June 2019 The VOTER Vol. 84 No. 06

THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS® OF CENTRAL NEW MEXI CO

2315 San Pedr o Dr . NE, Sui t e F- 6 Al buquer que, NM 87110- 4158 ( 505) 884- 8441

www. l wvcnm. or g ht t ps/ / www. f acebook. com/ LWVCNM

NEW AND EMERGING ECONOMIES

IN

NEW MEXICO

The June 13, 2019 LWVCN luncheon will feature a panel discussion of local experts on the new and emerging economies of our State : what they are and how they are being created and fostered . Please join us for this special event.

Thursday, June 13, 2019 11:45 am

Embassy Suites Hotel, 1000 Woodward Pl. NE, Albuquerque

Call (505) 884-8441 for reservations. The price of lunch is $22.00 but you are welcome to come and hear the speaker without eating lunch. Reservations are required for all.

Speakers confirmed at this time for the panel are: T. J. COOK, Ex-ecutive Director of ABQid Busi-ness Accelerator who will serve as Moderator for the panel, GA-LINA KOFCHOCK, CFO and Owner of Osceola Energy , BRAD LEWIS,

NM Department of Agriculture Bureau Chief and Assistant Professor at NMSU., and TERRI NIKOLE BACA, President AT&T New Mexico. SEE page 5 for more information.

FROM THE DESKS OF THE CO-PRESIDENTS………

May has been a busy month for the League. We held our Annual Meeting was on May 4th at the Marriott Hotel on Louisiana NE. We opened with a Moment of Silence in remembrance of Marilyn Morgan and Micky Bock. Marilyn’s energy and LWV pas-sion inspired many of us. She had retained extensive records of LWVABC accomplish-ments and events which were donated to LWVCNM. Members desiring to review this treasure trove of history and accomplishments should contact Jody Larson, LWVNM Archivist (dtlars@aol.com). A recap of the annual meeting can be found at pages 4 and 10 of this Voter issue. Continued on page 3…..

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THE VOTER

Published monthly

The League of Women Voters

of Central New Mexico

2315 San Pedro dr. NE, Suite F-6

Albuquerque, NM 87110-4158

(505) 884-8441

www.lwvcnm.org

Co-Presidents: Karen Douglas

Karen Wentworth

1st Vice President: Mary G. Wilson

2nd Vice President: Andrea Targhetta

3rd Vice President: Trish Lopez

4th Vice President: George Richmond

Treasurer: Janice Strand

Secretary: Carol Tucker Trelease

Membership: Donna Rigano

Voter Services: Vacant

Public Relations: Chris Burroughs

Director: Ashley Benning

Technology: Cheryl Haaker

Administrative Coordinator: Margaret Guinn Magee

The VOTER Editor:

Mary G. Wilson T3Wilson@aol.com

OFFICE HOURS

Monday—Wednesday—Friday

10 am — noon

LEAGUE CALENDAR

May 2019

Monday, May 27 MEMORIAL DAY — Office is closed

June 2019

Thursday, June 6 LWVCNM Board Meeting

5:30 pm 6100 Uptown Blvd NE, Suite 400

Monday, June 10 Reservation Deadline for Luncheon Meeting 10 AM

Thursday, June 13 LUNCHEON UNIT MEETING 11:45 am

“New and Emerging Economies in NM”

Embassy Suite Hotel, 1000 Woodward Place NE

(see pages 1 and 5 for the speakers)

Saturday, June 15 CALENDAR PLANNING 9:00 am

La Vida Llena, 10501 Lagrima del Oro NE (see pg. 8)

Sunday, June 16 HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

Monday, June 17 Deadline for Voter submissions

NE HEIGHTS UNIT MEETING WILL NOT MEET AGAIN UNTIL SEPTEMBER

Thursday, June 20 — Sunday, June 23 LWVUS Council, Leesburg, VA

July 2019

Thursday, July 4 No Board Meeting

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Monday, July 8 Deadline for July luncheon mtg. reservations 10AM

Thursday, July 11 LUNCHEON UNIT MEETING featuring Albuquerque

11:45 am Speaker: City Clerk Katy Duhigg

The League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico, a tax ex-empt 501 (c ) (3) organization is a nonpartisan political organiza-tion which encourages informed and active participation in gov-ernment, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy by education and advocacy.

