Mary V. MarySue

Well things just got a little awkward down on the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo! State Representative Mary Gonzalez, long rumored to be interested in the agricultural commissioner position, has drawn an opponent.

And not just a school board member from Fabens or a former state representative well-passed his prime.

She has a polished, qualified, and educated opponent from the Pueblo.

I should explain for most of you reading this because you likely don't live in the valley, but its awkward because Gonzalez has her district office on the Ysleta Del Sur reservation in Socorro.

And Gonzalez should be worried and taking this opponent seriously because there's a real chance that her opponent, Mary Sue Femath, can win.

Aside from being a well-polished and well-packaged candidate from Forma, she's the real deal. Smart, young, energetic, and has a photogenic family.

And the Pueblo is all-in for their candidate and tribal member. They have already put in $100,000 to get her campaign started. That is a huge donation by any standard, but it obviously sends the message that they are dissatisfied with Gonzalez. Gonzalez has largely been praised by most people, but when the Pueblo gets a candidate to run, which may be the first time that I can recall that has ever happened, its pretty historic.

The issue of contention between Gonzalez and the Pueblo is probably gaming. Gonzalez hasn't exactly been a passionate advocate on that issue and the fact that the Pueblo is getting involved to the extent that they have is a pretty strong rebuke of Gonzalez's tenure in the House.

Its also significant that the Pueblo put up a woman to run. Per Tribal tradition, women don't have the right to vote, nor run, in their Tribal elections. The elections are held every New Year's Eve at midnight in the Tusla, in the Ysleta portion of the reservation which actually is in HD 76.

The fact that they put up a female member of the Pueblo as a candidate is a sign that they are preserving their cultural traditions, while bridging to the present and understanding their place in El Paso's sphere of political influence.

So Femath could be historic for another reason. She could not only be the first Native to be elected to the El Paso delegation, but she could be the first woman to be a major political leader for the Pueblo.

****************************
Tale of the Tape

Gonzalez can raise money. She's a money-raising machine. She never stops raising money, which is smart on her part. She's going to have to step that up and she's likely going to turn to education PACs and unions for the bulk of her fundraising.

But Annie's List...they might actually sit the bench on this one. They would lose a lot of credibility going after another woman, particularly when that woman has the opportunity to make history if elected.

There's no telling how deep the Pueblo will go to finance Femath's campaign, but with former State Rep Marisa Marquez working with both Forma and the tribe, there is likely not going to be a shortage of cash.

Femath has to not get drawn into an argument about education in which she defends charter schools because all that is going to do is make sure the teacher associations go all-in for Gonzalez.

It would be a lot easier if Femath's last name were Granillo or something that sounded more Spanish, but her image on all of her lit will make it pretty clear what her heritage is.

Forma is going to be able to put together nice lit and likely have a strong anti-Gonzalez message, but their glaring weakness is Gonzalez's strength...FIELD. Forma has to find a way to solve that weakness of theirs, but first they have to acknowledge its actually a weakness.

If Femath gets a ground game, Gonzalez is gonna really be in some trouble. The support of the Pueblo is a big deal when you consider how much money she has raised.