Story Tools  E-mail Story  Print Friendly Send E-mail To Sean Olson BY Recent stories by Sean Olson $$ NewsLibrary Archives search for Sean Olson '95-now Reprint story Featured Jobs Featured Jobs Feature Your Jobs: call 823-4444 Legislature Legislature May Land on Web; Lawmakers OK Equipment Buy Gambling Foes Urged to Act; Gov. Gets Few Calls Seeking Veto of Bills Legislature OKs $5 Million for Plane Gov. Making List for Next Session; Loans, Wells To Be on '06 Agenda Lawmakers May Take Fitness Lead Voter ID Is Just One Part of Bill Richardson's Tax Cuts OK'd Tax Cuts, Pre-K Package Approved; Gov. Says No Special Session Public Works Bill OK'd; $471 Million Plan Largest on Record Summary of Major Legislation That Passed, Failed in the 60-Day Legislative Session More Legislature

          Front Page  news  xgr

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Martinez Must Respond To Complaint Over Ad Funding

By Sean Olson
Journal Staff Writer
          The Secretary of State's Office informed Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday that she needs to respond to allegations she violated the state's Campaign Reporting Act when she used leftover campaign money to fund radio ads.
        A letter, signed by office ethics investigator Christiana Sanchez, gives Martinez 20 days to respond. Sanchez will review the complaint and, if warranted, send it along to an enforcement division.
        The radio ads supported Martinez's push to repeal a 2003 state law that allows illegal immigrants and other foreign nationals to obtain drivers licenses in New Mexico. The ads call on people to call their legislators and support the repeal.
        The complaint was filed by immigrants' rights group Somos Un Pueblo Unido, whose officials say Martinez's expenditure fell outside clearly drawn lines on what spending is allowable under state law.
        "New Mexicans deserve to know how the governor justifies using campaign funds to pay for inflammatory and misleading ads regarding such a complex public policy issue," Somos Un Pueblo Unido Executive Director Marcela Díaz said.
        In her initial review of the expenditure, Secretary of State Dianna Duran said the ads were legal and that many campaign committees had made similar expenditures in the past. An identical complaint sent to the Attorney General's Office has not yet been addressed.
        Officials with Martinez's campaign committee said Tuesday that their actions were legal.
        "The secretary of state already initially reviewed the matter and made clear that the use of campaign funds was completely appropriate and 'found no violation of the reporting act,' " said Danny Diaz, Martinez's campaign committee spokesman. "The letter from her office is routine, and we continue to believe that it is ironic that a radical special interest group that believes illegal immigrants have a right to New Mexico driver's licenses does not believe the governor has a right to free speech."
       

We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately.