In the Spring of 2018, the new Democratic Party of NM State Platform was passed with a 91% approval rating. Our new state platform (“Platform”) is the remarkable achievement of the current State Platform and Resolutions Committee.(“SPARC”).
No Democrats left behind. Elected and appointed in 2017, the committee hit the road with a mission: to find out what New Mexico Dems stand for and what they need, rather than making assumptions and relying on dated feedback. The resultant document is the product of information collected from speakers, experts, grassroots organizers, and hundred of Democrats who attended meetings throughout the state held by this indefatigable and dedicated group.
“New Mexico Democrats believe that every person matters. We believe that all citizens should have an equal voice in how we as a people are governed and call out the disproportionate influence by rich and powerful special interests on our government. We stand for the 99%. We affirm the ties that bind us together as one human family.” (Preamble, Democratic Party of New Mexico Core Values)
So begins our new Platform. Click here to read the Platform in its entirety. It is thought to be among the most progressive Democratic state platforms (if not the most progressive) in the US.
This is Our Platform, Our Rally Cry, Our Democratic Party. It is also Our Responsibility to make sure our elected officials and candidates truly represent us. This is the roadmap.
This isn’t about making sure the Platform has a place at the table – the Platform is the table. And eventually all who sit at that table will be Democrats who stand up everyday and take action for the many, not Democratic officials who simply talk their values.
How do we get there?
- Start talking about it. Use it as a reference during candidate Meet and Greets. Attend committee meetings as citizen lobbyists. Reach out to our State Senators and City Councilors (who aren’t running for re-election and have more time) to help us strategize. The message needs to be clear: Walk the Talk – no more pandering during the campaign, only to fail to deliver on the needs of their electorate once in office.
- It takes a movement. The good news is people rally behind issues 1000 times before they rally behind a person. We are talking about a paradigm shift: where voters lead the candidates who will deliver their needs vs candidates leading voters and deliver self-serving policies.
- The new Roundhouse won’t be built in a day. It will likely take a few years to make the new Platform a useful and referenced document. It will take dogged determination and a consistent message to see the Platform’s goals reach fruition. It will take courage, trust and fearless, honest candidates who are empowered by the political will of the masses – the people of New Mexico, both urban and rural – who are tired of and no longer settling for “not quite good enough.”
Get off the porch. At every single opportunity, each of us must ask every single candidate and every single elected official and commission we get in front of how their policy fits into our policy needs and asks that are clearly and unequivocally laid out for them our 2018 DPNM State Platform.
