Sweatshirtgate: The end or just the beginning? 

Sweatshirtgate? In Albuquerque, homeless residents in pro-Keller clothing sparks intrigue

Just days before the election, the sight of dozens of bright yellow "I ♥ Tim Keller" sweatshirts worn by homeless people along East Central made headlines, drew public outcry and spurred a televised tiff between mayoral candidates.

Now, the city of Albuquerque's Board of Ethics is considering formally investigating the matter despite dropping a complaint against a local politics blogger who claimed to know who distributed the hoodies and why.

In December, Paul Gessing, the president of the Rio Grande Foundation, a Libertarian-leaning think tank, told multiple local media outlets that he knew who was behind the stunt but wouldn’t reveal their identity.

Without knowing who was responsible, the Keller campaign’s lawyer, Daymon Ely, filed a complaint against Gessing with the ethics board.

“I do understand that this is unusual, but honestly I wasn’t sure how to handle this,” Ely said in an ethics hearing Wednesday.

Ely argued that whoever distributed the sweatshirts violated the election code by anonymously spending more than $250 to influence the mayoral race.

“You’re gonna see this again,” Ely said in warning to the board.

According to the city charter, anyone who spends more than $250 must register with the city clerk and make disclosures about where the funds came from, a rule that officials say promotes transparency.

However, without a suspect to investigate, Ely said he filed a complaint against the only person who claimed to know more — Gessing — in hopes that the board would use its subpoena powers to compel him to speak up.

In a series of reactionary emails forwarded to the Journal by Gessing’s legal counsel, Blair Dunn, the lawyer called the proceedings “fascist” and a “kangaroo court.” Dunn also asked Ely and City Clerk Ethan Watson if the board was “endorsing waterboarding” his client for information.

Neither Gessing nor Dunn attended the hearing after Dunn called it a “charade designed to trample his (client’s) constitutional rights” in an email chain.

Wednesday, the board unanimously voted to dismiss the case on the basis that it was outside the board’s scope of policing the ethics of candidates, campaigns and city employees.

Still, the board discussed launching an investigation either using staff from the city's Office of Inspector General or by hiring a private investigator.

The board will make a final decision about whether and how to launch an investigation in its next meeting slated for February.

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com or on Twitter @G_Barkhurst