VOTER REGISTRAR TRAINING…If any League member would like to become a Voter Registrar, there will be a training sponsored by the Bernalillo County Clerk on Thursday, June 13 at 4 p.m. at the Bernalillo County Voting Machine Ware-house, 2400 Broadway SE, Building H. If any other League members want to attend, this is a great opportunity to be-come voter registrars. There is no charge. The training lasts for an hour and a half.

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FROM THE DESKS OF THE CO-PRESIDENTS……continued from page 1 The May 2020 LWVNM Convention took place in Los Alamos May 17 – 19, 2019. Barbara Calef, LWVNM Vice President, organized the events including a Friday night reception, Silent auction, Sat-urday tours and other options, and a dinner. Both NM State Representative Christine Chandler and the new NM Land Commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richards, addressed LWVNM delegates provid-ing a perspective of NM government and issues requiring funding allocation and constituent support. The first Plenary session held Saturday morning briefed delegates on proposed changes to Positions, proposed Bylaws changes and LWVNM Board composition. Delegates voted during the 2nd Plenary session Sunday morning to adopt program and Bylaws changes, and selected incoming LWVNM Of-ficers and Directors. See page 12 for more details about the LWVNM program changes adopted as a result of member input at the LWVCNM annual meeting. The 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote will be celebrated during 2020. Jeanne Logsdon is managing the coordination with local, state, and na-tional events for LWVCNM. There will be multiple dates observed during 2020 including February 14 - LWV 100th Birthday; August 26 - Formal adoption of the 19th Amendment providing women with the right to vote; and February 21 - NM vote to ratify the amendment. State and Local events are being coordinated with other organizations. Local events may include a Dinner, Civic Plaza Cel-ebration, Museum and Library Exhibits, Public Lecture Series, Suffrage presentations to high school students, social media posts, or a film series. Additional volunteers are welcome and should contact Jeanne Logsdon (jlogsdon@unm.edu) for planning meeting schedule or other opportunities to partic-ipate. LWVCNM annual Calendar Planning is scheduled for June 15th and offers an opportunity for members to recommend speakers and topics highlighting LWV Program and specific positions that may warrant closer examination or action (see separate article on page 8). LWVCNM Office staff provide a public presence for LWV efforts by answering voters’ questions, discussing events schedules which may interest members or the public and coordinating LWV efforts with other community organizations. LWVCNM members who staff the office provide information to educate voters and maximize voter turnout during the election season. LWVCNM needs additional members who are willing to contribute one or more mornings per month for this vital LWVCNM service. LWVCNM also needs a member willing to serve as the Voters’ Guide Editor for the fall 2019 Municipal Election. This per-son may either become a member of the LWVCNM Board of Directors or serve in an off-Board position. The LWVCNM Voter Services Chair po-sition also remains vacant and requires a member with interest in regis-tering new voters and providing election information to NM residents. This highly visible LWV position requires that the individual refrain from partisan activity while serving. The person who fills this position will need to understand how the legislative-approved same day voter reg-istration process may change the activities required of this position. Those members interested in any of these opportunities should contact any member of the Board or either of the LWVCNM Co-Presidents, Karen Wentworth (kwentworth17@comcast.net) or Karen Douglas (ug90t16@unmalumni.com). Karen Douglas Karen Wentworth Co-Presidents

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WHAT FUN WE HAD AT LWVCNM ANNUAL MEETING 2019…..

