{"id":39875,"date":"2012-05-16T08:52:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T14:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=39875"},"modified":"2012-05-17T09:15:28","modified_gmt":"2012-05-17T15:15:28","slug":"spears-woods-race-colored-by-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/05\/spears-woods-race-colored-by-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Spears-Woods race colored by controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pat<\/a>

Pat Woods, left, and Angie Spears<\/p><\/div>\n

The governor has offended some with her backing of Angie Spears in the GOP Senate District 7 primary race. Meanwhile, Pat Woods\u2019 statements about campaign contributions and lobbying raise ethical questions about his prior activities in Santa Fe.<\/h4>\n

The GOP primary race to replace Clinton Harden<\/a> in the N.M. Senate has been colored by controversy that includes anger over the governor\u2019s backing of Angie Spears<\/a> and Pat Woods\u2019<\/a> shifting explanation for why he gave campaign contributions to Democrats.<\/p>\n

The governor has offended some Republicans, and her involvement in the race led a third candidate to drop out and endorse Woods. Meanwhile, Woods\u2019 statements about campaign contributions and lobbying raise ethical questions about his prior activities in Santa Fe.<\/p>\n

The controversy started when Harden, R-Clovis, announced he wouldn\u2019t seek re-election this year \u2013 and, as NMPolitics.net reported<\/a>, \u201cgave Gov.\u00a0Susana Martinez<\/a>\u00a0her first victory of the 2012 election.\u201d More from that article:<\/p>\n

\u201cNot that she\u2019ll publicly claim victory or he\u2019ll give it to her, but Harden\u2019s announcement came days after the Clovis Republican learned that he would face a tough primary challenge that had the fingerprints of Martinez and her political adviser,\u00a0Jay McCleskey<\/a>, all over it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMartinez, also a Republican, has repeatedly threatened to help voters decide what to do about legislative incumbents who get in the way of the reforms she proposes. As of its last report\u00a0in October<\/a>, her political action committee had about $300,000 on hand to do just that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spears jumped into the Senate District 7<\/a> race against Harden with several high-profile endorsements already lined up. She pledged support for the governor\u2019s stances on driver\u2019s licenses for undocumented immigrants and education reform. At the time, Harden had a campaign website up and appeared headed toward seeking re-election, but the quickly decided against it.<\/p>\n

He had clashed with Martinez before. As McCleskey recently pointed out to the Clovis News Journal<\/a>, Harden \u201cwas one of two Republican senators who voted for the 2003 law that gave driver\u2019s licenses to illegal immigrants, Harden aggressively supported a $128 million tax increase that Gov. Martinez strongly opposed and vetoed, and Harden was the only Republican senator who sided with labor unions and against the governor on education reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Not interested in our next senator being bought and paid for\u2019<\/h3>\n

After Harden announced he would not seek another term, Martinez almost immediately endorsed Spears. McCleskey says Martinez didn\u2019t recruit Spears, but Harden told NMPolitics.net he believes Martinez was privately backing her even before he decided against running.<\/p>\n

Spears told NMPolitics.net she has wanted to run for Senate ever since working as a policy analyst during the Johnson administration. Before entering this year\u2019s race, she said she heard Harden openly discuss \u201chis ambivalence about serving another term, his lack of enthusiasm for the repeal of the driver\u2019s license law and his stance against education reform,\u201d so she decided to run.<\/p>\n

Any claim that she was recruited by Martinez is false, Spears said.<\/p>\n

But opinions like Harden\u2019s persist. Last month, Mark Myers quit the GOP primary race and endorsed Woods, making it a two-person contest between Woods and Spears. Myers and Woods complained about Martinez\u2019s involvement in the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cPat and I have the same ideals; we appeal to the same people,\u201d Myers was quoted by the Clovis News Journal<\/a> as saying. \u201cI\u2019m not interested in our next senator being bought and paid for from the Rio Grande Valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 explanation for contributions shifts<\/h3>\n

Martinez hit back in a statement from McCleskey to the Clovis newspaper pointing out that Woods has made political contributions to \u201cliberal Democrats (that) are being used to attack Republican legislative candidates and the governor\u2019s agenda in New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods decided to tackle that issue head-on, posting a page on his website<\/a> that lists his political contributions since 2002 and breaking down the percentages given to Republicans (76 percent) and Democrats (24 percent).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Wood\u2019s website currently states about a $250 donation he gave to former Attorney General Patricia Madrid, a Democrat, in 2002 and a $100 donation he gave in 2009 to state Rep. Debbie Rodella<\/a>, D-Espa\u00f1ola, who chairs the House Business and Industry committee:<\/p>\n

\u201cContributions made as appreciation for support of beef check off and agricultural issues. I have never been a paid lobbyist. My occupation is farmer and rancher.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That may be what Woods\u2019 website says now, but it\u2019s not how the site explained the donations until NMPolitics.net started asking questions. As this image<\/a> taken by NMPolitics.net shows, early last week, the website explained the contributions this way:<\/p>\n

\u201cContributions for specific lobbying efforts for the beef check off and the agricultural exemption to worker\u2019s compensation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then, as this image<\/a> shows, later last week Woods added this statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never been a paid lobbyist. I have only gone to Santa Fe as a private citizen. My occupation is farmer and rancher.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Woods: \u2018What you\u2019re inferring is pretty silly\u2019<\/h3>\n

