This story is republished from NM Political Report, a nonprofit news outlet, as a part of our commitment to bringing you the best in independent news coverage that matters to Albuquerque.
By Nicole Maxwell
Albuquerque’s U.S. representative along with the outgoing U.S. secretary of the interior — who’s rumored to be eyeing a run for governor — took top billing during a rally at Civic Plaza Sunday, both taking the opportunity to rally opposition to President Donald Trump’s priorities for the next four years.
Outgoing U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland was the keynote speaker at the People’s March, formerly known as the Women’s March, and took the opportunity to praise New Mexico, but also warn of the political fights to come.
“Over the past few years, our state has stood up for reproductive freedom and significantly expanded Medicaid coverage for postpartum care,” Haaland said. “We moved our state forward on clean energy and supported our public school teachers. There’s still so much more to do. We need to fight for people and for our families.”
(Roberto E. Rosales / City Desk ABQ)
The People’s March was first organized in 2017 to promote equal rights for all in the face of Donald Trump’s first inauguration.
Haaland on Sunday addressed what she called, “the elephant in the room”: Trump’s second administration.
“Let me be clear, our fight is not over. We will need to do the hard work of getting important things done and pushing back against an administration who couldn’t care less about regular people, about people like us. We will need to unapologetically stand up to make change, to ensure that your voices are heard. We need more people with real, lived experiences elected to office and serving our communities… so that solutions reflect who we are. We are going to fight, to remind the people in power that they answer to us.”
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Haaland did not mention her potential bid for governor, not that she could anyway, since she was still a federal appointee and prohibited by the federal Hatch Act of 1939 from running for office.
Prior to serving as interior secretary, Haaland represented New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. Her successor, Democratic U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, also spoke at the march.
Stansbury gave a spirited speech about the importance of Monday being both Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Inauguration Day and the work left to do on the cusp of another Trump administration.
“We choose to live in peace and fight for the things that we care for, and just like Dr. King reminded us many decades ago, we will not give in to the politics of despair,” Stansbury said, referencing King’s speech at the University of Buffalo in 1968.