{"id":1229,"date":"2007-02-07T13:47:00","date_gmt":"2007-02-07T19:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/02\/the-current-campaign-finance-system-forces-candidates-to-cross-ethical-lines-to-compete\/"},"modified":"2007-02-07T13:47:00","modified_gmt":"2007-02-07T19:47:00","slug":"the-current-campaign-finance-system-forces-candidates-to-cross-ethical-lines-to-compete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/02\/the-current-campaign-finance-system-forces-candidates-to-cross-ethical-lines-to-compete\/","title":{"rendered":"The current campaign finance system forces candidates to cross ethical lines to compete"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>An article in today\u2019s Albuquerque Journal<\/a> reveals the ethical gray area Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> has entered by raising money while the state Legislature is in session.<\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

On Friday, major Democratic donors Beth and Don Dozoretz hosted a campaign event for Richardson<\/st1:city> in Washington<\/st1:city>, D.C.<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> A Washington Post<\/a> article headlined \u201cClinton<\/st1:city> camp hasn\u2019t written off fundraising couple who helped competitor\u201d points out that the two are close friends with the Clintons<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Thus began an argument about whether the couple has opted to support Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s presidential run or is trying to play two sides.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Though the Dozoretz event was billed as \u201can opportunity for individuals to meet Governor Bill Richardson\u201d in the invitation, which noted that \u201ca contribution is not required to attend,\u201d it also gave instructions for donating.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Those are the stakes: The Dozoretzes, rich and influential Democrats, are critical to Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s cash-strapped campaign, and they\u2019ll be courted heavily by Hillary.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Journal pointed out today that Ron Dozoretz has major business interests in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. He runs the parent company of ValueOptions, which has taken over mental and substance abuse services in New Mexico<\/st1:state> under the Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> administration and, last year, oversaw $300 million in services.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

At the same time, the Journal reported, FHC Health System, ValueOptions\u2019 parent company, gave $50,000 to Richardson<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>\u2019s 2006 re-election campaign.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

So<\/span>mething in return?<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The company is asking state legislators and the governor this year for an increase in the amount of money the state pays to service providers, and is also considering controversial changes in its services, the Journal reported, including cutting some services and replacing them with cheaper options.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

State Sen. Leonard Lee Rawson<\/a>, R-Las Cruces, told the Journal the situation \u201clooks bad, smells bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why: Rawson recently asked Attorney General Gary King<\/a> for an opinion on whether Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>, by raising cash for a federal campaign, is violating a state law that prohibits the governor and lawmakers from soliciting funds for a \u201cpolitical purpose\u201d during the session.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can read Rawson\u2019s letter to King by clicking here<\/a>. An opinion by King\u2019s office is expected within days, the Journal reported.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> campaign spokesman has accused Rawson of political mudslinging and said state law doesn\u2019t apply to federal elections. Pahl Shipley told the Journal he didn\u2019t know whether anyone donated at the Dozoretz event and pointed to the fact that contributions weren\u2019t required.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Regardless, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> gains immensely simply by having the couple host such an event. And who really thinks no one wrote a check?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In an interview with me last week, Rawson asked a more important question: Even if it\u2019s legal for Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> to raise money for a federal election during the state\u2019s legislative session because the state can\u2019t regulate federal elections, the intent of the state law is to prohibit money from influencing legislative and gubernatorial decisions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cLegal or illegal, is it ethical?\u201d Rawson asked. \u201cWhen you have legislation dealing with industry coming up, I really wonder. \u2026 You know it has an effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Situation illustrates need for reform<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This situation is a perfect illustrator of the need for campaign finance reform. It\u2019s valid to worry that Richardson\u2019s decisions during the session could be influenced by help he receives for his White House bid, no matter what the governor says. At the same time, if he doesn\u2019t start raising money now, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has no shot at securing the Democratic Party\u2019s 2008 presidential nomination.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s clue No. 1 that there is too much money in politics: Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has to cross, or at least straddle, ethical lines if he wants to play the game.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Until we reform the system, we get mostly candidates who are willing to wade into such ethical quandaries, because those who aren\u2019t willing to go there generally can\u2019t raise the money to become serious candidates.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

