Albuquerque – American Federation of Teachers New Mexico President Whitney Holland released the following statement:

“New Mexico voters have spoken. Through their historic levels of participation in a midterm election, New Mexican voters rightly chose to continue the path laid out by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and her allies in the New Mexico Legislature.

“Coupled with the clear and decisive passage of Constitutional Amendment #1, New Mexico voters chose to continue the prioritization of our students, communities, public education, and educational professionals by directing significant and sustained support of our early education center and public schools.

“We are heartened that New Mexicans saw that efforts over the last four years by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the New Mexico Legislature have started to yield results for our educational system – a more reflective curriculum, diversification of the educator workforce, decreasing vacancies, better respect and pay, and free public college or trades education are all positives that we can and must build upon over the next four years.

“This election was not a referendum, but a choice between continuing to invest in our future generations or to abandon the positive progress we have made as a statewide community. We are proud to share the same values as our electorate.

“We offer our heartfelt congratulations to each of the AFT New Mexico-endorsed candidates who were successful tonight. We also owe a debt of gratitude to all the candidates who stood up and ran for office in New Mexico. Willingness to serve our communities and students is admirable, and we thank each of them for passion and hard work to better New Mexico.”

“We are proud to add these newly elected and returning voices to our continued fight for strong public education in New Mexico, increased rights for workers, better public education systems for students and their parents, and strong advocacy for respecting all of New Mexico’s diverse communities. AFT New Mexico will continue to be an ally and partner to this administration and our allies in the New Mexico Legislature,” said Holland.