I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Ads about the Rail Runner with a candidate Lieutenant Governor are raising some eyebrows, according to an article in today’s Santa Fe New Mexican. Lawrence Rael, the Executive Director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, appears in the 30-second ads which have appeared on cable and one broadcast network. The ads, Rael says, are about safety. Others wonder if they could give him an unfair advantage in the upcoming election.
From the New Mexican:
…Pollster Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling, Inc. said Friday that the best way for a candidate to build up name recognition is a 30-second television spot.These ads in particular, Sanderoff said, will help Rael because it links his job to the Rail Runner, which, the pollster said, is a popular program. The Mid-Region Council of Governments is the lead agency in the implementation of the Rail Runner.
Recently, another candidate for lieutenant governor, Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano, also drew questions from members of the media after sending out an endorsement via an employee in the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office. Some reporters questioned Solano’s use of his office resources to make a political endorsement, although no laws prevent it.
In 2004, then-Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron was loudly criticized when she was prominently featured in a series of ads intended to promote voter registration. In 2008, Vigil-Giron ran for Congress in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District; she lost in the primary.
As the Albuquerque Journal reported at the time:
“If they have a problem with seeing my mug on television, well, then that’s their problem,” Vigil-Giron said.
Earlier this week, state Rep. Brian Moore, R-Clayton, wrote a letter to Vigil-Giron requesting documents detailing the advertising expenditures. The letter also said the television ads were intended to enhance Vigil-Giron’s “name recognition.”
“In essence, you put your own political career ahead of the interests of the voting public,” the letter said.
Vigil-Giron on Friday said she would comply with Moore’s records request. She said she mentioned her name twice in the 30-second television ads and four times in the 60-second radio ads in case voters tuned in during the middle of an ad.
In August, Vigil-Giron and three others were indicted on 50 counts of fraud, money laundering and kickbacks related to the ads.
