I did an interesting story about the state Department of Public Education sending Gov. Susana Martinez's political director lists of teachers' emails in the state. You can read that HERE
What makes it interesting to me is that the email was sent on a private email account by the Ed Department spokesman, Larry Behrens. And it was sent not only to political consultant Jay McCleskey, but to state officials, including Gov. Martinez's chief of staff and spokesman -- also on private e-mail accounts. Then Education Secretary designate Hanna Skandera, who received a copy on her personal account, forwarded it to Martinez on a non-government account.
Both Behrens and McCleskey say this was just a routine request for public information. McCleskey said many political organizations of all persuasions makes such requests of state agencies all the time -- including the liberal Independent Source PAC, which obtained Behrens' email in the first place.
That's true. Reporters do too. But more than once I've had records requests denied by the records custodian of the particular agency on the basis that the agency does not maintain a list like the one I was seeking. The standard line is that the agency is not required to compile such a list for me.
Also usually such records requests are just between me and the records custodian, or sometimes the agency spokesman or spokeswoman. I don't think I've ever had information I was seeking forwarded to the governor's staff, the cabinet secretary, etc. (Such responses I've received are very formal and official, stating "In response to your request of June 12, 2012, etc. etc. ..." This wasn't the case here.)
Behrens said it was an "oversite" on his part to use his personal account for the records request. But that doesn't explain why he used non-government accounts for those officials included in the message.
Here's the document below:
New Mexico teacher lists
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: Keeping it Positive ... For Now
When I saw the news release about a new TV spot from Republican U.S. Senate nominee Heather Wilson’s campaign, my first thought was, “Here it is. It’s starting already.” My assumption was that, just like the governor’s race two years ago, attack-ad season would be starting early again.
Then I saw the ad. It’s an upbeat, positive, soft-focus biographical ad with the heart-warming message, “My family taught me to love America, but the military taught me not to take it for granted.”I’m almost expecting her Democratic rival Martin Heinrich to come back with an ad saying he loves America too and has loved it ever since his teenage years sacking groceries.
Then I learned that Karl Rove’s super-PAC, American Crossroads — a sister organization to Crossroads GPS, on whose board Wilson once sat — was buying ad time in New Mexico in support of Wilson. Politico reported that the PAC is spending more than $250,000 in the Albuquerque and El Paso markets.
“Now, it’s coming,” I chuckled cynically. But again, here’s smiling Heather with Old Glory waving in the blue sky behind her. Nothing bad about Heinrich, just a friendly female voice praising Wilson as an “independent record of standing up to her own party.”
Wait, a minute ... since when did Karl Rove like Republicans bucking the party line?
Boy, if there’s one thing that a political junkie hates worse than negative ads, it’s positive ads.
A couple of things probably are going on with the pro-Wilson ads. Neither of them mentions her political affiliation. These obviously are targeted to independent voters and Democrats who might be on the fence.
And, as National Journal pointed out last week, “A positive ad could also help lower Wilson’s unfavorables. There’s been a lack of independent, nonautomated polling in the state, but a late April poll conducted by Democratic pollster PPP poll showed Wilson with considerably higher unfavorables than Heinrich [45 percent to his 31 percent].”
But don’t think the mudslinging isn’t going to come in this high-profile Senate race. In fact, another conservative PAC, right after the primary, launched a $100,000 ad campaign targeting Heinrich. The 30-second ad features the pensive piano music, pictures of shut-down factories, a sad-looking girl in a dress shop and Heinrich being sworn in by (gasp!) Nancy Pelosi.
In its blog post about the American Crossroads ad, Politico’s Alexander Burns noted that Heinrich has led Wilson in polls, writing, “New Mexico is a race that’s looked like more of a reach for Republicans. ... The fact that outside groups are investing there is a sign that the race isn’t a foregone conclusion.”
And pro-Heinrich PACs aren’t sitting out this race. A coalition of five national environmental organizations is about to launch a television ad campaign in this state, running ads for nearly two months starting this week. “One source pegged the cost of the flight at just over $850,000. Another suggested it could climb closer to a $1 million when all the buying is done,” Politico reported.
I haven’t seen the ads, so I can’t say for certain what tone they’ll be taking. Maybe they’ll just show Heinrich camping with his wife and kids and talk about how he loves the great outdoors and wants to protect it and working families.
But if I had to bet, I’d probably go with grainy photos of Wilson with grim smokestacks in the background and horror-movie music.
I’ll also bet that by October, not even the most jaded political junkie will be complaining about a lack of attack ads.
BLOG BONUS:
Here's what might be the only positive ad Karl Rove has ever made:
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Johnson on Daily Show
When most political junkies here in New Mexico was busy with the primary last night, former Gov. Gary Johnson appeared on the Daily Show to promote his Libertarian Party presidential candidacy.
Watch it below:
Watch it below:
Susana's PACs Fared Better in Dem Races
It looks like Reform New Mexico Now got better results than the other political action committee located at 6100 Uptown Blvd. NE; Suite 590, Susana PAC -- meaning Republican Gov. Susana Martinez might have had more influence in the Democratic primaries than in the GOP contests she got involved in.
“We are encouraged that New Mexicans stood with Democratic candidates who are willing to work across the aisle,” McCleskey told The Associated Press.
But he apparently doesn't feel that way about Republicans who do the same.
In Martinez's effort to choose the GOP candidate to replace retiring Sen. Clint Harden of Clovis. she backed Angie Spears, who lost to rancher Pat Woods. Spears hired McCleskey and went intensely negative on Wood -- largely for contributing money to Democrats who had helped him on agricultural issues.
Wood responded by making McCleskey an issue in the campaign urging east-side Republicans to reject "mudslinging" by a "slick Albuquerque consultant."
They did.
Though there might be a couple of awkward moments between Woods and Martinez, he's likely to be a reliable vote on most issues. He's taken conservative positions on virtually all the issues and last night in a radio interview, Woods predicted he and Martinez will get along fine once she gets to know him.
Susana PAC also backed Albuquerque Republican Chris Saucedo, who won his low-key House primary. So, score 50/50 for the contested GOP races backed by the PAC
However, despite complaints by the targets of its ads and robo-calls, Reform New Mexico Now had a much better scorecard Tuesday night, most notably in Carl Trujillo's victory over Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. Coss' campaign blamed the PAC's involvement for the loss, though Trujillo told me he thinks the unsolicited aid of Reform New Mexico Now and the conservative New Mexico Business Coalition could have caused a Democratic backlash that took away from his vote total.
Reform New Mexico Now, which largely was funded by to Artesia oil companies that are major Martinez contributors also backed incumbent Sens. Phil Griego, Pete Campos, John Arthur Smith and George Munoz, as well as maverick Democratic Rep. Sandra Jeff -- all of whom won. It's not certain how big of a role the PAC had in these victories.
The PAC also attacked Rep. Eleanor Chavez of Albuquerque, who gave up her House seat to run for Senate. Chavez lost to Michael Padilla in that primary.
Not all of the PAC's choices won however.came in a distant third in his Democratic primary. Billy Moore lost to incumbent Rep. Eliseo Alcon of Milan.
Two incumbent senators and two representatives who lost, or are trailing after yesterday's voting. Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Las Vegas, lost to Tomas Salazar in a race that had received little attention outside of San Miguel County.
Sen. David Ulibarri, D-Grants came in a distant third in his primary.
Sen. Lynda Lovejoy is behind former Indian Affairs Department Secretary Benny Shendo of Jemez Pueblo.
Down in Las Cruces, Rep. Antonio Luján trailing by 41 votes behind former Rep. Jeff Steinborn, while Rep. Dennis Kintigh of Roswell lost to his friend Rep. Bob Wooley in the Republican primary. The two incumbents were pitted against each other because of redistricting.
Though Steinborn is ahead of Lujan (and either will have to face Republican Charlie Green in November), other would-be political comebacks were thwarted last night.
These include former Sen. James Taylor of Albuquerque, (he lost his Senate seat to Eric Griego in 2008), former Rep. Bengie Regensberg of Cleveland, who lost to Rep. Nick Salazar in the Democratic primary and former Rep. Ben Rodefer, who lost to incumbent Sen. John Sapien. (Sapien must now face Rep. David Doyle in the general.)
Two lawmakers who tried to go on to other offices failed last night. These were Eric Griego, who lost to Mcihelle Lujan Grisham in the CD 1 Democratic congressional race and Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque who lost his Public Regulation Commission race.
UPDATE 11:24 am. The first version of this post left out Sen. George Munoz as a Democratic candidate backed by Reform New Mexico Now.
UPDATE 2:45 pm Earlier versions of this post incorrectly indicated that Reform New Mexico Now backed Sen. David Ulibarri in his primary. And while the PAC did slam Eleanor Chavez in her race, it did not back James Taylor as originally stated. The text has been modified to fix those errors.
“We are encouraged that New Mexicans stood with Democratic candidates who are willing to work across the aisle,” McCleskey told The Associated Press.But he apparently doesn't feel that way about Republicans who do the same.
In Martinez's effort to choose the GOP candidate to replace retiring Sen. Clint Harden of Clovis. she backed Angie Spears, who lost to rancher Pat Woods. Spears hired McCleskey and went intensely negative on Wood -- largely for contributing money to Democrats who had helped him on agricultural issues.
Wood responded by making McCleskey an issue in the campaign urging east-side Republicans to reject "mudslinging" by a "slick Albuquerque consultant."
They did.
Though there might be a couple of awkward moments between Woods and Martinez, he's likely to be a reliable vote on most issues. He's taken conservative positions on virtually all the issues and last night in a radio interview, Woods predicted he and Martinez will get along fine once she gets to know him.
Susana PAC also backed Albuquerque Republican Chris Saucedo, who won his low-key House primary. So, score 50/50 for the contested GOP races backed by the PAC
However, despite complaints by the targets of its ads and robo-calls, Reform New Mexico Now had a much better scorecard Tuesday night, most notably in Carl Trujillo's victory over Santa Fe Mayor David Coss. Coss' campaign blamed the PAC's involvement for the loss, though Trujillo told me he thinks the unsolicited aid of Reform New Mexico Now and the conservative New Mexico Business Coalition could have caused a Democratic backlash that took away from his vote total.
Reform New Mexico Now, which largely was funded by to Artesia oil companies that are major Martinez contributors also backed incumbent Sens. Phil Griego, Pete Campos, John Arthur Smith and George Munoz, as well as maverick Democratic Rep. Sandra Jeff -- all of whom won. It's not certain how big of a role the PAC had in these victories.
The PAC also attacked Rep. Eleanor Chavez of Albuquerque, who gave up her House seat to run for Senate. Chavez lost to Michael Padilla in that primary.
Not all of the PAC's choices won however.came in a distant third in his Democratic primary. Billy Moore lost to incumbent Rep. Eliseo Alcon of Milan.
Two incumbent senators and two representatives who lost, or are trailing after yesterday's voting. Rep. Richard Vigil, D-Las Vegas, lost to Tomas Salazar in a race that had received little attention outside of San Miguel County.
Sen. David Ulibarri, D-Grants came in a distant third in his primary.
Sen. Lynda Lovejoy is behind former Indian Affairs Department Secretary Benny Shendo of Jemez Pueblo.
Down in Las Cruces, Rep. Antonio Luján trailing by 41 votes behind former Rep. Jeff Steinborn, while Rep. Dennis Kintigh of Roswell lost to his friend Rep. Bob Wooley in the Republican primary. The two incumbents were pitted against each other because of redistricting.
Though Steinborn is ahead of Lujan (and either will have to face Republican Charlie Green in November), other would-be political comebacks were thwarted last night.
These include former Sen. James Taylor of Albuquerque, (he lost his Senate seat to Eric Griego in 2008), former Rep. Bengie Regensberg of Cleveland, who lost to Rep. Nick Salazar in the Democratic primary and former Rep. Ben Rodefer, who lost to incumbent Sen. John Sapien. (Sapien must now face Rep. David Doyle in the general.)
Two lawmakers who tried to go on to other offices failed last night. These were Eric Griego, who lost to Mcihelle Lujan Grisham in the CD 1 Democratic congressional race and Rep. Al Park, D-Albuquerque who lost his Public Regulation Commission race.
UPDATE 11:24 am. The first version of this post left out Sen. George Munoz as a Democratic candidate backed by Reform New Mexico Now.
UPDATE 2:45 pm Earlier versions of this post incorrectly indicated that Reform New Mexico Now backed Sen. David Ulibarri in his primary. And while the PAC did slam Eleanor Chavez in her race, it did not back James Taylor as originally stated. The text has been modified to fix those errors.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Undercover Reporting: KOB News Producer Gets Whiskey for Vote
Looks like Rio Arriba County politics is living up to its reputation.
