New Mexico State Senator Dede Feldman's Blog

Vote in the MRGCD Election - June 2, 2009

Good News!  There are two excellent candidates challenging the incumbents in this June's MRGCD election, and a real possibility of reform, if they are successful.  

Karen Dunning, a Los Ranchos resident and daily ditch walker, is known to some of you as a neighborhood planner for the City of Albuquerque, where she helped North Valley neighborhoods for a number of years.   She is currently working for the MFA. Karen grew up on a ranch, and is committed to the preservation of the bosque and the ditch system.  She has no vested interests and is running on a platform of "equitable, ethical and transparent governance."  Karen says, "With increasing urbanization, prolonged drought and compliance with federal laws, things are changing and new challenges need to be addressed in a common sense, collaborative way." Her opponent is incumbent Bill Turner.

Adrian Oglesby is an environmental and water attorney who has worked on many Middle Rio Grande water issues, including river restoration, bosque, fish and wildlife conservation.  He has worked for the Pueblos, the Attorney General and currently, the Nature Conservancy.  Adrian wants to protect agriculture in the Valley and encourage more local produce production.  He would like to see the Conservancy, as a steward of important natural resources, actively manage the bosque and water to benefit the ecosystem as a whole. He also acknowledges the need for the Conservancy District to be more responsive to joggers, walkers, birders and horseback riders in Bernalillo County.  Adrian's opponent is incumbent Jim Roberts. For more information on Adrian go to www.protectthevalley.com.  
 
For even more information, go the Conservancy District Candidates Forum that is sponsored by the Near North Valley Neighborhood Association on May 5th at 6:30 pm at the Los Griegos Family and Community Center, near 12th and Candelaria NW.

Both of these candidates need volunteers and contributors.   The incumbents have financial backing and the inside track in this low-turnout election, and time is short.  But you can make a big difference with just a little effort.   Contact Karen at 898-7493 or Kdunning99@gmail.com.  Checks of any amount can be mailed to Karen Dunning for Conservancy, 1004 Ortega NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114.  Adrian can be reached through his web site, www.protectthevalley.com.   You can contribute and sign up for e-mail news there.  
 
Voting Procedures: Election June 2, 2009
Any property owner within the boundaries of the district can vote.  The district is roughly the Valley of Bernalillo County, east to Edith Blvd.   For an exact map, go to http://www.mrgcd.com/cms/kunde/rts/mrgcdcom/docs/623660524-02-26-2009-10-05-32.pdf. Both husband and wife can vote, but not renters. 
 
Early Voting begins April 24 at the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Office, 1931 Second St. SW, in Albuquerque 8 am -5 p.m. Office is closed on Saturday, except for the Saturday before the election.  Bring government issues ID and two of the following: tax bill, utility bill or voter registration card (remember those things, send out by former Sec. Vigil-Giron?)
 
Absentee Voting:  Call 247-0234 to request an absentee ballot application.   Once you receive the application, you will need to get it notarized, then send it back.  Stay tuned for more information about this, including a ONE STOP SHOP PARTY where were you can come to meet these candidates, pick up absentee applications and get them notarized.

Election Day is June 2, 2009,7 am to 7 pm.  A list of polling places is at: http://www.mrgcd.com/cms/kunde/rts/mrgcdcom/docs/630610899-04-15-2009-09-17-58.pdf.  Polling places are not hitched to addresses or precincts, so you can go to any of these.  For North Valley, there are some old standbys--Duranes, Elementary School, Griegos Elementary, Valley High School, and the 4H Center, Wells Park Community Center, Alvarado Elementary and more.   
 
Calling All Friendly Notary Publics
Does it seem restrictive to you that the Conservancy District requires all these Ids, and now notarization of absentee ballots? I guess literacy tests are next….. Perhaps it is not a big surprise that the % of voters who turn out for Conservancy District Elections is in the single digits.
Oh well, if there are any notary publics out there who can help, please contact me at 242-1997 or at dedefeld@comcast.net.  
 

