I’m going to eat a little crow here. After originally stating in this commentary that Gary King had not secured any convictions in public corruption cases, it was pointed out to me that there were some. I stand by the point of this commentary – the three most high-profile cases King has brought forward are still pending, and the GOP can use that against him – but I have updated this column to reflect the information I neglected to include in the original version. My apologies to the attorney general.
Heath Haussamen
The postponing of the corruption trial of former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron reveals a potential weakness for Attorney General Gary King’s re-election chances: While he’s secured convictions in some corruption cases, the most high-profile cases are unresolved, and it looks like they will still be pending on Election Day.
The trail for Vigil-Giron and three others accused of fraud and money laundering was set to begin Tuesday. Instead, it’s been postponed until Jan. 3 – eight weeks after the election.
Now, there is likely a perfectly valid reason the trial date was pushed back. It happens all the time. I’m not suggesting otherwise.
King’s office secured indictments in three high-profile cases last year. At the time, there appeared to be a good chance he would have some convictions under his belt when he ran for re-election this year – or at least that one or more of the cases would be resolved one way or the other.
Not any more.
King’s office is still appealing the dismissal of some of the charges in the case against Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block and his father. The Blocks are facing felony and misdemeanor charges related to misusing the state’s public financing system.
The judge says King’s office overstepped its authority with the indictments, ruling that, with violations of the public financing law, the secretary state can issue fines or hand the case over to the AG for prosecution, but not both – as was done in this case.
The case is on hold until the appeal is settled.
Then there are the indictments against Vincent “Smiley” Gallegos and three others in the housing authority scandal. A trial date also hasn’t been set in that case, which also includes charges of fraud and money laundering. Most recently, a motion to dismiss the charges against some of the defendants was denied.
There’s a pre-trial hearing for one of the defendants scheduled for next month. But a trial before November appears unlikely.
On the flip side, however, one case brought forward under King’s leadership led to Roberta Vigil being convicted of two felonies last year for misusing public money in her former role as head of the West Las Vegas Public Schools’ bilingual education program.
If Chandler wants a shot at winning…
I’m not arguing that King should try to rush the Vigil-Giron, Block or Gallegos cases through the court system so he can say he won a conviction in a campaign ad. Not at all. I prefer that these things be done right, even if that means they’re not done quickly.
I’m simply pointing out that there haven’t been convictions in these cases, and Republicans are likely to use that fact against King – a Democrat whose fellow Democrats have been at the center of almost all of the public corruption scandals that have plagued New Mexico since 2005.
King’s Republican opponent, Matthew Chandler, is a district attorney whose campaign slogan is “leading the fight against crime and corruption.” He can – and if his campaign is shrewd, will – hammer King for not securing a public corruption conviction in these cases. Chandler must also continue talking about his own record of taking on corruption.
On the flip side, King can certainly put up a TV ad highlighting the fact that he’s indicted a former secretary of state, a public regulation commissioner and a former affordable housing official – all members of his own party – on corruption-related charges, and that he secured the Roberta Vigil conviction. Maybe that will cancel out any attack Chandler lobs at King. It certainly makes King appear tough on corruption.
There are some other situations King can tout as well – cases that were started by King’s predecessor or the feds. For example, in his first year in office King got former State Treasurer Michael Montoya, who had already been convicted on federal charges, to plead guilty to one state felony crime in exchange for the dismissal of 15 other charges brought by King’s predecessor.
And, even though it’s not corruption-related, King’s office successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to remove Carol Sloan from the PRC after she was convicted of attacking another woman with a rock because she believed the woman was having an affair with her husband.
I’ve written before, in the monthly NMPolitics.net newsletter that goes out to qualifying donors, that I haven’t seen much reason – yet – to believe Chandler has a chance of winning. He’s an excellent candidate, but King faced an equally strong opponent in 2006 in Jim Bibb, and he still won the race by 14 points.
This time around, King is the incumbent. History would suggest he is even stronger this election cycle. But there is currently a throw-the-bums-out mentality.
If Chandler wants a shot at winning, he’s going to have to make the case that King hasn’t done enough to combat corruption. If he can do it convincingly, that, coupled with the anti-incumbent sentiment sweeping the nation, might be enough to make this race competitive.