{"id":543,"date":"2006-09-06T08:19:00","date_gmt":"2006-09-06T14:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/armijo-creates-quandary-for-democratic-party\/"},"modified":"2006-09-06T08:19:00","modified_gmt":"2006-09-06T14:19:00","slug":"armijo-creates-quandary-for-democratic-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/09\/armijo-creates-quandary-for-democratic-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Armijo creates quandary for Democratic Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>For about an hour beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, the political powers-that-be in New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u2019s Democratic Party were silent. <\/p>\n

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

Jeff Armijo had decided to play hardball and just announced he would not withdraw from the state auditor\u2019s race. The secretary of state\u2019s office had told both me and the Albuquerque Journal<\/a> earlier in the day that Armijo<\/st1:place> would have to file a signed, notarized letter to withdraw from the race.<\/p>\n

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

Then the Democratic Party chair and governor put out statements taking the position that no such letter was required. They said Armijo<\/st1:place>\u2019s prior public statements and news release were enough. Just before 5 p.m., Hoyt Clifton with the secretary of state\u2019s office told me he understood the office was in the process of receiving Armijo<\/st1:place>\u2019s withdrawal from the race.<\/p>\n

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

I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but the fax wasn\u2019t coming from Armijo<\/st1:place>. It was coming from the governor\u2019s office, and was not a signed, notarized letter. It was a copy of Armijo<\/st1:place>\u2019s news release announcing he would drop out of the race, and the Democratic Party\u2019s call for nominations to replace him.<\/p>\n

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

Democrats from around the state who I spoke with balked. Of course it has to be a signed, notarized letter, they said. It\u2019s always been that way. What were their party chair and the governor thinking?<\/p>\n

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

Then the party went silent. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

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

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s top lawyers, Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron and the attorney general\u2019s office were trying to figure out this mess. While many Democrats were saying off-the-record that the attempt to keep Armijo<\/st1:place> off the ballot would fail, they were reviewing the legal argument put together by the governor\u2019s office, and doing who-knows-what-else that politicians do when others aren\u2019t looking.<\/p>\n

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

While that was happening, no one knew what to say or do. Though many Democrats I spoke with said they believe the argument made by the governor and party chair is bogus, few would back Armijo<\/st1:place> publicly, because they don\u2019t know whether the allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a campaign volunteer are true.<\/p>\n

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

And the truth is that they want him off the ballot. If he remains on the ballot, they fear, many Democrats won\u2019t vote the straight party ticket, and other Democrats will lose votes.<\/p>\n

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

That was the dilemma. Many wanted Armijo<\/st1:place> off the ballot but felt this attempt by the governor and party chair wasn\u2019t proper.<\/p>\n

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

By 6 p.m., the secretary of state said publicly she had accepted the statement and removed Armijo<\/st1:place> from the ballot, contradicting what workers in her office had said earlier, and the attorney general\u2019s office was concurring with the decision.<\/p>\n

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

Apparently, state law was changed at some point, unbeknownst to workers in the state elections bureau and most of the Democrats I spoke with, so it no longer requires candidates to inform the secretary of state\u2019s office they are withdrawing. State law is now silent on the issue.<\/p>\n

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

Armijo<\/st1:place>\u2019s only avenue if he wants to continue fighting is a lawsuit. He would likely have to seek an injunction blocking the party\u2019s attempt to meet Saturday and replace him on the ballot.<\/p>\n

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

His argument might be that, even though state law doesn\u2019t require a signed, notarized letter, requiring such a document remained the practice of the secretary of state\u2019s office until Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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

Instead of suing, Armijo<\/st1:place> could try to regain the nomination at Saturday\u2019s meeting, but he wouldn\u2019t be successful.<\/p>\n

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

If the statement Armijo<\/st1:place> read at his news conference Tuesday is any indication, he will continue to fight. Here it is:<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAfter 17 years in the military the most important lesson I learned was to never quit.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt\u2019s time for a young candidate, untainted by special interests, to do the right thing, and if that makes a select few politicians nervous, so be it. Ordinary people across New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> want accountability and they deserve it. I am the \u2018peoples\u2019 candidate because I have been consistent in my belief that ordinary people matter. I am staying in this race because you matter.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI am putting my adversaries on notice. These accusations are false and I have done nothing wrong. I am a victim of a horrible political scheme and I have faith in our political and legal systems that will expose the individuals in this scheme. So if they want to continue this charade, go ahead, and the people will expose you.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe hundreds of phone calls and emails requesting that I stay in the race and the continued support of my family, friends and New Mexicans is greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMil gracias.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For about an hour beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, the political powers-that-be in New Mexico\u2019s Democratic Party were silent. Jeff Armijo had decided to play hardball and just announced he would not withdraw from the state auditor\u2019s race. The secretary of state\u2019s office had told both me and the Albuquerque Journal earlier in the day […]<\/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-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543","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=543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}