Talk:Melanie Stansbury/Archive 1

Edit requests
I have a COI with regard to this article. My connection with Ms. Stansbury's is as a donor and volunteer to her re-election campaign. Neither she nor her campaign, however, requested that I update this article. Because of this COI, I am requesting that other Wikipedia editors update the article, which is currently based only on information up to her election two years ago. I am suggesting the following changes in the spirit of the statement by Wikipedia at the bottom of the article's page: "This article about a New Mexico politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it."

First a Requested Deletion

Please delete the last sentence of the current article (i.e., "Stansbury was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 2018, defeating incumbent Republican Jimmie Hall. She took office on January 15, 2019.") to avoid redundancy with the same sentence in the requested edits below. This sentence fits better in the section on her work in the "New Mexico House of Representatives" below than the "Career" section, where it currently resides.

Now the the Requested Addition BiostatSci (talk) 15:21, 13 September 2020 (UTC)

New Mexico House of Representatives
Stansbury was elected to represent State House District 28 in the New Mexico House of Representatives on November 6, 2018 and took office on January 15, 2019.

2018
Stansbury ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 5, 2018. In the general election she defeated Republican incumbent Jimmie Hall, 54%-46%. The race drew national attention as a local example of the national reversal from a Republican advantage of $9 million in out-of-state funding in 2014 to a $29 million Democrat advantage during the "blue wave" election of 2018. One month before the election Stansbury had raised 40% of her funding from out-of-state sources, mostly from small donation by individuals. Hall raised 32% of his from outside, mostly in amounts from $400 to $5000 from corporations doing business in New Mexico. By the end of the campaign, they both had received 32% of their funding from out of state donors. Nationally, in 2018, candidates for state legislature seats raised approximately 11% of their total funding from outside state boundaries. Large sums of out-of-state contributions was a source of cynicism in some district residents.

2020
Stansbury also ran unchallenged in the 2020 primary on June 2, 2020. She will face Republican Thomas R. Stull and Libertarian Robert Vaillancourt in the general election. To date, 15% of her total contributions have been from out-of-state.

Tenure
Stansbury's mindset when taking office was progressive but not necessarily partisan. Her focus was on problem solving, community improvement and social justice, with particular interest in water policy and management.

Water Data Act
In 2019, Representative Stansbury sponsored the Water Data Act (HB 651) with Rep. Gail Armstrong and Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez. The bill was broadly supported statewide and unanimously passed both houses of the legislature. The law directed five state agencies to identify, integrate and standardize the state's data on water levels, quality and use and to make the data available to improve water management. In response, the agencies launched the Water Data Initiative (WDI), which provides data and services through the New Mexico Water Data website.

New Mexico was the second state, after California, to pass such legislation. The WDI is seen as a building block and first step toward producing the requisite data for Governor Lujan Grisham's 50-year water plan.

Resource Sustainability and Security Act
Stansbury proposed the Resource Sustainability and Security Act (HB 28) during the 2019 regular session of the legislature. The bill would have formed a council of relevant state agencies to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change on natural resources and infrastructure. With the support of environmental groups and the governor, the bill and its funding for a chief sustainability and resilience officer to lead the council passed the House (40-23). It subsequently died in the Senate Finance Committee. Funding for the chief sustainability and resilience officer was kept in the state budget, allowing the possibility for key elements of the bill to be implemented.

Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap
Together with Representatives Abbas Akhil (D), Nathan Small (D) and Senators Pat Woods (R) and Mimi Stewart (D), Stansbury sponsored the Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap bill (HB 233) in 2020. The bill was developed with input and feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders. It was supported before House committees by groups with divergent interests and passed both houses with a single nay vote, highlighting the importance of the bill and the process through which it was developed. It was backed by the Governor, as an advancement toward clean energy generation. The law was criticized on similar grounds as the landmark Energy Transition Act that became law a year earlier. Critics claimed that utility customers would pay much of the excess costs resulting from the laws.

Other Legislation and Community Service
Representative Stansbury sponsored an additional 34 bills in the legislature in her first term, 2019-2020. Eleven of those passed both houses and were signed into law, 23 died at various stages of the legislative process.

2019 Legislation
Representatives Nathan Small, Stansbury and Senator Liz Stefanics sponsored the Healthy Soil Act (HB 204) to fund an educational effort and grant program to help farmers and ranchers develop higher quality, more climate change resilient soil. The bill was broadly supported by environmental groups, farmers, ranchers, and more than 100 food and agriculture organizations. There was high demand for the grant money in the first year, and the legislature approved addition funding for the program in 2020. Deborah Armstrong and Stansbury sponsored HB 324 to ensure medical coverage for firefighters who suffer employment related post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Act (HB 278), sponsored by Andrea Romero, Derrick Lente, Stansbury, and Doreen Wonda Johnson, declared an emergency and created a task force to study the problem and develop partnerships with state and tribal law enforcement and the federal government to mitigate it. The bill was supported by Debra Haaland, the Navajo-Hopi government, and the Native women's group Three Sisters Collective. The Executive Director of the Sovereign Bodies Institute, however, criticized the bill for not going far enough. All of these bills were passed by both chambers and signed into law by the Governor. Another bill (HB 93) sought to allow unaffiliated and minor party voters to participate in the major party primaries of their choice. The bill was criticized for fear of opening the door to gaming of the voting system and died in the House Judiciary Committee on a 7-5 vote.

