciplinary proceedings related to a judicial inquiry by the New Mexico Supreme Court which began in 2021. Guthrie’s resignation became effective April 25, according to New Mexico Supreme Court documents when the court granted a petition for permanent resignation “in lieu of further disciplinary proceedings.“

In September 2021 the Judicial Standards Commission asked the court to open a disciplinary inquiry related to a slew of alleged misconducts by Guthrie. The Commission had conducted its own inquiry into the allegations beginning in January 2021. Among the allegations were improper sentences and incarceration for defendants, improper bail issuance, failure to complete required paperwork, engaging in judicial activities without proper jurisdiction, judicial misconduct and violation of a defendant’s right to due process. 

 Guthrie was censured prior to that incident in 2019 by the New Mexico Supreme Court for misconduct related to a spat he had with a neighbor.

Link to 2019 Judicial misconduct case: https://www.nmjsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2018-031-Pet-to-Accept… 

December 2017- 

Otero County Magistrate Judge Scott Newton officially resigned from the bench and withdrew his candidacy for 12th Judicial District judge. Newton said he was tired of the politics being played at the local and state level because of him taking a leave of absence due to a medical issue. Newton said he was not going to have his good name destroyed or put his family through it. “They’re attempting to use this legal absence that I took for a basis that I am unfit to do my job,” he said to the Alamogordo Daily News in 2017 “It’s a total lie. There’s nothing wrong with me. I do have my own personal health issues to deal with, but it’s not an issue in terms of being a judge. It’s just somebody wants to make it an issue. I am not going to stick my neck out there and get it chopped off. It’s just not worth it. Especially with the medical issues that I’ve been dealing with, I don’t have the energy or stamina to fight that fight or put my family through that fight.”

Newton was elected to the Magistrate Court Division I judge’s seat in 2010 after Judge Richard Stokely retired from the bench.

April 2016

Otero County Magistrate Court Judge Gene C. Galassini hung his robe up in April 2016 also under a cloud of criticism.

Per the Alamogordo Daily News at the time, “Galassini, 59, decided to resign or in his case retire from the bench because of health reason but more importantly to spend time with his three grandchildren. He and his wife, Rocky, also just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary,” at the time of his resignation.

“It’s the stressful nature of the job,” Galassini said. “I’ve got three grand babies plus one on the way. It’s just time to start spending some time with them.”

He was first elected Magistrate Court judge in 2006 then took the bench in January 2007 after 23 years of being an officer with the New Mexico State Police in Las Cruces, Roswell and Alamogordo. Galassini retired as a lieutenant from State Police District 8 in Alamogordo.”

However, records with the State Supreme County show that the resignation may of had more to the story; then stress and health issues. 

The New Mexico State Supreme Court granted the State Ethics Commission’s Petition to Accept Stipulation in Light of Permanent Resignation from Judicial Office concerning Otero County Magistrate Judge Gene C. Galassini, Supreme Court Case No. S-1-SC-35791, JSC Inquiry No. 2015-074. “The Supreme Court order made Judge Galassini’s retirement permanent effective 02/29/16, forever barred him from holding judicial office in New Mexico, and unsealed the Supreme Court’s file in the matter. 

A link to the Supreme Court File and Mr. Galacini’s resignation letter is below:

https://www.nmjsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-1-Galassini-Order…

Mr. Galassini was hired in 2021 to serve Congressional  Representative Yvette Herrell as her law enforcement liaison and has been paid a salary and other compensation since appointment of $34,833.33 as a member of staff.

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The 2022 Mid Term Otero County Magistrate Matchup:

Magistrate Judge Division One has turned into a very competitive race with the Reverend Warren Robison competing against John R Seacrest III, both candidates have deep roots in Otero County, both have professional, volunteer and business experience and both have campaigned with professionalism, dignity and mutual respect with no negativity in their race for office.

Reverend Warren Robinson Experience: “Reverend Robinson has 20 years of teaching, counseling and community service in Alamogordo to include 3 years’ experience with Juvenile Justice Board helping youth with reconciliation for criminal offenses, a wide range of local board experience with non-profit service organizations, Chaplain for both Alamogordo City Police and the Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center, knowledge of the community business leaders and deeply involved in local history and historical preservation” according to his responses to the League of Womens Voters.

John R Secrest III Experience: “What I bring to the courtroom is real life experience and vast knowledge. I am an entrepreneur/small business owner since age 18 with 21 years in Landlord/tenant rights, business contracts, and well versed in DWI/DUI laws. I have also been a plaintiff on several appearances in Mag. Court. To further prepare, I have been mentoring with previous Mag. Judges as well as studying the NM Criminal/Traffic Law manual and NM Constitution. I am a constitutionalist, from the people for the people’s court. I live with unwavering morals, integrity, and honesty. I am UNBIASED and fair.” according to his responses to the League of Womens Voters

The League of Womens Voters asked both candidate what they would do about the backlog within the Magistrate System?  Their response was…

Reverend Warren Robinson: “Once within the system I’ll be thoughtful in listening to staff and reviewing the existing processes, then use my experience interfacing with multiple constituencies to influence process changes to end any backlog.”

John R Secrest III: “It is my understanding that Otero County Magistrate Court does NOT have much of a back log. If there is a back log it is primarily due to covid restrictions impeding the court’s ability to operate per usual and in that instance, I would say more cases will need to be handled telephonically. There is always room for improvement.”

Both candidates demonstrate a passion for community and a sense of ethics that the magistrate’s office needs to rebuild its reputation in Otero County.

Magistrate Division 2

The race is between well-known Alamogordo MainStreet and arts advocate and realtor, Claudia Powell, verses Michal Ryan Suggs, the incumbent who was appointed to the Division II Magistrate Judge’s seat Feb. 20, 2018, by Gov. Susana Martinez after Judge James Scot Newton resigned from the bench.

