Hold your nose and vote in state’s ugliest political race
This could be the most successful year for women running for office since 1992, when female newcomers won election to Congress in record numbers.
The big issue then was sexual harassment. Men who dominated the U.S. Senate had confirmed Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court while he stood accused of sexually harassing a female colleague years earlier.
Sexual harassment is the critical issue today, too. But even if women sweep into office this year, that doesn’t mean they see the world and sexual harassment charges through the same lens. Not by a long shot.
A good example of how different people view an identical set of known facts is on display in the state’s ugliest primary election. The combatants, state Rep. Carl Trujillo and challenger Andrea Romero, are competing in House District 46 in Santa Fe County.
Romero didn’t seem to have a chance during the first stages of the campaign.
A graduate of Stanford University who headed a public advocacy organization, Romero somehow never learned that whiskey and beer should not be purchased with taxpayers’ money. Confronted with her misspending, her first reaction was to try to retaliate against whistleblowers who exposed her.
With Romero sinking in the court of public opinion, Trujillo appeared on his way to winning re-election to a fourth term.
That changed faster than the weather during a monsoon.
Lobbyist Laura Bonar accused Trujillo of sexually harassing her in 2014. Bonar’s latebreaking charge came at an opportune time for Romero. It gave her campaign life.
Romero joined other women and men in calling on Trujillo to resign. In turn, Trujillo called Bonar a liar.
A subcommittee of the House of Representatives is investigating Trujillo. It probably won’t reach any conclusion regarding Bonar’s allegation before Tuesday’s election.
That means spin and speculation are in overdrive.
Romero’s campaign manager, Neri Holguin, knows her best chance of getting her client elected is to say Bonar must be believed.
Of course, Holguin’s stand is at odds with the purpose of the House investigation. It is supposed to be an evenhanded search for truth — a departure from campaign conjecture motivated by paychecks and political alliances.
Holguin this year managed the winning campaign of Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber. Webber recently entered the alley fight between Romero and Trujillo in hopes of tipping the election for Romero. The mayor, joining in all the speculation, praised her for standing with women who are victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Webber has had a bad start as mayor. He supported special double-digit pay raises for 37 city employees that the city manager had quietly approved.
Freshman Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler believed the raises were improper and said so. Her concerns led Webber to belatedly discover that these raises violated city policy. Webber then ousted the city manager
and scotched the pay increases.
Despite Webber’s rocky beginning, Romero hopes his popularity will sway enough voters to get her elected.
But Webber isn’t the only city politician making an endorsement in this race. Vigil Coppler is backing Trujillo. “He’s really been a doer,” she said in an interview, crediting Trujillo with protecting water rights in the Pojoaque Valley and other improvements on behalf of his constituents.
Asked about Bonar’s sexual harassment allegation against Trujillo, Vigil Coppler said it did not influence her.
“I don’t have any proof of that,” she said.
Vigil Coppler is just one of many women endorsing Trujillo, but she has the highest profile.
I don’t know who is telling the truth, Bonar or Trujillo. Perhaps only the two of them know.
With all the uncertainty, voters have a hard job.
Romero is a flawed candidate. Trujillo might be a lawmaker unworthy of his office. Even if he wins the election, he could be expelled from the House if the investigation uncovers evidence against him.
Many will hold their nose when they vote in this race. Then they’ll hope they haven’t been manipulated.