The Democratic Party of Sandoval County recently elected officers.
Alexandria “Alex” Piland, of Rio Rancho, was elected for her second term as county chair in March and will serve two years in the role. She is a former educator, union organizer, activist and a 2019 graduate of Emerge New Mexico. She has 20 years of organizing experience to the position and is also a two-term president of the Sandoval County Federation of Democratic Women.
According to the organization, during her first term, Piland increased donations to candidates, oversaw the creation of new ward boundaries, continued the First Friday and Second Saturday lunches as well as special events in Cuba, Bernalillo, Rio Rancho and Corrales.
“I will continue to put an emphasis on raising necessary funds, on recruiting quality candidates for municipal and county election, and improving reaching out to more and more Sandoval County Democrats,” Piland said.
Greg Bennett of Rio Rancho and Aleta (Tweety) Suazo were elected as DPSC’s vice chairs.
Bennett has a Ph.D in biomedical sciences, focusing his research on preventing birth defects. He worked with the federal government to obtain grants and money for projects for almost 30 years. He also volunteered with the Medical Reserve Corp, where he was involved in the planning and logistics of dealing with mass casualty events and environmental disasters.
Suazo is from the pueblos of Acoma (Eagle Clan) and Laguna (Lizard Clan) and retired from the Albuquerque Public School District as an administrator in 2005, and then briefly worked for the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in 2012. In 2018, Suazo was elected as the chairwoman of the Native American Democratic
Caucus of New Mexico (NADCNM) until 2021. In 2020, Aleta was included as one of 100 NM Women included in the New Mexico Federation of Democratic Women (NMFDW)
“Women Suffrage 100th Anniversary Book.”
Additional officers include Doug Clark, Corrales and Rio Rancho, treasurer; Ilean Galloway, Rio Rancho, assistant treasurer; and Judy Gordon, Bernalillo, secretary.