Dennis W. Montoya

Appellate judge candidate Dennis W. Montoya is appealing the secretary of state’s decision to reject his application for public financing.

Montoya’s campaign manager, Santiago Juárez, filed the appeal with the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Mary Herrera sent Montoya a letter on Friday notifying him that he exceeded the $5,000 limit on what publicly financed candidates can contribute to their own campaigns as seed money. Montoya’s seed money report indicates that he contributed $8,887.29 to his campaign.

But Juárez wrote in his appeal that “seed money” is defined in state law as “a contribution raised for the primary purpose of enabling applicant candidates to collect qualifying signatures.” He said the $8,887.29 was for “general electioneering and preparation for delegate voting at the Democratic State Convention,” not for collecting petition signatures.

The problem, according to Juárez, is that the public financing law, which was recently expanded to included statewide judicial candidates, “is not clear how judicial candidates shall submit their general electioneering expenses for qualifying as a candidate through the convention process.”

The public financing law previously applied only to candidates for the Public Regulation Commission, who don’t have to compete for ballot position at their party’s preprimary nominating convention because they aren’t statewide candidates. Juárez wrote that the Montoya campaign is “trying to preserve the intent and integrity” of the law, but if it denies publicly financed statewide candidates their right to participate in the preprimary conventions, then it’s unconstitutional.

“However, given the ability to reasonably understand that it was not the intent of the writers (of the law) to foreclose the full participation by statewide candidates, the law can allow Mr. Montoya to participate and the New Mexico Legislature can fix the inconsistencies at the next legislative session,” Juárez wrote in his letter.

Montoya received Herrera’s letter Tuesday and had three days to challenge the ruling.

Deputy Secretary of State and Elections Director Don Francisco Trujillo confirmed that his office had received the appeal.

Trujillo said his office may have a decision on the appeal by next Wednesday.

“We are in the process of following the protocol and scheduling the appeal based on statute.
This is the earliest date that we tentatively expect a decision may be rendered by,” Trujillo said.

Montoya, an Albuquerque lawyer, is running against Appeals Court Judge Linda Vanzi in the Democratic primary.

“I’m supporting Janice because I believe she has the intelligence, passion, vision, courage and values to go toe to toe with the Democrat nominee in November,” Boitano said in a news release from the Arnold-Jones campaign.

“Janice has rock-solid, core conservative values which will appeal to Republican primary voters,” he said. “But it’s not enough to believe in something: You must be willing to fight for your values. I’ve personally seen Janice relentlessly tackle the liberals in committee for property tax reform and on the House floor for webcasting and greater openness in government.”

Boitano began pushing more than four years ago for the funding to begin webcasting in the Legislature, but it was only after Arnold-Jones – herself a state representative – began her own, rogue webcasting of House committee meetings that the Legislature started its own, official webcasts and approved some other transparency proposals including open conference committees.

Boitano is the third state legislator to endorse Arnold-Jones. The others are Rep. Kathy McCoy, R-Cedar Crest, and Rep. Anna Crook, R-Clovis and the House GOP caucus chair.

Arnold-Jones’ primary opponent Susana Martinez has the endorsements of 11 state representatives and senators. No other GOP candidates have the public endorsements of any state lawmakers.

Mullins, from his campaign Web site

Republican 3rd Congressional District candidate Tom Mullins says he wasn’t making a statement of support for the recently arrested members of a Michigan-based militia group when he wrote in a blog posting that the government is “after the militia” but “the citizen militia is not the problem.”

Mullins made this statement on Monday in the blog posting on his campaign Web site:

“Janet Napolitano and the Federal Government are after the militia now. Don’t fall for the media spin accusing Americans with guns as the problem. When you disarm the American people that will be tyranny. We are all citizen soldiers and we will protect our nation when our government fails us.”

Earlier this week, the Michigan militia members were arrested and charged with planning to kill police officers in the hopes of sparking an uprising against the government.

In his blog posting, Mullins stated that “the citizen militia is not the problem. We are the solution to many of the challenges that face our nation.” He encouraged people to “Please step forward to serve New Mexico and our great nation in whatever way that you can” and mentioned “volunteering in your local community” or church, donating blood or “assisting a political campaign.”

Mullins wrote in an e-mail that his blog posting shouldn’t be interpreted as support for those who were arrested. He said he was simply trying to convey his fear that the situation will be used to take guns out of the hands of law-abiding Americans.

“My point is that sensationalism sells,” Mullins wrote in the e-mail. “There are many instances where our government has gone after law abiding Americans for questionable reasons. I know of many folks who are concerned about being labeled domestic terrorists without due process.”

“Our law enforcement folks do a difficult job, but oftentimes law abiding Americans get corralled by the media as militia,” he wrote. “Owning a gun is not a crime. Training with guns in the woods is not a crime.”

