Email
Secretary of State Dianna Duran’s office has closed the book on a campaign complaint filed by Ben Rodefer against his primary election opponent, state Sen. John Sapien, a Corrales Democrat.
The bottom line? No wrongdoing.
Rodefer had argued that a recent letter Sapien sent to Placitas residents – on official Senate stationery – that invited them to a town hall meeting was improper and a campaign event in disguise. He asked the Secretary of State’s Office to investigate.
However, a memo sent by ethics officer Christiana Sanchez to Sapien says that, upon a review, the Secretary of State’s Office determined that Sapien’s letter does not appear to have violated the Governmental Conduct Act.
Sapien, who said the letter was sent to members of all political parties, is seeking a second term representing Senate District 9. Rodefer is a former state representative who lost his re-election bid in 2010.
- Dan Boyd, dboyd@abqjournal.com
THE MONEY TRAIL: Congressional candidate Michelle Lujan Grisham has accepted nearly $1,000 in campaign contributions from John Dantis, the former deputy county manager who retired amid a nepotism scandal.
Dantis, who was criticized for getting his son hired in a county job, left his job at the county about six months before Lujan Grisham took office as a Bernalillo County commissioner in 2011. She pledged at the time to hold the controversial county administration accountable.
Dantis was gone but remained an issue. Within weeks of taking office, Lujan Grisham and other commissioners ousted Dantis’ boss, Thaddeus Lucero, partly over his handling of the nepotism scandal.
Lujan Grisham’s campaign said this week that she has no problem with taking contributions from Dantis for her current congressional campaign despite the past controversy.
“Michelle’s actions as a county commissioner to hold leaders accountable are beyond reproach. She does what’s best for constituents and taxpayers, and her professional or personal relationships have no impact on her judgment as a commissioner or during her public service,” campaign spokesman Gilbert Gallegos wrote in an email statement, noting that Lujan Grisham has known Dantis “for 20 years.”
Dantis told the Journal the donations from his family have nothing to do with past incidents. Dantis said the contributions were intended to be from his wife, although the money is listed as his with the Federal Election Commission.
During Lujan Grisham’s 2010 County Commission campaign, she received a $150 contribution from Lucero but later returned it.
- James Monteleone, jmonteleone@abqjournal.comSapien Cleared on Ethics Question
POLITICS NOTEBOOK
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal
