Republican PRC candidates Jamie Estrada, left, and Kent Evans.
The Public Regulation Commission District 5 GOP primary race has degraded into a nasty battle between Jamie Estrada and Kent Evans.
The back-and-forth spilled over into public view last week when Evans put out a news release stating that his campaign had filed a complaint with the Secretary of State’s Office alleging that Estrada had failed to report campaign expenses and was in violation of state law.
“Mr. Estrada has made ethics and corruption a major issue in his campaign for the District 5 seat on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, but he has failed to live up to the standards he has campaigned on,” Evans said in the release.
Among Evans’ allegations is that Estrada, a publicly financed candidate, hasn’t reported travel and printing costs, or the costs of a campaign mailer, on his finance reports. The complaint, which was filed by former PRC Member Tony Schaeffer on behalf of the Evans campaign, is pending.
Estrada said his finance reports are in compliance with the law. He said some of the expenses Evans has questioned were paid for with the seed money he used to qualify for public financing, and that seed money was scrutinized by the secretary of state before he was approved for public financing.
Estrada said he didn’t receive an invoice for the cost of the mailer Evans has questioned until after cutoff date for expenses that had to be included on the last report. The next report is due Thursday, and the mailer should be reflected on that report.
“Just because I am not spending money on the same things that he is (yard signs, TV ads, printer ink), or just because I am spending at a different rate doesn’t make me out of compliance,” Estrada said. “Kent Evans’ decision to pull a cheap campaign stunt 11 days before the election only wastes the valuable time of busy (secretary of state) staff. Baseless campaign attacks are the typical last resort of a desperate, old-school, career politician and it degrades Evans and his campaign supporters.”
Dropping a bomb
Evans also dropped a bomb in that news release, referring to Estrada’s “involvement in an assault and battery complaint filed in Otero County.”
“If I say I will stand up for what is right, then I have to do it,” Evans said in the release about why he brought up Estrada’s alleged “involvement” in that issue. “It doesn’t make any difference to me if it is now or after I am elected. I have had to make hard decisions before and I will have to again.”
But Estrada wasn’t involved in an assault and battery. A man who served a subpoena for Estrada when Estrada was challenging the petition signatures of two other candidates has been accused of assault by the woman he served the subpoena on, but Estrada was not present when the subpoena was served.
The incident occurred when the man was serving a subpoena in the case of Otero County Commissioner Doug Moore – one of two candidates who filed to run in the Republican PRC primary but was later disqualified.
Asked about the alleged assault and battery incident that he brought up publicly, Evans referred questions to Moore.
“I really know very little about it. I heard about it,” Evans said.
A testy forum
The situation has degraded from there. Things got ugly at a May 20 tea party forum Evans and Estrada attended in Las Cruces. Here’s video of one exchange from the forum:
Estrada has put two other video clips from the forum on his Facebook page. In one, Evans earns boos when he tries to bring Schaeffer on stage to help answer a question for him. Facebook users can watch it here.
In the other video clip, Evans highlights the fact that he and his wife have children, while Estrada and his wife do not.
“Unlike my opponent, like you, I have children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren,” Evans reads from a paper in his hand. “I am deeply concerned about their future.”
Martinez hasn’t endorsed anyone
Estrada also posted a document on Facebook about what he claims to be untruths from the Evans campaign. Among the issues he highlighted is that Evans’ campaign Web site lists Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez – a GOP candidate for governor – as a supporter.
“Join these area leaders in support of Kent Evans!” the Web site states. Then it quotes Martinez as saying that Evans “listens to our concerns” and “believes we should be tough on criminals while focusing on victim’s rights.”
The problem? Martinez has endorsed no one in the PRC race. The quote is one Martinez provided to Evans to use when he ran for a legislative seat, according to Estrada, who was Martinez’s gubernatorial campaign manager before he entered the PRC race.
A negative mailer
Finally, GOP voters in the district received a mailer from Estrada on Tuesday attacking Evans for endorsing Bill Richardson in the 2008 presidential race.
“So called ‘Republican’ D. Kent Evans endorsed Bill Richardson for President,” the mailer states, adding that Richardson “made government corruption a household term… spent taxpayer dollars on planes, trains and personal chefs” and “made New Mexico a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants.”
“Now that’s alarming…. Vote No on Kent Evans,” the mailer states.
The ad cites a quote Evans gave me in 2007 at a rally attended by Richardson and other supporters of a tax increase to help fund Spaceport America.
“I love him and I think he’s doing a great job,” Evans said of Richardson during a speech he gave at that rally. “I think he is going to be the next president of the United States.”
Here’s what I wrote about it in 2007:
“I asked Evans after the event if he was endorsing Richardson’s candidacy, and he said he was, adding that Richardson is the best candidate he knows about.”
Reached today, Evans said he didn’t vote for or support Richardson for president. He said he was kidding with me when he made those comments in 2007.
The other two Republicans in the PRC race, Ben Hall and Robert Maez, appear to have stayed away from the fighting between Evans and Estrada. Maez hasn’t actually done much campaigning at all.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Bill McCamley (a friend of mine – read my disclosure on that) in November.
This article has been updated for clarity.