“I believe this Michigan matter like many others will be used by the gun control believers to disarm law abiding Americans. That is my fear,” he wrote in the e-mail.

Montoya, an Albuquerque lawyer, has been under scrutiny lately after the Albuquerque Journal revealed a pending complaint that Vanzi filed against Montoya.

In the complaint with the state Supreme Court’s disciplinary board, the judge accused Montoya of, in the words of the Journal, “failing to represent the interests of a young boy whose father was killed in a one-car accident, questioned his fees and costs in the case, and accused him of lying to a guardian ad litem she appointed to protect the child’s interests.”

Montoya’s seed money report indicates that he contributed $8,887.29 to his own campaign. That’s well over the limit, and it’s the reason Herrera gave in her letter for rejecting Montoya’s application for public financing.

Montoya had three days to appeal the ruling from Herrera. Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo, who provided this reporter with a copy of Herrera’s letter, has not responded to an e-mail asking whether Montoya appealed.

Montoya did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Montoya touted his attempt to run a publicly financed campaign in a recent news release, saying it was the first for a statewide candidate in New Mexico.

“New Mexico has been subject recently to a number of criminal indictments and claims of ethical violations on the part of some of the highest appointed and elected officials in the State,” Montoya said in that release. “… Now we will see if the voters of New Mexico will be receptive to the idea of having their judges elected in a manner where how much money you have raised is not the issue.”

That leaves Rep. Ben Rodefer, D-Corrales, who represents District 23, facing one GOP challenger – Paul Pacheco. In District 5, Rep. Sandra Jeff, D-Crownpoint, faces former state Rep. Irvin Harrison, D-Gallup, in the primary. The winner will have no GOP challenger in November.

Don Francisco Trujillo

Secretary of State Mary Herrera’s office is once again shifting gears and releasing public information it had originally refused to provide.

This time, the Secretary of State’s Office relented and released hundreds of pages of e-mails to media outlets without most of the redactions that were included when the documents were first released earlier this month.

Deputy Secretary of State Don Francisco Trujillo was quoted by The Santa Fe New Mexican as writing, in a cover letter accompanying the new, less-redacted records, that “Some of the privilege reductions in the first disclosure were inadvertently overbroad.”

The New Mexican and KOB-TV in Albuquerque did their own digging last week into the original, heavily redacted e-mail release and found that many of the redactions hid routine communications including a discussion about a bill being considered during the legislative session and a request from a county clerk for more Spanish-language voter registration forms.

Herrera ditched a previously scheduled interview with KOB on Monday, instead making Trujillo available for the interview. Trujillo told KOB that Herrera had “some other obligations,” then went on to provide KOB with the newly un-redacted e-mails.

“We were following our best understanding of the law,” Trujillo told KOB about the initial redactions in a report you can watch here, “and to avoid that appearance of not wanting to be transparent, the secretary of state – here’s your copy, here’s an explanation, which explains basically the fact that it was just a massive amount of work to produce in a short period of time.”

This is the second time the Secretary of State’s Office has relented after initially refusing to release information that is public under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act. Trujillo initially denied media requests for a copy former Election Director A.J. Salazar’s resignation letter – a letter that was damaging to Herrera because it made a number of allegations of violations of state law and unethical behavior.

After the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said the letter was a public record – and the Rio Grande Sun released an un-redacted version of it – the office shifted gears and released a redacted version.

Did Herrera release too much information?

But there’s a new controversy over information that’s un-redacted in the most recent e-mail release. The Internet version of KOB’s report states that “that too much information may have been released,” which may violate federal law regarding the release of medical records.

In some of the newly released e-mails, Salazar “specifically asks that his medical conditions relating to his time served in Iraq not be made public.” But in some of the released e-mails, “the secretary of state’s office released at least three unredacted emails having to do with his medical condition, and one that referenced a member of Salazar’s family and their medical condition,” according to KOB.

The New Mexican’s article makes reference to the same thing:

“While in the previous batch of documents released, the secretary of state went overboard in blacking out information, in the latest batch the office might have gone too far the other way. Among the messages released are those in which an SOS employee describes a personal medical condition and the medical condition of a family member.”

The debate, which will be moderated by retired General Jerry Laws, is part of a program that begins at 5 p.m. and also includes a speech by former Congressman Steve Pearce, who’s trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., this year.

The event will be held at the Alameda House, 526 N. Alameda Boulevard in Las Cruces. Those who plan to attend must RSVP by Friday by calling (575) 526-1332 or e-mailing darp@comcast.net. Checks can be hand-delivered or mailed to the county GOP headquarters, 121 Wyatt Drive, Las Cruces, NM 88001.