KOB News producer Peter St. Cyr disguised himself as a street person in Espanola last week and got offered a ride to an early-voting center. He asked for a drink and got offered a miniature of Admiral whiskey. He also got instructions who to vote for -- state Senate challenger Alfredo Montoya -- who is running against incumbent Sen. Richard Martinez -- as well as incumbent County Clerk Moises Morales and county treasurer candidate Elias Coriz. St. Cyr was told he could have more whiskey after he voted.
It's all captured on a hidden camera. The whole story is HERE.
Watch below and don't miss the great confrontation between reporter Gadi Schwartz and political operative Elias Fresquez.
I think this might even be better than the Saints & Sinners brawl. (Both stories involve Fresquez.)
KOB News producer Peter St. Cyr disguised himself as a street person in Espanola last week and got offered a ride to an early-voting center. He asked for a drink and got offered a miniature of Admiral whiskey. He also got instructions who to vote for -- state Senate challenger Alfredo Montoya -- who is running against incumbent Sen. Richard Martinez -- as well as incumbent County Clerk Moises Morales and county treasurer candidate Elias Coriz. St. Cyr was told he could have more whiskey after he voted.
It's all captured on a hidden camera. The whole story is HERE.
Watch below and don't miss the great confrontation between reporter Gadi Schwartz and political operative Elias Fresquez.
I think this might even be better than the Saints & Sinners brawl. (Both stories involve Fresquez.)
Eichenberg Joins List of Departing State Senators
Eichenberg just confirmed to me that he's withdrawing from the race and let the Bernalillo County Democratic Party Central Committee decide upon a replacement candidate. (Joe Monahan broke this news early this morning.)
He's not seeking re-election because of his three older brothers are ailing. One has cancer and one recently suffered a heart attack, Eichenberg said. Also, he said, his 87-year-old mother requires care.
Eichenberg says he knows of four who are interested in the job -- lawyer Daniel Ivey Soto, a past state elections director and lobbyist for the state county clerks association; lobbyist and former Democratic Party executive director Vanessa Alarid; and two political newcomers, Kevin Hooper and Scott Lefevre.
Whoever gets the nomination will face Republican Diane Snyder in the general election. Snyder is a former senator who Eichenberg defeated in 2008.
Eichenberg said that his major accomplishments in the Senate include passing the Government Conduct Act. He also chaired a legislative task force that recommended many proposals to consolidate government agencies -- though he said one of his biggest disappointments was the fact that none of those proposals ever got traction in the Legislature.
Eichenberg joins a long line of incumbent senators who decided not to seek re-election this year. Others are Democrats Dede Feldman, Eric Griego, and Bernadette Sanchez, all of Albuquerque plus Cynthia Nava and Steve Fischmann, both of Las Cruces. Departing Senate Republicans are Clint Harden of Clovis, Vern Asbill of Carlsbad, Mark Boitano of Albuquerque and Rod Adair of Roswell. That's a total of 10 out of 42 senators.
He's not seeking re-election because of his three older brothers are ailing. One has cancer and one recently suffered a heart attack, Eichenberg said. Also, he said, his 87-year-old mother requires care.
Eichenberg says he knows of four who are interested in the job -- lawyer Daniel Ivey Soto, a past state elections director and lobbyist for the state county clerks association; lobbyist and former Democratic Party executive director Vanessa Alarid; and two political newcomers, Kevin Hooper and Scott Lefevre.
Whoever gets the nomination will face Republican Diane Snyder in the general election. Snyder is a former senator who Eichenberg defeated in 2008.
Eichenberg said that his major accomplishments in the Senate include passing the Government Conduct Act. He also chaired a legislative task force that recommended many proposals to consolidate government agencies -- though he said one of his biggest disappointments was the fact that none of those proposals ever got traction in the Legislature.
Eichenberg joins a long line of incumbent senators who decided not to seek re-election this year. Others are Democrats Dede Feldman, Eric Griego, and Bernadette Sanchez, all of Albuquerque plus Cynthia Nava and Steve Fischmann, both of Las Cruces. Departing Senate Republicans are Clint Harden of Clovis, Vern Asbill of Carlsbad, Mark Boitano of Albuquerque and Rod Adair of Roswell. That's a total of 10 out of 42 senators.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: More on NMBC's Coss Attack
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 3, 2012
Note: The bulk of this column was written before news broke about the Reform New Mexico Now PAC, which is associated with Gov. Susana Martinez's political operation. Before this is over you're going to need a program to keep up with all the independent expenditure groups.