LWVCNM members met on Saturday, May 4 for the annual meeting of the organization. We had a great time — even business was fun this year! Co-President Karen Wentworth masterfully chaired the meeting and kept all of us in line. Well, at least as “in line” as an-yone can keep a well-informed, intelligent group of League members. Here are some highlights:

• We Had a moment of silence in memory of Marilyn Mor-gan and Micky Bock.

• We approved the minutes of the 2018 meeting.

• Jan Strand presented the fi-nancial report for the League showing we had $31,055 in the bank as of March 31.

Karen Wentworth (L) pre-senting the Roll of Honor certificate to Andrea Tar-ghetta (R)

• See page 4 for the speaker’s comments.

• Elected new officers and directors.

• Engaged in a lively discussion about the proposed program items to be dis-cussed at State Con-vention (see pg. 12.

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JUNE LUNCHEON PANEL…...continued from page 1 Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed 2019 legislation that is introducing new and reemerging economy sectors to New Mexico. For example, The Energy Transition Act (SB 489) will help usher renewable energy operations in the state that will transition how the state collects, uses, and stores energy. The Hemp Manufacturing Act (HB 581) is going to help new NM entrepreneurs. Some have already started their hemp crops.

PANELISTS WILL BE:

T.J. COOK is Executive Director of ABQid Business Accelerator (abqid.com). Cook helps early-stage companies with high growth potential accelerate their traction through knowledge, resources, and connectivity with seed money. Previously as CEO of Cause-Labs, a certified B-Corp, Cook helped design a rapid approach to problem solving that launched more than 100 online solutions for companies like LEGO and IDEO, while assembling an award-winning team of 15 strategists, designers, and engineers around the world. Cook has more than 18 years’ experience on the fore-front of emerging technologies and entrepreneurial strategies, and sits on the board of ABQid, Conveners.org, and The Grants Collec-tive. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs.

GALINA KOFCHOCK is owner and CFO at OE Solar, located in Albuquerque NM. Galina helped found the company and has played an active role in the business success for the last 10 years. Her background in design has led the company to produce solar projects that have gained national attention for their functionality and aesthetically pleasing architecture. Galina also currently sits on the Board of the Renewable Energy Industry Assoc. of New NM and is its current Vice President. BRAD LEWIS is the Chief of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture Bureau of Entomolo-gy and Nursery Industries and Assistant Pro-fessor at NM State University. He has worked and conducted extensive research in the use of

insecticides and insecticide resistance in local plants. He will discuss the current status and expected growth of the industrial hemp industry in New Mexico.

TERRI NIKOLE BACA is President AT&T New Mexico. She leads all external, government and public affairs efforts in New Mexico, focused on supporting infrastructure investment and communi-ty engagement statewide. Terri Nikole joined AT&T after serving as senior vice president of public poli-cy at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. Terry is a native of Albuquerque and holds a BBA in Finance and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico. Her board memberships include New Mexico First, the New Mexico Technology Council, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation.

THERE MAY BE A FIFTH PANELIST FROM PATTERN DEVELOPMENT CORP. WHO WILL SPEAK ABOUT THE WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY.

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Ida Humphrey, LWV Life Member

The first member in our series is Ida Humphrey. Ida moved to Los Alamos, NM, to accept a job in the pay-roll department of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. She was single at the time and looking for social

engagement with the Los Alamos community. She met this need by joining the LWV in 1963 and quickly became involved. Ida remembers immersing herself in community educational issues, particularly with regard to splitting the schools into elementary and middle schools. She also remembers lob-bying for the League at the state legislature before it was necessary to regis-ter as a lobbyist. She says there was no problem in Los Alamos in getting out the vote. After her husband died, she remarried and moved to Albuquerque in 1986 where she joined the local LWV and served as treasurer for many years. Today she lives at La Vida Llena and helps organize unit meetings at the re-

tirement community. Although she apologizes for not remembering LWV is-sues from 50 years ago, she is quite sharp and has strong opinions, which she

is not afraid to express.

