Our Mission
In order to pass strong laws that protect New Mexico’s environment, we believe it is critical to engage in the electoral process.
Conservation Voters New Mexico Action Fund is a nonpartisan "coordinated" political action committee (PAC) that works to elect pro-environment candidates and to defeat anti-environment candidates at the state level up to the amount allowed by NM campaign finance laws.
Verde Voters PAC is our "independent expenditure" Political Action Committee (PAC) that works to elect pro-environment candidates by directly contacting voters through the mail, phone, at the door and in the media.
Through our work with both CVNM Action Fund and our Verde Voters PAC, we let voters know that—for New Mexico's air, land, water and communities—who we elect matters.
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2010 General Elections
2009 Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Elections
2008 General Elections
2008 Primary Elections
Simply put, the 2010 elections weren’t about our environment. These elections were all about the economy, and rightly so. Unfortunately, a lot of great conservation champions got caught in the tide of voter anxiety and lost their seats. But CVNM Action Fund sent mailings, made phone calls, went door to door, and more, and in the end 57% of our endorsed candidates won their races.
Here is a summary of our environmental victories:
Ray Powell, Commissioner-elect to the State Land Office (SLO), will restore the trust and transparency that is so crucial to the mission of the SLO—managing our state lands to generate healthy, sustainable revenues for our schools. Ray won by 4.6%, with the strong support of CVNM Action Fund.
Freshman State Representative Bill O’Neill fended off an extremely tough challenge to hold onto his legislative seat. A strong ally who is working hard to make government more efficient and effective, Bill won by less than 160 votes. In his race, CVNM Action Fund communicated with thousands of voters through mailers, live phone calls, and door hangers.
Recap of CVNM’s Endorsed Candidates:
Governor – Diane Denish - lost
Lt. Governor – Brian Colon – lost
State Auditor – Hector Balderas – WIN!
Attorney General – Gary King – WIN!
Commissioner of Public Lands – Ray Powell – WIN!
Public Regulation Commission (PRC) –
Stephanie DuBois (District 2) – lost
Bill McCamley (District 5) – lost
HD14 Rep. Miguel Garcia – WIN!
HD15 Rep. Bill O’Neill – WIN!
HD21 Rep. Mimi Stewart – WIN!
HD23 Rep. Benjamin Rodefer - lost
HD25 Rep. Danice Picraux – WIN!
HD26 Rep. Al Park – WIN!
HD30 Rep. Karen Giannini - lost
HD31 Rep. Bill Rehm – WIN!
HD33 Rep. Joni Gutierrez – WIN!
HD37 Rep. Jeff Steinborn - lost
HD47 Rep. Brian Egolf – WIN!
HD48 Rep. Lucky Varela – WIN!
HD53 Rep. Nate Cote - lost
HD59 Ellen Wedum - lost
HD60 Rep. Jack Thomas - lost
We are pleased to report that two of our endorsed candidates for the Board of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District won their races this June. Adrian Oglesby is a water attorney and long-time conservation advocate currently employed by The Nature Conservancy. Derrick Lente is an attorney and former water rights and environmental resources manager for Sandia Pueblo. They will bring a fresh conservation ethic as well as much-needed reform to this important institution.
What is the MRGCD?
The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) is one of the largest land managers and water users in the State of New Mexico. As such, the MRGCD plays a critical role in state water and environmental policy.
The MRGCD was created in 1925 to alleviate flooding in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, and to reclaim marshy land for agriculture. Since then, the MRGCD has been responsible for diversion and delivery of water to approximately 70,000 acres of farmland, management of more than 30,000 acres of Bosque, and operation of more than 1,200 miles of agricultural canals and ditches. The service area of the MRGCD extends along 150 miles of the Rio Grande – through four of the largest, fastest- growing counties in the state (Sandoval, Bernalillo, Valencia and Socorro). Unlike every other irrigation and conservancy district in New Mexico, the vast majority of income for the MRGCD is derived not from water assessments on farmers, but from urban ratepayers in the service area via property assessments.
