Los Alamos Reporter

Laura Montoya, Candidate For Congress, Donates 10 Percent Of Campaign Balance To Assist New Mexicans During COVID-19

Laura Montoya head shot

Laura M. Montoya

CAMPAIGN 2020 NEWS 

Laura M. Montoya, Candidate for Congress in District 3, is donating 10 percent of her campaign funds.

“I challenge all the candidates, Democrat and Republican, who filed to run for Congress in the District 3 race to donate 10 percent of what they have in their campaign funds as of end of quarter to a New Mexico nonprofit including any of the nonprofit organizations listed below,” she said.

New Mexico Association of Food Banks:

  • The Community Pantry – Gallup; PO Box 520, Gallup, NM 87305 – 505-726-8068
  • Echo Food Bank -Farmington; 401 South Commercial Avenue, Farmington, NM 87401 – 505-326-3770
  • The Food Bank of Eastern NM – Clovis; 2217 E. Brady, Clovis, NM 88101 – 575-763-6130
  • The Food Depot – Santa Fe; 1222 A Siler Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507 – 505-471-1633
  • The All Together NM Fund – alltogethernm.org – 505-988-9715 ext 7006; or 
  • Crisis Center of Northern NM- 577 El Llano Rd, Espanola, NM 87532 – 505-753-1656.

“Like many of the residents in the 3rd Congressional District, I have received numerous emails, texts, calls and social media advertisements requesting political campaign donations during the COVID-19 outbreak. This act reveals that some candidates are out of touch with the lives of everyday New Mexicans, especially during the current crisis.

“Families are struggling to put food on the table and pay their bills due to a loss of work; others are confined to their homes and are unable to get simple, but necessary, medical supplies or food because of pre-existing medical conditions; small business owners bare the weight of closing their doors and disheartened with the uncertainty for their employees or the business they grew from the ground up; and still, essential employees, are working long hours to help their fellow New Mexicans, yet live with the fear of potentially contracting COVID-19 and taking it home to their family or sleeping in their vehicles to protect them,” she said. “While some candidates are continuing to look for ways to fundraise from New Mexicans; I am looking for ways to help them.”

The Laura M. Montoya campaign has safely worked to put breakfast and lunch bags together for children throughout New Mexico; serve as traffic control for the Salvation Army; assemble commodity packages for bi-weekly distribution; donate water, flour, beans and rice to pueblo and Navajo chapters; donate fabric and elastic to several networks working diligently to get masks out to our community.

“Anyone who intends to represent the people of New Mexico needs to, especially in times of fear and crisis, lead and serve their community rather than pleading for fundraising contributions,” Montoya said.

Based on quarterly reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, if all District 3 candidates were to contribute 10 percent of their campaign funds to help New Mexicans in need, approximately $150,000 would be contributed that could support thousands of New Mexico families in the 3rd Congressional District.