Spotlight on LWV Members…. Beginning a series of reminiscences by longstanding League members for the LWV 100th anniversary, Feb. 14, 2020. By Vivian Skadron

Ida was joined at Annual Meeting

by two other Lifetime Leaguers.

We are pleased that they came to

the meeting and that we were

able to capture pictures of them.

Above: Ida is hard at work at

Annual Meeting.

Members make the League a very happy place…..

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBER: Christina Letherer, Albuquerque, NM,

crissihl@gmail.com

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SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL—RESOURCES……...

Many educators, agencies, and organizations are preparing for the 2020 Woman Suffrage Centennial, a central moment in our nation’s history. Opening day of “Rightfully Hers,” a new exhibit to mark the cen-tennial of the 19th Amendment, was May 10, 2019. A Youtube presentation deals with the complex, and sometimes racist, history of women’s activism and the importance of the vote especially in the era of vot-er suppression and low voter turnout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_isU2S71cg Skip the intro. Go in about 9 minutes to Susan Ware’s talk on the National Archives “Rightfully Hers” exhibit and suffrage movement. Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote About 40 minutes May 10, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_isU2S71cg The history of how American women won the right to vote has been told as the tale of a few iconic leaders. In Why They Marched, Susan Ware looks beyond the national leadership and gives voice to the thousands of women from different back-grounds, races, and religions who tirelessly protested, petitioned, and insisted on their right to full citizen-ship. The book is Women and the Vote: The 19th Amendment, Power, Media, and the Making of a Move-ment. What methods did suffragists use to communicate their message, and how did public representations of women shape the battle for the 19th Amendment? Lisa Desjardins, a correspondent for PBS NewsHour, led a discussion on May 16 with panelists Rebecca Boggs Roberts, author of Suffragists in Washington, DC; Elizabeth Griffith, author of In Her Own Right; and Linda Lumsden, professor of journalism, University of Arizona, about the unparalleled communications machine of the suffrage movement and how that struggle in the early 1900s continues to shape the women’s movement today. Watch this on You Tube. Go to https://www.archivesfoundation.org/event/women-and-the-vote/ for details. Go to the National Archives website at https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/womens-history for some rally terrific information about the history of women’s suffrage. Information provided by Meredith Machen, LWVNM Centennial Chair

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COME TO CALENDAR PLANNING…..

LWVCNM has scheduled Calendar Planning for Saturday June 15th at La Vida Llena, Nueva Vista

Building in the 2nd floor Creative Arts Room. Coffee, fruit, and pastries will be available for members at 9:00 am followed by Calendar Planning discussions from 9:30 – 11:30. Annual Calendar Planning provides an opportunity for members to suggest topics and speakers to discuss current League program objectives and issues that will face the elec-torate or government officials during the coming 12 months. At program planning in February, LWVCNM members identi-fied two areas for further League consideration--Public Trans-portation in Albuquerque and Civics and Government Educa-tion. Committees have been formed to explore these topics. These are two issues that will likely be on the calendar for member education and information at our monthly meetings. In addition, Calendar Planning is the time for members to suggest other topics and speakers that will help inform our members. Because of the upcoming 2019 municipal and 2020 general elections, members may also wish to suggest topics for our monthly meetings such as hold-ing a candidate forum at such a meeting or hearing from a speaker about an issue that will be on the bal-lot. The upcoming census and its impact both on redistricting and on the adequacy and source of govern-ment funding for social programs may also be member priorities. Please join other LWVCNM members Saturday, June 15th in expressing your views to identify potential speakers that can provide valuable education through 2019-2020 LWVCNM unit meeting presentations. La Vida Llena is located at 10501 Lagrima de Oro NE and the Nueva Vista Building is on the Southwest corner of Juan Tabo and Lagrima de Oro. Parking is available in the church parking lot North of the Nue-va Vista building.

