Tag Archives: volunteer

February Agenda and Ways to Get Involved

Agenda Democratic Party of Sierra County February 15, 2023 Meeting

Meeting will be held at 405 Main St. T or C

Pledge of Allegiance

New Mexico State Pledge: I salute the flag of the State of New Mexico and the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among United cultures.

Treasurers Report -Sid

Approve October and January minutes – Sid

Candidate recruitment – Danny Diaz

Tracking New Mexico legislation

-bill finder on New Mexico Legislature website https://www.nmlegis.gov/legislation/bill_finder

– subscribe to Retake our Democracy email list  https://retakeourdemocracy.org/

Review of social studies books for our public schools – Barbara Pearlman

Brainstorm: Plans for 2023: Fundraising, Events, Outreach – all

March 15: Ward Meeting, Election of County Central Committee and Committee Chair, Election of Party Officers – Suzanne. Nominations accepted tonight, but may also be made at the March meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 3/15 at 5:30 at 405 Main. To participate in voting,  you must be a registered Democrat in Sierra County for at least 30 days prior to this meeting. Zoom will also be available for this meeting. We will elect members of a County Central Committee (CCC), and a CCC Chair.  The CCC members will vote to elect the county party chair and vice chair. 

Motion to Adjourn

Message from Democratic Party of New Mexico

From: Sean Ward

Hey team,

I’m at the DNC meeting in Philadelphia learning, listening, and proudly representing New Mexico. As many of you know, I’ve done a lot of election work in Pennsylvania. It’s an honor to be back here working on behalf of my home state. 

This is the first DNC meeting since the election. I cannot tell you how many people come up to the New Mexico delegation to thank us for our tremendous work in 2022. People thank me for flipping CD02 as soon as I mention where I’m from. I want to relay that to you all, the people who put in the hard work and continue to do so. The roles we play aren’t glamorous but we shape our country by being the boots on the ground.

Two quick things.

Help with the state of the union address 

I am hoping you all might be able to help me on something. We would like to highlight the work President Biden has done on capping the price of insulin. I am searching for someone who can share their personal story. If you have someone who can help speak to this issue, please email me. sean@nmdemocrats.org

Texting to build for your meetings

The Democratic Party of New Mexico believes in building from the ground up and bringing in new voices. We want to live that motto. We are offering to pay for 1000 texts in each county to build for your county party meetings.  

If you would like to text Democrats in your county to build for your meetings, please let us know. Brian can help you build your lists. We can set you up in our texting platform, Scale to Win, and get you doing effective texting outreach.

Thank you,

Sean

Are You a Low-Tech Volunteer? Write Letters

This non-partisan group urges people to vote all over the country. Turnout usually helps Dems. https://votefwd.org/instructions

Note: To receive minutes of previous meetings, subscribe to our mailing list.

Gabe Vasquez in T or C Monday! Final Canvass And Calls.

Gabe Vasquez will be at our campaign Headquarters at 405 Main St. T or C Monday morning at 10:00 to launch a final canvass. Be there! Show up for him, show your support, and then head out to reach every last voter we can before Election Day. Getting him elected is important for us in CD2, to have someone who truly will represent us, and it’s important for the country to have another Democrat in Congress.

We also need canvassers and phone callers this weekend. We have some canvassing lists in the headquarters, and Rick Lass can get people set up to make calls. Contact Rick at 505-920-0540.

Three more days! You can make a difference. Every effort adds up. Volunteer as if democracy depends on you. It does.

October Meeting Agenda and Request for Election Observers

The state Democratic Party recommends we beef up our monitoring of the November election. They suggest we have poll challengers for early voting as well as at individual polling places on Election Day. They also suggest having someone observe the counting of absentee ballots and the certification of elections. A small local group of people has continued to raise objections to the about the election to the County Clerk’s office, which could be an indication of controversy in the upcoming election here in Sierra County. Contact Suzanne at 630-334-9329 (text preferred) or tmya@yahoo.com if you can volunteer. The state party and/or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will provide training. 

One county indicated that people (presumably election deniers/conspiracy theorists) were canvassing voters who had requested mail-in ballots. You don’t have to answer questions from people asking you about voting by mail.

Agenda for October Meeting

Wednesday 10/19, 5:30 pm at 405 Main St. T or C

Pledge of Allegiance
New Mexico State Pledge: I salute the flag of the State of New Mexico, the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among United cultures

Guest Speakers: State Auditor, Brian Colón
Thank you to Brian for his service to New Mexico – Members

T or C City Manager Bruce Swingle will talk about ballot measure on fundraising for infrastructure

Approval of August minutes – Sid Bryan

Treasurer’s Report – Suzanne Carlstedt

Add a signatory to bank account – Suzanne Carlstedt

Report on September special events  -Sid Bryan

Thank You’s for Many Helpers – Suzanne Carlstedt

This is it: the home stretch of the 2022 campaign. Make your plan to vote. AND how can you help get out the vote?  – Frances Gonzales, Rick Lass

