Democratic 3rd Congressional District candidate Don Wiviott continues spinning primary opponent Ben R. Luján’s record in his newest TV ad, another assault on the frontrunner.
Here’s the ad:
The ad refers to Wiviott’s previous negative ad, which accused Luján of missing 13 of 14 meetings of the state Telehealth Commission while being paid $90,000. The new ad then attacks Luján for taking trips to
As the Luján campaign has already pointed out, while the accusation that Luján missed the meetings is true, being a member of the commission is something Luján does as a volunteer, not in his paid capacity as a member of the Public Regulation Commission, so the two are not connected.
Wiviott’s new ad also gives no context for the taxpayer-funded trips. Were they for PRC-related business meetings?
In the Albuquerque Journal poll released Sunday, Luján was leading Wiviott 29 percent to 23 percent. The primary is a week from today.
Update, 9:15 a.m.
Luján spokesman Mark Nicastre had this to say about Wiviott’s new ad:
“Don Wiviott doesn’t want to talk about Ben Ray Luján’s real record of accomplishment or about the fact that Ben Ray Luján was endorsed by the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Albuquerque Journal, Stewart Udall, every leading conservation group and nearly every labor union because Luján cleaned up corruption at the PRC, stood up to Qwest after they took advantage of consumers and led the effort to make New Mexico a national leader in clean, renewable energy like wind and solar power,” he said.
“Don Wiviott is running exactly the kind of campaign he decries — misleading attack ads instead of discussing the real issues. Of the three work trips Wiviott’s misleading ad mentions, two were trainings for regulatory commissioners and the third was the annual meeting of the National Association of Regulator Commissioners at which Commissioner Luján worked with his peers to develop a regulatory framework for moving the West towards a clean, alternative energy future,” he said.
“This is just another attempt by Don Wiviott to mislead the voters of the 3rd Congressional District,” Nicastre concluded.
Update, 9:55 a.m.
Wiviott spokesman Webster Cash responded to Nicastre’s comments by saying this:
“Looks like the training did him little good, considering Luján voted to raise energy prices on the backs of countless thousands of struggling New Mexicans,” he said. “If that’s the sort of thing he learned in