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The following help is needed: Office worker coordinator. Contact Leah at healthissues@earthlink.net Voter Guide Manager. Contact Karen at kwentworth@comcast.net APD Forward monitor. Contact Peggy at phowell6300@comcast.net Committee members are needed for the program issue: Public Trans-portation—contact Sharon at smoynaha@unm.edu and Civic Educa-tion—-contact Judy at bjudy@unm.edu Voter writers. Contact Mary atT3Wilson@aol.com

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Ranked Choice Voting in Albuquerque…...

By Karen Wentworth

Albuquerque City Councilor Don Harris has introduced a bill that will allow voters to alter the Albu-querque City Charter to allow ranked choice voting. The bill is now in the form of an ordinance backed by councilors Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and Brad Winter. It is now in the Finance and Government Opera-tions Committee, but a date has not yet been set for public comment. The full council must vote on it in the next several weeks if it is to be placed on the November 5 ballot. Harris argues that ranked choice voting will save taxpayer money because no runoff election would be needed. Here is the actual language change he seeks to implement: “Commencing with the regular municipal election in November 2019, the Mayor and City Councilors shall be elected using a ranked choice voting system allowing voters to rank in order of their preference the candidates for each office appearing on the ballot. If after counting all voters’ first preference votes listed on their ballots for an office, no candidate re-ceives a total number of votes cast equaling or exceeding 50% of the total number of votes cast for the office, the candidate with the fewest first preference votes shall be eliminated. Each ballot shall then be tallied again for that office counting the first and second preference votes from each ballot for the remaining candidates for that office who have not been eliminated. If still no candidate for that office receives a total number of votes cast equaling or exceeding 50% of the total number of votes cast for the office, the process shall be repeated until a candidate receives at least 50% of the total number of votes cast for that office.” Both Santa Fe and Las Cruces now have ranked choice voting, and in general there have been few ob-jections to the process. One drawback is the amount of time it may take election officials to go through the ballot counting process in a hotly contested race. Anyone wishing to read the complete ordinance can find it . The League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico board has declined to advocate for the bill, at this time, saying we felt insufficiently informed. * This article is an attempt to begin the process of dis-cussing ranked choice voting. Anyone with an opinion is welcome to send it to Voter editor (T3Wilson@aol.com) or to post it on LWVCNM Topics, our general list service. * The LWVNM Board had adopted an interim position supporting ranked choice voting in March 2018, but at the May 2019 State Convention, the delegates rejected this position, primarily because insuffi-cient information and rationale for the position had been presented to them. At that meeting the League of Santa Fe reported that when this issue was being considered by the City of Santa Fe, the League had been asked for its support and the Board had discussed the subject and decided not to take a position on the measure that ultimately became a city ordinance allowing ranked choice voting.

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ANNUAL MEETING continued…. VICTOR REYES addressed the Annual meeting by reviewing some of the key legislation that was passed and signed into law this year. Of course, same day voter registration was high on the list of achievements. Mr. Reyes reported that this action alone is projected to in-crease voter turnout by 30% according to the Secretary of State. He also reminded us that the more times with which we interact with a voter about the importance of voting, the greater the impact will be in encouraging that voter to go to the polls. He also called the passage of the Energy Transition Act as creating an “ecosystem” for re-newable energy in our State. And, the creation of Centers of Excel-lence will allow our residents to take advantage of the jobs in the re-newable energy industry. He emphasized the importance of invest-ing back into our economy and leading in bringing new industries. But, the creation of the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Depart-ment will also go a long way to foster that industry in New Mexico. Education—-the Governor wants a wholistic approach to our schools, incorporating education, health and after school programs. Infrastructure—the new “local roads fund” reduces the amount of matching funds local governments will have to contribute to access funds for road improvements and allows for a complete waiver of the match in some cases. Mr. Reyes was happy to answer members’ questions. Someone asked about gun control and Mr. Reyes reiterated the Governor's support for enforcing the bills that had passed designed to bring more gun registration and to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental and domestic violence histories. Janet Blair asked about increasing the advertis-ing budget to attract retirees to our State. Mr. Reyes responded by saying that the budget would be increased and the state government is working to recruit more medical providers which is a necessity for attracting retirees. Mary H. Smith asked how we can balance the move to renewable energy and the need we have for revenue from oil and gas royalties. The speaker spoke about the outreach the Governor is making to the extractive industry and the cooperative response she has received so far.