To compete, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has to work desperately to raise as much private money as he possibly can. Many of those who are giving money want something in return. ValueOptions clearly has a financial interest in the official decisions of Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> and the Legislature.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In a recent interview with the Albuquerque Tribune<\/a>, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said the public financing system for presidential candidates may be outdated and is complicated. He also said pundits are declaring that presidential hopefuls who accept matching funds \u201ccan\u2019t raise money, so they\u2019re not serious candidates. That\u2019s not a very good incentive for any candidate\u201d to use the public financing system.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s notable that Richardson is pushing for ethics reforms in New Mexico this year that include campaign finance reform, but it\u2019s also notable that he waited until his last election in New Mexico was over before he got serious about it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The second part of that statement notwithstanding, Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> pointed in the Tribune interview to lawmakers who oppose his ethics reform proposals, and said \u201csome of these legislators should look in the mirror before criticizing me.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Many legislators are lukewarm on ethics reform<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>That\u2019s also a valid point. We have a group of Democratic lawmakers who have watered down some of the proposals of the governor\u2019s ethics reform task force before introducing them as bills, and we have a number of Republican lawmakers who oppose the reforms altogether.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As reported in a separate article in the Journal<\/a>, the House Voters and Elections Committee on Tuesday voted 7-5, along party lines, to endorse publicly financed elections for statewide and judicial candidates, a bill<\/a> sponsored by Speaker of the House Ben Lujan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The issue was so hotly debated and consumed so much time that the panel had to delay votes on two other campaign finance reform proposals, the Journal reported. Many believe some lawmakers are trying to slow the bills down so they have less chance of being approved.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Minority Whip Dan Foley<\/a>, R-Roswell, who voted against public financing on Tuesday, told the Journal that the Democrats\u2019 ethics reform proposals are \u201canother example of smoke and mirrors by the majority party.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I should point out that, though many Republicans oppose the bills, a few have co-sponsored them. There are even a couple of Republicans who have sponsored their own ethics reform bills, only to have them shot down in committees by Democrats.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I should also point out that many Democrats have pushed for the tougher reforms recommended by the task force, but agreed to weaken them in compromises with Democratic colleagues who don\u2019t want serious reform.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

For example, the proposed state ethics commission won\u2019t have the power to discipline those it finds in violation of state law, though the task force recommended that. The argument among some Democratic lawmakers is that legislators have committees to police their own activity.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But House Democrats haven\u2019t done a thing to investigate a situation involving capital outlay money that was misspent last year by the wife of a state House member from Las Vegas<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>. The legislative committee isn\u2019t independent.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

House Democrats have also introduced a bill capping at $250 the value of gifts public officials can accept during the session, though the task force wanted a cap of $100.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Citizens must demand change<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Still, the Republicans are wrong to say the measures would only add more regulations that can be circumvented. Many conservatives say regulations on campaign finance will create a system in which only the rich can afford to run for office.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But the way things stand now, the rich have too much control of those who run for office, and citizens, with few exceptions, get to choose only from among candidates who are willing to submit to such influence.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The state reforms need to be approved, and proponents of change need to continue pushing even after that. The federal system needs reformed, too, as the situation with Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s presidential campaign perfectly illustrates.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s only going to happen if citizens demand it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An article in today\u2019s Albuquerque Journal reveals the ethical gray area Gov. Bill Richardson has entered by raising money while the state Legislature is in session. On Friday, major Democratic donors Beth and Don Dozoretz hosted a campaign event for Richardson in Washington, D.C. A Washington Post article headlined \u201cClinton camp hasn\u2019t written off fundraising […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1229\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}