Claudia Powell’s Experience per her website:” Claudia Powell has been part of this community working tirelessly as a relator since 1986 serving our military with impeccable service since 1986. Mrs. Powell has received the Military Relocation Specialist designation from the National Association of Realtors, Past President Alamogordo MainStreet, Director of the Tularosa Basin Historic Society, Otero County Habitat for Humanity, Past President Otero United Way and Past Director of the Flickinger Center for the Performing Arts.“

Michal Ryan Suggs Experience per the League of Women’s Voters: “Juris Doctor- Master’s degree in criminal justice from New Mexico State University, a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, 21 years law enforcement experience, 6 years adjunct professor of criminal justice and 4 years incumbent as Otero County Magistrate.”

When asked what they would do about the backlog within the Magistrate System? 

Claudia Powell: “My understanding is the backlog that was created during the Covid-19 crises is now cleared. However, if I were on the bench, I would work with the staff, within the legally bound confines, utilizing my years of collaboration and partnership skills to ensure we did all within our means locally to ease any backlog.”

Michal Ryan Suggs Experience per the League of Women’s Voters: “I can proudly say, there is no backlog of court cases in Otero County Magistrate Court. The court continued to operate throughout Covid. All of the Judges in the 12th Judicial District work tirelessly to serve the people. Whatever adjustments were needed to the docket to ensure timely access to justice were and continue to be made. Under my leadership as Presiding Judge, the speedy and fair resolution of cases has been and always will be a priority of the Otero County Magistrate Court. Our rights deserve this level of experience, knowledge, and continued commitment.”

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The other race that has proven, interesting, is the race for Otero County Commissioner District Two, formerly occupied by the controversial Couy Griffin. The two candidates to win the primaries are Amy Barela on the Republican side, verses Stephanie Dubois, on the Democratic side. Both candidates won a contested primary.

The race was considered initially an easy win for Amy Barela given the district leans heavily Red and heavily conservative. However, politics, judicial rulings and an appointment by the Governor of Ms. Dubois into the seat of which Couy Griffin was removed by judicial order has created many interesting dynamics into the race.

Political scientist and pollsters watching the district competition believed it an easy win for Ms. Barella. Speculation was that there would be a backlash, due to the judicial removal of Couy Griffin, thus a wave of Republican voters activated and to the polls.

Ms. Barella has easily outraised, outspent and outpaced Ms. Dubois in advertising, door knocking and overall visibility. 

Ms. Dubois on the other hand, received an appointment to the vacant position by the Governor with swearing in to occur on 10/28/22.

Ms. Dubois has been much more visible in the recent weeks and attended several events with the Congressional Democratic Candidate and others. Yesterday in Tularosa, a Get Out the Vote event was sponsored by Ms. Dubois, and Independent Candidate Elaine Allen seeking the position for District 56 State Representative was also present.

The campaign within Tularosa has become very competitive with some rumors of foul play, but thus far the campaign has been, overall civil. 

Ms. Dubois appointment by the Governor, received a respectful response by Ms. Barella. However, the response to the appointment by the Republican Party and by the Candidate for State Representative District 51, was aggressive in tone, and filled with negatives that did not benefit candidate Barela, who has shown a level of respect and decorum during the race. 

Several independents and moderate Republicans questioned, said they were leaning toward Ms. Barela but after the Republican Party response, and that of the candidate for District 51, they “opted for Ms. Dubois.” One cited, “I’ve had enough hate from that office, Couy was an embarrassment and brought nothing but trouble to Otero County, the vigor of hate that was espoused by the Party response made me decide to break the party line and vote for Ms. Dubois,” a respected and well-known Republican that asked that his name not be used said he really likes Amy but “maybe it’s time to shake things up on the commission, and end the rubber stamping of the Steve Pierce mandates, the county budget is a mess, obviously what we have in place is not working.”

Will there be a backlash from the Republican Party response to the appointment of Ms. Dubois, will Ms. Dubois be able to elicit enough moderate Republicans, motivated Democrats and Independents to the polls to carry her over to remain in the district 2 seat? Will the curse of mid-terms and the economy play into the results of the local elections? We will know in about 2 weeks.

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The mid-term elections in most states are traditionally, a completely different animal and can lead to all kinds of unexpected results. The mid-term election of 2018 was the year of the woman.

2018, women candidate had broken the records for the number of candidates for governor, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives elected a record number of women, with at least 90 women expected to make their way to Washington, D.C. in January.

In 2018 Deb Haaland of New Mexico broke the barrier and became one of the first Native American Women elected to congress. Democrat Deb Haaland, the former chairwoman of New Mexico’s Democratic Party, won New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District in the 2018 midterms. 

Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, became one of the first Native American women elected to Congress alongside Democrat Sharice Davids, who won Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District. Two Native American men — both Republicans — served in the U.S. House of Representatives prior to 2018.

Expectations for this mid-term election…

It’s true that the polls have shifted somewhat toward Republicans in certain key races. On September 15, FiveThirtyEight’s forecast gave Democrats a 71 percent chance of holding the Senate, as of midday Wednesday, that number is 61 percent. In other cases, forecasts haven’t changed much: FiveThirtyEight has the GOP’s House takeover chances still above 70 percent. And there have been some contrary indicators, with surprisingly good poll results for Democrats in redder states like Iowa and Oklahoma.

Yet what amounts to a relatively minor poll shift has been greeted with a sense of impending Democratic doom, for reasons mostly unrelated to the polls themselves. The bad economic news, the historical trend of the president’s party performing poorly in midterms, and the tendency of polls to understate Republicans in certain key cycles (especially Senate races) can all be read to suggest that the smart money is on the GOP to do well.