Priorities of Adrian and Derrick include: reforming the operations of the MRGCD to more responsibly manage our water resources, protecting the ecological and rural character of the District, reducing conflicts of interest and improving transparency, raising public awareness about the MRGCD and its activities, and increasing participation in Board elections, which currently draw a very small percentage of eligible voters.
In the November 4th, 2008 general election, 17 out of CVNM Action Fund's 20 endorsed candidates won their races. CVNM Action Fund worked to successfully elect one PRC incumbent, three new pro-environment State Senate seats, and two new House seats through environmental mailings, phone banking, walking door-to-door, polling and radio advertisements. We were also successful in keeping scores of environmental champions in office.
Here is a summary of our 2008 environmental victories:
Jason Marks, Public Regulation Commissioner incumbent, was re-elected to his Albuquerque metro area seat. As Chair of the Commission, Jason Marks has been an ally on renewable energy, holding the state’s utilities accountable for carbon dioxide emissions, and addressing climate change.
Three State Senate seats formerly held by anti-environment incumbents were converted into pro-conservation seats by CVNM endorsed candidates:
John Sapien won the State Senate seat in District 9. One of Sapien’s top priorities includes moving NM into a leadership position in alternative energy production.
Tim Eichenberg won the State Senate seat in District 15. Eichenberg wants to make New Mexico a leader in addressing global warming, invest in green technology development, increase green-collar jobs, and build energy efficient buildings.
Steve Fischmann won the State Senate seat in District 37. Fischmann has a background in business, smart growth, and environmental protection - and is campaigning to protect local public lands and to help identify state land sale practices that penalize taxpayers.
In addition, two anti-conservation seats in the State House of Representatives were converted into pro-environment seats:
Bill O’Neill won House District 15. His opponent, incumbent Teresa Zanetti, scored a 22% on CVNM’s scorecard in 2008, and her bad votes in 2008 included supporting HB276 (SunCal TIDD) and voting in favor of SB487 (pro-uranium mining).
Ben Rodefer won House District 23. His opponent, Rep. Eric Youngberg, received a 25% on CVNM’s scorecard in 2008.
It’s a new day in the NM Legislature and environmental battles played a key role in these races. From deregulation and attacks on our environmental protection agencies, sprawl development, oil and gas to uranium mining, pro-environment challengers defeated powerful anti-environment incumbents by talking to voters about these issues and striking a stark contrast between protecting our air, land and water versus protecting special-interest polluters.
CVNM Action Fund, our political action committee (PAC), helped get-out-the-vote for Eric Griego, Tim Keller, Eleanor Chavez, and June Lorenzo through environmental mailings, phone banking, walking door to door, polling, and radio ads.
Here is a summary of our environmental victories:
Eric Griego defeated Senator James Taylor, Vice-Chair of Conservation Committee, 64%-36%. In the last legislative session, Senator Taylor voted for the “Suncal TIDD” (Tax Increment Development District) bill to divert $659 million of taxpayers funds to a big real estate developer. Taylor also sponsored a bill for oil and gas companies that reduced industry’s taxes. In contrast, as a city councilor, Eric Griego took on big developers and fought to protect our water resources and promote smart growth. Congratulations to Senator Eric Griego!
Tim Keller handily defeated Senator Shannon Robinson, the chair of Senate Corporations, 66%-34%. Robinson had voted against clean air, against renewable energy transmission, against monitoring greenhouse gas pollution, and against public transportation. Further, the committee he chaired infamously killed good environmental bills. Tim Keller comes to the State Senate ready to invest in new “green collar” jobs in the renewable energy industry. Congratulations to Senator Tim Keller!
Eleanor Chavez beat Representative Dan Silva, a two-decade incumbent and Chair of House Transportation Committee, 54%-46%. Silva sponsored legislation to hinder environmental agencies from rulemaking, a bill often referred to as the “polluters bill of rights.” Eleanor is a longtime organizer and is committed to environmental health and justice issues. Congratulations to Representative Eleanor Chavez!
Recap of CVNM Endorsed State-level Candidates for the 2008 June 3rd Primary
12 out of 16 endorsed candidates won their races!
Senator John Pinto, State Senate District 3-- WIN!
Laverne Wyaco, State Senate District 4-- Lost
Senator Linda Lopez, State Senate District 11-- WIN!
