Allen Weh
Weh claimed last week to be the only gubernatorial candidate who has run a business, but a check of the facts reveals that at least three others have, too
Republican gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh is backing off a statement he made last week about being the only business owner in the 2010 race.
In response to a spike in the state’s unemployment rate, Weh claimed last week that, “As the only candidate who has run a business, I know what it will take to create jobs, cover a payroll and balance a budget during tough times.”
NMPolitics.net asked every campaign about their candidate’s business ownership and found out that Weh’s statement isn’t true at all. Republican soon-to-be candidate Doug Turner owns a business. Republican candidate Janice Arnold-Jones and Democratic candidate Diane Denish have owned businesses in the past.
Asked about those facts, Weh campaign spokesman Christopher Sanchez told NMPolitics.net that last week’s statement was a mistake.
“What (Weh) tells people on the road, while campaigning, is that he’s the only candidate that owns and operates a multi-million dollar company,” Sanchez said.
Weh’s Albuquerque-based aviation company generated nearly $100 million in revenue last fiscal year, according to Sanchez.
The other current and past business owners
Turner, who said he plans to announce his candidacy after the Albuquerque municipal election, said Weh knows that he founded D.W. Turner, a public relations firm.
“I have grown the company from one to 24 employees,” Turner said. “We operate not only in New Mexico, but nationally and internationally.”
Turner said his experience in business gives him the knowledge to lead the state.
“Look, small businesses create jobs and drive our economy,” Turner said. “As a business owner, I feel the brunt of government regulations and unnecessary taxation. Businesses are forced to wade through complicated bureaucracies.”
Denish’s campaign manager, Oren Shur, said the lieutenant governor owned her own company for 12 years. He said Denish has been a champion for 1,600 small businesses in the state both with start-ups and expansions through the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation.
“She knows that the private sector drives our economy and believes that government should help create a climate that allows for that economic growth,” Shur said. “Lt. Gov. Denish was raised in a family of New Mexico small business owners, so one could say that the entrepreneurial spirit runs through her veins.”
Shur said Denish’s “rural roots, her small business experience and her record of accomplishment in public office have uniquely prepared her to lead New Mexico during these challenging economic times.”
Arnold-Jones, who manages a technical services company in Albuquerque, did not respond to a request for an interview before publication, but she has stated in the past that she once owned a video production company in Southern California.
Update, 7:30 p.m.
It’s worth noting that Sanchez said Weh’s original statement shouldn’t be interpreted as referring to Turner “because he’s not a candidate.”