{"id":40539,"date":"2012-06-01T18:38:41","date_gmt":"2012-06-02T00:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=40539"},"modified":"2012-06-04T00:01:35","modified_gmt":"2012-06-04T06:01:35","slug":"martinez-supporting-super-pac-comes-to-aid-of-dems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/06\/martinez-supporting-super-pac-comes-to-aid-of-dems\/","title":{"rendered":"Martinez-supporting Super PAC comes to aid of Dems"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gov.<\/a>

Gov. Susana Martinez<\/p><\/div>\n

Reform New Mexico Now is funded primarily by backers of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and is helping Democratic legislative incumbents who have sided with her on some issues.<\/h4>\n

A Super PAC that appears to be trying to advance Republican Gov. Susana Martinez\u2019s<\/a> agenda is coming to the aid of at least three Democratic state senators who have sided with her on some issues in the past and are in tough primary battles.<\/p>\n

The group, Reform New Mexico Now, would not answer a question about whether it has ties to Martinez or her political action committee Susana PAC<\/a>. The mailers and radio ads it provided to NMPolitics.net state that they\u2019re not authorized by any candidate or candidate\u2019s committee.<\/p>\n

But the group\u2019s biggest donors are Martinez supporters. And its issues are Martinez\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n

For example, the group has sent a mailer<\/a> in support of Sen. Pete Campos<\/a>, D-Las Vegas, who is facing a tough primary battle against Thomas Garcia<\/a>, D-Ocate, a state representative who has been no friend to Martinez. The mailer praises Campos for voting for a bill that gives in-state businesses first priority on state contracts and another that gives a $1,000 tax credit to small businesses that hire veterans returning from war.<\/p>\n

Both are bills that were sought by Martinez. The mailer credits Campos with \u201cfighting for New Mexico jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

A radio ad<\/a> running in Senate District 35 defends Sen. John Arthur Smith<\/a>, D-Deming, who carried Martinez\u2019s bill to end so-called social promotion in the last session. It attacks Smith\u2019s challenger, Larry Martinez<\/a>, who has had his own help from a progressive Super PAC and a teacher\u2019s union<\/a> that have attacked Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarry Martinez is trying to fool us all. Special interest groups are attacking Sen. John Arthur Smith, all because Smith is fighting for education reform,\u201d the radio ad states. \u201c\u2026 He stood up to the special interests because John Arthur Smith always puts our children first. Not Larry Martinez. Larry Martinez is the special-interest candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in Senate District 4, the group is running a radio ad<\/a> attacking Genevieve Jackson<\/a>, a McKinley County commissioner and one of two candidates challenging Sen. George Mu\u00f1oz<\/a>, D-Gallup, who has sometimes sided with Martinez on budgetary, tax and education issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenevieve\u2019s been jet-setting all over the country, and you\u2019ve been picking up the tab,\u201d the radio ad states before describing taxpayer-funded trips to New Orleans, California and Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell Genevieve Jackson the free ride is over. Vote no on Genevieve Jackson,\u201d states the ad, which doesn\u2019t mention Mu\u00f1oz.<\/p>\n

\u2018Bipartisan group\u2019 includes Martinez-supporting Dem<\/h3>\n

In a prepared statement, Dominic Aragon, an Albuquerque Democrat who supported Martinez in the 2010 gubernatorial race, said Reform New Mexico Now is \u201ca bipartisan group that independently supports\u00a0candidates committed to enacting reforms that will improve our schools, promote public safety and help create jobs in New Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a registered Democrat and former Democratic ward chairman from the Albuquerque Westside, it\u2019s time we elect leaders who are willing to come together on commonsense initiatives like helping children read by the third grade,\u201d the prepared statement from Aragon reads.<\/p>\n

The group provided the radio ads and mailer linked to above, and Aragon said it also sent out a mailer supporting Republican David Chavez\u2019s<\/a> attempt to unseat Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez<\/a>, D-Belen, in the November election. Sanchez is perhaps Martinez\u2019s biggest foe in the Roundhouse.<\/p>\n

But Reform New Mexico Now said it would provide no other information, including listing other races it\u2019s involved in. NMPolitics.net has learned that the group sent out a mailer attacking Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon<\/a>, D-Milan, who has been a Martinez foe. Alcon faces Billy Moore of Thoreau in the primary.<\/p>\n

Funded primarily by energy companies<\/h3>\n

The group\u2019s finance report<\/a> reveals that it has raised $205,000, including $130,000 from Chase Oil Corporation and $50,000 from Mack Energy Corporation, both based in Artesia. It also took a $5,000 contribution from Nestor Romero of Albuquerque, who was one of Democrat Brian Col\u00f3n\u2019s biggest supporters in the 2010 lieutenant governor\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Romero donated more than $3,000 to Martinez\u2019s 2010 opponent, Democrat Diane Denish, but he also donated $1,000 to Clovis-area District Attorney Matt Chandler, a Republican and close Martinez ally.<\/p>\n

Chase Oil donated $75,000 to Martinez\u2019s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Mack Energy donated $100,000. They also donated $10,000 apiece to Susana PAC in April, six days after they gave money to Reform New Mexico Now.<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s a Super PAC doing independent expenditures \u2013 which means there\u2019s no coordination with candidates \u2013 Reform New Mexico Now isn\u2019t subject to contribution limits.<\/p>\n

\u2018The difference between John Arthur Smith and me\u2019<\/h3>\n

Martinez\u2019s PAC has gotten involved in several Republican primaries, as The Associated Press has reported<\/a>. But Susana PAC, which is directly tied to the governor, has stayed away from Democratic primaries. That may in part be because candidates she\u2019s opposing could counter attacks by criticizing their opponents for having support from the Republican governor in a Democratic primary.<\/p>\n

Even in this instance, without proof of direct ties between Reform New Mexico Now and the governor, Smith\u2019s opponent, Larry Martinez, was quick to respond to group\u2019s radio ad by highlighting its contributions from energy companies \u2013 and he pointed out that those companies have also donated to Martinez and other Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise to see oil and gas corporations coming in at the end to try to defend their biggest supporter in the Senate, John Arthur Smith,\u201d Larry Martinez said. \u201cThese corporations fight for special tax breaks for themselves, which means less funding for our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTherein lies the difference between John Arthur Smith and me,\u201d he said. \u201cI am backed by teachers and he\u2019s backed by oil and gas interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, June 2, 11:45 a.m.<\/h3>\n

Reform New Mexico Now also sent out mailers in support of Carl Trujillo<\/a> in his Democratic primary battle against David Coss<\/a> for the state House District 46 seat (view it here<\/a>), and, in the Senate District 39 race, in support of incumbent Democrat Phil Griego<\/a>, who faces two opponents on Tuesday (view it here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

One of those opponents, Jack Sullivan<\/a>, released this statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mailer sent out by the Reform New Mexico Now PAC is\u00a0an attempt at revisionist history.\u00a0Senator Phil Griego has voted\u00a0against\u00a0closing the corporate tax loophole every year since 2009. As chair of the Corporations and Transportation Committee, he voted against hearing this bill for three years and voted against it in committee as recently as this year. He only voted for SB 9 when it appeared it would pass on the floor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Reform New Mexico Now is funded primarily by backers of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and is helping Democratic legislative incumbents who have sided with her on some issues.<\/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":[156,223,107,293,208],"class_list":["post-40539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2012-election","tag-campaign-finance","tag-roundhouse","tag-super-pacs","tag-susana-martinez"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40539","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=40539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}