So was Woods a lobbyist or not? And did he give the campaign contributions to try to influence official decisions \u2013 as his website originally seemed to state \u2013 or in appreciation of actions Madrid and Rodella had already taken \u2013 as his website now states?<\/p>\n

The questions are important because giving contributions to affect official decisions is considered unethical \u2013 at best. In fact, when Madrid said during a debate in 2006 that campaign contributions buy people access to public officials, she faced harsh criticism<\/a> from me and others.<\/p>\n

Woods told NMPolitics.net any contributions he\u2019s made \u201cwere because those individuals stood with me on agricultural issues.\u201d He explained his \u201cspecific lobbying efforts\u201d statement by saying that, \u201cwhile I may not support every position held by a representative, I appreciated their position on important agricultural issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t elaborate on what those issues were, though NMPolitics.net asked. NMPolitics.net asked a follow-up question: Did the contributions come in response to a position by the official that you appreciated, or were the contributions an attempt to get the official to take the position you wanted?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Woods responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, what you\u2019re inferring is pretty silly.\u00a0Do you really believe that $100 or $250 could possibly influence a legislator\u2019s vote?\u00a0My contributions to those elected representatives were made in appreciation of the positions they took on important agriculture issues.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then the language about \u201cspecific lobbying efforts\u201d was replaced on Woods\u2019 campaign website with the \u201cappreciation\u201d language.<\/p>\n

Spears calls donations \u2018play-to-play politics at work\u2019<\/h3>\n

After hearing Woods, a farmer, talk about the contributions during a recent GOP breakfast, Spears told NMPolitics.net she heard Woods describe \u201cpay-to-play politics at work.\u201d She said he described fighting against a farm-related bill in explaining donations to Rodella and Sen. Tim Keller<\/a>, D-Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

Spears suggested Woods was referring to 2009 legislation that would have provided additional worker\u2019s compensation coverage<\/a> for farm and ranch workers \u2013 a bill that died in the committee Rodella chairs. That would match with the initial statement Woods posted on his website.<\/p>\n

Spears also said Woods claimed to have given donations to Rodella and Keller in the hopes that the bill would not resurface in 2010 \u2013 and that he said he was pleased when it did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised to hear Mr. Woods\u2019 explanation that he made these contributions because these politicians helped him with a bill that benefited his business,\u201d Spears said. \u201cI believe candidates should be supported by those who believe in their philosophy, principles and agenda, not because they took an official act that benefited the donor financially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Woods was a registered lobbyist<\/h3>\n

In addition, though Woods said on an earlier version of his web page that he has \u201conly gone to Santa Fe as a private citizen,\u201d the Secretary of State\u2019s Office confirmed that Woods was a registered lobbyist from 1997-2003, and that he represented the Farmer\u2019s Electric Cooperative of New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Woods told NMPolitics.net he may have been registered as a lobbyist for the coop or the N.M. Farm and Livestock Bureau, but he was never paid to lobby. He had to register as a lobbyist because he was a board member for both organizations, he said.<\/p>\n

He stopped registering as a lobbyist in 2003 when the secretary of state advised both groups that their board members weren\u2019t in Santa Fe during sessions long enough to be required to register.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than gas mileage reimbursement for meetings and the health insurance that the Farmer\u2019s Electric Coop makes available to all its board members, I have not received a dime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Then Woods removed the statement from his website claiming he had \u201conly gone to Santa Fe as a private citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supporting the governor<\/h3>\n

In spite of his frustration with the governor\u2019s backing of his opponent, Woods says he, like Spears, is supportive of the agenda of Martinez, who remains popular in New Mexico and especially among GOP voters. The most recent poll had Martinez\u2019s approval at 54 percent overall<\/a> and 87 percent among Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fully support Governor Martinez\u2019s legislative agenda,\u201d Woods said. \u201cI believe it\u2019s time to stop illegal immigrants from getting New Mexico driver\u2019s licenses, reform education and cut spending to stay on budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no Democrat running, so unless an independent or minor-party candidate joins the race, the winner of the GOP primary will be uncontested in November. That means Martinez is likely to pick up an ally on some of her most high-profile initiatives.<\/p>\n

Though he has been at odds with Martinez at times, even Harden told NMPolitics.net he\u2019s supportive of the governor and wants her succeed. His issue, he said, is with McCleskey, and he said there\u2019s a \u201cloosely knitted\u201d group in the GOP that opposes McCleskey\u2019s involvement in the Martinez administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sense is there\u2019s an anti-Jay McCleskey group more than an anti-Susana Martinez,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Harden said he believes McCleskey orchestrated Spears\u2019 candidacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that way. I think the strategic shots are being called by Jay McCleskey, period,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s my opinion. I would really have to work hard to prove it. \u2026 But it\u2019s darn sure my opinion, and it\u2019s shared by a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the first time Martinez or McCleskey has faced that allegation. Both have told NMPolitics.net it isn\u2019t true<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I make a decision, it\u2019s because I\u2019m informed,\u201d Martinez has said. \u201cI try to get both sides of the issues. I don\u2019t surround myself with \u2018yes\u2019 people. I\u2019m very independent. I\u2019m not a figurehead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The governor has offended some with her backing of Angie Spears in the GOP Senate District 7 primary race. Meanwhile, Pat Woods\u2019 statements about campaign contributions and lobbying raise ethical questions about his prior activities in Santa Fe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[156,107,208],"class_list":["post-39875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-roundhouse","tag-susana-martinez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39875","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=39875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}