2020 Legislation
Willie D. Madrid and Stansbury sponsored a bill (HB 10) to eliminate previously required co-payments for school breakfast and lunch programs for students who are eligible for federal reduced-price meals but not free meals. The law affects about 12,500 students statewide and helps to address the child hunger problem in New Mexico. A second (HB 6, 2020) ensured medical coverage for employment-related PTSD for law enforcement officers and medical first responders, while hardening the penalties for felons in possession of firearms and for anyone brandishing a gun during a non-capital offense. These two bills were cited by the Las Cruces Sun-News when declaring Stansbury one of several "winners" of the 2020 regular session of the legislature and recognizing her as an "up-and-coming lawmaker". The latter, sponsored by Marian Matthews, Karen C. Bash, Elizabeth Thompson, Dayan Hochman-Vigil, and Stansbury, was packaged with three other bills by the House Judiciary Committee to create the omnibus Safer Communities Act. The omnibus bill then carried the label HB 6 through the remainder of the legislative process culminated by the Governor's signature.

Community Service
In 2019, Stansbury launched the Food, Hunger, Water, Agriculture Policy Workgroup, a bipartisan group working to coordinate community responses that complement government efforts to address food and hunger issues in New Mexico. During the coronavirus pandemic, tribal communities in New Mexico were hit hard. In response, non-profits and government leaders launched the Native American Relief Fund to provide emergency help to the hardest hit communities. Stansbury, Haaland, and Lynn Trujillo, state Indian Affairs Secretary, were among the government leaders who supported the fund. The goal was to raise $3 million to "provide emergency grants for tribal governments and nonprofits to buy food, water, masks and cleaning supplies for Navajo, Apache and Pueblo communities."

Committee Assignments
Standing Committee Membership Interim Committee Membership
 * Member	 House Appropriations & Finance
 * Member	 House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources
 * Designee	 Leagislative Finance
 * Member	         Science, Technology & Telecommunications
 * Member	         Water & Natural Resources
 * Advisory	 Economic & Rural Development
 * Advisory	 Indian Affairs

BiostatSci (talk) 05:03, 21 August 2020 (UTC)


 * The reason why editors are barred from editing a page they have a direct connection with is that these connected editors are editing with bias. You claim that you only intend on updating information, but adding that Stansbury sponsored a grid modernization bill and serves on the House Printing and Supplies Committee is not useful information. Wikipedia is not a campaign website or platform for candidates to draft campaign material. I have created many pages for New Mexico House and Senate members. In 2020, most (if not all) have social media accounts and official websites. Those platforms are better venues for this information. Feel free to read WP:NOTEVERYTHING and WP:PROMO for more clarity on this policy. You have been respectful and communicative during this process. I do not believe you are acting in bad faith. With that said, if another person from your organization atttempts to make similar edits, they will be blocked from the page. If you create another account to edit the page, that account will be blocked. If they do not already know, inform your fellow volunteers, interns, or coworkers that Wikipedia is not a campaign strategy. Thanks. KidAd   talk  06:36, 21 August 2020 (UTC).


 * I have read the documents you pointed me to and others and understand the principles of Wikipedia. Thanks for recommending them. I agree that two of the committees that I had for her, although correct, are not notable and should not be part of her page. With regard to the "grid modernization bill" I have added references to show that it indeed is notable. Likewise the discussion of all other legislation that I have added to my request is well referenced. I believe that all content in the request is notable and is documented as such by the references. I'm not sure that it all belongs in the article, as the article is getting pretty long, and am happy to revise according to any suggestions that you might make for shortening it or for any other problem you see with the above requested revisions. Please take a look and let me know what you think. Please note that I have tried very hard to include only notable information, to write in a neutral tone, build only on reliable sources, to keep the article balanced by looking for and including anything negative that is out there about Ms. Stansbury or her legislation, and to avoid original research. I hope that you agree and that, together, we can expand this article with notable update information. I understand that we might have different ideas about what is "notable information", and I am happy to work to reach a mutual understanding on any specific content that you might question. Thanks for your consideration of the proposed revisions. BiostatSci (talk) 16:14, 10 September 2020 (UTC)
 * BiostatSci - I share the concerns of KidAd and likewise don’t question your good faith in edits proposed. Bills sponsored and volunteer organizations are probably not appropriate for inclusion during a campaign. However, I added to the article the basic facts of her elections, dates of service, and committee assignments. These are appropriate additions to any bio page for a current legislator. Go4thProsper (talk) 19:48, 8 October 2020 (UTC)
 * , thanks for doing that! I took a break from this page, but I'm glad things have calmed down. KidAd   talk  19:54, 8 October 2020 (UTC)

