Group reads Constitution to Sandoval County Commission

For more than a year, John Veltri and other members of the New Mexico Election Transparency Network have been using the public comment portion of each Sandoval County Commission meeting to speak about why they believe there is a need for improved election processes in New Mexico.

At the April 12 meeting, Veltri changed it up by launching a new project called “The Constitution of the United States.” Veltri organized three to four speakers at each meeting to read the Constitution aloud from start to finish. The project was completed at the May 24 meeting.

“This is an effort to help raise awareness about the Constitution for those in the audience, as well as our commissioners who may not be as familiar with the Constitution as they could be,” Veltri said. “In the current times that we live in, it’s important, now more than ever, that we be reminded of what one our most important cornerstones in history have provided to us. That would be the Constitution of the United States of America. I felt we needed to reflect on what this Constitution states and follow it to the letter of the law now more than ever. This is why multiple constituents in Sandoval County felt it was important to read each article of the United States Constitution during their public comments over a period of two months to the entire board of commissioners, as well as all the other constituents in the chamber, so we all could be reminded of just how important this document is.”

The Observer reached out to all five county commissioners for the reaction to Veltri’s project. District 3 Commissioner Michael Meek and District 5 Commissioner Joshua Jones did not respond to an email. Here’s how the other three felt about the project:

District 1 Commissioner Katherine Bruch

“I’m a big proponent of everyone’s First Amendment rights and free speech, obviously, as part of what I support. But when we have public comment, my goal would be and hope everyone who comes and gives comment on any agenda item would speak their own personal opinions about the items that were having come to the commission.”

District 2 Commissioner Jay Block

“These Americans are exercising their God-given rights. They are trying to educate Commissioners Bruch and Jones because they have called this group conspiracy theorists and people without an original thought in their heads. The Democrat commissioners have tried to silence them as well, and they are reading them the Constitution since they have no respect for free speech. Very shameful what those two commissioners are doing to silence this group and others.”

District 4 Commissioner and Chair Dave Heil

“We should all take time to read the Constitution as it is the law of our land. Handing out constitutions is a nice gesture. I do have multiple copies already, but this is a reminder to share the Constitution with others. The purpose of public comment is for people to share their thoughts about issues. Reading from books is disrespecting the commission and its purpose of conducting the business of the county.”