New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative Congressional Forum: Get to Know the Candidates

New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative helps the community get informed about the upcoming special election 

The New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative (NMBVC) is hosting a New Mexico CD-1 Congressional Candidate Forum on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 6:00PM to 7:30PM Mountain time. The forum will be streamed live to Facebook and YouTube through the NMBVC and Common Cause New Mexico pages.

About the New Mexico CD-1 Race

When New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland was confirmed as the cabinet secretary for the Department of the Interior, her Congressional District 1 seat became open. A special congressional election to fill the seat will be held June 1, 2021.

New Mexico CD-1 Candidates

The candidates running for Congressional District 1 are

Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico State Representative (D), Website: https://melaniefornm.com/

Mark Moores, New Mexico State Senator (R), Website:  http://markmoores.com/

Aubrey Dunn, Former New Mexico State Land Commissioner (I), Website: https://aubreydunn.com/

Chris Manning, US Army Reserve Veteran (L), Website: https://www.manning4nm.com/

Candidates from New Mexico Congressional District 1 will answer questions from organizations and voters in the state. (Originally, all four candidates agreed to participate in the forum; however, Mark Moores  recently pulled out.)  NMBVC’s goal is to provide communities around the state with as much information as possible about upcoming elections, candidates, and legislation to ensure fair representation and education for all voters in the state of New Mexico. The forum also gives the candidates a chance to get to know and understand the real issues that matter to voters in CD-1.

“I don’t think that we get enough information from the candidates just from their campaigns; typically, it’s what they want you to know.”

—Mason Graham, NMBVC

Mason Graham, the NMBVC forum project lead, says that this format facilitates getting answers that lie behind the standard campaign messages. “When they’re on the spot and they’re answering questions about real issues, that’s when we get to know the quality of their character, their background, their ideas and thought process, and the way that they would handle an issue.” 

New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative CD-1 Forum Moderators

The moderators for the candidate forum are Professor Sonia Gipson Rankin, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law, and Khalil Ekulona, the host of KUNM Radio’s “No More Normal” and a New Mexico PBS correspondent.

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How to Attend the New Mexico Black Voters Collaborative CD-1 Forum

Over 400 people have responded to the CD-1 Congressional Forum event on Facebook, an indication that this type of civic discourse is of interest to voters in New Mexico. NMBVC plans to continue to host forums in the future, particularly the upcoming mayoral election in the city of Albuquerque. 

“For New Mexico, they’re like yes, I want to be a part of that, I want to see that, I want to see what these people have to say before I go and cast my vote.”

—Mason Graham, NMBVC

RSVP for the CD-1 Congressional Forum here: https://www.facebook.com/events/368448107711953

Check out the New Mexico In Depth coverage of the NMBVC here: https://nmindepth.com/2021/04/18/new-mexico-black-leaders-challenge-tricultural-myth/