Authorized and paid for by The Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club PAC.
Rio Grande Sierra Club endorsements for state-wide contested elections
Governor’s Office
Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard
As Secretary of the Interior under Joe Biden, Deb Haaland reduced methane waste on federal and tribal lands, accelerated permitting for clean energy projects, and launched large-scale orphaned well remediation—cutting emissions while creating jobs. As the first Native American cabinet secretary, she focused heavily on Indigenous rights, public land protections, and climate change. She supported Tribal nations and Indigenous communities’ stewardship of lands and waters using Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge.
As Land Commissioner, Stephanie Garcia Richard increased the bonding requirement for oil and gas operators to ensure that they pay for the costs of well capping and site remediation and that the state is not stuck with the bill. She raised the royalty rate for oil and gas lease sales to 25%, created the Office of Renewable Energy within the Land Office to capitalize on New Mexico’s solar and wind potential, established the first Cultural Properties Protection Rule to safeguard historical and cultural artifacts on state trust lands, and worked with the NM Dept. of Wildlife to expand recreational opportunities on State Trust Lands.
Secretary of State
Amanda López Askin
Doña Ana County Clerk Amanda López Askin was appointed as Clerk five days before the 2018 election and was immediately confronted by falsehoods and election-denial in the close Torres Small-Herrell congressional election that year. López Askin has also seen firsthand the fear and intimidation that communities will experience when federal law enforcement officers are present in the community on election day. This experience with election-denial, disruption, intimidation, personal attacks, and threats during her tenure as Doña Ana County Clerk has prepared her to be a steady hand to guide the state through the polarized elections we may be facing in the future in NM.
Attorney General
Raúl Torrez
Attorney General Raúl Torrez has amassed a stellar record during his first term leading the NM Dept. of Justice, both in environmental litigation and in 59 lawsuits resisting the illegal actions of the Trump regime. Torrez has emphasized that his job is first and foremost to protect vulnerable New Mexicans.
Torrez has backed the emergency petitions challenging air and water permitting decisions for the Project Jupiter data center. He sued oil and gas operators for fraudulently scheming to avoid the cost of plugging depleted wells. Torrez has defended public access to natural rivers and streams like the Pecos River from private landowners’ attempts to privatize access. Torrez led a multistate coalition opposing federal regulations that would fast-track licensing for unproven nuclear microreactors without adequate environmental review. He opposed proposed federal rollbacks to radiation safety standards.
Torrez sued the United States Postal Service over its unlawful attempts to interfere with mail-in voting. He obtained a $942 million judgment against Meta as a result of mental health harm to children from social media, along with an agreement to reform its platforms to reduce harm to children. He sued the U.S. Justice Department to obtain unredacted federal files concerning Jeffrey Epstein’s activities at the Zoro Ranch in NM so that wrongdoers can be prosecuted.
Commissioner of Public Lands
Juan de Jesus Sanchez III
Juan Sanchez is committed to protecting Chaco Canyon, including continuing the current moratorium on oil, gas and mineral leases in the greater Chaco area, and refusing to grant easements over state lands within the buffer zone that would facilitate oil and gas projects on federal lands. He supports putting into law the Land Office’s new Office of Cultural Resources in order to ensure no future land commissioner can avoid input from archeologists and tribal liaisons in order to protect sacred sites when implementing land office projects.
Sanchez has vowed to implement and defend Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard’s executive orders, regulations and work, including adequate bonding for the cost of remediation of oil and gas well sites, no fresh water for fracking, setbacks of oil and gas leases from schools, higher royalties on oil and gas leases and more renewable energy leases. Sanchez wants to create a new outdoor recreation office within the Land Office to create more opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping and trails.
Rio Grande Sierra Club endorsements for New Mexico State House of Representatives
Rickie Gonzales
HD 7
Rickie Gonzales is running to address long-ignored issues in underrepresented parts of District 7. He will work for smart development and plans for growth that ensure water and the environment are top priorities, for environmental justice for the many disenfranchised populations, and to bring services that help his constituents.
Katherine Gauer
HD 8
Katherine Gauer knows Valencia County’s issues from her years of working on social justice and education issues. She wants to address the problems faced by her constituents in her mostly rural district, including infrastructure, health care, and water. She will work for a moratorium on data centers.
Andres Romero
HD 10
Since his first term, Romero has made environmental policy a central issue, and he continues to be a strong advocate for climate action, pushing for policies that protect the environment and promote sustainability. He serves as Chair of the Education Committee, and on the Transportation and Public Works Committee.
Art De La Cruz
HD 12
Art De La Cruz has a lifetime conservation score of 95% from Conservation Voters New Mexico. He has supported many of our priority bills, including the Game Commission reform, oil and gas royalty rate structures, the strategic water reserve, and uranium mine cleanup. Along with conservation, he advocates for veterans and military families.
Miguel Garcia
HD 14
Conservation Voters NM gave Miguel Garcia a 97 percent lifetime environmental voting score. Along with protecting labor, health, and human services, he brings his expertise and commitment to the House Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee and the Water and Natural Resources Committee. He has sponsored bills to protect both our ancient acequias and our new Americans.
