RALEIGH, N.C. — El Pueblo and La Fuerza are pleased to announce that Marlene Martinez has been appointed Executive Director of both organizations, effective October 5th. She will work with staff, community leaders, partners, and both boards to advance leadership, civic participation, and collective power for North Carolina’s Latine communities.

“We want to thank everyone who participated in our search process, and we are excited to work alongside Marlene, especially during this busy time of the year,” said Felicia Arriaga, Chair of the El Pueblo Board. “Her first months will focus on listening, learning, building trust, and understanding the work of both El Pueblo and La Fuerza.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Marlene into this role. At a moment when bold advocacy and the political power of our communities matter more than ever, La Fuerza’s work is critical,” said Alissa Lopez, Chair of the La Fuerza Board. “We are incredibly excited for the leadership and vision Marlene will bring to this next chapter.”

Marlene Martinez has been leading organizing and political work rooted in building community power. Marlene’s own experience with immigration detention in her family & her experience as a graduate of Winston Salem State University and their “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve” empowered and grounded her to organize en la lucha.

She has spent her career organizing alongside immigrant and working-class communities across North Carolina, with experience in political education, statewide organizing, volunteer development, rapid response, and building infrastructure for collective action. Her work has included working with families impacted by immigration detentions, facilitating political education workshops, training and coaching organizers and volunteers, leading large-scale canvassing and voter engagement programs. Ultimately, she is passionate about building organizing models that support communities in taking action on the issues that affect their lives.

Very proudly rooted in her Latine identity & her family’s heritage from Honduras, she continues fighting for a North Carolina where our communities can live in dignity and without fear.

“I believe in the power of our Gente and in what is possible when our communities come together to build power. Our people already hold so much of the knowledge we need to shape North Carolina’s future,” Martinez said. “We know what our communities need, and we know by organizing together, we can create change. I’m honored to step into this role with El Pueblo and La Fuerza, to build alongside the staff and leaders who have carried this work forward, and to welcome new members into a space where we can grow our power and fight for the future our communities deserve.”

Marlene will succeed Interim Executive Director Alexis Trost. We thank Alexis Trost for her leadership and the care she is bringing to the transition. She’s been a joy to work with for the past year and has strengthened our work in a challenging time for our communities. We are deeply grateful for her support to El Pueblo and La Fuerza.

“I am confident Marlene will build on the strong foundation El Pueblo’s staff and community partners have laid, and I am excited to see El Pueblo and La Fuerza continue to make an impact under her leadership”, Trost said. “This team carried the organization through a demanding year, and they did it with the community at the center of every decision. I am grateful to have supported that work as interim executive director.”

The appointment follows a search led by the two boards with support from Armstrong McGuire and informed by staff and stakeholder perspectives.

Gov. Josh Stein on Monday vetoed two controversial bills: one that proposes a series of changes to the election process, and another that modifies disciplinary procedures for judges in North Carolina.

“Our right to vote is precious. It is the fundamental right that underpins all the other rights that we possess. That’s why I will always protect you and your right to vote and that’s why today I veto this anti-voter bill,” Stein said as he vetoed HB958 in his Executive Mansion surrounded by Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates.

HB958 approved by the Republican majority in the Legislature includes a series of modifications to the state’s election laws, including reducing the early voting period for the primaries and special elections, setting a process to remove registered voters who were marked as ineligible through federal databases, and making it easier for anyone to challenge votes after the election.

“The General Assembly wants to make it harder for people to vote and easier to throw out votes they don’t like after Election Day,” Stein said in his veto statement. ” Instead of trying to undermine our democracy to cling to power, the legislature should focus on improving people’s lives and winning elections fair and square.”

Republican leaders in the Legislature vowed to override the veto and accused Stein of putting politics ahead of commonsense election reforms to ensure election security.

“Gov. Stein’s veto of this legislation puts politics ahead of common sense and the peace of mind voters should have when they cast their ballots,” Republican Rep. Hugh Blackwell, one of the bill’s main sponsors, said in a public statement.

Stein asked citizens to call their Representatives to ask them to uphold their veto of HB958.

“This bill passed with a purely Republican partisan vote. Not a single unaffiliated or Democratic representative voted in favor of this bill. We can hold this veto, but we need everyone to show up and to stand up,” the governor said.

HB377’S VETO

Earlier in the day, Stein also vetoed HB 377, which gives North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican, the power to suspend without pay any trial judge who is being investigated by the state’s Judicial Standards Commission.

The governor argued that such legislation would have a chilling effect on judicial independence and accused Republican leaders in the Legislature of politicizing the state’s judiciary.

“It is necessary to stop politicizing our courts. An independent judiciary is critical to protecting the rule of law and the rights of all North Carolinians,” Stein said in a statement.