This underlying assumption that Republicans should be the favorites and will end up the favorites means that small poll shifts in the GOP’s favor get interpreted as devastating for Democrats. And that assumption could well be correct — there are good reasons to believe it. Alternatively, it remains possible the polls are basically on target, or that election night results could deliver a surprise in the other direction.

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The state of the battle for the Senate

Democrats remain the favorites in the battle for the Senate, according to FiveThirtyEight, but their advantage has shrunk in the past month. When you look under the hood of FiveThirtyEight’s model to see why, it mostly comes down to shifts in four contests:

  • In Nevada, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) dropped from a 61 percent favorite to a 49 percent slight underdog.
  • In Pennsylvania, the chances of John Fetterman (D) winning dropped from 83 percent to 68 percent.
  • Meanwhile, the chances of challengers Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin and Cheri Beasley in North Carolina winning each dropped from about 40 percent to 27 percent.

Other Democratic candidates, like Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), haven’t seen similar drops in the past month. Kelly is a 78 percent favorite to win, and Warnock is a 57 percent favorite. In Ohio, Tim Ryan remains a 28 percent underdog.

With the Senate split 50-50, the basic math is that so long as Fetterman picks up that GOP seat in Pennsylvania, Democrats can afford to lose one seat of their own. So, they could lose Cortez Masto or Warnock, but not both. And if Fetterman loses (and no other Democrats campaigning for GOP-held seats win), even losing one Democratic incumbent would flip the chamber.

 Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania look like the most important states in determining Senate control. But there’s a problem. Only one of those contests — Georgia — has been frequently polled of late. And it’s unclear how useful those polls are, since if neither candidate tops 50 percent of the vote next month, Warnock and Herschel Walker will just head to a runoff in December.

Public polling in the other two key states has been sparse. In Nevada, we’ve gotten only two public polls conducted in October — one showing Cortez Masto up 2, and one showing her trailing by 2 among likely voters. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the two public polls have both shown Fetterman up just 2. One of those polls is from the Trafalgar Group, while another is a joint effort from one Republican firm and one Democratic firm.

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Since Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s sweeping four-term presidency, every president has fallen victim to the “midterm curse.”

The “curse” is considered political shorthand at this point—the opposition party to the incumbent leader will wrest control of the House of Representatives or the Senate from the leadership. In fact, the sitting presidential party has lost seats in the House in every single midterm election since FDR’s first term, save for three: FDR himself in 1934, Bill Clinton in 1998 during his second term in office, and George W. Bush in 2002 fresh off a hotly contested victory in the 2000 general election. In each of these instances, the presidents had remarkably high approval ratings—around 70%—often due to historic moments that offered an opportunity for landmark leadership, such as FDR’s New Deal, Clinton’s federal budget surplus, and Bush’s handling of the aftermath of 9/11.

There are a variety of explanations as to why parties often face defeat in the midterms after sweeping the floor in the presidential election. Voter apathy and presidential approval ratings play a large part, but voters are not the only ones who sway the outcome of elections. Midterm elections are susceptible to impacts from the re-drawing of districts and gerrymandering that may occur after a presidential election and can work to disenfranchise a party’s voting block. This is not a phenomenon isolated to the U.S., either: The parties of political leaders across the globe tend to strengthen early in a presidential term before diminishing later.

With the 2022 midterm elections fast approaching, it can be helpful to look back at the past century of midterms and gauge what patterns may suggest an outcome to this year’s election. Stacker used data compiled by The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the U.S. House of Representatives to visualize outcomes of midterm elections on the president’s political party in Congress.

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The President’s party has only gained seats in the House three times since 1934

The incumbent party lost control of either the House or the House and Senate six times since 1934. Only three presidents—FDR, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush—gained seats in the House of Representatives for their parties at midterms.

In FDR’s case, this was thanks to his swift decisions steering the country out of the Great Depression, including the New Deal and various economic relief measures. Clinton’s second term in office marked the first Democratic president to gain a second term since FDR. Though his popularity was beginning to falter due to emerging personal scandals—including the Monica Lewinsky situation, which saw Clinton face impeachment for lying to Congress—it hadn’t yet hit the low that would follow. Bush’s midterms were a narrow race to win an easily swayed power balance, marked by gerrymandering and expensive campaigns that ultimately favored the incumbent party.

The Senate has faired similarly

Statewide Senate races are not impacted by redistricting but still often suffer the same outcome for the president’s party. For most of the 20th century, Senate races were often won by the opposite party than the state in question had gone for in the presidential race. In 1986, for instance, the “mismatch rate” of U.S. Senate races was around 59%, meaning over half of states voted into office senators of the opposite party than they had voted for president most recently. This has waned in intensity recently—particularly during Obama’s presidency—but still generally held. However, the 2022 election cycle may mark a departure from this tradition, with only 4% of registered voters claiming they planned to vote for a senator from a different party than they had endorsed for president.

Presidential approval rating is often the clearest predictor of seat changes

Midterm elections tend to be considered referenda on the party in power. As a result, the electability of Congressional members is increasingly tied to the public’s attitude toward the president. Swing seats have consistently gone to the nonincumbent party when public approval of the current president is low, and the inverse when the public believes their administration is doing well.

Since FDR’s presidency, presidents with a low public approval rating have lost an average of 37 congressional seats during midterms. Only two presidents—Bill Clinton and George W. Bush—have had a public approval rating above 60% during midterm elections; consequently, they have been the only two presidents in recent history to avoid the “midterm curse.”

