Ethics complaint filed against District 4 City Councilor Brook Bassan

A District 4 resident filed an ethics complaint against City Councilor Brook Bassan earlier this week, alleging Bassan’s policy analyst changed the address on her voter registration in order to contribute to the campaign and potentially vote for the candidate.

Given the proximity to Election Day, Bassan called the complaint a “dirty trick” to distract voters.

In the complaint, David Esdale, who has lived in the district for four years, wrote he was concerned Bassan was “using her position as a City Councilor and direct supervisor of (policy analyst Dawn Marie) Emilio to encourage and consent for Emilio to change her voter registration and vote for Bassan.”

Emilio told the Journal via email she would not be voting in District 4, but from the district in which she currently resides.

City Clerk Ethan Watson has three days after submission to review the complaint and see if it meets certain requirements. Watson said letters to both parties should be sent Thursday indicating whether the complaint will be referred in full or in part to the Board of Ethics. There is also a potential opportunity for the recipient to come into “voluntary compliance.”

But there won’t be any closure on the complaint until after voting.

The complaint was filed during a pre-election “blackout” period, which, per the city charter, prohibits the board from adjudicating a complaint. The board is not scheduled to meet until Nov. 10, three days after the election.

Two voter registration cards were attached in the complaint. On a card signed in 2017 by Emilio, the policy analyst listed an address near Unser and Irving on the West Side.

In April 2023 — two months before she signed Bassan’s nominating petition and contributed $5 to the campaign — she changed her address to Bassan’s.

Emilio wrote she moved into Bassan’s house in Northeast Albuquerque for personal reasons for a significant amount of time, but has since moved out.

In an email to the Journal, Bassan said when Emilio first moved in, they were both uncertain how long she would stay. Bassan said she was unaware that the policy analyst had re-registered at the address, but Emilio was “entitled to do so.”

“It’s a shame that someone opening their home to another when they are in need is being turned into false allegations and exploited for political purposes,” Emilio said in a statement.

Esdale said he learned of the registration change from an email sent out by District 4 candidate Abby Foster. Foster’s campaign manager Neri Holguin acknowledged the team helped Esdale file the complaint. Esdale said he worried about “turmoil” over out-of-district votes, given recent debates about election integrity.

“It was very distressing that there seemed to be evidence,” Esdale said. “It’s about as local as we can get; it’s my city councilor. So sure, I’m upset about it.”

But Bassan called it a “last-minute dirty trick” to distract voters from issues like crime.

“I’m disgusted that the mayor’s team is so desperate to win this election that they’re willing to falsely attack this young woman, knowing full well their complaint will be dismissed as baseless after the election,” Bassan said.

Holguin previously represented Mayor Tim Keller in the 2021 mayoral election, when ethics complaints flew back and forth between Keller and then-mayoral candidate Manuel Gonzales.

Both Bassan and Foster, as District 4 candidates, were required to procure 500 signatures to qualify for the race. Both far exceeded the minimum. Bassan had 570 verified signatures, and Foster had 595. Both had a few dozen signatures that were rejected.

Bassan needed 403 qualifying contributions — $5 donations from at least 1% of the district’s voters — to qualify for public financing. She received 411 contributions. Foster is privately financed.

In 2019, when Bassan first ran for District 4, Eric Shimamoto filed an ethics complaint against her in late November. The complaint was later dismissed voluntarily by Shimamoto.