Donations may have broken law
Teachers union reports contributions during recent special session
A teachers union reported giving contributions to legislators and a legislative candidate during the recent special session, in apparent violation of a law prohibiting it.
A political action committee of the American Federation of Teachers New Mexico gave 17 lawmakers and one candidate for the state House of Representatives a total of $3,900, with the contributions dated Oct. 3, according to the organization’s campaign finance report.
The special session ran from Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.
The contributions were first reported by New Mexico in Depth.
State law doesn’t prohibit legislators or legislative candidates from accepting contributions during regular or special sessions, but it does prohibit them from soliciting contributions.
And lobbyists and their employers are barred from contributing during sessions to statewide
elected officials, legislators, or candidates for those offices.
The contributions during the recent session — which was called to deal with the state’s budget crisis — were listed on campaign finance reports that were due in the Secretary of State’s Office on Oct. 11.
Because the reporting period for those reports was from Sept. 6 through Oct. 3, it’s not clear whether there were other contributions in the last few days of the special session. The next reporting is due Nov. 3.
Stephanie Ly, president of AFT New Mexico, argued that the state needs to clarify its campaign finance rules.
“We were among many individuals, groups, and organizations in New Mexico who gave during the nearly week-long session, according to the NM In-Depth article,” she said in a statement. “It is obvious the system is not clear, and we look forward to these laws being tightened up” under the next secretary of state.
The National Education Association New Mexico — a competing teachers union that covers Santa Fe and rural parts of the state — reported a $250 contribution to state Senate Majority Whip Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, on Oct. 3.
Padilla said he did not receive it during the session and it was likely given to him before the annual matanza he sponsors, which was held Oct. 15.
NEA New Mexico spokesman Charles Goodmacher referred questions to the organization’s attorney, Jerry Todd Wertheim.
“We are looking into the contribution and what happened,” Wertheim told the Journal. “We are committed to making sure anything NEA New Mexico does is proper and legal, and we will take the appropriate action once we determine the facts about it.”
The Committee on Individual Responsibility — the trial lawyers’ political action committee — reported contributions of $5,400 apiece to Democratic House candidates GloJean Todacheene of Shiprock and Candie Sweetser of Deming, dated Oct. 1.
But the candidates reported they received the contributions before the session. COIR Treasurer Peter Mallery said the checks were sent to them Sept. 21, and COIR arbitrarily assigned the Oct. 1 date to the contributions for reporting purposes.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, it has not received any complaints related to contributions during the session.
Heather Ferguson, legislative director for Common Cause New Mexico, said lobbyists should be aware of the law, and more education about it might be in order.
But she said the abrupt timing of the special session — Gov. Susana Martinez announced it about 40 hours in advance — may have caught some organizations off-guard and “unprepared to pivot” if contributions already were in the pipeline.