Steve Strummer
The Doña Ana County Government Center in Las Cruces
COMMENTARY: As Democrats, we believe that all people deserve to be treated with respect. We stand with the silence-breakers who have come forward in recent months — in New Mexico and around the country — to share their stories of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. We encourage anyone who has experienced harassment or abuse to speak out and pursue justice.
Sexual misconduct in any form does not reflect Democratic values and has no place in our Party.
We commend and support Neomi Martinez-Parra, the Democratic Party of New Mexico (DPNM) Vice-Chair, who recently came forward with her own history of being subjected to harassment by Democrat and Doña Ana County Commissioner John Vasquez, and who has called on DPNM to take action in regard to the documented pattern of harassing behavior displayed by Commissioner Vasquez. We believe that it is time for Commissioner Vasquez to resign.
We appreciate today’s statement by DPNM Chairman Richard Ellenberg and his call that Commissioner Vasquez should step down. We expect our party and its leaders to act based on our shared values. New Mexico Democrats need to be able to trust that in our Party allegations of sexual misconduct will never be swept under the rug.
The days of covering up and ignoring sexual misconduct are over. We stand united in our commitment to support survivors and to hold perpetrators accountable.
This statement comes from U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, U.S. Reps. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ben Ray Lújan, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and state Rep. Angelica Rubio, all Democrats. Agree with their opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.