Columns appear here a week after they're published in print.
© 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES 5/6/24
Apodaca wants to help moderates
By Sherry Robinson
All She Wrote
Democrats’ notion of their party as the big tent is suffering as hard line progressives target moderates in the primary.
It’s been widely reported that progressives have primaried every state representative who voted against the family and medical leave bill. They’ve reportedly raised millions to help their candidates.
Jeff Apodaca, son of late Gov. Jerry Apodaca, wants to help moderates, a worthy goal.
A businessman, he’s behind The New Mexico Project, a new anti-progressive effort that’s raising money to support moderates in the June 4 primary. But as he did five years ago, Apodaca takes a decent idea and adds baggage.
In 2018, when he ran unsuccessfully for governor, Apodaca promised to create 225,000 new jobs, an astonishing number; normal job growth then was around 11,000 jobs a year. To accomplish this he proposed taking a chunk of state permanent funds, which would have reduced money flowing to the state’s general fund. The idea didn’t catch on.
The New Mexico Project says in its advertising: “Our political landscape in New Mexico has been increasingly divided by the far-left progressives and the ultra-right pulling us in opposing directions.”
No argument there.
The ad continues: “But there's a powerful force waiting to be unleashed – the moderate Latino voter. We are the majority.” The project asks Hispanic moderates of both parties and independents to come together to support candidates.
Why not open the movement to everyone? New Mexico has lots of moderates who aren’t Hispanic but who find their ballot a choice between extremes. Apodaca said the top issues for Hispanic voters are the doctor shortage, crime, jobs and education. Lots of people feel that way.
“Progressives have been attacking Latinos and electing candidates in the last three elections that do not reflect our communities,” he told political blogger Joe Monahan. “They are attacking our Latino candidacies, culture and legacy.”
I haven’t seen any such attacks.
Apodaca is missing an opportunity to enlist many more voters. His current approach, says the Santa Fe New Mexican, is divisive.
Candidates listed on the project website include incumbents Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-Gallup; Rep. Marian Matthews, D-Albuquerque; Rep. Harry Garcia, D-Grants; Rep. Ambrose Castellano, D-Las Vegas; Willie Madrid, D-Doña Ana; Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup; Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas; Sen. Bill O’Neill, D-Albuquerque; Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque; and Sen. Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque.
Rep. Jared Hembree, of Roswell, and Nicole Tobiassen, an Albuquerque newcomer, are the only Republicans so far.
A candidate tailor made for the project is former Sen. Clemente Sanchez of Grants. A banker and businessman, Sanchez took a moderate line in his district, which straddles Cibola, Valencia, McKinley and Socorro counties.
Sanchez distinguished himself by forging a compromise on the minimum wage bill, which passed. Progressives outsmarted themselves in 2020 when they ran an opponent against Sanchez in the primary, who won only to lose in the general election to a Republican. They’re trying to do the same thing this year.
Apodaca claims he’s raised nearly $1 million from New Mexico, but The New Mexico Project is a 501(c)4, so it doesn’t have to report to the government. He estimates that since 2018 progressives have raised more than $6 million through four 501(c)(4) organizations, with 83% of these funds coming from cities like San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C.
Most of the progressive funding reportedly comes through Amanda Cooper, daughter of former U.S. Sen. Tom Udall and a political consultant. Cooper managed campaigns for her dad and was an aide and fundraiser for former Gov. Bill Richardson. In 2015 Ballotpedia called her a top influencer.
I hope Apodaca widens his focus and that The New Mexico Project is successful. The erosion of moderates in government leaves us at the mercy of extremes and their all too familiar standoffs and gridlock.
© 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES 4/29/24
Historians look at Oñate
By Sherry Robinson
All She Wrote
In history we find things that make us feel uncomfortable, said Jon Ghahate, a Laguna and Zuni pueblo educator. “Sometimes it’s very challenging. For New Mexico it’s embedded in everything we do.”
Ghahate spoke on a panel about Don Juan de Oñate, the Colonizer of New Mexico. In 1598, Oñate led soldiers and settlers up the Rio Grande, opening the Spanish presence in the region.
The panel was the brainchild of Carol Sullivan, vice president of the Historical Society of New Mexico. In planning the society’s annual conference, which just concluded, Carol was determined to stage an informative and civil discussion. Her first two speaker prospects turned her down, afraid of more violence around a subject that’s sparked two shootings. (Disclosure: I’m on the HSNM board.)
