Barack Obama didn’t win Rio Arriba County in the Democratic Caucus last year, not by a long shot, but his presidential campaign did stir up a political hornet’s nest full of first-time volunteers and long-dormant progressive activists.
Three months later those people are still fired up, and they’re turning their energy toward holding his administration accountable for how the federal stimulus money is spent.
“We just want accountability and transparency, just the way it’s been sold to us,” El Rito resident John Ussery said.
About a dozen interested people gathered March 14 for the group’s monthly meeting. Part of the discussion focused on how they’ll work with Obama’s national campaign machine, which has been absorbed by the Democratic National Committee.
That national campaign has changed its name from Obama for America to Organizing for America, and the local group has tentatively adopted the name Organizing for a Greater Española.
David Cortez, a former Obama staffer who has been appointed coordinator of the Española group, said he’s been in contact with a national liaison in Las Cruces. But Española isn’t waiting for direction — it’s already ahead of the state and national Obama organizations in terms of planning, Cortez said.
And he said people at the meeting balked at the possibility of fund-raising requests from the national organization.
“This group doesn’t want to toe that line,” Cortez said.
El Guache resident Carol Guzman said the group wants its priorities to be set by people in the Española Valley, and any fund raising it does would support those local projects.
“We want to insure that our relationship with them is from the ground up,” Guzman said.
State Democratic Party Executive Director Josh Geise said the whole project is still in its early stages but there will be paid Organizing for America staffers working out of state party headquarters in Albuquerque.
He said while the national Organizing for America campaign has focused its efforts on getting Obama’s legislative agenda passed, the state party will continue its goal of electing Democrats up and down the ballot.
Establishment
Interestingly, the Obama group is coming together at a time when the power of the old Democratic establishment of Rio Arriba is on the wane. The current party leaders are protégés of the late Emilio Naranjo, whose door-to-door organizing built the party up from nothing in the 1950s. The current Party leaders don’t have a web site, rarely stage big rallies and they’re glued together less by ideology than by family ties and party loyalty.
But last year they showed once again that they do have some pull. Their support for Obama’s main challenger, Hillary Clinton, helped her win the County in the February Caucus, and their candidates for state office faced no opposition. They also joined with the other factions of the local Democratic Party and the Obama groups to help stem a rising tide of Republican support and give Obama the largest margin of victory for a Democratic presidential candidate in Rio Arriba in 16 years.
The Party’s old Naranjo faction is led by Sen. Richard Martinez (D-Española) and his wife Theresa, who has been chairwoman of the County party since 2002. The couple filed for divorce last summer, and rumors have been quietly circulating about potential challenges to her lock on the party leadership.
If Theresa Martinez does get elected chairwoman April 2 at the County party’s annual convention, she could run into a conflict. She is a finalist to be superintendent of the Española School District, and School Board President Leonard Valerio said he wouldn’t like to see her hold both jobs.
“If she is the best candidate and she does get selected, I would hope she would put that aside,” Valerio said.
Theresa Martinez did not return calls for comment.
Richard Martinez said as far as he knows, Theresa will run.
“I haven’t heard any different,” Martinez said. “If she’s running, I’m supporting her.”
Most precinct leaders contacted by the SUN said they hadn’t heard of any challenge brewing.
“I think it’s going to be status quo,” Hernandez precinct chair David Sanchez said. “Nobody’s challenging Theresa, or if anybody’s gonna, they’re not letting anybody know. It’s a tough job in today’s environment. It’s not like it was many years ago, when that person had a lot of clout. In the old days, county chairs called shots.”
Española precinct chair and former city councilor David Chavez said it would be a shame if anyone were to replace Theresa Martinez as chair.
Regardless of what happens April 2, the Naranjo clan’s influence has been decreasing in the County for some time. Most County elected offices are held by a loosely allied faction led by County Commissioner Alfredo Montoya, an early Obama supporter.
Montoya said he hasn’t had any contact with the Española Obama group, but said they reflect the grassroots method of the entire campaign.
“We’d love more involvement and more minds to help us make these decisions,” Montoya said.
County Commission Chairman Elias Coriz said he has no interest in being party chair.
“I’ve never been interested — I’m concentrating on finishing off my term as commissioner,” Coriz said.
The Obama group’s founder Mateo Peixinho said it’s too early to say what form their involvement might take in the County.