With state Rep. Trujillo’s defeat comes the blame game
Trust me on this. Conspiracy theories multiply in even-numbered years, especially after the polls close. Many candidates who thought they were sure winners have lost in the city and primary elections. The also-rans have to blame someone. They might even pick an innocent bystander.
This is what’s happened with the defeat of Democratic state Rep. Carl Trujillo in last week’s primary election.
I see an obvious explanation for Trujillo’s loss to a lightweight challenger, Andrea Romero.
About a month before the primary, a female lobbyist accused Trujillo of sexual harassment in 2013 and 2014. The charge, though dated, was explosive. It drained momentum from Trujillo’s campaign.
Others see a more sinister circumstance behind Trujillo’s defeat.
They say Rep. Brian Egolf of Santa Fe, speaker of the House of Representatives, conspired to help Romero by shaping the investigation of Trujillo in a way that would encourage a media feeding frenzy.
The theory is that Egolf wanted to hurt Trujillo’s chances because Romero is more liberal on abortion and other social issues important to the Democratic caucus.
Richard Reinders, who supported Trujillo, recently sent me a complaint typical of those accusing the speaker of tilting the election.
“Don’t you find it funny how Brian Egolf gave the media more information about the allegations against Rep. Trujillo and sooner than the actual legislative investigative committee?” Reinders wrote in an email. “I think the media had the information before they even leveled the charges at Rep. Trujillo.”
No, I don’t consider this funny. I do, however, find Reinders’ allegation lacking in any factual basis.
In early May, former lobbyist Laura Bonar released an open letter claiming Trujillo had sexually harassed her. Trujillo responded a few hours later. He called Bonar a liar and said he knew her so slightly that he had to look up who she was.
Under the Legislature’s new policy on complaints of sexual harassment, Egolf and other leaders of the House of Representatives authorized an investigation of Trujillo.
Contrary to what Reinders said, Egolf revealed nothing to reporters about the particulars. In interviews with me and others before the election, Egolf would only say he had appointed two Democrats and two Republicans as the subcommittee that would investigate Trujillo, and an attorney from outside the Legislature would assist them.
Egolf has not identified members of the subcommittee. He wanted to shield them from external pressures.
But, Trujillo said, Egolf dragged his feet for six days in organizing the investigation. Trujillo said this led to his being tried and pummeled in the press.
I have criticized the rush to judgment against Trujillo in which four sitting legislators said he should resign before the investigation had even begun.
It’s too bad the investigation did not conclude before the election, but that is part of a larger problem.
New Mexico has the nation’s only unpaid Legislature. Its members typically hold jobs and are busy making a living when they are not in session. This can make it difficult to handle important business of government, much less instantaneously launch an investigation under a brand-new policy.
As for the claim that Egolf wanted to defeat Trujillo, I see no evidence to support it. If they are not close allies, they were at least friendly.
Egolf endorsed Trujillo last year. Both men say Egolf donated money to Trujillo’s
re-election campaign months ago, though no contribution is listed in the last three state reports. Egolf said he believes the amount he gave Trujillo was $500.
In addition, Egolf said, he told Trujillo he would continue as cohost of a campaign fundraiser for Trujillo on May 22, some three weeks after Bonar publicized her charges.
“Taking my name off a fundraiser for Carl could be seen by the public as evidence that I believed the charges against him,” Egolf said in an interview. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Egolf said he thought Trujillo canceled the campaign event after another host pulled out. Trujillo went ahead with the fundraiser, using the invitation that still carried Egolf ’s name. Egolf did not attend, something Trujillo regarded as a betrayal.
Trujillo, saying he was acting on the advice of his lawyer, would not comment in any detail about what he considers Egolf ’s attempt to harm his campaign.
“I have my beliefs. I can’t share them with you now,” Trujillo said.
Egolf had a tart response: “This is a little bit of Carl’s MO. When he ran in ’10 and ’12, it was Carl versus the Machine,” of then House Speaker Ben Lujan and Santa Fe’s mayor at the time, David Coss.
Trujillo says he still has not been interviewed by the investigative committee, a point that galls him. But the pace of the investigation is less important than being fair and thorough.
Many who had no involvement in the ugly race between Trujillo and Romero are afraid the Legislature’s investigation won’t find the truth.
Sexual harassment cases can be hard to prove, said Karen Foss, who spent her career in television news before retiring in Santa Fe.
“I know more than one man who made it all the way to a lauded retirement, never answering for behavior that was notorious among his female coworkers, especially the younger [and] more vulnerable of them,” Foss said.
No doubt, some men get away with sexual harassment. I have also seen tenured professors harmed forever by false allegations of sexual harassment that were exploited by their university president.
What Trujillo did or didn’t do to a lobbyist all those years ago remains an open question, one still being investigated by the subcommittee.
But one point ought to be clear to all: Bonar, not the House speaker, brought down Trujillo.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.