In response, Republican House Speaker Destin Hall vowed to override the governor’s veto.

Republicans control both houses of the Legislature, but to override the governor’s vetoes, they need the vote of at least one Democratic or independent lawmaker in the House of Representatives, where they do not have a supermajority.

In the case of HB958, no Democratic or independent representatives voted in favor of the bill, while in the case of HB 377, independent lawmaker Carla Cunningham voted in favor along with the Republican majority.

The Legislature is in recess but is scheduled to convene on specific dates at least once a month until the end of the year, so it is expected that they can try to override the governor’s vetoes on any of those dates.

Last week, dozens of organizations that advocate for voting rights and democracy, including El Pueblo, sent letters to Stein asking him to veto bills HB 958 and HB377.

On Tuesday, the state legislature passed two bills containing a series of changes to North Carolina’s election laws, including shortening the early voting period for primary elections and removing registered voters flagged as ineligible via federal databases.

The House of Representatives voted in favor of changes previously approved by the Senate, which had split the package of election measures into two separate bills: HB958 and HB834.

HB958 passed along party lines with 62 votes in favor and 46 against, while HB834 passed with 74 votes in favor and 35 against, garnering support from 11 Democrats.

Both bills now head to the office of Democratic Governor Josh Stein. He has publicly opposed the election changes pushed by the legislature’s Republican majority, strongly suggesting he may veto them.

“HB 958 makes it harder for people to vote and easier for partisans to throw out votes after the election is over when they don’t like the results.,” Stein wrote on X prior to the final House vote.

Key election changes approved include the following:

• Reducing the early voting period from 17 to 10 days for primary elections, primary runoffs, and special elections.
• Requiring State Auditor Dave Boliek to conduct random post-election audits at his discretion.
• Using federal databases and information from other states to identify deceased individuals and remove them from the voter rolls.
• Removing individuals identified as potential non-citizens via federal databases from the voter rolls.
• Expanding the process for challenging ballots.
• Reducing transparency in campaign finance by allowing more information regarding campaign donors to remain confidential.
• Require a longer waiting period for individuals switching political parties before they can run for office representing their new party.
• Allowing judicial review of decisions made by the State Board of Elections.

Shortly before the final vote on these electoral changes, the Speaker of the House, Republican Destin Hall, ordered the removal from the gallery of a group of people protesting the measure while chanting, “The people united will never be defeated.”

The two bills were sent to the governor’s office. The governor has 10 days to either sign them into law or veto them. If no action is taken, they will become law at the end of that period.

The state House of Representatives on Wednesday overrode four vetoes by the governor and signed into law several pieces of legislation that eliminate diversity and inclusion programs in the state and one that expands the collaboration of state law enforcement agencies with federal immigration authorities. 

This is SB153, which among other measures requires state agencies such as the State Highway Patrol and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in addition to HB 171, SB 227 and SB 558 that eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in schools, universities, and government agencies, respectively. 

The four bills were unexpectedly voted on nearly a year after they were vetoed by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, even though they remained pending on the calendar throughout the current legislative session. 

The four vetoes were overturned by a vote of 71 to 41 thanks to the absences of two lawmakers, Democrat Shelly Willingham and now independent Carla Cunningham, who were not present at the session despite having participated in the Rules and Operations Committee meeting in the morning. 

The absences of Cunningham and Willingham allowed Republicans to reach the votes necessary to override the vetoes even though they do not have a supermajority in the House of Representatives.  

State law states that overriding a veto requires three-fifths or 60 percent of the votes of the lawmakers present. That is, 72 of the 120 members of the House of Representatives, but with the two absences the required threshold dropped to 71 votes out of the 118 representatives present in the session. 

Three of the four pieces of legislation were automatically signed into law after the vote, except for HB 171, whose veto has not yet been overridden by the Senate, where Republicans do have a veto-proof supermajority, so it is taken for granted that it will also become law, possibly this Thursday. 

The only bill vetoed by Stein that was on the calendar and was not voted on Wednesday was HB 50, which would allow anyone over the age of 18 to carry guns without a permit. 

Following Wednesday’s vote, Stein criticized Legislature leaders for focusing on overriding their vetoes instead of passing the state budget that has been pending for almost 1,000 days.

“As the legislature leaves teachers and law enforcement officers waiting for hard-earned and desperately needed pay raises, members of the General Assembly are stoking the culture wars that divide us rather than fulfilling their long-overdue responsibility of passing a budget,” Stein said in his statement. 

“It’s time for them to do their jobs for the people of North Carolina. Instead, they are overriding my veto on bills to whitewash the diversity that makes our state strong and to take state law enforcement officers away from their existing state duties, forcing them to act as federal immigration agents,” he said. 

Since taking office in 2025, Governor Stein has vetoed a total of 15 bills, 12 of which have been overridden by the Legislature.