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Melanie A. Stansbury[edit]

Melanie Stansbury
Member of the
New Mexico House of Representatives
from the 28th district
Assumed office
January 15, 2019
Preceded byJimmie Hall
Personal details
BornJanuary 31, 1979
Farmington, New Mexico, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materSaint Mary's College of California (BS)
Cornell University (MS, PhD candidate)

Melanie A. Stansbury is an American scientist, consultant and politician serving as a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, representing the 28th district. She took office on January 15, 2019. [1]

Early life and education[edit]

Stansbury was born in Farmington, New Mexico and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[2][3] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Ecology and Natural Science from Saint Mary's College of California, followed by a Master of Science from Cornell University. She is a PhD candidate in development sociology at Cornell with minors in natural resources and American Indian studies.[2]

Career[edit]

Stansbury began her career as an ecology instructor at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. As a White House Fellow, she worked as a policy advisor on the Council on Environmental Quality. She returned to Albuqueque, in 2011, working as a consultant for Sandia National Laboratories and the Utton Transboundary Resources Center of the University of New Mexico School of Law, but soon moved back to Washington DC to serve as a program examiner in the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration. She then worked as a staffer on the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.[2] Since 2017, she has worked as a consultant on community development and natural resource issues, including as a senior advisor at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center of the University of New Mexico.[2][4]

New Mexico House of Representatives[edit]

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.[5]

Elections[edit]

2018[edit]

Stansbury ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on June 5, 2018. In the general election she defeated Republican incumbent Jimmie Hall, 54%-46%.[5] The race drew national attention as a local example of the national reversal of a Republican advantage of $9 million in out-of-state funding in 2014 to an advantage of $29 million for Democrats 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 from individuals. Hall raised 32% of his from outside, mostly in amounts from $400 to $5000 from corporations doing business in New Mexico.[6] By the end of the campaign, the both had received 32% of their funding from out of state donors.[7][8] 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.[6]

2020[edit]

Stansbury also ran unchallenged in the 2020 primary on June 2, 2020. She defeated Republican Thomas R. Stull and Libertarian Robert Vaillancourt in the general election, with 52.6% of the vote to Stull's 42.8% and Vaillenourt's 4.6%.[5] 15% of her total contributions were from out-of-state.[9]

Tenure[edit]

Stansbury's mindset when taking office was progressive but not necessarily partisan.[6][3] Her focus was on problem solving, community improvement and social justice, with particular interest in water policy and management.[6][10]

Water Data Act[edit]

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[11] and unanimously passed both houses of the legislature.[12] 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.[11][13][14][15] In response, the agencies launched the Water Data Initiative (WDI), which provides data and services through the New Mexico Water Data website.[13][16]

New Mexico was the second state, after California, to pass such legislation.[13][17] 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.[18][19]

Resource Sustainability and Security Act[edit]

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.[20] 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).[20][21][22][23][24] It subsequently died in the Senate Finance Committee.[25] 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.[22][23]

Energy Grid Modernization Roadmap[edit]

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.[26][27][28][29] The bill was developed with input and feedback from a diverse array of stakeholders.[28][30] 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.[27][29][31][32] It was backed by the Governor, as an advancement toward clean energy generation.[32][33] The law was criticized on similar grounds as the landmark Energy Transition Act that became law a year earlier.[34] Critics claimed that utility customers would pay much of the excess costs resulting from the laws.[35][36]

Other Legislation and Community Service[edit]

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.[37]

2019[edit]

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.[38] There was high demand for the grant money in the first year, and the legislature approved addition funding for the program in 2020.[39] Deborah Armstrong and Stansbury sponsored HB 324 to ensure medical coverage for firefighters who suffer employment related post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).[40] 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.[41][42] The bill was supported by Debra Haaland, the Navajo-Hopi government, and the Native women's group Three Sisters Collective.[41][43][42][44] The Executive Director of the Sovereign Bodies Institute, however, criticized the bill for not going far enough.[45] 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.[46][47]

2020[edit]

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.[48][49][50][51] A second (HB 6, 2020) ensured medical coverage for employment-related PTSD for law enforcement officers and medical first responders,[52][53] while hardening the penalties for felons in possession of firearms and for anyone brandishing a gun during a non-capital offense.[49][53] 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".[49] 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.[53][54][55]

Community Service[edit]

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.[56] 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.[57][58] 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."[59]

Committee Assignments[edit]

Standing Committee Membership[60]

  • Member House Appropriations & Finance
  • Member House Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

Interim Committee Membership[61]

  • Designee Leagislative Finance
  • Member Science, Technology & Telecommunications
  • Member Water & Natural Resources
  • Advisory Economic & Rural Development
  • Advisory Indian Affairs