Debra M. Sariñana
HD 21
Debbie Sariñana is Vice Chair of the Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Water and Natural Resources Committee, two very important committees for the environment. She has used her experience and leadership to sponsor bills to promote energy affordability and low-income home solar, regulate oil and gas and produced water, and to direct the Environment Department to prioritize hazardous waste issues. She virtually always votes right on environmental bills.
Elizabeth Thomson
HD 24
Liz Thomson has been a rock-solid supporter of environmental and other progressive legislation during her fourteen years in the State House. As a pediatric physical therapist and the mother of an autistic son, her focus has been on legislation to provide healthcare and opportunities for children, especially those with disabilities.
Cristina Parajón
HD 25
Cristina Parajon is our sole Gen Z member of the State House. She sponsored the new law allowing independent voters to vote in the major party primary elections. She has sponsored legislation creating new transmission lines for green energy, strengthening privacy rights, and amending the Oil and Gas Act with provisions for penalties, financial assurance, transfers, and gas capture.
Eleanor Chávez
HD 26
Eleanor Chávez is a longtime fighter for immigrants, children, healthcare, and free speech. She has a perfect 100% Conservation Voters NM lifetime voting score. She sponsored legislation protecting against lawsuits designed to silence criticism (SLAPP suits), prohibiting local governments from entering into agreements with ICE to detain individuals, and protecting employee free speech
Abby Foster
HD27
Abby Foster is a lawyer who advocates for children and disabled adults. She is committed to affordable housing, child wellbeing, and healthcare access. Abby emphasizes that we need to protect New Mexico’s water supply through smart conservation and investing in infrastructure to handle long-term drought. She also supports growing clean energy jobs and opposes the purchase of PNM by Blackstone.
Pamelya Herndon
HD28
Pamelya Herndon has spent her career advocating for social justice and women’s rights. She has served as the president and CEO of KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change, the CEO of the Women’s Center of Social Justice and Change, and the executive director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center. She has served as the first vice president of the NAACP Albuquerque Branch. Pamelya has a 98% lifetime Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Joy Garratt
HD29
Joy Garratt is a longtime educator, where she has strived to integrate environmental and conservation education in her language-arts and social-studies assignments. She cares deeply about preserving our state’s natural beauty and resources for future generations, and she stresses that education is a vital component in ensuring that this happens. She strongly opposes unregulated data centers.
E. Diane Torres-Velásquez
HD30
Rep. Diane Torres-Velásquez has a PhD in education and has worked with grassroots groups to establish public education as a fundamental right in New Mexico and to make sure there is an equitable distribution of education resources. While the focus of her legislative work has been on education, she has been a steadfast supporter of the Chapter’s environmental priorities and has a 100% lifetime Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Lisa Curtis
HD31
Lisa Curtis is an Albuquerque attorney, business owner, and community leader, who has spent more than 30 years representing New Mexico families. Lisa is smart, progressive, and strategic. She believes we should use today’s oil and gas revenue to build tomorrow’s economy, which includes water infrastructure, clean energy, and a renewable buildout. She wants to limit private equity from acquiring the companies that provide our healthcare.
Laura Parra
HD 32
Laura Parra is a city councilor and the mayor pro tem of Deming. A community organizer with a background working with our nonprofit allies, she is the founder of the nonprofit Voices for Change, an organization that develops youth leadership. Laura impressed the political committee with her knowledge of her community and her desire to be a strong voice in the legislature for rural communities and working families.
Micaela Lara Cadena
HD33
Micaela Lara Cadena is the research director at Young Women United, a New Mexico nonprofit, and has worked as an advocate for women in correctional facilities. She has sponsored and supported legislation to protect and strengthen water resources and infrastructure in New Mexico. Micaela has become a leader in opposing Project Jupiter. She has a 94% lifetime Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Angelica Rubio
HD35
Angelica Rubo’s work in the legislature focuses on policies that center on disproportionately impacted communities that are deeply affected by extractive industries and working towards a vision of building a restorative economy for all New Mexicans. She is the chair of the interim Radioactive & Hazardous Materials Committee. Angelica has served in the legislature for ten years, and during that time she has always supported environmental legislation. She has a 100% lifetime Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Nathan Small
HD36
Nathan Small was the principal sponsor of the 2019 Energy Transition Act, mandating electricity generation utilities to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. He has been a strong advocate for renewable energy and has a lifetime 97% Conservation Voters NM voting score. He is Chair of the powerful House Appropriations and Finance Committee.
Lori Martinez
HD37
Lori Martinez is the Executive Director of Ngage New Mexico, an education nonprofit. She will bring a high level of expertise in education and mental health to the House and would work to fill gaps in services by creating new state programs, including Paid Family Leave. She supports legislation to restrict private-equity control of hospitals, energy and data centers.
David Mooney
HD 38
If the Chapter could create a candidate with ideal qualifications, it would be Dave Mooney. Dave is a strong environmentalist and is an activist against Project Jupiter; he has extensive experience leading campaign ground games; and he is a community organizer. He wants to help New Mexico make sound best policy decisions based on practical, community and environment-focused solutions.
Raul Turrieta
HD 39
Raul Turrieta is an active and visible member of the Silver City community. He pledges to work to ensure access to affordable health care, educate a skilled workforce, place a moratorium on data centers, protect the Gila, for post-fire watershed restoration, to expand our Strategic Water Reserve to protect our rivers, and to meet renewable energy goals faster than those outlined in the Energy Transition Act.
Kathleen Cates
HD44
Kathleen Cates is Vice Chair of the Agriculture, Acequias, and Water Resources Committee and has sponsored and supported water project bills. Her priorities as a legislator are water, housing and human rights. She has been an ironclad supporter of environmental bills, with a 100% lifetime Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Tara Lujan
HD48
Tara Lujan supports a balanced energy future that creates jobs, lowers costs, and protects New Mexico’s environment through investments in clean energy, innovative technologies, and resilient infrastructure. She supports responsible water planning, conservation, modern infrastructure, and policies that protect our land and natural resources for the future. She has a lifetime 100% Conservation Voters NM voting score.
Sarah Boses
HD50
Sarah Boses is a registered oncology nurse and a two-term member of the Santa Fe Public Schools Board of Education. Her campaign priorities include education, healthcare, affordable housing, and supporting sustainable growth and climate resilient renewable energy transitions.
Grace Nagamine
HD51
Grace Nagamine impressed the Political Committee with her knowledge of, empathy for, and hands-on work to alleviate the hardships of challenged members of the Otero County community. Grace is a survivor herself, having experienced homelessness and survived domestic violence, and she is a Certified Nursing Assistant. She founded Royal Angels to provide joy to special needs children, inspired by her granddaughter. She is committed to helping children, families, seniors, veterans, and people suffering from mental health issues and disabilities.
Sarah Silva
HD 53
Sarah Silva was heavily involved in the efforts that led to the designation of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. In the legislature, she was a sponsor of the medical malpractice reform that which will help attract and retain doctors in NM. She also sponsored a successful bill to use oil-and-gas revenue to pay for the SNAP benefits cut by the Trump regime. She has become a strong opponent of Project Jupiter and supports strong guardrails against the negative impacts of data centers. In addition, she pledges to work to pass Paid Family Leave and legislation to prohibit digital price tags.
Chriselle Martinez
HD 57
Chriselle Martinez supports reducing greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels and making microgrids and data centers subject to requirements to transition to renewable energy. She supports a moratorium on data centers until we have a comprehensive framework that addresses water use, energy usage, impacts on consumer energy costs, and community benefits. She believes that New Mexico should continue to lead on climate and environmental protections regardless of federal actions.
Luke Jungmann
HD 60
Luke Jungmann is running in Rio Rancho because our freedoms are under attack, the environment ravaged, and people struggle to afford life. He is focused on the needs of his constituents-to-be, and is accordingly prioritizing affordable healthcare and housing, paid family and medical leave, and labor and union protections. He is a strong supporter of renewable energy, and he supports a statewide moratorium on data centers so that we can craft appropriate guardrails.
Charlotte Little
HD68
Charlotte Little is a member of San Felipe Pueblo and is Vice Chair of the State Government, Elections & Indian Affairs Committee. She sponsored the bill to protect access to reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare that became law, and access to healthcare generally is a priority for her. She sponsored the law that requires disclosure that a political advertisement has been altered or created by AI and that prohibits political ads that show people making statements or engaging in conduct that they did not say or do. Rep. Little has a 100% lifetime CVNM voting score.
County and municipal contested races
Bernalillo County
Eric Olivas, Bernalillo County Commission District 5
Doña Ana County
Daisy Maldonado, Doña County Commission District 1
Constitutional amendments
Rio Grande Chapter endorses a YES vote on three constitutional amendments.
The Chapter has endorsed the following three constitutional amendments and urges you to vote “yes” on these measures.
Constitutional Amendment 1 – Repeal Pocket Veto – vote YES
This amendment would do away with the pocket veto and reverse the result of not signing a bill. If this passes, a bill would become law if the governor did not take any action on the bill. The amendment requires a “substantive explanation” of any veto.
The governor should be required to inform residents why a measure passed by the Legislature is being vetoed.
Constitutional Amendment 2 – School board election dates – vote YES
This amendment would repeal the NM constitutional requirement that school board elections be held at different times than partisan elections and let school board elections be held at the same time as statewide and federal elections.
Holding school board elections at the same time as statewide and federal elections would increase participation in school board elections.
Constitutional Amendment 4 – Legislative compensation – vote YES
This constitutional amendment would provide a salary for legislators starting in 2029. The salary would be set at and adjusted to the median salary in the state, currently about $67,800.
Making this a salaried position would allow people who otherwise could not afford to run for Legislature to do so.
We need legislators who have paid time to work on complex, technical legislation that can be key to the future of our state.