Jeff back on ballot after deal with secretary of state
She will pay $100 fine to enter race
SANTA FE — Former state lawmaker Sandra Jeff is back on the ballot in a state Senate race, after Secretary of State Brad Winter’s office struck a deal with her just as she was appealing her disqualification.
Jeff will pay $100 of the $1,050 the secretary of state said last year she owed in fines.
The agreement derailed a hearing in state District Court that had been scheduled for Tuesday. Jeff was appealing Winter’s ruling that she be removed from the ballot in Senate District 22 because she hadn’t paid the fines for late filing of a campaign finance report.
Jeff, a Navajo from Crownpoint, is a maverick Democrat who sometimes voted with Republicans on major issues during her six years in the House.
She will run in the primary against first-term Sen. Benny Shendo, D-Jemez Pueblo, in the majority Native American district. The winner likely would take the seat; there is no Republican on the ballot in November.
Asked why the secretary of state approved a settlement that had Jeff paying only $100, Winter provided the following statement:
“Our office supports compliance with the Campaign Reporting Act and also supports that candidates who want to run for office and follow the law have access to the ballot. This settlement brings Ms. Jeff into compliance and allows the people of New Mexico to make their choice in the primary election.”
A consultant for the state Senate Democratic Caucus, Zach Marcus, called Winter’s action “highly irregular.” He said Jeff “will not even be receiving a slap but a light tap on the wrist.”
“After the office has been tarnished by the illegal actions of Dianna Duran, you would think they would be concerned with actually upholding the law,” Marcus said. Former Secretary of State Duran, a Republican, resigned from office last year and pleaded guilty to using campaign funds for gambling expenses.
Winter, who is also a Republican, was appointed in December by Gov. Susana Martinez to succeed Duran. He is not running for election to the position.
Jef f had argued in her appeal petition that Winter had overstepped his authority in tossing her off the ballot.
She claimed she never got an arbitration hearing she requested and that she was rejected when she tried to pay the fine as she filed for the Senate seat.
Jeff, who was represented in her appeal by lawyer and Republican state Rep. Zach Cook of Ruidoso, said Tuesday that she was pleased with the outcome.
“People in my district will have the opportunity to vote for their choice of candidate,” she told the Journal.
A lawyer for Shendo, Karen Mendenhall, said the senator had wanted to intervene in the appeal to argue that Jeff does not live in the Senate district, but rather in the Albuquerque area. Jeff told the Journal she lives in the district.