Voters may be motivated more to turnout when their party is not in power

Voters generally turn out in lower numbers for midterms than for presidential elections. In the 2010 and 2014 midterm elections, respectively, only 4 in 10 eligible voters turned up to the polls, whereas 6 in 10 voted in the 2016 general election. However, the drive to overturn the actions of an unfavorable president can be a powerful antidote to voting apathy. A good example of this was the 2018 midterms, in which, according to an analysis by Catalist, “young voters and voters of color, particularly Latinx voters, were a substantially larger share of the electorate than in past midterms.” These voters were majority Democrats, voting in opposition to the Republican incumbent, Donald Trump. That year, midterm surge voting leaped up, and it was “clear that both mobilization and persuasion were critically important in producing this scale of victory for Democrats.”

What does this mean for 2022?

In sum, the 2022 midterms will likely follow the patterns laid out here. All seats in the House of Representatives are up for the taking and a third of those in the Senate. President Joe Biden’s approval rating—40% as of Oct. 20—is on the lower end of historical midterm rates for an incumbent president, suggesting that, if historic precedent holds, Republicans will gain seats on Nov. 8. However, some factors may exert outside influence on the midterm results. 

The Democratic Party has been experiencing the same mobilization that spurred a midterm surge during Trump’s presidency, this time regarding issues such as abortion rights and inflation. Voters in Kansas recently turned up in record numbers to vote down measures that would restrict abortion access; elsewhere in the country, local and state legislatures have taken up steps and earmarked funds protecting the right to choose in repudiation of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

On the other hand, Republican-sponsored extremists are doing what they can to stem this tide, threatening election workers so convincingly that there is a feared shortage of people to work the midterms. Moreover, one recent poll suggests that Democrats’ momentum may have begun to stall, particularly among women, who in 2018 turned out to vote in greater numbers than men

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Written by: Andrea Vale National Coverage, local coverage by Chris Edwards and Rene Sepulveda

Description: Stacker used data compiled by The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the U.S. House of Representatives to visualize outcomes of midterm elections on the sitting president’s political party in Congress.

AlamogordoTownNews.com Alamogordo City Commission PASSES 1st Publication of Code of Conduct & Social Media Use Policy for Commission

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting
AlamogordoTownNews.com Citizens of Alamogordo Scored a Victory with a City Commission Code of Conduct and Social Media Ordinance Passing 6 to 0 With Commissioner Melton Absent from the Meeting

In a very productive meeting of the Alamogordo City Commission tonight the Commission passed the first publication of the City Ordinance that places a Code of Conduct Policy and a social media ordinance into action for the City Commissioners.

Under the leadership of Mayor Susan Payne, the city moved forward with a 6 to 0 vote based on a strong recommendation from the City Manager and the Municiple League to add a local layer of accountability and protection for the citizens of Alamogordo and to commissioners themselves.

There was light debate led by Commissioner Josh Rardin on semantics of language as related to the city charter on one point.  Once the language was verified and the city charter was consulted to by the city attorney and the city manager all seemed pleased with the policy mechanics and the ordinance as proposed. A motion was made by Commissioner Sharon McDonald and Seconded by Commissioner Burnet and the vote was called. Without further debate and a roll call vote the motion for the Code of Conduct passed 6-0.

Commissioner Melton was not present and made comments in a previous meeting opposing the ordinance. In a text dialog with AlamogordoTownNews.com on October 4th at 7:59 pm Mr. Melton said, ” I made the comment during the last commission meeting about why I OPPOSE the draft code of conduct, in its current form.” He continued, “if changes are made, I will happily vote for it.” 

The Code of Conduct lays out a process for conduct and a process for complaints by staff or the citizens of Alamogordo for a breach of such conduct. A chairperson with legal experience would be convened to weigh the complaint and if legitimate they would assemble a review panel to review the compliant. After the review then a recommendation of a fine or censorship or escalation to the state level would then occur. Or if found not guilty of the charge then all would go back to status quo. Citizens abusing the policy would be barred from future complaints via the process in the ordinance. 

A second complimentary ordinance was also passed related to use of social media. The ordinance passed without debate with Commissioner Rardin calling the vote and Commissioner McDonald seconding the vote. It also passed 6-0 with Melton being absent.

The other topic that actually had the most dialog was the streamlining of the way business licenses are issued. The new process requires a streamlined application, an inspection by fire first and ensuring zoning is correct then a quick approval by the city clerk. The process spreads renewals across the year to the business application anniversary date verses all 1500 or so of them coming due the `1st of January. There was debate on the fees for missing the renewal and dialog around some verbiage and cannabis but overall was civil and mature dialog. Mayor Payne again explained the importance of the process, there was dialog around public safety and food trucks, but this was another very pro-business approach to streamlining the process and ensuring it was affordable to register in Alamogordo to do business. 

Mayor Susan Payne has made it a priority of her administration to show Alamogordo is “Open for Business and Business Growth.”

Excellent job and dialog by all commissioners that were present at tonight’s meeting. The 10/11/22 City of Alamogordo Commission Meeting was an example of bi-partisan collaboration, driving transparency and business, by the 6 Commissioners that were present. Job well done!

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AlamogordoTownNews.com Feeling the Heat Melton Produces a Single Email

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

Our query last week to the City for information was responded to, and yesterday, we ran a story accordingly based on the information from the city provided to us….

A late afternoon development occurred this afternoon, in the continuing saga of the proposed Resolution to Protect the unborn ,which has NO power of law in Alamogordo.

The resolution, with no power of law and defended through true hostility by appointed commissioner, Karl Melton, and his domestic partner, Candidate, John Block via a slam campaign against a young woman battling cancer; the mayor, myself and others continues to offer twists and turns.

Late this afternoon we received an email from the city clerk saying…

“in the emails that were pulled for me, regarding “any correspondence  from any member of the public requesting Mr. Melton to place the “Sanctuary for the Unborn” resolution on the agenda? the attached email was not among the emails pulled. I have attached the email.”

See below…

Mr. Melton texted me this evening via instant messenger to ensure I received the email and questioned rather we had journalistic integrity to report it. 