Ghahate disputes calling Oñate controversial. “We wouldn’t call Hitler controversial because we know what he did,” he told a packed room. Because the Spanish faithfully recorded everything, we know about their treatment of the Pueblos – the brutality, slave taking, and demands for food and shelter that would now be considered war crimes.
Jemez Pueblo’s Marlon Magdalena, who is instructional coordinator for the state Jemez Historical Site, explained: “Our religion is our way of life; it’s who we are. Everything around us is part of our religion.”
The Spanish interrupted daily life, Magdalena said. Pueblos could no longer practice their religion and were forced to accept the Catholic Church. Because they now had to feed unwanted guests, they could no longer trade with Utes and Navajos. Those tribes still needed the previously traded goods and began raiding. Now the Pueblos depended on the Spanish for protection. Disease and starvation became more prevalent.
“Oñate – this man represents a lot,” Magdalena said. “He represents colonialism.”
Sullivan studied Oñate and found that his soldiers and settlers didn’t like him. He was neither an admirable nor a moral leader. Ultimately, he was recalled to Mexico and tried.
Moises Gonzales, an associate professor at UNM, took us to the Hispanic side of the issue and more recent developments.
In the 1920s Santa Fe, with no railroad and no industry, decided to focus on tourism. Driven by Anglo businessmen, the town began to create an image, complete with architectural style and cultural movements. John Gaw Meem’s arrival in New Mexico delivered Pueblo Revival architecture, along with new architectural restrictions in Santa Fe.
“They created the tricultural myth,” Gonzales said. “They created the Santa Fe Fiestas” and the annual De Vargas pageant and invited Hispanic and Pueblo communities to participate. “They were fascinated with Don Diego de Vargas. Oñate came later.” (De Vargas reconquered New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt.) The pageant entertained tourists and locals for decades before erupting in controversy.
In 1928 Anglos created the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, which began holding markets.
What Gonzales calls “the tension of narratives” began in the 1990s, about the same time as the statues. In Rio Arriba County, political heavyweight Emiliano Naranjo got money from the state for Oñate Center.
“It was Naranjo’s project, and he shoved it down everyone’s throat,” said Gonzales. Next Albuquerque put up an Oñate statue. “Then El Paso needs a bigger statue.” All three have provoked conflict. Hispanic identity, he indicated, is more than a pageant and some statues.
Magdalena and Ghahate asked us to respect their history and remember what they suffered, but Magdalena allows there’s more to the story. The Spanish introduced useful agricultural practices and new foods, for example. “It’s good to put it all together.”
It was a lively, civil discussion. Most members of this learned crowd knew about the Pueblos’ experience, as well as Oñate’s complicated impact, but we all learned a few things. That’s the key – to maintain an open mind and keep learning.
© 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES 5/6/24
The high cost of self-checkout
By Diane Denish
Corner to Corner
If you do grocery shopping for your family, you have undoubtedly used self-checkout. That’s what I was doing recently when shopping for two items in a nearby store.
I noticed a new sign had been posted: “Self-check-out restricted to 15 items or less.” I had not seen that before.
On the contrary, there were times I had stood in self-checkout lines when the regular cashier stations were all closed or only had one checker. People had large carts full of items. Fresh foods, paper goods, canned goods, liquor or wine or beer, you name it.
The sign made me wonder what prompted the change. Scanning, bagging, and paying complete, I headed over to the long-time cashier, Margarita, who was supervising the area.
After her usual warm welcome and “I’ve missed seeing you lately” greeting, I asked about the sign. She told me a story of self-checkout that is also playing out nationally.
Theft is a problem, she said, with some customers who intentionally skip scanning expensive products. Some have figured out how to scan in cheaper prices. The more items the more likely the theft.
Self-checkout began early in the last century. The first Piggly Wiggly “self-service supermarket” was created in 1918. This was the beginning of putting customers to work for supermarkets without pay. From the start it was designed as a way to lower labor costs.
According to CNN Business, the more robust effort came with the first modern system, called Check Reboot, piloted by Kroger in 1986. It’s much different from what we see today; customers would scan items, someone would bag them, and then you would go to a central cashier to pay. (At least they were still doing the bagging!)
A decade later Walmart began to test the system, and in the 2000s they expanded it, as did Albertson’s and others that were cutting costs in the 2001 recession.
The premise was this: Self-checkout would lower wait times, eliminate labor costs and revolutionize the grocery industry. Machines don’t call in sick, and they always show up.
