Fight over 46th still going after knockout
The campaign in New Mexico’s Fightin’ 46th won’t quiet down. No primary election in the state this year caused tempers to boil like the one in House District 46 in Santa Fe County.
A former lobbyist accused the incumbent, Democratic Rep. Carl Trujillo, of sexual harassment.
Trujillo’s challenger, Andrea Romero, presided over an organization that lavishly and irresponsibly spent public money on booze and other frills. For instance, someone in Romero’s group billed taxpayers for a $28 shot of WhistlePig whiskey at a fancy restaurant. Romero’s misconduct was a matter of fact. The allegations against Trujillo were serious but unproven. A legislative subcommittee is still investigating the charges made by his accuser, Laura Bonar.
Nonetheless, the sexual harassment complaint against Trujillo cost him the election. Romero won the primary decisively.
In most years, that would have ended the competition. Republicans rarely field a candidate in District 46 or other legislative elections in Santa Fe. This year is no different.
But Romero, 31, isn’t assured of taking a seat in the House of Representatives. Two people have qualified to run against her in the November general election.
Heather Nordquist, a 44-yearold Democrat, has mounted a write-in campaign. And Amadeo J. Ortiz, 32, made the ballot as an independent.
Nordquist was one of the whistleblowers who dug up the improper public expenditures that Romero authorized as executive director of the Regional Coalition of Los Alamos National Laboratory Communities. In retaliation, Romero sought an investigation of Nordquist, who works as a scientist at the lab.
Nordquist is aware of the inherent difficulties of a write-in campaign.
“Sure I am. I have a minor in math,” she said.
But she is motivated to run against Romero.
“There’s definitely an air of above-the-law about this particular candidate,” Nordquist said.
Romero declined to answer questions I posed to her, including on what basis she wanted Nordquist investigated. Instead, Romero sent me a lengthy statement saying she is committed to working with residents to improve the economy and lessen poverty and drug addiction. She also took another jab at Trujillo, who has represented the district for three terms.
“For the past six years, this area has been fraught with divisiveness, making it impossible to move forward on these challenges,” Romero said.
Two audits of the coalition’s expenditures under Romero are ongoing. Nordquist said the outcome might influence voters.
Ortiz, once a Democrat, has been an independent for about two years. He considered running for Santa Fe County assessor, but said he realized his abiding interest in reforming the property tax system could best be tackled as a legislator.
A residential appraiser in the assessor’s office, Ortiz said he has a chance to win the House race based on the number of people who encouraged him to run.
“It was quite moving and motivating in that many individuals wanted a representative they could be proud of,” he said.
Ortiz mentioned a great upset in which an independent won a race for Congress, but then corrected himself. A write-in candidate pulled off the feat, he said.
Actually, a handful of write-in candidates have won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including the late Joe Skeen of New Mexico in 1980.
More than 53,000 voters wrote in his name.
In the District 46 race, Nordquist is questioning Romero’s fitness to hold public office.
Nordquist has posted a photo on her Facebook page of the menu from the Washington, D.C., restaurant where Romero’s coalition spent $1,850 on a dinner for 16 people. The bill for booze was $380. A featured line from the menu is the whiskey shot that cost $28.
Romero says she reimbursed the public $580 for any inappropriate expenditures, but that was only after the coalition’s spending habits received news coverage. Audits still loom over the race.
Would Nordquist or Ortiz have a better chance of defeating Romero if only one of them were in the race?
“I didn’t know Nordquist was coming in,” Ortiz said.
Nordquist would not have run if Trujillo had won the primary. She voted for him.
Ortiz is not as critical of Romero as Nordquist is, at least not publicly.
“Her issues are hers to deal with,” Ortiz said.
As for voters, many are happy that the Fightin’ 46th again is a competitive race. Devin Bent, who supported Trujillo in the primary, is one of them.
“Andrea Romero is just a deeply flawed candidate,” he said.
Romero defeated Trujillo by a solid margin, 3,076 votes to 2,763. She has a base of support heading into the general election. And Nordquist and Ortiz might split the votes of those dissatisfied with Romero.
In short, it’s Romero’s race to lose.
But elections can shift quickly. In the early stages of the primary campaign, Romero was mired in scandal. Then Bonar made her sexual harassment allegations against Trujillo and fortunes changed.
Can another turnabout happen?
Probably not. But voters already are the winners.
They get a choice. That’s better than Romero getting a cakewalk.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.