A personal message from Benny Shendo, Jr:
Tonight while the votes are still being cast and counted, whether we win, lose or draw, we will celebrate! All are welcome to join us at the Senior Center in Jemez Pueblo starting at 6:45 pm.
We are celebrating the hard-earned results of a six-month, genuine grass-roots campaign, with lots of hard work from staff and volunteers from all across Northern New Mexico.
And I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for your support, your trust, and your hard work!
We are celebrating the success of bringing thousands of northern New Mexicans into the political process, many of whom had previously felt completely disenfranchised, with no participation, no representation and no voice.
- Thousands who agreed with us when we said “Northern New Mexico deserves a strong PROGRESSIVE voice in Washington DC, that represents ALL of us, not just the well-connected few.”
- Thousands who agreed with the Santa Fe Reporter when it endorsed our campaign, saying, “electing people based on their political connections and/or money is destroying our country.”
- Thousands who agreed it is time that we were all more accepting of the diverse mix of cultures we are so fortunate to have here in New Mexico, and less accepting of hypocrisy and insider dealings of elected leaders.
We are celebrating the first major steps we have taken toward building a strong and lasting political coalition between the Native American communities and the Progressive Movement here in Northern New Mexico. And we will continue to build and strengthen this coalition in the months and years to come, working in partnership with active progressive organizations like Progressive Democrats of America, which had the courage to endorse our campaign.
We are celebrating making history by running the first campaign in the history of New Mexico to put a Native American on the ballot for national office!
We are celebrating the lessons we all learned on the campaign trail—both myself as a candidate, but also the communities, groups and individuals that supported our campaign through thick and thin.
And finally, we are celebrating the beginning of the general election season where we continue to work to make sure that the progressive issues: Fighting Global Warming, Ending the Occupation in Iraq, Health Care for All, and Election Reform all stay front and center in the conversation leading to real change in November.
Again, Thank you!
Benny J. Shendo, Jr.