Unlike his partner, John Blocks propaganda engine, which to date has not retracted the lies about the mayor; we do have integrity, thus we are reporting we have this NEW updated information and are sharing it accordingly.

We asked Mr. Melton if there were any other correspondence and if this correspondence was from a constituent in his district?

Fact she is not in his district thus cannot vote for him, thus not a direct constituent. She is a resident of Commission District 6 and NOT of his district 3.

His response: 

“She is an Alamogordo resident. I am not sure what district she is. I have never met her before she emailed me. Regardless she is not alone. I also received 91 other emails urging me to support the resolution once the special session was announced. Not to mention the countless face-to-face conversations I’ve had with constituents about this.”

Mrs. Caraway is a business professional and a Christian but is not represented by Mr Melton. Her correspondence provided to us today, is as follows…

The font text of the email and the signature is inconsistent, however there is now a record of an out of District email received. 

The fact the email, suddenly appeared after the story broke on the duplicity of this duo serving in office is entertaining.

The email was suddenly found and suddenly emailed to us and Mr. Melton wanted to ensure we received it. 

Melton via text: ”I assume you got the updated information from Rachel today? O”

In asking why it suddenly appeared his response: “The email did not originally come up when the City’s IT contractors did a search. That’s it. Mistakes happen. Not everything is a giant conspiracy. All your other questions are irrelevant to the subject of the conversation and frankly are overly personal. It’s no business of yours. I’m just wondering if you will own up to your own ambitions of nonbiased, objective reporting, or if you are going to let your feud with John impact how honest your articles are.”

We will trust it was just an “mistake by the IT Department” and we have no reason to feud. We just want an understanding of events that are transpiring via our elected representatives. 


So Mr Melton did NOT lie so to speak, he parsed words and received one email from a resident that cannot vote for him, and the the Melton/Block duo went on the offense. 

Does one email from out of one’s District truly demand a response of such magnitude? I only hope when we make a request to Mr Melton he and his partner are equally ambitious in resolving our concern for action by the city.

 Notice no correspondence of a response to the citizen was provided to us? 

However Mr. Melton did respond by seeking a way to revoke the business licenses of any business in the city that may conduct abortions. That is illegal verses state law but he did ask staff to review options…

Interesting wording in his request “to NOT issue or renew a business license to any establishment that performs an abortion.”

The hospital is a business, that operates with a business license. A doctor may be a resident licensed doctor with a business license of Alamogordo but have to perform an emergency abortion in Las Cruces or at the local hospital, based on what Melton set forth, his business license to have a practice in Alamogordo would be revoked. A doctors office or a hospital is an establishment with a business license.

If Mr Melton were allowed to move forward with an ordinance and by state law he cannot, he would have proposed an ordinance,  that would close down the hospital, if a life saving abortion were to transpire protecting the woman

Regardless of the semantics, Mr Melton wants to justify himself based on one email from outside his district. We stand corrected, there was one email.

The term constituency is commonly used to refer to an electoral district and only those who voted for a certain candidate within their district.

The terms (election) precinct and election district are more common in American English. Mr. Melton represents the constituents of District 3. The mayor represents the constituents of ALL of the city of Alamogordo. 

We stand by the assertion this was not an issue that should have been brought before the city.

We stand by the assertion that the Block/Melton duo drove this debate and issue not by the overwhelming demand of majority of their constituents but based upon a personal agenda and apparently one out of district email. 

Mr Melton alluded to me that he perceives us in a feud with his sleeping partner, Mr. Block. That is not the case. We are seeking to understand why the duo moved here and why this issue was so important to create such a fight, now as the duos first act at legislation locally. 

We asked the question ,how much money he or Mr. Block were receiving from pro-life interests? He ducked the question. NO Response to the money questions. 

Melton in his dialog with us suggested” I was really hoping after you posted your “tips for civil discourse” that this would turn out differently. I’m sorry you feel the need to withhold information because of how John writes his articles.” 

His dialog is a suggestion we would not share the new information provided by the city clerk to us today.

We are indeed sharing that information and the reader can and will make their own conclusions.

And yes, we still hope that the duo of Melton/Block, mature as elected officials that they would retract the lies about the mayor, offer apologies to the individuals that differ from them but are active in the political process, and learn from this saga.

We hope they will follow the 10 tips for civil discourse and grow into their positions, as professionals, not ego driven advisories to compromise.  

We need elected representatives to represent and to succeed not to divide but to drive collaboration not Division.

Can Melton/Block grow into professionals?   Can Melton/Block practice civil discourse? 

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AlamogordoTownNews.com Commentary & Fact: “There is NO communication regarding the public requesting Mr. Melton to place the resolution on the agenda.”

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

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10-03-2022 8:21pm

AlamogordoTownNews.com Commentary & Fact: “There is NO communication regarding the public requesting Mr. Melton to place the resolution on the agenda.”

Chris EdwardsEditor

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AlamogordoTownNews.com Mr Melton lied there is No communication from constituents asking for the resolution to be considered.

AlamogordoTownNews.com Mr Melton lied there is No communication from constituents asking for the resolution to be considered. 

During the special session of the Alamogordo City Commission meeting on August 2, 2022, Mr. Melton went on public record and lied. If one watches the video proceeding of that day one sees at 3:57.45 when Mr. Melton claims, “the reason for bringing it (the resolution) forward to discuss is because I heard from my constituents this is what they want. I am in this role to represent them…I am here as a service to our constituents;
we have to represent them…”

NO SUCH COMMUNICATION EXISTS.

