Former gubernatorial candidate agrees to pay $500 in ethics case
Republican State Rep. Rebecca Dow accepted penalty for two ethics violations of Governmental Conduct Act
State Rep. Rebecca Dow has agreed to pay a $500 penalty and drop a pending legal case before the New Mexico Court of Appeals to settle a long running ethics complaint some considered a liability in her unsuccessful run for governor.
A former federal judge serving as a hearing officer for the state Ethics Commission will consider whether to approve the proposed settlement Wednesday.
“I will ask the hearing officer and the Commission to approve the settlement agreement as fair and reasonable, and in the best interests of all parties,” Walter Boyd, the commission’s general counsel, said in a statement Monday.
Dow, a Republican from Truth or Consequences who has served in the state House of Representatives since 2017 and finished a distant second in the GOP primary for governor in June, declined to comment until the settlement is final.
Documents posted on the ethics commission’s website show Dow accepted the settlement offer June 29.
She agreed to pay a $500 civil penalty for two violations of the Governmental Conduct Act that deal with legislators representing clients in front of state agencies.
Boyd called the case against Dow the “first-ever enforcement” of those Governmental
Conduct Act restrictions.
The law states a legislator “shall not appear for, represent or assist another person in any matter before a state agency, unless without compensation or for the benefit of a constituent.” The law includes exceptions “for legislators who are attorneys or other professional persons engaged in the conduct of their professions.”
But in those instances, a legislator must “refrain from references” to his or her legislative role “except as to matters of scheduling, from communications on legislative stationery and from threats or implications relating to legislative actions.”
In his investigative findings, Boyd said Dow was being paid by AppleTree Educational Center, a faith-based early childhood education provider she founded in 1999, while representing the nonprofit before numerous state agencies.
Evidence included a December 2019 invoice stating Dow attended meetings with Cabinet secretaries throughout the year “promoting” AppleTree and others, as well as a consulting agreement showing AppleTree was to pay Dow $4,500 annually.
In an August 2019 email to the general
counsel and special projects coordinator for the Children, Youth and Families Department pertaining to a state contract to AppleTree, Dow signed it “Rep Dow,” making what Boyd called a prohibited reference to her legislative capacity.
The nearly 2-year-old ethics case stems from a complaint filed by Karen Whitlock, Dow’s Democratic opponent in the November 2020 House District 38 race. Whitlock had accused Dow of violating state conflict-of-interest and financial disclosure rules.
Efforts to reach Whitlock for comment were unsuccessful, but the settlement offer to Dow states Boyd consulted with Whitlock about the agreement, “and she agrees it is an appropriate resolution of this matter.”
Dow’s attorney, Lucas Williams of Roswell, did not return a call seeking comment.
In the past, Dow has said the accusations against her are political and that her “Democratic opponents have consistently looked for anything, any incident in AppleTree,” to cast doubt on her.