| Welcome
to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New
Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the
pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more
about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks! November 13, 2006
Election Hangover
We know you’ve probably had enough of the workings (or lack of working) of government, having just waited through one of the longest ballot counts since we all got to know Chad and his pregnant and hanging friends in 2000. But we’re not going to cut you any slack. Sorry, but this is an important issue – particularly in the wake of a contentious campaign season.
As you may remember, Albuquerque voters had the opportunity to make public funds available for future mayoral and City Council candidates’ campaigns. Many people (ourselves included, along with our friends at Common Cause NM, who alerted us to this development) believe that public funding of campaigns is the best way to lessen the influence private contributors can have on the elected officials who accepted their money. It also allows many more people, from all walks of life, to run for office because they don’t need to have a great deal of money themselves or connections to wealthy folks for raising money.
The Albuquerque bill, however, appears to have been significantly watered down by the City Attorney’s office. Instead of each candidate receiving $1 per registered voter in their district or city, it would require that all candidates split each per-voter dollar. Aside from being an administrative nightmare, this would also cut the per-candidate funding so drastically that it would result in a virtually impossible amount upon which to run an effective campaign. Since the use of public funds is voluntary, this interpretation would almost guarantee that no one would choose to.
Fortunately, public comments will be taken at a hearing on the issue tonight in Downtown Albuquerque.
What you can do:
Moving in the Right Direction?
There’s been a lot of talk about how the new House of Representatives may be more conservative than the last – even with a Democratic majority. The folks at Media Matters for America believe differently – and they ought to know, since they polled the new representatives and found that they shared a core set of progressive values, centering on many important social issues. You can read what they have to say here: http://mediamatters.org/items/200611080009
Rx for Healthy Kids
If you attended our town hall last week on the crisis in health care coverage and the new Congress (and we know you wouldn’t have missed it for the world), then you know that the State Child Health Insurance Program (that’s SCHIP to policy wonks) will come up for reauthorization early next year. You also know just how important it is that every single child have access to quality medical care – no matter their parent’s ability to pay. Now it’s time to let your congressional representatives and the president know just how much it means to you, and Voices for America’s Children has made it very easy.
What you can do:
Post-Election Kudos
We’d like to offer our congratulations to a couple of our colleagues who won their races last Tuesday. Barbara O’Brien, who’d stepped down in early 2006 as president of the Colorado Children’s Campaign (http://www.coloradokids.org/), has been elected Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor. Tina Kotek, who’d been on leave from her post as policy director for Children First for Oregon (http://www.cffo.org/), won her bid for a seat on that state’s Legislature. They join the small but growing ranks of current and former Voices for America’s Children (http://www.voices.org/) members with experience as elected officials. We wish them all the best.
Helping Here at Home The holiday season is upon us, and there are always many ways you can help out those who are struggling to get by all year long. Here are a few:
Call for Nominations
Know a young New Mexican who's made a difference in their community through community service or volunteerism? Nominate him or her for the 2007 Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Award. The award honors New Mexico youths in two age groups (13-18 and 19-26) for their work. Nominations are evaluated on evidence of the nominee's vision, initiative and dedication.
The deadline for nominations is 3pm, Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. If you'd like a nomination packet mailed to you call 505-244-9505, ext. 10. You can also download the forms here: www.nmvoices.org/abysa.htm. The awards ceremony will be Friday, April 20, 2007, in Albuquerque.
Your financial support is critical to our work. Please
consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm |