Dems disclose severed ties with embattled state senator
Party’s announcement it distanced itself from Ivey-Soto last year follows renewed push from feminist group for his resignation
The Democratic Party of New Mexico disclosed this week it severed ties last year with embattled state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, amid renewed attacks over past allegations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior.
“He has been told by phone that he is not welcome at our events,” the party wrote in a statement. “We have individually disinvited him from past and future DPNM events, and he no longer serves on any DPNM committees or caucuses or as the regular DPNM parliamentarian, which he was for years. After being highly involved in internal DPNM affairs for years, he is no longer welcome to have any role within DPNM.”
Ivey-Soto, who has served in the New Mexico Senate for a decade but still hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek reelection, declined to comment Friday. He has previously denied allegations of wrongdoing.
The Democratic Party of New Mexico decided to remove the Albuquerque Democrat from internal party affairs more than a year ago. The decision came after lobbyist Marianna Anaya accused him of groping her seven years prior, in 2015, and then stalling a high-profile voting rights bill she was advocating for when she confronted him about the alleged incident.
After Anaya went public, other women accused IveySoto of harassment and bullying. This led some progressive advocacy groups to call for Ivey-Soto to be removed from committees or resign as well as for lawmakers to reform how harassment claims are handled.
“This was not a sudden or recent decision,” party spokesman Daniel Garcia said in an interview. “It was
just internal within our internal affairs until now.”
Garcia said the disclosure came after a renewed call from a new coalition of local, state and national organizations for IveySoto to resign.
“This was not a proactive message put out by the party,” he said. “It was in response to a media inquiry.”
The inquiry came after UltraViolet, which describes itself as a community of one million people that drives feminist cultural and political change, issued a letter urging various organizations affiliated with Ivey-Soto to cut him off.
“To avoid any conflicts of interest and humiliating situations for women and survivors of sexual violence, we call upon your organization to sever ties and take any other appropriate action within your power to support the many women and survivors, including removing Ivey-Soto from panels, boards, committees; ending contracts with him; and finally, to call on him to resign from the State Senate,” the letter states.
While Ivey-Soto has rejected calls to resign from the Senate, he did resign last year as chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee. In his resignation letter, he wrote the chairmanship had “become a distraction that has overshadowed the work of meeting the needs of the people who elected me.” Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, also stripped Ivey Soto of his chairmanship of the New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee last year.
Garcia did not respond to a follow-up question about whether the party has ever severed ties with one of its members, including with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was accused by a former campaign staffer of grabbing his crotch.
In its statement, the Democratic Party of New Mexico wrote it is “glad to see the action Senate leadership has taken to remove Sen. Ivey Soto from any position of authority in committees during the session and the interim.
“We are also glad to see the Legislature’s ongoing work in recent years to improve the process for handling ethics complaints,” the party added. “Additionally, we are encouraged by the continued hard work of allied groups and advocates who strive to make the legislature safer and more welcoming for everyone.”