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Legislator - New Mexico Legislature". www.nmlegis.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  2. ^ a b c d "Melanie Stansbury's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  3. ^ a b March, August. "News Interview: Setting a Course". alibi. Retrieved 2020-08-10. Cite error: The named reference "Alibi" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Candidate, The. "Q&A: House District 28 candidate Melanie Ann Stansbury". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  5. ^ a b c "New Mexico House of Representatives District 28". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  6. ^ a b c d "Out-of-state donors pour cash into campaigns of Democrats across the country". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  7. ^ "Stansbury, Melanie Ann (NM 2018)". FollowTheMoney.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  8. ^ "Hall, Jimmie C". FollowTheMoney.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  9. ^ "Stansbury, Melanie Ann (2020)". FollowTheMoney.org. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  10. ^ "2009 Udall Fellowships Announced". udall.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  11. ^ a b "Bill would shine a light on state's water situation". nmpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  12. ^ "2019 Regular Session-HB 651". nmlegis.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  13. ^ a b c "NM puts focus on better water data". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  14. ^ "Rep. Stansbury Announces Critical Water Legislation". ladailypost.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  15. ^ "Water Data Act". geoinfo.nmt.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  16. ^ "Water Data for New Mexico". newmexicowaterdata.org. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  17. ^ "The West's Water Shortage Is Fueled by Human Error". outsideonline.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  18. ^ "Planning for New Mexico's water future". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  19. ^ "Governor: New Mexico Needs Realistic, Sustainable Water Plan". usnews.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  20. ^ a b "House passes legislation to address climate change". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  21. ^ "CVNM's 2019 Legislative retakeourdemocracy.org". Conservation Voters New Mexico. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  22. ^ a b "Legislative Session in Review" (PDF). riograndesierraclub.org. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  23. ^ a b "2019 New Mexico Legislative Report Card: What Happened? What Didn't? And Why?" (PDF). retakeourdemocracy.org. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  24. ^ "Gov. Lujan Grisham, Rep. Stansbury announce climate and sustainability legislation bolstering plans laid out in executive order". governor.state.nm.us. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  25. ^ "NM HB28 2019 Regular Session". legiscan.com. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  26. ^ "New Mexico Legislative Records". nmlegis.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  27. ^ a b "Grid modernization bill advances to House floor". nmpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  28. ^ a b "Bill to Modernize New Mexico's Electric Grid Advances to House Floor". grantecoutybeat.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  29. ^ a b "Bill provides tools for planning, financing grid update". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  30. ^ "PNM smart meter plans could see boost as New Mexico Senate considers grid mod grant program". utilitydive.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  31. ^ "Governor Lujan Grisham Signs Bills Into Law Expanding Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Modernization". ladailypost.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  32. ^ a b "The clean energy bills that cleared the legislature". nmpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  33. ^ "New Mexico governor signs solar energy, grid update bills". apnews.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  34. ^ "New Mexico passes New Energy Transition Act". dailyenergyinsider.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  35. ^ "Court filing targets New Mexico's energy transition law". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  36. ^ "New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs trio of bills to increase renewable energy". currentargus.com. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  37. ^ "Melanie A. Stansbury". nmlegis.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  38. ^ "Getting back to the land". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  39. ^ "Soaking up soil health". Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  40. ^ "Governor approves PTSD measure for firefighters". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  41. ^ a b "Lawmakers highlight missing indigenous women". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  42. ^ a b "Navajo Nation leaders back MMIW task force proposal". daily-times.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  43. ^ "Navajo Nation Council Delegate Amber Kanazbah Crotty advocates for proposed Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women task force". nohonews.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  44. ^ "Missing and Murdered Women, Girls, Trans and Two-Spirit". issuu.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  45. ^ "Bill on Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women Doesn't Go Far Enough". riograndesun.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  46. ^ "Same-day, automatic voter registration and more: How elections and voting bills fared in 2019". nmpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  47. ^ "OPENING UP PRIMARY ELECTIONS to OUTSIDE GROUPS: Republicans and DTS Voters Could Wreak Havoc in Democratic Primaries. WE HAVE A BETTER SOLUTION: Independent Primaries". newmexicopoliticaljournal. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  48. ^ "New law gives more students free lunch". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  49. ^ a b c "Winners and losers in the 2020 New Mexico legislative session". lcsun-news.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  50. ^ "Democratic Bill Promoting Free School Meals Passes House". grantcountybeat.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  51. ^ "NM expands free school meals". nmpoliticalreport.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  52. ^ "HB 6: PTSD Amongst First Responders Passes Committee". ladailypost.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  53. ^ a b c "Bill Recognizing PTSD Amongst First Responders Passes Committee". grantcountybeat.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  54. ^ "Public safety package taking shape". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  55. ^ "2020 Signed Legislation". governor.state.nm.us. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  56. ^ "New Mexico First". nmfirst.org. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  57. ^ "Groups create fund to aid hard-hit tribal communities". santafenewmexican.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  58. ^ "Fund launched to help New Mexico tribal communities hit hardest by COVID-19". indiancountrytoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  59. ^ "Funds set up to help New Mexico tribes and pueblos". abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  60. ^ "Melanie Ann Stansbury". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
  61. ^ "Representative Melanie A. Stansbury". nmlegis.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-09.



Category:New Mexico Democrats Category:Members of the New Mexico House of Representatives Category:White House Fellows Category:Women state legislators in New Mexico Category:Women in New Mexico politics Category:Saint Mary's College of California alumni Category:Cornell University alumni Category:People from Albuquerque, New Mexico Category:Politicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people


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