Melanie Stansbury

Melanie may have been easy to miss as she won a special election to fill now-Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland’s seat. However, she wasted no time in advocating for clean energy, putting her background as a researcher and advisor on land and water issues to use.

Melanie’s district has just been redrawn and spoiler alert, it ain’t in her favor. Her constituency has expanded to include much more of Valencia County which leans far more conservative than the current political scales of her district. And she’s up for reelection this year so she’s got her work cut out for her. Good news is she won her previous race in a landslide so if she can harness that same mojo, then she’ll help put up a good fight in the Dems quest to keep the house.

Melanie has spent her 2021 focusing on clean energy. Melanie partnered with her fellow PP leader Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to introduce the bipartisan Partnerships for Energy Security and Innovation Act, which would establish a nonprofit under the Department of Energy that channels funding for research and brings energy innovations to underserved communities. Melanie also secured $7.1 million dollars in funding an airport in her district to outfit itself with the latest green technology.

Melanie has built her political career around water and sustainability. Sadly, more and more communities are going through droughts and lack access to clean water, especially Native American communities. Melanie introduced the WaterSMART Access for Tribes Act with PP leaders Ruben Gallego (AZ) and Joe Neguse (CO) which would give the Secretary of the Interior the authority to waive or reduce cost-share requirements to implement drought and water projects for Tribal communities. There has been a substantial “underinvestment in tribal water infrastructure” and Melanie plans to change that.

One of Melanie’s big campaign focuses was around the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women around the country, and specifically in New Mexico. In a recent interview, she laid out the progress the federal government is making in addressing this historically overlooked issue. There’s an appropriations bill and an initiative from Interior Sec. Deb Haaland that would give even more resources to the fight. Additionally, Melanie emphasized the importance of the Senate passing the Violence Against Women Act which includes important language on the issue. New Mexico has the highest rate of missing and murdered Indigenous relatives in the country so we’re sure Melanie isn’t going to drop the ball on this one.