The House District 46 race has turned into an increasingly nasty spitball fight between Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and his supporters, and self-styled outsider Carl Trujillo and his supporters. While each side has relentlessly ripped on the other, one of the more curious attacks has come from an outside force — a right-wing group from Albuquerque.
The New Mexico Business Coalition doesn’t think very highly of Coss. But, as I reported Thursday, they think about him enough to send out mailers to voters in Santa Fe lambasting Coss’ performance as mayor. “Call Mayor Coss and tell him Santa Fe deserves better. He should return contributions from questionable sources, focus on jobs, reduce crime, and forget about a second job as a state representative,” the mailer says.
It makes me wonder why a conservative, anti-tax, anti-regulation group would be so interested in a Democratic primary in a district that’s so heavily Democrat (71 percent Democrat to 18 percent Republican) that the GOP didn’t even field a candidate for the seat being vacated by House Speaker Ben Luján.
The coalition, according to its website, is a “non-partisan advocacy group that will openly speak the truth about business issues, public officials, candidates, legislation and regulatory policies.” The website says the group will promote a “pro-business environment” in ways that include “printed information that will be mailed to registered voters.”
OK, they say they’re nonpartisan. Even though the coalition’s principal officer currently is a member of the state Republican Central Committee, I can’t call this a “Republican” attack on Coss.
But I also can’t say it’s not Republican. The fact is, we don’t really know who’s behind the group. As the coalition proclaims on its website, the group is a “501c(4) nonprofit corporation that has no obligation to report our source of contributions to the IRS. And, in fact, we will not disclose contributions outside of our Board of Directors, making your contribution completely anonymous.”
On Friday, the coalition’s principal officer, Carla Sonntag, defended keeping contributors secret. She said much of the cost of the mailings comes from membership dues, so, in effect, each member could be considered a contributor. She argued that the mailings are just a fraction of the group’s total budget.
She also argued that when unions make contributions to candidates, they don’t have to list individual union members.
Sonntag is also the director of New Mexico Utility Shareholders Alliance and has written op-eds for papers, including this one, in support of energy companies.
District 46 isn’t the only Democratic primary in which the coalition is getting involved. A news release Friday pointed to several. The group heaped praise on incumbent Sen. Phil Griego of San José as well as Sen. Richard Martinez of Española. Sonntag said the coalition sent out mailers in Martinez’s District 5 race, but not in Griego’s District 39.
The group’s news release also sang the praises of Coss’ opponent, Trujillo.
As I reported last week, Trujillo also was the target of an attack by a group hiding behind anonymity. Something called the Concerned Citizens for an Honest Debate bought $440 worth of radio ads on KSWV sliming Trujillo. The concerned citizens don’t have to report contributors because expenses were under $500. Later, a mailer surfaced attacking Trujillo, and it’s also not clear who sent that.
In a way, these anonymous attacks might just be big chickens coming home to roost. Back in 2008, progressive nonprofits in Albuquerque came under criticism from conservatives for sending out “voter education mailers” highly critical of certain incumbents — mostly conservative Democrats — before the primary.
In this post-Citizens United world, I’m afraid this is the way of the future.
June 3, 2012
Note: The bulk of this column was written before news broke about the Reform New Mexico Now PAC, which is associated with Gov. Susana Martinez's political operation. Before this is over you're going to need a program to keep up with all the independent expenditure groups.
The House District 46 race has turned into an increasingly nasty spitball fight between Santa Fe Mayor David Coss and his supporters, and self-styled outsider Carl Trujillo and his supporters. While each side has relentlessly ripped on the other, one of the more curious attacks has come from an outside force — a right-wing group from Albuquerque.
The New Mexico Business Coalition doesn’t think very highly of Coss. But, as I reported Thursday, they think about him enough to send out mailers to voters in Santa Fe lambasting Coss’ performance as mayor. “Call Mayor Coss and tell him Santa Fe deserves better. He should return contributions from questionable sources, focus on jobs, reduce crime, and forget about a second job as a state representative,” the mailer says.
It makes me wonder why a conservative, anti-tax, anti-regulation group would be so interested in a Democratic primary in a district that’s so heavily Democrat (71 percent Democrat to 18 percent Republican) that the GOP didn’t even field a candidate for the seat being vacated by House Speaker Ben Luján.
