Dear Supporters:

This has been another good week for our new organization. 

Social Media update

We have over 100 “likes” on our Facebook page.  If you have not done so, please “like” our FB page at https://www.facebook.com/NewMexicoOpenPrimaries.  Also, post, ask questions, etc.  I am the administrator and will answer and keep dialogues going. This is important.

Our Twitter account is open @nmopenprimaries.  Please follow us.

Our LinkedIn account can be found by searching by our name.  Please think about how we can use the LinkedIn account.

Our web site is under construction and I will let you know when it is up in a basic form.  Aaron, our web master, is busy working on it.

NMOP Meeting Update

Our next meeting will be June 21 at 3 pm in Los Ranchos.  Please message me for the details.   Most importantly, we will have an important guest speaker arranged by IndependentVoting.org, Jason Olson, who is the director of Independent Voice, http://independentvoice.org.  He will discuss how the movement was born in California and how it was successful at passing non-partisan primaries, top two voting and non-partisan re-districting.  I have had a number of requests to have someone explain what a movement on the ground here in NM might look like and he has been a central figure in CA success.  He will Skype in.  Please RSVP to me and feel free invite interested friends.

Public Launch of NMOP

I had a great phone conversation yesterday with Doug Johnson, former Mayor of Phoenix, and a nationally known, articulate advocate for electoral reform.  He offered great insight into how to organize on the ground in NM and helped me think through what our process might be.  I asked him if he would come to speak at our public launch and he agreed.  I want to discuss this at the June meeting and target August or early September for a public launch.  He is an amazing, thoughtful speaker and I am very excited that he has agreed to be our keynote speaker at the launch.  We will coordinate the date with his schedule.

Draft Platform

So, where do we go and what are we doing?  Through my conversation with Doug, it is becoming clearer and the first step is to adopt a platform.  For your consideration, please review this draft.  We will refine it at the next meeting and then post it on our web site and social media outlets for feedback:

NMOP Platform Draft

Mission:  To make sure that every vote counts.

1) End state subsidization of parties including the use of public money for primary elections that are not open to all; people should not have to join a party to vote.

2) Ensure that independents have equal ballot access as candidates; end discriminatory practices.

3)  Adopt non-partisan redistricting so that voters can decide for whom to vote before the incumbents get to decide who can vote for them.

4)  Start a public education campaign focused on “making every vote count” so that people think about all elections as a fundamental state function that can’t exclude anyone.

5)  Start a lobbying campaign directed at all elected officials and other interest groups to endorse the platform.