{"id":2730,"date":"2008-01-11T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-11T19:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/district-6-election-disclosures-and-shenanigans\/"},"modified":"2008-01-11T13:29:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-11T19:29:00","slug":"district-6-election-disclosures-and-shenanigans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/district-6-election-disclosures-and-shenanigans\/","title":{"rendered":"District 6 election disclosures and shenanigans"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I did in November with the regular Las Cruces municipal election<\/a>, I\u2019ve been looking into rumors and allegations related to the upcoming District 6<\/a> special election. I\u2019ve found a few things worth reporting. Here they are: <\/p>\n

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

Shipley fined<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Candidate Berchard Ray Shipley, while he was a planning commissioner in Brentwood<\/st1:city>, Calif.<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>, was fined $100 by the state\u2019s Fair Political Practices Commission<\/a> for failing to file in a timely manner a 2002 statement of economic interests. Such disclosures are required in that state.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI made the mistake of mailing in my annual statement and did not get a return receipt from the post office,\u201d Shipley said in explaining the situation. \u201cI was notified several weeks later that they had not received my statement so I sent in a duplicate and paid the fine for the late submittal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHope that clears the matter up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

I\u2019ve seen no evidence that suggests Shipley\u2019s explanation is false. As long as he\u2019s telling the truth, this is worth noting, but not a big deal.<\/p>\n

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

A family connection<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Candidate Sharon Thomas\u2019<\/a> daughter works for the Las Cruces Metropolitan Planning Organization<\/a>, a joint agency of the City of Las Cruces<\/st1:city>, Town of Mesilla<\/st1:city> and Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename> that helps plan transportation needs in the greater Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> area.<\/p>\n

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

Caeri Thomas is an associate planner who coordinates the transit strategic plan and works with the city bus system. The city is the fiscal agent for the MPO and houses its employees. The city council approves and helps fund the MPO budget \u2013 including salaries \u2013 each year, and three Las Cruces<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> councilors join three Mesilla trustees and three county commissioners on its oversight policy committee.<\/p>\n

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

In a news release announcing her candidacy, Sharon Thomas stated that her daughter is working on her master\u2019s degree in geography at New Mexico<\/st1:placename> State<\/st1:placetype> University<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> but did not mention her job. However, she spoke freely about the situation when I inquired.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI don\u2019t see this as presenting any sort of conflict,\u201d Sharon Thomas told me. \u201c\u2026The city council has nothing to do with employment of city staff except for the city manager. The city manager is the only employee of the city council.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

That\u2019s technically true, but anyone who has worked in local government knows that the council has some sway over other employees, if for no other reason because it determines their salaries. Thomas is the former head of the Quality Growth Alliance<\/a>, and many of its members have gone after Councilor Gil Jones<\/a>, former Councilor Jose Frietze and others for failing to disclose potential conflicts and for failing to recuse themselves when those citizens believed the councilors had conflicts.<\/p>\n

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

I don\u2019t see Thomas\u2019 situation presenting a real conflict, just as I don\u2019t see a real conflict arising out of Jones\u2019 distant relationship with developer Philip Philippou, but, just as Jones was wise to disclose that relationship, Thomas should have come out disclosing this one from the beginning, especially in light of the harsh treatment others tied to the Quality Growth Alliance have given Jones.<\/p>\n

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

If she is elected, Thomas would be wise to disclose the relationship when matters related to her daughter\u2019s work are discussed by the council.<\/p>\n

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

Use of non-profit e-mail<\/span><\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>Candidate Karen Trujillo<\/a>, the president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces<\/a>, used the chamber\u2019s e-mail system to send a message in December to members of the chamber inviting them to a fundraiser for her campaign.<\/p>\n

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

It was a brief e-mail that didn\u2019t urge any action but simply invited members. It\u2019s not the first time this has happened. The chamber e-mail list has been used to spread word about events related to U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a> in the past.<\/p>\n

