Four months after the primary, questions still remain about some Rio Arriba County candidates’ campaign finance reports.
Unsuccessful County clerk candidate Lou Baker filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s office alleging inconsistencies in the reports of several candidates for County office. Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo said Baker alleged County candidates must have spent more on their campaign advertisements and signs than they reported. Office spokesman James Flores said the complaint is still being reviewed.
Chama Mayor Archie Vigil, a County Commission candidate; County Clerk-elect Moises Morales; County Treasurer Livia Olguin, who was re-elected as treasurer; and County Commissioner Felipe Martinez, who was re-elected to office, all originally filed statements of exception with the state for the first reporting period which ended May 5. They stated they did not anticipate raising or spending $1,000 or more during the course of the election; candidates who exceed that amount are supposed to file regular reports detailing contributions and expenditures.
Morales and Martinez did provide the state with further reports for the third reporting period which ended June 28, but the reports appear incomplete. Morales did not report any expenditures, even for his ubiquitous signs, and the only contribution on the report is a $3,000 in-kind contribution from Pro Sec for “security.” Morales did not return a call seeking comment, but Sept. 12 an amended report appeared that took the amount down to $300. County Commissioner Elias Coriz, who owns Pro Sec Security, said Morales must have mistakenly identified the contribution as an in-kind, because he said he gave Morales a $300 monetary contribution.
Martinez’s report does list contributions and expenditures for the last reporting period, but it also states his campaign committee opened that period with a balance of $3,585. No report of where that money came from was made available online; Martinez’s previous report is only a “statement of no activity” that states no contributions or expenditures were made.
Another $1,350 in contributions Martinez did report are mostly less than $250, and contributors included Oñate Center Director and former County assessor David Salazar and Bode’s store in Abiquiú. Martinez did not report making any expenditures during that period, so his campaign account closed the period with nearly $5,000 in it.
Martinez said he thought he submitted a report prior to the one in question. He also said he thought he turned in a report following it — Martinez said he thinks he only has about $1,100 left in the bank.
“I’d have to look at the reports again and see if something got left out inadvertently,” he said. “I thought I submitted it.”
Vigil, who opposed Martinez in the District 3 Commission race, also filed a statement of exception before the primary and did not file a report of contributions or expenditures or a post-election report. According to the state Campaign Reporting Act, committees that fail to file complete reports of contributions and expenditures can be fined $500 the first day and $50 each subsequent day, up to $5,000, until complete records are filed.
Both Baker and Ray Tafoya, who ran for treasurer, wrapped their reports up on time. Tafoya reported having $464 left going into the final reporting period, raising $500, and spending the entire amount at his Truchas store on food and fuel for poll workers, along with costs incurred while driving around the County taking down his signs.
Baker reported spending $200 on signs during the final reporting period, and she brought her account to zero after her husband, Paul Flaherty, forgave nearly $5,000 in loans he made to the campaign.
State/Fed Races
The County races were essentially over after the primary, because no Republicans filed to run in the general election. Several unopposed state legislators still managed to raise and spend substantial amounts, however.
Sen. Richard Martinez (D-Española) raised $3,100 in May and June and spent $2,498 on costs related to phone, gas, meals and political donations, including $200 to state Public Regulation Commissioner Ben Ray Lujan’s congressional campaign. Martinez reported closing the period with $56,917 still in the bank.
Rep. Nick Salazar (D-Ohkay Owingeh) reported raising $500 and spending $2,500 in May and June, including a $400 contribution to Lujan’s campaign. He reported ending the period with $26,658 remaining.
Rep. Debbie Rodella’s (D-La Mesilla) last report covered the period from May 2007 to May 2008. She reported raising about $16,000 and spending a similar amount on things like phone service, meals, advertising, postage and campaign contributions. She reported still having $25,893 on-hand at the close of the period.
A look at still-contested races is more enlightening. As of June 30, Lujan reported raising nearly 15 times the amount his Republican opponent, Dan East, did. According to information from the Center for Responsive Politics, East got 85 percent of his $62,000 from individual donors. He also received $5,000 from the federal Political Action Committee of the National Utility Contractors Association. Lujan received $5,000 from a number of union-oriented committees, including those representing electrical workers, ironworkers, plumbers and teachers.
Lujan has also been receiving smaller checks from residents of the County, including several hundred from individuals from Española and thousands from Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. He also received a check for $1,000 from former Española mayor Richard Lucero.
Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM), in his campaign for senate against Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM), has also out-raised his opponent. Information from the Center shows Udall raised more than $4.5 million, while Pearce had not yet reached $3 million as of June 30. Udall also received a lot of union support, and his report shows more than a dozen union-oriented Committees gave his campaign the federal maximum of $10,000. Much of Pearce’s financial support came from oil and gas companies, including donations from employees of Yates Petroleum, Devon Energy, Mack Energy and Marathon Oil. He reported having $533,331 on hand June 30, while Udall reported having nearly $2.9 million.
Pearce has not reported many donations from Rio Arriba County so far, though Española businessman Richard Cook wrote his campaign a check for $2,300 — the individual maximum for the primary — in Feburary. Udall, however, has been getting checks from across the County, including a donation of Jicarilla Apache Nation President Levi Pesata also donated $4,300 to Udall’s campaign.
State and local candidates must file their next reports by Oct. 13 with the Office, while federal candidates have until Oct. 15 to file their reports with the Federal Election Commission.