The coalition, according to its website, is a “non-partisan advocacy group that will openly speak the truth about business issues, public officials, candidates, legislation and regulatory policies.” The website says the group will promote a “pro-business environment” in ways that include “printed information that will be mailed to registered voters.”
OK, they say they’re nonpartisan. Even though the coalition’s principal officer currently is a member of the state Republican Central Committee, I can’t call this a “Republican” attack on Coss.
But I also can’t say it’s not Republican. The fact is, we don’t really know who’s behind the group. As the coalition proclaims on its website, the group is a “501c(4) nonprofit corporation that has no obligation to report our source of contributions to the IRS. And, in fact, we will not disclose contributions outside of our Board of Directors, making your contribution completely anonymous.”
On Friday, the coalition’s principal officer, Carla Sonntag, defended keeping contributors secret. She said much of the cost of the mailings comes from membership dues, so, in effect, each member could be considered a contributor. She argued that the mailings are just a fraction of the group’s total budget.
She also argued that when unions make contributions to candidates, they don’t have to list individual union members.
Sonntag is also the director of New Mexico Utility Shareholders Alliance and has written op-eds for papers, including this one, in support of energy companies.
District 46 isn’t the only Democratic primary in which the coalition is getting involved. A news release Friday pointed to several. The group heaped praise on incumbent Sen. Phil Griego of San José as well as Sen. Richard Martinez of Española. Sonntag said the coalition sent out mailers in Martinez’s District 5 race, but not in Griego’s District 39.
The group’s news release also sang the praises of Coss’ opponent, Trujillo.
As I reported last week, Trujillo also was the target of an attack by a group hiding behind anonymity. Something called the Concerned Citizens for an Honest Debate bought $440 worth of radio ads on KSWV sliming Trujillo. The concerned citizens don’t have to report contributors because expenses were under $500. Later, a mailer surfaced attacking Trujillo, and it’s also not clear who sent that.
In a way, these anonymous attacks might just be big chickens coming home to roost. Back in 2008, progressive nonprofits in Albuquerque came under criticism from conservatives for sending out “voter education mailers” highly critical of certain incumbents — mostly conservative Democrats — before the primary.
In this post-Citizens United world, I’m afraid this is the way of the future.
Coss Files Ethics Complaint Against Reform NM Now; Trujillo Distances Himself from PAC
Santa Fe Mayor David Coss, running as a Democrat for a House seat in District 46, is asking the Secretary of State's Office to investigate a political action committee associated with Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's political operation.
 |
| McCleskey |
In his letter to Duran, dated today, Coss points out that in a campaign finance report filed last week, the oil company contributions to the PAC were dated April 24. However, the PAC itself did not register with the secretary of state until May 29. According to the state election code, “A political committee shall register with the secretary of state within ten days of receiving, contributing or expending in excess of five hundred dollars.”
On Saturday the PAC filed an amended report that changed the dates of the two major contributions to May 21 and 24.
"I believe that serious violations of the Campaign Reporting Act have occurred and request an immediate, formal investigation. I look forward to your timely response to this request," Coss wrote.
I just sent an email to McCleskey asking for comment. I'll update this post when he responds.
Meanwhile, Trujillo issued a news release Sunday in which he reiterated that he has nothing to do with the recent mailings sent by Reform New Mexico Now and the New Mexico Business Coalition.
" ... sometimes we get support from organizations who may have agendas that are likely to be at odds with our interests. And sometimes they may do things on their own, without our knowledge or our consent -- whether it's putting up a sign, sending out emails, making a financial contribution or something bigger.
"This week, we had a few interesting examples. Organizations that have independently done things without any involvement from us. For example, two organizations sent out mailers that were negative to our opponent. We had nothing to do with them, but there’s nothing we can do to stop them.
"Unfortunately, the opposition has been using slimy tactics to insinuate that we are somehow connected to these organizations and that’s proof that we have some kind of secret evil agenda."
Trujillo said while he's on record as being willing to work with those of opposing political views, "This does not mean that I don’t have strong views on vital issues which are often in opposition to these big special interests."
UPDATE: 8:38 p.m. I got an e-mail from a Reform New Mexico Now spokesman Dominic Aragon. Here's what he said:
.
Reform New Mexico Now is in complete compliance with the law and, unlike other groups involved in these elections, we disclose all of our contributions and expenditures.