2nd Life Media and AlamogordoTownNews.com under the Open Records Act requested from the City of Alamogordo all communications from citizens “requesting that Mr. Melton place the Sanctuary City for the Unborn on the agenda as a resolution and or any communications regarding abortion and the fear of clinics in Alamogordo up to the date the resolution before the public in a “Special Session.” Also requested were notes from City Staff regarding any dialog that Commissioner Melton had with staff and staff notes related to the proposed resolution regarding “Sanctuary City for the Unborn” Status and all communications from constituents 60 days prior suggesting that Abortion was a hot button issue that “required it to be addressed by the city commission.”

During the special session of the Alamogordo City Commission meeting on August 2, 2022, Mr. Melton went on public record and lied. Mr. Melton claims, “the reason for bringing it (the resolution) forward to discuss is because I heard from my constituents this is what they want…” 

NO SUCH COMMUNICATION EXISTS. The Melton/Block Duo lied…

The City Charter and State law requires the retention of all communications that are related to records or communications used, created, received, maintained, or held on behalf of a public body are public records just as if they were maintained by the public body itself.

(Thus, if any communication existed in a private server that is not operated by the city or notes of any calls, copies of text, social media inquiries that exist, then Mr. Melton by law was required to turn them into the city when a Public Records Request was submitted. 

In this regard, if private email or other communications is used to conduct public business, (a constituent request to discuss abortion or a resolution around abortion would be public business) the email or communication, is a public record, even though a personal account is used. The person using the personal account is effectively using, creating, receiving, maintaining, or holding the data and must release it to the government body they represent and to the public if an Open Records request was submitted. 

If a record exists and Mr. Melton did not release it, then he violated the law and is subject to fines and a misdemeanor. 

If no records exist as per city staff, then Mr. Melton and Mr. Block lied in their assertion that this was “necessary to bring to a resolution out of constituent concern.”  Not one single form of communication with city representatives regarding this issue exists prior to the public forum concerning the resolution. 

In an article in the propaganda blog of his domestic partner, Candidate John Block, Melton is quoted as saying…“I have brought forward Resolution 2022-38 because my constituents are worried Alamogordo has no resolution or ordinance on the books protecting unborn life. This measure not only affirms life from conception to natural death, but it declares Alamogordo a Sanctuary City for the Unborn,” said Melton.

Which constituents are worried? None, Zero not a single request until they made it an issue.

Our public records request required the city to refer “all communications from constituents requesting or any dialog related to abortion and a resolution.” NONE EXISTS. 

This was a ruse, “an action intended to deceive the public, a trick, a sham.”

It now makes sense why Mr. Melton does not support having a Code of Conduct in place for elected and appointed city commissioners. As this action crafted on deceit would be a violation of the public trust in misrepresenting a “constituent concern” that did not exist. 

If the duo had been honest, they would have gone on the record and conceded that their family had financially gained from a pro-life organization via past employment and that this is an issue dear to them thus they wanted to bring it forward. An honest dialog of why it is important to them would have gained more allies, including this news source, verses deception to the public which is a violation of public trust.

And of great interest were a few elements of the staff notes procured via our Open Records request.

Staff notes referenced “Floyd”? We have an enhanced open records request seeking clarification and more information around the staff notes and rather the reference was actually to a resolution Roosevelt County passed a year ago.

Floyd and Roosevelt County verses Alamogordo, Otero County:

Floyd is a city in Roosevelt County, New Mexico, a year ago this small poor community passed, a pro-life resolution also with NO power of law. 

The staff notes also referenced Karl Melton providing the staff an example resolution. As previously reported Mr. Block, Mr. Melton’s domestic partner worked for a pro-life advocacy group out of Washington DC, in his past and the family connection to a pro-life Advocacy group was left out of any dialog or disclosures on the part of Mr. Melton or Mr. Block during the heat of the resolution and petition fight. (Another breach of trust by failing to disclose past financial gains from a pro-life advocacy group.)

Floyd, New Mexico is a village in Roosevelt County with a population of 91, a racial makeup of 93.59% White, 5.13% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. The per capita income for the village is $13,747, 19.2% of families and 41.8% of the population lives below the poverty line, including 61.5% of under 18 and 19.2% of those over 64 living below the poverty line. It is in Roosevelt County with a total county population of 18,018. The population of the county shrank 1800 people from the 2010 census to the 2020 census. 

Alamogordo, New Mexico is a city with a population 31,384, a racial makeup of 75.4% White of which Hispanic or Latino were 32.0% of the classification); 5.6% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 12.1% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. the median income for a household in the city was $30,928. About 13.2% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over 64 living below the poverty line.

The contrast between these two communities in population 91 verses 31,284; racial makeup 93.59% white verses Alamogordo’s more diverse, a poverty rate in Floyd of 41.8% verses Alamogordo 23.9% makes one wonder. Why would Floyd, Roosevelt County be referenced in any political dialog with Alamogordo as a “model” for public policy? One would think our elected representatives would model actions from successful communities not one with a shrinking county population and a poverty rate that has 61.5% of the children living below the poverty level. 

True leadership means modeling public policy based upon successful communities. 

Duplicity and Demagoguery – the Company One Keeps.

A fitting poem – The Company One Keeps

“One night in late October,

When I was far from sober,

My poor feet began to stutter,

So, I lay down in the gutter,

And a pig came near and lay down by my side.

Then we sang “It’s all fair weather when good fellows get together”,

Till a lady passing by was heard to say:

“You can tell a man who boozes,

By the company he chooses”,

And the pig got up and slowly walked away.”

Why are we focused on the Block/Melton duo? 

The Melton Block duo has roused, either directly or indirectly through their surrogates to remove those that differ from their viewpoints from the party dialog. They engage in blocking dialog and profiles. To date they will not engage in civil discussion to find areas of collaboration; they see more value in attacking opponents rather then delivering an affirmative argument for their positions. It is easy to attack another of differing opinions, it more difficult to provide affirmative dialog with positive overtones to build consensus. 

If we want representation within our city and at the state level to bring state funding for business growth and marketing, education, infrastructure, and support for our way of life, then leadership must show and offer positive collaborative solutions. 

Our city and county deserve leadership that understands the art of horse trading and compromise. Hostility toward the power brokers up north does the region NO favors in brokering solutions. 

We want a state representative and a commissioner that is looked at as seasoned professionals not one that is considered on the fringe. Fringe leaders garner headlines and build upon their personal ego but deliver little to their constituents.

Skilled moderate leaders on the other hand seek areas of compromise and collaboration to bring the best of government forward for the constituents within their district. 

The Block/Melton duo have a history of partnering with those of dubious tricks and dubious reputations and tactics. A “mysterious mailer” with our business return address which is “mail fraud” went out to key Republicans in Otero County to disparage and intimidate us from questioning the radicalized tactics being displayed and reported upon. 

The mailer was crafted with a specific intent to damage our business and to damage our reputation within the community. Was it sent from the candidate or the appointed commissioner or one of their ambitious followers? We hope not. The postal inspector general, the federal authorities and our private investigator will eventually have the answer to that issue and once established we will prosecute.

However, mysterious mailers and social media attacks are not new to Candidate Block and appointed Commissioner Melton, as per the company they keep. The duos associates, as reported by the New Mexico Political Journal, conducted smear campaigns against Albuquerque meteorologist Mark Ronchetti who is the Republican nominee for governor when he was running for Senator in 2020.
As reported by the New Mexico Political Journal “John Block has posted particularly ugly smears, as has Rick Montoya, and there was a disgusting letter that quite a number of delegates have said looks like the style and tone of one of (Republican Party Leader) Pearce’s closest allies, John Billingsley.”

Mr. Block clearly still has not backed away from the attacks on Ronchetti, he has several stories he wrote in attack of Ronchetti posted on his campaign website.

All the while Block recently paid $1000 for a sponsorship at a fundraiser for Ronchetti. Hypocrisy or attempting to coddle favors in the final weeks before the election? 

The playbook of Duplicity and Demagoguery continues. However those in Santa Fe and Albuquerque are all too familiar with these characters. 

Clearly, we believe in responsible government. We believe those leaders in appointed and elected positions should be examples of collaboration and seek and sponsor solutions to business growth, crime, and security. 

We do not believe that there is a role for duplicity and demagoguery nor personal agendas from elected or appointed leaders. 

Thus far the appointed Commissioner Melton has not sponsored a single piece of legislation or a single ordinance to address real issues within the city of Alamogordo around business growth, crime prevention nor improving core services.

The appointed Commissioner Melton and his domestic partner have sown seeds of deceit and division and conned the public into believing a non-issue was the most pressing issue facing the city. 

They know better! The additional ruse against a City Code of Conduct creates an even further wedge between the idea of accountability and real responsible governance.

Instead of meeting with moderate Republicans and Independents and seeking common ground for areas of collaboration they call out those that differ as RINOS. They block us on their social media pages and attempt character attacks and try to change the narrative rather than addressing real issues and ways to compromise for the good of the community.

Block seemed to have aligned, at past state conventions, with those that are on the fringe to the traditional Republican Party platform. He aligned with those that that attacked a seated Republican Governor in the past and were part of the element within that cost the Republican Party a significant number of seats in the state assembly, all the while state houses in most states have seen gains from moderate Republican candidates. 

The extremist gets headlines and feed the fury of division, all the while the moderates collaborate and drive public policy forward.

What is most entertaining is Mr. Block is a newcomer and opportunist to Alamogordo. His past life he has flip flopped in ideology. He worked for a pro-life organization and as reported by The New Mexico Political Journal concerning Mr. Block, “the irony of a former Martin Heinrich intern and volunteer for Mayor Tim Keller’s campaign awarding himself the position of judge and jury of the conservative Republican purity test has been noted by many.” 

More entertaining is the fact he does not own these flip-flops nor acknowledge his history. Rather than embrace his past, admit to his experience, and explain what he leaned from each experience he “whitewashes it.” 

He whitewashed the story of his working with Martin Heinrich and tried to explain away why he worked with both Heinrich and Keller in his propaganda pages. 

Note in his linked-in profile there is not a single reference to working as a Democratic Operative as a Martin Heinrich intern and a volunteer Democratic Operative for Mayor Tim Keller’s campaign. He does have a link to a policy brief he claims credit for yet does not allude to the Democratic Senator he crafted the brief for. He name-drops, Republicans, all over his linked-in resume but does not dare acknowledge his work for Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich or Mayor Tim Keller though in reality those two assignments were the most prestigious of his resume excepting of course for his position in Las Vegas as a Front Desk Agent at Diamond Resorts International.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfornm

The fact of him defining a RINO and who should, or should not be in the party, is classic. 

According to a site called politicalfireball.comin a story posted April 8, 2020, “Block comes from deep Democrat roots and is the cousin of former Democrat PRC Commissioner, Jerome Block, who was sentenced after pleading guilty to fraudulent use of a state-issued credit card, embezzlement and election law violations. John Block’s uncle has also been in and out of jail for drug use and breaking the terms of his probation.”

His family experience explains his hostility toward this news source and his stance of being against “rehabilitative justice” as his family experience had run ins with the law and continued a path downward instead of a path forward. 

Carpetbagger: “a person perceived as an unscrupulous opportunist”

The heat of Northern New Mexico media coverage began to impact the Block/Melton duo with another article titled Glass House John Block Exposed.

 
This heat and exposure with many articles attacking Mr. Block during the 2000 election may explain why the Block/Melton duo fled Northern New Mexico to seek political favor in Otero County having lived in the county less than 2 years…

Block in commentary on his propaganda page tried to “mansplain” his association with Democrats as a member of their staff. 

