KC Counts speaks with Adaline McIntosh about her experience trying to make tortillas New Mexico's State Bread. Here's a portion of their conversation:
KC:
Adaline, two years ago, we talked to your brother about a bill that he got through the legislature related to the Game and Fish department, right? And you were here for that experience. Now, did you know from that time on or even before that you would try to accomplish the same thing?
Adaline:
I was thinking about it, but at the time, I didn't really know what would happen.
KC:
When did the idea for the state bread come to mind?
Adaline:
I was eating breakfast tacos with my family and I just was wondering if there was a state bread and I thought it should be the tortilla.
KC:
Tell me about the road from having the idea to crafting a bill and presenting it to the state legislature.
Adaline:
We were going up to Santa Fe in February for our team pact New Mexico, which is a place where we learn about our state's government. And I presented my piece of legislation that I had an idea for to Senator Sanchez and we took it to drafting services and we got to see where the law would be when it became a law and what it would do for our state.
KC:
What did you learn through that process?
Adaline:
I learned that it took a lot of steps to get it drafted and I learned that during the process of it being drafted definitely got my hopes up and it was really cool to see the drafting lady get it drafted and work on where it would be in the law books.
KC:
Why don’t you go ahead and tell me about garnering support for your bill?
Adaline:
So, one of our senators told me that I should get bipartisan support, and I knew exactly who to ask. So I went over to Senator Hamblen's office to see if she would be willing to give me bipartisan support on my bill. She said yes and agreed and was so excited, and she also said that it would be great to have a sponsor to make our tortillas for when it goes to the Senate floor. So I'm very thankful to my sponsor, Andrea Schneider from Andele's, who got me over 100 tortillas for each floor and was amazing with how fast she got that done.
KC:
That tell me about that moment where you found out that like your brother, you had a bill that passed the New Mexico Legislature as well.
Adaline:
It felt amazing to hear that it had passed the house and sent it and all the floors, and it felt so awesome.
KC:
Yeah, I think most New Mexicans could accept that the tortilla certainly has a place in our in our state as our state bread, but if I asked you why should it be, what would you say?
Adaline:
Well, I would say that the tortilla is a part of all New Mexico. Like food and cuisine and its heritage, the reason why we use it all the time is because we use it in breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks.
KC:
So, let's talk about ultimately what happened, right? The governor vetoed your bill. Were you shocked?
Adaline:
Honestly, I was.
KC:
I think sometimes people look around and you might remember when the state aroma passed. And sometimes people don't realize that some of these bills of what we might say, the lighter side of the legislative process, sometimes come from kids like you who are learning the legislative process. And that was the same thing with the with the state aroma. However, a lot of people don't know that part of the story. And So what they think is, well, we've got more important problems to tackle than whether we have a state aroma or maybe even a state bread and so tell me about how you kind of took that in and how you dealt with it in your home?
Adaline:
Well, we had a lot of family discussions around the dinner table, and I was definitely confused and frustrated. We definitely saw some comments like how could she do that? Why would she do that on like, Facebook, and it definitely made me feel better thatsome of the senators were on my side.
KC:
And you know, probably every senator and every representative has, to some extent, had the same experience, right, with bills that they've tried to pass.
Adaline:
Yes, they probably have.
KC:
How did you feel about the overall experience?
Adaline:
I liked the overall experience and it was definitely fun to go up and talk to the senators and representatives about my bill.
KC:
Will you pitch it again?
Adaline:
Yes, I will.
You can listen to this full conversation including comments from Adaline's mother Jaylene, by clicking the "listen" button above.