There was a typo in the initial report filed with the Secretary of State by listing all contributions as 4/24/12. We quickly notified the Secretary of State when the report appeared with that erroneous information. We were instructed on how to file an amended report and did so. The Secretary of State's office has informed us that we are in total compliance with the law.
This frivolous complaint by David Coss is a desperate attempt to distract attention away from the main issue in this race, which is whether Mr. Coss should be able to simultaneously serve as mayor and as state representative.
UPDATE: 6-4-12 12:38 am Jack Sullivan, who is challenging incumbent state Sen. Phil Griego in the District 39 Democratic primary, also has requested the SOS investigate Reform New Mexico Now. Apparently the PAC has sent mailers in that race as well. I haven't seen any of those yet.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Reform NM Now: The Plot Thickens
I mentioned in my story on campaign finances today that a PAC called Reform New Mexico Now, funded mostly by large backers of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, has sent mailers praising House District 46 candidate Carl Trujillo as a future leader in education reform.
According to documents filed with the Secretary of State's Office, the group's major contributors are two Artesia oil companies that have been major backers of Gov. Susana Martinez. Chase Oil contributed $130,000 to the group, while Mack Energy gave $50,000.
Now I've learned that the PAC's billing address on a receipt from the Secretary of State's Office shows the group's address on Uptown Boulevard in Albuquerque to be the same one used by Martinez’s Susana PAC as well as the governor’s political advisor Jay McCleskey. (Tip of the hat to KOB's Peter St. Cyr who posted that receipt HERE.)
Interestingly enough, this is not the same address listed on the PAC's campaign finance report. (They used a post office box there.)
(And no, the rumors that it's also the same address Lee Harvey Oswald used on his Fair Play for Cuba pamphlets are completely false.)
Reform New Mexico Now has become involved in several Democratic legislative primaries around the state, mostly helping conservative Democratic incumbents. Heath Hausamen has a good story about the other races Reform New Mexico has become involved with HERE.
According to documents filed with the Secretary of State's Office, the group's major contributors are two Artesia oil companies that have been major backers of Gov. Susana Martinez. Chase Oil contributed $130,000 to the group, while Mack Energy gave $50,000.
Now I've learned that the PAC's billing address on a receipt from the Secretary of State's Office shows the group's address on Uptown Boulevard in Albuquerque to be the same one used by Martinez’s Susana PAC as well as the governor’s political advisor Jay McCleskey. (Tip of the hat to KOB's Peter St. Cyr who posted that receipt HERE.)
Interestingly enough, this is not the same address listed on the PAC's campaign finance report. (They used a post office box there.)
(And no, the rumors that it's also the same address Lee Harvey Oswald used on his Fair Play for Cuba pamphlets are completely false.)
Reform New Mexico Now has become involved in several Democratic legislative primaries around the state, mostly helping conservative Democratic incumbents. Heath Hausamen has a good story about the other races Reform New Mexico has become involved with HERE.
 |
| This is the mailer sent by Reform NM Now supporting Trujillo |
Friday, June 1, 2012
Nice to Know Someone Is Reading This Stuff
Earlier this week, I wrote a story for The New Mexican about how low the turnout has been for early voting in the primaries in Santa Fe County. As of Tuesday, only about 4.5 percent of Democrats and 3.5 percent of Republicans in this county had voted early or absentee.
But yesterday, county Elections Bureau director Denise Lamb emailed me that the day after the article appeared, turnout at the polling place at the County Fairgrounds nearly doubled, while the early-voting places in Eldorado and Pojoaque showed healthy increases also.
Lamb said poll workers at the fairgrounds reported that several people who voted there said my story was what sparked them to vote.
By the way, as a registered Declined to State, I don't have a dog in this fight. As I noted in the story:
But yesterday, county Elections Bureau director Denise Lamb emailed me that the day after the article appeared, turnout at the polling place at the County Fairgrounds nearly doubled, while the early-voting places in Eldorado and Pojoaque showed healthy increases also.
Lamb said poll workers at the fairgrounds reported that several people who voted there said my story was what sparked them to vote.
By the way, as a registered Declined to State, I don't have a dog in this fight. As I noted in the story:
Of the 17,085 people registered as "declined to state" (independent) voters and the 2,155 registered as members of other parties, exactly zero have voted early. That's because they aren't allowed to vote in the primaries, even though primary elections are paid for with tax money. Independents and third-party members make up 20 percent of Santa Fe County's registered voters.
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