American politician & attorney (born 1959)
Teresa Isabel Leger Fernandez ( teh-RESS -ah LEDGE -ər ferr-NAHN -dess ; born July 1, 1959)[ 1] [ 2] is an American attorney and politician representing New Mexico's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives .[ 3] [ 4]
Early life and education [ edit ] Leger Fernandez was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico .[ 5] Her mother, Mela Leger , was a bilingual educator and her father, Ray Leger , served as a member of the New Mexico Senate .[ 6] After graduating from West Las Vegas High School , Leger Fernandez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School .[ 7]
After graduating from law school, Leger Fernandez returned to New Mexico to work as an attorney, specializing in community-building and tribal advocacy. She was a White House Fellow during the Clinton administration and later served on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation during the Obama administration .[ 8] [ 9] She also worked as a liaison between the White House Office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development . For 30 years, Leger Fernandez has operated Leger Law and Strategy, LLC in Santa Fe . The firm focuses on community development, tribal advocacy, civil rights, and social justice.[ 10] In 2017, she led a successful effort to implement ranked-choice voting in Santa Fe's municipal elections.[ 11]
U.S. House of Representatives [ edit ] After incumbent Representative Ben Ray Luján announced that he would not seek reelection in 2020 and instead run for the United States Senate seat being vacated by Tom Udall , Leger Fernandez announced her candidacy to succeed Luján. In the Democratic primary, Leger Fernandez faced six opponents, including New Mexico State Representative Joseph L. Sanchez and Valerie Plame , an author and former CIA officer.[ 12] During the campaign, Leger Fernandez was endorsed by Congresswoman Deb Haaland , EMILY's List , and The Santa Fe New Mexican .[ 13] [ 14]
A political progressive , Leger Fernandez was also endorsed by the Working Families Party , Elizabeth Warren , and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez .[ 15] She placed first in the primary with over 42% of the vote.[ 16]
In the November general election, Leger Fernandez defeated Republican nominee Alexis Johnson. She assumed office on January 3, 2021.[ 17] [ 18]
Committee assignments [ edit ] [ 20]
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chair of Communications
Democratic Women's Caucus, Vice Chair
National Labs Caucus, Co-Chair
Rural Broadband Caucus, Co-Chair
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Diabetes Caucus
Labor Caucus
LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
Mental Health Caucus
National Heritage Area Caucus
Native American Caucus
PFAS Caucus
Pro-Choice Caucus
Rural Caucus
Ski Caucus [ 21]
Political positions [ edit ] Leger Fernandez has advocated a "New Mexico Green New Deal ", Medicare for All , a transition from fracking to green energy, and a ban on the sale of military-style semi-automatic rifles.[ 22] She supported comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act .[ 23] During the 117th Congress , she voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.[ 24]
Leger Fernandez and her ex-husband, Luis Fernandez, have three sons.[ 25]
^ Baker, Damare (November 30, 2020). "Rep.-elect Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.-03)" . The Hill . Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2020 .
^ "Teresa Leger Fernandez" . Retrieved January 13, 2021 .
^ "New Mexico Primary Election Results: Third Congressional District" . The New York Times . June 2, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Medina, Jennifer (June 3, 2020). "Teresa Leger Fernandez Beats Valerie Plame in New Mexico House Primary" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Bennett, Megan Bennett. "Santa Fe lawyer kicks off campaign for Congress" . www.abqjournal.com . Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Grover, Hannah. "Election 2020: Teresa Leger Fernandez hopes to represent Congressional District 3" . Tallahassee Democrat . Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
^ Gerstein, Michael (June 2, 2020). "Leger Fernandez wins Democratic primary for 3rd Congressional District seat" . Santa Fe New Mexican . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020 .
^ Grover, Hannah. "Election 2020: Teresa Leger Fernandez hopes to represent Congressional District 3" . Farmington Daily Times . Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ "Meet Teresa" . Teresa 4 All . Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ "Teresa Leger de Fernandez, Rebellious Lawyer" . Rebellious Lawyering Institute #RebelliousLawyering . January 7, 2015. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Last, T. S. (June 7, 2020). "Democratic nominee in CD3 inspired by state senator father" . www.abqjournal.com . Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
^ "Santa Fe lawyer Leger Fernandez running for Congress" . AP NEWS . May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Panetta, Grace. "LIVE UPDATES: Valerie Plame and Teresa Leger Fernandez compete in the primary for New Mexico's third district" . Business Insider . Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ "Endorsements" . Teresa 4 All . Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Blaber, Mona (January 23, 2020). "Sierra Club endorses Teresa Leger Fernandez for U.S. House" . Rio Grande Chapter . Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020 .
^ Gerstein, Michael (June 3, 2020). "With clear primary victory, Leger Fernandez eyes November" . Santa Fe New Mexican . Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020 .
^ "Teresa Leger Fernandez will take U.S. House District 3 seat" . KRQE News 13 Albuquerque - Santa Fe . November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020 .
^ Grover, Hannah. "Leger Fernandez wins Democratic nomination for CD3, Johnson leads in Republican primary" . Farmington Daily Times . Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020 .
^ "Pelosi Announces Additional Committee Assignments for 117th Congress" . Speaker Nancy Pelosi . December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021 .
^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601. "Teresa Leger Fernandez (New Mexico (NM)), 118th Congress Profile" . Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives . Retrieved July 2, 2023 . ((cite web ))
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link )
^ "Committees and Caucuses" . Representative Teresa Fernandez . September 22, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023 .
^ "Editorial: Our picks for president, Congress" . The Taos News . May 6, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
^ Candidate, The (May 8, 2020). "Q&A: U.S. House District 3 Teresa Leger Fernandez" . www.abqjournal.com . Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020 .
^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Wiederkehr, Anna (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?" . FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved November 15, 2023 .
^ "Teresa Leger Fernandez For NM US Congress In District Three" . Retake Our Democracy . May 23, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020 .
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