In New Mexico, it's politics with a difference: by electing an education-friendly governor, NEA and AFT state affiliates gain pro-education legislation--and money to make it work.(neft Report)

New Mexico is fast becoming a textbook example of the positive things that can happen when supporters of public education come together to elect good politicians--and then work hard to make sure these leaders keep their campaign promises.

For seven years, the New Mexico Federation of Educational Employees (NMFEE) and NEA-New Mexico (NEA-NM), the state affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers and NEA, have developed joint legislative platforms and goals to pursue. But a roadblock remained even after these goals were achieved in the state legislature: the governor's veto pen.

All that changed in November 2002, when both unions, working in conjunction …