The hearing, which is open to the public, will be held in the Doña Ana Room in Corbett Center on the New Mexico State University campus. It starts at 2 p.m.

The hearing will focus on providing essential services to veterans. It will include three panels to address “the unique issues facing Southern New Mexico’s veterans,” according to a news release from Teague’s office. Panelists will include local veterans and representatives of local veterans’ organizations and state government.

To deal with the problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Teague has sought mandatory mental health assessments for service members upon induction, before and after deployment and before discharge. He recently led a bi-partisan group in forming the Invisible Wounds Caucus to promote awareness of and help address mental health issues in the military.

“I condemn any violent acts and making threats against elected officials – of either party – and their family members. The lawbreakers should be fully investigated and prosecuted,” said Steve Pearce, the Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Harry Teague, D-N.M., in the 2nd Congressional District.

“Violence only begets more violence. We must express ourselves through the ballot box and the written word. We can do that without violence,” said Tom Mullins, one of two Republicans challenging U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján in the 3rd District.

Mullins’ primary opponent, Adam Kokesh, agreed.

“While recent political debates have gotten understandably heated, there is no excuse for turning to violence or personal attacks to make a point,” he said. “The founders of this country blessed us with a system through which all debates can be settled peacefully, through the ballot box. Let us honor them and our Constitution by keeping our discourse civil, lobbying our representatives respectfully, and seeking change by changing hearts and minds through inspiration, not fear.”

Pearce, Mullins and Kokesh join many Republicans and Democrats in Washington in denouncing the threats and violence that have been grabbing headlines since the president signed the health-care legislation into law on Tuesday.

At least 10 House Democrats have reported “death threats or incidents of harassment or vandalism at their district offices over the past week,” the Washington Post is reporting. One member had a coffin left on the lawn in front of his home. The brother of another had a gas line cut at his home.

But Democrats may not be the only ones targeted. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia and the minority whip, said at a news conference today that he had also received a threatening e-mail. And a Republican congresswoman from Ohio has reportedly received a threatening phone message.

Cantor also said a bullet had been fired into his campaign office building sometime in the last two days. Police later said the bullet had been randomly fired skyward and came down through a window and landed a foot inside the building, The Associated Press is reporting.

While condemning the threats and violence, Mullins said New Mexicans, “like many Americans, feel like their voices have not been heard. They are frustrated, angry, and frankly very disappointed with our elected officials.”

He said he has received threats on the campaign trail, but wouldn’t elaborate beyond saying there have been two or three instances in which there were “threats of physical abuse if we don’t leave town or an area.”

I’ve asked New Mexico’s congressmen and the other congressional candidates for comment on the situation. If I receive additional statements, you’ll see them here.

Update, 1:15 p.m.

Green Party 1st Congressional District candidate Alan Woodruff had this to say:

“The threats of violence and personal attacks on members of Congress is the inevitable consequence of negative rhetoric of the Republican opposition to everything President Obama and the Democrats are doing. I don’t agree with everything the administration is doing, but I deplore the negative, attack tactics that have come to characterize the political process – including campaigns.

“We, as political candidates, must do everything we can to bring the country together by promoting rational debate and a full discussion of the issues.  The example set by political ‘leaders’ is a disgrace.”

Update, 8:25 p.m.

Republican 1st District candidate Jon Barela had this to say:

“The violence and threats of physical harm that have been levied against members of Congress are deplorable, and the perpetrators should be punished.

“We are privileged to live in a peaceful democracy, where we can express our grievances and opinions about government activities in a myriad of legitimate ways, violence never being one of them; and, ultimately, we are blessed to have the right and responsibility to select those we send to Washington to represent us. These senseless threats and acts must stop immediately.”

Luján spokesman Mark Nicastre said this:

“We need to maintain a healthy, respectful debate free from heated rhetoric, violence and intimidation. It’s what the people of New Mexico and the people of our country deserve. Anything less is unacceptable.”

Update, March 26, 7:30 a.m.

Teague said this:

“Over the course of the last year I held over 100 public meetings throughout the 2nd Congressional District and health-care reform was almost always a topic of discussion. Southern New Mexicans on both sides of the issue were passionate about their beliefs, but things never got out of control and no one resorted to violence. I do think that these recent incidents of hate filled speech, violence and other threats against elected officials and their families are dangerous and only serve to undermine the public debate.”

A prior version of this posting incorrectly identified Woodruff as a Libertarian. This article has been updated to reflect new information about the situation involving Cantor.

Those who dropped their bids include:

• J.R. Damron, a Republican who had been running for lieutenant governor.

• James Jackson, a Republican who had been running for land commissioner.

• Spiro Vassilopoulos, another Republican who had been running for land commissioner.

You can find the full list of primary candidates here.