In 2020, Walmart began testing stores that were exclusively self-checkout. Machines and customers working for them.
Fast forward to 2024.
A surprising shift occurred. In the fall of 2023, the retail giant removed all of its self-checkout machines in six U.S. stores. The Canadian company Giant Tiger and others began following suit.
Why?
Christopher Andrews, author of “The Overworked Consumer: Supermarkets and the Do- It-Yourself Economy,” says, “Self-checkout delivers none of what it promises.”
Customers are not the most reliable scanners and make mistakes. And, by some reports, 67% of customers either dislike self-checkout or find it too frustrating. Some customers are thieves and don’t scan expensive items. And, given the lax oversight, theft through self-checkout is high and costly.
Self-checkout still requires attendants to help customers and monitor theft, but monitoring theft can put employees in danger from aggressive thieves. Machine maintenance adds costs as it requires highly skilled IT expertise. Waits can be longer, not shorter, due to unpaid, untrained workers: customers like you and me.
And, Andrews says, some stores have figured out that due to theft, self-checkout actually hurts the bottom line.
There is little question that some form of self-checkout is here to stay. After 40 years you would think it would be flawless, but it’s not. And from a customer point of view, it’s sorely lacking in customer service.
Longtime cashiers we see every time, like Margarita, wonder where I’ve been lately, ask about my grandchildren, or give me a hug when they heard my husband died. That’s customer service no machine will ever provide.
© 2024 NEW MEXICO NEWS SERVICES 4-29-24
Primary election is coming right up
By Merilee Dannemann
Triple Spaced Again
New Mexico’s primary election is a few weeks away, on June 4. As attentive voters know, in New Mexico the primary election is at least as important as the general. Depending on your district, you might have a little work to do researching your choices, and it’s time to get started.
As usual, many counties are dominated by one party or the other and the primary is the decisive race for local positions like county commissioners and county clerk. Chavez and Lea counties, for example, have only Republicans running for county commission. Taos County has only Democrats. Valencia County has three Republicans and one Democrat running for treasurer. Torrance County has only one county race – commissioner of District 3 – with four Republicans running.
A number of legislative seats have contests in the primary. One of them might be the House or Senate seat in your district, so you will want to know who’s who. You might need to read a few websites, attend a community forum or talk to the candidates in person.
If there’s any doubt whether you are registered, you can check at nmvote.org. That’s a section of the Secretary of State website that also links to other information, such as your sample ballot.
To find out who’s running in your district, first look around your neighborhood for yard signs. Then look online for the voters’ guide published by the League of Women Voters, which will be as complete and comprehensive as these dedicated volunteers can make it. It is expected to be completed by May 7, which is also the opening day of early voting and the close of registration by mail or online. Go to centralnmvoterguide.org or to Vote411.org.
The entire list of candidates for this election, from president on down, is on the Secretary of State website at (sorry for the long address) candidateportal.servis.sos.state.nm.us/CandidateList.aspx?eid=2876&cty=99. Options at the top of the page allow you to select just your own county or specific races.
In several legislative races there is no contest; I counted 14 Senate seats unopposed (9 Democrats, 5 Republicans) and 24 House seats, with no challenger in either the primary or the general. Almost all are incumbents.
Some people think it’s a problem when a candidate gets a free ride back into office. I don’t – at least, not for our part-time unpaid Legislature. If the community is happy with the legislator’s performance, it’s okay to let him or her back into office without the burden of campaigning. It’s a vote of confidence and a huge relief for the legislator.
On the other hand, a nasty rivalry has arisen between centrist and progressive Democrats, causing some several primary contests among legislators. This accounts for some of the primary challenges to incumbent Democrats.
If you are a constituent in one of these districts, in deciding which candidate to support you may want to do a little research and make up your own mind about the issues in dispute, such as the paid family and medical leave bill that failed this year. I tend to favor the incumbents, in part because they took a sensible position on a badly written bill.
For Congress, the only primary contest is in District 1 between two Republicans running to oppose incumbent Democrat Melanie Stansbury. There is no primary contest in the U.S. Senate race.
As always, because we are so late in the national calendar, New Mexico’s vote for president will not help to pick the nominees, but if you are an anti-Trump Republican and would like to express your feelings by voting for Haley, Christie, DeSantis or another candidate, now’s your chance to do so without affecting the outcome.
Contact Merilee Dannemann through www.triplespacedagain.com.