Poll challengers and observers wanted – Suzanne Carlstedt

Approval of spending for campaign  ad(s) – Barbara Pearlman 

Ballot initiative on education spending – Barbara Pearlman

Donation request – please use envelopes and fill them out – Sid Bryan

Member input

Motion to adjourn

Phone Banking and Canvassing in T or C this Saturday

Meet Rick Lass at Democratic Party Headquarters at 405 Main St. T or C at noon Saturday Sept. 17 for an afternoon of voter outreach. Never knocked on doors or called voters before? Take the plunge. Rick is an experienced trainer and can have you prepared and confident for your first venture. It’s normal to be a little scared the first time you do this, but it gets easier, and the possibility of Republicans winning because we don’t get out the vote is a whole lot scarier.

People are friendly here. You may even have fun canvassing and calling!

Tara Jaramillo Meet and Greet. Volunteer Help Wanted. Donations welcome, too.

Volunteers needed in party headquarters, especially on Saturdays. Talk to voters and hand out campaign signs and information. Contact Suzanne at 630-334-9329 if you can help. We try to split the hours between 2 shifts: 11-1:30 or 1:30-4. 

Volunteers needed to make phone calls and knock on doors to get out the vote. Contact Rick Lass at 505-920-0540 if you can help. Rick will give you instructions and provide phone banking or door knocking lists. You can make calls from home and on your schedule. We have only a short time left to reach potential voters. Turnout will make the difference in this election. If you haven’t volunteered yet in this election cycle, now is the time.

Based on few responses received from members, we are not planning to have a booth at the county fair this year. We will pursue setting up a booth at Elephant Days October 14-16 (we may do 2 days instead of 3 depending on volunteers).

We are spending down a major portion of our treasury to make donations to several candidates who are visiting with our members and to provide food for our September 21 event with Gabe Vasquez, Laura Montoya, Tara Jaramillo and Michael Lanford. If you haven’t made a donation to our party in a while, September would be a good time to do so, at our September 21 event or online though the Act Blue donation link on the home page of this site.   

A meet and greet with Tara Jaramillo, candidate for NM House District 38, will be held on Sunday Sept. 11 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Point Blanc Winery, 820 N. Cedar St. T or C. Hosted by David Senn and Sandy Whitehead. Tara is a businesswoman, entrepreneur, and longtime advocate for families.

Join the NM Democrats for Our Defend Choice Day of Action

This Saturday, July 16th, Democrats across New Mexico are volunteering to help our pro-choice Democratic ticket. We need volunteers who care about defending reproductive rights in NM to join our hybrid-virtual Day of Action at 9:00am this Saturday, July 16th.

Sign up here to volunteer for the NM Democrats to defend choice this Saturday.

We’ll launch our Day of Action with appearances by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and US Representatives Teresa Leger Fernandez and Melanie Stansbury. Sign up to join us virtually or in-person on Saturday! Please forward this info to any Dems who can help us stand up for choice this Saturday. We need all hands on deck to makes sure we defend choice at the state and federal levels.

Don’t Just Get Mad: Get Together and Get Involved

We need to be working now, not just in the weeks before election day. The national news is enough to make that clear. And if you follow the local news, you’ll know that a group of Sierra County citizens who believe the Big Lie went before the county commission to express their convictions based on the material in a widely debunked conspiracy theory film. The opposition is organized and motivated, and they never stop. We can only win by out-organizing them and by motivating the discouraged and the disengaged. Our small, slow, behind-the scenes efforts matter as much as big protests and massive voter turnout, because the team doing the small things brings out the massive voter turnout.

If something is holding you back from volunteering, what is it? “I’m too busy.” “It’s too stressful.” “I don’t see what’s accomplished.” “I don’t like talking to strangers.” “I’m so upset, I feel like giving up and hiding from it all.”  

Action relieves those negative feelings! So does knowing you’re not alone!

Meet and greet at the Hillsboro Community Center July 10, 3:00-5:00 p.m

Sit down and talk with fellow Democrats and independents, share concerns, and get motivated to make November 2022 a win. Meet with candidates and their representatives and become involved. And enjoy some cookies, cake, iced tea, and lemonade.

Even if you have just one or two hours a week (or every other week), you can relieve your political distress through action. Here are two ways to get started.

  1. Postcards for Blue CD2 are a low-stress way to volunteer without talking to strangers, on your own time. Create a postcard project of your choosing. For example: want to mail postcards to registered, non-voting Democrats whose primary voting issue is the environment? Blue CD2 will provide you names, addresses, a message, and in some cases, the postcards. You choose the number of postcards you want to write and supply postage. You can narrow your project by issue, age group, gender, or county. Email bluecd2nm@gmail.com to volunteer. The steps are simple and worth taking.
  2. Volunteer for a campaign. Deep phone banking, like deep canvassing, means talking with the least engaged voters, the Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who don’t always vote, and asking what issues they care about. This helps the campaign build a plan to reach them in the future. In each two-hour session, you might have only a few such conversations, but those add up when enough volunteers participate. Calls to disconnected numbers and people who have moved out of state are actually useful, too. Yes, many people don’t answer, but slow work isn’t wasted time. Sooner or later, you reach someone who wants to talk, and the conversation is rewarding. Something is being accomplished in small steps.To volunteer to help elect Gabe Vasquez for CD2, contact Frances Gonzales fgonzales104@gmail.com 575-956-8942.