*********************************** APPLICATION FOR LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP

NAME: ___________________________________________________________ ADDRESS: ________________________________________________________ EMAIL: PHONE: Mail above information to LWVCNM, 2315 San Pedro Dr. NE, Suite F-6, Albuquer-que, NM 87110-4158 along with annual dues as follows: First member of household $60 Each additional member of household $30 Student member (proof required) $1

Below: Vivian Skadron (l) and

Diane Goldfarb at Ann. Mtg.

THE VOTER page 11

IN MEMORIAM…..OLIN BRAY It is with great sorrow that we note the passing of a very active, long time LWVCNM member, Olin Bray. Olin and his wife, Jan Lifson Bray, were past co-presidents of LWVCNM and Olin had served on the LWVNM Board of Directors. Until recently, he provided detailed book reviews for this Voter on books of particular political interest to us. He retired as a Principal Member of the Technical Staff from Sandia National La-boratories. He wrote three books on information systems technology and published over 50 conference papers and tutorials on technology roadmapping, manufacturing, health care, and information technology. Olin was also the author of “Political Incom-petence: What's Wrong With Our System and How To Fix It .” He held a BS in physics from the University of Alabama, an MA in political science, and an MBA, both from the University of Minnesota. Olin is survived by his wife of almost 48 years. A Memorial service will be held on May 30, 2019 at 11:00 am at La Vida Llena (Carter Hall ) where the Brays resided. Our sincere condolences to Jan.

JULY LUNCHEON SPEAKER….. KATY DUHIGG, Al-buquerque City Clerk, will be the guest speaker at the July 11, 2019 luncheon unit meeting. In this posi-tion, Katy is responsi-ble for maintaining all official records for the City of Albuquer-que, conducting municipal elections, accepting bids from the gen-eral public, as well as accepting service of process for summons, subpoenas and tort claims on behalf of the City of Albuquerque.

NEW STATE PRESIDENT…. HANNAH BURLING was elected LWVNM President at State Convention. A resident of Lamy, NM, she has been a member of the SFC League since 2017 and has most recently served as their Advo-cacy Chair. She is a former librarian and has been a volunteer with Adelante. Hear more from Hannah in the next issue of La Palabra. Pictured to the right are Past President Judy Williams ( R) handing the microphone to in-coming President Burling.

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PAID Albuquerque, NM PERMIT NO. 443 2315 San Pedro Dr. NE, Suite F-6

Albuquerque, NM 87110-4158

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Some follow up from the LWVNM State Convention…….

At the LWVCNM annual meeting, members expressed concerns about several of the proposed State positions that were to be considered at the State Convention in Los Ala-mos. Your delegates took these concerns seriously and raised them at Convention. The following was the result:

• The proposed position concerning the qualifications and method of selection for low-er court judges was not adopted. Instead, a state study chaired by Suzanne Ronneau will be undertaken and brought to all members for consideration during the next bi-ennium. Janet Blair, Mary Wilson and Mary H. Smith of LWVCNM will be study committee members.

• The word “gender” was unanimously added to the proposed change to the Educa-tion position.

• The concept of “transparency” for cost and pricing data in the health care position was explained by Dick Mason of the State Board as meaning that pricing data should be available on the providers’ websites and that medical bills should be fully understandable by the patient.

• League support for ranked choice voting was not adopted. • The word “immediate” was removed from the Immigration position when describ-

ing family member reunification. • The suggestion was made that the LWVNM take the new Transfer of Federal Public

Lands position to the 2020 delegates to the LWVUS Convention for concurrence.