I really appreciate it that you took the time to read my requested edits and to incorporate those that are appropriate at this time into the article. I hope that we can engage in a discussion of the remainder of the request after the election. Thanks. BiostatSci (talk) 22:34, 12 October 2020 (UTC)
 * You’re welcome. Yes, I think you’ll have a better chance of including some of the other edits at a later date. Go4thProsper (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:41, 12 October 2020 (UTC)

and, Now that the election is behind us, is it possible to incorporate more of my requested revisions (see above) into this article? I hope you will agree that all of the revisions that I suggested are well documented by reliable sources and are written in a non-promotional/neutral tone. I included only those legislative accomplishments that received broad coverage by reliable sources, some national. I hope that at least some of them will be included in the article. Her Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap and Water Data Act bills and her role in the funding of a State Chief Sustainability and Resilience Officer are noteworthy and impactful. The references provided document all three as central to the New Mexico's ambitious "mini-Green New Deal" (as dubbed by CBS News-https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-mexico-passes-a-mini-green-new-deal/). In retrospect, the "Other Legislation and Community Service" section of my requested revisions could be reduced to one sentence along the lines of "Stansbury complements her legislative agenda to combat food and hunger issues in New Mexico with related community service efforts. She organized the Food, Hunger, Water, Agriculture Policy Workgroup and helped launch the Native American Relief Fund, each of which helped reduce the effects of the coronavirus pandemic." Finally, the results of the election in November should be added to the article. Stansbury defeated Thomas Ray Stull to retain her seat in the Legislature by a margin of 52.6% to 42.8% with Libertarian candidate, Robert Vaillancourt taking 4.6% of the vote (See: https://ballotpedia.org/Melanie_Ann_Stansbury). BiostatSci (talk) 19:27, 22 December 2020 (UTC)
 * The sentence "Stansbury defeated Thomas Ray Stull to retain her seat in the Legislature by a margin of 52.6% to 42.8% with Libertarian candidate, Robert Vaillancourt taking 4.6% of the vote" can and should be included in the article. As for the other material, it still has a strong WP:PROMO tone. I support the following (revised) text: Stansbury complements her legislative agenda to combat food and hunger issues in New Mexico with related community service efforts In 2020, Stansbury organized the Food, Hunger, Water, Agriculture Policy Workgroup and helped launch the Native American Relief Fund. KidAd   talk  19:36, 22 December 2020 (UTC)

Hi Kidad, I am pleased that you support the addition of the two additional sentences to the Stansbury article. Would you please add those to the article? Or, may I do it myself now that you have approved them? As for the other material; i.e., the paragraphs on the Water Data Act, the Resource Sustainability and Security Act, and the Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap; I have to defer to you about whether I have written them in a promotional tone. I don't think so (I was very conscious to not do so when I was writing them), but that's non-COI editors call to make. Regardless the call, however, I think that the article is incomplete without the information. The facts are facts, and they are accompanied by references to secondary reliable sources. Furthermore, the impact of these bills have been noteworthy. The Resource Sustainability and Security Act has had a major impact on State government's response to climate change issues. Although it was not approved by the Senate Finance Committee it's most important budget item, the Sustainability and Resilience Officer, was retained in the budget. That officer was hired and is implementing key aspects of the bill. I came across this webinar recently that shows the impact that this Act had and will have in the future: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiGnZEVzk30. The the first half of the the webinar is a presentation by Laura Tabor, the person hired to fill the position. She is essentially implementing the vision of the Act. The second half of features work done for the Grid Modernization bill. This work is critical to the implementation of the Governor's ambitious Energy Transition Act initiative. The references about the Water Data Act that I gave in my requested edits indicate a similar importance of that bill, with regard to the Governor's 50-year plan for water management. In short, this article is incomplete without some reference to these bills and their impact. They are important pieces of broader initiatives that place New Mexico among the leaders nationally in response to climate change (See the CBS News article above and the references I have provided regarding the Water Data Act). Since you think the tone of my write up on them is too promotional, would you be willing to rewrite in a tone that is more acceptable to you? Or, if you prefer, I will take another stab at it or request that another WIR editor take up this task. Please let me know. Also, someone needs to upload the profile picture that Missvain asked for. Finally, as you know, Stansbury has declared as a candidate for Deb Haaland's seat in congress. This should be added to this article. Thanks for your consideration of this request to complete the Stansbury article. BiostatSci (talk) 16:12, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Hello, I am a Wiki user with a connection to Melanie Stansbury (see above). Therefore, I have a COI that prevents me from editing this page. I have a public domain photo of Melanie that would be suitable as a profile picture and would be happy to share it for you to add. I will not try to upload it myself without a request to do so from you or another editor with no COI. I will get the picture to you for uploading, if you provide instructions on how you want it transmitted. Thanks BiostatSci (talk) 00:25, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

and, I learned how to upload the photo to Wiki Commons and have done so. It is ready to use now. It can be loaded by copying this text into the page. "File:Melanie A. Stansbury.jpg|thumb|Melanie A. Stansbury, Representative of New Mexico House District 28, Albuquerque, NM" inside double square brackets. Thanks, BiostatSci (talk) 20:01, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Wow, that was quick! Thanks Kidad. BiostatSci (talk) 20:49, 24 December 2020 (UTC)