Need even more motivation? Excerpt from statement by state Democratic party chair Jessica Velasquez:

The stakes are high this election year. Republican candidate for governor Mark Ronchetti promises to make abortion illegal and wants to pass policies that punish women and their doctors for making their own healthcare decisions. The GOP candidate for Lt. Governor, Ant Thornton, believes that abortion should be illegal with no exception, even in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. 

Additionally, each New Mexican GOP congressional candidate including Alexis Martinez Johnson and Yvette Herrell have made it clear that they strongly support the undoing of the protections of Roe v. Wade and want to undermine access to abortion across the country. Herrell even co-sponsored legislation that would ban all abortion, even when the woman’s life is at risk, and restrict access to commonly used contraceptives.

Thanks for reading and for getting involved. If you have the ability to donate to Democratic candidates, please support them in that way, too.

Phone banking opportunities! 

Voters who participate in primaries are more likely to become engaged and vote in the general election. Sign up for phone banking with the Democratic Party of New Mexico this weekend and next weekend for two Early Voting Weekends of Action. In these calls, you will be helping our low turnout Democrats make plans to vote early, absentee, or on election day.

There will also be phone banking every single day from June 1st – 7th to help these voters make a plan to vote on election day!

To receive the sign-up links, email sierracountydems@gmail.com, and let us know which you want to sign up for. Virtual Early Vote Weekend of Action Phone Banks, 5/21 – 5/22 and 5/28 – 5/29 or Get Out The Vote Phone Bank, 6/1 – 6/7.

You can choose to do as few or as many days as you want. Thank you!

Fiesta Volunteers Needed, 2022 Primary Election info

Can you help staff a table at Fiesta? We need six volunteers total, two people for each of three two-hour shifts, 11:00-1:00. 1:00-3:00 and 3:00 to 5:00. At least one of the people on each shift should be a third-party Voter Registration Agent. (1:00 has one person so far, a VRA.)

Can you walk in the parade carrying our banner? Two people are needed to walk the loop of Broadway and Main each holding one side of the banner. Our planned banner carriers are unable to be there due to an unexpected event. It’s an easy job but important. Show Sierra County and T or C that there are proud Democrats in our community. Since several of the candidates will be with us in the parade, you’ll probably get to meet them while participants line up—a bonus for giving your help. Arrive between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.. More details when you volunteer. Contact sierracountydems@gmail.com

Outdoor or indoor meetings?What would you prefer? Let us know.

2022 Primary Election info

  • May 10: Voter registration (by mail or online) closes.
  • May 10: First day that absentee ballots can be mailed to voters (who have submitted an absentee application), and first day of Early Voting (at the county clerk’s office).
  • May 21: Expanded Early Voting begins at alternate voting locations.
  • June 2: Last day to request an absentee ballot.
  • June 4: Last day of early voting.
  • June 7: Primary Election Day.

You must be registered as member of a party to vote in that party’s primary. Same day voter registration is available. You can register online as well.

Voter Registration Information

Early voting hours Sierra County: May10-June 3 M-F 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Sat. June 4 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Election Day Voting Locations: T or C Civic Center, Albert J. Lyons Event Center, Elephant Butte Community Center, Hillsboro Community Center, Ken James Senior Center, Winston Country Church, Monticello Fire Station, Caballo Fire Station

April 2022 Meeting Agenda

Democratic Party monthly meeting will take place Wednesday 4/20 at 405 Main, Truth or Consequences (next to Grapes Gallery) and on Zoom. 

Agenda
Pledge of Allegiance
New Mexico State Pledge: I salute the flag of the State of New Mexico and the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures.

Guest Speakers: candidates for office

Approval of March Minutes
Treasurer’s Report. May be delayed due to turnover in the position
Purchase of laptop

Teaching about culture and race in K-12 schools – Barbara Pearlman
Fiesta Parade and booth – Barbara Pearlman and Liz Telea
Member Input
Motion to Adjourn

Secretary Position Open

We need a volunteer for party secretary. Special thanks to Liz Telea, who already does so many other things for the party, for filling in and taking the meeting minutes. Secretary should also be able to attend executive committee meetings and handle occasional correspondence. (The position does not involve the managing the website or the newsletter.)

To receive Zoom links and minutes of prior meetings, subscribe to our newsletter.

https://sierracountynewmexicodemocrats.org/2021/03/02/join-our-email-list/