Richardson Political Committee Has Balance of $1.3 Million
By Barry Massey
The Associated Press
SANTA FE — A political committee affiliated with Gov. Bill Richardson collected almost $82,000 in contributions since late May and spent more than twice that amount.
The committee, Moving America Forward, received $50,000 from a Washington D.C.-based interest group, Voices for Working Families, that has major financial backing from organized labor. Richardson also serves as a director of the group, which is running a voter registration campaign targeting minorities, women and young people.
Moving America Forward received $81,945 in contributions from May 26 through June 28, spent $216,747 and had a cash balance of almost $1.3 million, according to a campaign finance report filed Thursday with the secretary of state's office.
Other top contributors to Richardson's committee were Forest City Covington, a real estate development group involved in the Mesa del Sol project on state trust land in the Albuquerque area, $10,000; Scientific Games of Alpharetta, Ga., which makes and operates pari-mutuel wagering equipment and lottery systems, $5,000; and $5,000 from Pfizer Inc., a pharmaceutical company.
Richardson formed the political committee last year and at the time said it would promote Democratic issues and candidates and focus on registering voters, especially Hispanics in swing states.
The committee, known as a "527" organization because of a section of the federal tax code that provides for its tax-exempt status, can spend money to help influence federal elections and can make contributions to candidates for the Legislature and state offices.
Much of the committee's spending was for staff in New Mexico, Colorado and Florida. Other expenditures included nearly $61,000 for mailings and about $31,000 for polling.
According to the latest financial report, incumbents on the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hold hefty fund-raising advantages over their Republican challengers at the outset of the general election campaign season.
A judge on the Court of Appeals, Democrat Michael Vigil, was among the active fund-raisers during the past month.
Vigil received $24,000 in contributions for his campaign, spent $23,606, reported a cash balance of $25,942 as of June 28 and debts of $5,000.
His top contributors included an Albuquerque lawyer, William Marchiondo, and an Albuquerque businessman, Nunzio DeSantis, who each gave $10,000. The judge's campaign listed debts of $5,000.
Republican Paul Barber received $115 in contributions, spent $177 and had a balance of $2,625 and debts of $2,418.
Barber and Vigil had no opponents in the June 1 primary election.
In the race for a seat on the Supreme Court, Democratic incumbent Edward Chavez had a balance of $165,324 in his campaign account as of earlier this week and Republican Ned Fuller reported campaign cash reserves of $6,553.
Chavez received $5,930 in contributions and spent $8,366 on his campaign during the past month.
Among his contributors was Attorney General Patricia Madrid's campaign committee, which gave $500.
Fuller collected $925 in contributions, spent $437 and had debts of $6,588.
Fuller and Chavez ran unopposed in the primary election.
Under state law, members of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals initially run in a partisan election after they are appointed to their judicial positions and, if they win, become subject to periodic retention elections.
Chavez and Vigil were appointed to judgeships last year by Richardson.
The state Republican Party's state campaign account raised $22,216, spent $18,622 and reported a balance of $15,499. Top contributors included Pete's PAC, a political action committee affiliated with U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, which gave $7,500 to the GOP; and an Albuquerque-based political group called ABQ PAC, $5,000. The party's expenditures included $8,000 for candidate campaign training.
The Democratic Party's state campaign account received $344 in contributions, spent $18 and reported a cash balance of $8,327.
The Green Party collected $442 in contributions, spent $97 and had a balance of $7,925.
Here are campaign finance summaries for other state office candidates in the general election:
Public Regulation Commission-District 1
Democrat Jason Marks received $15 in contributions, spent $355 and had a balance of $2,797 and debts of $10,000.
No report was available from the secretary of state's office for Republican H. Ward Camp.
PRC-District 3
Democrat Ben R. Lujan raised $10,762, spent $18,656 and had a balance of $2,735.
Republican John Gonzales received $1,334 in contributions, spent $1,123 and had a balance of $1,071.
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