NM State Leg 51: Denise Lang, Dem Nominee Steps Forward to Face Incumbent Republican ALEC Star

by Singing Lizard

Community

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Tuesday, Jul. 05, 2016 Tuesday, Jul. 05, 2016 at 9:26:04am PDT

Denise Lang, progressive Democrat stepping up to run for New Mexico State Legislature District 51 against Incumbent Yvette Herrell

I sat back from the primary pie fights and flame wars here because I saw them in action in 2008 and wanted to avoid the vitriol. I knew I would gladly vote for the Democratic nominee in November, whoever it was, because I admire both of them: they both have much to offer. I voted for Bernie Sanders in the primary because I support the idea of his “political revolution”. He was not the right candidate and the primaries showed that, but he was the right person to articulate what so many of us have wanted to define. Hillary Clinton seems to be embracing the political revolution and running with it. The only way that revolution is going to happen, however, is if we put as much effort into winning the state and local offices as the tea partiers did.

I feel strongly about that, so I am very pleased and encouraged to introduce my friend, Denise Lang, who is running for New Mexico State Legislature Representative in District 51. She is the epitome of the progressive everyone was trying to define a few months ago. I have known Denise since the early 1990's when we were both volunteers for Alamogordo Area AIDS Awareness. In her own words, I will let Denise explain who she is and where she wants to take New Mexico:

Denise Lang: My Political Life

In the mid-1990’s, Republican dominated Otero County, New Mexico treated the AIDS epidemic with ignorance and shaming. Several of us stepped up and began organizing meetings to provide correct information to reduce infection, and to advocate for more information, research and better access to affordable medication for those who were HIV positive, and to increase awareness for the prevention of HIV/AIDS and the consequences of unprotected sex. New Mexico had a high incidence of infection and drug use, and many of the people who contracted HIV in other places, came home to New Mexico to die, because in the mid-1990’s it was still a death sentence. We formed Alamogordo Area AIDS Awareness and took the Red Cross AIDS Prevention & Awareness classes and went out into the community, to schools, churches, county fairs and other public and private events to present correct information to the public, especially high school teenagers. Liz Parker (Singing Lizard) and I were charter Board Members. I was honored when asked to be on the Governor’s Task Force for HIV and AIDS.

By 2007, several of us had become aware enough, angry enough, and motivated enough to form Peace and Justice of La Luz (PAJOLL). La Luz is a small suburb of Alamogordo.

We began by protesting on the busiest corner of Alamogordo against the war in Iraq. We became involved in fighting against the War on Drugs (WOD) after becoming more and more aware that it didn’t work and seeing the devastation to individuals, families and communities. We became active in Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). I attended two International Drug Policy Reform Conferences on scholarships. I organized a booth at our county fair, decorated with LEAP T-Shirts that read, “Cops Say Legalize Drugs. Ask Me Why.” As Coordinator of our local Behavioral Health Collaborative, I arranged for a LEAP speaker to provide a program.

By then I’d become active in the local and state Democratic Party as the only organization opposing draconian measures by our state Republicans and I often brought the issue of the failed WOD to the table and advocated for treatment vs incarceration, medical marijuana, and harm reduction, along with other issues.

I organized “We Trust Women Commemoration & Celebration of Roe v Wade” events for the past four years on four corners of our street intersections (some years, there were only a dozen of us…photos available on Facebook). I coordinated with Karen Hutchison and others to co-produce and bring the first, and four subsequent, productions of The Vagina Monologues to the Otero County area, and assisted with six other V-Day productions. Two of the productions included participants telling their stories of transgender transformation, male rape, and my own abortion story of 1972.

The Opposition:

Otero County, has been called "Ground Zero" for the efforts to “transfer” public lands from federal supervision to place them in the control of the state and counties, which can sell, lease or trade that land. New Mexico is the only state with a Land Commissioner who can, with one stroke of the pen – no legislation required – sell off state public lands. My Republican opponent, Yvette Herrell, said her goal for the last five years has been the transfer of public lands to private. That has been in between her support of HB 206, radical amendment proposed by Republican legislators that would have changed the criminal statute of Tampering With Evidence so that any woman who was the victim of rape or incest and who became pregnant would face criminal charges for Tampering if she had an abortion, which could have included incarceration for up to three years. That amendment was, fortunately, unsuccessful, but shows the mindset of my opponent.

She was named an ALEC "Star Legislator" in 2014:

Rep. Yvette Herrell Awarded State Chair of the Year by the American Legislative Exchange Council

Dallas, Texas (August 1, 2014)—Representative Yvette Herrell of New Mexico received the State Chair of the Year Award today from the American Legislative Exchange Council at the organization’s 41st Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas. Rep. Herrell received the award for her diligent work with ALEC membership in New Mexico…

She is a formidable opponent with lots of oil and gas and ranching money behind her, but I realize, and I am motivated by, that part of the Bernie Sanders Revolution that requires that some of us step up to run for the down ballot seats. That’s what I am doing here. Activism has been my passion for many years and I want to make more of a difference and the best way I see of doing that is to regain the state legislature and to prevent Republican incumbent Yvette Herrell from her ALEC fueled desire to remove public lands from the control of the people.

I am asking for your help to defeat Rep. Herrell and take back the state legislature of New Mexico. It is doable: we have two Democratic Senators: Tom Udall and Mark Heinrich.

I’m on Facebook and Act Blue

A list of some of my other endeavors, associations and accomplishments:

Honors and Community Activities:

And in case you haven’t clicked on the links highlighted above:

electdeniselang.com
electdeniselang.com/...
secure.actblue.com/...
www.facebook.com/…

Thanks for reading and I hope you can help me be part of our political revolution.