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

The e-mail doesn\u2019t appear to violate IRS rules governing non-profits. If the chamber was a 501(c)(3), it might be a different story, but groups such as business leagues that are classified as 501(c)(6) organizations are not prohibited from some types of political activities, \u201cso long as that is not its primary activity,\u201d according to the IRS Web site<\/a>. Political expenditures, however, may be subject to tax.<\/p>\n

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

All dues-paying members are allowed to use the list to send announcements to chamber members. Still, as the president of the chamber, Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> has some influence over the group. She would be wise to not use the chamber system for political purposes again, and the chamber would be wise to prohibit all members from using it for political purposes in the future.<\/p>\n

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

An out-of-control citizen<\/span><\/p>\n

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

At a forum earlier this week, Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> was verbally accosted by a supporter of and financial contributor to Thomas\u2019 campaign. There was a slightly frightening moment when he approached her quickly with an angry tone in his voice immediately after the forum, accusing her of misrepresenting something Mayor Ken Miyagishima<\/a> did last year. Security had to be called to diffuse the incident.<\/p>\n

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

Hopefully, the Thomas campaign has already had a stern talk with that supporter to ensure he doesn\u2019t pull similarly inappropriate stunts in the future. If such a talk hasn\u2019t already taken place, it should immediately.<\/p>\n

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

An inappropriate mailer<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Someone has anonymously sent a mailer to a number of District 6 residents \u2013 many of them supporters of Thomas \u2013 making potentially libelous allegations against Miyagishima and stating that the mailer\u2019s goal is to share the \u201ctruth\u201d about the mayor because the recipients\u2019 \u201cchoice of councilor is the mayor\u2019s choice.\u201d Miyagishima has endorsed Thomas.<\/p>\n

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

I won\u2019t repeat the allegations here, because some of them are potentially libelous, but I will tell you that I\u2019ve looked into them and most of the allegations \u2013 including the most serious \u2013 are things I haven\u2019t reported because I haven\u2019t found any evidence that they\u2019re true.<\/p>\n

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

Why write about them if I\u2019m not going to repeat them? Well, they\u2019re being circulated in the district and have the potential to impact the election, and I wanted those who have received the mailer to know that I haven\u2019t found any evidence that the allegations are true.<\/p>\n

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

Miyagishima said he\u2019s had to deal with rumors his entire career in public office, and called those in the mailer \u201churtful\u201d and \u201cuntrue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

These are swift-boat tactics. Whoever is behind this should be ashamed. I wish I could publicly expose this person, but I don\u2019t have his or her identity.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

That\u2019s what I know. We\u2019re close enough now to the election that I\u2019m not planning to write any more before Tuesday unless something major happens. Most important now is that you vote.<\/p>\n

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

Early voting ends Saturday. You can vote at the City Clerk\u2019s Office, located in the basement of City Hall, 200 N. Church Street<\/st1:address><\/st1:street>, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday. Absentee ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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

Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find your polling location, click here<\/a>. For more information, call the clerk at 541-2115.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 2:15 p.m.<\/p>\n

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

The man who I wrote verbally accosted Trujillo<\/st1:City> at the forum, Aubrey Durbin, contacted me to say he e-mailed Thomas and Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> after the forum to apologize for his conduct. He said his actions came after Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> gave \u201cuntrue\u201d responses to two questions he submitted that were asked at the forum and made a comment about Miyagishima in her closing statement.<\/p>\n

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

I noticed during the forum that Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> took several shots at Miyagishima, but I don\u2019t recall hearing anything I thought was inaccurate. I\u2019m not an expert on everything that goes on in District 6, however.<\/p>\n

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

Durbin also said he did not know security was called because he walked out on his own after the encounter with Trujillo<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>. I watched the man who was providing security be called into the room where the encounter took place, but it may be true that Durbin left before he arrived.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I did in November with the regular Las Cruces municipal election, I\u2019ve been looking into rumors and allegations related to the upcoming District 6 special election. I\u2019ve found a few things worth reporting. Here they are: Shipley fined Candidate Berchard Ray Shipley, while he was a planning commissioner in Brentwood, Calif., was fined $100 […]<\/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-2730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2730","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=2730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}