{"id":2467,"date":"2007-11-02T14:38:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-02T20:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/11\/tying-up-loose-ends-for-the-municipal-election\/"},"modified":"2007-11-02T14:38:00","modified_gmt":"2007-11-02T20:38:00","slug":"tying-up-loose-ends-for-the-municipal-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/11\/tying-up-loose-ends-for-the-municipal-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Tying up loose ends for the municipal election"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>With less than four days until polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday in the Las Cruces Municipal Election<\/a>, there are a few odds and ends that need to be wrapped up, all relating to disclosure. <\/p>\n

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

Any of these topics could have warranted its own article but, this close to the election, I hesitate to go there. It\u2019s time to try to wrap up investigate reporting on election-related issues. So here\u2019s what I know that\u2019s outstanding:<\/p>\n

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

People for Prosperity<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Last weekend, a group calling itself People for Prosperity made public its attempt to affect the outcome of the election with a quarter-page advertisement<\/a> in the Las Cruces Sun-News<\/a>. It has since unveiled a Web site<\/a> and a series of pricey newspaper ads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019ve been pushing all week for the group to publicly disclose who is behind the effort, arguing that it should operate with transparency. Today, the group put out a news release<\/a> identifying members of its board of directors as Hotch Manning, a retired businessman and past president of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce; Kari Mitchell, CEO and owner of Las Cruces Machine, Manufacturing & Engineering; and Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> attorney \u2013 and former U.S. Attorney \u2013 Bill Lutz.<\/p>\n

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

The non-profit states in the release that it\u2019s \u201ca long-term educational group committed to dispel negative misconceptions about socio-economic conditions in and around Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Though it doesn\u2019t endorse any candidates, the group certainly shares the views of Mayor Bill Mattiace<\/a> and council incumbents seeking re-election.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIn recent months and during this active local political season, many citizens and local business owners who have worked so hard to improve Las Cruces are increasingly dissatisfied with the proliferation of inaccurate and negative misinformation concerning growth and the local economy,\u201d the group\u2019s news release states. \u201cLas Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> is thriving and prospering, and many positive results have been seen over the past few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Conservation Voters of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state><\/span><\/p>\n

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

Conservation Voters of New Mexico<\/a> is playing a large role in the city\u2019s election. I\u2019ve already reported<\/a> that the group gave $500 to mayoral candidate Ken Miyagishima<\/a> and $1,000 to council District 4 candidate Nathan Small<\/a>. What has not been reported is the get-out-the-vote effort of its companion non-profit organization, Conservation Voters of New Mexico Educational Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

The group has sent mailers to targeted voters that promote voting for candidates who support things like \u201cresponsible development,\u201d clean air, public parks, water conservation and \u201cefficient use of tax dollars,\u201d but the mailers don\u2019t endorse specific candidates. Check out one of the mailers by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Conservation Voters Political Director Leanne Leith confirmed that the group used data to send the mailers to voters who are most likely to share its concerns. There\u2019s nothing improper about what\u2019s being done here, since there are two separate non-profits involved, but the overall effort by Conservation Voters, in practicality, includes financially backing some candidates and trying to get voters who support those candidates\u2019 views to the polls.<\/p>\n

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

The effort will also include phone calls on Election Day. In addition, a look at Small\u2019s finance report reveals financial contributions from one Conservation Voters staffer and one board member of the Conservation Voters educational non-profit. Leith<\/st1:place> said the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance<\/a>, Small\u2019s employer, was not involved in any way in the get-out-the-vote effort.<\/p>\n

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

Another Frietze\/Philippou land deal<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve written extensively about prior land deals between a non-profit run by District 1 Councilor Jos\u00e9 Frietze<\/a>, who has three challengers in this election, and controversial Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> developer Philip Philippou. I discovered last night that there\u2019s another land exchange Frietze has failed to disclose even in the face of controversy over the other deals.<\/p>\n

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

You can read about the previous land deals here<\/a>, the latest on the resulting ethics complaint here<\/a>, and my chastisement of Frietze for failing to disclose the land deals here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

As for the recently discovered land deal, Philippou\u2019s Katerina, Inc.<\/a> gave the Frietze-run Resources for Children and Youth, Inc.<\/a> half ownership of 1,543 acres of land in Otero<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> on Jan. 6, 2006. Yes, you read that right – 1,543 acres. Here\u2019s the quitclaim deed<\/a>. The most interesting point on this parcel of land is that a separate quitclaim deed<\/a> reveals that another Frietze non-profit, Families and Youth, Inc.<\/a>, gave the other half of the ownership of the land to RC&Y on the same day.<\/p>\n

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

That appears to indicate and FYI and Katerina were co-owners of the parcel of land before Jan. 6, 2006. I don\u2019t know why they co-owned the land or for how long. In fact, I can\u2019t tell you anything else. Reached by telephone this morning, Frietze told me he would call me back, but he has not. Philippou has not returned a call seeking comment.<\/p>\n

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

So you\u2019ll have to decide what this means before you vote on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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

Secretive attackers go after Philippou and his allies<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Some group has started a Web site<\/a> attacking public officials its members dub \u201cpoliticians helping Philippou\u201d \u2013 Mattiace, three councilors and the state land commissioner. The group informed me of the site through an anonymous e-mail, and they haven\u2019t responded to a request to identify themselves.<\/p>\n

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

In addition, I know the name of the person to whom the site\u2019s domain, http:\/\/lascrucesphp.com<\/a>, is registered. I called and e-mailed him, but he hasn\u2019t responded. I won\u2019t name him here, because I\u2019m not certain of his involvement in the site, but you can find his name with an Internet search if you want.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019m disappointed that the group has chosen to remain secret. Its members are accusing these politicians of secretive activity while they\u2019re hiding behind their own cloak. That violates the spirit of openness and transparency with which they want the council to operate.<\/p>\n

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

Many citizens who have been galvanized by a belief that growth is out of control are active in the Progressive Voter Alliance<\/a> and Quality Growth Alliance<\/a>, though neither group officially backs candidates who are running on a platform of slower or smarter growth. The PVA, in the spirit of openness, reveals a great deal about its members and participants on its Web site, but the QGA does not, which is unfortunate.<\/p>\n

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

I can\u2019t really tell you whether the new Web site is tied to members of either of these groups.<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s it<\/span><\/p>\n

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

I won\u2019t say I\u2019m not planning to write any more about controversial issues, accusations or disclosure, but there comes a point when we\u2019re too close to the election for candidates to have adequate time to respond, and we\u2019re just about there. I don\u2019t plan any more articles on these or similar topics until after the polls close, and hope nothing comes up at the last minute that requires an article.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s time to vote. Early voting continues this afternoon and Saturday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Good luck to all the candidates.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that People for Prosperity\u2019s ads were full-page ads. It also incorrectly said the land deal was for 1.5 acres, not 1,543.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With less than four days until polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday in the Las Cruces Municipal Election, there are a few odds and ends that need to be wrapped up, all relating to disclosure. Any of these topics could have warranted its own article but, this close to the election, I hesitate to go […]<\/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-2467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467","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=2467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}