Senator Dede Feldman, State Senate District 13-- WIN!
Eric Griego, State Senate District 14-- WIN!
Tim Keller, State Senate District 17-- WIN!
June Lorenzo, State Senate District 30-- Lost
Senator Mary Jane Garcia, State Senate District 36-- WIN!
Eldred Bowekaty, State House of Representatives District 6-- Lost
Representative Elias Barela, State House of Reps District 8-- WIN!
Eleanor Chavez, State House of Representatives District 13-- WIN!
Representative Miguel Garcia, State House of Reps District 14-- WIN!
Representative Kathy McCoy, State House of Reps District 22-- WIN!
Representative Joni Gutierrez, State House of Reps District 33-- WIN!
Joseph Maestas, Public Regulation Commission (PRC), District 3--Lost
Jason Marks, Public Regulation Commission, (PRC) District 1-- WIN!
Thank you so much for helping us hold elected officials accountable for their environmental votes.
Protecting New Mexico – One Vote at a Time
Register to vote and help us work to protect New Mexico's natural environment!
Registrations forms available at:
Santa Fe County - Bureau of Elections - 102 Grant Ave Santa Fe NM 87501 505.986.6280
Bernalillo County - Bureau of Elections - One Civic Plaza Albuquerque NM 87102 - 6th Floor - 505.468.1290
& CVNM office - 507 Webber St. Santa Fe NM 87505 (call for appt. 505.992.8683)
or visit the New Mexico Secretary of State's office online at http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-VoterReg.html or more information.
- You may also vote early in-person, instead of voting by mail. You may go to your county clerk's office beginning the 28th day before the election and vote. - 5/8/12 (Section 1-6-5, NMSA 1978).
- Early voting begins on the third Saturday before the election at alternate sites. Saturday 5/19/12 Call your county clerk for locations.See link below for County Clerks' contact info
- Early Absentee Voting - Tuesday 5/8/12
- Early voting ends the Saturday before the election.6/2/12
For frequently asked Questions http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-ElectionFAQ.html#b more voting info and early voting and absentee voting....and more
For contact info of your County Clerk: http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-CClerk.html
For Redistricting Maps: http://www.sos.state.nm.us/SenateMaps.html
For NM Sec'y of State's office http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-elections.html
For Voter Registration information http://www.sos.state.nm.us/sos-VoterReg.html
To find your Polling Place https://voterview.state.nm.us/
Every registered voter in New Mexico has the right to:
- Inspect a sample ballot before voting;
- Ask for and receive instructions on how to operate the voting machine or mark a paper ballot; Ask for and receive instructions on how to cast a provisional ballot if your name is not on the list of voters or if you are required to provide identification and did not bring it to the polls; Vote a provisional ballot if you registered by mail for the first time in this county and did not provide identification when you registered or do not have it with you today; If you provide a current address in this county and valid photo ID, utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address, you may vote on the voting machine today;
- Vote by emergency paper ballot if the voting machine is broken and cannot be repaired in a reasonable length of time;
- Ask for, receive and vote another paper ballot if your paper ballot is spoiled or defective; Cast a ballot if you are in line when the polls close;
- Be assisted by a person of your choice if you are disabled or need help reading the ballot (your employer or an agent of your employer, an officer or agent of your union or a candidate on the ballot for this election are not allowed to provide assistance); and
- Vote free from intimidation by election officials or any other person;False voting, bribery, coercion, or intimidation are election crimes and subject to prosecution.
To Report Complaints or Irregularities in the PollingPlace, Call:
Office of the Secretary of State 1-800-477-3632 Polling Places Are Open From 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Early voting may be done Tuesday-Friday from 12:00 Noon to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. beginning on the 3rd Saturday before the Election and ending on the Saturday before the Election. You may also vote in your County Clerk’s office 28 days before the election during regular hours of business.
For more information, contact the Bureau of Elections, Office of the Secretary of State at: (505) 827-3600 or (800) 477-3632 or by E-mail
Conservation Voters New Mexico Action Fund
507 Webber St. Unit A
Santa Fe NM 87505
Ph: 505.992.VOTE (8683)
Fax: 505.820.0365
