A nationally known fiction writer who lives in
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, author of the New York Times bestseller Dirty Girls Social Club and other books, wrote recently on her blog that she’s thinking about jumping into the Democratic primary for the seat being vacated by Heather Wilson.
“So, after years of analysis and writing about the issues facing our nation, I, your favorite progressive bestselling Latina author and screenwriter, have begun to test the waters for a possible run for congress in NM District 01!” she wrote on her blog. “That’s the district man-handled by Heather Wilson (aka W’s mini-me) for so many years. Now, another Bushie wants the gig. Por favor. Enough of that, I say. Ya! The good news? Polls show that the person with the best shot in CD-01 is a Hispanic woman Democrat. Check, check, triple check. Buenisimo.”
She wrote that, if she runs, she will contribute some of her own money to the campaign, but she’s also seeking donations. If she raises $5,000 through a site she set up, she’ll file with the Federal Election Commission (as required at the $5,000 threshold). If she doesn’t raise the money, she wrote, “then I’ll know I’m not in any shape to compete against anybody, and I’ll go back to writing books. (By the way, I have three in the pipeline and need an excuse to slow down. Give me one?)”
She wrote that the fundraising effort is “aimed at raising money for me to travel and make phone calls to ascertain interest in my candidacy.”
Valdes-Rodriguez is 38 and a former journalist who worked at the Albuquerque Tribune, Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times.
On the Democratic side, attorney Jon Adams, teacher Jason Call, Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich and former state Health Secretary Michelle Lujan Grisham are running for the House seat. Republicans running are state Sen. Joe Carraro and Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. White is seen by many as the frontrunner in the race, and he’s someone about whom Valdes-Rodriguez had some kind words on her blog.
Not that she likes him as a politician. In fact, she wrote on her blog that “the thought of him in Congress gives me nightmares.” However, she wrote, she’s met him and has “a favorable opinion of him as a human being.”
This is what Valdes-Rodriguez wrote on her blog about her own statement that she likes White as a human being:
“Cue all political consultants around the nation shaking their heads at me in utter dismay,” she wrote. “Cue them all crying, in a chorus of reproach, ‘You idiot!’”