Block: “I worked to help stop radical open-borders socialists from taking over Albuquerque by VOLUNTEERING on the Keller campaign for a little over three weeks to uncover unethical campaign practices.” 

Yeah right, okay, sure. Anyone who has ever worked on a professional campaign knows that a “volunteer” will never be privy to the innerworkings of a campaign, its strategy, and its internal process. There is NO WAY a “volunteer” in just “three weeks” John Block, would have had access to any information that could be used in an ethics review.

A very funny story to weave, but of course, most Americans are gullible when it comes to politics and the spinning politicians weave.

Most of the public has never seen the innerworkings of a professional campaign, and how a professional campaign staff operates, so this story would seem plausible to the untrained political novice. 

But it gets better…

Per Block, “the only office that granted me an internship was Heinrich’s.” That in itself is a testament that Republican leaders at the time did not offer Mr. Block an internship. One wonders why?

Block continued: “I was given the selective opportunity to serve the people of New Mexico as a Senate intern and bring a conservative perspective to the far-left office… My fellow interns repeatedly attacked my Republican ideals and repeatedly attempted to have me fired from the internship, but I did not back down — and it made my conservative values and support for our 45th president that much stronger.” 

 Or more radicalized, the duo felt the heat and fled the hot pan of Northen New Mexico politics? The Block/Melton duo fled Northern, New Mexico, for a “safe, conservative community” – Otero County. Why Otero County? If success was eminent in Northern New Mexico? –  Opportunism. 

The Melton Block Duo has flip-flopped on Ronchetti. One wonders if Ronchetti will remember this analysis of his senatorial run by Mr. Block? 

Desperate to win, NeverTrumper Mark Ronchetti’s campaign tries to smear every Republican in sight

Per John Block, “Instead of campaigning to be New Mexico’s next U.S. Senator, it appears Ronchetti is more interested in playing the high school bully, name-calling, and pushing everyone in his way just to get what he wants…The nasty, bottom-of-the-barrel ad-hominem attacks on fellow Republicans, many of them being fellow candidates, prove that Ronchetti’s campaign is willing to go to any embarrassingly low level to win.”

Sound familiar? Appointed Commissioner Melton and Candidate Block, showed their true colors with the lies around the Resolution and should look in the mirror… “The nasty, bottom-of-the-barrel ad-hominem attacks on fellow Republicans… prove that (Melton and Block) is willing to go to any embarrassingly low level to win.”  

Blocks words not this commentators excepting for replacing Ronchetti with Block Melton. 

Ronchetti would do well to distance hisself from this duo.  

Note: the commentaries and investigations into the antics of Melton and Block will stop when they rise to the occasion of true leadership, end the attacks on those that differ in opinion and embrace open dialog with a civil tone to seek areas of compromise for a better Alamogordo. Until then, we will continue to forge forward a vision to Retake Republicanism from radicalization and bring it back to the ideals of a big tent that welcomes everyone and serves with decorum and grace. It’s time the Grand Ole Party return to its roots, expels with myths and reembraces the tenants of its past glory.

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AlamogordoTownNews.com Welcome Home Honor Flight & Reception Saturday Oct 1, 2022, 8 pm New York Avenue

Posted on by Chris Edwards Author, Mentor & Executive Coach, Political Consulting

Alamogordo – 8:00 PM – The Van will come up White Sands Boulevard and turn right on 10th street then left on New York Ave and pass Otero County Courthouse. – Reception at the Gardens of New York 1120 New York Avenue 8 pm Saturday, October 1st.

We will have a police escort through Alamogordo and will bring the Veterans back to The Gardens of New York 1120 New York Avenue past the county courthouse around 8 pm. Reception from about 8-10pm.

The two local veterans returning from the honor flight are David Hatcher, he retired as an E-7 (Master Sargent) and was a helicopter maintenance tech. His AFSC was 43150D, and he worked on air rescue helicopters during his time in Vietnam. He served in Vietnam from ’70-’71 and then retired in 1993 as a Master Sergeant with 23 years of service. He lives in Alamogordo with his wife June who will be traveling with us on Saturday to welcome him at the airport.

Roger Bredy and his wife Cathy, live in Alamogordo as well. Roger retired here in Alamogordo after 25 years of service as an E-9. He was an A/A missile weapons troop who moved here from Florida in 1984 and then retired here in 1989.

We would like to see the sidewalks lined with well-wishers holding signs and US flags. This one small gesture helps bring healing to these Veterans.

“You have no idea what wounds it healed having people cheer and clap and be proud of you. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” Vietnam Veteran

Honor Flight of Southern New Mexico and El Paso transports America’s World War II, Korean and Vietnam War Veterans to Washington DC to visit the memorials built to honor and remember those who served. This trip of a lifetime provides closure, healing and the welcome home these heroes deserve. Every Veteran is taken on the flight at no cost to themselves.

This Alamogordo Flight was funded by Alamogordo 100 Women that Care and celebration coordination and veteran sponsorship for the Honor Flight by the US Veterans Motorcycle Club New Mexico Chapter. 

 The US Veterans Motorcycle Club New Mexico Chapter received the grant from the 100 Women that Care Alamogordo Chapter and opted to use the funds to support local veterans on the Honor Flight. The US Veterans Motorcycle Club New Mexico Chapter consists of members who are all honorably discharged, and their mission statement is “Veterans Helping Veterans.” The club says that when they heard that the Honor Flight was looking for sponsorship of a couple of local veterans it was a “natural fit to support the local veterans given the clubs mission.”

So, show your appreciation for these older veterans as they return home from a trip to DC for their honor flight. Join us and the New York Avenue business community as we honor these returning veterans with a celebration and meet and greet. 

Location is at the New York Art and Music’s Gardens of New York at 1120 New York Avenue, Alamogordo, New Mexico, Time 8 pm October 1st – 1120 New York Avenue.

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