New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland, center, speaks to a crowd of some 200 community members gathered at her Meet & Greet event Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Haaland is traveling the state to meet and hear from New Mexicans at stops in 19 small towns and cities throughout February and into March. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Scene of the crowd gathered at hear New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland speak Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Staff Report:
Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland held a meet & greet Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens, the 16th stop of her 19-stop launch tour around the state. Haaland spoke to attendees about supporting schools and teachers, climate issues and advocating for federal employees amidst mass layoffs.
“The system isn’t working for us. And it hasn’t been. But together, we can change that. That’s why I’m running to be your next governor,” Haaland said. “I’ve challenged the system in every position I served in, and I’ve delivered.”
Haaland was joined by more than 200 community members from around the area. Thousands of New Mexicans have attended events with Haaland since the Feb. 11 announcement of her run for governor.
Haaland launched her campaign with a video highlighting her commitment to lowering costs, addressing crime, and promoting healthy communities. Since then, more than 80 local leaders and organizations have endorsed Haaland for governor. This coming weekend, she will complete her listening tour with stops in Carlsbad, Roswell and Ruidoso.
Campaign provides background on Deb Haaland:
Deb Haaland is a 35th-generation New Mexican, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, a small businesswoman, a working mother who’s lived paycheck to paycheck, a former congresswoman, and for the past four years, the United States Secretary of the Interior.
Like many New Mexicans, Haaland has faced challenges, like homelessness and financial insecurity. She helped pay for her child’s preschool by volunteering at the school for discounted tuition. She relied on food stamps to put food on the table and Planned Parenthood for essential care. But like so many New Mexicans, struggle made her fierce. Haaland’s resilience enabled her to achieve over three decades of sobriety and build a remarkable career in public service.
Haaland was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior with strong bipartisan support and is the first Native American cabinet secretary in the nation’s history. As Secretary, she led nearly 70,000 federal employees and worked tirelessly for New Mexicans, securing and supporting thousands of New Mexico jobs, historic local clean energy development, and overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars of investments in the state. She played a pivotal role in protecting 13.5 million acres of land in New Mexico, partnering with rural communities and Tribal Nations to preserve natural resources for fishing, ranching, recreation, and more. As someone who grew up in a rural community, Haaland partnered with New Mexico’s rural towns and villages to secure clean water and address their biggest challenges.
While raising her child, Somah, as a single mom, Haaland picked up catering gigs and ran her own small business producing and canning salsa. As a tribal administrator at San Felipe Pueblo and member of the Laguna Development Corporation Board of Directors, she successfully advocated for changes that supported small businesses while protecting New Mexico’s land and water. She wanted to make a difference for working New Mexicans like her and started to get involved in registering people to vote. In 2018, Haaland made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress.
In Congress, Haaland prioritized issues important to New Mexicans, including creating local clean energy jobs, securing billions for small businesses and restaurants during the pandemic, expanding access to broadband, addressing the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and protecting thousands of acres of New Mexico’s land. She was known for working across the aisle to deliver for New Mexico, securing more bipartisan cosponsors for her legislation than all House freshmen in 2019, and introducing six bills signed into law by President Donald Trump—among the most of any member of the House that Congress.
Growing up in a military family, Haaland attended 13 public schools before graduating from Highland High School in Albuquerque. At age 28, she began her journey toward a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico and later a J.D. from UNM Law School.
Los Alamos County Councilor Ryn Herrmann greets New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland during Haaland’s campaign stop in Los Alamos Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
From left, supporter Ellen Specter, New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland and supporter Bonnie Gordon pose with Haaland during her campaign stop Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Supporter Judy Bjarke-McKenzie greets New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland during her campaign stop Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens.Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland, center, speaks to a crowd of some 200 community members gathered at her Meet & Greet event Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Scene of the gathering for New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Courtesy photo
Scene of the gathering for New Mexico Gubernatorial Candidate Deb Haaland Sunday afternoon at Cottonwood on the Greens. Courtesy photo