Legislative candidate spins tale of conspiracy
State Senate candidate Joey Tiano, a Republican of Santa Fe, is running a campaign brimming with accusations, almost all of them rambling and reckless.
Tiano made a wide and wild series of claims Tuesday.
◆ He said Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar stole the 2016 election for Democratic state Sen. Liz Stefanics. Tiano claims Salazar waited until the other five counties in Senate District 39 had reported all their returns, then stuffed the ballot box to elect Stefanics.
Salazar responded: “We conduct free, fair, unbiased and secure elections in Santa Fe County. I don’t know what Mr. Tiano is talking about. Where’s his evidence?”
◆ Tiano also said county clerks in Southern New Mexico stole the 2018 election in the 2nd Congressional District for “Socialist Small,” his nickname for Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small.
Torres Small defeated Republican Yvette Herrell by 3,722 votes. Tiano claimed ballot boxes appeared from nowhere to give Torres Small the votes that carried her to victory.
Herrell did not contest the election when she had the chance and the clout of the national Republican Party to help her. She later said she was cheated by Democrats she did not identify. Tiano repeated her claims, never providing evidence of election fraud.
◆ Tiano said the Legislature is filled with “socialist communists.” Asked to name names, he hemmed, hawed, hesitated and tried to change the subject.
Pressed some more, Tiano finally said House Speaker Brian Egolf is one of the socialist communists. Egolf, D-Santa Fe, is the proprietor of a law firm, the career of a capitalist.
Sure, Tiano said, Egolf is in business to make money, but he’s still a socialist.
◆ Tiano said an autopsy established George Floyd died of a drug overdose, not police brutality. In fact, two autopsies by different medical examiners found homicide was the cause of Floyd’s death.
Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin planted his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds. Tiano, who worked in law enforcement for 24 years, nonetheless claimed fentanyl killed Floyd. He insisted the autopsy backs him up.
Floyd had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, but neither drug caused his death, according to the autopsies.
◆ A line in his campaign biography says: “Joey Tiano is dedicated to the preservation of the dignity of the natural family.”
I asked Tiano if his statement was a criticism aimed at Stefanics, his opponent in the November election. Stefanics is married to Linda Siegel.
No, Tiano said, he was referring to abortion as the threat to “the natural family.” He disapproves of same-sex marriage but said he accepts it’s been legalized.
Most of Tiano’s screeds were aimed at County Clerk Salazar. Had Salazar not stolen the 2016 election, Tiano said, Republican Sen. Ted Barela would have defeated Stefanics.
Barela, who was the incumbent by appointment, lost to Stefanics by 372 votes. He did not contest the election or make any claims of fraud.
Tiano, though, said he’s sure Barela was robbed. Tiano promised to have his backers eyeballing Salazar and her staff.
“She stole the election in 2016. I’ll stand by it. I hope she doesn’t do it with me,” Tiano said.
Asked for his evidence, Tiano said Stefanics had an unusually high vote total in the last two Santa Fe precincts to be counted. Stefanics was a Santa Fe County commissioner before defeating Barela for the Senate seat. Tiano discounted her service as a commissioner for her showing in Santa Fe County.
Conspiracy claims and revisionist history aside, Tiano has another problem. His record of money management might be his biggest obstacle to winning a Senate seat.
He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2014. He said his financial troubles occurred after a “small-business investment venture.”
In his bankruptcy filing, Tiano listed debts of $378,757. He stated he owed $306,000 on his home.
Tiano had five credit cards carrying debts totaling $49,000, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records. He owed $24,000 on two vehicles that had been repossessed.
A judge discharged Tiano’s bankruptcy in 2014.
Tiano said he likes his chances in Senate District 39. It’s mostly rural, a sprawling area stretching from San Miguel County to the tip of Ruidoso in Lincoln County.
By his account, he’s even winning over voters that he calls “JFK American Democrats.”
Some people claimed John F. Kennedy stole enough votes in Chicago to carry Illinois in the 1960 presidential election. Kennedy’s supporters countered that Republican Richard Nixon stole just as many votes downstate in his losing effort.
Tiano is busy spinning his own stories of election fraud.
Talk is cheap, except he already has a built-in excuse for failure if Stefanics beats him in November.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.