Chronic Diseases Inflate State Health Costs

Excerpted from the Albuquerque Journal

They may not be as timely as electronic medical records, or as controversial as the different paths to universal health care, but those ordinary chronic diseases - diabetes, obesity, asthma, heart disease, cancer, arthritis - are major cost drivers in New Mexico's health-care system.

Preventing, or at least managing, them may be the most important health-care reform of all.

But, one thing I've learned after more than a decade in the Legislature, is that it will take a village to prevent their ravages and control their ever-increasing costs. Fortunately, that village is beginning to assemble under the banner of the "Healthy New Mexico Task Force" and, with the help of New Mexico First, it will devise a five-year strategic plan to mobilize the community - not just doctors and insurers, but families, teachers, gardeners, restaurateurs, bicyclists - in short, all of us.

This planning process started at a forum facilitated by NM First in Las Cruces April 3 and will continue at Albuquerque's Convention Center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday. The public is welcome.

The effort comes none too soon. Chronic diseases are responsible for six out of every 10 deaths in New Mexico. Nearly 890,000 cases of seven chronic diseases were reported in New Mexico in 2003, accounting for an estimated $7 billion in treatment costs and lost productivity. That's almost twice the budget for the state of New Mexico in that year!

Policy experts Ken Thorpe and David Howard estimate that nearly all the growth in Medicare spending between 1987 and 2002 may be attributed to five or more chronic conditions. And costs are going up as our population ages.

The Department of Health tells us that many chronic diseases are at least partly preventable, because they're linked to behaviors that can be changed - smoking, lack of physical activity and poor nutrition. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify four factors key to preventing chronic diseases: physical activity, healthy foods, tobacco control and clinical preventive services.
 
Access to preventive services like regular screenings, lifestyle and dietary counseling means getting more people access to basic health care either by expanding coverage or by making care available through clinics or other means. It means having enough doctors, nurses and other professionals to provide the care.

At the legislative level we have tried to gradually expand coverage through Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the State Coverage Insurance and the New Mexico Medical Insurance Pool. One simple reason is that people who have insurance are more likely to seek help earlier in the disease process, and not just show up at the emergency room.
 
Since one-on-one counseling from a trusted health professional is key, we have also tried to increase the number of physicians in the state through loan forgiveness, loan for service, the BA-MD program at the University of New Mexico and a new tuition waiver for medical students who pledge to become primary-care doctors in rural areas.

We also passed a bill to get the Human Services Department to implement a Medicaid waiver that provides for a "medical home" model emphasizing an integrated approach that includes prevention and continuous care. We also have encouraged the use of community health workers as a good mechanism to check to see whether patients are taking their meds and getting exercise.
 
Budgetary constraints have reduced the growth of state efforts this year, but there is much cause for hope at the grassroots level. New Mexico communities have recently increased access to local, healthy foods through farmers' markets, nutrition programs, mobile food pantries, healthy cooking classes and gardens for communities and schools. The Department of Education has restricted access to less nutritious foods at public schools and required school districts to develop and implement local wellness policies.

Las Cruces is engaged in a community-wide obesity prevention effort, which is creating opportunities for families to be physically active and make healthy food choices. "Healthy Kids Las Cruces" is getting kids to walk to school, quit drinking soda and learn how to cook. Other communities are developing bike and pedestrian trails and encouraging exercise.
 
In Albuquerque, the Prescription Trails Program (Rx Trails) provides a Spanish and English version of a Prescription Pad and a walking trail guide for the city and South Valley organized by Zip Code. This prescription for fitness is a collaboration between the Albuquerque Alliance for Active Living and New Mexico Takes on Diabetes. Santa Fe is planning a similar initiative.

We need many more of these community efforts, especially to stem a rising tide of obesity, which garnered national attention with the new and alarming statistic that almost one in five 4-year olds is obese.

Attending the Chronic Disease Town Hall this week in Albuquerque is one way to get active and address this problem. Call 841-5836 for more details.
 
Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, chairs the Interim Health and Human Services Committee